By the Morning Light_Smoke and Mirrors

by Melissa Giorgio

  I bit my tongue so hard the copper taste of blood filled my mouth. How dare he! But as much as I wanted to push past my brother and attack Michel, I remained where I was. I was lucky Michel hadn’t kicked me out of the room after calling him an idiot. If I spoke out against him again, I wouldn’t be so lucky.

  I needed to stay. Everything was spinning out of control, but I clung to that belief, repeating it over and over in my head like a prayer.

  I need to stay.

  I need to stay.

  I have to stay.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Michel dragged a chair to the center of the room and all but threw Aeonia into it. After Nicolas and Paul bound her wrists and ankles with rope, Michel stood in front her, standing tall with his shoulders thrown back. “Aeonia, you are accused of being a witch. What do you have to say to that?”

  Slumped over in the chair, she didn’t even bother to raise her head as she stared at the ground, her face blank. What’s wrong with her? I thought. Where was the fire that burned within her? Why wasn’t she saying anything? Doing anything?

  My stomach flipped nervously. Did she think it was pointless to defend herself? Did she truly believe Michel would kill her tonight and there was nothing she could do about it?

  “All right, no answer.” Michel nodded. “She’s guilty.” His hands went to the sword hanging at his side.

  “Wait.” Everyone looked at Emile. He swallowed hard as sweat shone on his forehead. “Don’t Claudette and I get to speak?”

  Michel’s grip on his sword tightened. “If you want to provide more information regarding Aeonia’s guilt, then by all means, go ahead.” A vein began throbbing on the side of his face. “But if you want to stand there and defend her again… Do not test my patience, Emile.”

  My brother paled, but he refused to back down. “I thought this was going to be a trial. I thought we were going to do this the right way!”

  “You can’t kill her,” I said, my voice shaking. A couple of the other boys snickered at my weakness and I glared at them. “You can’t. Even the Knights didn’t do that, Michel. They exiled them.”

  “Exactly.” Michel smirked and I wondered if I’d said something wrong. “They exiled citizens of Ayres, which Aeonia is not. Therefore, there’s nothing stopping me from killing her. I’m glad we’re in agreement.”

  My eyes grew wide. “That’s not what I meant—”

  “Claudette.” He let go of his sword to approach me, seizing me by the arms once more. Emile jerked forward, but Paul put a hand on his shoulder, holding him in place. “Look at what she did to you,” Michel said, running a finger up and down one of my arms. I tried to pull away, but his grip only tightened. “And you said she didn’t even mean to. Imagine what she’d be capable of if she did mean it.” His hands wrapped around my wrist, squeezing. I refused to cry out and instead met his green-eyed gaze with a fierce glare of my own. “We can’t let a person like this back out into the world. She’ll end up destroying it.”

  “She won’t.” My voice, no longer shaking, rang with confidence. What did Michel know? He’d barely spent any time with Aeonia. I was the one who’d been with her day after day, week after week, trading secrets and stories and becoming close friends. I was the one she entrusted her biggest secret to.

  And if I didn’t do anything to stop Michel, I would be the one who failed her the most.

  “You have to let her go,” I continued. “Her family is going to look for her—”

  Michel sneered. “Let them come. I’ll run my sword through all of them and not feel a moment’s pity.”

  “Michel,” Emile admonished.

  “Emile, you’re too kindhearted to be a Knight.” Michel wasn’t facing my brother when he said this, so he didn’t notice the hurt look on Emile’s face. “A Knight must do what is right. It might not always be the easiest path, but if it must be done, then we’re the ones who must do it.” Now he looked at Emile, Michel’s mouth twisting in displeasure. “You will never put your feelings aside to do the right thing.”

  “Why do you say that as if it’s a bad thing?” I demanded. “It’s better that he has a heart. I wouldn’t love my brother if he was a vicious viper like you, Michel.”

  Michel’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “That’s the second time you’ve insulted me tonight, Claudette. Unlike your brother, I have—had high hopes for you, but if you can’t curb your tongue and respect your superiors, then you have no place here.” The other boys in the room stared at him in surprise.

