by Priya Ardis
Nothing happened. The bowl on the pedestal remained still.
“Give him more,” Vane said.
Thornton looked at Aurelius. Aurelius inclined his head in agreement. Thornton complied. The boy drank a second helping. Still nothing.
“He is not a candidate,” Aurelius declared
The boy went pale. “No. I can’t go home. The gargoyles burned my house down. My grandmother is gone. I don’t have any place to go back to.” Beseeching eyes sought out Vane. “You said this is where I belonged.”
Vane gave the boy an uninterested glance. “You are not a candidate. You will be fine.”
“You do belong here.” Matt said. “You are a wizard. You can go to school.”
Aurelius said, “Yes, he would be eligible. But we are not a charity. The school has tuition. He needs a sponsor.”
“I have no doubt Vane has enough to help,” Matt said. He looked at Vane. “Unless you want to turn the boy loose with his knowledge of the candidates.”
“I have the perfect forgetfulness spell,” Vane said.
Matt shook his head. “Unbelievable. You know that after how long the boy has been with you, the amount of memory you would have to modify, you risk turning him into a turnip.”
Aurelius looked to Vane. “Vane, he is your responsibility.”
Vane crossed his arms. “The Council rejected him. He is also your responsibility. I will sponsor him and pay for the admissions test. That is all. He can always work off the rest after graduation.”
Aurelius sighed. “Marilynn, come take this boy for regular enrollment.”
The boy gave Vane a grateful smile. “I knew you would be my savior.”
Vane inclined his head at the accolade. He signaled the next candidate to step up to the pedestal.
Matt’s words about his brother and me reverberated in my head. I whispered to Matt, “Your brother is a toad. I wouldn’t kiss him even if I was a princess.”
“He’s more than that—he’s dangerous,” Matt replied without humor. “Vane is like a hurricane. He doesn’t care what he wrecks in his path. He only cares about what he wants."
I raised my brow. “Dramatic much?”
“If only I was.”
The last of Vane’s candidates went to the pedestal.
The brothers had issues with a capital I. I’d never seen Matt so wound up.
Aurelius looked at us. “Is your group ready?”
My stomach knotted. Grey caught my gaze. The same fear was reflected in his eyes. What horrible thing would the water bring out from us?
I took a bracing breath. “Matt, will the water be the same for us Regulars as it was for the wizard candidates?”
“It should be,” Matt said. “But I couldn’t say for sure.”
“That’s really helpful,” I said dryly.
Grey took a step forward.
I stepped in front of him. “I’ll go first.”
“You’re sure?” Matt said, his face tight with worry.
Discreetly, I squeezed his hand before heading to the pedestal. My gaze collided with Vane’s. He watched Matt and me with interest. I glanced away.
Thornton poured a few drops of water into my cupped hands and I hoped no one noticed how hard my hands shook. I inhaled the scent of earth mixed with calming lavender. The liquid tasted cool and sweet. I drank it in one swallow.
The next thing I knew I was on the floor as my stomach tried to climb out of my mouth. Black spots danced in my vision. The urge to collapse overwhelmed me. Heaving, I fought it.
Like a crowbar to a damaged lock, the water tore the barriers down in my mind, revealing its dark hidden corners to harsh light. Memories crashed over me.
On the floor, I choked out, “M-Mom.”
***
Mom yelled at me as we readied to leave the house, complaining about how I’d woken up late even though I knew we had a flight to catch. As she squirted perfume on herself—lavender, my mother’s preferred scent—I rolled my eyes. So what if we were two and a half hours early instead of three?
Getting to the airport three hours early for a domestic flight was ludicrous. Especially for a trip I didn’t even want to go on. I didn’t want to spend Christmas with some boring family I didn’t even know. Plus I liked Christmas in Texas. The decoration of lights mixed with the warm air. What could be better?
