“Wear it?” I hiss. “What does he mean wear it? Like a necklace?”
“Sigils and seals contain instructions, like rules. Once it’s on you, you have to obey that rule until it’s gone.”
“Like the one on your back?”
“On all of our backs,” Bored guy says, rubbing just above his belt line like the mark hidden under his shirt still hurts.
“These aren’t Tier One Sigils, though,” Roarke says dismissively, stopping his reading and looking up before he adds, “Tier One can leave permanent effects. The only things more powerful are seals, like the Return Seal. In essence, we return to the castle or we die, but it’s really more complex than that.”
“What will these do, then?”
“That’s what we have to work out,” Redhead growls.
“And they’re not sigils I’ve seen before, he’s getting more imaginative,” Roarke mutters.
“You, too,” Aolyaire says. “If you’re in my class, you do the work.”
It takes me a moment to realize he’s actually talking to me. The guy doesn’t even look at me as he gives the instruction, but everyone else does.
“Quick, you’re eating into the time everyone else needs to complete this task.”
Seth, however, doesn’t let me move, his arm locked over my lap. Roarke gets up, picks a token at random and returns to our table, setting the small wooden disk in front of me.
My disk has a red pattern, the same as Roarke’s. Seth and Pax have blue. All of the new guys have yellow, and Killian has a white one. Roarke reaches across the table and plucks out a book, already drawn into the thrill of solving a puzzle.
“And so there’s no cheating, she can sit over there,” Aolyaire says, waving toward his desk at the front of the room.
All five of us stiffen, which scares me because I was only getting upset about having to sit up there in front of anyone. That really wouldn’t worry Seth; if anything, he should be laughing at me. Killian’s holding in a growl, I can feel it rolling down the hand that he still has pressed into the small of my back. Roarke starts staring at my token, like he’s trying to memorize it.
Pax looks me in the eye and nods, just once, and with my heart racing, I obey.
I force myself to keep an even pace, get my ass up to the desk, and sit down. Then I look at my token and really, genuinely, start to freak out.
I hope this is instructions to get a good night’s sleep, because there’s no way I’m going to figure this out.
“Keep your eyes on your own work,” Aolyaire instructs. “Anyone caught looking anywhere but at their own work will forfeit the opportunity to answer this test correctly.”
Silence fills the room. No talking. Not even any body language between them as they search through books and scribble down notes.
Except for my four guys. They’re having a very active eye-conversation.
I turn my attention to my token, because I need every chance I can get to try and figure this thing out. Being disqualified before I’ve even started probably isn’t the best plan.
It takes me about two seconds to realize it’s hopeless. The answers are in the books, and I can’t read. But I stare down, pretending I’m trying, pretending to be in this game with a chance of winning, as the lesson ticks by.
I glimpse Aolyaire from the corner of my eye as he walks behind me a few times. He doesn’t stop, just continues to move around the room. Hands clasped behind his back and a severe look in the creases on his brow, intimidating everyone equally.
“There’s no use fighting it,” he says on one of his trips past me.
His voice is low, running like a thick slime across my skin, and even though I’m pretty sure no one else would be able to hear his words, just his tone manages to make a few of the closest students jump in their seats.
No one looks our way though – except Killian. His features are schooled into a neutral expression – but any man with a scar right across their face makes neutral look menacing.
“You have no hope,” Aolyaire says, drawing my gaze toward him. “And we all want to know more about this little dynamic you’ve created.”
I keep my mouth shut. Thank you, mouth.
I try to keep my body still too, but the desire to squirm under his scrutiny is intense.
He turns without any further explanation, moving off toward the next table in his circuit.
“Keep working. Half the lesson is gone, students,” he announces.
I lock eyes with Killian, feeling my heart rate lower. He cocks a smile at me.
Bastard. Of course that would amuse him.
Seth waves, just a sharp little flick of his wrist. He smiles when I look at him, like maybe he’d been trying to get my attention for a long time. He points at his own eyes, then at me, and mimes something that could mean ‘watch’.
I nod, but look quickly away when Aolyaire starts to walk in a new direction.
As soon as I can, I look up. Seth’s holding his token, pointing at it then at me.
Does he want to swap?
He tries again, pointing at me then his token.
I point at myself, then hold my token up and point at it too. I still have no idea what he’s going on about.
He nods ferociously, smiling at me like I’m an idiot, and this is very entertaining. I ignore his expression and just hold my token up.
The guy scribbles something on a piece of paper – then Aolyaire turns around, and we all go back to pretending we’re super focused on our own work and not each other.
Our communication is restricted to moments when Aolyaire is walking to the left down the left row of tables. If he’s walking this way then he has me in his sights, walking the other way has the boys in his sights, and any time he’s facing the right he might catch either of us out of the corner of his eye.
I wait until my next opportunity, only to find the boys still have their heads lowered, busily. Even Seth’s looking through books. They look at each other in some kind of agreement.
“Five minutes,” Aolyaire says.
Panic runs through me. This thing is going to make me do something – what kinds of somethings do they usually make people do? What if Aolyaire wants us all to be his slaves until sunset? Or if it makes me try to run away? Or murder someone?
