Crisanta Knight: The Lost King

by Culbertson, Geanna;

  The little black thing she’d just dropped into the potion . . .

  Dizziness hit me hard and fast. I reached up, but then remembered that I didn’t have my wandpin with me. A terrible pain spread down my arms and through my body as my veins began to turn purple.

  “I . . . I don’t understand,” I stuttered.

  “I must say, for a terribly smart and resourceful girl, you can be quite dim on occasion,” Madame Alexanders replied. “Didn’t you wonder why I made you of all people my TA? It certainly wasn’t for your aptitude in the brewing arts. I needed to construct a Poppy Potion that would be powerful enough to sedate you. And with the tricky nature of your Pure Magic to account for, it became necessary for me to observe you and how you interacted with the various ingredients I exposed you to.”

  My throat felt dry and my palms started to sweat. My thumping heart felt like it was being squeezed, making it difficult for me to breathe.

  “This whole time,” I said, “You were studying me? So you could figure out a strong enough formula to—”

  “To keep you from waking up too soon once the potion rendered you unconscious . . . like last time.”

  “Last time?”

  “Yes. The first version of the Poppy Potion I brewed for you was clearly not strong enough. If it had been, my benefactors would have been able to successfully kidnap you from the school without you waking up.”

  My legs weakened and I buckled to one knee. Then the door to the classroom opened and three guards rushed in. I was relieved until they removed their helmets.

  I instantly recognized the man in the center.

  Parker.

  I harnessed all my strength to stand up, but stumbled against the blackboard behind me. The three magic hunters began to edge forward.

  “Get back!” I shouted, raising my hand and standing as tall as I could despite the shaking in my legs. Golden sparks lit up around my fingers, but the moment my magic activated, I just about passed out from the pain and had to shut it down.

  The two other hunters paused for a second, but Parker shoved them onward. “She’s all talk,” he said. “She’ll be out cold in a minute and with that potion seeping through her blood, there’s no way she can garner enough power to be any kind of threat.”

  My stomach had tightened into knots and my bones felt like they were converting to lead. The purple toxin had completely spread through both my arms and into my hands, but my golden glow did not chase it away like it normally did. The natural reflex was being suppressed by the Stiltdegarth in the potion.

  I was scared, but I was more furious. The magic hunters continued to come closer and my hatred for them mounted with every step. Over the last few months they had stalked me, tried to kidnap me, and even killed me on one occasion. They’d unleashed too much destruction. It was long past due that they be destroyed.

  I looked over at Madame Alexanders. While the sight of the magic hunters filled me with rage and desire for revenge, seeing her—a teacher, mentor, and trusted adult who I’d known for years—filled me with a loathing so forceful I temporarily forgot the symptoms of the potion. And that’s when I snapped.

  The emotion-driven fury of Magic Instinct gripped me in a swift vice. As those feelings of revenge and ire consumed me, I was completely robbed of the ability to control my actions. This swell of emotion was so powerful, so vengeful, so long in the making that it somehow managed to surpass the poisonous Poppy elixir stifling my magic. What burst out of me next was unrestrained and unprecedented.

  Golden energy surged from my body. It was so bright that my enemies had to shield their eyes. My gaze fell upon Madame Alexanders’s desk then darted back to the hunters. Suddenly, the entire desk enveloped in golden light, came to life, and launched itself forward. It slammed into the hunters like a battering ram and plowed them against the far wall. The equipment that had been on the desk shattered to the floor.

  My legs wobbled. The potion was trying very hard to knock me out as it was designed to do. But though it was strong, for now my magic and hatred were stronger.

  My hand rose. There was no concentration or focused breathing, just wrath rushing through my head like rapids drowning me in the state of autopilot I’d fallen into. The glow emanating from me grew brighter and lit up six other lab desks in the room. They came to life—ripping themselves from the floor and floating in midair. The magic hunters couldn’t escape. The desks herded them against the wall and barricaded them on all sides.

