“That’s their fear, you know? That one of us may take care of ourselves. If that happens, we won’t need them anymore.”
“I think that’s the message the Elementals want to spread.”
He looks hesitant to speak before he does so anyway. “They’re not wrong. That treaty—that Godforsaken treaty—hurts us all in some way.”
I look at him for a long moment, wondering if he cares he can be executed for what he’s saying. I also don’t want to admit that I feel the same way.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Larc Dupree
QUICKER THAN I’VE ever done anything before, I cloak my thoughts from Hyacinth, confident that I’m getting better at doing so. I don’t know whether the clairvoyant can be considered a friend or an enemy, but I don’t want to bet wrong when the stakes are this high. I remember the memory she had projected to my mind—her way of trying to show The Sage can be wrong. Considerable time has passed since then, but I still have no idea what to think of the gesture.
Either way, I can never be too careful.
“It’s gotta be hard to tell them apart—the Elementals,” Quinn says, eyeing me in a way that makes me shiver. He seems suddenly cold and withdrawn, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.
If Hyacinth can read my thoughts, she can also read his. If there’s something I need to know, I’m sure she will be the first to inform me of the fact.
I shrug, jabbing my finger into my cheek to hide the expression on my face. “They got wind that we’d be looking for them somehow. Most of them split before we could’ve had the chance to find them—the Aens Elementals especially.”
“I wonder if they’re planning something big,” he ponders, cupping his chin in his hand. “If not, they’d have no reason to leave, right?”
“Most likely. They know if they’re caught, they’ll be executed just like Iris was,” I remind him, tilting my head to the side with a fresh feeling of despair in my stomach before I push it away. “Where’s Dawn?” I take a quick survey of our surroundings. The other Adepts had been quick to make an appearance when they caught wind of our arrival, but I am yet to see the serious girl that had caught my eye at the Arcane Ceremony.
Quinn shrugs. “She likes to hang out around the Healer’s den…want to meet her? Our Healer, Lavina? Maybe we’ll find Dawn there.”
I consider it for a moment. The four Healers I’ve met in my life have all been vastly different. I can’t help but ponder the idea of what Mentis’ version of one will be like. “Yeah, sure.”
“Wait here,” he orders as he disappears into a nearby house.
I sigh and glance around. At the middle of Mentis, the outlines of palm trees are just visible against the glare of the sun above the roofs of the houses that form a perfect circle. Each house is a different color, and I would almost guarantee that they all belong to people of importance in Mentis. The center of the Coven reminds me of Aens with the ground directing me to a large dip in the very center. I stare at it, knowing this is the place the oasis used to be. Stones line the outside, but when I peer into the empty pit, the dirt is so dry and cracked it’s hard to believe water had ever been here.
They crafted their entire Coven with the water in mind.
At the bottom of the shallow dip rests a large rock similar to the one in Aens. I slide down the side of the dried hole, and make my way to the rock. I run my fingers against it, watching a spark of white light glow before I blow the hair out of my face and lean against the rock, reveling in the rest on my painful leg. I wish I would’ve had the willpower to wait to finish off Lazarus’ herbs…or I would’ve been brave enough to ask for more before we left Alchemy.
You’re being watched, Hyacinth warns.
My eyes shoot open at the sound of her voice and a surge of my energy blasts into the air around me. When I look up, I see a girl with short hair staring at me from a little way away. Half-hidden in the shadow of a red house, she’s almost hard to see.
Does she know I’m watching her? I ask Hyacinth.
No response. I stretch, feeling uncomfortable under her glare. It doesn’t seem to matter if I notice her or not; she’s not backing down—just as Crowe had predicted. I consider blasting her with my powers to see how she’ll react. I blink, and when I open my eyes again, she’s gone.
“Hey there, beautiful, you look a little down,” a voice says suddenly, and all thoughts of the girl leave my mind.
I jump at the sound of his voice, holding a hand over my heart as I whip around to see the person responsible. A male with an elliptical face, small brown eyes, and a hardened jawline looks back at me. He looks to be easily thirty-five and that thought sends chills down my spine—being eighteen years old, I can almost be his daughter.
