Chapter Fourteen

I felt a déjà vu from the evening when I'd sat in front of Principal Edgerton. She had dismissed Carter and Luke—though I was confused she let Luke go without a punishment for roaming in the woods at night. She was still in her nightdress and I still looked like I had been taking a tumble in the woods.

"So what are you going to do now?" I asked the principal. "Lock me up? I'm a menace to society. A murderer—"

"Riley," she said. It was the second time she had called me by my first name today. Or maybe it didn't count because it was past midnight. "I've always known what really happened to that sick bastard."

Nothing else could have made my head snap up any faster. I also couldn't believe Principal Edgerton had just said 'bastard'. "What?"

"You don't really think we didn't run a thorough investigation on your case before we took you to the academy? I could sense the amount of magic residing in you when I first met you. We did research and it was obvious what you had gone through and what you did to him. I think your action was justifiable."

Now I was definitely confused. "Then why—"

"I was angry, Miss Williams, because you didn't tell us that the black magician had been in contact with you. I can't protect my students if I don't even know the heights of danger they're facing. The black magician's particular interest in you isn't a small thing, Miss Williams." She exhaled, looking very tired all of sudden and every year of her age. I sometimes forgot how old she really was.

"I'm sorry." Something she said clicked. "You said you've always known about my...potential in black magic. Is that why the Council suspected me? They knew a black magician killed Mr. Hollister and they thought it was me, didn't they?"

"What you did when you were a child didn't make you a black magician, Miss Williams—I want you to understand that. A black magician took magic that wasn't his to become stronger—this process required a great deal of raw magic to begin with, which you possess, but as long as you haven't stolen magic, you're not a black magician."

"Stealing magic, like what he did to Mr. Hollister and my parents?"

The principal nodded. "The sacrifice spell had been forbidden for centuries. It could only be performed by a very strong raw magic." She exhaled again. "A few weeks ago, a Council member suddenly convulsed in the middle of a meeting and spoke in a voice that wasn't his. Possession of tongue was a forbidden form of magic that couldn't be done with spells—only raw magic. The voice sent a message, proclaiming to be the Dark Prince who had finally come back to take his rightful place in the magical monarchy that existed before the Council. He challenged everyone in the Council to step down and be his 'subjects'.

"When they refused, he said that they would regret it in the following month and there would be no place safe from him, not even our treasured academies. It didn't take us long to figure out what he meant—a black magician would hunt in October, the weeks prior to Samhain, where he could increase his power and stay young at the same time. That was how we knew to tighten our security. " She looked at me in the eye. "We just never knew why he targeted Asphodel in particular, but now we do. He wants you."

What a discomforting thought. "What's Samhain?"

"It's a time when all magic in nature is the strongest—including our raw magic, and the magic that opened small doors to another dimensions." Principal Edgerton leaned back. "But the thing is, Miss Williams, we doubted that this black magician is the real dark prince told from stories a century ago. At first, we thought he's only an impersonator who practiced black magic."

"So you don't think he's that powerful after all?"

"That was what we thought at first." She crossed he fingers. "You see, Miss Williams, I have an affinity in scenting flavors of magic. The person who performed a sacrifice spell on Mr. Hollister wasn't the same person who put me under the hypnosis spell. We think there are two black magicians on work here."

"And you think one of them might really be the dark prince?"

"We think one of them is much more powerful than the other, yes."

Dread gnawed my gut. "And the one who cursed the roses was...?" The same person who killed my parents. The one who spared me so that I could be like him.

"The more powerful one. So far our theory is that the other black magician was his apprentice. And this apprentice could be in this school. They could be anyone—after all, the sacrifices could make them appear as young as they wanted to be."

"But you can smell magic. Can't you, like, sniff everyone and tell if it was them?"

"A black magician knew how to hide their magic when they needed to. The only reason I'd been able to scent their magic so far was because they deliberately left their signature on it."

"So there is no way to find out who they are at all?"

"There is one way, Miss Williams. I want you to use your connection to the dark prince." The principal held my gaze. "I need you to be bait this Friday."

Carter was now my official bodyguard, in no better words. The principal ordered him to follow me everywhere I went to keep me out of trouble—the same thing he'd done to Luke no so long ago. I felt awkward while he escorted me back to my dorm. On one side, I felt like a dramatic teenage runaway who got caught and was now watched under tight surveillance. On the other side I felt like a girl walking with a guy she sometimes flirted with, who discovered her kissing other guy just now.

