by Cece Rose
“Take it off!” she calls, and the whole class starts cheering. I can’t blame them, East is one of the hottest guys in the academy. I’m sure most the girls in the school wouldn’t have a problem with him stripping for them. East smirks down at me, just as his jeans fall to his ankles, showing off his tight, black boxers and the impressive package I can see. I pull my eyes away.
“What in the gods is going on in here?”
I look around East, seeing Mr. Layan standing in the doorway. The room goes instantly quiet, only the sound of the music still playing on East’s phone making any sound. I lean over, turning the music off and handing East his phone back. Mr. Layan walks further into the room, and I can see that he has on a long, thick, black cloak, and his hood is down showing off his long, white hair and beady eyes. I try not to laugh at the disgusted look he is throwing everyone in the room as they go back to their seats.
“Put your shirt back on and get out of my class now,” Mr. Layan snaps, and I hold in a smile when East laughs pulling his jeans up and jumps off the table.
“I’m the biggest idiot for many reasons, but give me another chance? Please, Kenz?” he asks me, ignoring everyone else in the room, and I sigh before nodding.
“Out,” Mr. Layan shouts again as East takes his shirt from me and winks.
“I have to stay to watch Miss Crowe,” East reminds Mr. Layan when he gets to the door, and I watch as they both stare at each other for a second. I can’t see Mr Layan’s expression, but he doesn’t look happy.
“I am perfectly qualified to make sure Miss Crowe doesn’t lose control of her gifts. Now, out and expect detention for the rest of the year,” Mr. Layan says, and East nods, giving me a slightly worried look before walking out. It’s strange to be without one of them around, but I know East couldn’t have stayed in this class, and I’m sure I won’t lose control of air. I couldn’t even use it the other day.
“Your usual teacher isn’t well, so you have me for your first class and maybe some others. I’m Mr. Layan, the headmaster of this academy, and I’m sure you have seen me around or heard of me,” he says, his tone downright cocky, like he expects everyone to know exactly who he is and be in awe of him.
“I have ten marks, one of which is air. Can someone tell me something about the air mark?” he asks again in that cocky tone and there’s silence around the room until a guy at the front puts his hand up and then starts speaking.
“Air is extremely difficult to use on its own, but works better with other element marked powers,”
“Very good, and yes, you are right. All elements can mix, some make others stronger and some can cancel each other out. Fire and air is destructive, and I wouldn’t recommend mixing those for a while,” Mr. Layan says and gives me a pointed look. I’m never going to live that one down.
“Water and air mix perfectly. Protection wards can stop extreme attacks from the air mark. Anyone care to tell me what happens when you mix earth and air?” he asks and everyone is silent, so I put a hand up and wait for him to nod before I answer.
“Tornados. Some of the biggest tornados around the world have been caused by marked using those powers wrong. My mother used to tell me that they shouldn’t be used together at all unless you are certain you can control it.”
“You are right, Miss Crowe. Now, open your textbooks and turn to page forty. I want you to read the next five chapters and write down the important notes.” I pull the textbook on my desk towards me and find the page, only glancing up once before reading and seeing Mr. Layan watching me. A strange look crossing over his face.
“Miss Crowe, please wait,” Mr. Layan says as I stand up at the end of class and put my phone in my pocket. Gods, what now? I pick my notes up off the table, folding the paper and sliding it into my coat pocket. The textbook is ridiculously boring and filled with useless information on the air mark. I can’t see how I can use any of what I wrote down today. Mr. Layan just sat at the front of class, messing on his iPad. I bet he was playing a game by the way he was concentrating.
“Sure,” I reply, walking towards him at the front of the classroom as everyone else leaves.
“I wish to show you something, come with me,” he says, walking towards the door. I look away, groaning as I look out the window at the sun setting. I just want to get back to my room, steal Mr. Daniels’ junk food, and collapse. Today has been a long day, and after this, it’s going to be dark when I walk back through the woods.
