Sagely gagged, fighting back waves of nausea. When she saw a tuft of human hair trailing from the corner of the rat’s mouth, she couldn’t hold it back. She turned away and got sick.
When she turned back, the girl who had attacked her was the only one left. She slowly clambered to her feet, her hair still hanging in her face. Her eyes had gone cold, blank as death. Her pupils had overtaken her entire irises, and with a shudder of revulsion, Sagely recognized that black. The absolutely featureless sheen, the all-consuming black. She gasped, stepping back. A tremor of fear traveled through her as she was transported back to the night when she was supposed to die.
The woman’s lips pulled back from her teeth. "We’ll get you yet." She said the words slowly, annunciating each one as if Sagely were stupid or deaf. But she heard her all right.
"I don't think so. And if you don't get out of here you never will. I’m giving you three seconds before I explode your head, too."
With a groan, the witch stood and shook back her auburn hair. A bit of gray matter stuck to the end of a strand that must have brushed the floor when her head was bowed. Again, Sagely had to swallow to keep from vomiting. Luckily, she hadn’t eaten in almost twenty-four hours, so she didn’t have anything to throw up.
The witch took one staggering step towards the stairs. Sagely’s shoulders began to relax, and she turned to spit blood from the cut across her lip.
Suddenly, the witch spun around with a level of speed and agility that would’ve made Master Zuchowski proud. She whipped a ball of magic through the air, aiming straight for Sagely’s head.
Already cursing herself, Sagely threw herself to the floor, knowing she wasn’t quick enough. The woman had moved so fast. But so did Quill. His hand shot out, and a stream of electricity, like a strand of lightning that was straight instead of crooked, bolted from his palm. The ball of energy hung mere inches from Sagely’s eyes.
With a cry of anger, the witch spun and raced up the stairs before bursting through the door at the top. That's when Sagely noticed the owl that had sat by and watched, blending in to the cavern’s walls. It flew out behind the witch, its wingtips brushing the doorframe. For a second, they all stood frozen, staring at the majestic beauty of the grey owl. Sagely had never seen an owl so close, and they had a certain dignity that inspired awe.
When she turned away, she found Quill staring at her.
"What?" she asked.
“I think we should go over some rules," said Majori Yordine.
Sagely figured now would not be the time to remind the coven that they’d told her there were no rules, and that the Majoris didn’t have power over the students.
"We don't use dark magic," Quill said. He was still sitting on the floor, a black cloak crumpled beside him. Inside the cloak was a body. A body Sagely had killed.
Suddenly she was shaking all over. She’d killed someone. She’d taken someone's life. She hadn't even needed to, she was just trying to get him off Quill. How was she supposed to know that her abilities included blowing up heads? No one had told her that.
She’d been thinking more along the lines of levitation, maybe some flying or a little bit of fortune-telling. It might be cool to turn off lights from across the room or light a candle with willpower alone. How was she supposed to know that if she wrapped her hands around someone's head, his skull would detonate like a bomb was inside it?
"I didn't know," she said, hating the defensive edge in her voice.
"I know," Quill said. "It’s my fault. I should've told you. Let's go. I’ll explain everything."
Before this moment, she’d been thinking she needed to go home, that she could control these powers. All she needed was a few lessons, and she'd be out of there. She’d been thinking that she’d live in her apartment, come back a time or two every week for the rest of summer. But now she faltered. What if she accidentally hurt her roommate next time she was mad at her? What if she hurt Muffy?
"Okay," she said, taking in a shuddering breath. “Okay, I’ll study with Majori Ory.” She fought the urge to giggle at the rhyme but only for a second. Though she covered her mouth with her fingers, it burst out from behind them. She couldn't help giggling uncontrollably like a schoolgirl. Even when she pulled her fingers away and saw that they were covered with blood, and that she was smearing it across her mouth, she giggled and giggled, until tears were running down her face.
Everyone was staring at her with their sober expressions, and the frown on Romero's face could frighten a tiger. Quill’s face was a mask of bland, expressionlessness that she’d never seen before. He’d always looked at her in a teasing, appreciative way so she knew that whatever was between them was more than the magic he gave her.
But now he only watched and waited for her to finish hysterically giggling. When at last she got it under control, she wiped her tears. The gesture only served to make her even more gory, smearing blood across her face. For a moment, she could only stare at her bloody hands. She’d never meant to kill someone, never thought she would, even if he deserved it. But now she had. And she was going to have to deal with the consequences.
Nine
No one spoke as she helped Quill to his feet. They moved aside as she passed, casting suspicious glances her way. Even Eli dropped his gaze when she smiled at him.
“What, they’ve never seen someone die?” she asked when they were out of earshot of the chamber.
“Not often,” Quill said with a grimace. “Sagely, we hold all human life as sacred, even that of a dark witch. If we killed as easily as they did, we’d be no better. Our magic is for creation, not destruction.”
“But he was going to kill you,” she pointed out. “Can’t you fight for your own life, since it’s so sacred and all?”
“Of course,” he said. “But we prefer more peaceful ways of subduing them than…exploding their heads.”
“I didn’t mean to,” she said, throwing her hands up.