I was thankful he didn't say anything like 'you see him the way I see you'—like what he had the last time he brought me to the dorm. He left without a word after dropping me at my room.

The lights were all on. Amy stood from the chair when she saw me coming in. "Where were you?" she asked me in a cold tone that wasn't like her. "Let me guess, you're going to lie to me again. Like I can't see your ginormous bag."

It was past two in the morning and I was tired beyond words. "I told you I'm sorry. You don't know how sorry I am. It should have been me—"

"This is not about your creepy stalker and his voodoo. This is about you not trusting me enough to tell me what's going on with you." She sat back down and let out a huge sigh. "Where were you? I was sleeping when I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up. I'm pretty sure I'm not pregnant."

Right. The protection spell.

I was exhausted, but there was nothing I wouldn't do to make Amy forgive me, so I sat on my bed and told her about everything. From the beginning to the end. She deserved the truth, and I would have to accept any judgment she made about me. She looked disgusted when I told him about my foster father, but I didn't know if it was for what he did to me or for what I did to him after. And then when I got to the part about my wanting to run away by flying, her jaw dropped in shock.

"Are you making up all this? You know, sometimes I sleepwalk and think I'm actually floating in the air."

I shook my head, stood and made the force field to levitate myself again the way I had. Balance came easier to me now. I let the force field go and my body thumped against the bed. I continued telling how I was caught on my way out, but I omitted the kissing part. And then I finished with what the principal told me, that there could be two black magicians around.

"Do you think this dark prince could have chosen Mr. Hollister specifically because he teaches you PE? I mean, if this guy is all about poetic justice, then he'd kill the one guy responsible for teaching you to hold back when all he wants is for you to go Darth Riley and join him in the dark side, right?"

I hadn't thought about that. The idea that he had targeted Mr. Hollister because of me—that his death was my fault, it made me sick. But Amy was right; he could have done the sacrifice spell to any other teacher—why Mr. Hollister? It was too much coincidence.

"If his apprentice could hide among us, who do you think he is?" Amy shivered. "It could be anyone."

"Or her," I said automatically. I thought about Luke and worry gnawed at me. I didn't want it to be him, but I told Amy about my suspicion. The shady 'abomination' thing and how he always seemed to be in the unexpected places.

"It's not him," Amy said. "He was at the second Friday party at the time Principal Edgerton was supposed to be spelled."

"But maybe he used an astral spell." And then I remembered that Luke wasn't able to decode astral spells. "No­—you're right. It's not him."

We talked more about any student who had been acting suspiciously. Amy hadn't said she'd forgiven me, but she also wasn't giving me the silent treatment or yelling at me. I would take what I could get. Later when we went to sleep, I couldn't help but imagine where I would be now if I had taken up on the dark prince's offer fourteen years ago. I would have been his apprentice, too.

The Friday that we dreaded finally came. I still went to classes in the morning like usual. Principal Edgerton had said it would be better if I acted like I didn't know there could be two black magicians, for my own safety. Even though she had said the apprentice wasn't as powerful, they could still hurt me.

Carter walked me everywhere. To my classes, to lunch, to the restroom—but not inside. It was like I forgot how to strike up a conversation with him anymore. Flirting with him was so much easier weeks ago when I was still sure I disliked Lucas Island. Carter himself spoke once or twice, asking me about how my class was, something like that. But it was brief and polite, almost stiff.

And then, before dinner, when I wanted to take a walk in the garden—and he was obligated to even follow me then—he asked me, "How do you feel about tonight? Are you scared?"

Tonight. Where I would be bait, hanging alone in the middle of the woods while everyone else was secured inside the buildings. Principal Edgerton said I wouldn't be completely alone, that the mages would teleport to the woods the moment they sensed trouble. "Of course I'm scared," I admitted. "But I don't think he'll come for me. Cryptic messages and curses aside, the last time he'd seen me was fourteen years ago. I doubt he'll recognize me."

Carter gave me a strange look. "You really do underestimate yourself, don't you? It's easy for anyone with even a little sensitivity to magic to know what great power resides in you. You're capable of so much." He stopped walking and I suddenly found his proximity very intimate, especially with the way he was looking down at me. "I wish you'd smile more," he said suddenly.

