by Diana Nixon
“If I didn’t know better I would never believe Dever can stand so much magic flying all over it. Not to mention what is going to happen once Clarions arrive.”
“Eileen,” I heard Marion say behind me.
I turned around and felt tears fill my eyes, as the memories of Tara started to flood my mind. Marion stepped closer and hugged me tightly. No words were needed; we both knew that these last couple of weeks have been hell, for all of us.
“She’s okay now, isn’t she?” I asked through my tears.
“She is,” Marion said, running her hand up and down my back.
She let me go, stepped back and wiped away tears from my cheeks. “Tara left something for you,” she said, giving me a simple, white envelope. “Read it when you are alone. She didn’t want anyone else to see this letter.”
I nodded, taking the envelope from Marion.
Only now did I notice another person standing at the gates. It was a young woman, in her late twenties I would say. Her short, pink hair contrasted with her big, blue eyes. They were not as bright as Evan’s, but still beautiful. She was wearing torn jeans with high black boots and a matching leather baker jacket. She looked like a rock star.
“Who’s that?” I asked Marion.
“Oh, that’s Carine Verbeke. She showed your father a way to Allister’s lair.”
“Oh, dear… The Mistress.”
Evan came closer to her and she bowed her head, as if showing her respect.
“Master,” she said, greeting him.
“Oh, please, Evan will be just fine,” my friend said, smiling at her. “I have heard a lot about you.”
She returned the smile. “Likewise.”
She looked a little shy, but I knew that Mistresses, of all people, had never been shy.
As if confirming my words, Carine said, “Too bad I can’t mastermind you, Evan. We would have so much fun together.”
He laughed. “And here I thought the fact that I am not single would bother you more than your inability to mess with my head. But I should have known better.”
Looked like she and Evan liked each other. Especially after Evan responded to Carine’s joke, which I was sure was not a joke, not really.
Evan was a good-looking guy, every girl in Dever was secretly in love with him, well, except me, of course. I had no doubt that Miss Verbeke wouldn’t mind, like she said, ‘having fun’ with the Master. Even from the distance, I could see how intense the look she gave Evan was. No wonder men were ready to kiss the ground she walked on. She was not only beautiful, but also powerful enough to make them do whatever the hell she wanted them to do – a dream of every woman on the planet.
I smiled to myself. Something was telling me that the guys of Dever were in major trouble. Evan was one of a few able to resist the Mistress’s charm.
Chapter 20
After I talked to my father, I called Amanda and she said she was with Ami and Tai, in our room. I went there, hoping I would be able to find out more about the mysterious voices from Tai’s head. Amanda was the only person who knew about Amitola’s arrival. I didn’t want to tell anyone about her, not yet anyway. I thought I would do it later, after I made sure no one minded her staying with us.
“What do you think about Dever?” I asked Tai. He was sitting on my bed, surrounded by sweets that Amanda had brought him from the cafeteria.
“There’s so much light here. Everywhere: in the dorms, in classes, even outside. As if you have a piece of your own sun, shining just for Dever and its dwellers.”
I smiled, recalling my first day here. “I thought the same thing when I saw the university for the very first time.”
Amitola didn’t talk; I could see that she was still nervous. “Why don’t you and Amanda go to the stable?” I suggested. “Have you ever ridden a horse?”
She shook her head, as a ‘no’.
“I’m sure you will love Nely,” Amanda said. “She’s special. Come, I will introduce you to each other.”
Amanda knew that Tai and I needed to talk. As well as I knew that he could be honest with me only when no one could hear us talking.
“Don’t go to the gates,” I warned Amanda. “There are too many people there.” I didn’t want Evan or Elizabeth to see Amitola. Evan’s mother had no idea about the existence of Tai, but I was sure she would recognize his mother, considering she never liked the fact that Dominick insisted on Ami’s staying in their house.
As soon as Amanda and Amitola left, I sat next to Tai and took one of the sweets brought by Amanda.
“Strawberry jelly?” He asked.
I nodded.
“I love everything strawberry.”
I waited for a few minutes, giving him a chance to taste a few more sweets that I hoped would make this conversation easier. Then I said, “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” he responded with his mouth full of sweets.
“When was the last time that you heard those weird voices in your head?”
He stopped chewing and looked at me. “Why?”
“I was curious… What exactly were those voices saying?”
“Nonsense.”
“What kind of nonsense?”
“Like naming different places that I have never been to, or talking about people that I have never met.”
“What did they say about you?”
“Once I heard a man’s voice saying that I am ‘the key’. The other day the same voice said that I had something that he needed. But I don’t know what he was talking about.”
“Anything else?”
Tai thought for a moment. “Oh, right… Last night, when I was asleep, the voices were talking about a magical triangle.”
“A what?”
“A triangle. But I’m not sure if I have heard them correctly.”
That was strange. I had never heard about any magical triangles. Did they consist of people or things?
“Is that true that Evan knows how to create fireworks with the help of magic?”
