Chapter 42 Raven
Raven
The moon, their mistress, had expir’d before;
The winds were wither’d in the stagnant air,
And the clouds perish’d; Darkness had no need
Of aid from them—She was the Universe.
—Lord Byron, “Darkness”
As we step out of the darkened tunnels beneath Arches, Warden Stone approaches us, flanked by men and women in flowing robes. “You three, come with me.”
“Nope, we’re done with this place,” I say.
“Perhaps not quite yet,” says Warden Stone.
We have no choice but to follow him to his office. I half expect to see a platoon of guards here to escort us away, but it’s just us as Stone leads us inside.
His office is not as messy as we’d last seen it, and it’s brighter, too.
Candles have been lit, and the room isn’t as cold as I remember.
I stand between Dorian and Atticus as Warden Stone looks intently at each of us.
He’s always been an imposing figure, broad and tall, but now he stands as if a great weight has been lifted from his shoulders.
“A century ago, a girl named Adelina Ward, a student at Sibylline, created a malum. The shadow killed two students, but it was captured and contained by my predecessors. The shadow lay in a cell beneath Arches until the tower fell and set it free.”
“We know,” I say. “We figured it all out. Without your help.”
Warden Stone presses his lips into a line, but he doesn’t argue. It catches me off guard.
“What you don’t know is that to prevent another incident,” he says, “Sibylline denied admission to those with psychic ability. Sibylline didn’t want another Adelina Ward.
The ability to invade the mind, to read thoughts and feelings and emotions, was seen as dangerous.
Anyone who was deemed remarkably powerful was seen as dangerous, too. ”
“So the school kept out people like us,” says Dorian.
Warden Stone nods, his blue gaze no longer like ice.
“Our hiring manager forwarded me your résumés. I knew someone was trying to free the malum—a faculty or staff member, I suspected—but I didn’t know who.
I couldn’t let you in as students, but I thought if I let you work here, maybe one of you could help me figure out who was upsetting the magical balance in the atmosphere. ”
Numbly, I think back to that day we got our rejection letters. So they really wanted us after all? It’s strangely vindicating.
Meanwhile, Dorian says, “Professor White was behind everything. She kidnapped Atticus to bring Adelina back.”
“Where is Professor White now?” Warden Stone asks.
“Gone, somehow. Only dust remains,” I say, not really knowing what happened when her spell failed.
“Sounds like telepyrosis,” says Warden Stone. “She was consumed by the force of her own magic.”
“What happened to the malum?” I ask.
“We were able to destroy it with St. Adolphus Hall’s help. I’ve been working closely with them in secret. They knew those in their ranks would be targets. They have been studying the phenomenon for years.”
Silently I give Aspen and his friends thanks. I’m sorry I ever suspected him.
“So why did you fire us?” Atticus asks. The memory still stings.
“It was a calculated risk,” admits Stone, looking shamefaced.
“My reasons were twofold. If I kept you on after what happened under Arches, it would look suspicious, and firing you would draw my suspect out of the shadows, so to speak…Professor White did exactly what I thought she would do. She was desperate not to lose a powerful magic user before her work could be completed.”
It’s all starting to make sense. “You knew we were the only ones who could stop her,” I say. “So, then, why are we here now?”
“Don’t you know, Miss Chen? You’re so much more perceptive usually.” Warden Stone gives us a thin smile. “I’m here to offer you admission.”
“To Sibylline?”
“Where else?” he asks amusedly.
I’m floored. I look at Dorian, at Atticus—they’re both as shocked as I am.
Atticus looks a little haunted; his eyes have changed.
They’re still dark, still deep and warm, but they glitter with an unnatural shine, just like starlight, radiant even at night.
Dorian’s frowning, but his eyes are shining as well.
“It’s time to make some changes around here,” Warden Stone says. “Now, will you accept? We’ll have the paperwork drawn up, and you will be welcome to move into the dormitory, of course.”
“But—you—you fired us!” I shriek.
“I had to. I couldn’t risk letting whoever was plotting against the school know that I was trying to expose them.”
“So we come back as students?” Atticus asks tentatively.
“When the new semester starts, yes.”
I look at my friends. We’re at a crossroads, and they’re my guideposts. Atticus takes my right hand, and Dorian the other. Together, we answer.
—
Campus is empty at this hour. No other living soul stirs. It’s as if we have the entire world to ourselves. We leave Warden Stone’s office, stepping into the predawn glow that washes Sibylline in rose light.
New students. Us. Who would have thought? Of course we accepted. It’s everything we ever wanted. Where we’re going now, none of us seems to really know. We walk only for the purpose of being together.
When we pass by the ruins of Arches, Atticus looks distant as he stares emptily at the rubble. It’s like he’s seeing something that isn’t there.
“Finch?” Dorian asks.
His nickname jolts him out of the trance. He shakes his head, returning to himself. “Sorry…”
He died. Really died. And we brought him back. I squeeze his hand. “You’re with us?”
The Atticus we know shines through, a smile on his face. “Right now, I just need a shower.”
“Me too,” says Dorian.
“Me three,” I say cheekily. I’m not really sure what happened back there, the vision we all shared, together as one, but it felt so right.
Looking at the both of them now, a swell of desire rises in me.
I thought I’d lost them, and now I know for certain I never want to be without them.
Shared, equally. It’s a new feeling for sure, but one I can get used to. “Should we all just…?”
I don’t need to say it. They know. Atticus and Dorian exchange glances, color high in their cheeks, before they look back at me.
“Yeah,” says Atticus, ruffling Dorian’s newly white hair. “Why not?”
Dorian laughs. “Your place, Finch?”
“Who has the biggest bathtub?” Atticus wonders. Then, sotto voce, he says, “We’re going to need a bigger tub.”
I catch a glimpse of my hair as it falls from behind my ear. “Oh God, what are my parents going to think? I look like a ghost. I’m going to have a lot to explain.”
“I think the white suits you,” Atticus says, running his fingers through it. “It’s soft, like moonlight through lace curtains.”
I bring his hand to my mouth and kiss his knuckles as Dorian nuzzles my neck. There is no choosing—I love them both, and they both love me and each other. We are friends, lovers, a family, the three of us, forever.
I tip my head to gaze up at the velvet dark stretching overhead and breathe deeply as we walk in the slowly rising dawn. Let the future bring what it will. I can face anything knowing I will never be alone at Sibylline, or anywhere in the world.
That’s right, Raven, you’re never alone, says a voice.
“What was that?” I ask sharply. “Did you say anything?”
Dorian looks up. “Huh?”
Atticus shakes his head. “No. Did you hear something?”
For once, he’s not the one hearing disembodied voices.
I don’t tell him the truth; I’m too scared.
That’s right, Raven, don’t tell them. I will just be your little secret . . .