by D. R. Perry
Well, you've got his attention now.
His face lit up momentarily. I'm not sure what reaction I expected, but it certainly wasn't what I got.
"Brava." He clapped, one corner of his mouth tilting up. His eyes remained sharp and hard, like a board riddled with rusty nails. "Clumsy, but powerful enough."
I sat blinking, wondering how he wasn’t shaken. The memory that still tormented me and a handful of my friends made him feel, what exactly?
Happy. Proud. Vindicated.
"Of what?" I slapped my hand over my mouth as a wave of nausea pressed the remains of my lunch upward.
"To be formidable eventually." He'd misheard me. "Although I doubt you'll ever have the stomach to use mind magic to its fullest potential."
"Thank you, sir." I removed my hand.
"You may go." He waved a hand at the door.
I stood and hauled my satchel up to my shoulder.
"Aren't the sessions supposed to last forty-five minutes, Mr. Fairbanks?" Hal stretched, leaning back more firmly against the couch cushions. "I don't want Grandpa to get the wrong idea."
"Think of this first one as more of an evaluation, Hawkins." He scrawled something on a piece of paper. "The headmaster just got notice of this day's completion, along with my reasoning."
New words appeared on the page, in an untidy copperplate I recognized as Hiram Hawkins' handwriting. Hal rose, sauntered toward the desk, and had a look. He nodded and let me lead us out of the room.
In the lounge, I had almost no appetite but managed to choke down half a turkey sandwich. I fed Ember the rest as she sat in my lap. Nin draped herself around Hal's shoulders like a scarf.
"Let me see." Faith pointed at the notebook Hal had kept in his lap the entire time.
He handed it over, and she flipped through it, nostrils flaring and cheeks reddening.
"What did you show him, Aliyah?"
I told her. Logan held my hand. Dorian hunched over in his seat, pale and trembling. Hailey and Bailey Overton tried walking in the room, but Eston stopped them with a wagging finger. Bailey turned and left while Hailey leaned in the doorway, tugging Kitty's sleeve.
"It's okay."
"It's not." Hal sighed. "Or it won't be unless I do some work tonight and tomorrow. Do you mind if Aliyah and I partner up in lab tomorrow?"
"Knock yourselves out." Dorian looked up as Julia the strix landed on his shoulder, hooting softly. "But why?"
"Don't say anything." Faith shook her head. "Off-campus chatting only."
"That's right." Hal nodded.
"Okay." Dorian sighed. "See you all on Saturday, then."
We gathered up paper napkins and cups and brought them to the trash. Everyone headed upstairs, but Dorian lingered. Before putting my foot on the moving steps to let them carry me away, I looked over my shoulder. He stood, head bowed, leaning between the fluted column and the garbage can beside the lounge's doorway. Alex came with a cart full of bags from other cans around campus. I almost went back until I heard an unmistakable hum coming from their direction.
Alex tapped his knuckles against Dorian's shoulder, then stared at his feet as he spoke.
Dorian nodded and wiped under his eyes with the back of his hand.
Alex shrugged, then pointed at the cart and said something else.
Ice and poison. Like Professor Luciano.
The hum got stronger and more melodic until I knew what would happen almost before I saw it.
Dorian gazed up at Alex, eyes wide. Then he laughed. Fully, from the gut with the sort of smile I hadn't seen since before that horrible night last spring.
Somehow, Dorian Spanos navigated the rocky coast of tragedy, and Alex Onassis was along for the ride. No. They were in the same leaky boat together, taking turns with the paddle.
I got on the moving staircase and said a prayer, hoping it wouldn't strike them again.
On Friday afternoon, Director-General Rockport met me at Bubbe's office. My parents, Noah, Bubbe, and Logan sat in the kitchen with me. An army of classmates along with Izzy and Cadence waited in the backyard with hot cocoa. There wasn't room inside, but they all wanted to support me. Everyone at Hawthorn Academy had gotten a direct link to the video of my extramagus test before it posted on social media across multiple verified accounts. I wasn't sure whether it had gone viral yet.