“I-I uh…I’m okay,” I stutter, looking away to the door Quinn had disappeared through, waiting eagerly for him to emerge.
“Well, it’s a shame to see you all alone,” he says, stalking around the stone to grip my hand. He plants his lips to the skin much the way Kieran had done in Aquais, and I rip my hand away from his as I stagger backward a few steps, hand lifted as I prepare to strike him with whatever power comes to me first whether it’s telekinetic or pyrokinetic.
“Look, you’re coming on really strong, and I’m about ready to hex your ass into oblivion if you don’t back off,” I snarl, not caring that I’m openly threatening a civilian.
He grins and takes a step backward, palms raised defensively, and I notice the limp as he says, “Fiery, huh? Just like Ivy. Look like her too.”
I’m uncertain how to act in that moment. All I know is that I want him to go far, far away…even if I have to blast him there myself. “Look, I don’t—”
“Is everybody okay?” Dawn’s voice calls out from behind me.
I look up at her and she grasps my elbow gently, pulling me from the battle stance I had unconsciously taken as she looks between me and the man with her shoulders steeled.
I swallow roughly and stand from my crouched position as I look into her eyes and reply, “No…th-that guy.” I glance at him.
“What happened?” Dawn urges.
“What’s going on?” Quinn’s voice echoes as he finally emerges from the house. He begins to pull me away from the scene, helping me back up the slope of dirt with Dawn at his side.
“Him! That guy,” I growl, gazing over my shoulder to see the man leaning against the rock. He catches my gaze and winks, not the least bit ashamed of himself. I shudder and turn back to Quinn. “He’s a pig, and I was about to cook him.”
“Ugh, I know,” Dawn scoffs. By the haunted look in her eyes, I assume she’s had similar experiences.
Poor girl.
“That’s Larc Dupree,” Quinn says with a grimace. “Coven drunk, huge creep.”
“No, I got that part,” I shiver again as his words run through my mind. I wonder if I can have him executed for regarding me in that manner.
You can’t execute someone for being disgusting, Hyacinth reminds me. Unfortunately.
“It’s a good thing he’s UnEquipped. I’d hate to see the kind of havoc he’d wreak if he weren’t,” Quinn mutters darkly.
The thought makes me sick. I’m suddenly glad for the fact that not everyone has powers. “If he’s that much of a problem, why doesn’t The Council exile him?”
Quinn shrugs. “You tell me.”
Well, Hyacinth? I prompt, but once again, she’s silent inside my mind.
Quinn leads the way to the Healer den, and I realize she has a blanket hanging over the entrance rather than the doors of the rest of the houses. I have a feeling that despite Mentis’ technological advances, she lives her life as close to the way it had been in Alchemy as she can. I let thoughts of Larc leave my mind as I follow Quinn through the homemade doorflap, leading me into the Healer’s home. The smell that encompassed Lazarus’ house is the same here.
Quinn is silent as a dark-skinned woman with silky raven-hair and warm eyes approaches. She smiles at me as her g
audy blue robes billow behind her. The air around her has a calming effect; her powers are probably the cause.
“Hello, dear, I’m Lavina; nice to meet you,” she says, clutching one of my hands in hers.
I smile back at her. “I’m Lilith,” I reply as Dawn pats my shoulder before passing me to go into the house.
The Healer gestures me to take a seat on the loveseat she has on the west side of the room. I obey and glance around her house. The artificial lights are off and a candle sits in the middle of a table—which similar to Lazarus’—is round and in the center of the room. Herbs and a small cauldron surround it. Like I suspected, Lavina keeps her home close to a typical Healer Den even though she really doesn’t have to. I think about Crowe and Tarj’s rooms back at Headquarters. It seems as if no matter who you are, it’s impossible to completely leave your home Coven behind.
As I look around in wonder, I gawk at the bookshelves, admiring each of the hefty medical ones in particular. I have the urge to ask if I can read one, but I know it’s not the time or place for my curiosity though the idea of developing Healing powers appeals to me greatly.