Being cooped up in a house in Boston with strangers due to the inevitable blizzard didn’t sound thrilling. Snow was overrated. I had griped the whole month about how we should be going to our neighbors like we did every year. I didn’t want to miss the tree hunt and our neighbor’s breakfast. The holidays were about tradition. Not to mention I wouldn’t be seeing my boyfriend Morgan—tall, dark, and delicious— for a whole week. Did she know she was ruining Christmas?
“If you’re not ready in five, I’m throwing you in the car. You can get on the plane in those ridiculous men’s boxers,” she yelled from downstairs.
“They’re comfortable to sleep in.” I reiterated as I pulled my suitcase out of my room. “Anyway I’m already dressed.”
“You’re a girl. I wish you’d behave like on once in awhile. Did you pack a nice dress like I told you? The Ragnars go all out on Christmas Eve. There’s a black tie party. Last time they had entire scenes out of the Nutcracker carved in beautiful ice sculptures. You’ll love it.”
“Ballet is boring.”
“You didn’t use to think so. I know you gave it up for fencing—”
“Because you made me,” I retorted.
“It will be better for you in the long run,” she said.
I rolled my eyes again. I was pretty sure no one had used a rapier in a real fight since the 1700s.
Mom grabbed the car keys from the hook and gave the house a quick once. We’d be gone for over a week. It was the first vacation we’d taken in two years.
I slowly dragged my suitcase downstairs. I left it at the foot of the stairs to take one last look at the tiny Christmas tree in the living room. It was nothing like the giant eight-footer we usually splurged on.
I tried one last time. “Christmas should be at home.”
Mom’s face softened at this declaration. “I know it’s hard, Ry. We’ve always made Christmas about being home, but as long as we’re together, we’ll be fine. You’ll have fun with the Ragnars, I promise. I loved my Christmases with them when I was a little girl.” She wrapped me up in a tight hug. “It’ll be good for you to make new friends. I’ve loved having you to myself for so long, but you’re going to be graduating before you know it and you’ll need those connections—”
The muted sound of the doorbell cut her off.
“Don’t forget your purse. You need ID,” she commanded.
With a grumble, I went upstairs.
Mom went into the living room. I heard her fling open the front door. The walls of the townhouse were paper-thin.
“Morgan, I’m sorry,” I heard her say, impatiently. “We don’t have much time.”
Grabbing my purse, I hurried back down. Mom didn’t like Morgan and I was pretty sure she would slam the door in his face without even letting me talk to him.
“Morning, Mrs. D.,” Morgan asked. “Is Ryan here?”
Mom said, “Of course, but we’re in a rush—”
I stopped just before the living room. Another hulk-sized man in a black trench coat came up out of nowhere behind Morgan. Between the two of them, they covered every inch of the doorway.
“Ryan,” Mom screamed. “RUN!”
The man’s face… changed. It turned from normal to the face of a monster in less than a second. I halted just outside the door to the living room. Long fangs emerged from his mouth.
A set of Katana swords—my mother’s favorite—hung on the wall. I grabbed one. His forehead went Neanderthal, becoming wider until it protruded out of his face. In a scene straight out of a vampire flick, the man-monster grabbed Mom by the neck.
“Wait,” Morgan rasped, his voice very different from the
one I’d spent hours talking to on the phone.
I’ll never forget the horrible sound of my mother’s head cracking as the boy I loved threw her against the wall. Although it was innocuous as the soft creak of the door, the sound reverberated through me. I backed into the hallway. I tried to scream but nothing came out of my throat. It probably saved my life.
“We have to find the daughter,” Morgan said in a frustrated tone.
“She smells good. Powerful.” The other man knelt down to pick up my mother’s wrist. I watched frozen as he sunk his teeth into my mother’s limp wrist.
A whimper escaped my mouth.
Morgan crossed the living room to the door in the blink of an eye.
“Ryan,” he crooned. “Come here, baby.”
I backed away. He lunged at me, but somehow I was faster than him. I ran out of the hallway into the kitchen and slammed the door shut close. Morgan tore through it like it was tissue paper. What happened next was a blur.
Morgan rushed through the door. He paused at the sight of his dead friend.
