Chapter 28
I shower and dress for the day, but feel no peace in the mundane actions.
My mind still stuck on what Cosmo said
They had a little girl, and those bastards tortured her, experimented on her, cut her open.
A poor, innocent child.
We have to find her, and any other kids those fucking bastards are using as guinea pigs.
—Nymph, you are sad?—
—Worried, sad, angry. What are the Conclave doing, Ludo?—
Lu looks into the distance, and after a beat replies —So much evil—
He walks me out to meet up with Willow and Dunc.
They give us both cheery greetings and smile back, but my heart’s not in it. It seems ridiculous to be in this academy world when outside the walls, things are going to shit. I let out a massive sigh.
—Go eat, Nymph. Can’t save the world if you’re weak—
“I wish you could have breakfast with us.”
—Staff are not allowed to fraternize—
“Yeah, I know, but it’s stupid.”
—I’ll walk with you—
He stays a few steps behind us, and I know he’s constantly scanning for danger. Gah, I have so little time to spend with Ludo. I don’t want him to be my bodyguard, I want him to be my…
My?
Boyfriend?
The word nearly makes me laugh aloud. So ridiculously small for what Ludo is.
Once we are at the dining hall, he dips his head and then moves silently away.
I watch him go.
After food, I head into my first class, a double session of Advanced Divination. It’s something I’ve never clicked with, but once again, I’m determined to learn all that I can—even though the majority of witches think divination is a load of hokum.
You see, divination doesn’t use a spell or a spark. It draws on the atoms of your body, which in turn respond to ripples in time and space (apparently). A very patient witch can learn to read the tiny changes in their own cellular makeup to predict coming events.
The advanced class has only five other students; all of the hippy persuasion. As I enter the room, my phone buzzes.
ALEXIS: Good morning, pulu. Did you sleep well? Can you come to my office during lunch break
ME: Yes - everything OK?
ALEXIS: Need your help with something
ME: I’ll be there
“Good morning, Ms. Wilson. Glad you can join us once more,” Professor Chen says as I quickly tuck away my phone. “You missed a fascinating discussion of fine-tuning one's body last week. Hlynur, can you give Ms. Wilson a quick recap?” The professor gestures to a tall, fair-haired Elite student.
Hlynur likes to think his Icelandic heritage gives him a superior ability in these classes. “We discussed distinguishing between the natural cellular changes and ripples from the temporal field.”
“Good, good.” Professor Chen claps his hands. “And Matawāhi, do you remember the metaphor we came up with?” he asks.
“Yes, sir,” Matawāhi replies in her soft, calm voice.
“It was the difference between natural currents in a river and ripples caused by a stone being thrown into it.” Matawāhi is from New Zealand.
She has a quiet power about her and seems to read people really well.
If anyone can connect with the temporal field, I think it will be her.
Professor Chen starts handing out stumps of black candles. “Today I want you to seek a future event, then try to disturb the ripples with your own actions, so the future event changes. Got it?”
“Got it,” everyone replies.
The nice thing about this class is that I don't encounter much animosity, just the odd stray snarky thought. Most people (apart from me) are too busy concentrating on a cellular level.
Once all the candles are lit, Professor Chen lowers the blinds. “And begin,” he says.
Come on then, Lumina, I tell my body, show me what you’ve got.
With my eyes closed, images dance around my brain. Nothing unusual there, but for the first time, it’s almost as though someone else is in charge of what images are appearing.
Snapshots flash quickly, one after another.
My mum doing the grocery shopping, Willow making hot chocolate, and me almost drowning in the pool.
Then things shift; there’s white sand, incense burning, Alexis frowning…and finally the carousel stops turning, leaving only one image.
Wes.
He’s standing perfectly still in a sterile-looking white room.
His face is flat, devoid of any emotion.
Silhouetted figures move closer to him; they’re talking, but I can’t hear the words. At first, Wes doesn't react, then, suddenly, his head snaps up. The vision expands and what I see next brings bile to my mouth.
A child, strapped to a surgical table.
The little kid is screaming. I can't hear the sound, but his mouth is stretched wide in a silent, unending shriek of agony. Veins bulge in his tiny neck.
One of the shadowy figures steps forward and plunges a syringe into the child’s arm. Instantly, the boy goes limp, his eyes rolling back.
My heart rate hammers against my ribs. What's happening?
Then, the figure moves aside.
Wes walks closer to the table. He looks down at the unconscious child, his face completely blank.
No horror. No pity.
He looks at the doctor holding the syringe... and nods.
Oh, Gods.
He’s involved in this.
NO.
It’s impossible. The image blinks out, and I’m panting for breath. I need more, more clues about what this is and how to find the child.
Stop Wes from becoming this monster.
Change the ripple.
Closing my eyes again, I curse because the spinning sensation has gone.
My brain is back to normal.
Shite.
I beg the Lumina, but nothing changes. The professor comes over when I raise my hand. “Problem?”
“I saw something, but lost again. Please, professor, tell me how to get it back, I have to change the ripple!”
"You are pushing too hard, Theo," Professor Chen says, in a calm murmur. "You cannot force a vision. The moment you try to control it—to demand more—you silence the signal."
He leans a little closer, trying not to disturb the other students.
"Think of it this way," he says, "The first glimpse you had was a fleeting connection. When you tried to force it, it's like you grabbed the thread too tightly. You snapped the string. You need to be patient and hope it returns on its own. It’s not up to you anymore.”
I really fucked that up.
I lay my head on the table, my breath hitching.
Wes.
He wasn't saving the child. He was authorizing the torture.
Change the ripple.
I have to believe Professor Chen. I have to believe that what I saw was a future event—a potential timeline.
Which means it hasn't happened yet.
And if it hasn't happened yet, I can stop it.
Gods, I need Alexis’s brain right now.
Professor Chen drones on about "temporal fluidity" for another twenty minutes, but the words slide off my brain like water off oil.
I stare at the clock on the wall.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Why does time move slower when your world is falling apart?
Every second that passes is a second closer to that vision becoming reality. A second closer to Wes becoming an unredeemable monster.
My leg bounces under the desk, a nervous rhythm I can’t stop. I need Alexis.
I need his strategy, his calm, his soldier’s mind to help me dissect this nightmare.
When the bell finally rings, signaling the lunch hour, I don't walk.
I tear from the room like all the hounds of hell are at my heels.