by Jessica Gunn
As if they’d never been there at all.
The Hunters amongst the group who had access to water-elemental magik summoned water from the air, grabbing the particles necessary to make the liquid and transforming them into water itself. They put out the flames while I rushed to where Krystin, Ben, and Avery knelt beside Dacher.
Burns covered most of his body and clothes. His eyes were closed, his face a mask of pain. The ether-shaper had stopped the first attack—mostly. Except for the ether that leaked out the sides.
How had it all hit Dacher?
“Infirmary—now!” Ben shouted.
“Everyone else who isn’t a code-red injury head to the hall,” Avery added before shooting Ben and Krystin a withering look. “I’m getting tired of this.”
“We all are,” Jeremiah, Dacher’s second-in-command said. “We all are.”
Chapter 2
Despite the despair clawing at my chest, I hurried down several flights of stairs to the basement training rooms. My feet carried me with heavy steps. Several Hunters turned before I passed by, their faces dark and sullen. Word had spread fast; a good quarter of the Fire Circle had been upstairs when those forced-changed Ember witches had come on through. But still, tucked into the back corner where most of the most soundproofing was on the walls stood Kian and his trainees.
Kian had his arms crossed over his chest and a menacing look on his face. His brow furrowed inward, his jaw set hard. Two Ember witch trainees sparred in front of him, each with two fighting sticks in their hands.
“Keep moving,” he said as one of them stopped. “When you freeze, the demons get an in. And if they get into your personal space, it’s over.”
“Chill, man,” Will said. My best friend was seated on the floor, an icepack held to his face. His eyes were on Kian and his severe demeanor, not his training team.
I paused, barely registering the whispers around me as other Hunters stopped what they were doing to glance my way. Good thing I’d gotten used to their whispers by now. Demon-lover. Traitor. Abandoner. Nothing could be worse than the things already said to me days after my old team had been killed.
The two Ember trainees resumed their sparring.
Will rolled his eyes. “I know you’re not this bad normally,” he said to Kian. “They don’t. But I do. Stop being a dick.”
Did they not know what had happened yet? Everyone else down here seemed to.
I glanced back over my shoulder. The other Hunters didn’t bother averting their gazes or stop their whispers.
“Hey,” I called as I approached Kian’s mat. His trainees froze, their eyes widening when they saw me. Their chests heaved with sharp inhales as they wiped sweat from their brows. “You’re supposed to train them, not work them to death.”
Kian’s eyes met mine. The fury in them dwindled to a cool look in a matter seconds. “If I don’t train them hard, they’ll die anyway.”
I pursed my lips and glanced down at Will. “You all okay?”
He gave me an exasperated look. “I don’t know, Ava. Ask your boyfriend.”
“He’s fine. They all are.” Kian turned to his trainees. “Again.”
The two trainees looked at each other for a moment, concern wrinkling their features, but when neither walked away, they both squared off again and swung their weapons.
I closed the distance between Kian and me on quick feet, then laid a hand on his shoulder. “We need to talk.”
Kian inclined his head toward his trainees. “Can it wait?”
“Not really.” I thumbed over my shoulder to the audience we’d no doubt gathered. The same one I was beginning to realize was less there for me and more for whatever kind of a hellish training session had been going on here for the past few hours. “You don’t know?”
Kian’s brow furrowed. His brown eyes caught the light. “What’s going on?”
I looked up at him, my frown deepening. “There was an attack.”
Kian’s eyes widened, flashing with surprise. “What? When?” He glanced upward at the ceiling. “Here?”
Damn soundproofing. It wasn’t totally present throughout the entirety of the basement training rooms, but apparently enough that no one had heard the commotion.
I nodded again and touched his forearm. “Two force-changed Ember witches just walked on in and offered a truce with Jerrick.”
Kian’s lips twisted into a snarl. “A truce?”
I forced my body to relax, hoping it’d get Kian to do the same. There was nothing he could do now that it was over. And until the Command figured out what they wanted to do about Dacher’s injury and Jerrick’s offer, there would be nothing anyone could do without going AWOL.
“Dacher didn’t take it,” I said. “Don’t worry. No one’s ready to negotiate with those demons. But Dacher was hurt in the attack. Badly. He’s up in the Infirmary with both healers right now.”
His hands balled into fists at his sides.
Will moved closer, reaching for me. “What does that mean?”
The Ember witches and Kain’s other two trainees looked terrified. Unease crossed their faces until they were as pale as they’d been when we’d found them in Landshaft.
“It means our Leader is down,” I said, looking away from Will, who’d see right through my words, straight to the fear gripping my heart so tightly, I feared it would burst. “It means the Command is now in charge and that the chaos from the last year has returned. But it also means it’ll be time to fight again soon. So keep training and learning while we await further orders.”
“Orders which will continue tonight, actually.”
We each turned to the new voice, Kian faster than the rest. Avery was walking across the training room from the basement stairs. When he was finally close enough to be heard without nearly shouting, he said, “We’re still going out tonight. So grab something to eat from upstairs and get ready to go.”
Rage crossed Kian’s expression, his eyes narrowing. “We?”
