Darkly Sweet

by Juliann Whicker

  Laughter shadowed me along with echoing howls. I did so love running with the wolves. Being interrupted by some insignificant witch having a fit in the woods was not something I loved, particularly when I was trying so hard to ignore said witch and leave her to another fate. I’d seen enough witch fits, I didn’t have any desire to see another one, but someone had to go and make certain the witch’s meltdown wouldn’t actually melt down the entire forest.

  I ran faster, pushing myself through the trees cloaked in shadows, completely dark before the moon came out. I didn’t activate any night vision. I liked running in the

  darkness, the risk of killing myself on a tree was so much more invigorating than your usual jog.

  “Drake, you left this behind.”

  I turned and slowed down to see a gasping Pete holding out Penny’s bag. I’d taken it off and forgotten about it, forgotten about her while I played. All right, I hadn’t forgotten about it or her. I couldn’t forget about someone who demanded to know when I’d stop grabbing girls right after her weasel bit me. I grabbed the bag and slung the strap over my shoulder while Pete fell in beside me. He hadn’t played with as much intensity and focus as I had, sliding through the trees with explosives going off around us, no, he’d played at captain while I’d gotten all that irritation out of my system. Not all of it, but some. A little. Not enough.

  She shouldn’t come into my woods with her large, tear-filled eyes, cuddling her weasel like he was her teddy bear and she was some ridiculous child who needed to hold onto something. That was not the sort of witch freak-out I expected, particularly the lack of anger, so much grief instead that it hung in the air like it would at a funeral.

  It wasn’t my problem. She wasn’t my problem. So why did I hold her hand? Why did I give her another handkerchief? Why did I care who Poppy was and whether Penny made it safely back to school? Viney had promised that she’d do better, take care of her. Viney should be friends with her, be someone she could cry with and talk about things to

  instead of a mage in the woods when she was vulnerable, sweet, smiling at me even when she accused me of wanting to hurt her. I would never hurt her that way, break her legs, smash her face, where was she getting these ideas about me?

  I reached the school too soon. I wanted to run more, wanted to smash something. I settled for joining the other mages in the showers beneath the Chemiss tourney stadium.

  “Are you going to Makiss tonight?”

  I glanced at the guy, Pete, who had asked Oscar the question who stood, rubbing his black hair with a towel. Oscar was mostly dressed while Pete only wore a towel. Pete came from a family who felt that clothing was more optional than required.

  Oscar grinned. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything. Viney’s going to be in fine form tonight. Didn’t you hear what happened?”

  I didn’t. I pulled off my shirt and tossed it into a hamper.

  “What’s got Viney upset? Is it the new girl?” Pete asked.

  Oscar laughed, a wicked sound that filled the shower room beautifully. He had very good tone. “Maybe Viney blames her for getting a dorm mother, but I don’t think that’s very fair considering that the poor girl got her room completely smashed, door blown off, clothing, Chemistry set, everything completely destroyed.”

  I froze with my hands on the top button of my leather pants. Penny’s room was destroyed? That’s what set her off in the woods like a crazed weasel lady?

  “Who did it?” Pete asked.

  Yes, who did it?

  Oscar shrugged. “Zachary said that he scared off a few guys in masks, but wasn’t sure if they were female or male. He’s not saying whether or not they were male or female, anyway.”

  “Was it Barry?” Another kid joined the conversation, stark naked and blond.

  Oscar frowned at the newcomer and handed him a towel. He was only a Junior and shouldn’t interrupt seniors particularly without a towel. “How would that be possible?”

  The kid shrugged. “Otherwise, why did Zach beat him up so bad?”

  “How bad?” I stepped forward, remembering to smile at the last minute when the kid saw the look on my face.

  “Broken legs, smashed face, really colorful, and what’s more, Zach did something to him to keep Barry from healing.”

  Oscar shook his head. “It happened before the room. They were arguing over a lollipop. Apparently, Zach tried to take Barry’s away from him.” He rolled his eyes. He

  wouldn’t be stupid enough to keep a lollipop that Zach wanted. Or maybe he would if the lollipop in question was Miss Penny Lane.

