by Tom Early
Didas finished the rune, and the power that had echoed throughout the room slammed back into me, burrowing down deep and taking that awful voice with it, leaving me gasping and panting and still standing upright in the center of the containment circle. God, it hurt, but I was me again. Winter was back to being locked away, but he was closer now. And the power. I exhaled and ice crystals fell to the floor. I held out a hand and sent snowflakes dancing in a tiny whirlwind of my own creation. The room was still coated in ice, but I didn’t feel the cold anymore. My power was back, and it felt amazing. I laughed just to hear the sound of it, grinning until my face hurt.
“Was this how it felt when you tore Aria’s wings off?” a little voice at the back of my mind murmured, and I stopped smiling. My power was back, and so was the link to what I had done with it. I looked at the intricate patterns of the snowflakes and for a moment saw flashing blades of ice, cutting through black-and-white feathers. I closed my fist quickly and forced it all back down as bile rose in my throat. I didn’t deserve any of this.
I looked up and saw Didas facing me with caution, a buzz of tension still filling the air around his fingertips. He looked ready to fight, and his face actually showed emotion for once, a mixture of fear and determination. “Feayr,” he asked, sounding almost nervous, “is that you?”
I nodded. “It worked. I’m still me, though I wasn’t for a moment there.”
Didas visibly relaxed, dropping his hands down to his sides. “For a moment there, it was as if….” His voice trailed off. “Never mind. How do you feel?”
I shrugged. “My magic’s back, so there’s that, at least. I feel stronger.”
Didas nodded. “I expected as much from the successful result. Tell me, how strong do you truly feel? Near the level you were at the Trials, or stronger?”
I frowned. I could feel the power dancing through me, reveling in being free again. It didn’t feel separate, though. Just… lighter. Like a part of me that I’d been hiding and finally accepted. And while it felt about the same as when I was in the Trials, there was a depth to it I hadn’t been able to reach before. If I kept on pulling…. “About the same,” I said slowly. “But I think I could do more with it in an emergency.”
“Good. Unfortunately, you must keep the use of your returned abilities to an absolute minimum.”
“I get it,” I said, still acclimating to the change. “I can feel Winter. He’s closer now. If I use his powers too much, I drag him up too.”
“Exactly. You may have a fraction of his power as yours again, but using it will still give him strength as well until the ritual is fully completed. You must continue to use your own, or risk giving him the advantage by the time of the next rune.”
I nodded. “When is that going to be, exactly?”
Didas ran a hand through his gray-blond hair, and for a moment he looked old again. “We can’t afford to wait too long, but neither can I rush the preparation process. Perhaps a month, possibly less. After that the rituals shall have very little space between them.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the next wall to come down is memory,” Didas said tiredly. “And as that wall shall require several runes, it is best not to keep your memory fragmented for all that long.” He waved me away. “The circle is broken. Leave me to recover.”
His exhaustion was so evident that I almost wanted to thank him for doing this much for me. Then I remembered that it was all for him, and I turned and left. I still hadn’t had breakfast, after all, and early morning magic trauma apparently made me hungry.
Sam intercepted me in Ceres, sliding her plate onto the table next to mine and joining me. “Well?” she asked. “When’s the ritual?”
I smiled at her and tapped her glass, freezing her juice into a block of ice. “Just got back from it.”
Sam looked down at her glass, and then at me, a smile breaking out on her face. “Well, would you look at that,” she said gleefully. “Polar Bear is back to being Polar Bear, and he’s not even mangled.” She paused. “Wait, you’re not mangled, right? No new bloody scars hiding underneath your shirt?”
“Nope. Power’s back, only got half-possessed for a moment, and I just have to be careful about using my powers to make sure I don’t help Winter win the next time the ritual happens.” I sipped my own newly iced coffee. “Which basically means just the little things are okay. But hey, I’m okay too. I don’t feel like part of me is missing anymore.”
