by Hannah Wick
“We need to take it to the dean. We can worry about who put it there later.”
“What are you two doing here?” a voice snapped from behind us. I almost jumped out of my skin, and swallowed another yelp, rounding on the figure. It was Devron.
I frowned. He had a funny way of showing up whenever his name was used.
“Surely a better question is what you’re doing here,” I said.
“Following you.”
I opened my mouth to object, but he continued.
“I was taking a walk around the academy – I couldn’t sleep – and I saw you two, thick as thieves and definitely not out for a late-night stroll. So, what are you doing here?”
“We found a way to help the students get their strength back.”
“That’s great news. But I didn’t realise that they were sick,” Devron muttered irritably.
“Yeah, it was like all of their energy was pulled right out of them. But they’re all okay now.”
“Great. Did you find the amulet that was causing it?” Devron asked, his eyes scanned the windows.
“Actually, yes. We’re just going to take it to the dean.”
“Uh, why don’t I do that?” he said with a cocky grin, holding out his hand. “I’m much stronger. It won’t affect me.”
“No, I’m sure we can handle it.”
Rose stepped beside him, hooking an arm around him. “Why don’t you come with us? We could do with some company.”
Devron eyed her and smiled. “I would love to. Come on, let’s go now.”
Rose nodded. “Great idea. How did you know it was an amulet?”
I paused. How did he know, unless he put it there? But why would he do that? Friends didn’t go round doing that to each other.
“You know,” Devron said, “It’s the middle of the night. The dean’s probably sleeping. Maybe we should wait until morning.”
He had a point.
“Fine. We’ll do it tomorrow. And we should get out of here before we disturb the other students.”
“Why don’t I look after it? I mean, I don’t want either of you getting hurt or drained or anything.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“I think we’ll be fine for one night. Besides, I have some of the potions we made. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Night.” He didn’t sound happy, and he wasn’t the only one. How dare he imply that I wasn’t strong enough to be around the charm? I could survive one night with the stupid thing. Muttering irritably to myself, I pulled off my hoodie and wrapped the charm inside it and headed back to my dorm. I still needed to check on Cassandra.
I shook the charm out of my hoodie, then set it on the table next to my bed, careful not to touch it.
“Are you sure you should leave it there?” Rose said, eyeing it suspiciously from across the room. I huffed. What was it with my friends all doubting my strength?
“I’m not some damsel who needs to be protected,” I snapped. “Watch.”
“No, don’t—”
Ignoring her, I snatched up the charm and clenched it in my fist. It began to glow so brightly the light burst through the gaps between my fingers. I gasped, and dropped it to the floor.
“See, I’m fine—”
I cut off mid-word with a groan, clutching at my head as the world spun around me in a dizzying blur of colour. I swayed on my feet, no longer having even enough strength to move the short distance to my bed. It was like all of my energy was being sucked out of me and siphoned into the glowing charm.
I swayed again as the world tilted under me, then an arm wrapped around my shoulders and dumped me on my bed.
“Idiot,” Rose cursed me, though I could barely make out her face through the dimness in front of my eyes. “Where’s that potion?”
She disappeared from my line of sight then reappeared what felt like a split second later.
“Here, drink this.”
I opened my mouth and she poured the potion down my throat, making me gasp and sputter.
“It’s a good thing you kept a vial of that stuff,” she said.
“Ugh, that really is disgusting,” I groaned, as the world started to right itself. I didn’t bother to get up. I felt like I’d run a marathon. Whoever made that charm hadn’t been messing around. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. We should probably keep that covered and out of the way.”
“You think?” She rolled her eyes and stooped to wrap the charm. “You should get some rest. You look awful.”
“I feel awful. It was horrible. It wasn’t just feeding on my strength, it was like it was taking away my power, and my life force. I could see it and feel it being siphoned into the stone... it was going to kill me. That’s why everyone was so weak. If they had held it instead of just being near it, there’d be nothing left to save.”
“But who would do such a thing?”
“I don’t know. But we better find out before someone dies.”
Chapter Eleven
“Danny!”
The screech echoed through my skull and I sat bolt upright in my bed, wide eyed and panting. Just a dream. I flopped back onto my pillow. It was just a stupid dream. I rolled my head to the right and fumbled with my phone.
10AM? That couldn’t be right! I swung my legs over the side of my bed, and almost collapsed to the door. Ugh, I felt horrific, almost as bad as I did last night. That amulet really did a number on me.
Crap, the amulet! I glanced over at the door, but it was gone, along with my hoodie. No sign of Cassandra, either. Despite feeling like I’d been hit by a truck, I was up, dressed, looking halfway human and darting for the door inside five minutes. I yanked it open and almost crashed straight into Cassandra and Rose.
“Cass, you’re better!” I said and threw my arms around her neck. I let go and turned to Rose. “The amulet’s gone.”
“Relax. I took it to the dean while you were sleeping.”
“You did?” I slumped back against the wall, dizzy with relief. “What did she say?”