“I know,” he said, taking her hand. The magic that usually exploded through her at his nearness, at his touch, sizzled briefly, but it was tied up with something else now, something dark and strangling, choking their magic.
She pulled her hand away, and he turned to her, his eyes wide. He’d felt it, too.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she said. “It’s you. He hurt you.” Her voice came out more accusatory than she intended.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, and that was when she felt it the first time. It was faint, but she could read his emotions a bit, too. She could read the depth of his pain. With a shiver, she thought how glad she was that she didn’t experience his pain, too. She didn’t think she could handle it as well as he was.
“You’re hurt,” she said again, this time softer.
He paused a moment before answering. His eyes searched hers, vulnerability building as he held her gaze. “Yes,” he admitted at last, his strong shoulders slumping. “I didn’t want the others to see how easily those witches weakened me. They’d be terrified.” He leaned against the wall as he spoke, as if he didn’t have the energy to stand and speak at the same time.
“Maybe they should be terrified,” Sagely said fiercely. “And whoever they were, if they could do this to you… Is he the warlock you told me about? The most powerful in the world?”
He shook his head miserably. “No, it wasn’t Viziri. I don’t know who they were. But something was controlling them. Did you see their eyes?”
Sagely nodded, coldness creeping up her arms.
“I’m sorry, Sagely. I want to talk more, but I think…I should lie down.”
“Let me help you,” she said, stepping beside him. She draped his arm over her shoulder, and, ignoring his protests, pulled him away from the wall.
“I can walk myself,” he growled.
“Maybe I’m just trying to get close to you,” she teased.
He grunted in response, but he let her help him down the corridor, which worried her even more. When they reach
ed the tunnel with the constellations, she was relieved to learn that his room was the first on the left. Her shoulder ached from supporting his weight, which had steadily increased as they walked. His fingers skimmed across his constellation without even looking at it, and they stepped through.
“You can’t enter unless you’re one of us,” he muttered. “Unless I want you to.”
“Does that mean you want me here?” she asked, suddenly feeling shy for the first time since they’d met. “Or do you want me to leave?”
“I don’t like you seeing me like this,” he said with a scowl as he sank onto the bed. “But you can feel how much of my magic he took, whether I invite you or not. Can’t you?” He glared like that was her fault.
“I didn’t ask for your magic,” she reminded him. “I didn’t wring it from your unwilling throat. In case you forgot, I stopped that guy from taking all of it, or worse, your life.”
“I know,” he said, sinking back. “I’m sorry. I’m being a jerk.”
“Yes,” she said. “You are. Now let me help you.”
He sighed. “Do I have a choice?”
“Nope. Right now, I’m stronger than you, and I have every intention of taking advantage of that.”
“You do, huh?” He smiled and tugged at her hand, giving her his best puppy dog eyes. She clambered onto the bed, though her cautious side was wondering what the hell she thought she was doing, hopping in bed with some guy she’d just met. Another part of her didn’t care a lick, and it won out this time.
Her moment of shyness forgotten, she lay down beside Quill.
“Okay, but no funny business,” she said firmly.
“Is this funny business?” he asked, trailing his fingers up her arm. It was exactly as she’d imagined in the tunnel, like comets threading their way over her skin.
“Yes,” she said, taking his hand in hers so he couldn’t make her want to do something she’d regret. “So, if you lost some of your magic, and I have some of your magic, can’t I just give it back to you?”
“You don’t want your magic?” he asked, looking mortally wounded by the idea.
“I don’t know,” she said. “So far, it hasn’t been all that useful except for killing a guy, and you said I’m not supposed to do that.”
“We’ll teach you how,” he assured her, his eyelids drooping. “But if you don’t want it…I could try to take it back. No one is going to force you to be one of us, Sagely.”
She thought about it for a minute. They had said she should learn to control her magic before she left. But now, she had a choice to make. She could give it back and leave right now. Tomorrow, she’d wake up in her apartment in Fayetteville, with her roommate she hardly knew and her beloved cat. She could go back to the life she’d always known.
How freaking dull.
After being here just a day, she already knew that wasn’t going to work anymore. She didn’t want to give her magic back. She wanted to use it. And if that black-hole guy came after her again, she might need it. She couldn’t leave now, not when she had this power, when it could destroy someone. Maybe someday she’d leave, but not yet.
Taking Quill’s hand, she laced her fingers through his and squeezed. His ring was white-gold, with little rune-like symbols etched in it. “I’m in it for the long haul,” she said. “So, tell me what to do.”
“Good,” Quill said with a weak smile. “After seeing you work today, I don’t think I’d want to be on the receiving end of your magic. You might, you know, blow up my head.”
“Shut up,” she said, punching him lightly. “Seriously, though. If that guy stole your magic, and I killed him, where is it now?”
“You should be able to find it better than anyone.”
She remembered his words from earlier. Like attracts like. Did that mean she could find his magic and absorb it? “So, someone could just find it lying around, absorb it, and be more powerful than you?” she asked.
His eyelids had drooped halfway closed, but now they snapped open again. Their eyes met, and she had another flash of his emotion. His eyes pooled with that same vulnerability tinged with fear that came through their shared magic before. He knew what she was thinking, that she could take his power away. “Theoretically,” he said after a long moment.