Seth starts blowing me kisses, like a mother does with their child. I nearly start laughing out loud before I can catch myself. He shakes his head at my confusion and moves on to making his hand look like a duck and silently quacking at me.
He covers his mouth, and I nod, because it’s easy to understand that he doesn’t want me to laugh. Not a good time for laughter.
Then he opens his mouth really wide. Maybe miming surprise, then he goes back to the duck quacking thing.
“Time’s up,” Aolyaire says.
The room makes a collective sigh-and-sit-up movement. People shake the intense concentration from their shoulders and Aolyaire moves to the first desk.
“What have we worked out, people?” he asks.
He looks down at his first victim. A girl with her black hair up in a messy bun, in the first seat, at the first table.
“This is the symbol for a tree, crossed with the mark of the moon, and these three stripes are representative of a claw, but it can also mean to hunt –” the girl begins, but Aolyaire cuts her off.
“I don’t need the full story, I won’t live long enough. Just the answer.”
“Hunt leaves at night?” the girl asks, sounding rather foolish.
“Wouldn’t have had much effect on you anyway. Even if you didn’t work it out, the sigil would have expired by nightfall. What a shame,” Aolyaire says, moving on to the next person.
“Wear my socks on my hands,” the next girl says.
He nods and moves on.
“Paint my face with my food,” the last girl on that chair says.
“Correct. But please stay with us, ladies. I’m sure this will get interesting,” Aolyaire says, looking directly at me as he speak
s.
He moves through more people, each one answering correctly. They’re all silly. The kinds of things kids dare each other to do.
“Catch a cat,” one guys says.
“No,” Aolyaire booms. “We have a winner here. Be a cat, Antyin.”
The guy laughs at himself, getting an elbow from one of his neighbours and applause. Seeing as though none of these appear life threatening, the tension level has eased into enthusiasm.
The guy passes Aolyaire the token, then holds out his hand.
“Oh no, my friend. We want everyone to know what’s going on,” and without warning the Master slams the disk into the guy’s forehead.
The wood snaps loudly and a sharp flash of light momentarily blinds me. The guy hisses in pain and when Aolyaire steps back, a still glowing red image has been branded onto the guy’s forehead.
He moves to rub it, then winces and pulls his hand away.
I’m screwed. Not only is there a high chance that Seth’s set me up and I’m going to be walking around doing something stupid for the rest of the day, I’m going to have a massive headache while I’m doing it.
Aolyaire keeps moving. The next two people get the answer right, but he smiles broadly at the third. His body language giving away the fact that she got her answer wrong.
“You know what,” Aolyaire says. “New rule. I’m not going to tell you what your sigil says. You can work that out yourself during the course of the day.”
And again, without warning, he near knocks the girl out with the token. Snap of wood, flash of light, cry of pain, followed by tears.
Not small sobs, but wailing.
“Can anyone give her a hint what her sigil might have been?” Aolyaire asks.
“Something to do with crying?” someone calls out.
“Everything to do with crying,” Aolyaire says, walking purposefully over to one of the guys kneeling at my table.
Or rather the table my boys are at. Is it weird that I’m considering the table my guys are at as being my table? I ask myself.
Probably less weird than thinking of the actual guys as being mine.
My guys.
My Pax.
My Seth.
My Roarke.
My Killian.
But no one needs to know that.
The three new guys at my table can be made to eat frogs or something worse. Please be worse.
One by one, the new guys fail at their guesses. By the time Aolyaire is standing next to Seth, the room has a girl who won’t stop crying, a cat, a tree, someone who is impulsively walking around kissing things and the new commander who is sucking his thumb, just to begin with.
It’s hard to worry about myself with all of that happening. It’s even harder to worry about Seth. In fact, I’m really hoping he gets his answer wrong when Aolyaire leans over and grabs his token, breaking it on his head without even giving him a chance to talk.
“You spend more time looking at your servant than looking at your own work.”
Seth grumbles, blinking away the light.
I hold my breath, waiting for him to move, to act out something, but nothing happens.
Aolyaire moves on to Killian. So whatever Seth is going to do, he’s fine with not being witness to it. Killian, Pax and Roarke get their answers right and all too soon Aolyaire is standing next to me again.
Everyone is watching. Those currently under the influence of sigils are trying to look at me, while still fulfilling their urges.
“Is it act like a mother duck quacking?” I ask.
Before I can gauge Aolyaire’s reaction, Seth lets out a whoop of laughter. The guy falls off his chair and continues to laugh from the floor. A part of me really hopes his sigil told him to laugh uncontrollably for no reason – but I’m not that lucky.
Aolyaire leans down to pick up my token, putting his face right in front of mine and demanding my attention. I edge back on my chair.
Every bone in this guy’s body does not like me, or the people I’m connected with, and there’s no denying that.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” he says oh-so-softly.
He smacks the disk into my forehead so hard that I’m sent flying off my chair. The pop of light leaves me blinded. I have no idea where I hit the ground until the white recedes to reveal four sets of legs standing protectively around me.
