by Jessica Gunn
Rachel reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. “We’re your friends; of course we’re going to worry about you.”
Krystin’s mouth thinned, but she took Rachel’s hand and squeezed it. “I know.”
Dr. Shan checked Krystin over for the next couple of minutes but didn’t appear to find anything amiss. “She’s dehydrated and fatigued but otherwise fine.” And those two things could be fixed.
Jaffrin nodded, arms still crossed at his chest. “Good. Thank you.”
“You should go back downstairs and make sure they’re not going to take me back,” Krystin said, eyeing the door to the main infirmary area.
“I will. This situation is… precarious.”
I looked up at him. “Well, you did sort of order us to break into your boss’s prison and extract one of their prisoners.”
“If only that was the start of it,” Jaffrin replied under his breath. He reached for the glowing green crystal and held it out to me. I took it. “As long as the crystal is glowing, this room is protected. Stay in here if you wish, but do not leave Headquarters.” He looked to Krystin. “I am genuinely sorry for all that’s happened. Your wrongful imprisonment and the time it took us to get you out.”
“Yep,” was all Krystin said in return.
I nodded at Jaffrin and he left with Dr. Shan. Then it was just the five of us.
Rachel squeezed Krystin’s hand again. “Tell us the truth. Are you really okay?”
Krystin’s gaze snapped to mine. “No one outside of this room can be trusted.”
My stomach tightened. I had a feeling she’d say that. “What do you mean? And what happened inside that prison?”
“The Ether Head Circle—they weren’t holding me for trial.” Her words tumbled out quickly, like there was more behind them, but she couldn’t slow herself down long enough to get it all out. “They were unwilling to let me go, innocent or not, because they want to weaponize the Alzanian power.”
Shawn’s brow furrowed. “How can they do that if we haven’t unlocked that magik yet? If we ever will.”
Krystin shook her head. “Not sure. I think they planned to wait until the final conflict was approaching, let me out of jail to stop it, and then, assuming we’d unlocked the power by then, use me as a puppet to take out whatever remained of Darkness. At least, that’s what I think was going to happen. Might still happen if Jaffrin doesn’t put on a good front.”
I blinked slowly. “No. The Ether Head Circle wouldn’t do that.”
She looked at me, deadpan. “Yes, they would. They’re all egotistical manipulators who play by a different set of rules. They can do this and they’re going to.”
“They’re emissaries for Good,” I said. “Sure, they’re assholes. And they definitely let that fight with Kinder go on for way too long before interfering. But their job is to protect the Powers and the humans of the world. That’s what they were doing, even when they took you away.”
Krystin shook her head, a small, sad smile forming on her lips. “We both know this war isn’t black and white, Ben. Nothing is.”
Rachel’s gaze met mine and she frowned. “Did something happen?”
Krystin shifted in her seat. “Giyano.”
So help me… “What do you mean?”
Her eyes rose to mine. “He took me from Ether Circle Prison after Shawn got me out of those handcuffs. I didn’t know it because I blacked out after the third explosion, but I woke up in his house.”
“That demon has a house?” Nate asked.
“He’s not an animal. Not like the other demons.”
“So he’s a civilized piece of crap instead of a murderous animal,” I said. “Makes no difference to me.” That he’d taken her, that he’d used the moment created by our distraction to pull her away from us again… Giyano was a dead man the next time I saw him.
“He saved my ass,” Krystin snapped. “Multiple times. He’s different from the rest, and he has a plan.”
“While also tainting your magik,” Shawn pointed out.
“Again, to save me from Cianza Boston. Not to mention Kinder.”
“She’s not wrong,” Nate said. “If you’d had just your normal ether magik in you and nothing else, I don’t know that you would have survived whatever Kinder did to you.”
Krystin shrugged. “I would have died. According to Giyano at least, and I believe him.”
My jaw locked and it took everything within me not to lose my shit. “This is Giyano we’re talking about here. Did you forget that?”