  I lurched forward, cringing in agony as the potion thickened in my blood. The surge of pain only powered my rage though. My fists clenched and blind venom flowed through me like oxygen.

  I turned toward Madame Alexanders. The floor was awash with broken lab equipment and glass. Golden light consumed the equipment remaining on the desks—beakers, vials, etc. They jolted to life and launched themselves at Madame Alexanders. My professor ducked and evaded the projectiles, yelping as they smashed against the wall. One of the floor-to-ceiling windows got hit with a cauldron and shattered completely.

  Madame Alexanders was backed up against this gaping hole in our classroom with nothing but a five-story drop directly behind her. She shot me an expression of pure terror, but unfortunately for my professor, I felt no pity for her. I felt no remorse. I felt nothing but the poison she’d injected me with, the thirst to give her exactly what she deserved, and the Magic Instinct that kept me in a state of emotion-driven autopilot. I took a step forward.

  “Crisanta, no!” Madame Alexanders cried desperately, holding up her hands in surrender. “I beg you! Please, don’t! I’m sorry!”

  I didn’t flinch. I only glowed stronger, brighter—my Pure Magic completely in control.

  “Well, that makes one of us,” I said.

  Two desks started to move toward Madame Alexanders, keeping her from getting away and pushing her closer to the precipice. She screamed. However, a different noise gained my attention. I whirled around. Parker had climbed out of the pen of desks and had landed on the ground, a dagger in hand.

  He lunged with his blade outstretched to stab me.

  He never made it.

  As fast as lightning, my magical glow changed from gold to gray and consumed him. Unlike when I’d drained life from the hunters in Oz, the snake in Neverland, or even the giant in Camelot, what followed was not slow and steady. The effect was instantaneous. A large, ashy haze of Parker’s essence ripped off him in a big cloud. His mouth opened like air was being sucked out and his eyes turned white. The gray of my magic fluctuated with streaks of black and then . . . then it was over.

  Parker’s corpse dropped to the ground. In the split second it took for him to fall, there was a moment of pure joy inside me. But when he hit the floor, that thud—that lifeless, finite thud—was so profound that it was enough to shock me out of the blinding control of my Pure Magic.

  Like a rush of air returning to my lungs, I suddenly realized what was happening and what I’d done. I beheld the grayish-black glow radiating from my body—there was barely any gold left. I gazed in shock at the magic hunter cage at the other end of the room. And I freaked out when I noticed the other desks I’d enchanted were inches away from pushing Madame Alexanders out the window.

  “Stop!” I shouted.

  It was the only word I could muster. Now that I was no longer riding on the power of Magic Instinct, the pain of the Poppy Potion was taking over. Soon I’d be completely helpless.

  Thankfully, my glow still pulsed and the desks halted inches before they pushed my professor out the window. The dark energy shining around them disappeared and a nanosecond later, the aura coming off me vanished too.

  The purple in my veins flashed violently and I collapsed to the floor right when the door to the potions lab burst open. Blue and Daniel entered with several guards, looking panicked. I didn’t know how they’d come to be here, and I didn’t care. With my last seconds of consciousness, I thrust a finger at my professor, who was hanging onto the window frame for dear lif
e.

  “Poisoned me,” I said breathlessly. I pointed at the lab desk cage. “Working with . . . them.” Then my eyes fell on Parker and my heart lurched for an entirely different reason. I was a torment of too many feelings at once and they dragged me down into the black. I could only voice one thought before I was gone.

  I looked to my friends. “I’m sorry . . .”

  ake up, Crisanta.”

  Out of reflex, I lazily swatted my arm and grunted.

  “Five more minutes, SJ.”

  “Miss Knight . . .”

  Wait, what?

  My eyelids felt so heavy they might as well have been glued shut. With great effort, I managed to pry them open. I was lying in a cot and standing at my side was Lady Agnue, dressed in full regal attire.