  Who had cried. Because someone had gone to her room, her beautiful woodland boudoir and smashed it up. Someone had wrecked the swing I’d worked so hard to hang from her ceiling. No wonder Senor Mort bit me. No wonder Penny had been so angry at me, angry and then hysterical, before shifting to sad, resigned, and then strangely enough, somewhat content.

  Of course she was content, after all, why should she be upset when someone went into her private space and destroyed everything she loved? If someone dared do that to me… I grimaced and pulled my shirt back on. I’d shower later. I wasn’t in the mood to be pretty for anyone, not tonight.

  I headed to the Makiss tourney. It had already started when I arrived, climbing the bleachers up to the top where fewer seats were taken. I sat down and other men from Chemiss filled in around me, blocking out the females who were watching me rabidly. If I dressed well and had impeccable grooming at least I could pretend that my looks had something to do with their attention.

  “You’re in a good mood,” Pete commented.

  I grunted. “Such a good mood. Remind me what a good mood I’m in later when I’m trying not to strangle a witch.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “You’re not serious.”

  “Of course I am. When am I ever trying to not strangle a witch?”

  He laughed. “True enough.”

  We stopped talking, instead focusing on the scene unfolding below us on the Tourney field. Famiss had a stage, but the witches needed more space. I watched the two figures down on the field throwing hurters at each other, at the pop and crackle before the flash of bright light and shower of shrapnel. It was fine. The two witches were young, and this wasn’t supposed to impress anyone. They wore their black cloaks and simply took each hit that got close to them, not bothering to duck and dodge. Their hurters weren’t terribly impressive either.

  I shifted impatiently. Our tourney would be much more entertaining. At least we’d have music. Why didn’t Makiss have music?

  Finally, one of the witches fell over and the other was declared the winner. People cheered half-heartedly, but then Viney stalked out in her white mask with black cloak, a glowing skull burning on the back.

  The guys around me perked up while I swallowed and clenched my fists. She’d said that she would do something about Penny. Letting her be assaulted was not what I’d had in mind.

  Viney took her place on one side of the field while three other witches gathered across from her. Interesting. They began with magic, throwing spells and curses at Viney that she countered with her own spells. After they got tired of that, although who got tired of hearing a witch scream in agony, they moved on to hurters. Viney’s delivery was very good, the quality of her hurters unmistakably fine, and she put some effort into moving around so it wasn’t as terribly dull to watch. She split the three other witches apart, moving between them so they couldn’t strike her without hitting one of their own, and she beat them deftly with beautiful strikes and thrusts that dropped two of them in one magnificent sweep.

  Someone to my left grunted appreciatively and I turned to glance at Oscar. He watched the scene riveted, clearly fixated on Viney and her lovely violence. The other mages weren’t quite as focused, but still, she put on a good show and all of them would enjoy spending a little more quality time with her. If only she wanted one of them.

  The last witch held her own for a long time, their final exchange a flurry of volleys that f
illed the night with crackles and smoke from the hurters. Finally, Viney lobbed a large ball and dropped down, pulling her hood low over her face as an enormous explosion wrapped around the witch.

  After a very long period spent listening to witch screams mixed with popping, crackling snaps, Viney stood, and the crowd with her, roaring their approval. She swept off the field without glancing around, completely confident in her superiority. Excellent.

  I stood and stepped out of time and into Darkside. I saw a black dog silhouetted against a red sky before I took another step and came out in the hall beneath the stadium. I stood there, arms crossed over my chest until she turned the corner and stopped, her face hidden by the white mask, but I could see the eyes, the bright anger in them.

  “What do you want?”

  I smiled. “What I always want when faced with a tempting witch. Pizza. This time I also crave justice.”

  She walked towards me quickly, stepping around me and continuing down the hall.

  “What are you talking about?”