I smile absently, still thinking about Tai’s words. “It is true. He did that once, for my eighteenth birthday.”
“He said he would make fireworks for me as well.”
“You liked him, didn’t you?”
“He’s cool. And he knows so much about magic!”
“Oh yes, he sure does.”
“Your friend, Amanda, she is cool too. Is she Evan’s girlfriend?”
“Yes. Why?”
“When he saw her enter the room, his aura turned red.” Tai giggled. “Red is the color of love.”
“Right.”
“Evan said he would show me an old hut that is here in Dever.”
“Yeah, it’s been transported here from England, together with the university. It belonged to one of Dever’s founders.”
“Is Mom going to stay here too?”
“Yes. Does it bother you?”
Tai hesitated.
“What is it? You don’t want her to stay in Dever with you?”
“I’m worried about her. This place makes her unhappy. I can feel it. As well as I can feel your nervousness. Is everything all right, Eileen?”
“Yeah, it’s just…you know, the lack of sleep. I’m a little tired.”
“Then why don’t you rest?”
“Maybe tomorrow,” I said, feeling my heart miss a beat at my words.
Tomorrow… It may never come.
I felt Christian’s presence behind the door even before he knocked. I went to open the door, hoping he was not there with more bad news.
“Hey,” he said, smiling gently. “Would you like to have a walk with me?” Then he saw Tai sitting on my bed and said, “I didn’t know you had a guest.” He waved at Tai.
An idea came to my head. “Tai, would you like to see Nely?”
“Sure. I love horses.” He jumped from the bed, put a few pieces of candy into his pocket, and one more into his mouth, and together with Christian, we went to the stable.
As always, Nely lo
oked a little surreal, as if she was not just a horse, but a magical creation. There was something special about her. Or maybe it was because she used to be Elizabeth’s favorite horse. Her skin was smooth and glossy. She walked so gracefully, with Amanda sitting in a saddle.
“She’s beautiful,” Amitola said, watching the horse. We stopped next to her and she took Tai in her arms. She looked so sad, and I guess I knew why. If it were not for the accident with Alistair, she would have continued her education in Dever, maybe even stayed here after the graduation to teach other students. But the idiot took away not only a part of her powers, he also took away her future as a part of the world that she always belonged to.
“Let’s go find horses to ride,” Christian said, taking my hand in his.
I made sure Ami and Tai were fine, and we left them to watch Nely.
“You didn’t just ask me for a ride, did you?” I asked Christian.
He smiled. “You know me so well. I just…wanted to spend some time with you.”
Uh, there was so much sadness in his voice. Just like me, he didn’t know if tomorrow would ever come. We had only today, only now. We had never been so close to losing each other forever, not even when Christian was trapped in the magical illusion at the top of the Scafell Pike. But the weirdest thing was that now neither of us was brave enough to admit that we were scared not to see each other, ever again. We knew that whatever was coming would change our lives forever, only we didn’t know whether or not we would be able to see those changes happening…
“I love you,” I said, tightening my grip on his hand.
“I love you too, Eileen. You are the love of my life, this one and all the next to come.” He stopped walking and pulled me into his embrace. “We can do this, can’t we?”
“Of course we can,” I said, hoping I sounded confident enough. I didn’t want him to feel my fear or how helpless I felt not knowing what Clarions had on those sick minds of theirs.
“I want you to remember one thing,” he whispered. “No matter what, my heart and my soul will never stop loving you.”
I forced a smile, feeling a lump forming in my throat. “Likewise.”
He moved to kiss my lips and I leaned into him, both giving and taking everything I wanted him to feel and everything I needed to feel at the moment. For a split second, we got lost in each other, but reality very soon reminded us about its existence.
“Eileen, Christian!” Amanda called. She motioned to the gates; we turned around and saw people walking through them. Many people… Dozens of strangers whose weird energy we could feel even from the distance.
“The hermits,” Christian said.
I saw Will walking to the gates, and breathed a sigh of relief. Those were not Clarions, but the hermits from New York.
“Come, let’s greet them,” I said to Christian.
“Shall we go with you?” Amanda asked, coming closer. Amitola and Tai stayed in the stable.
“No, you stay with them.”
“Okay.” She looked at the gates again, then walked back to the stable.
Christian looked at his sister, walking away from us. “What do you say if we tell Amanda to go to the hut with Ami and Tai?”
“It’s a good idea. Amanda is not experienced enough to fight anyway.”
“We need to tell Evan about this,” Christian said.
We went to the gates, surprised to see more and more hermits coming to Dever.
“I didn’t know there would be so many of them here,” I said. We didn’t come too close, watching our guests from aside. Neither Christian nor I had ever met any hermits except those from the pueblo. But they were different, both in actions and beliefs.
Will came to me and gave me a hug. “Good to see you guys. And there is Sky, by the way.” He introduced us to the old friend of his. The girl turned out to be really nice. If I didn’t know better, I would never believe she was a hermit. I didn’t feel any hatred from her.
“Nice to meet you,” I said. “I’m Eileen and this is Christian.”
