by T. S. Ryder
"At least, that's the most reasonable interpretation," Avalon continued. "My mom made me write essays on the subject matter every year growing up, using various scholarly sources, arguing for different ways of explaining the prophecies."
Vaughn jumped down from the fountain, landing lightly beside her. "I hope that's the right interpretation. The world could use some peace, don't you think?"
He started away and Avalon's gaze drifted to his tight ass. It was a mistake. Her cheeks flushed and a surge of heat swirled in her stomach. Her eyes snapped up again as Vaughn turned and he smirked. Avalon wondered if her pupils had dilated, giving her away. She cleared her throat and hurried to walk next to him instead of behind him.
"It's time for your first class," he said. "This way."
Avalon's heart sank as they headed for the offense building. It was just her luck that she was going to end up humiliating herself in front of all her classmates–and Vaughn–on her first day there.
The class was taught by a tiny woman who called herself Madame Fire. She was shorter even than Avalon, with spiky black hair and a thick New Zealand accent.
"The trick to fire," she said, "is emotion. Sadness, anger, joy, hate. These are your tools. The stronger the better. Form your weapon from emotion, let it burn through you. The real challenge is to use your emotions, but not let them consume you."
Avalon tried not to grimace. Emotion. She was a mellow person. This was precisely why she was never that great at fire magic, despite how pivotal it was to learn.
Vaughn stood with several other men and women at the end of the classroom. Avalon wondered idly if they were all bodyguards and then wondered who she was rubbing elbows with as the students formed a line. Royalty, perhaps?
"We're not going to be practicing any magic today. Your assignment for the next class is to find something you react with strong emotion to. It doesn’t matter what emotion, just find it and bring it to class." Madame Fire surveyed them for a moment, then nodded. "Dismissed."
Well, that was easy. Avalon turned to Vaughn, but a tall, dark-haired, slender girl stepped into her path. "You're Avalon Grey, aren't you?"
Avalon nodded.
"I'm Elsa. My mother said you'd be coming to school. I'm having a little get together in my dorm on Friday to celebrate our first week. You should come."
Vaughn was suddenly at her side, practically glowering at Elsa. Avalon ignored him, glad there was at least one person here that she could get to know. "Yeah, of course I'll come."
"Great!" Elsa beamed. "Seven o'clock, don’t be late."
Chapter Three
The first week of classes was brutal.
Madame Fire was the only one who was satisfied with just explaining what the class would be like. In every other class, Avalon had to show just how advanced her skills were. Which was to say, being humiliated when her offensive spells were weak and ineffective.
Fortunately, she seemed to be slightly ahead of the others when it came to earth magic and truly excelled in the single water magic class she was enrolled in.
Finally, though, it was Friday. Avalon got ready for Elsa's party, dressed in a hot pink halter top that looked good on her Eurasian skin tones, cinched at the waist with a rhinestone belt and a skirt that stopped just above her knee.
She'd opted for a little bolder makeup than her usual fare and put on a pair of strappy high heels that were going to kill her by the end of the night, but made her legs look fantastic.
"What do you think?" she asked Vaughn, twirling so the skirt went a little higher than was appropriate.
I shouldn't do that, she thought. He's probably taken some sort of monk-like vow of chastity, or at least isn't supposed to get involved with the object of his protection.
But they weren't bonded yet. That wouldn't happen for at least a year, to make sure they could get along before he was connected to her. What was the harm in a little flirting in the meantime?
"I think you shouldn’t go to this party."
Avalon frowned. "Why not?"
"Because I'm not the only dragon here. In your classes, I counted at least five other dragon bodyguards, as well as two werewolves, and I think I saw a vampire on campus."
"A vampire?" Avalon couldn't help herself. "Sexy!"
Vaughn glowered at her.
"Hey, I'm kidding."
"This isn't a joking matter, Avalon."
"Look, if this place wasn't safe for me, my parents wouldn't have sent me. I appreciate your concern, but I've never really had any friends. I've never been in one place long enough to get to know people my own age."