“Come, Miss Crowe,” Mr. Layan snaps as he holds the door open. I walk over and then follow him as he takes me down the busy corridors and towards the back of the academy. We walk into the empty hall, and he closes the doors behind us. The room is slowly getting dark, and I haven’t been in here since I first got my marks. The twelve marks on the wall seem to glow almost from the orange light of the sunset. I look back at Mr. Layan with a clear, unspoken question. Why are we here?
“I know what the twelfth mark is,” he says as he walks over, and I take a step back when I see the threatening look in his eyes. His words almost shock me in silence.
“What is it?” I ask hesitantly, and he laughs as he reaches into his cloak, pulling out a long, silver dagger. The memory of the vision comes flooding back to me, reminding me of Enzo’s words.
“I’m going to kill that teacher for this.”
“You don’t want to do this, not really,” I plead, putting my hands up, and he only laughs, dropping the dagger and using his air power to hold it in the air. I look at the dagger as he twirls it in circles, like it’s a game and not that he is going to try to kill me. I can’t die like this. I think back to what happened in my vision and know there’s a chance Enzo will come for me. The future is never certain and changes all the time, but I have to believe he’s coming.
“It’s nothing personal, Miss Crowe. But, you’re too powerful, and I won’t let you destroy the world. The council and everyone who knows the truth of your power has gone mad keeping you alive,” he says, and I instinctively put my hands up to stop the dagger as it flies through the air towards me. I call my protection mark, imagining the shield like I saw Locke do, but it’s no use. The dagger goes straight through the ward and into my stomach, making me scream out in pain. Everything slows as I look down, watching as the dagger slides out of my stomach and flies away again.
“I am sorry for this, Miss Crowe, but there is a reason there is no one alive with twelve powers,” I hear Mr. Layan say, and I force myself to look up as he raises his hand, shooting streams of fire around the room. I don’t need to look around to see he is setting the whole hall on fire.
“You won’t get away with this, they will know it’s you,” I gasp out, placing my hand on my stomach and pressing down as I struggle to keep standing from the pain.
“I don’t plan to stay around and see, Miss Crowe. It doesn’t matter in the end, as they will only think the rebels or someone else did this to you, not me,” he says, his voice confident and cocky once more. The flames around the room grow fiercer. I watch in horror as he walks out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him, trapping me in with the fire and slowly building smoke. I slowly walk towards the door, feeling the heat from the flames, every movement sending pain through my stomach.
“Enzo,” I breathe out when I see him open the door, his dark eyes meeting mine, and the fire in the room seems to reflect in his eyes. Black eyes and flame filled with anger. It’s the last thought I have before everything goes black.
Chapter 26
Kenzie
Burning, my marks are all burning. Vaguely aware of the sounds of screaming, I finally realise the tortured sounds are coming from my own throat. Twitching where I lie on the ground, I look up at the bright, shining plane of light above me. There are people gathered around in a circle, all dressed in marked, ceremonial robes. Their hoods are up and covering their faces. The pain radiating from my marks is unbearable . . . .
“Kenzie?” a voice says softly, but it’s not coming from here.
&nbs
p; A person steps forward towards the plane of light, and everyone standing around seems to lean forward in anticipation.
“Kenz, wake up,” the voice speaks again, but it sounds closer this time.
My body thrashes around on the cold, hard ground. I need to stop them.
“Kenzie!” a different voice shouts, shaking me. My eyes flare open, and I look up at the people standing around me. I’m lying on my bed in Mr. Daniels’ cabin. How did I get here?
The person with their hands on me is Logan. His forehead is creased in worry, and there is blood on his shirt. I look up and notice a few of them have blood on them. Enzo is the worst; his shirt looks soaked in it.
“Are you guys okay?” I croak. I try to sit up, but a pain slams through my stomach. I cry out from the pain and retreat down, my hand clutching at my middle.
“Shit, don’t move, Kenz!” East says, resting a hand on my shoulder, as if to enforce my lack of moving. No worries there, buddy. I am not going anywhere.
“What happened?” I ask, my head feeling confusing. There were people in a circle, or was that a dream?
“You were stabbed, Mr. Layan is the main suspect. Enzo saw him fleeing the scene, and he hasn’t been found anywhere since,” Mr. Daniels explains. I try to get my head around that, a few images flicker through my head, but it’s all still too distorted.
