Clash (Academy of Unpredictable Magic Book 6)

by Sadie Moss

  He’s a font of information about magical technique and control, but I rarely hear him talk about his own powers—not just the death touch, but any of them. I think it’s because death related magic tends to be looked at with more fear than other Unpredictable powers, and he probably got tired of people shooting him suspicious glances. The fact that he’s willing to talk about it now says a lot about how much trust has developed among the five of us. Not only between me and him, but between all the men too.

  I like that.

  No, I love it.

  We all fall silent again as Roman leads us deeper into the woods. There are some more pit traps, and magical traps, trip wires, sigils carved into trees, a bear trap… thank God Roman knows what he’s doing here because if not, we’d all have lost a limb or something at some point.

  At last, we reach a small clearing with a squat little cabin and an even tinier barn behind it. Huh. These structures both look pretty cramped. Good enough for one person, I suppose, but I don’t know how the rest of us are going to fit here for the next however long. I really hope we don’t end up having to camp. I kind of hate camping.

  Roman signals with a fist in the air again, and we all stop right at the edge of the clearing.

  I can’t see them, but after my time at Griffin and then the holding facility, I recognize the feel of them: protective wards. These feel stronger than the ones around Griffin though, even after they beefed up security around the campus.

  “You can come out,” Roman calls. “We know you’re here, Liam.”

  An older man, probably in his sixties, steps forward out of what looks like thin air, and I practically jump. My heart slams in my chest, and my headache, which had started to fade as we trekked through the woods, throbs dully to life again as blood rushes in my ears.

  His sudden appearance caught me by surprise, but I quickly realize he must’ve been using an invisibility charm or enchantment on himself. He’s rugged, with a braided white beard, and a long scar down his cheek, possibly from a sharp claw. His shoulders are broad and muscled, and I’m ninety percent sure he could kick my ass if he felt like it—which is saying something, since I’m a damn good hand-to-hand fighter. He’s got a tall staff in his hands, held out in front of him like a weapon. He actually looks like he was a heartbreaker back in his day, and even now, a kind of rugged handsomeness still clings to him.

  Clearly, this is Liam, and judging by the pissed-off look on his face, he’s ready to take on all uninvited guests. If the traps, wards, and trip wires didn’t get us, he’ll damn sure finish the job himself.

  Then his gaze alights on Roman.

  He stops, stares, then sets his staff down, and I watch his expression transform from angry to surprised and delighted.

  “You idiot!” Liam says, in a tone of such fatherly fondness that my heart skips a beat on Roman’s behalf. I’d give anything to have someone talk to me in that tone of voice—the way I always imagined my father would speak to me.

  The older mage strides over, waving his hands about like a madman, and I feel the magical wards dissipate. “You could’ve lost an arm or a leg back there! What the devil are you doing here, boy?”

  I hear Cam snort with amusement, and Dmitri looks shocked that anyone would dare to call Roman—the oldest and most responsible of us, someone even Hardwick and the other professors at Griffin look up to and respect—something like “boy”.

  But Roman grins, one of his very rare full-on smiles, and walks forward to meet Liam. The two men hug tightly, clapping each other on the back, and then Roman steps away and turns, gesturing to us.

  “Everyone, this is Liam.”

  “Yeah,” Cam says, his gaze flicking back and forth between the two of them as a grin tugs at his lips. “No shit.”

  Chapter 15

  Liam shakes each of our hands as Roman introduces us. He squints at us as he does so, taking us in, and I feel like I’m being put under a microscope.

  “Come inside,” he tells us gruffly, turning on his heel and gesturing for us to follow him. I stare at the cabin as we walk toward it, wondering how the hell we’re all going to actually fit inside.

  Then we step through the front door, and my jaw drops open.

  Of course. A pocket dimension.

  Liam’s had time to set up all these elaborate traps around the place, of course he’s had time to create a pocket dimension to hold everything he could possibly want inside of a small, unobtrusive cabin. There are indoor pens with some animals held inside, a big dining hall, and a massive upstairs loft for sleeping in.