  I followed her into a room, closing the door behind her while she took off the white mask with shaking fingers and unfastened the heavy cloak from her shoulders. She smoothed it out reverently and laid it in its own box, like a coffin.

  “You allowed someone to destroy a room in your dorm.”

  She glared at me, crossing her arms. “I didn’t allow anything. Anyway, what happens in my dorm isn’t your concern.”

  I smiled. “No? Did a mage or a witch destroy Penny Lane’s property?”

  She sneered. “Zach won’t say.”

  I stepped closer, looming over her although I kept my voice low. “You told me that you’d take care of it. I listened to your warning, stayed away from her like a good little mage and trusted that you would do your part. You put up no precautions, no spells, no wards, nothing.”

  Her eyes glittered at me. “I think that Jackson did it. You know the girls that follow him, what they’re like. If it was a mage with witches working with him, how could I possibly prevent that?”

  I quirked an eyebrow as I studied her. I should leave her alone, let her get some rest after her exhausting battle. “You’re saying that you need help?”

  She snarled at me. “No. I mean, I can’t control everyone in school. I don’t cultivate a following of mindless drones who do everything I say. I’m not like Witley.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “I see. Fortunately, I do have a following of mindless drones who will happily do as I ask. Apparently, you are helpless and require rescuing.

  You’re welcome.”

  I turned to the door.

  “Wait. What are you going to do?”

  I hesitated, my hand tightening on the knob. I was leaving before I strangled her.

  “I’m going to be involved, close enough to not only discover and punish the culprit, but to keep her from harm.”

  “How close?”

  I glanced over at her. Her face was tight, the question a subtle cry from her obsession for me. She wanted to know if I’d be close to her, Viney. “As close as Miss Lane will let me be. Closer than she’ll be comfortable with, close enough that everyone will assume I’m desperately in love with her. Who knows. Maybe I am. Excellent tourney, Vineldra. I’ll see you tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.”

  I stepped out of that world, into Darkside and the same black dog with the same red sky. I howled at it before I once again stepped back into our world.

  Chapter 17

  Witch

  I was chased by wolves, all of them Drake, his eyes gleaming, teeth sharp and cruel as he finally caught me. I sat up in bed, heart pounding, but not afraid. My mouth was watering while I rubbed my head, trying to get rid of the sensation of his tongue on my neck. It must have been Señor Mort. I needed to get him another cage.

  I lay back down and had closed my eyes when a howl came from right outside my window.

  I sat up, rubbing Señor Mort’s head where he curled on my pillow and went to the window. There were bars criss-crossing the glass in a diamond pattern that was sort of beautiful, but also very strong. I wouldn’t be going out of that window and nothing would be coming in. Unless it got blown off like my door. What had they used? I should examine the wall for traces of powder, take samples then track down who had access to it and… What? Chop them up in bits and send them to their parents? So, someone had trashed my room. That didn’t change anything. It didn’t matter who had done it. What I needed to focus on were ways to protect myself and Señor Mort in the future, ways to get Zach to fall in love with me and marry me, and ways to get time to do what was important, namely, my business. I had a loyal following, but they wouldn’t wait forever if I couldn’t get them their potions and lotions, their healers and hurters.

  Out in the darkness I saw a flash of something. I heard another howl and shivered. I pulled on the long lace robe too elaborate and ruffled for anything other than dress-up and opened the door. I’d taken two steps when two other doors opened, Zach’s, and another door beside my temporary room. Professor Vale, wearing dark soft clothing with her bare feet, toenails painted pink, glared at me. I smiled at those toenails before smiling at her.

  She did not smile back. “What are you doing out of bed?”

  “I thought I heard howling.”

  “You did.” That was Zach. Both Professor Vale and I looked at him. He cleared his throat. “The sorority group, the Makiss, are hazing their Freshman recruits tonight. I don’t know if you were warned about it, Professor Vale, but it’s kind of an institution around here. Are you all right, Penny? Do you need anything?”

  “Aren’t you considerate? Weren’t you the only one at the scene of the crime?”

