The Rise of Ren Crown

by Anne Zoelle

  A gaze full of dissecting malice looked down at me from its parasitic perch.

  I stumbled away from him.

  Only the pain pulsing through me as I tried to channel protection magic kept me from hyperventilating.

  The anomaly cocked his borrowed head at me, his eyes taking in the scarf around my neck, his gaze narrowing on it. Everything in me said that if I had Olivia's scarf in hand, instead of stuffed in my back pocket, it would already have been taken from me.

  His expression shifted to something falsely—so falsely—kind. “The lovely young mage who was standing in front of Vincent Godfrey and the Origin Dome. So pleased to meet you, dear.” His voice was the one I had heard coming from Kaine—the one talking about the tests they would run.

  A shiver wracked me.

  His head popped onto the Department figure to my left, then behind me, then to my right, flipping around me, cataloging all my points and angles, and where he could best place his dissection scalpel.

  “Such a lovely surprise.” His distant expression was at odds with the way his image flitted between hosts.

  Whatever terror Kaine had induced in the crowd, this man tripled. It was tangible in the Community Magic throbbing at the edge of my numb state.

  Marsgrove's lips were tight as he directed his remarks to the man's head as it settled back into a single position. “Praetorian Kaine has overstepped his bounds, Prestige Stavros. By edict of the Council, educational institutions are exempt from any oversight by the Department. He has no right and no authority to test or question any students.”

  “Prestige Stavros.” Kaine gave a half bow—and there was no doubt in my mind that he was not one to follow such forms of conduct with anyone else. “Worry over the safety of the public and the underage mages here made me desirous of neutering any and all threats. Perhaps my concern over our safety was overly fervent.”

  My bracelet encyclopedia took that moment to unnecessarily inform me that “Prestige” was a title given to the head of large businesses or divisions.

  I had a feeling the man in front of me would far prefer the Roman title of Emperor to go with his legion and praetorians.

  “Praetorian Kaine questioned and tested students—waiting until they were penned in,” Marsgrove replied. He seemed to be addressing this to the other officials rather than to Stavros. “I want charges filed.”

  “Praetorian Kaine, how aggressive of you,” Stavros murmured.

  “My apologies, Prestige Stavros,” Kaine replied, not looking the least bit chastised, or concerned.

  “Aggressive,” Stavros said, in an indifferent tone of voice. “However, I think all concerned can see that you were only distressed for the well-being of our layer.”

  Whereas Kaine's face was decorated by smirking evil intentions, Stavros was an evil so polished that all emotion slipped right off him.

  Marsgrove frowned. “I think that is to be decided—”

  “This girl has valuable information on today's events, Prestige Stavros,” Kaine smoothly interrupted. The expression on his face increased my worry. He still held an ace.

  My heart thumped erratically.

  “And she will be questioned under oath according to the rules of this campus,” Marsgrove said furiously.

  “If she were a student, perhaps. Alas, she has been expelled, and therefore falls under our jurisdiction,” Kaine said, the side of his lips lifting. “This, I believe, also negates many of those pesky charges you were considering filing.”

  I clutched my bag, still slung around my frame with Justice Toad dead inside, fears becoming reality. I wasn't a student. I was no longer a student.

  “Well that does change matters,” Stavros said, waving a hand. “Take her. We will join you soon.”

  The man next to me yanked me forward.

  I thrust my heels out. Voices were yelling behind me and people angrily surged forward. Julian Dare grabbed Alexander's wrist, fiercely whispering something as he stopped him from advancing.

  “Calm yourselves,” Stavros said to the surging crowd, one eyebrow cocked, as if surprised by the outrage. Every expression was a calculated act. “Expelled students are under the purview of layer authorities. Do remain calm. No harm will come to another student this day.”

  A neat way of not addressing tomorrow. Or non-students.

  The man holding me thrust me toward Kaine, who grabbed me. I could feel darkness wrapping around the edges of my eyes.