"Never?"
Avalon shook her head. "And improving my social skills is just as important as learning how to blow up stuff, isn't it? Besides, you'll be right there, protecting me with those rippling muscles."
Vaughn hesitated. "I haven't had time to properly vet everybody who is going to be there."
Avalon folded her arms, glowering at the dragon. "Would it make you feel better if I promised not to get drunk?"
"A little."
"I won't get drunk. Come on, it'll be fun. You need to loosen up a little."
Vaughn's frown turned into a scowl.
"What are you worried about, anyway?"
"That something will happen and I won't be able to break through my gaggle of admirers to get to you in time."
Avalon's brow rose, but Vaughn's expression was completely serious. He wasn't scowling anymore, though, so she took it as a joke and smiled at him. "What about the gaggle of admirers surrounding me?"
"Them I'll tear limb from limb," he said confidently. "Especially if it's the sexy vampire."
Avalon laughed.
***
Elsa's dorm was much bigger than Avalon's. It had an open floor plan: kitchen, dining room and living room, all occupied one large space divided by a green granite-topped island. To one side of the room was a set of stairs that led to a loft. Streamers hung from every available surface.
The room was already packed, and the sound of music thumped through Avalon's chest while the scent of pizza slithered into her nose. Her mouth watered.
Elsa found her quickly and grabbed her hand, dragging her deeper into the crush of bodies as Vaughn struggled to keep up. She pulled her to the kitchen area, which was slightly less crammed. "Everyone! I want you to meet Avalon. Avalon, these are my roommates: Shu, Imbiana, Helen and Celia."
No wonder she had such a big place, with four other women living with her. Avalon nodded in turn to each of them. All looked at her with interest, and Elsa continued.
"This is Shu's boyfriend, Mike, and Helen's brother, George."
"Pleased to meet you," Avalon replied. "This is my friend, Vaughn."
George extended a hand and shook Vaughn's. Both eyed each other like lions about to start a battle and Avalon made a note not to let Vaughn drink too much. Or at all. The last thing she wanted was her first party here to end in fisticuffs.
But then, if he was worried for her, he probably wouldn't drink anything, anyway.
"Do you think they're going to start measuring?" Helen whispered in her ear and Avalon snorted.
If Elsa hadn't told her that Helen and George were siblings, she would never have guessed they were related. Helen was tall, willowy, with dark hair, dark eyes and creamy skin. George was a good head shorter than his sister, built like a brick barn, with sandy hair and hazel eyes.
"Here." Elsa pressed a cup into Avalon's hand. "And look! It's Makoto and his brother. Oh, I forget his name…"
She scurried off to greet her guests.
"We share a few classes, don't we?" Avalon asked Helen.
"Yes. We're both in Madame Fire's class with Elsa. I don’t know how I'm going to survive that class… I'm always told I'm too emotional and that I need to control myself, and now she wants me to embrace that?" Helen shook her head, looking bewildered. "But maybe the three of us can train together."
"That would be great."
Avalon raised the cu
p to her lips. It was a smooth peach nectar with a pleasant tang of alcohol. Remembering her promise not to get drunk, she only took one swallow before leaving it on the counter.
"I want to dance," she announced. "Who's going to dance with me?"
Helen shook her head, but Imbiana, Celia and George happily took her up on the offer. Vaughn trailed after them.
They found room in the living room and began dancing. Avalon let her hips rock to the music, enjoying the beat pulsing through her as she raised her hands in the air and whipped her head left and right.
When Imbiana grabbed George and began grinding against him, Avalon didn't hesitate before she backed into Vaughn and did the same thing, though he hadn't really been dancing.
His hands clutched her hips, and a spark of electricity shot through her. It was as strong a jolt as she had ever gotten and she gasped, freezing for a moment.
Vaughn's breath was hot on the back of her neck, bringing her hips back towards him, thrusting his own forward. Avalon's heart sped up and she turned, wrapping her arms around his neck as she forgot the music.