“Any reason nobody has healed me?” I ask, gesturing down at my stomach wrapped in bandages. I look across at the medical equipment. Someone gave me stitches?
“We tried,” Enzo answers through gritted teeth.
“We think the dagger used to stab you was laced with marked powers,” Locke says, sitting at the foot of the bed.
“How?” I ask, having not heard of that being possible before.
“We believe the dagger is one of the original artifacts we have from Ariziadia,” Mr. Daniels answers. “We healed you the best we can, and we used human medicine combined with it where our powers wouldn’t do the job. You will heal, but it will take a few days,” he adds.
“Fuck it hurts,” I mumble, resting my head back against the pillow.
The door crashes open, and all the guys move as one turning to face the entrant. They all visibly relax upon seeing who has entered.
“Why the hell did nobody tell me you brought her here?” Kelly screeches.
Silence from all the guys.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for where you could have taken her, since Enzo ran off to get Kenzie after my vision,” she explains, moving across the room to me.
“Hey, Kells,” I greet her, trying to manage a smile through the pain.
“You look awful,” she says, reaching down to give me a hug. I wrap one arm around her back, returning the embrace.
“Thanks, just what I wanted to hear,” I reply sarcastically, as she pulls away. She gives me a rueful smile and steps back, glaring at the men standing around me.
“Not one of you thought to call me?” she questions.
“We were busy,” East says, gesturing to me.
“I could have helped,” she replies, narrowing her eyes on him.
“We already had a few healers here, what more could you have done?” he asks.
“Guys, can you cut it out? You’re here now, Kells. Thank you. I’m guessing your vision was of me being stabbed? You sent Enzo?” I ask. I look up for him, but notice Enzo must have crept out of the room at some point since Kelly walked in. Because he’s sure as hell not here now, unless he’s gained powers of invisibility. The asshole just left?
“He was there when I had my vision, I told him you were in trouble, and he was gone off to find you. I’ve never seen anyone run so fast,” Kelly answers.
“He didn’t run fast enough,” East mutters, glaring at the open door. A hand rubs up and down my leg comfortingly. I look down and smile at Locke, who continues to rub his hand across my leg.
“He ran straight to her, he couldn’t have gotten there quicker if he tried,” Logan says, resting a hand on East’s shoulder, but he shrugs it off.
“Fuck off. He should have called us. I was closer, I could have gotten there in time if he had called,” he replies.
“She wouldn’t have been alone in the first place had you not been kicked out from class for stripping,” Locke snaps, standing up.
“You helped come up with that plan!” East shouts back at him. Locke opens his mouth to reply when a loud bang hits against the wall, grabbing all our attention.
“Enough! All of you, fucking get out and don’t come back until you start acting like adults,” Mr. Daniels snaps. His fist has dented the wall. That must have hurt. “Kelly, you may stay,” he adds more softly. She nods and sits down on a chair next to the bed.
“Hey! I didn’t do anything,” Logan complains.
“Blame your brother for your removal,” Mr. Daniels says dryly.
“Fuck’s sake,” he mutters, moving to leave the room after East and Locke.
“Would you mind leaving, too? I just want to be with my bestie,” I say softly to Mr. Daniels. He frowns, but nods and leaves at my request, closing the door softly behind him.
“Why did you want to be alone?” Kelly asks, after a tense moment of silence.
“I had a dream while I was unconscious, but it was confused. I think it may have been a vision,” I admit.
“And?” she asks, knowing there is more.
“I want you to try and see if there is more,” I ask.
“I can’t right this second, I’m wiped out from the vision of you being stabbed earlier. That really hurt,” she mutters.
“You felt it?” I ask.
“Yeah. It was weird, in the vision it was as if I was you. I felt everything, and I mean everything. Gods, Kenzie that really fucking hurt, and the smoke was horrible. I could feel you choking on it as Enzo came in,” she explains.
“That is weird. I’m sorry you had to feel that, Kells,” I say, grabbing her hand.
“It’s okay. I’m glad I did, Enzo got to you in time. You’re gonna be okay,” she says, a tear rolling down her face.