"This range-limiting unit restricts mind magic. It activates when worn and means you'll be unable to sense or influence other minds unless you maintain physical contact with another individual. You are required to wear it during exams, quizzes, lab practicals, and competitive games. I'd suggest wearing it to practice as well, so you grow accustomed to playing without the use of this particular magic. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do."
He handed over a small box, the kind gifts of jewelry come in. I half-expected to see a necklace inside, possibly with a locket or something.
"Ears?" I blinked. Because that's what they looked like, except made of pale gold metal instead of flesh.
"Ear cuffs, to be precise. Devices like this must be worn on either side of the head. Now, put them on."
Bubbe held up a mirror so I could see what I was doing. The ear cuffs hooked on the top of my ear and had tiny levers with rounded stoppers at the back to hold them in place. They felt so impossibly light I couldn't imagine how they'd stay on during Bishop's Row without getting crushed.
"Wow." Logan peered in the mirror over my shoulder. "You look like a Sidhe."
He was right. The tips of the cuffs had points and extended far enough above my natural ears to mimic Sidhe anatomy. They almost looked nice but didn't feel that way. The levered clamps pinched, and the metal tingled where it touched my skin. Even worse, they emitted a constant discordant hum nobody else seemed aware of. That made sense, considering my brain interpreted mind magic aurally.
"Are you comfortable?"
"Not really, no."
"In pain?"
"No. It's annoying and pinchy."
"Good."
Dad clenched his jaw so tightly I heard his teeth grind. Mom put her hand on his arm and shook her head. Noah bared his fangs. Ember and Doris both hissed. Logan rested his chin on my shoulder.
She's so brave. My hero.
I blinked. That wasn't the inside voice. It was Logan's. The ear cuffs didn’t only decrease the range of mind magic. They seemed to compress it. Maybe I couldn't hear people and the connections between them with these ersatz torture devices on, but the thoughts came in more like telepathy, somehow. Had telepaths had a hand in making these? Was it only because Logan and I had a bond? My eyes stung.
"Are you sure there's no pain?" Rockport asked.
"No. Just my dignity."
"Hmm." His brow furrowed. "I had hoped the aesthetic design would help with that."
"You made them?"
"No." He shook his head. "But I selected them from the vault with you in mind."
"Thanks for that."
Before he could move too far away, I patted his hand.
A wordless wave of guilt and grief crashed around me as if I stood on a storm-swept shore of an ocean made from tears. Staring into the Director-General's eyes, I understood his profound despair. The man might have haunted several of Dylan's nightmares, and even a few of mine, but he was the one drowning. Had he known what this job would entail when he'd taken it? Considering how unprepared I felt for adult life, I thought it likely he didn't.
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Noted." He placed a card with a phone number and email address on the table. "Contact me if there are issues with the device. Are there further questions?"
I shook my head. My family followed suit. Bubbe escorted him out of the kitchen. Nobody spoke until we heard the front door close.
"That son of a bitch."
"Noah!"
"I'm a grown-ass adult, Mom. And he's a government-mandated sadist who's tortured two people I—care about."
"He's not a sadist."
Bubbe froze in
the doorway. Everybody did like they'd been encased in ice. A moment later, everyone's voices overlapped.
"—can't possibly know his—"
"—trauma response—"
"—like a robot without feelings—"
"—reputation as a stoic—"
"She touched him," Logan finally said. "He said they work with physical contact. She must have felt something."
"Thanks." I nodded. "That's what happened. He's a wreck on the inside. Guilt, sadness."
"Sorry," Noah snarked. "Not sorry. However he feels about it, that test is evil. Everyone knows about it now. It's been all over the internet for the last two days."
"Did he mention anything about that?" I gulped and glanced at the door. "Before I got here I mean."
"No." Bubbe raised an eyebrow. "But a news brief on a viral memory charm video about extramagi aired this morning. They didn't show the content, but implied it’s not a hoax. I can't imagine he hasn't heard."
