by Rain Oxford
“One of my most trusted friends tried to kill Remy for her power when she was just a baby.” Then he put the stone back in the staff and re-screwed the top. “I wish I had imprisoned him instead of killing him. It eats away at you when you kill someone, even if they deserved it.”
I thought of Astrid and what it felt like when I believed I had killed her. I was a child and I was furious with her, but I hated myself just as much as her, if not more. “Darwin said one of my parents had to have magic for me to.”
“It is primarily genetic, yes, but magic can be latent for several generations.”
“So I’m one of those cases?”
“No. Your father was a wizard.”
I thought of the man who was brash, unimaginative, uncreative, a drunk, and a workaholic. I remembered when he found the short story I wrote for school and told me I was stupid for writing fiction. There was no way he was a wizard. “How would you know?”
“Because I was the one the council sent to kill you when they found out about your existence. Your father asked that I hide you. As a new father myself, I was sympathetic, so I arranged for Vincent to hide you and your mother with a new name.”
I was silent as I tried to absorb this. It was like an earthquake that destroyed everything I thought I knew about my childhood. I started to rethink every interaction I ever had with my parents…
But Hunt wasn’t finished.
“A few months later, your mother married Joseph Sanders.”
“My father.”
“No. Joseph Sanders was not your father.”
* * *
“Who is?” I could barely get the words out. My heart pounded like I had been running and I really didn’t think I could take any more news. I didn’t want to believe him, but my instincts told me to trust him.
He turned to stare out the window. “In due time.” Just then, we arrived at a towering iron gate. Hunt leaned forward between the two front seats and waved his hand in an upward motion. The gate opened and the truck died.
“Damn it, Logan,” Alpha Flagstone admonished.
“Yes, yes, I know.”
“You know, but you do it every time.”
“That is why we bring April with us.”
“I’m the mechanic?!” Professor Nightshade asked, offended. The car started back up and they stopped arguing.
We pulled into the driveway of what looked like a renaissance mansion, which was likely a reconstruction of an original one. In the day, I knew it was perfectly classy, but this was night time and thick clouds obstructed the light of the moon.
As we pulled up the winding drive, getting closer and closer to the mansion, the hair on the back of my neck stood. My instincts warned me that danger was close and, like little flies, we were about to get caught in a spiders web.
Spiders… Why do spiders keep coming up?
A man was waiting for us at the door when we pulled up in front. Professor Nightshade ducked down to the floor so she wouldn’t be seen. I leaned over to look at her. “Not a fan of mansions?”
“Not a fan of the wizard council on account of them trying to kill me,” she corrected.
“We should start a club. We could call it ‘The Wizard’s Watch.’ We can break Henry out to join.”
Hunt sighed. “Your roommate will be fine.”
Hunt, Alpha Flagstone, and I got out of the car. The man at the door was dressed in a business suit and had a clean appearance, which I didn’t expect from a wizard. I felt no sense of danger from him. He nodded to Hunt as we approached.
“Good evening, Mr. Hunt. I was not informed you had an appointment.”
Smooth.
“Emergency situation, Coffer.” Hunt didn’t stop at the door, which flew open at his advance. He walked right inside and was closely flanked by Flagstone. I followed behind, hoping not to be seen as a threat. I figured I could protect myself by controlling someone’s mind, but I expected that it was much easier to look for the distinct ring when people weren’t throwing fireballs at me.
“Should I get Mr. Knight?” Coffer asked, following behind us.
“He is expecting me.”
“And would you like tea?”
“Of course, Coffer. No poison this time, please.”
Coffer vanished down a hall and we continued. Whereas the school looked like it was designed by a crazed psychopath, this manor was clearly designed by rich men with too much time on their hands. There were an endless number of rooms, all of which had high ceilings, elegant artwork, and overly extravagant furniture that looked like it was never touched. There was nothing modern about the place; there were no electrical lights, no televisions, no computers… instead it had fireplaces, bookshelves, and gas lanterns. It gave the mansion an ominous feel, like it was trapped in time.
We arrived at two heavy wooden doors and Hunt raised his hands like he was going to push at them. Instead, they blew open on their own. I was starting to think that wizards always had to make an entrance.
There were six men in the room. A large, round, wooden table dominated the center. The room itself was small, only about ten-by-ten, with nothing on the walls except for a built-in fireplace across from the door.
One man, tall and willowy with a permanent sneer and eyes narrowed with suspicion, squared his shoulders to Hunt. “Vincent told us you wanted to meet with us immediately. I assume you have information on who killed James.” His voice had a self-righteous, indignant quality that made me instantly dislike him.
“Cleaning up your messes is not my job, Kale.”
Another man approached us easily. He was about forty in appearance, right at six-four, not thin or muscular, with short black hair. If not for his eyes, I could have passed him on the street and thought nothing of it. A scar, clean and thin, crossed from the far end of his left eyebrow to the tip of his left nostril. That eye was an eerie, icy blue, while the other was dark purple.
His black cloak was just like that of all the other wizards, but he wore a distinctive pentagram on a thick chain around his neck. It was iron and about an inch across. The sense I got from his easy smile was so odd it took me a few moments to figure it out.