Sam yanked me to my feet and tackle-hugged me, laughing as she squished her face against my chest. “We have to celebrate,” she said. “My best friend isn’t dead or possessed. This definitely means we have to celebrate. I think we both deserve a night to not panic about everything.”
“We’re at magic college,” I pointed out. “Not like your dad can buy you beer right now.”
“My dad might not be able to,” Sam said, “but I might know someone who can. And if there’s one good thing about being at a university that’s mostly concerned with your ability to keep yourself alive, it’s that their rules about parties aren’t exactly strict.”
And that was how I found myself somehow helping Sam throw a party on a Sunday night, while Nick positively cackled and brought out a keg from somewhere I really didn’t want to know about. All of Obsidian was invited, seeing as it was held in the common room, and since it was the end of the first real week of classes, nobody seemed to question why it was happening anyway. Someone—I suspected Nick again—was making music come out of nowhere, somehow at the perfect volume to keep things going without making my ears feel like they were dying. I watched as Sam led one of the werewolf twins in a weird sort of shimmy-dance thing in the cleared-out space in the center of the room, and about ten other boys came out of nowhere to join her, even more joining the mob when Sofia, dressed in tights and a lacy top and not much else, also stepped in. I saw Septimus staying near the wall, but even he seemed to be smiling as he watched everyone else enjoy themselves. Even better, after about an hour, Tyler texted me, asking if he could come hide with me while his roommate had someone over.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” Tyler said, smiling at me as I pulled open the door and grinned stupidly at him. I threw my arms around his neck, and he laughed as I kissed the corner of his mouth. “I’m glad the ritual went well. I would have missed this.”
“It’s nice to know I’m valued for my kisses,” I said, blushing as he started work on what was definitely going to be a massive hickey. “If nothing else.”
Tyler smirked at me and settled his hands on my waist, pulling me closer. “I can think of plenty else, but I’d like to say hi to Sam and maybe see the rest of Obsidian before stealing you away for the night.”
I tried not to pout, and he laughed again, a belly laugh that made me feel all warm and happy. “Let’s go downstairs, then,” I said, leading him by the hand. “I’m sure Sam will be super glad to see you.” I led him downstairs and leaned into him as we watched Sam continue to bob in tune with the music. Eventually she broke away and came over to us, hugging Tyler as well. I could tell by the faint reddening of her cheeks that she’d already had more than a little to drink, but I trusted her to stay in control. Her dad had spent more time lecturing her on knowing her limits than trying to stop her from drinking, after all.
“Tyler,” Sam said happily. “How’ve you been, man? I haven’t seen you in ages.”
“Pretty good.” Tyler grinned. “Better now, though,” he said and pulled me closer, and I took the opportunity to appreciate how solid he was next to me. “Tufts is great. How’ve you been?” Then he blinked, and his grin widened as he pointed behind her. “And, uh, I might be wrong, but I think you have an admirer.”
I followed his finger and felt a smile creep across my face. “Oh, no way.” Those were definitely sex eyes Sofia was making at Sam right now. I recognized it after seeing that look on my face back before Tyler and I had actually started dating. Admittedly hers seemed more, uh, aggressive, than mine, but the
look was definitely the same.
Sam turned around and met Sofia’s gaze, eyes widening. Sofia raised an eyebrow, almost challengingly, and I had to stifle a giggle as Sam actually looked taken aback, and then evaluating.
“Oh my God,” I whispered to Tyler as Sam finally settled on looking determined and dove back into the crowd, stopping in front of Sofia, who had a smirk on her face that even made me feel dirty, as far away as I was. “Oh my God.”
“It’s like vertical porn,” Tyler said, his eyes wide as they, uh, danced, for lack of a better word. “I… I can’t look away.”
Well, I couldn’t have that. I slid in front of him and smiled. “You sure about that?”
“Maybe not,” Tyler conceded, and I kissed him silly and then messed up his hair for good measure. He smiled at me. “You make a good argument.”