Avery’s neutral gaze landed on Kian without wavering. “You’re staying here. Even before the attack today, you were confined to Headquarters. Sorry, Kian. Dacher’s rules.”
“And who’s in charge right now?” Kian snapped.
I swallowed hard and reached for Kian’s arm. “Don’t.”
Avery’s eyes hardened before he cast them on Kian’s trainees. “The Command is, but they’re upholding Dacher’s orders because he’s not dead. As such, I’ll be taking them out for their first in-the-field training. You’re to stay here, Kian, with Ava, under guard of Headquarters.”
Kian crossed his arms and glowered. “Lot of good that’s done us.”
“But they’re his trainees,” I said. I understood not wanting us to leave right now because of whatever Talon might be planning. But why assign Kian to train people if he wouldn’t be allowed to fully train them?
Avery shrugged, not otherwise budging. “Take it up with the Command. I just follow their orders. As should the both of you.”
Kian slammed his lips shut. A half-dozen emotions crossed his features, from anger to solemn acceptance. “Okay.”
Avery stepped forward and placed a hand on Kian’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of them, Kian.”
“You better.”
Avery nodded, then stepped past Kian to address the group of trainees. “All right. Here are the ground rules.”
As he continued, I looked to Kian. “It’s going to be okay. They’ll be fine with Avery.”
“I know,” Kian said.
“Do you?”
He nodded. “Yes. It’s just frustrating being leashed.”
“Couldn’t agree more. However”—I dug the book from before out of my pocket—“I have something we can look at in the meantime. I don’t know what it is.”
Kian turned to me, then peered down to the book in my hands. “What’s that?”
“That’s the question of the morning. You know, besides why Jerrick would want a truce.” I thumbed over my shoul
der. “Want to go check it out with me while Avery preps your team and takes them out?”
He nodded again. “Yes. Anything to take my mind off the fact that even if they’re out with Avery, if they die or get hurt, it’s my fault for not training them well enough. And my fault for not being able to go with them.”
“Kian…”
He shook his head. “Where to?”
It wouldn’t be his fault. Nine times out of ten, it was no one’s fault. But I more than understood where the thought had come from. I thought it every time Will went to train with him. “Back to the library, if you want? I spent a few hours there this morning when I found something. It’s… weird. I want you to take a look before I show anyone else.”
Kian nodded and reached for my hand. I didn’t think it was to lead me anywhere, but for comfort he wouldn’t otherwise ask for. I slipped my fingers between his and gave his hand a squeeze.
“Let’s go,” he said before turning back to his team. “Good luck tonight, guys! I look forward to the report.”
May they all pass with flying colors.
Chapter 3
I led Kian into the library and shut the door behind us. The room was exactly the same as I’d left it, with some progress made on organization. Dimly lit and musty, it was the most presentable the library had been for a while.
“Where did you find it?” Kian asked as soon as the door shut.
I glanced around, peeking between book stacks to make sure we were alone. “Here. It’s just weird. Look at this.” Withdrawing the book from my pocket, I showed him the front cover, with the gemstone built into the leather. It only glowed a low light now, like an ember almost put out.
Kian’s eyes widened as he glanced down. “Is it magik?”
“Maybe?” I said, then handed him the book. “Look at it. The text starts in some other language and becomes Old English.”
Kian’s eyebrows rose as he opened the book and thumbed through some of the pages. His brow furrowed the longer he looked. “How is that possible?”
“How is any magik possible?”
“Have you shown anyone else?” he asked.
I shook my head and took the book back from him. The pages and binding almost felt hot in my hands. Like they were warmed embers themselves. “No. I found it right before the attack upstairs started and pocketed it to look at again. The gemstone looks like it’s on fire.”
He nodded. “Want to read it?”
I cringed. “What are the chances that the Fire Circle would be holding on to a cursed book?”
“You believe in curses?”
Shrugging, I said, “I have magik, so why not? Nothing much feels off about it, though.”
“Just that it’s hot?”
“Yeah. Felt that too?” I flipped through the pages again. “Here,” I said, then moved us over to a clear spot on the floor. “Want to look at it with me?”
Kian sat on the floor next to me and peered over. “Sure.”
I flipped the book open and began reading. “This page says it belongs to a Reuben Crow. Sound familiar?”
His brow furrowed again. “No. But I’m not well-versed on magik—look at that,” he said, pointing to a line of text near the name. “Practitioner of Ember Ether. An Ember witch?”
“Huh,” I said, continuing to glance over it. “It’s like a journal.”
Most of the pages had illegible dates on them in the top right corners. Some entries were full of text, others with equations and symbol notations I had never seen before. The pages were yellowed, old, but had stood the test of time. Which meant the Fire Circle must have had it in their possession for a great long while.
“Wait, go back,” Kian said, reaching for my hand to stop me. He’d slid closer to me as we looked, leaning in over my shoulder. His warm breath tickled my ears.
I flipped one page back and read a little closer.
“There,” he said, touching a finger to the page. “They’re talking about magik, this Reuben Crow. Corrupting… what?”
