Marked by Pain

by Cece Rose

  “Deadly serious,” Mr Tower answers, his pale, almost translucent face seems flushed with either embarrassment or anger. I suppose nobody wants to hear their niece boasting about hooking up with a guy, especially in the class they are trying to teach. Stella sits down, but pulls out her phone, clearly intending to ignore the rest of her uncle's class. He chooses to ignore the fact she's pulled out her phone, and walks to the door, slamming it shut and cutting East from my line of sight. Asshole.

  “Now where were we class?” he asks again in a tired voice. The whole class stares blankly at him, clearly everyone had gotten lost in the drama. Fantastic. They're all still turning to stare at me, and my face just keeps growing hotter. I feel one of my marks on my wrist burning. Which one is that...?

  Suddenly, flames erupt all over my desk. I lean back, falling back on my chair and knocking my head on the ground. Fuck. After hearing so many teachers tell the exact same story of a student leaning back in their chair, then falling and knocking their heads, I was so sure that it was bullshit. A freaking wide-spread teacher conspiracy. Now here I am, clutching my damn head, the very moron those stories are told about.

  “What the bloody hell are you doing?” Mr Tower shouts. Falling? I look up at the spreading flames. Oh right, I accidentally set fire to my desk. Shit. A jet of water covers the desk, splashing and drenching me in the ice-cold liquid. I look down and notice my white top is completely see-through. Just when I thought It couldn't get any worse. I pull myself into a standing position, and a bright flash goes off right in my face. I blink my eyes clear and stare at Stella, she turns her phone around so I can see the screen.

  Flushed cheeks, strands of my hair have come loose from my ponytail and are sticking up all over the place, and my soaked, now see-through shirt does nothing to hide my pink bra as it sticks to my skin. Fantastic. She turns the phone back around to herself. “And send,” she says gleefully.

  “Send to who?” I ask, wishing I had a jacket to pull on. I'm really giving the whole class a freaking free show right now. I shiver from the chill the water has left me with. Yeah, I really wish I'd grabbed a jacket.

  “Everyone,” she answers, shrugging. Her phone vibrates, and I expect more gloating from her, but her face turns stricken. “I have to go,” she blurts, and then she rushes from the room without another word.

  “Stella!” Mr Tower calls after his niece, he follows her out of the room. I trail after them, needing to at least go back to the cabin and change, or I could go and get a new identity to escape the embarrassment of today. I hear a couple sniggers from my classmates as I walk through the room. Oh yeah, new identity sounds so good right now.

  “Kenz, what are you...?” East asks, trailing off as he looks down at my shirt. “Nice bra,” he comments, and I roll my eyes.

  “Yeah, you would think so. You're the one who helped me pick out which one to wear after breaking my other one when you ripped it off me earlier,” I tease. I hear a shocked gasp, and turn. Shit the classroom door is still open. I look down pleadingly at the floor. Anytime you want to open up a hole and suck me down away from this mess, that would be freaking great. East walks around me and shuts the classroom door. I turn my head left, spotting Mr Tower following Stella around the corner.

  “Can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?” East asks, as he tugs me towards him.

  “You can, but please don't,” I reply, sighing as I rest my head against his hard chest.

  “I won't. Don't listen to anything she said, Kenz. She's a liar,” he says, grabbing my hand and rubbing soothing circles over the palm.

  “I'm not, that girl is freaking psychotic,” I mutter.

  “Good, come on, let's get back to the cabin and get you into some dry clothes, or no clothes? I'm sure there are better ways to keep you warm,” he whispers huskily in my ear. A smile curves across my lips.

  “I love your way of thinking, East,” I reply, pulling back and already tugging him down the corridor after me.

  “And I love you,” he says, pulling me to a stop so he can kiss me. I kiss him back, feeling his soft, but firm lips on mine. I completely melt into him. East is perfect. He's always been perfect.

  “I love you too, Easton Black.”