Her eyes narrowed. “No, Ben. I didn’t forget he murdered my father. Nate’s parents. Or kidnapped Riley. You make it hard to forget. And believe me, I’m just as tired of hearing that list as you are. He’s a piece of shit person who’s done a lot of horrible things. But not this time.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“He saved me from Ether Circle Prison because he wanted to tell me the Hunter Circles want to use my magik as a weapon. Shawn’s magik, too. I always thought something was off about the Hunter Circles, and now I know why.” Krystin held up her hand. “And before you start attacking him again, please remember that Giyano isn’t a demon by choice.”
Not many of them were, actually.
“Still a demon,” Nate muttered under his breath.
“Yeah, and Shawn’s magik is half-demonic too. I don’t see you giving him shit.”
Shawn inhaled sharply. “Let’s stay on topic here.”
“He also told me something else.” Krystin’s gaze focused on the crystal Jaffrin had left behind. “I don’t know where Jaffrin got that magik or how he knows how to use it, but I don’t trust it. Or him. Or Chairman Otto.”
“It’s totally safe,” Rachel said. “It’s the same magik he used to soundproof the grand hall when he told us about the mission to rescue you.”
Krystin shook her head slowly but seemed to come to some conclusion about whatever she was wrestling with, because she looked back up to me and said, “Before Giyano was turned into a demon, he said he and his father were archaeologists of sorts. They supposedly uncovered a major secret about the world. I don’t really know all the details because he insists we’re not ready for them yet. That I’m not ready for them. But Giyano said it puts the war between Darkness and the Hunter Circles in a whole new perspective. And that that’s the reason the Ether Head Circle wants to weaponize the Alzan magik—especially since it theoretically might balance out cianzas.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and forced my mouth to stay shut for longer than normal. A world-shattering secret? It seemed like another way for Giyano to bait Krystin. And whatever else he might say, the Hunter Circles were good. They were doing good. We didn’t kill every demon we found, just the ones threatening human populations. And by extinguishing their dark magik, we were able to keep cianzas from exploding.
Why then, all of a sudden, did I not know who—or what—to trust? I wasn’t the best of soldiers. I disagreed with Jaffrin a lot. But he wasn’t an evil man. Even Chairman Otto had redeeming qualities, if not the soundest of judgments.
“I don’t know, Krystin,” I said finally when no one else had spoken.
“Neither do I. But I do know that if the Ether Head Circle, maybe even Jaffrin himself, is jerking me around, they’ve also done it to all of you. Especially you and Shawn. Hence why everyone outside this room is no longer trustworthy. To me at least.”
But there was something in her voice, an underlying sense of dread, that told me she might not trust us, either.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” I said. “Can we focus on that for today?”
Her lips thinned and she looked down. “Sure. For today.”
“One more thing before we leave this room,” Nate said, a hint of concern in his voice. Everyone looked at him. He settled his gaze on Krystin. “Your magik. It’s different. Did you know that?”
Krystin’s jaw hardened. “Didn’t take you long to figure that one out.”
He pointed to her. “I
’m the only one who can tell unless you show them. I can’t sense any ether inside of you anymore.”
She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. “Yes, my magik has changed. I don’t really know how, but I do know why.”
“What do you mean ‘changed’?” I asked.
Krystin lifted her hand, cupped it, and opened it the tiniest bit. A spark of flame erupted in her palm, flickering in the air wafting from the vent above.
Everyone gasped. Rachel even took a step back.
What the hell?
“Fire-elemental. And air, too. My telekinesis changed forms, so it’s not really telekinesis anymore, I guess. But the fire…”
“Giyano’s magik,” I said. “You have his magik now?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Kinder shoved a ton of different magik into me. I think when the ether-shapers were working on me they somehow pushed out my ether magik with the others. Somehow this fire-elemental got left behind.”
“Because that makes sense,” I said, sarcasm thick.
Nate shifted his weight, glancing from Krystin to Shawn with worried eyes. “Will that… affect the prophecy?”
