Corviticus University: Family Ties

by J. E. Cluney

  “Claire?” Skip whispered as the blonde clawed at Marcus’ hand as he held her down at the shoulder.

  “You shot at Allison!” Marcus snarled.

  I just blinked as everything slowly came together as I spied the hole in his shirt on his right shoulder.

  He’d knocked me down when I’d been shot at.

  My knees went weak as I stared at the girl, who was glaring daggers at Skip and I.

  Wait, Skip knew her?

  “The tyre was shot too,” Lucas added as he stepped forward and waved a hand over the rifle. “Magicked weapon to be almost silent. Almost. We’re lucky Marcus heard it.”

  “Claire, why?” Skip murmured as he knelt down to stare at the blonde girl, but I could feel the rage pulsating inside him. He wanted to be furious with her, but a part of him knew that wouldn’t help.

  I hadn’t been hurt.

  Claire let out a rage-filled scream at him as she fought against Marcus, but it was futile.

  ‘Are you okay?’ I looked to Marcus, but I knew he was fine. The bullet had already been pushed out of his skin and it had healed instantly.

  He just nodded, but I could only stare dumbly as the shock rolled over me.

  He’d taken a bullet for me.

  Anyone else could’ve died.

  I blinked as I slowly looked over at the now weeping girl. She was sobbing softly as she scowled at Skip like he was the worst of the worst.

  Why had she tried to kill me?

  I turned to Skip, at the distraught, crushed expression on his face, and a glimpse into his mind broke me inside.

  Claire was Selena’s little sister.

  “You took her from me!” Claire screamed at him as she tried once more to break free from Marcus’ grip.

  We all just stared at her, trying to understand what was going on.

  I knew she was blaming Skip for Selena’s death. But why come after me? To hurt him more? Didn’t she realize Selena’s death had broken him too?

  Claire burst into tears, falling to her knees as she wailed and sobbed, covering her face with her hands.

  “You took Selena.”

  Her gut-wrenching sobs didn’t lessen the shock that I was still reeling from.

  I was fine. No one had been hurt.

  Thank God.

  Skip shot me a distressed look, clearly battling two emotions, one of fury and sheer anger, and the other of guilt and needing to comfort her.

  I just nodded softly at him, knowing that anger was not going to help anyone right now.

  He gave in, and Marcus released Claire as Skip wrapped his arms around her, apologizing softly and offering comforting words as she wept, completely broken and crushed.

  ‘What do we do?’ I asked Lucas as Ollie helped me to my feet and wrapped a protective arm around me. He was bristling, actually trembling with the stress and anger boiling inside him, but he thankfully didn’t act on it, and his jaw was set as he kept quiet.

  Skip held Claire as she wailed and clutched him.

  His pain and despair made my heart heavy, and even Marcus was staring sadly at the young woman, but his eyes were flickering with something deadly too. He was pissed, and a part of him wanted to take that out on her.

  He’d felt a brief moment of sheer panic and fear for me as he moved in front of the bullet, and his darker vampire side had urged him to hurt her, to draw blood or worse. But he’d fought through it and dragged her back, knowing we needed answers.

  I was grateful he hadn’t given in to those dark desires. It stemmed from his need to protect me, and I knew it. But Claire didn’t deserve that.

  She was broken and hurting.

  But trying to hurt me? That wasn’t something I could get over easily.

  Nor were any of my guys, who, despite holding straight faces, were boiling inside.

  “I wasn’t trying to kill her. I just wanted to hurt her, make you realize nothing is forever, that you could lose her. Just like I lost Selena,” Claire managed to gasp out between sobs.

  “You could’ve really hurt her,” Ollie growled as he tightened his grip around my waist. I knew he wanted to say so much more, but he withheld.

  “If I hadn’t taken the hit, it would’ve gotten Allison in the shoulder, not a lethal shot, but still painful,” Marcus informed us, but even he was still brimming with pent-up rage.