I held the Katana in front of me. Shaking from head to toe, I asked, “What are you?”
Morgan put up his hands. He started to walk slowly towards me. “Don’t worry, baby. Everything will be fine. Don’t you see? I’ve done this for us. Now, we can be together… always.”
“Stay away,” I said, taking a step back. My body hit the kitchen wall.
I was trapped.
Morgan smiled. He walked up to stand just before the tip of the point of the unsteady sword in my hand. “Ah, baby. You can’t hurt me.”
In a blink, he grabbed the sword from my hands and turned it against me. The razor sharp edge caressed my skin with deadly intent.
“One last kiss?” His lips twisting into a sadistic smile, he reached out to caress my cheek. His cold hand slid further down past my neck. He tore open the button of my shirt and reached inside. He squeezed a breast with force.
I thought I would throw up.
He never saw my mother come up behind him. She held the other Katana. She tried to chop off his head. Morgan caught the blade with his hand. With an angry smile, he turned around. Blood covered his hand but he didn’t seem to be bothered.
“I’m going to enjoy killing you, Mrs. D.” With one hand, Morgan clawed my mother across the chest with talon-like fingers. With his other hand, he drove the sword he held into my mother’s stomach.
My mother fell back onto hard marble tile. I screamed.
The back door of the kitchen burst open. A man entered wearing the dark blue uniform of a paramedic. Morgan ran at him with a yell. The paramedic extended a hand and blasted Morgan back against the kitchen wall. Pictures hanging on the wall crashed to the floor. Morgan grunted.
The paramedic moved quickly. He picked up the sword from the floor where Morgan had dropped it. Morgan got up from the wall with a snarl. His face extended into beast-like proportions. He moved with speed despite his bulk. In the blink of an eye, he stood inches from the paramedic. Morgan’s eyes blazed triumphantly.
The paramedic swung the sword. Morgan’s head fell to the floor.
Blood spurted all over the walls. It spurted all over me. It seeped across my mother’s pristine floor. Morgan’s body slumped and rolled. Covered in blood, I met the paramedic’s impassive eyes. I fainted.
The next thing I knew, the paramedic’s face hovered over me as he shook me awake. Piercing hazel eyes bore into mine.
“Who was he?” he asked.
I could do more than stare at him. Moonlight from the bay window highlighted the cold cut of his high cheekbones.
“Who was he?” This time his voice sounded oddly distorted as if were speaking through a filter. The voice washed over me with velvety softness. A sense of calm filled me.
“M-my boyfriend,” I whispered hoarsely. “Morgan.”
“The boyfriend,” he said. “They did spend an unusually long time on you.”
Another boy came in through the hallway. Despite his brutish size, he grimaced as he came up behind the paramedic. “What a mess. Do we take her with us?”
The handsome paramedic shook his head. “Mother and daughter obviously fought off the gargoyle without magic.”
“They had swords,” the boy pointed out. “There’s another one in the living room. Dead. No head. They knew what they were doing.”
“The mother did. Unusual, but still they are quite obviously Regulars. And Regulars are not our concern.” The paramedic drew together my torn shirt and started to get up.
“Come, the hunt continues,” he said. “We must follow.”
I grabbed his wrist with the last bit of remaining strength. “W-Wait. Y-you can’t leave. You need to help my mother—”
The paramedic looked at me for a long moment. “Yes, I will help. But you must let go.”
I released him.
He stretched his wrist. “Surprisingly strong grip for such a delicate girl.”
“H-help,” I said.
“I will.” He put a hand to my head and muttered, “Time to rest… and forget.”
As my eyes fluttered close, I noticed the nametag on his uniform. Vane.
***
On the floor, in the foyer of Avalon Prep, I did throw up.
Matt rushed to me. “It’s all right, Ryan. You’re done. It’s all done.”
“I’d forgotten.” I sat back on the floor. My eyes snapped to Vane. “You made me forget.”
“Indeed, I did,” said Vane, without apology.
He’d saved me. But he didn’t want me to remember. I stared at him. “Why?”
