Dying Covenant: The Complete Series

by Amanda M. Lee

  “What about your records?”

  “Mine, too.”

  I was surprised by the admission. I had no idea. “But … you donated money for the computer lab and had it built in Scott’s name,” I argued. “You talked to the dean when you did that. He knew you graduated from here.”

  “That was a different dean, and we worked overtime after the fact to erase my records as well as yours,” Aric explained. “I wanted to be sure that people couldn’t find us. As far as anyone is concerned, Aric Winters and Zoe Lake never attended this school.”

  That was a sobering thought. “Hmm.”

  “Brittany knows,” Kelsey pointed out. “She could’ve searched for this Roger guy and told him everything she knew. Heck, maybe she’s the mastermind. Maybe she put the idea in Roger’s head, somehow led him to Martin and made this entire situation what it is.”

  “I … I … .” Paris’ face flushed with color.

  “You hadn’t considered that,” I mused, scratching my cheek as I leaned back in my chair. “It took me a fair bit of time to consider it. I naturally assumed she was taken advantage of for a third time because her personality is so weak. Maybe we underestimated her.”

  “Maybe we did.” Paris tapped her fingers on the table. “But maybe we didn’t. I’m not asking you to protect her if she’s guilty. I’m simply asking you to keep your cool while we question her to find out if she’s guilty.”

  I stared at Paris a long time, no words spoken. We’d been through a lot, including a bit of betrayal on both of our parts. I started the betrayal when I took another girl’s side during a fight. Laura. She was long since dead, a dark witch who wanted my powers. I chose her over Paris.

  Then, thirteen years ago, Paris fled a group of delusional zealots with a magic book and landed on our doorstep. She told them about me. She led them to me. Sure, she worked overtime to make up for her error, but she betrayed me in that instance. Aric wanted to kill her then, but I stopped him. I never regretted that decision. Paris was my best friend for a reason. I knew I could trust her.

  And still … here we were at odds again.

  I blew out a sigh. “Fine. I’ll listen to what she says. But if I don’t like her answers I’ll end her.”

  “Here? In public?” Paris seemed doubtful.

  “I’m not so worried about hiding my identity any longer,” I replied. “It never seems to work. If I have to end her here, I’ll end her here. Sami’s safety is the most important thing in the world to me.”

  “It’s important to me, too.”

  “It’s important to all of us,” Kelsey interjected. “Everyone needs to keep their cool until we know what’s going on.”

  Paris shot Kelsey a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

  “I’m not taking your side,” Kelsey clarified. “You need to understand that. I’m merely making sure Zoe doesn’t accidentally murder the wrong person. She might not forgive herself if she does.”

  Paris visibly swallowed. “I still have faith that Brittany isn’t what you believe she is.”

  “Well, I guess we’re about to find out,” Aric said, inclining his chin in the direction of the door. “She’s here.”

  “Is she alone?” I peered around his shoulder.

  Aric nodded. “No Roger in sight.”

  “So he’s either feeding her to the wolves or she really is in charge,” I mused. “I can’t wait to find out which it is.”

  “WELL, THIS is a nice surprise.” Brittany didn’t look remotely nervous as she sat in the chair between Paris and Aric. It was by tacit agreement that I sat across from her. I wanted to be able to look into her eyes, and Aric and Paris didn’t want me getting grabby if I decided to burn her alive. “I was certain you guys had left town already.”

  “We wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.” Paris was a decent actress when she wanted to be. She appeared completely relaxed.

  “Is this you saying goodbye?” Brittany’s smile was serene, but I didn’t miss the fact that she refused to look in my direction. She hadn’t so much as made eye contact.

  “This is us saying goodbye,” I volunteered, causing Paris to shoot me a dark look as I rested my hands on the table and glared at Brittany.