  I sat up. The two of us were alone in the infirmary—no nurses, no other students, just me and my headmistress.

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  Was I dreaming? Still under the influence of the Poppy Potion? I had to be. Otherwise, why would Lady Agnue be asking me such a ridiculous question? The last time I checked, she didn’t care about my well-being in the slightest.

  I glanced over my arms. My veins were back to normal, but I sure as heck didn’t feel normal. I felt beaten. In more ways than one.

  I’d straight-up taken the life of another human being.

  I’d never done that before . . .

  I knew I hadn’t been in control; Magic Instinct had been at the helm. But when that happened in Alderon, I fought back enough to adjust course and only drain some life energy from the antagonists. I hadn’t fought back here. Not even a little. Which meant that some part of me had wanted this to happen. Moreover . . . I’d enjoyed killing Parker. I could lie about this to others later, but I couldn’t lie to myself. I knew what satisfaction felt like. And despite being deep in the grip of my Pure Magic, that’s what I’d felt in my core when I ripped the life from Parker.

  This was the truth and it hurt. But even worse . . . The cruelest part of this whole experience was the helplessness. My goodness and clarity had been completely overshadowed by my power and fury. As a result, I’d done the unthinkable—exactly what I had spent a lot of time trying to convince my friends and enemies that I didn’t have the power to do without the Aurora.

  “Where are Madame Alexanders and the magic hunters?” I asked hesitantly.

  “The school guards have seized them. They are being detained until a transport to Alderon arrives.”

  “Good.” I nodded. “Did they confess to what they did?”

  “It did not require much explanation,” Lady Agnue replied, “what with you being poisoned, the magic hunters on the grounds, and the fact that your former professor lied in order to get the two of you alone this evening.”

  “How did Blue, Daniel, and the guards know I was in trouble?” I asked.

  “I realized you were not present at the ball. When I asked your friends your whereabouts, Blue told me about your project for Madame Alexanders. It seemed unusual that she would be so insistent on you finishing a TA assignment on a Saturday evening, especially since all classrooms should be locked at this time. We can call it a hunch, but I told Blue and Daniel to take a few guards to check on you. I am glad I did.”

  “So am I,” I said. I sadly looked down at my hands. My fingers fidgeted with nerves and the shame of knowing I’d done something so wrong.

  “Lady Agnue,” I said slowly. “I killed Parker. I killed one of the magic hunters.”

  “I know,” she said solemnly.

  “Do you know how?”

  “All signs point to your Pure Magic, though your friends are refusing to say anything about it. Would you care to attempt another explanation?”

  I was tempted to. But I knew there was no point. If my friends didn’t talk, Madame Alexanders would. She’d witnessed the whole thing and would not lie to protect me, given that I’d almost killed her too.

  I felt such degradation over what I’d done that the only saving grace I had left was to own up to it.

  “No,” I said decidedly. “I sucked the life from him, Lady Agnue. My Pure Magic did exactly what all those people out there are worried about.” My face crumpled as regret and fear welled inside me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. But they . . . and she . . . and I . . .”

  I hung my head dejectedly. Suddenly, I felt something on my forearm. A hand. Lady Agnue’s hand.

  “Crisanta,” she said. “I am sorry too.”

  There was a softness in her voice that I’d never heard her use. There was also worry in her eyes. Neither of which fit with our usual dynamic.

  “It is not your fault,” Lady Agnue continued gently. She removed her hand and sighed like she was equally ashamed. She sat down on the cot beside mine. A tired, remorseful expression sagged her normally hard face.

  “Lena Lenore and I have been friends for a long time,” she said. “All of my predecessors at this school were friends with her too. They were aware of her ability to live forever, though they were unaware of Liza and the forging of protagonist books. I only learned of that when you and your friends revealed it to me last semester. That issue aside, the relationship between the Godmother Supreme and this school has always been rooted in the mutual primary priority of keeping order. But the differing nature of our other main priorities has caused us to develop slightly divergent outlooks. Lena is charged with making sure our realm is taken care of while a headmistress is charged with making sure her children are taken care of.”