  I frowned at Professor Vale. “Zach would never hurt anyone or do anything cruel.

  Please apologize to him.”

  Professor Vale lifted a thin eyebrow. “I see. You trust him so much? I suppose you trust the girl as well.”

  I hesitated before I gave her a weak smile.

  She took two steps closer to me before she leaned over, her expression stern. “He is not free from her influence. Try not to forget that. Now, back to bed.”

  I went, but it took me a long time to fall asleep with the howling and the memory of the big bad wolf’s gleaming green eyes staring at me.

  In the morning, I woke up late and felt groggy, weird, disoriented. All my clothes that I hadn’t left in my trunk were ruined, shredded up, so that meant I had to find an entire wardrobe that weekend as well as order all the equipment for my personal lab. Luckily, I’d had my laptop with me in my bag so I could order stuff. I sat up and stared at the empty white room. I threw myself back down on my pillow, buried my face in its depths while I screamed. He still had my bag. Drake. The wolf.

  It took me a long time to get out of bed when I knew what I had to do that day. I did not want to see Drake any time soon. I couldn’t see him soon or I might freak out completely. How had I forgotten to take my bag with me? What was wrong with me? I was supposed to be cautious to the point of paranoia, particularly with someone like him, someone who broke arms and legs and hearts for the fun of it, someone who gives a girl a handkerchief with a broken heart embroidered on it just for irony.

  I opened my trunks and found a lot of fabric, some interesting costume pieces, and that was about it. My sewing machine had been ruined as well. I pulled my lacy dress-up robe over my rose print bustier and ruffled panties. My hair would take hours to comb

  out after drying in my bed. Of course, I didn’t have a comb, so I didn’t have to worry about it.

  I opened my door and saw Drake walk into the common room. I gasped and tried to step back into my room, but then his face, filled with fury that he directed at Zach, made me hesitate. Was Drake going to break Zach’s leg for no apparent reason? Drake moved through the room towards Zach too quickly.

  I licked my lips. “Drake! It’s so nice to see you!” I was going to die of shame, but at least Zach wouldn’t die of Drake.
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  Drake stopped and turned towards me, the anger in his eyes melting into something else, something even more dangerous. I fumbled with the edges of my ridiculous robe.

  “Penny Lane, are you still in bed at this hour? I hope I didn’t disturb you.”

  His eyes disturbed me as he raked over me, like my robe was completely sheer. It wasn’t, I was almost certain of it. He kept staring at me, which was good because then he wasn’t about to kill Zach, but my knees were getting weak and I had this idea I was blushing in weird places because I felt kind of hot and melty.

  “Of course not. I hope you brought my bag. I need to order a lot of things and…” I looked at his body, his t-shirt, his soft pants, no bag. “Are you in your pajamas?”

  He smiled at me. “Are you interested in what I wear when I’m sleeping? You’re welcome to find out any time.”

  Zach made a sound. “Penny, are you going to breakfast like that?”

  I glanced down at my robe and saw that the lace had slid off my shoulders revealing the top of my rose print bustier. I yanked it up while I blushed. “No, of course not. I actually thought I might borrow some clothes from Viney. Is she awake?”

  Zach’s eyes got large while Drake choked.

  “No need,” Professor Vale said, sweeping in the doorway. She prodded Drake on the shoulder while she passed him. “The lady is not ready to receive suitors. Be on your way.” She walked over to me without waiting to see if he backed out.

  He glanced at Zach, and then back at me before he grinned. “Penny, I’ll get your bag and see you at breakfast. I’ll be waiting for you.” With that he left and Professor Vale stared at me with amusement. She pushed a few large shopping bags at me.

  “Get dressed. You shouldn’t stand around in that kind of negligee unless you’re trying to seduce the other residents; you’re quite the temptress.”

  I yanked the robe back up before taking the bags into my room. It seemed like the robe had a will of its own, which was possible. My grandmother had worn it on her honeymoon with my mysterious grandfather.