“She thinks the spellwork lecturer can break the hex without too many problems. She says he’s going to start an investigation to find who planted it, but she didn’t seem very hopeful. Oh, and she says you’re an idiot for touching it.”
Cassandra frowned. “It sounds like I missed a lot.” She turned to Rose with a smile. “Thank you for looking out for her.”
“That’s okay. I couldn’t stand by and watch everyone else go through what Sally had. It wouldn’t be fair. Besides, you helped me. I’m just returning the favour.” She shrugged.
Cassandra smiled. “So, tell me again about the vampire thing?”
We showed her the book, told her about the spell and up to the point of me grabbing the amulet.
“They’re right,” Cassandra frowned. “You really shouldn’t have touched it.”
“Don’t I know it? I feel like death warmed up.”
“Come on, you look like you could use some food. Let’s head down to the canteen.”
“Wait, what day is it? It’s still Friday, right? I mean, I didn’t sleep for a whole day?”
“It’s Friday. But don’t worry, the dean excused you from lessons until you’re feeling better.” She shot me a sly grin. “And I’m excused, too, you know, since I’m looking after you.”
“Does she have any theories?” I asked, pulling the dorm room door shut and heading down the hallway. “About who did it?”
Cassandra shook her head. “None that she’s sharing with us. Surprise, right?”
I nodded. It wasn’t like she was going to be spilling her heart to a pair of first year students any time soon.
I turned to Rose, frowning. “What about you? Any thoughts?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I mean, even if they were skilled enough to do that spell, who’s got the motive? Everyone here is reasonably healthy. Why syphon something they don’t need?”
“I don’t know, but according to that book, they could store it in the amulet for months
if they wanted to. Maybe it was just a precaution, in case they got sick in the future?”
But even as I said it, it didn’t feel right. Who could possibly be that paranoid that they’d risk doing such dark magic, just on the off chance they got ill in a few months?
The questions were still whirring through my mind as we got some food. The room was virtually deserted, but I spotted someone sitting over in a corner. I stopped and pointed.
“That’s Healer Alice.”
I headed over to her table before my friends could object, and greeted the healer.
“Do you mind if we join you?”
“Not at all.”
I pulled out a chair and sat down, and Cassandra and Rose sat across from me.
“How are all the students?” I asked. “Did the potion cure them all?”
The healer beamed. “Yes. Everyone is back to normal. Thanks to you.”
I blushed, and Cassandra spared me from answering.
“Has the dean spoken to you yet?” she asked.
“Not yet. Why?”
I frowned. I would have thought they’d be the first people he spoke to. “Strange. Well, we found the source of the draining, and what it was doing. There was a vampiric amulet on the window ledge in the ward. It was siphoning off people’s energy and their power. The students got lucky. We took it to the dean.”
“Lucky?” She gave me a funny look. “You have an odd definition of lucky.”
“Kiera’s right. It could have been much worse.”
“How so?”
“Uh…” I picked up my coffee and took a sip, avoiding the healer’s eye.
“Kiera picked it up because she was being an idiot,” Rose said, sounding a little smug. “It worked really fast. It pulled her power and her strength, and she collapsed within seconds of holding it. She saw her power and life force being pulled out of her. If she hadn’t dropped it, we think it would have killed her. The dean agrees.”
“Wait, she does?” This was the first I’d heard about it.
“So,” the healer frowned, ignoring me, “It was only the fact they didn’t touch the amulet that stopped them being killed?”
I shook my head. “No, I think if the students hadn’t been given the potion, the amulet would have killed them anyway, but it would have been a lot slower.”
“How much slower?”
“My best guess, about three days.”
“Those students were in for two. So, that extra night next to the amulet would have killed them all?”
“Yeah. I just wish that we knew who was behind it,” Rose mumbled. “And we need to keep an eye out, in case they try it again.”
It was a chilling thought. I drained the rest of my coffee, no longer interested in the remains of my food.
“Come on, if we head off we can just about make it to Law.”
Cassandra stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
“You want to go to Law? You must still be sick. Maybe you should get checked out.”
“Ha. Ha. I study. Sometimes. Are you coming?”
“Well, since you’re my only excuse for ditching, I guess I better had.”
She grabbed a slice of toast from her plate and we said our goodbyes to the healer, and hurried through the academy’s hallways.
When I pulled open the door to the lecture room, Tomson was already speaking. He broke off and glared at us.
“Glad you could find the time to join us.”
“Sorry, Tom. Kiera was ill. The dean excused her from lessons, but she really wanted to be here for yours.”
The lecturer looked a little mollified and I made a mental note to put Cassandra in charge of arse kissing. She had a serious talent for it.
“Quickly then, take your seats and we’ll continue.”
We grabbed the nearest empty tables, and the lecturer continued.
“We were discussing the consequences of hexes,” he said, turning back to the rest of the class. “Let’s review. What happens to witches who get caught hexing?”
Devron raised his head. “The same thing as Kiera’s parents.”