Her eyes met Vaughn's. Something stirred in her stomach, an almost painful sensation. She knew that if she didn't stop now that their lips, drifting closer, would touch. Then they'd part and then they'd find a room to themselves and—
Her stomach twisted so suddenly and painfully that she cried out. Vaughn's arms tightened around her and if he hadn't been holding her she would have collapsed. Before she could catch her breath, it happened again. It was like a snake writhing in her gut, lashing out, biting at her insides.
Vaughn rushed to the kitchen area, half-carrying Avalon. The music still pounded in her ears but the sounds of horrified gasps and panicked inquiries were just as loud.
Everything slipped in circles, the pain coming again and again, getting more intense each time. She felt like she was about to die.
"Avalon, drink this." Vaughn's voice broke through the jagged tearing in her stomach. He was pressing something to her lips and she obeyed without thinking. It tasted bitter and salty.
The pain came again, so hard that she collapsed, screaming. Vaughn fell to his knees beside her, holding her. Sweat beaded her forehead—
And a massive projectile of vomit spewed from her mouth.
Chapter Four
The smell of breakfast made Avalon's stomach rumble, but every time she tried to get out of bed. Vaughn gave her the stink eye. So she stayed where she was, watching as he cracked the eggs and added them to a pan of sautéed peppers, onion and celery.
It was Monday morning and Avalon was glad classes were resuming. Since the unfortunate incident Friday night, Vaughn hadn't let her leave her dorm. He claimed she needed rest, but she felt fine.
She took the time to read ahead on some of the theory for her classes and practiced some basic magic, but soon grew bored and restless being inside all day.
"The doctor said it was just a stomach bug," Avalon ventured as Vaughn dumped the scrambled eggs into a burrito wrap. "There's no need to coddle me anymore."
He added some spinach, then tightly wrapped the burrito. "The doctor didn't know what he was looking at. That was no stomach bug."
Avalon groaned. "I am going to class today."
Vaughn put the egg wrap on a plate and handed it to her. He sat on the edge of her bed, frowning.
His frowns were almost as sexy as his smug smile.
If she wasn't so pissed off at him for not letting her outside and glowering at Elsa every time she visited, Avalon would have thought about heading downtown to find some silk pajamas, since he had taken to sleeping on the floor at the foot of her bed every night. Her old, comfortable cotton nightdress did her no favors.
I'm mad at him, she reminded herself sternly. You don't dress sexy for someone you're mad at.
"I suppose you do need to go to class," he said reluctantly. "And you ought to know what actually happened on Friday."
"I had a bit of a stomach bug."
"No, you were poisoned."
Avalon had been about to take a bite of food. She stared at the dragon, jaw hanging loose. "Poisoned?"
"I collected a sample of your vomit—"
"You–what?"
Avalon's face went beet red. That was the only reason she had allowed Vaughn to keep her cooped up. The whole vomiting-all-over-everyone thing that had happened was embarrassing enough that she might have stayed in her dorm all weekend, even if Vaughn hadn't insisted she did.
Vaughn chuckled at her expression but grew serious again. "I had it tested for several poisons and the results came back positive for ironide. It's a witch-specific poison. Only magic users react to it, but even when consumed in small amounts it can be fatal."
"Somebody tried to kill me?"
"I suspected as much when you collapsed. My first thought was ironide. It was a favorite choice to use among the magic monarchies of the past. That's why I made you vomit. Immediate expulsion is necessary."
Avalon pushed her plate away, her heart beating faster. She took a deep breath. "Why are you just telling me this now?"
"I didn't want you to worry."
She rubbed her arms, feeling chilled. Maybe she didn't want to go to class today… "But who here would want to kill me?"
"Your mother has enemies."
"Only the kind that will say nasty things about you behind your back. Nobody wants to kill us."