  Weeks ago, his words would have destroyed me, but now I felt nothing. “If this is what it means to be a Knight, then I don’t want to be one.”

  “Enough!” He shoved me away. I collided with the floor, my dress tangling around my legs. Emile was at my side and pulling me to my feet before I even realized what’d happened. Across from me, Aeonia raised her head and met my stare. Something darted across her blank face.

  Not fear, but anger.

  “You should burn,” she said quietly.

  Michel turned around and backhanded her across the face, the sound echoing loudly in the training room. Some of the boys standing at the edge of the circle exchanged looks of unease. I felt a flicker of surprise. Not everyone agreed with Michel’s ruling, but would it be enough to stop him? Would any of them stand up to him?

  “Be quiet, witch,” Michel said. “Your chance to speak is over. Now you must pay for what you’ve done. You’ve corrupted Claudette, turned her against me, and I’ll never forgive you for that.”

  “Do you expect me to cry?” Aeonia said. “Beg for mercy? From you? You’re an ass. My sister said so. She also said you’re lacking down there, which I think explains quite a lot, don’t you?” Her eyes roved toward Michel’s crotch and some of the tension in the room dissipated as the other boys began snickering.

  Michel turned red and whirled on his friends. “Stop laughing! Why are you even listening to her? She’s a witch!”

  “Oh, come off it, Michel,” Gilbert said. “We were supposed to be celebrating tonight, weren’t we? Then you dragged her in here and started threatening Claudette of all people! Just let them go and have something to drink. You’ll forget all about this tomorrow.”

  I could scarcely breathe as the air in the room grew fraught with tension between the two best friends. Gilbert always went along with whatever Michel did or said; why the change of heart? Was it because Michel had shoved me?

  “Let her go?” Michel unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Gilbert. “Are you insane?”

  “Hey.” Gilbert frowned. “Enough, Michel. I’m your friend.”

  “Are you?”

  “Yes, I am. We were going along with you because we wanted a bit of fun, but you’re taking this too far,” Gilbert said as a few of the other boys nodded. “We understand what you’re saying, but Claudette and Emile have a point, too. She’s not from here. She’s not one of us. You want to kill her? Are you serious? We can’t murder her. Just send her back to her family and report your findings to the police.”

  “The police?” Michel barked out a laugh. “They know nothing about magic.”

  “No, but they can tell the travelers to leave,” Gilbert said. “And isn’t that better than cold-blooded murder?”

  Michel glanced at everyone in the room save for Aeonia. “I can’t believe this. You’re all agreeing with him? With Claudette and Emile? Have you forgotten everything we’ve trained for? Everything we’ve been raised to believe?”

  “Michel, you know none of us are as serious about being Knights as you are,” Gilbert said. “It’s fun and we like the sword fighting, but no one plans on sticking our swords into the chests of anyone we deem suspicious. We’re not monsters.” His gaze hardened. “We don’t go around hitting girls, either.”

  “That’s why you’re standing up to me?” Michel asked. “Because I hit this witch?”

  “You shoved Claudette, too,” Nicolas said. He stepped up to Aeonia and pulled a knife from his belt, using the sh
arp blade to cut through the ropes on her wrists. “And what you said to Emile? That wasn’t right, either, Michel.”

  “We’re supposed to be friends,” Paul added. The other boys began chiming in as well and Michel’s mouth opened in shock as he watched his hold over everyone crumble away.

  “You’re all fools,” he said, stepping backward, his sword still pointed toward us.

  “Yes,” Aeonia said, springing to her feet the moment Nicolas finished sawing through the bonds on her ankles, “I agree.” She raised a hand and all of the torches in the room flared sharply with a loud roar. “Which is why you need to burn.”

  Before anyone could react, the fire spilled from the torches and surrounded us in a circle. The air grew uncomfortably hot as the flames licked at our heels.

  Aeonia began laughing.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Shouts of alarm echoed off the walls. I jerked back as the train of my dress brushed against the flames, watching in horror as the fabric began burning.