“It was a surprise to hear you were coming, Logan. I know you hate leaving the school. I also heard something quite awful. Is it true that there was a murder?”
He was dangerous, but not a threat to me. At least, not yet.
“A minor miscommunication, Vincent.”
This was Vincent. They were speaking as if they didn’t keep in touch because of the other councilmen. With his back to the others, he spared me a quick glance. He knew who I was, too. I looked at his hand, not bothering to hide my suspicion. He didn’t have a ring, nor an obvious tan line for one.
It occurred to me that I could see for myself if he hurt Remy or knew where she was. I reached out, mentally, for his mind… and hit a wall. It was like a firewall around him. Others in the room were detectable; the five men, Hunt, Flagstone, and Nightshade were all open to me, but I was very careful to stay out of their minds. If any of the councilmen got the idea that I was trying to control them, it would not end well for me.
I pulled back, confused as to how Vincent protected himself from me. Assuming he was just that powerful, I felt relief he didn’t attack. I was also fairly certain he didn’t have Remy.
“My daughter has run off,” Hunt said. “I was wondering if you have seen her around here.” He spoke clearly, obviously still in code.
I studied each face. Although Vincent’s expression was absolutely calm, I figured he had been expecting the question. The other men varied from clueless to concerned. I saw no sign of fear or guilt.
Then it occurred to me what Hunt said; around here. I concentrated on her mind and let my power spread. My focus was swayed to other minds that were very powerful or unique, but I was able to keep myself on the task at hand. I had to. Remy needed me to find her.
But she wasn’t close. I shook my head as subtly as I could.
“I haven’t
seen her,” Vincent finally said. “You should ask John; he spends more time here than I do. Speaking of…”
A man entered and it took me a few seconds to recognize him. John Cross looked different than he had when he walked into my office and hired me. He was slightly smaller and thinner in the dimness of the council room. Or perhaps it was because he was standing next to Hunt and Vincent.
“Hello, Logan, Rosin,” he said politely to Professor Flagstone, who nodded respectfully. He looked at me and smiled easily. “And who is this?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to answer him on reflex when Hunt put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
“He is a student at my school who is interested in how the council is run,” he said smoothly as I tried not to squeak like a chew toy. That would have made this a very awkward meeting, as if it wasn’t already.
John held out his hand and Hunt loosened his grip just enough for me to reach forward and shake his hand. I looked down just as I pulled my hand back and saw it.
The amber ring with a brown recluse in it.
The man who had hired me to find his daughter was the one who took Remy.
Chapter 10
“Why have you called us here, Logan?” one of the councilmen asked. He was very thin and tall with a narrow face. His eyes were as black as obsidian and his black hair was shaggy and puffed up, giving him a strange resemblance to a cobra.
“To inform you that Rebecca Ashcraft has betrayed us. She allowed a vampire into my school in order to overthrow me. She and the vampire she was associated with have been dealt with, so no further actions are necessary.”
Several of the men looked at each other, unsure. “We heard it was one of your students who killed her,” Kale said accusingly.
“A simple misunderstanding, as I said before, which is why I wanted to clear it up in person. Now, I am sure you would love to deal with your own murderer, so I will be off.”
“Well, let us know when your daughter returns,” Vincent said. John didn’t flinch.
“I will.” He turned and Flagstone and I followed him out.
It was difficult to turn my back on these wizards, but I knew if I looked back, I would regret it. Don’t look back. Don’t look back.
“Devon.” I turned. John, merely a foot from me, smirked. Only then did I realize he hadn’t called my name aloud.
He knew. He knew who I was and what I could do.
* * *
We returned to the car in silence. Only when we reach the end of the driveway did Nightshade sit up. After we drove for a few minutes, Flagstone pulled over to the side of the road. When both the shifter and Nightshade got out of the car, I frowned at Hunt.
“Rosin is going to track John,” he explained as Nightshade got in the driver’s seat and Flagstone disappeared in the forest.
“We aren’t going to do it? He can lead us right to your daughter. It’s him; I saw the ring.”
“I know. I suspected John had his hand in this since the first murder, but Rebecca’s betrayal threw me off. John would spot a wizard on his trail instantly. I am hoping Rosin will have a better shot of staying undetected.”
“I don’t get why John stole the records if he already had a list of targets. Did he need their home addresses?”
“No, he could have found them easily. I am more concerned with how he got into my school to kill without being detected.” He tapped his cane lightly a few times as he pondered this. “Invisibility would have worked against the eye, but my wards would have kept him out and, if that failed, the shifters would have scented him.”
“How did Clara get through? And why did you tell the council that she was dealt with?”
“Rebecca must have let her in and she stayed away from shifters. Most vampires can conceal their sent from a shifter with a good bath and strong perfume.”
“So maybe someone is working with him. The murders changed after school started. Maybe someone inside the school is killing for him.”
“That would implicate Mr. Lycosa.”
“Henry didn’t do it.”
“Then find out who did, because I cannot let him go until I have some kind of evidence. Even if it is not his fault.”