  Chapter 27

  Enzo

  I open my eyes to see the academy on fire, pieces of stone, rocks, broken doors, and everything you could think off flying around the big blue portal in the middle of where the academy used to be. The portal is just off the cliff, and there are students fighting with rebels spread around, just as many of them alive as there is dead on the floor. I watch myself stand up, shaking off the dust and gravel from all over my clothes.

  “Crowe!” I scream, running straight towards the portal, and I watch as I push the rocks away with my air mark, before jumping off the cliff.

  “Everyone knows the plan? We stick together, no one acts like a fucking hero, or tries any stupid shit,” Mr Daniels tells us as the van speeds around a corner. I hold onto my seat so I don’t fall off as the vision slips away from me. What the hell was that? And why would I jump off a cliff? Logan and Locke are sitting next to me, and Mr Daniels is sitting with two other marked opposite from us in the small van. Kenzie’s dads and the other council members are driving to the other side of the warehouse, so we are attacking from both sides. Everything has been planned, and nothing could go wrong.

  “We know the plan,” Locke says firmly, his hands clenched together, but his tone doesn’t sound like he’s convinced.

  “Good. Nothing can go wrong,” Mr Daniels replies, frustration written all over his face. We don’t get to talk anymore as the van pulls to a stop, and we all stand up. Mr Daniels opens the van door, jumping out, and we all follow closely behind him. We walk down the quiet road, full of parked up lorries and cars, only the sounds of water in the distance to hear. The road comes out to the docks, and straight across the large river is the warehouse that we know they are in. It looks empty, but we know better. We quietly watch as three marked rebels walk past the doors dressed in all black and making them difficult—but not impossible—to see.

  “Everyone remember to use your air mark to propel you through the water, we don’t need any of our own drowning,” Mr Daniels says, and points a look towards the twins who shrug. We all walk to the edge of the river, and I call my air mark, imagining it covering my whole body before diving into the water. I smooth my hands at my sides, pushing my air mark into them and it shoots me across the dark water. I roll onto my back in the water, keeping my eyes open, and watching out for the edge of the dock above the water as I struggle to hold my breath. What feels like a few minutes passes before the dock comes into view above me, and I turn my air mark off. I swim up to the top and take a deep breath, trying to keep quiet.

  A few minutes later, Mr Daniels appears next to me, breathing heavily, and then not long after Locke and Logan pop their heads above the water too. No one says a word as we float under the dock, the wood creaking above us as the rebel guards walk past. Mr Daniels moves first, swimming to the edge of the dock, and pulling himself out. I swim after him, pulling myself out just as a wave of water hits me, sending me flying back into the water. I use my water mark to control the water, and my air mark to push me back out, sending me flying into the air. I fly straight back to the dock, where the council and the rebels are already fighting, some with powers and others with old-looking swords. I fly straight towards Locke and Logan, who are using fire and protection to block the water attacks three rebels are throwing at them. I pull a wave of water with me, slamming it into the sides of the rebels and they crash into the floor as I land next to them. I hold my hands over the water, pushing it down onto all three of them as they struggle to get free. Lucky that they aren’t stronger than I am.

  “Freeze them Logan!” I shout as the twins get to me, knowing I will need help to hold all three of them in ice. Logan puts his hand over mine, freezing the water at the same time as I do. We both pull away just as there’s a big roar
, and we turn to see Locke has shifted into his giant polar bear, and has a rogue guard in his mouth, swinging him around before throwing him into the water screaming.

  “Damn I forget how big he gets,” I comment, as the polar bear with glowing blue eyes is five times the size of a normal one, and could swallow a human whole.

  “Kenzie said my brother is big, but I think—”

  “I didn’t mean that,” I cut him off as I shake my head, and he grins.

  “I know, I thought a bit of humour might help the situation,” he says as we watch Locke swipe his massive paw, and throw three rebel guards into the water.

  “How the hell do you shift into a panther and your twin into a god damn gigantic polar bear?” I ask, but he doesn’t get to answer me as I spot Mr Daniels in the crowd.