The sound of chopping fills my ears, and I realize Dawn didn’t hesitate to work on the herbs Lavina had left lying out. I have an inkling that, like me, she has multiple powers. I can’t help but remember back to the way she had stood out at the Arcane Ceremony. She had nearly beat Clio with her finesse and that’s saying something.
Yet, she had disappeared at the first sign of Iris’ attack.
You noticed too? Hyacinth asks.
Yeah. Should I pry her mind?
You can try, but it’s done me no good. Most Mentis people are harder to read. They’re used to mind readers poking at their intimate moments.
Damn. We can’t catch a break, huh?
“Lilith?” Quinn questions, nudging me in the ribs with his elbow.
“Huh?” I blurt out, jolting back to the situation before me.
“Quinn tells me you’re searching for Elementals?” Lavina voices her question, not seeming upset for having to repeat herself as she sits in the chair across from the loveseat.
“Yeah, we’ve tried, but it’s been a pretty fruitless search so far. Have you seen anything suspicious lately?” I ask her, thinking of the girl that had been watching me before Larc’s interruption.
She presses her lips together in thought before glancing at Dawn. After the Adept shakes her head, Lavina says, “Most of the Coven has kept to themselves since the Arcane Ceremony.”
“Have there been any injuries since then?”
Lavina clasps her hands together. “Just the usual scrapes here and there. Nothing major. For the most part, it’s been quiet.”
“More so than usual?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.
She nods. “That to me is suspicious.”
“Definitely. People get hurt from time to time doing Coven Duties, or at least in Ignis they did.”
“It’s almost like this entire Coven is walking on eggshells,” Quinn pipes up.
“What about you?” I question Dawn. “Have you noticed anything strange?”
Dawn purses her lips and sets down her knife before looking up at me through her dead amber eyes. “I don’t know if it’s strange or just downright frustrating, but many witches are refusing to participate in their battle training anymore. They either sleep through the lessons or simply talk back when ordered to make a move.”
“Have you told anyone this?” I ask, watching her squirm under my gaze.
She shakes her head. “Who was I going to tell?”
“Do you think they’re lying low to try not to draw attention to themselves?” Quinn ponders.
“If that’s the goal, they’re going about it all wrong,” Dawn remarks, “but it’s definitely a possibility. If anything, I’d have your clairvoyant scope it out. Otherwise, this is all just a moot point.”
“That’s good advice,” I say though I know it will be useless. No point in ruffling feathers by pointing that fact out.
Lavina’s dark eyes study me for a long moment. “Mind answering a question for me?”
I nod uncertainly.
“Your leg—how’d you hurt it?” she asks as her eyes drift to the wrinkled skin on my calf. I’m so swept up in the conversation that I forgot the shorts Quinn lent me had exposed the damaged skin.
“Childhood accident,” I spit quickly, a reflex reaction, then pause. “Ambrossi’s tried everything to heal it, but he says the magical damage is too deep to ever permanently be fixed.”
“May I see it?” she inquires.
I draw my eyebrows together but don’t question it as I turn my calf to show the worst of the damage on my weak leg. Lavina rises from her seat to gracefully crouch beside me and sets her fingers to the skin to examine it. She’s silent for so long that I begin to grow uncomfortable. I shift my leg subtly, hoping the movement will spark a conversation.
“What are your powers?” She doesn’t take her eyes off the devastated skin as she speaks.
I feel uncomfortably exposed as if she’s looking into my very soul. “Telekinesis, mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“Also some mindreading,” I admit feebly.
“No pyro?” she asks, standing to her feet to meet my gaze as she brushes the dirt off her robes.
“One time when I was really tired…why?”
“I believe the magical damage is so deep it has spread to your blood, working its way into your abilities and changing the very root of your magic.”
I scrunch my face as I take in her words. “So what are you saying? D-does that mean I wasn’t supposed to develop pyro powers?” My voice is strained and hard to hear as I force myself to ask that question.