Caught off guard by the change of the topic, I pulled the edged of my lips up, but it looked more like a grimace than a smile.

"I remember seeing you a few years ago after you won the Underwater Year Cup a few years ago. You were smiling so wide, so bright, so beautiful." He brushed my fallen fringe out of my face. "With your confidence in everything else, I'm surprised you don't even realize how beautiful you are."

Suddenly shy, I stepped away from him. "I'm going back to the dorm."

We didn't speak after that.

Nighttime after lunch came. Amy, Dee, and I huddled in the dorm. Dee was still unhappy about me withholding information from her and had been colder to me since, but tonight she acted like nothing had happened. I thought maybe it was because of the possibility that I wouldn't come back tonight.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" Dee asked me. "Edgerton is smart, but if something goes wrong you're the one with her life on stake."

"I told you, there's a big chance he's not even going to show up. Maybe he'll just wait until next full moon for his next sacrifice."

"You are right," Dee said, surprising me. "But there was still his apprentice. I doubt Edgerton would have put you on risk if she wasn't sure the apprentice would show up instead of the dark prince. If she'd really expected the dark prince, she would have called over the most powerful enforcers from the Council."

"Dee's got a point," Amy agreed. "If I were this super powerful villain, I wouldn't come myself for a small errand—no offense to you. I would send my minion."

"Remember," Dee said, "at any sign of trouble, Edgerton will be watching."

"What, through a magic ball?"

"Don't be silly. There is no such thing. It works more like a CCTV. Extra eye for private view."

Knowing that gave me little relief. More than anything else tonight, I needed to know if my friends were still upset with me. If I died a virgin with no friends, I didn't know what places I was going to haunt. "Guys...if I don't, you know, come back—"

"Don't be dramatic," Amy said. "You're going to be fine."

"If anything Amy said about you being able to fly is true, then you're going to kick the black magician's ass," Dee told me.

I really hoped she was right.

At eight straight, I walked out of the dorm and into the woods alone. My hands had begun sweating before I even got past the buildings where the mages were posted. Tonight, no mages were guarding the woods. I was truly alone. There couldn't be a bolder way to ask the black magician to come out. But maybe like Dee and Amy said, he was probably going to figure out it was a trap already and send his apprentice, if he bothered at all.

Halfway inside the woods, I chose a spot by the bushes and sat down. It hadn't rained today, so the soil was harder and drier than it had been a few days ago. I drew my knees up to my chin and waited. Principal Edgerton hadn't told me to do anything else other than sitting in the middle of the woods. The chilly air made me regret I didn't bring a thicker jacket with me, but the idea of fighting an apprentice black magician in my fluffy woolen jacket had seemed so laughable.

I kept checking my watch to see how much time had passed. A wave of nausea hit me. The protection spell? But it passed as soon as it came, so I brushed it off.

Wondering what kinds of creatures lived inside this woods made me shiver a little. Twice, I'd found some insect trying to crawl inside my pant leg. I wasn't one of the people who squeal at any sighting of a spider or a couple of ants, but I was still cautious because the insects in our academy's woods weren't known to have survived without serious protection skills. Most of them were venomous.

We had learned them in the Animal Physiology last year. Most of the creatures inside our woods weren't the common creatures found in the cities or even rainforests—or at least so far. The small creatures were hard to map because they evolved so fast but the bigger creatures were recognizable enough—Pegasus, hounds (not domesticated dogs, but more like horse-sized dogs with red eyes and venomous bite, leashed on the front gates of our academy), golden-fur three-horn goats, multiple-headed snakes, etcetera.

Supposedly, they had always existed everywhere on earth since a long time ago, but as the world changed constantly, they migrated and found the lands with enough magic to keep them alive. Most of the animals resembled mythological Greek creatures, which was why some people like Dee's family still believed in Greek gods. However, because they usually stayed away from humans, people rarely sighted them inside the woods. Or maybe we were just too scared to find them. Either way, my teacher had sworn they existed and wouldn't attack humans without provocation.

I was still speculating about this when I heard a creak of broken twig behind me. I froze. Human or animal? And then I saw the shadow getting taller and closer, and without a thought, I sent a blast of raw magic behind me. A groan of pain. I turned and had my fingertips ready with more raw magic, aiming it at the person.

