Chapter 8 - Blaze
CHAPTER 8 - BLAZE
T he Guild of Shadows had known many dark, dire moments, but none compared to what I went through. My actions brought war from another realm to Earth’s door and killed a lot of Guild members. Karma came full circle to reap my penance.
I stared at the protective case that used to store the Book of the Dead, warded with a Ghul curse. The Dark Lord shattered the glass like it was nothing, just like his servant, Nelle, reached inside my mind and stained it with his darkness. I felt it ferreting around in my head, a secret I hid from the world, or lose the trust of my mentor, the Gildron Council, friends, and bonded for good.
“Are you paying attention, son?” Venellan asked from beside me, holding a coffee mug in his hand instead of nursing his evening whisky tumbler—a constant companion with his recent stress.
“Huh?” I blinked and slanted my gaze to him.
He brought me to the library, where a group of conjurers surrounded the parchment recorded from Luna’s mind, interpreting the glittering symbols. I just wanted to be alone and turned down an invitation earlier that afternoon to go to the bar for drinks with my brothers and bonded. Saying no to my mentor was a little more complicated when he saved my ass more times than I could count, and I owed him my life as debt.
He gestured his mug in the direction of the wards. “The wards have deciphered three of the six symbols representing earth, water, and fire.”
I stiffened. Elements of the djinn species that, up until two weeks ago, were mine to command. Cotton scraped and burned as I rolled up my shirt sleeves, exposing the bare skin missing the collection of djinn markings, the color faded like it left my life. Replaced by the dark tail of a serpent, polluting me with their sinister power. A funnel Camus used to steal my magick with the intent to enter the djinn realm for whatever sinister purpose he contrived. I closed my hand in a fist.
Venellan’s gaze dipped to my arm, but he had the grace not to address it. “What do you think the sixth element is?”
I bit back the sting as I rolled my sleeves over the darkness burned into my skin, taking root in my being. Flexing my hand in and out was the only way to rid myself of the cold burn of the serpent tattoos.
I wracked my mind to go over the last thirty minutes. “An element beyond death, perhaps.” The word triggered ice to crumble in the void inside me.
I missed the comfort of rolling flame balls over my fingers. Missed my connection to my sacred flame and reading the emotions of others.
Concern won out, and Venellan ground out, “We’re working on a way to purge you of the last of the serpent’s scourge.”
Daily visits to the Tarnaks’ wing for treatment failed to budge the branding, and I lost hope that I’d ever be free of it. A stark reminder that despite the spellcaster’s death, her curse remained, and the only magick in all the gantii realms capable of deactivating it was taken from me by Camus. I had to figure out how to get them back before it was too late. Before he abused my stolen powers to harm my djinn family.
I forced myself back to the previous conversation, cleared my throat, and asked, “What about the last three symbols?”
Venellan deposited his empty mug on the table, steepling his fingers, eyes intent on the map. “We can’t find any reference to the last three symbols anywhere. Our working theory is that their meaning is contained within the Book of the Dead, and that’s why Camus stole it.”
Or in Luna’s mind. I kept that one to myself to protect my bonded at all costs. The wards scoured her mind map for answers. Let them find it there.
“We need to identify them to understand what Camus will do if he secures it.” The headmaster turned to me, and I sensed a command coming on. “Can you visit the rogue and see what he knows?”
The icy burn spread to my shoulder. “I… I can’t.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Gable. He became a reliable ally, and we inched closer to friendship. I just didn’t feel safe.
My mentor rested a palm on my shoulder, the heat of him at odds with the desolation in my veins, eliciting an icy burn. “I know you’re anxious about leaving the Academy, son.”
An understatement. Anxiety clawed at me. These walls protected me. Protected the world from what I might do. Magick within the premises was the only thing to control the darkness from spreading and multiplying like a virus. The Dark Lord failed to convert Luna to his servant, and he kidnapped me with that express purpose. Dark magick waited for the moment to completely infect me if given the chance, and I couldn’t leave these walls and risk it. Every time they forced me out on Veil repair missions, the darkness inside me fortified, and it might completely assume control.