  “This way,” I grab Logan’s shoulder, pointing at Mr Daniels near the entrance. We run over, hearing Locke following us, his giant paws smacking across the ground. I pick up a rebel with red hair with my air mark, slamming her into the wall and then stop when I see what Mr Daniels has done. He has opened a massive hole in the dock, and made a whirlpool in the hole that he is throwing the rebels in to. I watch in admiration as he combines his air and fire mark into a flamethrower in the shape of a dragon’s head, and rounds the rest of the rebels into a circle, before pushing them into the hole right behind them.

  “Inside,” Mr Daniels says when he is done, and pauses a bit at the sight of the giant polar bear by my side, despite the fact he knows it’s Locke.

  “Locke, stay out here and don’t let anyone in, it’s too small for you in there,” he tells him, and Locke lowers his head before turning around. We run in, and just stop, staring at the empty warehouse. There are some boxes in the corner and one small chair in the middle of the room. I run over with the others, and I’m the only one that can read out loud what the note on the chair says.

  “You lose,” I whisper, shaking my head because I can’t believe we have been tricked. Kenzie only has East with her. We need to get to her, protect her. They can’t have her.

  “Fuck no,” Logan says, stepping back.

  “Where are they?” Kenzie’s dads say behind us, snapping us all out of it as we see them running to us.

  “They must be with Kenzie at the academy, this is a distraction,” Mr Daniels growls, sending the chair flying across the room with his air mark. The floor shakes with a loud bang, and I look over at Mr Daniels in horror as the ceiling collapses and the floor falls through, sending us all crashing into the cold water before any of us can call our marks.

  Chapter 28

  Mackenzie

  “I always knew you liked Easton Black,” my mum chuckles as she eats her bacon sandwich. She pointedly looks over at East as he’s walking out, going back to the cabin to get my phone for me. I left it behind this morning after actually putting it on charge for once. I want it close in case any of the guys or one of my dads call to say they have Ryan and Kelly.

  I can’t stop thinking about how Kelly could still be hurt, or wondering where the hell Ryan is, as I can’t believe he would let anyone hurt Kelly. I might have been mad about them being together at the start, but only because they kept it from me. I know they love each other more than anything. Either one of them would be destroyed if the other was hurt, so it doesn’t make a bit of sense that Ryan would let it happen.

  “Really?” I ask, forcing a smile, and she laughs. She looks happy, despite the fact her eyes show me the world of worry she’s trying to hide from me. My mum usually looks so in control, so carefree, but hasn’t recently, not that I can blame her. I can’t say anything about my mum’s messy hair and crinkled clothes, when I know I haven’t looked in a mirror for too long.

  “You used to look at him like he was everything, way before he realised what was in front of him. I watched for years, and I knew when you started here, that he would finally notice you,” she says, making me realise how smart my mum really is.

  “I didn't look at him like that..." I trail off when she bursts into laughter and puts her hand on mine. I try not to blush, but knowing your mum knew about your childhood crush the whole time is a little embarrassing.

  "Kennie, I just knew when your brother told us about you two getting together, that it was meant to be. Whatever happens, I know he will look after you. Much like that teacher, the twins, and even the one with the dark eyes, whose name I keep forgetting," she says.

  "Enzo," I fill in the name for her and she nods, looking away from me, over the empty cafeteria to the windows. It’s pouring down rain outside, the dark clouds making it look worse out there than I thought it was. You can hear the lightning shooting across the sky every now and then, and I suddenly feel a little guilty for letting East go get my phone in this weather. He only went to make sure I wouldn’t go through the woods alone. I pick up my coke can, sipping from it as my mum continues talking.

  "Enzo has the bad boy look going on, I half expected to see him driving a motorcycle through the academy, like Mike did when we were here," she says, making me nearly choke on my coke as I put it down next to my empty plate.

  "Dad M did what?" I ask with wide eyes. I never heard about that story growing up.