“Don’t cry,” I say, hearing the thickness in my own voice.
“My best friend almost died, and I felt it. I think I’m entitled to a few tears,” she replies, more tears chasing the others.
“But, I’m fine, honestly. I’ll be okay, you said so yourself,” I reply, squeezing her hand.
“I know,” she says softly. “But, I’ll feel better once you are back on your feet. I’ll try and look for your future later, but you know how unpredictable visions are,” she says.
“I know, but it’s worth a shot, right?” I ask.
“Worth a shot,” she affirms, sitting back in her seat and stealing a blanket off the bottom of the bed.
“Getting comfy?” I question.
“Might as well, I’m not going anywhere,” she answers, smiling at me. Her phone starts ringing, and she hands it over to me, as I give her a questioning look.
“I told Ryan,” she says, and I groan, glaring at her as I answer the call.
“Hey, bro,” I say, and I hear a big sigh of relief on the other end.
“Kennie, shit I was so worried. Are you okay?” he asks me, sounding stressed.
“Yeah, well kind of,” I reply, trying not to move too much on the bed as my stomach is killing me.
“Has no one healed you yet?” he asks, picking up on something in my voice, I guess.
“The blade was laced with marked powers. They can’t heal me completely, but I will get better soon,” I tell him, and I hear him hit something.
“Shit. I should have been there or something. I have to go, Kennie, and I’m going to sort this all out,” he tells me, and I frown, knowing there isn’t much he can do.
“Is the council going to send your team out after Mr. Layan?” I ask, my voice comes out funny, and I grit my teeth from the pain in my stomach as I shift position.
“Not exactly, but don’t worry about it,” he says, making me want to worry abou
t him even more. I rest my head back as everything starts to get a bit blurry. A roaring sound fills my ears.
“Here, let me,” Kelly says, her voice sounding faded as she takes the phone from me. I can faintly hear her whispering to Ryan just as I fall asleep, but I’m already too far gone to catch the words.
Chapter 27
Kenzie
“There’s still been no signs of Mr. Layan,” Mr. Daniels says, his voice void of emotion as he slips his phone back into his pocket. Two weeks. It’s been two fucking weeks since I was stabbed, and they haven’t found him. I had started my classes again after only a week. Thankfully, even without healing powers working fully, I had healed much faster than a human ever would.
Not so thankfully, Mr. Daniels had been making me take extra classes with him every single day since. I eye up his muscular frame leaning against his kitchen counter. The man is terrifyingly impressive. If I could even soak up a little of his abilities in fighting and defence, I would be happy. But, he wanted perfect. So, for three hours every day we have been sparring, using our magical abilities and a mixture of physical fighting. The amount I was getting my ass kicked was embarrassing. Especially since he’d said he was even going a little easier on me. When I told him to stop doing that yesterday . . . . Damn I wish I’d kept my mouth shut. The ache in my muscles is unreal.
“Are they even looking,” I mutter.
“Yes, of course, they are looking; they have practically the entire council out looking. He seems to have planned his getaway meticulously, Miss Crowe,” he answers.
I shove my cornflakes away, my appetite gone.
“I have protection class, and it’s my first one as I couldn’t get to the others with training and everything, so I should go,” I say, and he looks over at me, a worried frown appearing on his handsome face.
“You’re not going to be late for class?” he jokes, making me smile slightly as he tries to cheer me up, but when I place my hand on my stomach, feeling the slightly raised scar, that I will always have, through my thin t-shirt, my smile disappears. I grab my phone and walk out, waving goodbye to Mr. Daniels. I walk towards the school and use the academy app to find my way to the right classroom. The corridors are surprisingly quiet. When I find the classroom on the second floor, I knock before opening the door and walking in. The room is empty, and I check my phone once more, seeing that I’m in the right place and sit down on one of the chairs that are placed in rows in the middle of the room. I hear the bell ring a few seconds later and look up as the twins walk into the room, smiling when they see me. Locke sits on my left, sliding his arm around my chair, and Logan sits on my other side, his hand brushing mine.