“Not done making it yet,” I said, pressing myself against him. “Upstairs?”
“Oh God yes,” Tyler said, and then we left the party for the rest of Obsidian to enjoy.
TYLER DIDN’T have class until late afternoon on Mondays, so when I suggested breakfast with me at Ceres, he happily agreed. We met up with Sam in the now cleaned-up common room. She was scribbling away in her sketchpad, her hair and clothes perfectly aligned and wearing a smile that could best be described as insufferably smug. When she caught sight of me, the whole self-satisfied vibe she was radiating got even stronger.
“Have a nice night?” I asked innocently.
Sam’s grin turned wicked. “You have no idea.” She looked significantly at my neck, where a hickey was peeking out from beneath my collar. “I see the marks of a pleasant evening for you too.”
“Tyler has a thing for biting,” I said, blushing and tugging my collar up. “I’ve learned to deal with it.”
“Tyler is also right here” came my boyfriend’s embarrassed voice. He was bright red and refusing to make eye contact, so naturally I kissed him on the cheek and smiled.
“Well, since that’s the head count done, how about some food?” Sam elected to start walking instead of waiting for a response, and so we headed out.
It was like Tyler’s head was on a swivel as soon as we left Obsidian. He was drinking in all the details and kept asking questions about what everything was, which I tried to answer as best I could. When we actually got to Ceres, his eyes somehow got even wider.
“Does that person have—”
“Antlers, yep.”
“And over there, by the fire, that’s—”
“Somebody practicing Elemental magic, it looks like,” I said. “It’s okay as long as they’re careful with the sparks.”
Tyler shook his head. “Oh, man. I’d almost forgotten what it was like at the Trials, and this is even cooler than that. Tufts is great and all, but it doesn’t have—” He paused as the boy playing with the fireplace sent up a fountain of sparks and twisted them all to gently land back in his palm in the form of a purring cat. “—well, it doesn’t have that.”
“Just be grateful you’re missing the murder days,” Sam said dryly. “This place may be cool, but that doesn’t make it any less deadly.”
“If it’s still the same place that took the Trials to get into, I don’t doubt that for a second,” Tyler said, shuddering. “You know I still have nightmares about that fucking imp.”
“Rude,” Septimus said, sliding into the empty space next to me. “For all you know I still have nightmares about having a yuki-onna try to devour my soul, but at least I have the decency not to comment on it.” Tyler stifled a yelp, and Septimus gave him a sharp-toothed grin. “I’m kidding, relax. Didn’t expect to see you here, but then I suppose it was foolish of me not to. Still, a human familiar. That’s new.”
“Yeah, well, so are the horns for me,” Tyler said with a shaky grin. “Everything here is new.”
“Are you here for one of Fay’s matches?” Septimus asked. “I wasn’t aware he had one today.”
“I don’t,” I said. “This is just me being lucky enough to have an awesome boyfriend.” Tyler spared me a grateful smile at that, which I gladly returned. “How about you?”
“My first match is next week,” Septimus said, producing a bottle of hot sauce from, well, I wasn’t exactly sure where. “They’re starting from the top and working their way down. Your ranking apparently gets adjusted after your first fight not just on whether or not you win, but on how good a showing you make of it. I think the professors are going to be observing the results to make it a little more accurate.”
“I’m up tomorrow,” Sam cut in. “Against one of the kids from Sol. His name’s Gwaine, apparently.”
“You mean like the knight?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “What kind of parent does that to their poor child?”
“Most of Avalon, actually,” Septimus said, biting into his heavily doctored eggs. “It’s something of a tradition to keep the names of the old heroes in circulation. I’ve heard of Gwaine, anyway. He’s apparently just as pretty as his namesake and fights with full armor and an earth elemental that takes the form of a stag. Have fun getting through his defense.”
“After Sofia, I’ve been working on ways to get through that,” Sam said, having pulled her sketchpad out and already begun scribbling down notes. “But thanks for the info. Good to know what I’m up against.”