Krystin and Shawn’s gazes met. She frowned. “I hope not.”
Chapter 6
KRYSTIN
I hadn’t even thought about the prophecy being affected. But Giyano hadn’t seemed worried about it and he was totally obsessed with saving Alzan. This gave me hope, so long as I gained control of this magik somehow. How I’d managed not to burn Jaffrin back there, I’ll never know. I’ve wanted to watch the man burn for years.
A knock sounded on the door, startling us all.
“It’s me,” said Jaffrin. “May we come in?”
“Jeez,” I said, hand to my chest. “Not like there’s room in here, but sure.”
Jaffrin opened the door to the examination room slowly, revealing two others behind him. Twins, one male and one female, about my age with ebony hair, dark eyes, and narrow faces. Their gazes appeared uninterested in everything happening around them.
Jaffrin gestured to the twins. “This is Alexander and Iris Rowe, Hunters from the Ether Head Circle. Chairman Otto and his peers find Krystin’s freedom concerning, despite our reassurances that they’ve misunderstood the situation. As such, she’ll be allowed to stay within the Fire Circle so long as she’s supervised by members of Ether.” He nodded to the twins. “These are your supervisors, Krystin. They’ll move into the team’s house and remain with you until the Ether Head Circle sees fit to call them back.”
“Sees ‘fit’?” I echoed. If they thought I was innocent enough to walk, why bother sending me home with babysitters? This whole situation’s fucked.
Ben’s brow furrowed. “The team’s house is barely big enough for the five of us. I don’t know how seven is going to work, Jaffrin.”
“It’s this arrangement or Krystin returns to Ether Circle Prison. The choice is yours.”
I peered over at Alexander and Iris. They looked so unassuming, I had to believe that that was the farthest thing from the truth. The Ether Head Circle wouldn’t send rookies to babysit me if they really did think I was a threat. How powerful were these twins, and under what parameters were they allowed to attack me?
The twins caught me studying them and narrowed their eyes. Iris said, “We will stay as out of the way as possible, provided Ms. Blackwood doesn’t exhibit disagreeable behavior.”
Disagreeable behavior. What the hell were these people? Robots?
“I’ll be fine.” At least for now. I couldn’t act against the Ether Head Circle without solid proof. And unfortunately for me, Giyano’s words were the farthest thing from solid.
But if Jaffrin knew where I’d been, that Giyano had taken me from Ether Circle Prison and kept me for hours, that he’d convinced me the Hunter Circles couldn’t be trusted—and they couldn’t—he’d probably lock me back up himself.
“Good,” Jaffrin said. “They will return with you to the house now. Please check in with me tomorrow, Ben”
Ben nodded once, curtly. “Yes, sir.”
Ben used teleportante to bring the seven of us back to the house. Rachel and Nate immediately ran interference, bringing the twins to the closet upstairs to get any extra bedding they could find. Luckily, the couch in the living room was a pull-out or two of us would have been bunking together.
I glanced at Ben. Maybe that wouldn’t have been so bad, as long as he didn’t hate me anymore. With all that had happened, I almost wanted Ben next to me to watch my back. At least while I slept.
While they were upstairs, I retreated into the kitchen on my own. I withdrew a bottle of whiskey I’d hidden in the back of the small pantry months ago and took three large pulls from the bottle.
“Whoa,” Ben said, following me into the kitchen. “Easy, Krystin.”
I spun on him and pointed a finger to the ceiling. “Even Jaffrin doesn’t really believe I’m innocent. And those two automatons are now going to be watching my every damn move. Don’t tell me to take it ‘easy.’”
He released a breath and rolled his eyes. “Fine, but at least share the damn alcohol.”
“We all need it,” Shawn said as he joined us.
I pulled out two shot glasses and offered some of my whiskey to the guys. A few shots later when we were finished, I leaned back against the countertop. “This is fucked.”
Ben nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.”
“Please, tell me how it was supposed to go.”
