Chapter XXV

Sometime overnight, it began to rain. It wasn’t a hard rain, but it was cold, leaving Evan Wright shivering within his jacket as he made his way across the school’s courtyard. The sky was dark grey and the world felt dreary, making his terror somehow even more intense. He kept his head low, with the hood pulled up, so that he could walk by without drawing any attention from the people around him. Being the star of the football team, his arrest and suspension back in the winter had caused him to become quite the center of attention and even after so much time had passed, he still noticed some eyes flickering his way in the hall, followed by whispering. He knew there were plenty of rumors that had circulated around the school regarding what might have happened to him, but none were close to the actual truth. After all, there was no way one of them would ever truly guess what happened to him unless they already knew magic existed.

And they’re better off not knowing, he thought bitterly as he eyed the few students who had yet to head inside. Nothing good comes from magic. It’s just constant pain and suffering and I don’t want any part in it, but now I don’t have a choice. Those people are going to kill me.

No matter how much he wished he could, there was no longer any way to deny what Eric Reiner had told him in their clubroom the previous afternoon. He and Rina had been attacked by beings that had power beyond their comprehension and the only reason they walked away alive was because Reiner happened to be nearby. Had he still been at the school, Evan was certain that he would now be dead, his name erased from the memories of every person he’d ever known.

I don’t want to fucking die! I never asked for this! Those pieces of shit used their stone on me and dragged me into this! This is their fault! I hate them so goddamn much!

Yet, despite how utterly furious he was, he was forced to remember how Eric Reiner had jumped in front of them to fight Nigreos and his partner, risking his life so that they could escape.

He’s only solving a problem he created, Evan told himself. This is on him. He should be keeping us alive.

The boy clenched his teeth in frustration and made his way into the school, putting the rainy morning behind him. It was more packed than usual since most of the students who normally hung out in the courtyard had migrated inside. He lowered his head even further as he passed through the first floor and walked toward the stairs. Everybody was talking and laughing—the incident at the diner seemingly forgotten. He knew it still hung over them all, but as was normal for high school students, they moved on rather easily. Without any other incidents taking place, many had simply decided that the police had dealt with the problem and there was no need to fear another attack.

They’re all so fucking ignorant. They’re just going about their days, oblivious to the fact that those people—those insanely powerful people—are lurking around this city.

He sneered at them all, yet he internally knew that he was jealous of them. He didn’t understand why he had to be a part of it. He didn’t want to have anything to do with the hell he was being put through. He wanted to continue going about his average life, just as oblivious to the existence of Nigreos and magic as everybody else.

What am I even supposed to do now? Am I really expected to go up to that dumbass clubroom again and beg those magic fuckers to protect me? Like hell I’m gonna do that! I don’t want to be at their mercy!

Still stressing over the situation as he arrived on the second floor, Evan glanced up and stopped. Just ahead, leaning up against the wall, was Rina and Steven. The red-headed boy was talking to her in a hushed tone, and the concern in his eyes was clear. As for Rina, she looked as if she were trying and failing to assure him that she was okay. Knowing what he did, Evan could tell that she was just as scared as he was, and that she was unable to hide that from her boyfriend.

God damn. I really just want to leave them to their business, but…

“Yo, Steven. Rina. Everything alright?” he called out to them, pulling his hood back so they could see his face.

Both glanced up at his voice, the former immediately looking suspicious and the latter seeming relieved.

“Yeah, everything’s fine, Evan,” Steven muttered, sparing a disappointed look at the girl beside him. “What do you need?”

Evan snorted. “I don’t need anything, you fuck. You guys just looked upset so I thought I’d make sure you weren’t doing anything to the poor girl.”

“Man, fuck off,” the other boy snapped. “Of course I wasn’t doing anything.” He then turned back toward Rina and whispered, “call me later, okay?”

She nodded softly. “Yeah, okay. We’ll…talk tonight.”

“Thanks, Ri’.”

