Chapter Thirty-Two - Shadows
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Shadows
A METICULOUSLY TIMED schedule had me grading papers until shortly after sunset. After locking my classroom door, I headed through the halls. A few students lingered, still gaping at me since my arrival here.
Heads turned once I passed through the library, even by students between the tall bookshelves. I didn’t acknowledge them. There were significantly more students in the library tonight after the announcement preventing students from leaving at 8 p.m.
There was already a vague notice at the academy that students needed to be in the dorms by 10 p.m. The previous curfew was mainly to prevent students from coming and going in the dorms and creating noise that upset students trying to sleep for class, this was different. The council used an excuse they had been getting ready for a while, that shadow use was on the rise. It was really to monitor who was missing when meetings were happening and if groups were forming. It also created fear within the people, allowing the society to get away with gaining more power to fight their made-up enemy.
This memo would be only the first of them gaining control and stopping those born with shadow magic completely. It was the next logical step to prevent those who could try to stop them. I’d imagine draining from shadow magic citizens would come next, leaving them nearly empty.
While walking through the library, my mind went to my next focus.
If Trevor Emerson was going to tell anyone about what he saw in Harper’s memories, it would have definitely been his private tutor, his constant link to the council. His father would also have known by now. I wasn’t against questioning a twenty-year-old student, not after seeing what he was capable of. However, the council’s unfiltered response might not have been disclosed to a student. Finding out from an informant, possibly one of their society members, about their next steps would give me more direct information.
If Douglas knew what Trevor saw or the council’s next steps, I was going to find out. Trevor would come next if I did not get clear answers.
Waiting in the dark could cause them to gain more power and leave me in a position unable to react to whatever their next step was.
With our cover possibly blown and Harper being in trouble, it was time to stop playing carefully. Staying on the sidelines was no longer an option, it was time for action. I needed to get ahead of their next plans now that I had gathered enough information.
Any more taking it slow could risk—I stopped, pulling open the door. I swallowed hard, and my eyes flicked to the painting near the staff entrance to the library. The gleeful eyes of Thomas and Delilah Ares stared back at me, serving the Realm and standing beside all the council members a year before the so-called accident. They looked exactly how they did in my memories, the same age as when they said goodbye to me before leaving that evening.
Just as I stepped into the staff housing area, heavy footsteps echoed from the gate leading from the courtyard, sharp and deliberate, cutting through the silence. My gaze snapped in that direction, a flicker of tension stirred within me. It was dark already. Douglas had just finished up with a tutoring session.
Still, this was too open.
I moved to the back of the staff housing, just behind my townhome at the end, with only one next-door neighbor. Hidden within the dark, magic slipped from my fingertips, a simple illusion took shape around the edge of the building.
“Emerson, did you follow me back?” he asked, stepping closer. He halted, glaring into the side of the building.
I chuckled, knowing the illusion wouldn’t have worked so well on a professor trained in mental manipulation at Ares-Valentine. Illusions were a legal form of mental manipulation, just like aura readings, but difficult to master.
It didn’t get him to the back of the building, but it would do .
Vines wrapped around Greg Douglas, pulling him until his back pressed against the damp moss growing on the back of the brick building. Shadows covered his mouth, nearly choking him, muffling his scream in protest. I was careful about not using too much to avoid a bystander catching me using illegal magic—being sent to Cerberus was not in my plans. It was unlikely anyone would spot us behind the dark building this late.
Light poured from his hands in strings, flowing to the ground. It burned my clothes as it quickly wrapped around me while he tried to disintegrate my magic—but I was ready, more prepared than he was. My never-ending pool of anger with these people kept my power fueled. His fear wasn’t close enough to match. Even so, it was unsettling how much light he was capable of. If I had been caught off guard, it wouldn’t have been so easy.
Shadows wrapped around my body in thin, nearly invisible tendrils to chase away his attacks, as if they were a part of me. I had been practicing shadows most of my life. It barely burned me before my magic tore his apart.
“Don’t fret, Greg. I only need some information. You are good at relaying information, aren’t you?”