  “Still, you came here with the intention to harm. I know you’re hurting, but that’s no excuse to hurt Allison. Selena’s death was an accident,” Lucas growled, and I could see the underlying anger and fear flickering in his dark emerald eyes. He was not happy with how close I’d come to danger. How close I’d come to being hurt.

  Even Skip was doing well not to lose his shit at Claire, but he was thinking of Selena, of how she’d want someone to help her broken sister.

  She did need help.

  And Lucas agreed.

  I wasn’t sure how he’d made the call, but a portal opened up and Mr Brady stepped through, looking all business-like in his suit, his greying hair slicked back as he glanced around at us.

  “Seems we’ve had a situation?” Mr Brady arched a brow as he looked to his son for information.

  Lucas sighed as he stepped aside with his father, speaking in hushed tones as he relayed what had happened.

  I just watched Skip’s jaw twitch as he tried to keep from fuming and snapping at Claire as she sobbed and blubbered.

  A small part of me did feel sorry for her.

  ‘Don’t, she tried to hurt you,’ Marcus growled softly. He was not one to forgive easily, if at all.

  ‘If I died and you blamed someone, wouldn’t you want to hurt them?’ I murmured.

  ‘Yes, but I’d hurt them. Not someone innocent. Her grief has twisted her, she needs serious help,’ Marcus said, his voice low and laced with venom.

  My attention was pulled as Mr Brady turned back and cleared his throat.

  Skip helped Claire get to her feet as she wiped at her tears and sniffled.

  Skip didn’t rub her shoulders reassuringly or anything, he just stood behind her, one hand on her shoulder and his jaw set.

  He was holding it all together well, although I could see the guilt and self-hatred glinting in those normally sweet blue eyes.

  He blamed himself for this.

  That realization broke my heart, and I wanted to throw myself into his arms and hold him tight, to make it clear he had no part in this.

  This was just a broken girl struggling and seeking vengeance. He was a victim here too.

  Those blue eyes met mine, and I could see he was grateful, having heard my projected thoughts. But believing it was a whole other story.

  “Claire Ryan, today you intended to cause grievous bodily harm to an innocent woman for an accident that occurred years ago. This situation could have escalated, and someone could’ve died. You’re lucky they didn’t. But you will need to be punished for your actions, and will stand before the Supernatural Council. I will take you into custody,” Mr Brady stated as he stepped forward to take Claire.

  She shot Skip a frightened look, but he just nodded as he took a step back.

  She drew in a shuddering breath, her eyes flickering with confusion as she finally glanced at me.

  Guilt and realization flickered in them, and she averted her gaze as she held up her hands for Mr Brady in surrender.

  Golden magical handcuffs appeared on her wrists, and Mr Brady turned to Marcus to take the rifle as well.

  I zoned out as Mr Brady gave Claire her rights and told her what would happen.

  I felt oddly tired, and I realized I’d had adrenaline keeping me from feeling frightened about the whole thing.

  Hell, I’d been shot at. Not hit, but still.

  This was why we had gun laws in Australia. Guess being a farm girl, she had access to guns though.

  I’d glimpsed the memory in Skip’s head of how Selena’s father went hunting, and he was sure the rifle belonged to him.

  Great, her father would get in tr
ouble too for her being able to access the weapon.

  ‘Everything is okay, we won’t let anything happen to you,’ Skip said, although his voice was strained as he averted his gaze.

  I softened as I stared at him.

  He was hurting inside, blaming himself, and it was crushing me as well.

  Ollie released me as I closed the gap and hugged Skip, pushing my loving feelings onto him.

  He was not at fault here. And I needed him to know that none of us blamed him at all. None of the other guys felt like he was at fault.

  This was all on Claire. The choice to do this had been hers alone.

  Skip was merely a victim.

  ‘I can’t help but blame myself,’ he murmured as he hugged me tight, as if I was going to fade away right before him.

  He held onto me as Mr Brady spoke softly to Lucas, and I turned my head just in time to see Claire and Mr Brady step through the portal.

  She shot me a glance, and it confused me. She looked more than just a little confused. She look disorientated and scared, and for some reason, that bugged me.