“Judging by your initial powers, I’d say not. It seems somebody didn’t want you to know that.”
I feel the wind leave my lungs as I stare at her, threatening to faint at a moment’s notice as I’m reminded of my “parents’” hesitation to tell me the truth of my accident. Could they really have had something to do with it? The nagging suspicion that Ignis isn’t my real Coven washes over me.
Hyacinth tries to whisper reassuring words in my mind, but I don’t hear her over the beating of my heart. All the blood rushes to my head, pounding in my ears, and before I know it, I collapse to the floor, slipping into unconsciousness as shrieks of concern fill the room around me.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chastity
I BARELY HEAR Lavina, Quinn, and Dawn as they urge me back to consciousness. Their words flow in one ear and out the other. Someone puts their hand to my forehead—possibly gauging my temperature—but beyond the brief skin-to-skin contact, I’m unaware of which one did it. They don’t exist to me as their hands grasp my arms and they help me off the ground and somehow get me to sit back on the couch. My eyes are all for my leg—consumed with thoughts of my identity.
If my parents aren’t who they say, then who are they?
Where are my real parents?
Who am I?
“Lilith?” Quinn asks, bending close to me before his large hand shakes my arm lightly.
“She’s in shock.” Lavina’s voice fills the room.
A moment later, Dawn crouches before me, her hands on my kneecaps as she stares into my eyes. “Lilith? Lilith, are you there?”
“Huh?” I blink and my eyes slowly come to focus.
“She’s back,” Dawn says, lips turned into a frown as she stands to her feet.
“Are you okay?” Quinn questions slowly as if he’s not sure I’m really registering his words.
I nod my head once and swallow, wincing at the slight taste of blood in my mouth. I must’ve bitten my tongue on the way to the floor.
“I think we should be heading back. Crowe’s probably awake by now,” he says.
“H-how long was I out?” I mutter, drawing my eyebrows together as I wonder if I went into a full-blown coma.
“Just a minute or two,” Lavina answers, offeri
ng me a sympathetic smile upon eye contact.
I feel like I had been lost in my thoughts for fifty years. I bite into my lip, drawing more of my own blood. I don’t know what to do with the information that someone—possibly my parents—had crippled me on purpose.
“We probably should get going,” I murmur before saying louder, “It was nice to meet you.”
When I meet her gaze, I fear she’ll see the haunted gleam there. Lavina bobs her head but doesn’t seem to notice as she stays in her seat. Dawn sets a hand on the back of Lavina’s chair, waiting silently as Quinn and I rise to our feet. As I go to pass her, Lavina grips my arm gently, and I stop to gaze at her.
“Be careful out there, child.”
Uncertain of how to respond, I don’t. I return the meaningful expression and follow Quinn out the door. When we strut out into the Mentis heat, I instantly feel the sweat begin to run down my face, and I hope it won’t be enough to make me faint again. I glance toward the stone in the dry oasis, which earns me another creepy look from Larc, and the odd whirlwind of emotions is immediately replaced with boiling anger as it finds a target to latch onto.
“Doesn’t he have anything better to do than stand around in the middle of the Coven waiting to hit on unsuspecting girls?” I grumble.
“Since he’s Unemployed and UnEquipped—I’m gonna say no,” Quinn replies, sticking his hands into his pockets as we walk the path back into the tropical foliage.
“Useless,” I murmur.
“So…um. Can’t ignore the elephant in the room. H-how are you feeling—about what Lavina said? Are you okay?”
I stop moving for a moment and look at him for a long time. “My entire life, people have pitied me because of my leg, thinking I’ll never be as good as my classmates…Hell, they doubted I’d even compare to the other UnEquipped. To think, someone caused this on purpose—wanted me to live a life like this—I’m unsure what to think. I want to just go home and call it quits.” I frown after I finish speaking. I’ve moved around quite a bit in the past few weeks. If what Lavina said is true, I don’t have a home in Ignis with Regina and Howard and I certainly don’t have one in the Grove. “So to answer your question…no, I’m not.”
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