"Wait, wait!" the person said frantically. I still couldn't see the face clearly in the dark, but it sounded male. "Don't attack. Edgerton sent me to call you back. I don't know what the hell she meant, but she said to tell you that there's been attack in the dormitory and he won't show up."

What? I knew there was a thin chance the black magician would come, but I still couldn't suppress the anticlimactic feeling. I lowered my hands. "An attack? Who got hurt?"

The person stood and brushed dirt off his pants. I recognized our academy's uniform. "Lucas Island."

The world spun around me a few seconds. Another person hurt, connected to me. It couldn't be a coincidence anymore. Heart hammering, I turned and began to run, and then I realized one thing: I hadn't considered the possibility that this guy could be lying. For all I knew, he could be the apprentice himself, trying to a ruse so that he could attack me in my weaker moment.

Quickly, I backed him up against a tree. He let out a startled oomph and said in a really high, strangled voice, "What are you doing?"

"Who are you?" Our spot was better lit by the moonlight now and I could see his face clearly. I didn't recognize him at all. "Did the dark prince send you?"

"Crazy bitch, let me go—" His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped to the ground suddenly.

My momentary confusion turned into alertness when a voice said behind me, "Hypnosis. Was going to use it on you, but your little freak boyfriend didn't like that."

Turning, I neutralized my expression as I found myself face-to-face with Jack Clyde.

He watched me, fiddling with the chained pendant above his blazer as he did, and smiled—it wasn't a pretty expression on his face. "But the dark prince has taken care of him—so we got nothing else between us, right?"

I aimed a blast of force field at him—which he dodged easily with a shield of his own raw magic. I tried again­—and he did the same thing again.

"Amateur," he commented. "Don't be so tense, Riley. Despite what you heard—and yes, I knew you were listening—I'm not going to touch you." He blocked another of my raw magic blast. "I just said that because your freak boyfriend heard me talking about using hypnosis spell on you. So sweet, he defended your honor and everything. But you're the dark prince's property. No one else could touch you. That's why he had to die tonight."

Fear for Luke amplified my anger, and I imagined my raw magic sharp and thin needles, penetrating his shield. Again and again, I threw them. The only thing Jack did was laugh at me.

"You could learn so much more if you join us, Riley." He took a step back. "I came only to send his regards. He doesn't want you to think he doesn't care. Bye, Riley."

He turned and levitated up into the air. Dee was so wrong about me having the advantage on that one. I shot up into the air after him and sent him another blast of magic, hoping his shield had broken down. How could his shield be so strong? If he was this powerful, how powerful could the dark prince himself actually be?

Desperate, I decided to attack him the manual style: I caught up to him and wrapped my hands around his neck, squeezing it hard. He hadn't expected an actual skin contact, and though he managed to pry my hands away as soon as I choked him the first second, he lost his grip on his levitation force and fell from the air. Strangely, even then, his shield was still on. I went down after him and found him breaking his fall at the last second.

But before he was vertical, I zoomed in and sent my fist down on his nose. He recovered fast and blocked my second punch, twisting my wrist in an odd angle that made me scream out. I jabbed my left finger into the center of his throat and pulled hard at the chain around his neck, gripping it by the eye-shaped pendant. He released my wrist and tackled me to the ground. I brought my knee up to his groin and elbowed his chest hard despite the excruciating pain that reverberated from my wrist.

A sudden, sharp pain attacked my head. Loud ringing noise filled my ear. I lost the feeling in my limbs and lungs. The numbness didn't last long. Black spots filled my vision as the pain intensified into a burning sensation. It went on and on, and I kept wishing that I would pass out soon so that it could stop. There was nothing I wouldn't give for it to stop.

And then, above my screams, I thought I heard someone said, "Stop." The voice was terribly familiar, but I couldn't place it in the haze of pain.

It stopped and suddenly I could breathe again. The fog of pain still remained and every breath I took shot sharp pain into my lungs. Through my fading vision, all I could see was the round moon in the sky and the tall trees surrounding my view as I heard, "Master, I—"

"I told you not to touch her."

A bright, blinding light.

Sleep, a voice said in my head.

Yes. Sleep sounded like a good idea.

And then everything turned into darkness.