  ’She’s just coming to terms with what she almost did,’ Lucas assured me.

  I wanted to believe him, but it didn’t seem right.

  I jumped as my ringtone sounded off, and I stepped back from Skip to fish my phone out of my back pocket.

  Emma was calling.

  Had she sensed this?

  No, that wasn’t how her powers worked, but maybe a spirit had told her something bad was going to happen? If so, it was a little late.

  I gave Skip a small smile as I sat down on the side step of the cruiser, finding my knees were a little weak.

  I let out a shaky breath, and held the phone to my ear as I answered.

  “Allison! You won’t believe what just happened!” Emma practically shouted, breathless and clearly frazzled.

  “I could say the same,” I groaned.

  “Wait, what? Why?!” Emma demanded answers, her voice rising with worry.

  “Skip’s deceased girlfriend’s sister just tried to shoot me,” I stated, but quickly followed it up before Emma panicked even more. “Don’t worry, Marcus stopped the bullet, and Mr Brady took her into custody. She wanted to hurt Skip, she blames him for her sister’s death.”

  “Holy crap, that’s insane, are you guys okay?!” she gasped, the worry seeping into her voice.

  “We’re all fine, a little shaken, but fine. What did you want to tell me? I could use a distraction,” I said as I glanced at my guys, who were all now clustered together before me. They were trying to cheer up Skip, who was wallowing in self-hate right now.

  “Oh, um, maybe another time,” Emma said, but her strained voice was the giveaway informing me whatever it was, was important.

  “No, tell me,” I demanded.

  “Well, I… jeez. Maybe I should tell you in person rather than over the phone,” Emma murmured, and I could hear her fidgeting. I could just picture her playing with whatever jewelry she had on.

  “It’s fine, just tell me.”

  “I got a message from a spirit,” Emma sighed, the air whooshing out of her.

  “Okay, what was the message?”

  “They said that your life is about to take a turn, things that were set in motion long ago are now coming to pass, and you must find the scarlet dagger and use it,” Emma relayed the message.

  God, why couldn’t messages ever be clear-cut? Why were they always in some code or really vague? Why not just say ‘This will happen if you do not do this’? So much simpler.

  “I don’t even know what that means,” I groaned.

  “Neither do I, but it’s really important,” Emma emphasized.

  “I’m sure it is,” I groaned. Great, another cryptic message to figure out.

  “It is important. Important enough that the spirit waited around for years in the spirit realm, waiting until she had the strength to reach out to me. She saw things starting to happen, so mustered up all her strength to reach out to me before passing onto the next world,” Emma said.

  “Who was the spirit?” I asked softly, my chest suddenly tightening. Someone who waited around? Did they know me? Something told me they did, and it was making my gut twist.

  “Your mom.”

  I froze up as my throat tightened, and a shiver coursed through me as I reminded myself to breathe.

  My mom hadn’t moved on? She’d been stuck in the ghost realm? Why? Just to tell me this weird message?

  “Was she… okay?” I asked stupidly, not sure how to ask. I wished I could’ve been there, spoken to her too.

  “Yes, she’s been watching you, and she’s proud of you, and happy for you. She couldn’t say much, it took all her strength to relay the message. I know it would’ve been better if it was more clear, but sometimes messages can get obscured, and I can only grasp the general idea of it. She knew something bad was coming though, something she’d sensed when she passed that made her hang around and dig deeper in the ghost realm.”

  “What about my father?” I asked softly, now realizing my guys were all silent as they watched me and listened in.

  “He moved on when he passed, he’s at peace,” Emma said softly.

  I sighed. At least one of them had found peace. And now mom was moving on too after passing on her message.

  “That’s good,” I murmured, my body going limp as I slouched forward.

  What else did today want to hurl my way?

  We said our goodbyes, and I sat in silence as I just stared at the ground, watching a few ants crawl in the dirt.

  I struggled to process everything, and the boys slowly closed in on me. Lucas knelt down before me and took my hands in his.

  “Everything will be okay, we’ll figure out what this means,” he murmured softly.