  “We will take care of Miss Crown's injuries and magical exhaustion, and return her to peak condition,” Stavros said. “Worry not. We have a few simple questions for her, and of course, awards to give, I understand? At the Department, naturally. Where we can determine the best future for her. Praetorian Kaine?”

  A band of iron clamped around my wrist.

  My panic spiked exponentially, but no magic answered its call.

  Chapter Three: The Status of Threats

  My gaze met Marsgrove's and a series of frightening expressions washed across his face.

  Justice Toad suddenly croaked and warbled, and the iron dropped from my wrist with a flick of Marsgrove's fingers.

  A rush of warmth flooded my veins and expanded out in crystal clarity, brightening all of the buildings, flora, and students in my view. Community Magic swirled into me. I could feel campus fully again, in a way that I hadn't realized I'd been missing—mistaking the numbness I was already feeling for that disconnect.

  I dove between Kaine and the man closest to him and put myself a foot behind Marsgrove.

  “Prestige Stavros, Praetorian Kaine.” Marsgrove's feet were shoulder-width apart and his hands were loose and ready at his sides. “You are mistaken.”

  “Is that so?” Stavros's smile was ice cold, while Kaine's was edged with a mania that was even more worrying. Stavros leaned forward so that just the five of us nearest could hear. “Such timing. And a truly illuminating action on your part to make sure I know exactly where your allegiance is in this war, Phillip. Perhaps it is long past time to make public your past alliances.”

  “And expose your own actions in this conflict from its very beginning? I think not.” Marsgrove’s voice was equally low and equally edged in steel.

  One of them had erected a temporary privacy circle. It glowed around us in a dark, malevolent way.

  “Ah, but looking over the mistakes of the nearly forgotten past merely provoke irritation. Current events are always more harshly judged. In light of what has happened, I think it will look much worse for you and for the precarious position in which your career has started to teeter. Besides, everyone expects those that keep them safe to take...drastic measures at times.” Stavros's lips curled coldly.

  Marsgrove smiled tightly and with a wave of his hand the privacy field shattered. He raised his voice so that the crowd could hear. “Alexander Dare will be tested when he returns to the competition tomorrow, as is customary when a competitor leaves the field. That base test uncovers rare powers, so it will be more than fitting.”

  “Rare powers, but not extraordinary powers. The truly extraordinary often have ways to hide it,” Stavros said dismissively, head resting on a new host in the circle of arguing adults.

  “Your conspiracies are just that, Prestige Stavros,” Marsgrove said, without concealing his words from the crowd.

  The crowd tensed, and I got the feeling that Marsgrove was taking badass to new levels. That people didn't just say things like that to Stavros' face. And they hadn't even heard what he had been saying. I stepped minutely closer to Marsgrove.

  “Phillip, you, of all people, should understand the need to restrain potential evildoers.” Nerves spiked in me at Stavros's smile. He was staring straight at me, and I saw magic scroll over his borrowed eyes, like Kaine's. What was he reading on me now? What was he communicating to the others?

  “You will not test any more students on this field,” Marsgrove said, voice edged in steel. Seeing Marsgrove's enmity turned on someone other than me was a strange relief
.

  Stavros smiled, as if he had been given a perfect gift.

  Provost Johnson chose that opportune moment to emerge from the crowd of officials. He strode onto the steps. A distinguished, white-haired man strode out after him.

  “Prestige Stavros,” Johnson said. “I assure you, any and all student involvement in the activities today will be dealt with. Internally. The Peacekeepers' Troop is available for continued debriefing and questioning at any time, as they are under your current purview.”

  Stavros's host stayed in place, but Stavros's head rotated like a terrifying owl. “Ah, Provost Johnson. So good of you to come to aid your dean. And Chancellor Barrie too. So prompt to his aid,” he uttered as if he were complimenting dogs who had heeled alongside their master.