He roared against my magic in protest, still nearly silent.
“Hmm…” I shrugged my shoulders.
The wall in his mind tried to solidify as I ripped into his memories in the way he tried to do to my mate. For a moment, I felt him attempt to get into my mind before the claws of mind reading had him at my mercy. I’d been practicing at keeping my walls up nonstop since my first day at the academy—despite the effort and energy it took away from me.
I barreled into his mind, searching for significance from the past few days. It wasn’t careful, not delicate like mind reading required.
The most recent memory I came across showed Douglas talking with the council members in hushed voices in a dimly lit room. I skipped through, listening to them speculate about who the witnesses of the ritual might have been. That was when the Thornes brought up a suspicious-looking bandage they found on Harper Solace.
That conversation wasn’t surprising to anyone in the group, many students wore small bandages for a day or two after practice. What was surprising was when Douglas mentioned he spoke to Harper just moments before he left for the graveyard. The outfit she wore Friday night was not academy issued and could have matched one witness at the graveyard.
“You’ll need to find out. We can’t wait on this,” said Rufeus.
Camille Thorne sighed. “If what we suspect is right, you’ll need to erase her memories.”
“That’s difficult,” said Douglas.
“You’re capable of it,” said Graham. “It’s recent. It shouldn’t be too much trouble for her. This only escalates our plan. With that demonstration of power we heard about as a first-year, she would be a valuable asset to convince to get onto our side. The way a student was using shadows like last night, it makes sense it was Solace—with who her parents were.”
Anger clouded my vision, and I almost couldn’t hold the magic. The memories continued to discuss how they’d manipulate her to join their cause, using the ability to restore her uncle’s status. In the future, they planned to offer to grant him power through their dark ritual, only if she fully converted as a member.
“Ares covered for her,” Camille added. “He could have been mistaken. He’s less impressionable than a student, and it’s been a suspicion that inviting him could remind him of memories of conversations his parents might have had. If you discover he was involved, we will need to deal with him.”
Douglas cleared his throat. “It may take time to find out what he knows.”
“Then, we will siphon his magic and kill him. He appears to hide his power in recent years, but it’s been suspected he’s at least as powerful as his parents were,” Rufeus spoke to Douglas. “If she knows too much that can’t be carefully removed while keeping her mind intact, we will have to get rid of her as well. Valuable or not, we can’t have these loose ends.”
Douglas replied, “Consider it done.”
I could no longer hold a connection while realizing how close we were to their plans. This was what I had been fearing. They were after her, despite my attempt to keep her from getting involved in my own agenda. My hold on Douglas’ mind dropped completely.
I stared into the frightened look in his eyes and nodded my head to myself in a silent realization. Their knowledge of Harper’s involvement had now gone to the top of my list. Douglas groaned, attempting to scream, light magic kept trying to break my binds. My shadows were constantly increasing. The vines tightened around him. Ice pinned him. The points dug into his chest, due to his display that he was weak to defend against it.
My hands shook. They wanted to kill her. She wouldn’t be manipulated to forget all she learned. It wouldn’t have worked, she would never have been able to fully forget. As soon as Douglas would have seen that she was there thirteen years ago, it would have been over.
No.
My parents’ faces, that I had seen in a painting just minutes ago, flashed into my mind.
I blinked at him. Anger nearly made my magic erratic—but I was completely calm when shadows wrapped around him.
You can’t have her, too. Nothing left my mouth when tendrils cut off his air. A glow from the courtyard shone over the brick wall separating the staff housing. None of that light reached us. There was barely enough to see the whites of his eyes as he gasped. The shadows completely covered him before becoming solid. I snapped his neck, and he fell limply to the ground.
I lit the body in a concentrated burst of flames, it burned him fast. An air shield prevented smoke from rising above the buildings.
Steps sounded behind me.
Vines wrapped around the person lurking in the dark, yanking them toward me. A jacket hood fell back, revealing short black hair.
Trevor glared at me, throwing ice while vines wrapped around my ankles. Fire shot for my hands next.