Vaughn gave her a look that clearly indicated he thought she was being naive. "Any person with power and money has enemies that would like to kill them. That's why Uncle Stane is necessary for her and I'm necessary for you."
"Nobody has ever tried to kill me before!"
"That you know of." Vaughn sighed. "There have been increased rumors lately that the Ladies of the Lake are returning."
The Ladies of the Lake were originally the serving-maids to Morgan le Fay. But while Morgan tried to dissuade Arthur's passion for Guinevere, knowing the fair maiden would be the downfall of Camelot and everything they strode to build, the Ladies craved war, to increase their own power. They thus created Excalibur, to prod Arthur into arrogance and a taste for violence. They succeeded, and Morgan waged war against them after Arthur's defeat.
"But they aren't really real," Avalon ventured slowly. "Morgan destroyed them."
"Unless you believe certain texts, that Excalibur was locked inside a tree-world with Merlin by Nimhue in an effort to protect her creed. And that she entrusted the secret with one woman before she died—"
"And the Ladies of the Lake continued in secret," Avalon whispered.
She had, of course, read those texts, but they seemed, like such works as Le Morte d'Arthur and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, to be essentially well-written glorified fanfiction. Even her mother scoffed at the continued existence of the Ladies of the Lake.
"It's said they want the keys to Albian's gate, so they might force Arthur's return and put Excalibur into his hands, uniting the world in blood. They also have dragon guards: Wyverns, the White Dragons."
Avalon shuddered. "Since when do you know all this? When I first came you didn't know anything about Albian and Morgan le Fay."
An impish smile crossed his face. "Oh, I knew. I was just trying to figure out how much you knew, and what your prejudices were."
Avalon sent him a dirty look, but all he did was chuckle and nudge her breakfast back towards her. His fingers brushed her knee, then rested there.
The witch wondered just how aware of her beating heart and tingling skin he was.
"You don't have to worry. I'm with you and I won't let anybody hurt you. From now on I'll be making all your food and I don't want you to drink from anything except for sealed bottles that you've rinsed off."
Avalon nodded.
"I doubt that the assassin will try anything more overt than poison and we can defend against that easily enough."
He said 'assassin' so casually. How could he be so calm about this?
Still, Avalon forced he
rself to eat. When she was finished, she slipped into the bathroom to do her magical grooming routine and dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. She opted away from her regular wedges, instead putting on a sensible pair of running shoes.
"Do you have any ideas who it is?" she asked as she and Vaughn walked to the Offense building. There was a heavy rain pouring down, but Avalon had magicked a cloud umbrella and they stayed dry.
"Several." Vaughn barked out a laugh. "Elsa gave you your drink, Mike was eyeing you something fierce—"
"Because he wanted to kill me or f—" she cut off at Vaughn's glare.
"There were a couple of girls who were loitering near the punchbowl when Elsa was getting your drink. Either of them could have slipped something into your glass. And I don't like the look of that George."
"Why? He seemed nice to me."
Vaughn frowned. They were at the building by this time, though, and had to stop talking in case anybody overheard. He moved closer to her.
Well, at least there is one benefit to all this, Avalon thought, repressing a shiver as they entered Madame Fire's classroom. I've found my strong emotion to work from.
***
For the next few weeks, Avalon jumped at any unexpected sound or movement, but nothing threatening happened. Vaughn never left her side, even standing directly outside the washroom if she needed to use it outside the dorm.
The fact that he was sleeping in her room instead of his, which was right next door to hers, did not escape Elsa's notice. Elsa waggled her eyebrows suggestively every time they met in the corridors.
Maybe Vaughn was wrong about all this. Maybe it had just been a stomach bug and the ironide test had given a false positive.
In any case, Avalon soon found herself more worried about her lack of progress in magic than her supposed assassin.
While her water skills were skyrocketing, despite being enrolled in only one class, her offensive magic was 'too timid' according to Madame Fire. And her defensive magic, while not terrible, wasn't improving much either, especially when she tried to defend and attack at the same time.
