by Raven Steele
“Yeah, pretty messed up.” He continued, looking directly at me. “When they found out Aurora’s daughter was coming to Solar, they told Arrow to focus all her attention on you. They feared you might try to wake her.”
I gripped my hands together to keep them from shaking.
“They said if that happened, she and other recruits were to kill you.”
“What other recruits?” I asked.
Ireland narrowed her eyes. “That bitch Maisy, for sure.”
Bennie nodded. “She didn’t give me other names, but said some of the student werewolves are with her too.”
“That explains why they were chasing you that night.” Bonnie rubbed at her arms. “What do we do?”
“We continue as planned,” I said. “We don’t have any other choice.” I paused. “Well, I don’t. You guys do. If you want to back out, now’s the time. I won’t be mad.”
“Hell no,” Ireland snapped.
“You could get expelled,” I added.
She snorted at this. “That would be a good thing. I’m so ready to get out of here. My mom has been sick for months and my older sister can barely take care of her and work. I’d go home now, but my mom says if I leave early, she’ll disown me.”
“I’m in, too,” Bennie said. “The world is a much bigger place than this school, and I’m anxious to go conquer it.”
We all looked at Bonnie. Out of all of us, she was the one who could go far in the supernatural world, if she wanted to. But if anyone ever found out what she was about to do, any future career would be over.
“I’m in,” she said, her voice quiet, “but at the first sign of trouble, I’m going to be like the ghosts I’m about to summon. You won’t see me until I want to be seen.”
We all looked at each other, the air thick with tension.
I nodded. “Let’s begin.”
Chapter 28
Bonnie sat cross-legged in the center of my attic room. Over a hundred candles had been lit around her. Their smoke swirled into the air, sucked upward by a drafty window in the rafters. Bennie sat across from her, playing some game on his phone, while Ireland and I stood near the door waiting for Bonnie to give us the signal. Occasionally, we heard cheering from outside where students still played.
Bonnie swallowed, her expression grave. She rested a hand on each of her knees and lowered her head as she began to whisper in that weird language she’d used before. The air in the room pressurized, making air catch in my chest. Flames from the candles flickered in the still room and grew tall, several inches past their wick.
Ireland and I shared a glance. I was worried, Ireland impressed. I didn’t know much about the power of evocation, but I knew it took a lot of strength to summon the dead.
Bonnie held out a hand to her brother. Bennie set his phone down and took hold of her hand. She glanced over at us. “You can go as soon as you hear the screams. And whatever you do, don’t look at the ghosts. They don’t like it.”
Just as she said it, a terrified scream erupted from outside.
“Let’s go,” I said and opened the door.
Another scream.
Ireland tried to peek out a window in passing, but we were moving too fast. “What do you think they’re seeing?”
“I don’t want to know.”
“Where are we meeting Ms. Swanson and Mr. Stenberg?”
“They’ll be waiting for us at the bottom of the elevator.”
I tried to ignore the angry butterflies fluttering in my stomach as we hurried down the hall. They only made my flames grow hotter, and I needed to control them until I was ready. But I was so nervous!
Sensing my trepidation, Ireland said, “You’re going to do great. You’re a badass, remember?”
“I don’t feel like one.” I opened the door to the stairway and darted down to the first floor. Lots of screaming now. The sounds rattled my already agitated nerves.
“Anyone who can explode a structure from over thirty feet away just by thinking about it is a major badass. Don’t doubt yourself.”
A moment later, we opened the door to the lobby. Over a dozen students stood with their backs to us, staring out the many windows to the chaos beyond. We approached them slowly, our eyes wide. There must’ve been over a hundred ghosts outside floating through the air. Some wore old torn military uniforms from the Revolutionary War, bullet holes marring their pale faces. Others had limbs missing, or chests and stomachs torn open, revealing a trail of guts, some hanging down ten feet into the air as they flew.
Ireland stood in awe next to me. We couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
Teachers looked as frantic as the students and tried to get control, but they had no clue how to stop the madness.
Just then, several ghosts spotted the onlookers behind the glass. They changed directions and headed right for us. One of them held his own head, which was missing an eye. Everyone slowly started backing up, thinking the glass would stop them.
“Let’s go,” I said to Ireland and tugged her towards the elevator. I frantically pushed the button willing the elevator to move faster. The ghosts were almost to the front of the school.
“We’re safe in here!” one of the seniors yelled.
But they weren’t safe. The ghosts passed through the glass, their dead eyes focused on the panicked students.
“It’s open!” Ireland said and shoved me inside. We both pushed at the basement button, our fingers tripping over each other as if we could make the elevator doors close quicker. They shut just as two ghosts passed by, chasing several screaming students.
We slumped against the side of the elevator and sucked in a deep breath.
“Remind me not to ever piss off Bonnie,” I breathed.
As soon as the doors opened, Ed appeared in front of us. “What’s going on upstairs?”
“What we wanted,” I answered and snuck by him. “The place is in chaos.”
“Is anyone getting hurt?” Linda asked but didn’t look at me. She was staring the direction where my mother slept.
“No. Mostly being chased.”
“We need to hurry,” she said. “Come on.”