  Nothing was said for a few tense moments as Stavros coldly surveyed the head of university life and the symbolic head of Excelsine, who was rarely seen on campus. I had never met Chancellor Barrie, who served as Excelsine's representative to the Second Layer Educational Council, but he looked and reacted like any privileged politician to a political threat—raised chin, narrowed eyes, clenched muscles.

  Provost Johnson, to his credit, didn't cower under Stavros's pain-promising gaze either, though his words were careful.

  “Be assured, Prestige Stavros, your concerns will be investigated fully within Excelsine's judicial system. We will deal with this entire matter in closed quarters, unless you wish to broadcast it across the layer.”

  “I would have you deal with your own mess, Provost Johnson; however, the Department is dedicated to the safety of the Second Layer. And it is obvious to all that oversight is required on this campus.”

  “Oversight is not wha—”

  A praetorian flashed magic in the air and a seal appeared.

  “And oversight was just granted.” Stavros smiled. “By the same body that you are currently attempting to reach, Dean Marsgrove.”

  Marsgrove looked more pissed than I'd ever seen him. “Did they? How strange.”

  “There is no need to be sore at your inability to keep the populace under your care safe, Dean Marsgrove. We are, all of us, concerned with the safety of the underage mages in our layer. And will do what is needed to secure that safety.” He snapped his borrowed fingers and magic appeared in his palm. The magic flickered into a heavy metal seal. “The Legion will provide campus security for the coming days. With the combat mages continuing their competition—showing a united front for the emotional well-being of all students in the Second Layer—surely this will be acceptable.”

  No one responded for long moments.

  I desperately wished I knew what was happening.

  “Surely the Legion is needed elsewhere where the security of the Second Layer has been repeatedly attacked,” Marsgrove said, cold fury underlining every syllable.

  “Nothing is as necessary as making sure our best and brightest are safe.” Stavros smiled. “And if your security enhancements prove acceptable during this period, we will be more than happy to withdraw with minimal forces left behind.”

  There was something ominous about the way he said it. I sensed there was no way our security would prove acceptable.

  “The parents of the students at this school, and the others, will also be having their say, Prestige Stavros,” Stuart Leandred, one of the distinguished-looking mages in Johnson's wake, said, coming forward. “Few want a military body in charge of their children. Especially one that was willing to sacrifice our sons and daughters just mere hours ago. We are far from pleased with the actions undertaken before and during the attack.”

  I examined Constantine's father. He was a handsome man who seemed genuinely, paternally upset—but one who also knew how to channel that disquiet into effective political action.

  Helen Price came to stand alongside him and smiled tightly at him. “As one of those parents, we all know that some things must be sacrificed. I'm sure that we will come to wise agreement on the correct way to keep our layer safe.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. In contrast to Constantine's father, Olivia's mother was coldly contained.

  “Prestige Stavros,” Chancellor Barrie said, “if you'd accompany us to my office, we can discuss these matters further.” Barrie motioned toward the building.

  “Of course,” Stavros responded easily. “None of this should be a surprise, though, naturally. After the events of last term, we discussed what would happen if further events occurred. Our taking control of campus is simply a follow-through on those matters, one that has been elevated exponentially.”

  I saw Marsgrove's fists clench, and felt his anger. This conflict and interrogation is what he had been so furious about when he said that I'd had no idea what I'd started.

  My sheer presence in this world gave the Department power. It drew attention to a threat that needed to be contained and controlled by them. Me.

  Johnson ascended to the top step and addressed the student body.

  “Due to the presence of the Legion and the need for a full campus sweep, lockdown will be initiated for the safety of everyone. I don't need to remind you that you are all still bound by Excelsine's judicial system and your contractual obligations. The judicial system will be undergoing a few modifications over the next few hours. Please pay attention to all updates.”

  A “lockdown” didn't seem a big deal. I'd been pretty much locked to campus since I'd stepped onto it. But everyone around me was repeating the word, voices tight with dismay.