  She tried to refrain from looking at me. I saw the strain as she stared at everyone but me. Finally she dragged her eyes to me and frowned. It was a tiny frown, one I recognized from when we lived together. She used to trot it out when she thought I was being immature, which was pretty much all of the time.

  “So, are you leaving today?”

  “I didn’t say we were leaving,” I replied. “I said this was goodbye.”

  “I … don’t understand.”

  “Well, then let me explain.”

  “Zoe.” Paris’ voice was low and full of warning. “I thought we agreed that I would lead the conversation today.”

  “I changed my mind.” I flashed a smile as Brittany lobbed a confused look in Paris’ direction before focusing on me. “We know about Roger.”

  Brittany didn’t let her smile slip. “You know what about Roger?”

  She was good. I had to give her that. I was better, and I was so tired of running, hiding and fighting that I didn’t care if I hurt her feelings … or created a scene in the middle of the University Center. “We know he’s in league with Martin Bishop.”

  Brittany remained calm. “Should I know that name?”

  “He’s the gentleman starting up The Academy again,” I replied. “He’s recruiting students. We paid him a visit yesterday and shared a few ideas about his future should he keep trying to mess with my family.”

  “Zoe … I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  To the outside observer, Brittany appeared to be a confused victim while I looked like an overbearing bully. I knew better. No, I didn’t just know it. I felt it. “Shut your mouth,” I hissed, narrowing my eyes to dangerous blue slits as I leaned closer. “I’m done playing games with you.”

  “I don’t have to sit here and take your threats,” Brittany said, moving to stand.

  I cocked an eyebrow, practically daring her to attempt escape. When she didn’t immediately capitulate and retake her seat I released a magic tendril under the table, slamming it against her calves and forcing her to sit. She cried out, drawing a few sets of curious eyes, but I remained steady as she fought to control herself.

  “I know what you are,” I offered, resigned, but not without pity. “I think that I earned some of the hatred you hold for me. I wasn’t nice to you back then. I never liked you. I found the constant neediness, the whininess, to be so grating at times I wanted to pop your head like a zit.

  “Paris was always on me because I enjoyed messing with you, and she was right about me being a bully. I was a bully. I enjoyed bullying you because you’d never shut your mouth and be a real person. You were too busy being this fake person that you are now.

  “I don’t know when you fully went over the edge,” I continued. “I have a feeling it was after Mark. I think he was the final straw. It wasn’t so much that he used you. It wasn’t even that we modified your memory. It’s that Aric and I were getting married and we were happy. That was too much for you.”

  “I never begrudged you your happiness,” Brittany spat.

  “You’re a terrible liar. You always have been.”

  “I’m not lying.” Brittany’s cheeks flushed. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re paranoid? That’s your biggest problem. You refuse to trust anyone.”

  “Look around,” I prodded, gesturing toward the people sitting at the table. “I trust Aric with my whole heart. I trust his family and mine. I trust Paris … and Kelsey … and Rafael … and a few others we’ve met over the years. I don’t trust passive-aggressive liars.

  “You always wanted to be bigger than you were, more important than you were. You hunted for someone to provide that for you instead of building it yourself. You never wanted to do the work to be the big woman on campus. You wanted to find someon
e stronger than yourself and let him or her drag you into the light.

  “I was angry back then because I thought it was a betrayal for you to go after Will even though I didn’t want him,” I continued. “You were simply being true to your nature. You couldn’t help yourself. When I killed Will, or at least arranged for his death, I left an ember of hate inside you that was extinguished by the memory spell.

  “We would’ve been better off leaving you under the spell even though you were acting erratically,” I said. “You were always a danger to us. Paris didn’t want to see it. I saw it, though. You played everyone else well, but I saw it. That was only one of the reasons I hated you.”

  “Oh, don’t kid yourself,” Brittany snapped. “I hated you because you were a monster. A bully? You were the worst bully ever. You seem to think that it was okay to treat me the way that you did. It’s not okay.”