Venellan’s fingers sank into my shoulder, preventing me from leaving the library. “You won’t be alone. You can take Talon with you.”
The cold burn hit my chest, and more than ever, I needed the fire of the djinn. “No! Get Talon to do it. He’s competent.”
Needles of ice sank into my flesh from his grip. “You need to get out of here. You can’t stay holed up in here forever. It’s not healthy.”
“I can’t, I’m sorry.” I hunkered down, hoping he’d respect my decision.
“I know he’s changed you, son.” At his words, I slammed my eyes shut. “I sense the pulse of darkness in your veins, taking hold of your heart.”
I never could hide a thing from my mentor. All this time, he knew of my secret relationship with Luna, but kept my secret, protecting me like a father would his son.
“I consider you the closest thing to a son after William died.” The shake in his voice spurred an icy tear to track down my cheek. “And I’ll do anything to save you.”
He had a wife and son once, but they were killed by the serpents, and in his grief, he took me under his wing as his adopted son, sheltering me from the consequences of my actions.
He clasped my hand, crushing it. “I know I ask a lot of you. Please, son, if you won’t do this for yourself, do it for me. Before the darkness claims you and I lose you too.”
The day when I had to leave here and retrieve my power from the Dark Lord approached. I’d never get my magick back by being a coward. This was the least I could do for my mentor, even if it pushed me further into darkness. Without him, I wouldn’t have a Guild career when he protected me from the wolves with the Council. I owed this to him and myself.
“All right,” I croaked, cracking open my eyes.
Venellan dragged me into his embrace. “Don’t lose hope, son. Please, just hold on. We’ll find a way.”
I clung to him, my muscles shaking, the icy burn going for my heart. “I don’t have much to hold on to. I’ve lost my position and my magick.”
I entered the Guild with an avid interest in the supernatural, hunting ghosts and paranormal activity with the Spook Club I formed at age eight. Then I followed my grandmother through a secret panel in the Bathurst Library’s wall, entering the secret world of the Guild. On the dusty shelves of the old Guild headquarters, I found a spell that would irrevocably change my future, grant me the power of the elements, and make me the most powerful soldier this world had ever seen. Now I was right back where I started, just a boy with nothing but a curiosity for a world beyond our own. Karma came full circle, demanding payment for the lives my mistake cost. What else did it have in store for me?
Venellan’s hand clasped the back of my neck, and he kissed the side of my face. “Not for long. I’m working on getting you back to teaching.” He patted my back and let me go. “Now go. Visit the rogue and seek his help.”
I left the library, moving through the stone halls decorated with paintings, artifacts, carvings, and tapestries. A tangible unease hung thick in the air. Every pair of eyes reflected the same disquiet and anxiety. I ignored them and went to my room, closing the door and leaning on it, sucking in air, searching for the courage to leave this place and seek answers.
My bonded came to see me after dinner, snapping me out of my staring match with the empty corrugated iron that used to serve as a fireplace.
“Hi there.” Her cheeks were pink, hair mused, and lips swollen, leaving no doubt in my mind of what she’d been up to with one of her men.
Cole, by the smell of it. I recognized his spicy cologne. I tended to wear softer, citrus scents. Talon preferred a blend of both, and Gable made his own with natural oils.
She sat on my lap, where I reclined in my lazy chair and ottoman. “No fire?” Her fingers brushed my neck, the only thing that didn’t sting at contact.
“I can’t stand the heat.” I cradled her waist and pulled her to me, needing her soft warmth to stave off the permanent cold that assumed residence in me. Anything more and the cold burn punished me.
“You used to love it.” Her fingers tickled my forehead as she played with the blond waves of my hair.
“Not anymore, sweetness.” I couldn’t stand fire, heat, or sunlight anymore. Slowly the darkness consumed me.
“Is there anything I can do?” She rested her head on my shoulder, and I inhaled her sweet apple scent, but it made my nose wrinkle. The evil within sought the acrid, rotten scents of death.
My first instinct was to push her off me and stumble off the chair to prevent hurting her. The changing part of me needed her close when she was likely the only woman in the world able to handle the dark and light within me. We barely had a moment alone after our return from the Brotherhood’s castle, and I longed for her comfort.