“I didn’t know Dever was so big,” she said, looking around. “My parents didn’t like talking about it.”
“Have they ever been here before?” Christian asked.
“My mother has. She graduated from the university actually.”
I gave Will a questioning look.
“Her father is a hermit,” he said. “When he married her mom, she agreed to abandon her gifts in exchange for a happy life with him.”
“And she never once tried to tell him that it would be better for you to come here?” I asked Sky. Judging by the color of her eyes, she was one of Fairey family descendants.
“Dad would never let that happen.”
“But he came here today,” Will said. “Together with his wife. There they are,” he pointed to the couple talking to my father. “Sky’s mom and Frederick were groupmates.”
“Wow… They must have a lot to catch up on,” I said. The woman looked like she was really happy to be in Dever again. I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for her to abandon what she had for someone who would never be able to understand the true value of her sacrifice.
I looked at Sky again. “Have you ever thought about coming to Dever?”
She nodded. “Many times. But I like my life in New York. Not all hermits are as evil as those from Britain. Our lives are a lot like those that humans have. We go to the doctors and attend human schools. We don’t use magic to get from one place to another. We fall in love following the calling of our hearts; no spells, nothing supernatural. I’m fine with that.”
Christian and I shared a glance. I’m sure we were thinking about the same thing right now. We had been bound, and our love story was a little different from those Sky mentioned. But it didn’t lessen the meaning of what he and I shared, not even a little bit.
“What about the first time you felt the power of fire in you?” I asked.
“You mean the day I burned down my school?” She smirked. “That was fun.”
“You burned down your school?”
Will laughed. “She likes having fun. Don’t you, Dear?” He winked at Sky.
“It was an accident,” she said, punching him playfully.
“Right. I almost believe you.”
I caught Melanie watching us from across the road.
“Oh-oh, looks like someone is about to burn someone’s butt.”
Will turned around and shook his head, sighing. “She’s still angry at me.”
“Probably you should go and talk to her,” Sky said. “We, girls, love when boys make the first move.”
“I texted her. Isn’t it enough to forgive me?”
“Your text must have been terrible, considering how pissed your girlfriend looks.”
I giggled. “Sky has a point. Why don’t you talk to Mel? I’m sure she is not as angry as she was a few days ago, when you left for New York. She must be missing you.”
“Mel’s not a missing type.”
“Oh, trust me, Will. She has missed you. A lot.”
“How do you know that?”
“We belong to the same family, remember? Women in our family are very stubborn, but when it comes to love, we turn into teddy bears.”
Christian laughed. “Yeah, right. Teddy bears who bite and scratch.”
“Don’t exaggerate.”
“I am not, I’m telling the truth.”
I saw Evan walking towards us.
“Why didn’t you tell me that Amitola is here?”
Needless to say, he was not very happy saying that.
“She was worried about Tai, so I took her with me. Besides, I wanted to practice with her.”
“Mom will not like it,” he said.
“Don’t tell her about Ami. Wait until…”
“Clarions kill us?”
I rolled my eyes. “I thought you were not going to give up that easily.”
“I didn’t say a word about giving up. But judging by your father’s expression, his meeti
ng with Allister was not a piece of cake.”
“He’s worried about my mother. You can’t blame him for that.”
“I know. I’m just so freaking tired of waiting. You know how much I hate waiting.”
“I do.”
He sighed. “Anyway, do you want me to practice with Amitola? I will try to be nice with her, I promise.”
I gave him a doubtful look.
“Or you can ask Kevin to practice with her. Of the two of us, he’s a more understanding brother.”
“I don’t think Ami will like the idea of training with any of you.”
“Are you being serious, Eileen? She might not welcome help from us? Shouldn’t she be grateful to us for letting her stay here?
I looked at my watch. I was running out of time, and Evan’s help wouldn’t hurt. “Fine. Bring Kevin and I will go find Ami. Let’s meet in the training room five, in ten minutes, okay?”
“Okay.”
Christian and I went back to the stable. Ami was still there, riding Nely. The horse moved very carefully, slowly and steadily, as if she could feel Ami’s fear. They say horses always feel when someone is scared of them.
“How is she?” I asked Amanda, who was standing next to the fence, watching Ami riding the horse.
“She’ll be fine. She needs time to get used to the idea of being here again.”
“That’s what I thought. You know, Evan suggested training with her. Do you think it’s a good idea?”
“Well… Sooner or later, they will need to talk. So why not to do it when practicing? At least with magic involved, they will have something apart from their attitude toward each other to concentrate on.”
“Ami!” I called. “Come here!”
One of the horsemen helped her to the ground. He took Nely away, and Ami came to us.
“Is it time to practice already?” She asked, a little nervous.
“Do you mind if the Murray brothers do it for me?”
“What?” Pure shock crossed her face.
“Maybe it was not such a brilliant idea after all,” Christian muttered.
“Evan offered his help with practice,” I said.
“You sure he won’t try to kill me, or anything?”
“He promised to be nice.”