  “No, it’s not,” I agreed. “I acted abysmally. I was mean. I got off on it. That doesn’t make what you’re doing now okay. That doesn’t make going after an innocent child okay.”

  Brittany balked. “What child? I’m not going after any child.”

  “Don’t bother denying it,” I hissed. “I was in The Academy the other day. I heard Martin’s plan. I heard the lies about mages he spewed. I know he wants to get his hands on Sami. I know he wants to use her to kill me.”

  For the first time, Brittany looked uncertain. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” As she said the words I could practically see the gears turning in her mind. She didn’t know all of this. She wasn’t a victim, but she clearly wasn’t the mastermind.

  I pressed my eyes shut for a moment to collect myself, the magic of The Archimage whispering, begging to be let out so it could smite my enemy. I breathed through my nose and reined in my anger as I gripped my hands into fists.

  “I don’t want to kill you,” I offered. “I don’t want to kill anyone. That doesn’t mean I won’t do it.”

  Brittany’s face went white. “Excuse me? You’re going to kill me?”

  “I will kill anyone who threatens my child,” I replied. “The truth is, I feel as if I’ve been fighting little wars so long that I should be grateful to escape the big war. Perhaps fighting the big war from the start would’ve saved us from all of this.”

  “And what big war are you referring to?”

  “This college. This place. Everything here is evil.”

  Brittany shifted her eyes to a group of students enjoying coffee at a table about fifty feet away. “Are they evil?”

  “I have no idea. They could be. I don’t really care. I think it’s time this entire school comes to an end, because it’s not just a group of people at the school causing problems. The school itself is evil. It was built to be evil. That’s why the layout matches that stupid symbol that keeps popping up.”

  Brittany’s eyes flashed with recognition, but she covered quickly. “Symbol?”

  “Don’t bother.” I pressed my palms flat against the table and stood. “Paris is right. I’m not going to kill you here. That would be a stupid. But I will kill you.”

  Brittany swallowed hard. “I’m not afraid of you.”

  “You are, and you should be.” I rolled my neck until it cracked. “Here’s what’s going to happen: I’m going to go back to my hotel room, eat some food with my kid, talk over strategy with my team, and then we’re coming for you.”

  Brittany widened her eyes. “Just like that? You’re coming for me? How do you plan to accomplish that?”

  “I haven’t decided, but we’re ending this today,” I answered. “We’ll get as many students out of harm’s way as possible, but I will cut off the head of The Academy – and I mean that quite literally.

  “Now, you have time to go home and tell your husband about our conversation, let him warn Martin and whoever else he deems of value,” I continued. “That won’t change anything. I’m done with this place. I’m done with the games. And, Brittany, I’m done with you.”

  “I’ve already told you I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Brittany seethed.

  “You’re full of crap. You’re a bad liar and a bad human being.”

  “Says the world’s worst bully.”

  “You can blame me for being a bully all you want. I deserve it,” I supplied. “But Sami never did anything to you. She’s a child … and I will protect her.”

  Brittany finally let her demeanor slip and showed her teeth as she snarled. “She’s an abomination.”

  Aric took me by surprise when he slammed Brittany’s head into the table, rocking her as she tried to recover while he easily got to his feet. “Don’t ever say that about my kid again.”

  “I can’t believe you just did that,” Brittany sputtered, rubbing her forehead. The lines from the latticework on the metal table were indented into her forehead. “That was assault.”

  “We haven’t even started to assault you,” Aric shot back. “Wait … that kind of came out wrong.”

  I patted his arm, sympathetic. “It was a little rape-y.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” Aric offered, contrite. “I don’t want to do anything sexual even close to you. It’s disgusting to think about.”

  Brittany’s mouth twisted into an ugly grimace. “You’re so high and mighty. I can’t wait to watch you fall.”

  “Right back at you,” I said, grabbing Aric’s hand. “We’ll be coming for you in a few hours. Be ready.”