  "Mike was quite the bad boy back in those days, even worse than Alaric," she says, going quiet as she trails off with a sad look floating over her face. I can’t imagine what she is feeling, when the hate disappears, and the realisation she doesn’t have to mourn Alaric anymore. He betrayed her in the worst way, and if one my guys did that to me, I don’t know if I could be as strong as she is now. I don’t think I’ve ever looked up to my mum as much as I do right now. She is the strongest woman I know.

  "How was he supposedly killed? You never told me and I didn’t want to hurt you by asking," I ask gently, "But things are different now, and part of me wants to know when it all went wrong.”

  "Because he’s your biological father?" she asks sadly, admitting what I don’t want to hear, but I need to.

  "It's clear he is, we look too much alike," I comment and she nods, holding my hand tighter, before letting go and looking down at the table.

  "It was an accident; a student went out of control and I was told Alaric tried to stop him. Did I tell you that Alaric was a teacher here at the academy?" she says.

  "No, I didn’t know that," I say.

  "He travelled back to see us every weekend because I was pregnant with you, and didn’t want to give birth at the academy. I wasn't here when a very powerful teenager with eleven marks lost control near the cliffs and caused a hurricane. It killed the boy and Alaric," she sighs. "At least that’s what I thought happened,".

  "It's more likely he took the powerful teenager to the rebels," I say, knowing that’s exactly something he would do. If he was a teacher here, then he knows all the secret artefacts, and what he needs to steal to act out his plan to use my twelfth mark.

  "He wasn’t always so—I don’t know—crazy," she admits, looking up at me, “But he always had a dark side, a manipulative side. Don’t ever trust him, he gave up his entire family, and the woman he loved for the rebels. That man will do anything for them,” she warns me as the door opens and East walks in, sliding the phone with the cracked screen over to me as he sits down.

  "It’s got to be months since you charged that poor thing," he says, shaking his head as I turn it on. There's lots of messages and missed calls, the screen saver picture of me and Kelly, makes me want to walk out of here and demand for someone to tell me where they think she is. We are both smiling in my bedroom before we left for the academy. The start of our new lives, and yet this new life couldn’t be more fucked up.

  "Any news from the guys?" I ask East hopefully, who shakes his head.

  "Nope, I’ve messaged Locke, and Enzo, but nothing. Don’t worry, they will call us soon and everything will be okay," he says, placing a hand on my knee under the table. A new message pops up on my phone from an unknown number. I unlock it, freezing at the words on the screen.


  "Run, they’re coming for you!”

  That’s all it says, no name or any idea who it’s from. But one thing I’ve learnt is to never ignore someone when they tell you to run, you just run.

  "We need to leave," I say, standing up quickly and turning as I hear the door open once more. I don’t move as my father walks into the room, a long cloak sliding across the floor behind him, with silver marks engraved all over it. He stops, smiling widely, and looking at me like he has just won something. The smile soon disappears as my mother walks around the table, standing next to me as East gets out his chair, moving to my side.

  "Alaric,” is all she says in an angry tone as they stare at each other, and he shakes his head as five rebel marked walk into the room, one carrying a destroyed looking Kelly. Her hair is matted, covered in blood, and she has cuts all over her face. Her clothes are torn, and there’s blood all over her. Is she even alive?

  "You bastard," I shout, trying to step forward but East stops me. Kelly lifts her head, mouthing my name before her head drops again. Her hair covering her face once more, and I have to hold in the tears that want to fall. I won’t cry in front of my father, that’s not happening.

  "She isn’t dead, you can thank me for that later, daughter," my father says, giving me a look that suggests I should say thank you.

  "Thank you? I can show you where you can shove that thank you," I spit out and he shakes his head, looking back at my mum.

  "Did you not teach our children any manners? Ryan is just as disappointing," he says, and the way he speaks makes me think Ryan is okay, but maybe he wouldn’t work for Alaric anymore.

  "I think I taught them just the right words, and to know pure bullshit when they hear it," she says, and his face goes red, “Now where the hell is my son, you piece of shit?” she asks, fury dripping from her every word as she stands strong.