  “Why do you have all this room for visitors when you don’t ever have anyone over?” Justin asks, craning his neck to take in the wide space.

  It’s a fair question, in my opinion.

  “I like to be prepared.” Liam shrugs, running a hand over his white hair. “Never know when the apocalypse is going to finally happen…”

  Roman rolls his eyes fondly.

  “…and you’ll need to house people off the grid,” the older man finishes. He looks over at us shrewdly before cutting his gaze back to Roman. “And you’re all proving my point that I was right to do so. What’s going on out there that has you bringing all these pipsqueaks to me?”

  Cam and Dmitri look highly offended at the use of the term “pipsqueak”. Justin looks resigned, like he’s used to people defining him that way, and Asher shrugs as if to say, hey, fair assessment.

  And I guess, in a way, it is. Liam’s probably seen and done more crazy shit in his lifetime than any of us, although Roman’s gotta be a close second.

  Roman sighs and gestures for us to sit in what seems to be the living room area, where a bunch of big couches are gathered. As I look around, I notice that there’s not a speck of technology in the place. I don’t see any laptops or computers, no television, no phones. There’s electricity, but it’s just being used for kitchen appliances and lamps.

  No wonder Liam’s somehow managed to not get the memo that our society is being taken over by an insane megalomaniac.

  Roman fills Liam in, with the rest of us occasionally interjecting to explain some other details or parts Roman missed. We end up going a bit deeper into the entire history of our struggle against Agustin, from our first run-in with Raul all the way up to the day we tracked him down at his house in the suburbs where he nearly murdered Roman. Liam sits quietly and listens throughout the entire thing.

  “And now he’s found his way into Elliot’s mind,” Roman says. His voice is hard and clipped, almost pained—as if he’d rather rip out his own vocal cords than say those words. “She needs to learn how to block him out, and you’re the best person I know of to help her do that.”

  “I’ve been keeping him out for the time being,” Asher adds. “But I can’t be with her all the time.”

  “No, you can’t be,” Liam agrees. He eyes me carefully, and I feel like a bug under a microscope again. “Well. I’ve got the training barn still up and ready. We can work on your mirroring power while we’re at it. Sounds like you could use some help with that too.”

  “Will you help us fight against Agustin?” Maddy asks, leaning forward eagerly. Her blue eyes are shining, her eyebrows slightly raised, and I’m glad she was the one to ask. She’s so earnest and sweet it makes her incredibly hard to say no to.

  Believe me. I’ve tried.

  Liam makes a rumbling sound in the back of his throat, pursing his lip. “I’ve learned it’s best for me not to meddle in things. I told the High Circuit I was going into retirement and I meant it. I like it out here by myself, in the peace and quiet. Training your sister here is enough for me—my contribution to the cause. You all seem strong and capable, and Roman was my best student. I know you’ll all be fine on your own.”

  Fuck.

  Well, I can’t exactly make him go with us, even if the kind of guy who made all these traps, and a pocket dimension, and trained Roman is clearly the kind of guy we need on our side in the final fight against Agustin.


  Roman didn’t sit when we did, choosing to stand behind the couch instead as we explained our situation to Liam. When I tilt my head to look up at him, I see a disappointed look flash across his features, but he smothers it after a split second and settles his features back into a neutral expression. He hides it well, but I know he’s disappointed that Liam doesn’t want to fight with us.

  I reach up and take his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

  He squeezes back, smiling down at me softly.

  When I look back, I can see the white-haired man looking at us with a curious expression on his face. It’s not suspicion, it’s more like he’s seeing a new way of doing a math problem that he’d never considered before.

  “You can all sleep in the loft,” Liam says, standing up. “You look dead on your feet. Elliot and I will start her training later in the morning when it’s not the ass crack of dawn.”