  “Claudette!” Emile appeared, stomping on my dress with his boot before pulling me as far away from the flames as he could. Already the room was filling with smoke and I coughed uncontrollably.

  Some of the boys tried to leap through the flames. When they began screaming in agony, I buried my face in Emile’s shirt. I could feel his heart racing through the fabric.

  “Aeonia!” I shouted weakly, watching as she climbed the chair she’d been tied to only moments ago, her hands raised high above her head. She was still laughing, her expression one of delight. She’s enjoying this destruction. She’s going to kill all of us with a smile on her face, I realized in horror.

  Was Michel right? Should we have allowed him to kill her?

  I dismissed that thought immediately. The only reason she was acting this way was because of Michel. If he hadn’t dragged her here and threatened her, none of this would have happened!

  And where was he now? He’d fled at the first sign of trouble, no doubt. Now the only ones who remained inside the circle of flames were me, Emile, Gilbert, Nicolas, and Aeonia. The flames rose up like a wave, engulfing Nicolas. He screamed in pain and dropped to the floor, trying to douse the fire. Gilbert rushed over to help, but Nicolas rolled the wrong way, right into the circle of flames. His cries cut off abruptly and Gilbert’s face constricted with agony and helplessness.

  “Aeonia, please.” Pulling out of Emile’s embrace, I crawled to her. “Stop this madness. We’re your friends.”

  Her gaze remained fixed on the fire. “They were going to kill me, Claudette.”

  “No. We wouldn’t have let that happen. Nicolas—” I swallowed a sob. “He untied you. We were going to let you go. We weren’t going to let Michel hurt you. Please, Aeonia…” My voice cracked as I watched Emile bend over, coughing. “Please don’t kill my brother.”

  Something changed in her expression. She looked from me to Emile, then back to me again, and her hands lowered. I held my breath, my eyes stinging from the smoke.

  But the flames didn’t retreat.

  “Aeonia!”

  Her expression changed to panic. “I’m trying! It’s not working!” It was like we were at the monastery all over again. She was terrified, and as a result her magic was uncontrollable.

  Emile screamed. My blood ran cold as I whirled around. Emile’s left leg was on fire and he writhed on the floor as Gilbert beat at the flames.

  We’re going to die, I thought. My mind went blank, my body numb. We were going to die and I was going to watch my brother go first and I couldn’t—

  I wouldn’t—

  I seized Aeonia by the shoulders and shook her, hard. She lost her balance on top of the chair and came crashing down, taking me with her. On the floor I continued shaking her, screaming in her face, “Stop it! Stop it right now! Aeonia, stop your magic!!”

  She gasped, her eyes widening. Throwing her hands out wide, I could see the strain on her face as she struggled to control the fire. Was it receding, or was I imaging things?

  No, I wasn’t. Holding still, afraid if I moved or spoke I would break her concentration, I watched as the flames began inching back, bit by bit. The air was still flooded with smoke, making it hard to see, but the intense heat no longer threatened to overtake us.

  With a gasp, Aeonia threw her hands down and the last traces of fire vanished. She fell back against the chair, panting. “I… did it.”

  “You did it,” I murmured, my voice scratchy from all the smoke I inhaled. Confident she was in no condition to start another fire, I turned my back on her and went to Emile.

  He was lying on his side, Gilbert crouched next to him, struggling to cut the burned material off Emile’s leg. My brother let out a moan. “Emile, I’m here,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder.

  His eyes fluttered open. “Claudette… You’re all right?”

  “Yes.” My eyes trailed down to his leg. Extending from just blow his kneecap to his ankle, his skin was red and blistered. “Are you…”

  Emile groaned. “I’ve been better.”

  “It could have been worse,” Gilbert said grimly. He met my eye. “Much worse.” He stood. “We have some supplies for emergencies. Let me fetch the satchel.”

  Even though I knew Emile was hurting, I grabbed Gilbert’s hand. “Thank you. For standing up to Michel.”

  Grimacing, he looked away. “I should have spoken up sooner. Then all of this could have been prevented.”