“Hey, I’m just evening the playing field,” Septimus replied. “Sol has a kid who’s been busy playing spymaster and gathering information about everyone’s fighting styles. Gwaine almost certainly knows yours, so it’s only fair that you know his as well.”
Sam narrowed her eyes. “How’s that work? The only times I’ve fought on campus have been in private.” She passed her glass over to me as she said that, and I chilled her orange juice almost out of habit, like I always did back home. It still felt good to be back, even if I had to limit myself to the little things.
“Don’t forget the Trials,” Tyler pointed out between bites of his scone. “I’m pretty sure everyone got an eyeful of how we fight then.”
“Well, then,” Sam said evenly, grabbing her plate and standing up suddenly. “I have some work to do, apparently. Good seeing you, Tyler,” she added, giving him a quick nod. “I’m going to go do some research. Fay,” she said, turning to me. “Once this fight is over, we start on the other thing. Got it?”
I nodded. “You know I’m there.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way. Try not to have a boring day, you two. I’ll see you in class in a couple hours, Fay.” She strode off, managing to make a path through the crowded dining hall with ease. Her posture was even more devastatingly confident than usual, and I watched with some amusement as more than a few heads turned to follow her.
I turned to Tyler. “So, any chance I can take a look around your campus before I go to class?” I asked hopefully. I wanted to see what Tyler’s life was like back on Earth. I may have chosen not to go with the usual college experience, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t curious.
Tyler frowned. “Are you sure you even want to? I mean, look at here. Tufts is great, but it’s not exactly at this level.”
“Definitely sure,” I said, grinning. “I want to see your room, at least, and what your campus looks like. Can’t I just be curious about your life too?”
“I’m not sure why you’d want to,” Tyler said, but his cheeks were slightly pink, and he smiled again, so I counted it as a win. “Yeah, sure. I can take you now.”
Tyler offered his arm to me, and I took it, waving goodbye to Septimus. The other boy’s eyes were narrowed for some reason, but he still waved back. Once we were in my room, Tyler pulled out his own key, which was made of twisting black as well, with his initials and mine both on it. He inserted it into the door and pushed it open, and then we were through.
Chapter Sixteen
“THIS IS your room?” I asked, taking in the painted-white walls and the tiny space. The two beds were crammed into the corners, and both desks were already overflowing with papers. Tyler
had hung up a few sports posters over his bed, of men I didn’t recognize playing soccer and lacrosse. They were pretty, though, even if their shirts made them look like walking advertisements.
“It’s not much,” Tyler said, shrugging. “But it’s a freshman dorm, after all. Not like you can expect a palace. Unless you’re going to a super fancy private magic college,” he added, shooting me a look.
“I like to think the nice bed and open space helps me cope with the constant threat of injury,” I said dryly. “How’s your roommate doing? His name is Ben, right?”
“Eh, he’s fine. He’s apparently a really good swimmer. All I know is that the guy gets invited to a ton of parties.” He shook his head. “I’ve already been sexiled twice, but we’ve laid down ground rules about that now.”
“If you ever want to get back at him and sexile him, I’d be an enthusiastic volunteer,” I said, eyeing Tyler’s bed. He gave me a confused look. “What? Just because my bed is nice doesn’t mean I don’t want the traditional experience of trying to make an uncomfortably small bed work.”
“You’re so weird,” Tyler said fondly. “C’mon, I’ll show you the hill.” He gave me a serious look. “If anyone asks, uphill is better.”
“Is that something that gets debated here?”
“It’s just better. Anyone who says otherwise just thinks Dewick is better than it actually is.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” I said as we stepped out onto the sunny campus. Tyler’s dorm was a squat-looking brick building across from another one just like it, with a building that had a dome and apparently served as a dining hall to the left and the rest of the campus to the right. It turned out that once I was actually there, Tyler was more than happy to open up about his time there so far.