With one last glare at Evan, Steven turned and walked off toward his first period class on the third floor. Evan watched him go, feeling slightly bad for antagonizing the guy, but also wanting to chase him off so that Rina wouldn’t crumble and tell him anything she shouldn’t. As far as he was concerned, they should make sure anybody who didn’t have anything to do with magic was unaware of what was really happening. He might scoff at them for being oblivious, but he knew it was better that way.

“How are you feeling?” he asked the girl, lowering his voice so the passing students wouldn’t hear anything. “I meant to call you, but…I dunno. I guess I just didn’t want to stress you out.”

Rina shrugged. “I really don’t know how to explain it. I’m scared, but at the same time, I’m more terrified for Jay and Alice than I am for myself. I mean, that guy…Nigreos…he said that Alice was the one who told them about us. If that’s true, then does that mean he already has our names? Did they force that information out of her?”

Evan scowled in frustration. “I don’t have a damn clue at this point. But from just those few minutes of talking to that guy, I wouldn’t be surprised if they would stoop to torturing her.”

“I have to find her then,” she replied firmly. “I have to find where they’re keeping Alice and get her away from them. And if they have Jay, then I have to help him, too.”

Evan eyed her dubiously. “It’s a nice sentiment and all, but you know there’s no way you could do anything. If Reiner can’t beat their asses with his magic, then what is a normal girl like you going to do?”

Rina swallowed and didn’t immediately reply. However, when she did pull herself together, she turned a determined look his way. “I don’t know, but I have to do something. After everything I put them through…everything we put them through, if I stand by and let them die then I’ll never be able to live with myself.”

Well, you won’t remember they ever existed so it probably won’t matter, he thought, but opted not to put the comment to words. Instead, he said, “But what are you going to achieve by getting yourself killed? Walking up to wherever they’re hiding and getting incinerated by that white woman’s light won’t do a damn thing for your friends. I get where you’re coming from, Rina, but you need to look out for yourself.”

“I…I know that, but…”

She trailed off as her eyes wandered over his shoulder to something behind him. Evan grimaced, already knowing what he would see as he turned around and immediately took a step to the side, placing himself in front of the girl. As expected, Eric Reiner was making his way toward them, his eyes fixated on the two of them.

Yeah, I had a feeling he was going to look for us.

While Evan hadn’t known what became of Eric Reiner after the boy appeared in the forest and urged him and Rina to run away, just the fact that he still remembered he existed was enough to confirm that he had survived his encounter one way or another. Though, Evan was surprised to find that he didn’t even look wounded, though it wasn’t impossible that Reiner knew some form of healing magic, so for all he knew, the boy truly had gotten his ass kicked. Either way, it didn’t matter. The end result was the same and, despite his feelings toward Reiner, he knew he should be grateful that their best chance of survival hadn’t been lost.

“Glad to see you aren’t dead, Reiner,” Evan greeted harshly. “What do you want?”

Reiner stopped short and sighed, his expression just as melancholic as it had been the previous day. “I just wanted to check on you guys and make sure you’re okay. After everything that went down yesterday, I figured you’d be scared or…”

“I’m not fucking scared of anything,” he quickly lied. “All I know is that those magic bastards are out there somewhere and there’s nothing stopping them from coming after us again. So what the hell are you planning to do about this, huh? How are you going to stop anybody from dying?”

He kept his voice firm, not wanting to show fear in front of Reiner of all people. However, he couldn’t help but frown at the meekness of the once proud and cheerful boy. With each passing day, defeat seemed to set further and further into him.

“I don’t know, honestly,” Reiner mumbled. “I’m still figuring that part out. I only just yesterday learned that Album was even with him.”

Album? He must be talking about the woman…Nigreos’s buddy.

“And what about Alice?” Rina chimed in, stepping out from behind him. “And Jay? What are we going to do about them? How are we going to rescue them, Reiner? I mean, you guys have to have some ideas. You’re the one who knows all about this stuff.”