  Johnson held up a hand. “Two arches have been activated on campus. Only two. One from the edge of Top Circle”—he pointed in the direction of the arch—“that goes directly into the Magiaduct. And one from the Visiting Center that also goes directly into the Magiaduct. Once you take one of those arches, you will be unable to leave the Magiaduct. No one can be on campus while military personnel sweep for terrorists that are trapped or hurt on the grounds.”

  “I don't want to be sealed in again,” a half-choked, hysterical voice said above the whispers. The sentiment was immediately echoed across the field. “I can't go back there and be sealed in.”

  I'd bet anything the speaker was a student who had been penned under the Magiaduct dome during the battle.

  “You will not be alone, and the eyes of the entire Second Layer security forces will be upon you,” Johnson said, with a forced smile. I could see magic scrolling around him and wondered just how many mental communications he was currently fielding. “Understand, you are all potential witnesses, and we are unable to release anyone until every person has been questioned and every nook and cranny checked. There will be no better security anywhere in the Second Layer. Five countries and the Department are contributing resources, and will be working together in groups that will contain a member from each country and one from the Department. Eighty heterogeneous squads will be manning both sides of the Magiaduct.”

  The “heterogeneous group” part seemed to settle a number of people. It appeared that no one trusted any one group on their own.

  “At Gemini Rising, every student will be sealed into the Magiaduct under a lockdown witness enchantment. No exceptions. Assignments for where you will be in the hour leading up to it have been sent through frequency and feed and will be closely monitored. The penalty for any mage failing to abide by this edict will be expulsion from this campus, and detainment by the Department. Families are lined up in the Visiting Center, and each student will be able to speak to their family there. Select groups have been called for mandatory assembly.”

  Silence met the pronouncement.

  “As long as the sweep goes well, classes will recommence on Monday. Indication will be given as to how that will occur.”

  Classes? I numbly stared at Johnson's back as he turned. Who could think about classes?

  Marsgrove cast a loaded glance down at me. It was as much a threat as any he'd ever issued to me. Don't even think about going anywhere except the Magiaduct that look said, clearer than if he had spoken the words. />
  Johnson, Marsgrove, Stavros, and Kaine turned and strode into the Administration Building. Not that I fully trusted my eyes on such disappearances anymore. Other staff members were speaking to smaller sections of the crowd but I wasn't listening to what they were saying.

  A crackle of magic echoed, and the hold on the field disappeared—the pen now extending out to include the Visiting Center and an arch to the Magiaduct.

  Numbly, I registered the presence of my friends pushing in around me. The crowd lingered around us and I could feel gazes, like a thousand jellyfish stings, but I was too mind-benumbed to care. Then suddenly, everyone was moving.

  Dare and the rest of the combat mages disappeared into the surging crowd that was pushing in multiple directions—some toward the Visiting Center, some toward the Magiaduct—while others stood as immobile objects in an otherwise flowing river.

  I pulled Olivia's scarf from my back pocket and stared down at it. I pulled it against my chest.

  “I need to check on Constantine.” My voice sounded far away.

  Will surrounded us with some sort of privacy field, and Neph slipped her hand under my elbow. I could feel her magic trying to comfort me, trying to navigate the tangled paths with a gentle hand instead of the machete that would likely be necessary.

  “Are you okay?” Will asked.

  Neph made a strangled noise as she traced the damage to my magic and body. “You need to go to Medical.”

  “Yes. I need to find Constantine.”

  Will shook his head, his gaze anxious, fingers gripping the device he had used to shut out the rest of Top Campus momentarily. “They won't let you see him. Not yet, not with the extent of his damage. I saw him.” Will shuddered. “He's almost definitely in a healing coma right now.”

  I looked to Neph, who nodded.

  “They won't let anyone into a room when a healing coma is in place,” she said, her voice soothing. “Not even a muse for her charge, unless she has an advanced therapeutic degree. The regulation of the magic is too delicate. Slight changes can prevent things from healing correctly. The medical staff creates the healing environment, then vacates until the coma is broken. No one is allowed to enter except the mage who directly created the environment.”