The class fell silent. I snapped my head round to stare at him in horror. “What are you talking about? I’m in foster care.”
Devron nodded. “Yes. Everyone knows that.”
The lecturer slapped his hand against the board a couple of times. “The subject of Kiera’s family is not the topic. I asked about the consequences.”
“That is a consequence. She is now in foster care because of it.”
“Direct consequence, Devron.” Tom shot him a warning glare.
What the hell were they talking about?
“That would be to have their powers stripped and fifteen years in prison,” Devron replied, not taking his eyes off me.
Powers stripped and in prison? Bull.
“I don’t believe you. My parents didn’t raise me because they had money troubles.”
I looked at my friends, waiting for them to back me up. I’d told Cassandra about this. She turned away, glancing down at the floor. “Kiera...”
“No. Cassandra, it’s not true. My parents are good people!”
Cassandra said nothing and simply placed a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged her off. I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to know. These people know nothing but rumours and false truths.
“Lies! It’s all lies.” I glared at both Cassandra and Rose. “Traitors! I thought you were my friends.” At least, they were. I wasn’t sure what Devron was.
“They made a mistake,” Rose said. “That doesn’t make them bad people. They just made a few bad calls and got arrested for them.”
“What did they do?” I demanded. “If you all know so much, tell me that. What did they do?”
“I hardly think this is the place…” the lecturer started, but Rose cut across him.
“They gave the authorities night terrors, using the nightmares from children.”
“No, see, you’re wrong. Because they wouldn’t do that.”
Cassandra looked at me with a steady glare. “I’m sorry. It’s the truth. Your parents were dark witches.”
“No. They weren't. And I’m done talking about this.”
I didn’t know if I wanted to cry, scream, or hit Devron for making up such vile lies. In the end, I didn’t do any of them.
“I’m sorry, Tom,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’m not feeling well.”
“I understand. You’re excused.”
I made it halfway down the corridor before I realised Cassandra was dogging my steps. I rounded on her, and she raised her hands.
“I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m still your friend, and I’m worried about you.”
I blew out my breath and nodded. Rose and Cassandra fell in beside me.
“We weren’t meant to mention it,” Rose said. “But if you really want me to, I’ll tell you everything I know. You deserve better than people keeping secrets.”
I thought about it for a moment, then nodded. Whatever the truth was – and that didn’t mean whatever Rose thought was true actually was – I needed to hear it. I needed to know where my parents had really been all those years, and why I could never contact them. Because the more I thought about it, everything Vicky had ever told me felt… wrong. Flawed.
“According to the news, eleven years ago...” she hesitated, and I raised an eyebrow. “They got the night terrors from you. Took your worst nightmares – your night terrors, and then gave them to other people.”
“M... My night terrors?” I stuttered. “But I don’t have night terrors. And why would they do something like that?” My head spun. I groaned, and slumped against a wall. I really wasn’t feeling great. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“No one knows for sure. Only that they did it. You were put in foster care that same day.”
I shook my head. “I barely remember that night.”
All I remembered was them telling me that they’d be back soon. And then passing me a book for saf
e keeping. It was important, they’d said. It was nothing much, but had a few spells inside.
We went the rest of the way to our dorm in silence, me wrapped up in my own thoughts, Cassandra watching me like an eagle the whole time.
“Do you want me to stay with you?” Rose asked, as I opened the door. I shook my head.
“I think I’d rather be alone, if you don’t mind.”
“Okay. I’ll be in the gardens if you change your mind. And I really am sorry you found out the way you did.” Cassandra and Rose exchanged glances and frowned.
They left, closing the door behind them, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I sank back on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, my doubts about my parents battling with my exhaustion from the amulet.
A few minutes later, the door swung open. I sat up, irritated that Rose couldn’t respect my wishes for even an hour… but no-one came in. I hopped off the bed and peered out into the hallway. It was deserted. Whatever. Must have been the wind. In a windowless corridor. I shrugged. Weirder things than that had happened round here recently.
I shut the door and headed back to my bed. A flash of gold caught my eye and I lifted my pillow. Tucked underneath it was a gold chain with an orange pendant. I lifted it up with a smile. Someone must have left it there for me. At least today wasn’t all bad. I undid the clasp and fastened it around my neck, then sat back on my bed. I was still feeling pretty weak from last night. The dean was right - I had been stupid. My head swam and I laid back, frowning up at the ceiling which seemed to shimmer with each breath I took. Maybe I needed to get some more sleep.
My eyes didn’t seem to remember how to close, so I just laid there, staring up, wondering how the hell I was supposed to get some rest if I couldn’t sleep. The door swung open, but I couldn’t turn my head to see who was there. Had my head always been this heavy?
“Hi Kiera,” Devron’s voice said from outside my line of sight. “I’m sorry, I was out of order earlier, I just… Hey, are you okay?”
I could hear his footsteps hurrying over to me, but I couldn’t quite remember how to work my mouth to answer him.