His magic disintegrated with a flick of my wrist. My vines tightened. A ring of fire danced around his neck like a collar as the flames behind me started simmering out.
“You’re impressive for a second-year, but you’re still only a second-year,” I said .
What do I do with him? I tipped my head in thought.
I hummed to myself, realizing I did make a rather good illusion of him, but why was he here? I stared over his shoulder, toward the “No Students Beyond This Point” sign that he obviously ignored. Shadows gagged him from shouting. I’d have to clear this recent memory or distort it with illusions to ruin his memory if investigated.
He must have seen a decision cross my features.
“If you—” he tried speaking through the binds.
I released the gag, wondering why he was approaching me after going into Harper’s mind and seeing me at their ritual.
He spoke low, jaw clenched, “If you didn’t kill him, I would have.”
My head tipped with curiosity. “And why is that?” My magic tested his walls.
“Don’t try it,” Trevor demanded. “He’s an informant. He does off-the-books assignments for the council. You must have known something if you killed him.”
Obviously. “And?”
“So, you know about the council?”
My magic tightened as my patience came to an end.
He spat out, “I know why you’ve been sitting in on his classes, why you’d be looking into him. You’re not the only one angry they killed your parents. Douglas wasn’t involved in the fire, but I found out he helped cover it up. He wasn’t in the society yet. The council needed me to open my mind to him after Harper’s reading, which is why I’m here. In her mind, I saw you too, at their ritual, and knew you were looking into them. I wasn’t going to tell them I saw you. I managed to get out of it, to prepare myself and hide those memories. He’s a strong mind reader.” He paused and looked at what was left of the small fire behind me. “Well, he was a strong mind reader.” He held my curious stare with adamance.
My eyes narrowed on him, wondering if this was all to save himself.
He sighed. “They made the mistake of thinking I want power more than to look further into what happened to my mother. My father believes I want the same as he does, at any cost.”
I released him. It didn’t matter if the council found out I killed Douglas, they were already after me.
“I need to visit someone,” I said. I wasn’t going to mention it was the Thornes, and how their clear death wish earned them a visit. He may be angry, but I had seen enough to know how close he was with the Thornes, and Trevor’s father was next on my list now that I had the proof that I needed.
“Don’t go far. Professor Douglas was supposed to report to them tonight if he was able to get information about Harper from me, or by himself.” He stopped staring at the ashes and turned to me. “If they don’t hear him check in, they’ll be on their way. They will already assume it was you or Harper since you two were his next assignments.”
“You know a lot about this.” I wasn’t going to give him what I already learned tonight. However, this did match up with what I uncovered. If they were prepared to make a move, it meant I had no time for this.
“They could be here by morning, or sooner. I think they are tied together by old magic. It’s possible someone will know he died. They already planned to come here if Douglas wasn’t successful.”
“What do you mean when you say they’ll come here? To the academy?”
Trevor’s jaw set in anger, nodding slowly. “From what I’ve gathered. Things are changing between them now. With the students on lockdown, they have a lot more freedom and any excuse to come here, and it’s only recently they’ve fully unlocked how to harness and maintain more power.”
I stared down at the ashes left from Douglas, leaving them for the dirt.
Getting to the Thornes would have to wait. I needed to find Harper. Suddenly, the need for revenge had been pushed aside. More than ever, I needed to make sure she was out of their reach. Coming to campus grounds, this was a new low. They had to be stopped.
Trevor called out as I headed for the courtyard, “Where are you going?”
Good luck getting me to divulge any of my plans with a future council member.
He caught up to me.
I looked at him. “And where will you be if they come to the academy?”
He glared back, but didn’t have an answer. He was ready to speak against them, action against his father was a different matter. Perhaps he still wanted that place on the council.
“Don’t follow me,” I said. I had enough of students following me and getting themselves into trouble.
My steps didn’t slow when I could feel him obviously ignore my demand .
I needed to text her but communication at an elite academy was definitely monitored by the council. If anything, the restrictions confirmed that. My fingers flexed, fidgeting with my phone. This couldn’t wait.
I called her.
No answer.
ME: Where are you?