"I wonder." Dad stroked his beard. "Why did you ask that particular question after you admitted to reading his mind?"
Mom tilted her head, appraising me. "Did you have something to do with this, Aliyah?"
I nodded and cleared my throat, then told them everything.
"That's why your friends are all outside." Bubbe put her hand to her chest. "You don't do anything by halves."
"Well, you're grounded." Mom narrowed her eyes. "Go upstairs and stay there for the weekend."
"Why?"
"You didn't lie when we asked, but you omitted big time. Smuggling a restricted item into a government test. Not asking for help in a dangerous situation."
"She did, though," Logan countered. "She asked me. I did the omission thing too."
"Then you're also grounded." Bubbe shook her head. "I know you're an adult, Logan. But if you're staying here this weekend, those are the rules. Otherwise, campus is the place to be."
"Yes, ma'am." He hung his head and paced out of the room. I followed him down the hall, holding the box the ear cuffs came in.
"Sorry for mixing you up in this."
"Mix happens. I'd do it all again a million times for you." He opened the door to his hidden room. "See you on Sunday?"
"Sunday." I nodded.
Once he closed the door behind him, I headed up the stairs.
"I'll tell your friends they'll see you after the weekend," Noah called from the bottom.
I didn't have the heart to thank him for that until much later.
Chapter Eighteen
The whistle blasted so loudly I almost thought Coach Pickman broke it.
"Morgenstern! Front and center!" She pointed at Lee on the bench. "Fill in, Young!"
I jogged over, passing Faith as I left my teammates practicing on the court.
At first, Coach said nothing, which wasn't her usual method of ribbing. She glared directly at my ears as if her scrutiny could deactivate the devices clipped there. I hung my head, ashamed. With good reason. I'd fumbled five saves and missed every fakeout Dylan made.
"Take those off, Morgenstern."
"I'm not allowed to—"
"Practice with them off, I know." She nodded. "But we're off-court for now. You can put them back on in a minute."
I did it, letting the ear cuffs sit in the palm of my right hand.
"Now, look out there at them and tell me what you see."
I faced the court and watched.
"Grace dodged Dylan's ice, but he's following up with air. She's out."
"How long have you had it, do you think?"
"Coach?"
"The," she pointed at her head. "Whatchamacallit. Jedi mind tricks."
"I don't know." I shrugged.
"Seems to me, since before I met you."
"What?" I blinked.
"Morgenstern, your brother I mean, always said you cared too much." She twisted the whistle's lanyard. "He's not wrong, but it's because you pay attention to your teammates and opponents. Until today with those fracking things." She pointed at my hand.
"Wow, Coach. I never thought about it that way."
"Do extra practice off-campus. With alumni and those star players from Messing and Gallows Hills. Collins, Micello and Mendez. Bring Pierce the elder and your brother too."
"Why?"
"The only thing we mitigate in Bishop's Row is damage. The rest is twenty percent talent and sixty percent training. Experience." She wrinkled her nose at the cuffs. "Colleges don't require bull—uh, extreme stuff like those. The scouts are coming this spring. They should see you at your best."
I didn't know what to say to that. Coach must think I had scholarship potential at least.
"Thanks, Coach." I nodded. "I'll talk to my friends in town about practicing, but I'm not sure there's anywhere with space for it."
"I'll make a few calls to Salem State. I've got connections there. Let me know when you have a group together."
"Shouldn't I bring the rest of the team though?" I fastened the ear cuffs on again. "In the interests of being a good captain and all."
"Whoever's able. Don't bother asking Onassis though. He's confined to campus." Before I could ask why, she blew her whistle again and sent me back in, this time calling Dylan back.
Practice went better with me playing reverse point. Or maybe without Dylan and his famous fakeouts on the court. Eventually, we moved on to straight-up throw and block drills, where I partnered with Lee.
"I don't like those." He glanced at my ears, then blocked my solar orb.