Shawn frowned. “You did almost die that night, Krystin. The ether-shapers were able to heal you, but—”
“My magik flared in prison,” I said. “Almost every day for I don’t know how long. It was bad. And I still can’t really control this fire-elemental magik. It’s like starting all over again.”
“Luckily, I have elemental magik, too,” Ben said, his eyes wide and genuine. I’d missed those blue eyes. So strong and reassuring… when they weren’t burning you to the ground in judgment. “I can help.”
I smirked. “Ironic, no?”
He shrugged.
“Is Giyano going to come back?” Shawn asked.
“I don’t know. It didn’t sound like it and unless he’s going to actually give me the information he keeps dangling in front of my face, I don’t know that I want him to.” I looked down at the bottle of whiskey still in my hands. “He did save me, though. That’s got to count.”
“I don’t know about that,” Ben said under his breath.
I looked over at him. “He admitted to killing my father.” Ben rose his gaze to mine. “He flat out told me that it was for the same reasons that he tainted my magik with his.”
“The cianza?” Shawn asked. “What did killing your father have to do with Cianza Boston?”
I took another pull of whiskey from the bottle. “My parents lived downtown when I was born, back before they knew about my Alzan magik. Blackwood witches don’t have magik at birth. I mean, we do, but it’s not active. It’s basically null where the cianza is concerned.”
“But not Alzanian magik,” Shawn said. It was the same reason his parents had bound his magik, too. A binding he’d been forced to undo when Kinder had attacked us at the bowling alley.
I’d been so pissed at him that night for lying to us. Now… I didn’t know who to trust. “No one knew what I was back then, except Giyano. He killed my father so my mother and the Fire Circle would know about me being the Daughter, thereby forcing them off the cianza.”
Ben’s face twisted with confusion. Or his third shot of whiskey. I wasn’t sure. “Why not just tell your parents the truth?”
“Giyano? Really, Ben?” I shook my head. “Maybe he’s changed in twenty-some-odd years, but I doubt my mother would have believed Giyano, anyway. She would have tried to kill him and, when she failed, he would have probably killed her. My father didn’t have magik. He was an easy target.”
Ben swallowed hard. “I feel like we all are w
hen it comes down to it.”
“I’ll drink to that,” I said, but before I raised the bottle to pour another round, Nate poked his head into the kitchen doorway.
“The twins are downstairs again. They want to talk to Ben about keeping tabs on Krystin.” He looked at the whiskey bottle, now close to being half-empty, and his eyes lit up. “Are we sharing?”
I held up the bottle and a shot glass. “Sure thing. Someone owes me a new bottle after this, though.”
Ben frowned but ultimately followed Nate back out into the living room, leaving Shawn and me behind. Shawn looked to me with an expression that said he’d caught me red-handed.
“Oh, stop,” I said. “So you knew about the dark magik in me before it all went down. Good for you. It saved my ass, so you don’t get to look at me like that.”
“Is your magik still dark?” Shawn asked.
I sighed. “I can’t really feel it like I did before, but that could mean anything.” And since my magik was elemental now, Nate wouldn’t be able to tell either. “We have bigger things to worry about.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Like the Hunter Circles using our powers as a weapon?”
“Yeah, that.”
“You don’t really believe Giyano, do you?”
“Well, I can’t think of what the Hunter Circles would want our powers for, besides eradicating Darkness from Alzan during the final conflict, but that could be my lack of imagination.”
Shawn leaned against the counter behind him. “Unless they want all of Darkness gone. Maybe they want to march right into wherever Aloysius is holed up and kill them all.”
“That’ll do the balance real good.”
“That’s the Hunter Circles’ overall mission, isn’t it? I know I’m new to this whole thing, but—”
“No, you’re right,” I said. “But I think there’s a bigger reason we haven’t won the war over the thousands of years it’s been waging. The balance won’t allow it. If evil is gone, if there aren’t any more demons walking the earth, then the balance is in Good’s favor. Bye-bye, cianzas. Bye-bye, Planet Earth as they all erupt.”