“What does that mean?”
He looked out the window, obviously not going to answer me. I sighed. There didn’t seem to be any point in pushing the wizard. “Fine, but you didn’t answer my question about Clara. Why haven’t we done anything about her?”
He had a tired expression. “There are some people in this world we cannot just ‘deal with.’ Clara is one such person.”
“You know her then?”
“Unfortunately, I do.” He went back to staring out the window. I was starting to think being a wizard meant making an entrance, speaking in riddles, and playing mind games with other wizards.
Good thing I’m one of them now.
* * *
The trip back to the university felt a lot shorter than the trip to the council, since Nightshade was a nightmare behind the wheel. Ninety degree turn? No, we don’t need to slow down. That car is only doing twenty over the speed limit, I had better pass him.
Even Hunt looked a little sick by the time we arrived.
“I’m going to see if Darwin found any evidence,” I said.
They went into the castle main while I returned to the dorms. I checked my room first and found it empty. As I started to shut the door, a meow filled the room. I turned back and, sure enough, Dr. Martin’s cat was sitting on my desk.
“Where is Darwin?” I asked.
The cat hopped down and darted past me out the door. I closed it behind me and ran after the cat. He led me down to the second floor. I heard the commotion before I realized what was going on.
“I didn’t do it!” Darwin yelled. He was backed against a wall by a woman. Sure, she was only a few inches taller than him, but she didn’t have to worry about physical agony from the slightest touch. About twenty other people crowded around, some cheering her on while others told her to let him go.
She raised her hand to slap him before I was close enough to block her. Even as he raised his hoodie-protected arms to hide his face, I acted instinctively. I felt for her mind. There were others there, too close to differentiate, so pushed my power into all of them. The entire group collectively stumbled back.
A few students took one look at me and ran. Several others clearly wanted to. I let my power over them go once I stood between Darwin and the woman who tried to hit him. Her eyes lowered against her will.
Shifter.
“Do you get some sick thrill out of beating on people who won’t hit back?”
“He grabbed my ass!” she cried angrily.
“I didn’t!” Darwin yelled back.
Since the woman was wearing a white tank-top and a short, pleated black skirt, I highly doubted Darwin had risked the pain to grope her. Furthermore, although he wanted to be with a woman, groping a woman made no sense to him; it wasn’t biologically reasonable.
“I will not allow you to hit Darwin. If he offends you, take it to me and I will deal with it.”
Her eyes lowered further. “Yes, alpha.”
Inside, I was gaping and gawking at the word, but outside, my face was expressionless. I didn’t actually know what to do, since she must have expected me to punish my roommate like an alpha wolf would with a disobedient pup. Although I believed my roommate, I didn’t have any proof.
I am starting to see a trend here.
“Devon, I found these in her room,” Darwin said, holding up two icepicks with blood on them. The woman blanched.
“Why do you have icepicks with blood on them?” I asked her.
“I don’t know where the blood came from! Those are part of a collection of traveling equipment. I don’t know why there’s blood on them. I’ve never used them for anything.”
Darwin carefully handed them to me and I studied the points. These would make perfect fang marks… of course, so would Li Na’s hair sticks. “Darwin, ch
eck Addison’s room for anything similar to these.”
“But this proves that Cassie is the murderer, doesn’t it?” he asked, staring the woman down as if she were about to shift and try to eat him.
“It might. However, I have a sinking suspicion that we have a big problem.”
* * *
I was outside in the courtyard on the way to see Hunt. The moon overhead was about half full, and it was a clear night, hence I didn’t expect anything to jump out at me. My instincts fired up, but it was about three in the morning, so I was tired. Thus, my reflexes were slow. I heard a sharp growl a few seconds before I was shoved to the ground and held down by a massive animal. Naturally, I tried to roll, but that was a stupid move; huge, sharp teeth sunk into my right shoulder to pin me.
I yelled and the animal shook his head until I thought he was going to tear my arm off. I was able to turn my head just enough to catch a glimpse of my attacker.
Alpha Rosin Flagstone.
“Son of a---”
He snapped his jaws down and I felt bones crunch. The pain was horrendous, but somehow the sound was worse. For an instant, I stopped hearing the wolf’s heavy breath and my own cries. All I heard was my bones yield to his teeth. And then I heard my own yelling.
I didn’t know I could yell that loudly.
The wolf was suddenly shoved off me and Darwin was there, on top of the wolf… only it wasn’t the normal Darwin.
His fingers were shorter, thicker, and ended with wicked claws. His jaw was different, but the change was subtle. His teeth, like his claws, had shifted to wolf ones. It wasn’t just wolf changes, though. Instead of blond, his hair was now dark, blood red, as was his eyes, and his skin was oddly pearlescent.
Throwback my ass. Darwin’s fae blood may have normally suppressed the dominant nature in him, but he certainly had the wolf’s bonding nature. Darwin saw me as his pack and he would defend me as such.
The effort it took to merely roll over onto my back was agonizing and left me out of breath. The grass was cold and wet, nearly muddy. I knew I had to stop the bleeding and help Darwin.