But Eric just shook his head. “I don’t know nearly enough. But we’re going to discuss it again after school, so I would appreciate it if you’d come by. Maybe…we’ll figure something out.”

Evan grit his teeth, having wanted to avoid that clubroom and still not forgetting how the boy attacked him the last time he was there. Yet, before he could even snap at him, Rina spoke.

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“We’ll be there,” she assured him. “Both of us.”

She looked up at him expectantly and, faced with her stern expression, Evan could only scowl and shrug. “Yeah, fine. I’ll be there, too.”

Reiner nodded. “Good. Yeah, good. Thank you both.” He then turned to walk away, but stopped after only taking a few steps. He looked back at them with blatant apprehension. “And by the way…have either of you ever heard of a boy named Brad Fischer?”

Evan cocked an eyebrow, searching his memory for any recollection of the name, before shaking his head. “No. Why? Is he some other magic piece of shit that’s gonna try and kill us?”

Reiner winced at his question, then looked to Rina. “And you, Davens?”

“Um, no,” she muttered. “I don’t think the name really rings a bell. It isn’t…er, nobody else was erased, right, Reiner?”

“No, nobody,” he said immediately. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys later. Thank you.”

And before either of them could press him for further details, he turned and actually walked away that time. Evan stared after him, somehow even more suspicious of him than he had been before.

“What the fuck was the deal with that?” he grumbled. “Brad Fischer?”

The name did seem oddly familiar, but he couldn’t place it. No matter how hard he thought about it, nothing came to mind.

“Somebody was erased,” Rina whispered. “The way he was just acting…and the way he worded his question. I think he’s just trying to keep us from stressing out, but there's no way he’s telling the truth. This Brad Fischer guy was somebody who used the stone.”

A chill ran through Evan as he processed the implication of her words.

“B-but,” he stuttered. “If that’s true, then doesn’t that mean he was there yesterday? Like, he would have been in the forest with us, and Nigreos and Album killed him?”

Rina shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly. I mean, there wasn’t a body, so I don’t know if he was there with us, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t exist. What if Nigreos and Album went after him first and then targeted us. And if he was erased, then that guy had to have been in the clubroom yesterday.”

“And Reiner asked us…” Evan murmured. “So was he a friend of ours?”

The two of them stood in silence as they contemplated what this could mean. If somebody was erased the day before, then maybe they didn’t escape as cleanly as Evan thought they did. Maybe Reiner didn’t arrive just in time, but he was too late to save Fischer. The thought only made Evan wonder just how close to death he had reached while facing those monsters.

“We really don’t have a fucking choice, do we?” he growled. “We have to go to the clubroom later. We have to hear what those bastards are gonna do to fight this, cause I don’t have a damn clue what to do. We could actually die, Rina.”

The girl looked down at the ground, her fists clenched at her side.

“I know. I know that. And now…so could Alice and Jay. We could all die.”

Evan turned back to stare in the direction Reiner had gone, but naturally, there was no sign of him anymore. He truly did hate the Magic Club with all his being. They not only dragged him into it all, but they forced Rina to suffer, too. He would make them pay someday. He would make them regret ever doing this to them.

But to ever get revenge, I first need us all to survive…and whether I like it or not, without that damned club, Rina and I don’t have a chance in hell of getting away alive. If I’m certain of anything, it’s that.

***

After leaving Evan and Rina, Eric decided to simply wander around the school for a while. He didn’t want to go to first period where Lilly would probably be waiting for him. He hadn’t spoken to her since the previous night’s call when she had fallen unconscious and while he knew he should check on her, he found himself scared to do so. The stress had already been taking its toll on her, but with the variable of Album Luz thrown into the mix, their situation had only become more dire. It would have been next to impossible to face Nigreos alone, so with the Master of Light at his side, Eric felt as if the battle was over before it truly began.