  We all troop upstairs to the loft, where there are several small beds laid out. As reclusive as Liam claims to be, I wonder if there’s a part of him that still does crave a connection to society—and if that’s why his hidden compound in the woods is so surprisingly equipped to accommodate visitors.

  After I hug Maddy goodnight and kiss each of the other three men, I crawl onto one of the beds with Asher. There’s just enough room for the two of us, and he curls around me, slinging an arm over me protectively. He’ll stay awake, continuing to block my mind while I sleep, and then he’ll rest while I’m training. It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s what we’ve got to work with.

  Safe in Asher’s embrace, I fall into an uneasy sleep.

  And I don’t dream of anything at all.

  I slept through a good portion of the car ride up here, and that, coupled with a few hours of sleep in an actual bed, does wonders for my mental and emotional state. When I wake up again in the late morning, my head doesn’t hurt anymore, and I actually feel pretty refreshed.

  Which is good. Because I have a feeling training with Liam isn’t going to be easy. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who pulls his punches.

  I roll over in Asher’s arms so we’re face-to-face and find his lips with mine, running my fingers through his slightly shaggy brown hair. Then I press little kisses to the corners of his mouth before pulling away.

  “Thank you. Get some sleep, okay? I love you.”

  He nods, his eyelids already dropping closed as I stand up. By the time I reach the stairs to head down to the main level, he’s fast asleep.

  While Asher catches up on rest and the others get settled in at our temporary home base, Liam takes me to the barn. Like his cabin, it’s much bigger on the inside than on the outside. It looks like it could be a training school for ninjas if he was interested in starting up a little side business.

  “There are so many protective wards woven into the wood I used to build this barn that an army couldn’t take it down,” he tells me with a note of pride in his voice. “So don’t worry about unleashing your power in here. Or unleashing your power on me. I can handle it.”

  “What if Agustin takes me over?” I doubt even Liam, tough as he is, can handle Agustin channeled through me at full strength.

  Liam laughs. “Agustin can’t get to you in here. Part of the wards on the barn. Nobody can use mind powers to penetrate in here.”

  He raps on one of the wooden beams with his knuckles. “This is where I trained Roman. He was summoning demons right and left. None of those demons ever got out of this barn. Although they sure as hell tried.”

  That helps me to feel a little more relaxed. “All right.”

  “Good. Then let’s begin.”

  I was a third-year at Griffin before the school got shut down, so I have a solid understanding of how to control my magic, and I thought I’d gotten pretty good at it. Roman trained me and all of my classmates in magical control—that’s his specialty as our professor.

  But from the first second I start working with Liam, it becomes glaringly apparent to me just how much more I have to learn.

  “Roman’s given you the basics, and you’ve got a good start.” The grizzled man nods approvingly, then adds, “But you’ve got a long way to go.” He narrows his intense hazel eyes at me. “I’m not going to go easy on you.”

  Yeah, I thought not.

  “I can take it,” I tell him. Not because I’m super tough or anything like that, but because I honestly don’t have a choice. I have to be able to take this, I have to be able to fight Agustin. Failure just isn’t possible, not when it might mean the death of not just everyone I love but the death of hundreds or thousands of other innocents. If Agustin gets ahold of me…

  It doesn’t even bear thinking about.

  Liam gives me an odd look. “You know, I really think you can.”

  That’s about the closest he gets to praise all afternoon.

  For the next several hours, we work on focusing my powers more acutely, on repressing them when I don’t want them, on accessing them faster when I do want them, on fine-tuning my mirroring abilities so that I can quickly pluck the power I want from the right person. Liam’s harsh on me, but not unkind. Just really, really sure about what he wants me to do and certain that I can do it.

  His unwavering confidence that I can do what he asks helps me push myself and work hard to meet every one of the challenges he throws at me. I feel so exhausted by the time we’re through that I think my legs have turned into jelly.

  Liam lets me stop to get some water, and I gulp it down like I’ve been in the Sahara for a week.