"Same here, but they're required for this and tests." I conjured fire this time.
"Hmm." Lee faked right and tossed left. I managed to dodge but not block. "Double standard."
"How?" I threw, obliterating his half-conjured orb.
"A mind magus trustee is walking around without those." Lee brushed ashes off his hands and conjured again. "One with a grudge against you."
"Yeah, but who's going to call him on it?"
"I kind of hoped you would."
"I'm just trying to graduate, Lee." I sighed. "The headmaster says this is the only way to make sure things stay fair for everyone."
"Right." He tossed and tagged my arm. "What if it's unfair to you?"
"This magic just showed up." I reset my ballistae then conjured solar again. "I got by without it for two years here, right?"
"I don't think so." He tossed, tagging me in the middle this time. "If it's not new, then this is all wrong."
The whistle blew, ending practice. I sighed, canceled my conjure, and dropped my hands. I took the ear cuffs off again, finally for the rest of the evening. Izzy always said her favorite thing about Lee was his observant nature. He must have noticed stuff I didn't, as Coach had. I couldn't bring myself to agree with him out loud. In my heart, I knew he had a point.
The guy has an entire harpoon. If Fairbanks knew you had mind magic since Parent's Night in first year, he's exploiting this situation. And you.
I'd never know unless I could literally get a hand on him while wearing the ear cuffs. I didn't want to do that. What I'd seen in Director-General Rockport's head was bad enough. Abe Fairbanks' mind had to be an even worse place. It was probably impossible anyway since the tutoring sessions required me not to wear them.
See? More of a reason to think he's up to something.
"Maybe Rockport gave me a gift."
"Are you okay?" Grace put her hand on my arm.
She said something else about the locker room, but I missed exactly what. That palm against my biceps made Grace's concern feel like the weighted blankets Nurse Smith gave to Temperance's survivors last year. I still had one in my room for the bad nights. My eyes misted over. I shook my head.
"Practicing in that contraption must suck." She tugged my arm. "Let's get cocoa after we clean up. With the tiny marshmallows."
I nodded and went along with my roommate, telling her about the off-campus practice idea as we washed up and changed.
"Sounds awesome." She grinned. "Glad Coach is look
ing out for you. Because the tournament in spring is off-campus, and you can play in that without the emo faerie jewelry."
In her typical fashion, Grace drifted through the locker room's common area, getting almost everyone else on board for extra practice. Alex avoided her, but I expected that. He was in the café when we got there, alone with his notes from class. He turned his back to us, head down, which surprised me. I got up to put my mug in the dish bin, then lingered by his chair.
"Hey." I shuffled my feet. Ember lifted her head off my shoulder. He looked up when she peeped softly.
"What?"
"Sorry you can't come to the extra practices. You're a real asset on the team."
"You don't have to say things like that. Not after what I've done."
"I know, but it's true." I shrugged. "Anyway, maybe you can make it out sometime. Stranger things have happened, right?"
"No." He glanced at the doorway behind me. "I haven't been off campus since I got here from Greece, remember?"
"Right." I nodded. "Anyway, good job at practice."
I made the thumbs-up gesture at him before walking back toward Grace, who was getting ready to leave. Sure enough, Mrs. Onassis stood near the doorway, talking to her familiar. She spoke loudly and distinctly enough for me to hear every word.
"Every poison has a remedy, doesn't it, my pet? Even the ones that act on the mind. Some work slowly, but they're still effective."
Once we got into our room and were ready for bed, Grace asked the million-dollar question.
"Was that trustee threatening you?"
"I don't think I want to know."
"This is starting to feel like a case of same vulture, different liver."
"I'm no Prometheus, Grace."
"Could have fooled me, Aliyah Morgenstern. Fire, light, big ideas. You always bring it. And buzzards like her keep showing up."
"I give in. Here are my chains." I shook the box with my ear cuffs inside before I set it on my dresser and shuffled toward my bed. "Now I need Heracles to break them."