  “Oh, I’m ready. I’m ready to make you pay.”

  I squinted a bit as I lobbed an evil smile in her direction. “Bring it on.”

  Twenty-Nine

  Sami was waiting on the other side of the door when we returned to the suite, her eyes glinting with mayhem as she pounced on Aric the second he stepped over the threshold.

  “Did Mom kill her?”

  Aric arched an eyebrow as he regarded her, giving her a long stare before shifting his attention to James. “I thought we discussed how traffic was going to run on the information highway.”

  “We did.” James pressed his hand to his forehead and reclined on the couch. “It was an accident.”

  “Uh-huh.” Aric’s gaze drifted back to Sami. “Why don’t you watch television or something?”

  Sami offered her father an exaggerated eye roll as she ran her bare foot over the carpet. I couldn’t help but notice she had freshly painted toenails. They were a bright green that somehow fit Sami’s personality.

  “Who painted your nails?”

  Sami glanced at me, the question catching her off guard. “Aunt Paris did them the other day.”

  “Oh.” I felt mildly sick to my stomach for some reason. It was threatening Brittany that did it to me, history and hatred colliding. She deserved what was coming, and I would follow through on my plans without feeling one iota of guilt. I might’ve been partially responsible for creating monstrous circumstances, but Brittany purposely decided to be a monster all on her own. I wouldn’t let her hurt Sami regardless.

  No, it wasn’t my run-in with Brittany making me ill. It was the realization that I’d been so caught up in hunting people, trying to outthink enemies, that I’d spent very little time with Sami the last few days. That hurt worse than almost anything else.

  “They look nice,” I offered awkwardly.

  Aric shot me a curious look as he rubbed his hand over his chin. “Yeah, it’s a nice color,” he noted. “As for the rest, we’re still discussing everything that happened and we need to come up with a plan.”

  “I already have a plan,” Sami shot back. “I want Mom to take that woman’s head and crush it like she’s a bug … because she is a bug. She’s a gross bug with huge teeth and multiple legs and I’m pretty sure she stings.”

  Despite the serious nature of the conversation, Aric barked out a laugh. “You get your bug hate from your mother.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Sami said. “You still haven’t answered my question. Is she dead?”

  “She’s
not dead,” I replied. “We gave her a warning, and now we’re waiting to see what she does.”

  Sami didn’t appear thrilled with the admission. “That’s it? What is it with you people? When are you going to get to the killing?”

  “When we’re ready to do it,” Aric replied, flicking the ridge of Sami’s ear with his finger and glaring at James. “Why does she know about this? This was the entire reason you took her to breakfast in the dining room downstairs. We didn’t want her getting worked up.”

  “I don’t get worked up,” Sami grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

  Aric ignored her and kept his pointed gaze on his father.

  “She tricked me,” James complained, grabbing the throw pillow from the couch and putting it over his face, as if he wanted to hide and that was the only thing he could find to cower behind. “She outsmarted me. Is that what you want to hear?”

  “How did a twelve-year-old outsmart a state senator?” I challenged.

  “She said she was going to take a nap with her stuffed wolf,” James complained. “I even checked on her. She was all tucked in. She looked like a little angel. That’s when I decided to make a few calls and … well … .” He gestured helplessly. “She heard everything I said to my man on the phone.”

  “Oh, see, it’s really not his fault,” Paris said.

  I scorched her with an irritated look. She was my oldest friend and I really did love her. All the same, I couldn’t help but blame her in part for the Brittany situation. “Yes, he couldn’t have seen it coming. A twelve-year-old girl taking a nap at ten in the morning. It makes perfect sense.”

  Paris balked at my tone. “If you have something you want to discuss … .”

  I cut her off with a dismissive hand wave. “What would I possibly have to discuss?”

  Paris was never one to back away from a fight. At times I admired that about her. At other times it made me want to punch her in the face. This would’ve been an example of the latter.