  I followed his gaze through the room, counting four bodies charred beyond recognition. My stomach lurched, but I forced myself not to be sick. Not here, not now. Not when Emile needed me to be strong enough for the two of us.

  Emile. If I hadn’t stopped Aeonia, he would have been another burnt corpse. Tears flooded my eyes, dripping down my face and splattering against Emile’s cheek. His eyes opened again and he reached for my hand, squeezing it tightly. “It’ll be all right,” he whispered.

  As Gilbert crossed the room, the sounds of screams filled the air. Confused, he went to the window and cursed.

  “What is it?” I asked, fearing his response. What else could possibly happen tonight?

  “The city,” Gilbert said, growing pale. “It’s… under attack.”

  “Why?”

  Aeonia lifted her head. “It has to be my family. They’re coming for me.”

  I remembered telling Aurora to get help. But this wasn’t what I’d meant. Letting go of Emile’s hand, I joined Gilbert at the window.

  Ayres was in chaos. People ran through the streets, screaming as they were chased by Aeonia’s family. Horrified, I watched as the dog trainer from the carnival used magic to lift an Ayren into the air and slam him into the side of a building. I couldn’t hear the crack from here, but when he fell to the ground, his neck hung at an odd angle.

  I pulled back from the window, heaving despite my earlier resolve to be strong for my brother. Gilbert put a hand on my shoulder for a moment. “I have to treat Emile’s wounds.”

  Nodding, I let him go before turning to Aeonia. “Your family is murdering the innocent people of Ayres. Why?”

  She was still sprawled on the floor, her back propped up against the chair. “I don’t know. What did you tell Aurora?”

  Her lack of emotion broke my last remaining shred of patience. “I told her to get help!” Gesturing to the window, I shouted, “I didn’t tell her to murder everyone in the city!” My voice echoed off the walls. Gilbert paused in treating Emile to glance at me, but I waved off his concern.

  “Something must have happened,” Aeonia said. “An Ayren attacked a traveler after they were provoked, maybe.” Her face darkened. “Not everyone in my family likes to listen to the rules. Some of them have a thirst for blood. If they thought mine was spilled, nothing would stop them from seeking vengeance.”

  I felt sick. “Even if they had no proof that you were harmed, they would still start a fight?”

  She nodded.

  I shut my eyes briefly, steeling my resolve
. When I opened them, Aeonia was watching me. “How do we stop them?”

  Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You can’t.”

  “Aeonia.” My voice was sharp enough that it caused her to flinch. “Stop giving up so easily and help me fix this.”

  Swallowing hard, she gathered her strength and stood. “They have to see that I’m all right. We need to find Aurora.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  “Wait,” Gilbert said sharply as he wrapped a bandage around Emile’s leg. “You’re not going out there alone.”

  “I’m coming too,” Emile said. I started to protest, but he talked over me. “No, Claudette. While the city burns, we stick together.” His voice held no room for argument. Shutting my mouth, I nodded, even though I knew Emile’s injuries would slow us down considerably. The truth was, I didn’t want to leave him, either.

  “Grab a weapon.” Gilbert nodded toward the shelves in the corner as he worked.

  Fortunately the fire hadn’t reached the weapons. Ignoring the wooden swords, I placed my hands on the hilt of a broadsword, pulling away when I realized I would barely be able to lift it. There was a short sword with a shoulder strap hanging from a peg in the wall. When I wrapped my fingers around the sheath, it felt right.

  “That’s a good sword,” Gilbert said, his voice close to my ear. Startled, I turned to see Emile across the room, slowly getting to his feet. He put weight on his burned leg and winced, but he managed to stay upright.

  My eyes flicked back to Gilbert. “Is it?”

  “Yes. It’s light enough that you shouldn’t have trouble swinging it.” He helped me put the strap over my shoulder, adjusting it so the sword rested comfortably against my back. “Try it. Can you grab it easily?”

  I fumbled the first time, but after a few tries I was able to swiftly unsheathe the sword without hitting myself in the head or cutting myself on the blade. Like Gilbert said, the blade was light enough that I was able to hold it up with both hands.