She knew then that he’d given her something more precious than his magic. He’d given her his trust.
“I won’t,” she whispered, her heart beating hard suddenly.
“You better not,” he said, smoothing her hair behind her ear. One corner of his mouth quirked up the slightest bit, but his eyes remained serious, searching hers.
“I promise.” She took his hand and placed it on her pounding heart. Their eyes caught, held. His gaze moved over hers, down her face to her lips.
She leaned in, brushing her lips over his.
Electricity exploded through her body, and she gasped against his mouth. In one motion, he rolled over onto her, pressing her down into the soft bed. His lips claimed hers, hard and then soft, soft and then hard. He sucked her lower lip between his teeth and bit down gently, his tongue teasing the tear in her flesh.
She gasped again, arching up against him, but he pulled away.
“I want you, Sagely,” he murmured, his voice hoarse with longing. “But when I can do it right. Not when I’m weak. You deserve more.”
“It better stop raining soon so we can use all these rain checks,” she said, smiling and rolling over onto him. She pressed her body along his and gave him a quick kiss. “Now you need to rest while I go find your magic.”
“So I can’t tell you what you need, but you get to tell me?”
“Exactly,” she said lightly, sitting up. “Now. How do I find it?”
“It’s tricky,” he said. “Like a leprechaun. It might hide. But it will be in something important to me, hiding until someone finds it.”
“And if I find it, I should bring it to you?”
“Yes,” he whispered, his eyes tinged with fear again. “Or bring me to it.”
“I promised,” she said. “I don’t take that lightly, Quill. I’m not going to steal your magic.”
“Then don’t tell anyone,” he said, closing his eyes. “Unless you’re certain you can trust them.”
“Who?” she asked.
But his eyes had already closed.
She jumped up, but just as she started for the door, he muttered something. She turned back. “What?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes still closed. “This is my fault.”
“You did bring me into this,” she admitted. “But like you said, it was better than the alternative. You could have let me die last night.”
“No, it’s my fault…that he attacked you.”
“What?” she whispered in shock. “What do you mean?”
When he didn’t answer, she poked him in the shoulder. He grimaced, but after a moment, he answered. “I think…he followed me. From the park. Maybe he got our cars mixed up, or…”
“Or what?”
He didn’t answer, and his pale, drawn face told her she didn’t have time to dwell on it. She could be pissed at him later, when he was better. So she’d better make sure he got better.
Ten
Sagely raced out of the room, only pausing a second when she was outside the door to marvel that she’d just run through a solid rock face. She was getting used to this already. Her foot crunched on a piece of gravel, and she started to despair as to how she would ever find something important to Quill. For all she knew, his magic was hiding in the rock she’d just stepped on. Or the table where they’d measured their magical strength. The mud baths he loved so much. It could be anywhere.
She shook the questions from her mind and started for the cavern again. She had to try. She had to find it. The magic inside her pushed her onwards, pulsing with need to heal her healer, to save her savior. He’d shared his magic with her. If only she were skilled enough to return the favor, to heal him with her magic. But no one was going to
let her touch them after what she’d done to that warlock.
Now that the adrenaline had left her, the thought of what she’d done made her stumble. She’d killed a man. Taken his life. This wasn’t a crazy dream, as much as it felt that way. If she went back to her real life, she’d still have blood on her hands.
She had blood on her hands. Literal, not metaphorical, blood. She swallowed her bout of nausea and hurried along the corridor. When she stepped into the big chamber, all eyes turned her way. Silence fell.
At last, Raina spoke. “You did this.” Her voice was deadly, cut through with actual hatred. Sagely had never been hated before. Not this real, this deep. It shook her, and for a second, she thought Raina was talking about Quill. Had she already found his magic and realized that he’d lost it?
But then she saw that Raina was holding the enormous vulture by the neck. Its body dangled limply from her grasp.
“This is your fault,” she growled, thrusting the dead thing in Sagely’s direction. “We haven’t been attacked in years, and then you come along, and the next day, the dark witches show up. You led them here!”
“Me?” Sagely asked. “I don’t have anything to do with it. Two days ago, I didn’t even know witches existed outside of story books.”
Raina curled her lip in a snarl and stalked away. The others looked uncomfortable, shifting and studying the walls or their shoes.
Sagely caught Eli’s eye at last and gestured for him to join her. With a guilty glance at the others, he shuffled to her side. “I need to find something,” she said. “Can they hear me if I tell you here?”
“Let’s talk in the tunnel.”
They stepped into the tunnel, and she quickly filled him in. “And I killed him, so it must have spilled in here somewhere,” she finished.
“We need to get him his familiar,” Eli said without a second’s hesitation. He turned and raced down the tunnel, with Sagely following at a jog. She should have thought of this. Quill must have known where his magic had gone, but he’d been testing her. Oops. She’d obviously failed that one. How was she supposed to know that his escaped magic receptacle was his pet? Or spirit animal, or whatever.
Magic of the Void: A Reverse Harem Witch Series (Winslow Witch Chronicles Book 1) Page 5