  Lady Agnue sighed again. “I have never liked you, Crisanta. I never liked the way you broke rules and patterns and made my life more difficult. I am expected to produce certain types of protagonists. Not only that, I only know how to train certain types of protagonists. None of my predecessors had dealt with someone like you before, so I was unprepared for dealing with you myself. That is why instead of supporting you, I tried to suppress you. I thought that forcing you to be like everyone else was the best way to maintain order and protect the rest of the students. For if they decided they wanted to be more like you—break tradition, throw out the molds—then I would no longer be able to assist them. They would be forging into unknown territory without guides and face unknown obstacles that I could not help them overcome. This is what I believed. This was my conviction until . . .”

  Lady Agnue shook her head. “I fear that Lena has let her obsession with order cloud her judgment. Although she is trying to downplay the danger to the rest of the higher-ups, the antagonist threat is real. And the commons rebellion threat is real. The latter’s attacks on the night of the Vicennalia Aurora claimed the lives of several of my cousins who were a part of the royal court in Gallant.”

  That was the kingdom whose rulers were killed. I still couldn’t believe that happened.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “Have the Godmothers retaken the castle yet?”

  “No,” Lady Agnue admitted. “They have hostages and the situation is very fragile right now. However, this information is not being publicized realm-wide. Which brings us back to the Godmother Supreme. Rather than solely concentrating on the two grave threats facing Book, she is wasting her energy trying to persecute you. I understand how you can provoke someone into such madness. You can be incredibly frustrating. But Lena’s focus is not where it should be.”

  Lady Agnue’s shoulders were hunched from the weight of her burden. She clasped her hands together and kept her eyes locked with mine. “We are not allies, Crisanta. But we are not true enemies either, for we share a goal. We both want to protect the people in this school, and the antagonists in Alderon as well as the commons rebellion are directly aimed at eliminating them. So that is why I am sorry. I should have stood up to Lena sooner. I should have protected you better from threats like her and Madame Alexanders. And I should have chosen a different side.”

  A minute of silence passed between us.

  “So where do we go from here?” I eventually asked.

  “I have
to tell Lena about the death of the magic hunter,” Lady Agnue said. “It is my duty and there is no way to hide it. She is at the ball and will need to be notified, but I will not allow her to confront you tonight. She will surely use this development against you in your trial at the Century City Summit. However, trials have testimony, so I will appear on your behalf and state my case against Lena’s bias at that time. Perhaps my word will help balance out the judgment against you.”

  “Thank you,” I said, still a bit dazed from the massive character twist of the headmistress. Then something else occurred to me. “Lady Agnue, can I talk to Madame Alexanders before she goes to Alderon? I have some questions that need answering.”

  “I do not think that is wise,” Lady Agnue replied. “Besides, I likely have the answers to the questions you hold. In the hour you have been asleep, our guards have . . . extracted the truth from Madame Alexanders. She was the reason the magic hunters were able to enter our school’s In and Out Spell tonight, and when they first tried to kidnap you a couple months ago. Your potions professor is far more skilled than we ever realized. She developed a potion that allows people to become immune to In and Out Spells for short periods of time. Apparently, this potion takes months to brew, and each batch only produces enough for a few doses.”

  “But why did she do it?” I asked, that question batting against my skull like a bat in an attic.

  “Her father,” Lady Agnue answered. “Evidently I need to tighten background checks on the staff at this school. Madame Alexanders may have been a trusted professor for over a decade, but her father was an antagonist. He was a magic hunter arrested nearly thirty years ago for murdering a Fairy Godmother. He had been in Alderon for decades but was killed there within the last year. This changed Madame Alexanders; it made her easy to manipulate when wickedness came calling, which it did. She revealed that an antagonist called Arian recruited her into their cause over winter break.”

  Yup. That figures.