“Yes, Vivane,” Aurelius commanded. “Why were you at the girl’s house?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Matt said. “He doesn’t have the sight. How do you think he rounded up his candidates? He’s been following the gargoyles about.”
“He’s rescuing candidates?” someone said.
“Hardly,” Matt scoffed. “The gargoyles don’t discriminate between Regulars and wizards, but Vane does.”
I looked at Vane with dawning horror. “You didn’t tell the kids they were being targeted?”
He gave an unemotional shrug. “You survived—”
“My mother didn’t!” I jumped up. I tried to lunge at Vane.
Matt caught me and held me still. “He’s not worth it.”
Vane continued without acknowledging my outburst, “—so might have the others. I don’t know.”
“Or care,” Matt added.
Aurelius cleared his throat. “What is done is done. We must look to the present.”
“Master Aurelius, look at the water,” Thornton interrupted in an awed tone.
The other Councilmembers circled the pedestal.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” a woman Councilmember declared. There was a chorus of agreements throughout the group.
“How is it possible?” another member said.
Reluctantly tearing my gaze from Vane’s. I looked at the pedestal.
The water was red with blood.
“Matt?” I said uncertainly.
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. The simple gesture calmed me.
“Where did you get the water?” Matt said to Aurelius.
Aurelius’s gaze didn’t move from the water. “We found it in your cave, of course. We’ve been monitoring it for almost a thousand years. How do think we knew when you woke?”
“Woke?” I said.
“Well, this has taken a most interesting turn, Matt,” Vane drawled.
“Don’t speak to me,” Matt snapped.
“We don’t have time for this,” Aurelius said. “Let us proceed with the test. Who is next?”
After a moment of hesitant silence, Grey stepped forward. “I will go.”
***
It took another two hours to get through the candidates. Unsurprisingly, Grey’s visions had been about the shadow-dragon and Alexa. I was still holding his hand—or he was holding mine—when Aurelius confirmed
the last candidate. I ran my tongue across my teeth. Matt had magically cleaned my mouth and now it felt fresher than before I had thrown up.
Marilyn had cleaned up the floor while Matt was taking care of me. From the glare she gave me I was pretty sure she and I were not going to be friends anytime soon.
After the pedestal had been taken away and the rest Council dispersed as mysteriously as they had appeared, Aurelius gathered the candidates.
“Congratulations and welcome,” he intoned. “Your guardians and mentors have briefed me about you, but you do not know me. I am Aurelius Ambrose. As well as holding the title of Second Member of the Wizard’s Council, I also serve as the head of this school.”
“Today, you are in a remarkable position. Some of you are wizards and some of you are not. However, all of you are beginners. Many students start at Avalon Prep at a very young age. You will be among the first to enroll as part of our special program. For those of you still in school, your time will count towards your secondary school education, and thus allow you to graduate if that is your wish.”
Aurelius walked back and forth in front of us. “Dangerous times are upon us. Most of you have had encounters with the gargoyles already. If seeing them today in your fellow candidates’ visions was a first, I am here to tell you that the threat is very real. The gargoyles started hunting down candidates as soon as we did. They would see you dead to increase their chances of being the ones to pull the sword out of the stone.”
“You have taken a great step today by coming here.” Aurelius’s lips curved into a grandfatherly smile. His beard swung back and forth. “In the upcoming days, you will be pushed beyond what you think you can handle. Although it may not feel like it now—you are where you belong. You are part of a new family. Not since King Arthur’s time has the Sword come back to the land—”
“Who cares about King Arthur?” Mark said. “He’s like a million years old. What are we supposed to do now?”
Aurelius gave him a disgruntled look. He waved his hand and the glass doors opened behind him. “Now, Mr. Brown, I realize you are exhausted so I will excuse your outburst this once. Your objective is simple enough. You will train at Avalon Prep. For your survival as well as ours, we will prepare you for whatever Trial the Sword may throw at you. There have been deaths enough. It’s time for a smarter approach.” He paused to make sure he had everyone’s attention. He did.