  “You’ve made some progress,” he tells me, tugging at his braided beard. “You catch on quickly.”

  I manage a weak thumbs up. “Yay.”

  He chuckles. “You’ve got a hell of a sense of humor. Reminds me of Roman’s.”

  “Was it the sarcasm or the deadpan that reminded you of him?” I shoot back.

  That draws a proper laugh out of him, and his eyes glitter when he looks at me again. “You’re good for him, you know?”

  “Oh?” I stop guzzling water for a second. I don’t want to drink too much, too quickly—that’ll only give me a stomach ache. “You’ve just met us.”

  “Yes, true, but I can see how you two are together. In all the time I’ve known him, Roman’s kept everyone at arm’s length. Even me, in some ways, poor kid. Not that I was always the cuddliest guy to grow up with as a mentor.” Liam takes a drink of water himself from his own bottle. “Roman’s always tried to be an adult. The strong one. The capable one. The guy who’s got it all together. But he’s soft with you. He reaches out for you instead of waiting for you to come to him.”

  “I was… not so great at the whole relationship thing,” I admit, grimacing. “I had a lot of walls up. I didn’t want to admit I had feelings for him or that we could be something more.”

  “Maybe that was what Roman needed.” He caps his water bottle and wipes the back of his hand over his mouth, squinting at me. “Someone who was more closed off than he was, someone who forced him to have to reach out and open himself up so that they’d trust him in return.”

  I freeze midway through putting the cap on my own water bottle. Huh. I hadn’t ever thought about it like that.

  Tamlin warned me that Roman never fully let her in when the two of them dated, but I don’t think I ever stopped to examine why he would open up to me, and not her, and not to anyone else.

  “It wasn’t a tactic,” I hurry to explain. “I mean, I know Roman keeps himself on a tight leash. And I know he’s a private person. But me dragging my feet at the beginning wasn’t some strategy to get him to try harder or anything. It was just me being an idiot. For a long time, I refused to think about the idea of an ‘us’ at all. He did the reaching out. And I know now that it was hard for him, but he was so patient with me. So I hope I’m returning the favor, and that I’m giving him what he needs.”

  I don’t say this part out loud, because I don’t know what Liam’s picked up on regarding the other three men and mys
elf, but I suspect that’s part of what’s helped Roman too, now that I think about it. He doesn’t have to always be the one to open up to me or to support me one hundred percent. In times when he needs to step back, there are three other people there to pick up the slack and be there for me.

  And more and more, I think he’s starting to realize that the other guys can be there for him too.

  “I’m not tryin’ to get all sentimental,” Liam says. “Hell, I’m the least romantic son of a bitch you’ll ever meet. But the fact that Roman brought you out here to me? That says more than anything else ever could. He knows I like my peace. Even for some asshole like Agustin, he wouldn’t be bothering me. He’s not here because some idiot is trying to take over our society. He’s here because you’re in danger.”

  His words hit me right in the chest.

  They make my heart swell, make it feel so big my rib cage can’t possibly contain it.

  He’s here for me.

  Chapter 16

  As soon as Liam decides that we’re finished for the day, I go to find Roman. The grizzled necromancer brings Asher into the barn to talk with him about blocking Agustin and using his mind manipulation powers more effectively to keep the megalomaniac mage out of my head. Maddy and Justin are cuddling and being generally adorable out on the back porch, which overlooks a small vegetable garden. Cam and Dmitri are in the front yard, experimenting with a few offensive charms Liam had stored away.

  Roman is upstairs in the loft, sitting in a large easy chair that faces away from the stairs. He’s leaning an elbow on one arm of the chair, forehead resting on the heel of his hand, and when I reach the top step, I see him rub his hand down his face in a tired gesture. His phone is sitting nearby, and I’m guessing he was just trying to contact Hardwick or someone. Liam doesn’t have a cell tower or anything here, and he’s blocked any attempts at surveillance coming in, so Roman probably had to do some real fancy magical footwork to get a cell signal out.