Ireland and I had to speed-walk to keep up with her long, purposeful strides. Ed took up the rear. He kept glancing back as if worried some of the madness might have followed us down.
Linda stopped at the security door and unlocked all three locks. The magical wards around us made the air thick with tension, but none of them went off.
We descended the darkened circular stairs quickly, our steps echoing in the small space. Now it wasn’t just my nerves shaking, but my bones, too. I thought of Hudson. How much easier this would be with his calming presence. With all the ghosts upstairs, I wondered if he would go looking for me.
We reached the bottom of the stairs and made our way down the narrow hall to the final door. Linda slid her finger into the security pad. She winced when a needle pierced her skin for the requisite blood. The door opened, and I was the first one through. I stared at my mother’s sleeping body, spotlighted by iridescent lighting above her. The rest of the room was mostly dark, shadowing a chair and small table. A few boxes were stacked in the corner.
Fear coursed through me. If I failed, she’d die for sure.
“Stand here,” Linda said to me. She took hold of my shoulders and maneuvered me at the bottom of my mother’s feet. She then walked to the metal bars and opened the door to my mother’s cage. Ireland and Ed stood guard near the door.
“What do I do?” I asked.
“You need to shoot your flames through the magical barrier.”
“What barrier? I only see bars.”
“The wall is invisible, but don’t worry. You’ll feel it once you start. And when you break through, continue to shoot your flames above your mother, as close as you can get. Her own flames need to feel yours. They will respond and wake her, I’m sure of it.”
I inhaled and tried to calm my shaky nerves.
Mr. Stenberg approached me, h
is eyes flickering to my mother. “The spell I created was designed to be impenetrable to anyone but someone with Aurora’s DNA. This may feel like an impossible task, especially when you first get started, but know that it is possible. You have all the power you need to free your mother.”
“Got it.” I shook out my hands and puffed air past my lips.
Linda rested a hand on my shoulder. “This will be easier if you can think about your love for her and her love for you. Remember the good times. Begin when you’re ready.”
I nodded, already knowing the memory I wanted to focus on. I had been seven, maybe a month before my mother was put to sleep. She’d taken me to the zoo, just the two of us. We’d spent almost the whole day watching the monkeys and eating ice cream. It was the hardest I’d ever laughed. Maybe her, too. Tears had streamed down her face.
At sunset, she’d taken me on the last train ride of the day. Her face had grown somber and her eyes distant.
“What’s wrong?” I’d asked.
She’d looked down at me and smiled, but it was sad. “I wish it could always be like this. You and me.”
“It can.” There had been no doubt in my young mind. We would have happy days forever.
“Sometimes,” she said, squeezing my hand, “we do things we don’t want to do.”
“Why?”
“Because maybe we can’t help it, or …” She never finished her sentence. Looking back, I could see how important those words might’ve been.
But I didn’t focus on that moment. I focused on her happy face as she laughed at the monkeys.
Fire appeared in my hands, warming them so hot my flesh should be falling from my bones.
“Do it, Rose,” Linda breathed.
I shot my hands forward. Flames exploded outward and slammed into the invisible barrier just beyond the bars. My fire roared up it, and the force created a hot wind that lifted my hair into the air. Linda was right; I felt it.
“More heat,” Linda yelled over the roaring inferno.
I concentrated harder, focusing on narrowing my flames to a single point. They would be more powerful that way. The flames tunneled, growing white hot. The barrier felt solid, and yet I could feel it flexing against my flames, grabbing, pulling, and stretching. I had the distinct impression it was testing me to see if I was worthy to pass.
“Keep it up!” Ireland shouted. “You’re doing great!”
Beads of sweat dotted my forehead and my breathing deepened, great big swells of my chest until my lips began to tingle. My legs and arms grew weak.
“You’re almost through,” Linda said, her voice excited. “I can feel it.”
I could too. The barrier was giving in to me.
I felt Linda come up behind me. “You’re doing what others couldn’t. Keep going. Save your mother.”
Sweat stung my eyes, and I blinked through them. I pushed harder, drawing out the heat from within me until my toes were cold.
Something groaned and creaked. I thought it was the barrier coming down, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Ireland sprinting across the massive room into the shadows.
Linda took two steps to my side, peering into the darkness, while she said to me, “Don’t worry about what’s happening over there. Stay focused.”
A loud thud followed by a grunt came from the direction of the door. I told myself it wasn’t Ireland.
Mr. Stenberg hurried to shield Linda and I from whatever was coming.
“How did they get in?” Mr. Stenberg asked, his voice alarmed.
Linda kept her eyes focused on the darkness. “A jumper. That’s the only way.”
I hadn’t heard the phrase before, but by how tense her voice was it couldn’t be good.
From out of the darkness, three figures walked towards us. Maisy, Arrow, and Grant. From what I’d seen Grant do, he must be the jumper. But where was Ireland?
Mr. Stenberg stepped towards them. “You students need to return to your dorms at once. This doesn’t concern you.”
Arrow smiled a deadly grin. “Oh, but it does. We are on strict authority to make sure the sleeping bitch doesn’t wake up.”