  I honestly just wanted to curl up and hide, pretend none of this had happened.

  My brain hurt from it all.

  I closed my eyes, drawing in steadying breaths as I focused on Lucas’ thumbs tracing gentle circles on the back of my hands.

  What on earth was the scarlet dagger anyway? And use it? For what? To slice up tomatoes?

  No, definitely something more sinister than that.

  “We’ll see Emma in person, she may be able to shed more light on it,” Ollie offered gently.

  I wasn’t sure what help that would be. She’d told us everything she’d been told.

  But, it was better than nothing.

  I pushed myself off the step, allowing Lucas to pull me to my feet as I stared around at my guys.

  There was always going to be something popping up to stop us from just enjoying life.

  Was it too much to ask to have no dramas while I completed my studies?

  Apparently.

  Marcus pulled me into his arms, and I took comfort in his cool skin as I closed my eyes.

  I frowned as a strange sensation rippled through me.

  ‘I felt that too,’ Ollie murmured into my mind.

  The others all sent me telepathic agreements that they’d felt it too.

  It hit me again, this time as a tugging sensation deep inside my very being.

  Darkness engulfed me, and I shuddered as I found myself in my void.

  What the hell? I hadn’t come here willingly.

  I glanced around, jumping as the boys all appeared around me.

  “This is really weird,” Ollie stated as his wide eyes flicked around the darkness.

  “I’m sorry, I figured it was the safest place for us all to talk.”

  We all spun around to find Walter standing behind us in his red suit, white undershirt, and bowler hat.

  “You can pull us into Allison’s void?” Lucas asked in disbelief.

  I was just as shocked.

  “Only with the willingness of her banshee side,” Walter stated as he glanced around at all of us.

  My banshee side. Yes, she was completely at ease with all of this.

  But my logical side was still a little weirded out
.

  “Why are we here?” Marcus asked the obvious question.

  “I was right, Miss Smoak. I’ve discovered that my father had greater plans. And when I heard the scarlet dagger mentioned, I realized that my findings were clear. My father is not dead. He’s been biding his time, and now, he’s returned,” Walter said sadly.

  “What?! Didn’t he get put down for necromancy?” Skip barked. He was clearly feeling a little better with a new issue to focus on, but at the back of his mind, he was still feeling shitty.

  “Yes, but he was practicing necromancy. I believe he found a way to come back at a certain time. I’ve heard the odd whisper that this scarlet dagger is a part of that. But what worries me, is that I’ve also learned that my father’s new plan involves Maple Grove, and a particular shifter. I met with a psychic in the ghost realm a week ago, one with the future sight ability. Hard psychics to come by, very few around. But she was able to reveal those few details to me,” Walter explained. “I’ve spent the past week with her discovering all I can with her ability, but my father is warded well, so we’ve only learned tidbits.”

  “Damn, what’s he want with Maple Grove?” Skip asked.

  “We’re not sure, but nothing good, that’s for certain,” Walter grimaced at the mere thought.

  “And the shifter?” Marcus asked.

  Walter turned to Ollie, sighing in defeat.

  “Oliver Blythe.”

  “What?” Ollie was stunned as he just shot us all a look of confusion. “Why me?”

  “We’re not sure, but we need to figure this all out. We’ve got time at least. Mabel, the psychic, has been able to tell me that at least. A few months for us to figure it out, so don’t get too stressed, I intend to get to the bottom of this myself. He’s not at full strength, and he won’t be for some time. So, I’ll continue finding out all I can, and I was hoping you all could see what you can dig up as well in regards to my father and the scarlet dagger,” Walter said, giving us all a hopeful look.

  “Well, can’t really say no,” Marcus murmured.

  “Maybe your dad knows more?” Skip suggested as he turned to Lucas.

  “Maybe, he’d be a good start. Best get onto this now then,” Lucas sighed.

  “Oh, and Miss Smoak,” Walter turned to me, “Everything will be okay. You have my word, I’ll get to the bottom of this as soon as I can, and we’ll figure this out.”