And now…we’ve lost somebody else…

Brad Fischer was gone, his existence erased from the world, succumbed to the same fate that had taken Vinny. While he and the big boy had never truly seen eye to eye, Eric had a lot of respect for him. He had been a good friend to Lilly and, despite his teasing, he had genuinely liked him. Brad had kept their magic a secret and had even helped them out during the Evan/Rina incident during Christmas. He had been somebody they could rely on and now, that was all gone. Lilly would no longer remember any of that, nor would anyone else in the world except him. The memories of Brad Fischer and Vinny Mickelson were Eric’s to bear, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

Perhaps this is my punishment for failing to save them, he thought. Vinny and Brad are gone, and I’m paying the price by living in a world where they don’t exist. I have magic. I’m the only one who has a true chance of doing anything, so they need to rely on me. But if I can’t protect them, then my powers are useless.

Eric grit his teeth, reaching his right hand into his pants pocket to wrap his fingers around the magical stone he always kept on him. All of this…because I couldn’t keep my curiosity at bay. I had to fiddle with this damn thing. Why do we all have to die? Why can’t they just take the stone back and leave? It’s not fair!

For a moment, he wondered if there was any way he could possibly use the stone to stop them, but he quickly brushed the idea aside. Swapping bodies with them wouldn’t achieve anything even if he was able to get close enough to activate the magic. The stone was nothing more than pointless fun.

So why do they want it so much? he wondered. What’s so important about this stupid thing? Why does it matter?

He pushed the thought aside, realizing that it wasn’t really important why they wanted it. It didn't change what they planned to do.

I need to come up with something. There has to be some way we can escape this. At the very least, if I was able to get through to Jay, then maybe we can use that to our advantage. Then, I just need to figure out what I did to blast Album’s arm off…and even get Nigreos’s shadows out of my body. All three times it’s activated, I’ve heard Mom’s voice. So what does that mean? Is she trying to tell me something? Am I missing something?

He rounded a corner and began to ascend the stairs to the third floor as he continued to wrack his brain for an answer. Or maybe the answer lies in that syringe. As much as it scares me, if I can’t figure out how to harness this weird defense I have then I have to take my chances and use it. It’s a last resort. For all I know, it could only make things worse.

“Reiner!”

He stopped at the call of his name and immediately felt the desire to run away as fast as he could. He knew it was cowardly, but he didn’t want to face the girl who called him. He’d been dreading it since he briefly spoke with her over the phone.

But I can’t ignore her. It wouldn’t be right.

Telling himself that, Eric slowly turned around just as Alexa Harper grabbed his arm and began pulling him down the hall.

“Come with me,” she growled, her anger barely contained. “We need to talk.”

“R-right,” he stuttered meekly.

Deciding not to resist, he allowed the girl to lead him down the corridor and toward the library. He could feel other students looking at them curiously, but Alexa didn’t seem to care very much. The two of them went through the open doors and headed past the tables and bookshelves to the back of the library, behind one of the shelves where there weren’t any other students around. Once they were alone, Eric was about to ask what she needed him for, but never even got the chance to inhale before she grabbed him by the collar and shoved him into the wall. He cried out in surprise, having not expected such a violent action, and when he looked forward, he found Alexa’s face only inches away from his own.

“What the fuck is wrong with my sister, Reiner?” she hissed. “What did you do to her?”

He knew Alexa would be worried. She was overprotective of Lilly to begin with, so considering how poorly Lilly was handling everything, it was only natural for her older sister to notice something. Lilly passing out was probably the last straw and now, the anger in her eyes, mixed with fear, were clear for Eric to see.

“I…I…” he uttered. “I don’t…”

He wanted to ease her fears. He wanted to tell Alexa that it was alright and that there was nothing to worry about, but if he did, then he would be lying right to her face. Knowing how scared Alexa must feel, he knew it was his job to help her calm down, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie—not anymore.

“I’m sorry, Harper,” he whispered. “But I can’t tell you.”

Her eyes went wide in shock, and he wondered if she had expected him to make something up, but then she tightened her grip and glared at him once more, her voice low and shaking.