It’s Killian who squats down next to me, running his gaze over the design as I sit up.
“Looks good on you,” he says.
“Hurts like hell,” I grumble back.
The bell sounds, and the mayhem in the room takes the opportunity to get out of here.
I struggle to my feet. Killian hesitates before doing the same, like maybe he’s expecting me to fall over.
Aolyaire is still standing next to his desk, smiling like a beast looking at prey. I’m the prey.
“Why are we still here? Let’s go?” I say, well kind of ask.
“We’re leaving,” Pax says, gripping my shoulder and starting to steer me toward the door.
I have a man-cocoon going on. One of the guys on each side of me, giving me a very muffled view of the room, and of Aolyaire.
“Who are you?” he asks, locking eyes on me between Pax and Seth.
“Me? My name’s Shade.”
“Your full name?”
“Just Shade, I like it that way. Shade,” I say my name slowly, enjoying the way it rolls off my own tongue.
“Your place of birth?” he asks.
“In the field out by the well. Cursed the thing, I did. They filled it in after I was born. My mother didn’t make it to the house. Had me, bundled me up, and went straight back to work. You wouldn’t believe how strong that woman was. I miss her.” I slam my hand over my mouth.
All of this talking. All of these things I’m letting spill from my lips – I can’t control any of it.
“Get her out of here,” Killian grumbles.
For the first time ever, I see Killian nudge Pax. Granted, the nudge is in the direction of the door, but I’ve never seen any of them get proactive with the orders. Roarke puts himself between Aolyaire and me, with Killian by his side.
Aolyaire moves to speak, but Roarke cuts in.
“Lose that thought, let it slip. Water through your fingers, lips without words,” Roarke says. “You want to let it go. Lose all your thoughts.”
Says is an inadequate word. Each sound, each syllable, slips beneath my skin, becoming as much a part of who I am as my own heartbeat.
Aolyaire closes his mouth again.
Pax tightens his grip on my shoulder, and Seth threads his fingers through mine. They move, and we’re at the doors, then the stairs, in less than a second.
When Seth said holding onto me was required if they needed to run, he wasn’t wrong. My whole body struggles against the force of their movement. I can’t even breathe until they stop the crazy speed and return to a normal run.
“I’m confused?”
“You have the worst communication skills of anyone I’ve ever met,” Seth says.
“Huh?” I’ve heard his words, but my mind is scattering to try to put everything together.
All I remember is Roarke saying, ‘lose that thought’. I mean, I remember everything that physically happened, but I’m desperately searching for the things I was thinking.
Seth stops.
“Are you okay?” he asks, looking down at me with a worried crease on his brow, right under the angry red symbol.
Three lines, like claw marks, with a scribble through them and several dots down the bottom. But he hasn’t faltered. Pure confidence.
Pax spins me around to face him. His eyes not on mine, but on my forehead. He runs his thumb across my brow, below the sigil by the feel of it.
“Why have we stopped?” Roarke asks, catching up to us with bodyguard Killian taking up the rear.
Roarke takes one look at me and sighs.
“How much did she hear?” he asks Pax.
“Lose that thought,
” I say. “Lose that thought. Lose all my thoughts.”
“That wasn’t aimed at you, but you’ll be fine in a moment,” Roarke says.
“This bubble’s screwing with our magic,” Killian grumbles, and without discussion we make quick work of the corridors.
Some part of me picks up on our direction, and takes note of the no-nonsense attitude around me. Roarke stays behind me. Seth keeps a tight grip on my hand, and Killian marches on my other side. Pax moves in front.
Then all of a sudden he stops and I’ve walked straight into him.
“Sorry, bum. Cute bum, but I’m sorry,” I mumble.
Seth leans down to whisper. “Are you talking to my brother’s ass?”
“Nope,” I say, then completely blow my cover by adding, “Which isn’t true.”
I rub my temples, which has nothing to do with Pax’s bum and everything to do with the fog in my mind beginning to clear.
“Roarke messed with my head,” I groan.
“Why are you dragging that slave around?” someone asks.
Logan asks.
Six people move to block our path.
“I’m not a slave, and I sure as bralls am not their slave,” I blurt out. Crap, where did that come from?
Me, that came from me. Shut up, Shade.
Seth wraps his hand around my mouth, and Roarke pushes through our group to stand next to Pax.
“Logan,” Pax growls.
Logan is the kind of guy easily described as slimy. Like the last time I saw him, his hair is all stuck together in greasy clumps. Looking at him is like looking into the gloom, and that gloom is looking right back at me.
“We were hoping to run into you,” Roarke says, getting in before Logan or his crowd manage to say anything. “We have questions.”
“Questions I understand,” I mumble into Seth’s hand. “But not in the hallways with other people watching and –”
“Look at me, find my eyes,” Roarke says, and everyone does.
Well, not Pax, Seth, or Killian, but everyone else.
“I’m looking,” I try to say, but Seth’s hand tightens, and the words muffle together incoherently. Not that it stops me from talking. “I’m always looking at one of you.”
“Shhh,” Seth says, leaning close to my ear.
Shadows and Shade Box Set Page 26