Mr. Stenberg rotated his hands in front of him and mumbled several words. A ball of light appeared in front of him. “This is your last warning. Leave now.”
Arrow shot a bolt of lightning at him, followed by a fierce wind. His light expanded quickly in front of him to absorb the blow. He withdrew it into him, then shoved his hands forward, sending light their direction.
Without warning, all three of them disappeared. They appeared a second later behind Mr. Stenberg. Grant let go of both girl’s hands. Maisy mentally grabbed onto a chair in the corner and sent it flying towards him.
“Enough!” Linda called. My body froze as did my stream of fire. The chair’s momentum stopped mid-air.
But Arrow didn’t freeze. Somehow still able to move, Arrow glanced over her shoulder at Linda. “Sorry, sweetie, but your powers won’t work on us anymore. We’ve been gifted.”
Chapter 29
“Stefan,” Linda cursed under her breath. The name of Hudson’s father. He must have some sort of ability that could block Linda’s. Did that mean that Hudson’s father was already at Solar? I’d seen Arrow and the others frozen earlier. Maybe they had been faking it.
Arrow had only to look at the chair, and its momentum continued. It crashed into Mr. Stenberg, dropping him to the floor. My flames sputtered, and I sucked in a quick breath.
Linda snapped her head my direction. “Whatever happens, don’t stop.”
“I won’t,” I breathed. Her freezing spell vanished, and my flames roared back to life. My hands trembled from the effort of maintaining the high heat level. I was almost through the barrier.
“Under the authority of the ISA,” Arrow said to Linda, “I order you to stop doing what you’re doing.”
Linda pushed up her sleeves and kicked off her heels. “I don’t listen to spoiled rich kids. It’s a good thing you just turned eighteen, Arrow, because I’m about to kick your ass.”
Arrow laughed, but Linda was across the room and punching her in the face before anyone realized it. Arrow dropped to the floor, possibly unconscious. Apparently, Linda had more than one gift. She looked over at Maisy and Grant.
Grant touched Maisy, and they disappeared before Linda could get to them. They reappeared on the other side of the room. Maisy mentally tossed every object she could at Linda, but Linda punched through anything that crossed her path. What couldn’t she do?
“Last chance,” Linda told them. “Give up now, and you won’t be expelled from school.”
Something snapped. I inhaled sharply. “I’m through!”
Linda glanced my direction for only a fraction of a second, but it was enough for a broken piece of the chair to strike her temple. She collapsed, unconscious.
“Lower your hands,” Maisy yelled at me.
I couldn’t stop. Not when I was so close.
“Do what she says,” Grant added. “Believe me, I’d love nothing more than to feel your blood on my hands. I crave it, actually.”
His words chilled me, but the wave of goosebumps were cut short when a hardened battle cry erupted from the darkened shadows on the other side of the room.
Ireland exploded out from the deep black, moving almost as fast as Linda had. She slammed into Grant with both hands spread open. His body flew backward and crashed into the wall behind me. His head made a sickening thumb against the hard surface, and he slumped over.
I pushed my flames hotter and further, just above my mother. It was a careful balance trying to keep them near her without catching her on fire. The wind it created lifted her blond hair above her face, whipping around her face in a spinning tornado. The white gown she wore also flapped in the wind. I hoped she could feel every ounce of love I poured into my flames.
“Come on, Mom,” I whispered. “Wake up!”
Maisy and Ireland collided in a flurry of punches and kicks. I didn’t know Maisy knew ho
w to fight until that moment, though it shouldn’t have surprised me. Fighting came easy to supernaturals, so most learned to fight at a young age. It was also a good way to expel much of the extra energy we all seemed to have.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Arrow come to her feet. She glared at me, until Linda stood up, blocking my view. I almost sighed with relief that she hadn’t been hit any harder, but it took all my concentration to keep the flames roaring. The two faced off, both lowering into a defensive positions.
“My mother always hated you,” Arrow spat. “Said you were a power-hungry bitch.”
Linda laughed. “Look who’s talking. You’ve already joined the ISA. Aiming to become their youngest president?”
Arrow shrugged. “If that is what is best for our kind.”
Linda risked a quick glance at my mother, then looked back at Arrow. “Aurora’s going to wake up any second now. I can feel it. Can you?”
Arrow circled Linda, but glanced at my mother nervously. To me she said, “You need to stop, Rose. I get she’s your mother, but she’s also a murderer.”
“She’s innocent,” I said, but there was no force behind the words. I was more tired than I thought.
“No, she’s not. She’s a monster who needs to be put down.”
“Help me!” Maisy yelled at Arrow. Ireland had her pinned to the floor with both of Maisy’s arms above her head.
“I’m kind of busy,” Arrow said back, her eyes never leaving Linda’s.
Without warning, the chair that had knocked out Mr. Stenberg came flying towards Ireland’s back.
“Watch out!” I yelled.
Ireland flipped, taking Maisy with her. The chair crashed into Maisy’s head, and she slumped lifelessly on top of Ireland. Ireland quickly squirmed out from beneath her and focused on Arrow with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
Arrow cursed and backed away as Ireland stalked towards her.