My eyes widened as I read the page while Kian spoke. It was a detailed account of how Reuben Crow had found a way to use the corrupted blood Ember witches had, the demonic taint to it, in a way that forced a magik flare and—“Total backfire.” My eyes flicked to Kian. “You know what that means?” They didn’t teach all Hunters about magik, but Kian must have learned this on his own by now.
He nodded vaguely, his eyes still on the page. “It’s when your magik is used too much at once or something triggers a sudden change, right? Why would Ember magik do that?”
“Because it’s demonic in nature,” I said, then the realization came, right along with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. “If this Reuben Crow guy found a way to make this happen at will, it’d mean instant death for any magik-user he used it on. Flares you can survive. Not backfires.”
Kian’s brown eyes grew wide. Finally, he pulled back from the page. “What are the odds Talon knows this?”
“How should I know? As far as I’m aware, this book has been down here for ages.” Of all the things Talon had done to Ember witches, this would seem almost like too much. Yes, they had to create them, but then they’d have to teach these brand-new witches how to use not only their overly volatile magik, but to do so in a way that’d cause magik to backfire in another.
That sinking feeling plummeted straight through my spine to my toes.
“Unless it’s innate,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper.
“What?” Kian asked, ducking his head so our eyes were level. “What do you mean?”
I nodded at the journal. “The ability. If you think about it, it makes sense. Dark, demonic power entering your system is one way to cause your magik to flare and backfire because it disrupts your body’s and your magik’s natural states. If Ember witch blood is already unstable, and if Talon furthered that by forcibly changing those witches then their magik is doubly unstable.”
I gasped as a horrible realization hit me. “Shit.” I shut the book, motioning for Kian to get up from the floor when I did. As soon as we were both standing, he put his hands on my shoulders.
“What, Ava?” he asked, his eyes moving between both of mine.
I swallowed thickly. “That’s how they’re going to do it. It wasn’t just about making super-strong soldiers. Someone there must know about Reuben Crow’s research. All these witches need to do is touch someone with their magik. That’s why we only found a couple dozen witches, Kian. With this, they don’t need an army.”
His face paled. “They’re going for a surgical strike.”
Kian and I were out of the library moments later, our feet pounding along the wooden floors of Headquarters. Walking quickly, we rounded the hallway to the stairs and began to climb to the second floor.
“Everything all right?” Lissandra called out from her desk. As the front desk admin of Fire Circle Headquarters, she saw more or less everything that happened here.
“Yes,” I called out from the halfway landing.
“Think they’re even up there?” Kian asked as we continued climbing.
I nodded. “Someone has to be. The war doesn’t stop because a Leader is down.” Which was probably a good thing, considering how Dacher had been instated in the first place. Dacher’s injury was life-threatening, yes, but Jaffrin, Dacher’s predecessor, had almost cost the entire world so much more.
We crested the top of the stairs to the second floor and continued down the hallway toward Dacher’s office. With him out of commission, Jeremiah should have been there taking command.
I stopped short as the office came into view at the end of the hall. The door was open, and a handful of people stood inside. Jeremiah and the leader candidates. And Krystin, too. She stood in the doorway, her arms crossed and a dark look in her eyes.
“Not good,” I whispered.
“No. But they should know about the book,” Kian said.
“Yeah.”
So we marched on.
But b
efore we got too close, Krystin turned to us. “This isn’t a good time.” Her tone was low, not unfriendly, but firm.
I nodded. “I know, but I found something downstairs in the library while I was organizing. It’s something you all need to see.”
Krystin shook her head. “I said, not now. Normally… This just isn’t a good time. We’re trying to come up with a way to do this without going against Dacher’s anti-truce sentiment and our instincts.”
I held up the book. “This will change things. Creating a truce with them could cause more damage than good.”
Krystin’s gaze slid to the journal, focusing on the gemstone in the middle of the cover. “What’s that?”
“An Ember witch’s journal. It’s old,” Kian said. “And he found a way to further corrupt Ember ether into something incredibly dangerous.”
“Everything okay?” Ben asked from inside the office. He had leaned back and was now looking at the three of us with a raised eyebrow.
Krystin plucked the journal from my hands before I could respond to Ben.
“Hey!” I said.
She gave me a look that said all it needed to, and then she began flipping through it. As with Kian and me, the more time Krystin spent with the book, the more interested her eyes grew. “This is…”
“A lot,” I said. “I know. Reuben Crow found a way to make his magik cause the magik of others to backfire. It’s in an entry near the middle. That’s probably what Talon is planning if they’ve discovered this too.”
“Come,” Krystin said, waving us in with her free hand without looking up from the book. As soon as we were inside, she shut the door behind us. Finally, she lifted her gaze to Jeremiah. “This is bad.”
“Bad?” Ben asked.
Avery’s brow lifted, but he didn’t move from his spot beside Cassie on the far end of the room.
Krystin nodded. “Apparently, Ember magik can be used to cause magik flares and misfires in magik-users.”
Jeremiah’s face fell as he crossed his arms. “And the chances that Talon knows this is possible?”
“High,” Krystin said as she shut the book. “We have to assume so, at least. They already declared their intentions to court war with the Neuians and the Hunter Circles. Anything we learn, we have to assume they also know.”