“Just hold me,” I murmured, pressing my nose into the soft skin of her neck, and my teeth ached with a need to sink into her and draw blood. Startled, I pulled back, breathing hard.
What the hell had Nelle done to me? Turned me into a zombie vampire or something, desperate for anything that satisfied the serpent’s obsession with death? I scraped the back of my neck.
Luna noticed, leaning back, staring at me. “Is there something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” I didn’t want her looking at me like I was broken, and traced my knuckle on her throat, testing whether I burned her.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you as much as I should have this last week.” I hated that she launched into an apology and blamed herself for our separation. “I’ve missed you and thought about you often.”
“Same, sweetness.” I kissed her throat, performing another assessment. Her eyelids fluttered, relaxing my bunched back muscles. “I’m glad you’re here now.”
Her fingers sifted through my hair, and I leaned into the pleasure of it when the branding on my arm made everything I usually enjoyed unpleasant. “Are you hungry? Have you eaten?”
The question tensed my arms, and she squirmed with discomfort. “Not yet. I can’t stomach anything since my return.”
Food turned me off. The smell made me want to vomit. I craved dead flesh, blood, or bone. Fucking Camus turned me into a goddamn monster!
“I’m worried about you, Blaze.” Her soft voice drove an icy blade through my heart. “We all are.”
I didn’t need my sacred flame to read that in her and my brother’s faces.
I drove my gaze back to the empty iron bowl. “I know, sweetness.”
She braced my face in her palms and shifted my attention back to her. “Tell me what I can do.”
“There’s nothing you can do unless you can nix the curse on my forearm and restore my powers.” I stroked her spine, dreading voicing the part about my monster.
The shame must have been written on my face, and her jaw worked with what she was about to say. “The headmaster said you’re going to see Gable to ask about my mind map. Do you want me to come with you? Be your calm, the way you were mine when the class left the Academy to find the Veil rift?” She cupped my cheek.
Vivid memory returned of me directing wind to caress her cheek, designed to alleviate her fear over Camus trying to kidnap her. She carried the power destined for me, but I doubted it would have the same effect on me.
This time I clasped her face, my fingers stretching over and behind her ears. “You don’t understand what you ask of me. The magick within the Academy staves off the darkness. Leaving will change me into Camus’ slave.”
Her eyes moistened. “We’ll get Gable here then.”
I let out a long breath, the anxiety that had spiked lowering a degree. “If you can, I’d prefer that.”
She brought our foreheads together, her nose nuzzling mine, the only thing stopping me from breaking. “How about after class tomorrow?”
I nodded, my nose nudging her cheek. “Please.”
Her hand skimmed over my cheek, the motion diminishing my mounting unease. “Enough about that. What have you been up to this last week?”
“Research for Talon, mostly.” Moping and avoiding my friends, terrified I’d infect them. Zoning out like a zombie. Trying to hold on when my world crumbled around me.
“Find anything?” Her fingers curled around my nape, injecting my numb body with heat that waged war with the emptiness.
“Yeah, we found a promising lead.” I lifted her other arm over my shoulder, needing her body on mine. “Stay tuned for tomorrow.”
“Really?” Her cheeks lifted into a smile, and I kissed their fading sex rosiness, hoping to imprint the color there forever. “I’m looking forward to my first day back.”
I turned her question back on her, wanting to know about her last week. “What have you been up to, sweetness?”
We talked about her recompense for tearing a hole in the Veil, and my mood lifted, the numbness receding, giving me hope that I wasn’t all lost.
By the time the light’s out bell sounded, she climbed off my lap and stretched her leg to reclaim her circulation.
Before she left, I caught her hand. “Will you stay tonight, sweetness?” I didn’t want to be alone in the cold darkness.
“Sure. Let me just get my things and I’ll be back.” She moved to the door, clutching the handle. “Back in a minute.”
The darkness threatening to engulf me hissed and reared back as if responding to my bonded’s light. Energy she absorbed from the djinn world that was intended for me. A potential solution for my problem scratched at the back of my mind.