“Excuse me? Don’t you dare give me that! Lilly’s clearly been stressed about something all week and I figured it probably had to do with you. I was going to try and stay out of your business, but I can’t anymore! She passed out last night right after talking to you! So I’m going to ask you again and you better fucking answer me. What did you do to her?!”

He flinched at the accusations. It was only a little over a week ago that he had declared he would gain Alexa’s trust for the sake of his relationship with Lilly and at the time, he truly believed it could be down. Now, he knew there was no way the girl before him would ever trust him. The damage was done.

But does it even matter? If we all die, who cares if Alexa likes me or not. Soon, she won’t even know who I am. As that thought crossed his mind, he internally scoffed. So wat;s the point in hiding anything? If I tell her the truth, I won’t have to suffer the consequences. She’ll forget anything I say to her eventually.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he replied quietly.

Alexa sneered at him. “Then try me. I’m sick of this, Reiner. Who the fuck even are you? What’s your deal?”

Yeah…why hide it? What point is there?

“I’m magical,” he said. “I have magic, Harper.”

For a moment, she just stared at him, bewildered. That expression was short lived and her anger returned with even more of a vengeance. “Are you mocking me?” she snarled. “Don’t give me that shit! I thought you were a good guy, but is this who you really are? Can’t you see I’m terrified! I want to know what’s happening to my little sister and you’re just gonna make fun of me?”

He apathetically shook his head, finding himself lacking the energy to argue. “I’m not lying, Harper. I can use magic and Lilly knows about it.”

This time, Alexa didn’t snap back at him. Instead, she released her right hand from his collar and swung to slap him across the face. Having expected her reaction this time, Eric simply whispered, “Halto.”

He felt his mana surge through his body as Alexa’s hand stopped inches from his face, shaking as if being pushed on by an opposing force. The girl’s features contorted in confusion and she seemed to be fighting the air, baffled by what she was witnessing.

“You see?” he muttered. “Magic.”

He deactivated the spell as Alexa released him and stumbled backwards, staring at him in shock. He never gave her the chance to speak before he dropped to his knees and placed his hands on the ground, bowing his head to the girl in apology.

“I’m sorry,” he cried softly. “I really am. I’ve gotten your sister wrapped up in something I don’t understand and I don’t know what to do. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. Go ahead and hate me. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I’m trying to figure out a way to stop this.”

“W-what…” she stuttered, “are you talking about? You… I don’t—”

Yet, for better or for worse, she could say anything more. The bell rang out through the room, signaling that class would be starting in five minutes. Eric slowly raised his head and stared up at the girl, only to find her looking back with fear.

Of course she’d be scared. After everything I just said…

“I’ll fix this,” he whispered. “I promise. I’ll…find some way to make this right. I’ll save Lilly. I’ll…save them all.”

***

As Alexa Harper walked through the halls and down the stairs to the first floor, her mind was a complete jumble of questions and emotions. When she confronted Eric, she didn’t know what she expected. All she knew was that after seeing Lilly pass out, she needed to do something. Something was happening behind the scenes and she was desperate to know what it was. Her first guess was that Eric might have been abusing her somehow, but after the display in the library, she realized that her little sister was caught up in something unfathomable.

He used magic. He actually used it. Or at least, that’s what it seemed like.

An invisible force had fought back against her hand when she tried to slap him, but Eric hadn’t moved. He’d spoken a single word and that had been enough to cast whatever charm or spell he did. She kept trying to figure out an explanation that didn’t involve magic, but there was nothing that came to mind. What happened was utterly impossible.

I can’t believe this. What the hell is he? What did he get Lilly wrapped up in?

Eric hadn’t elaborated. After the bell had rung, he got to his feet and walked away, leaving her too stunned to pursue him.

He’s going to try to stop what’s happening? But I don’t even know what that is. What’s going on?

Alexa swallowed, recalling how scared her little sister had been behaving.

Lilly… What have you been hiding from me?