“What’s this place really like, Bets?” Emilia sat on the side of her bed wearing her nightclothes. One of the many gifts she’d received from Papa Butch had included a pair of pajamas. They were dark purple and covered with gold star designs whose threads had a velvety texture entirely unlike the rest of the fabric.
“It’s amazing, Em.” Betsy threw herself back against her mattress and flung her arms out. “I can’t believe that Cynthia had us terrified of the Cabal for so long. Can you imagine how different things would have been if they’d caught us earlier?”
Emilia considered it. As much as the idea tempted her, would she have met Cary this way? What about Regina? Would Betsy, Max and her have been as close as they were now? The thought of the rest of her friends and Cary made Emilia chafe with the idea that she wouldn’t be free to see Cary whenever she wanted. “Why won’t they let me see Cary?”
Betsy turned over and faced Emilia. “You fell in love with her, didn’t you?”
Emilia opened her mouth and shut it. She wasn’t going to lie to Betsy, not on their first night together as roommates. “I… think so, Bets. It’s hard not to think about her, after the last month, after the plane, I miss her already.”
“Gods, you’re in the deep smit.” Betsy pressed her index finger against her nose. “I almost pity you. Have you told Cary what you think of her yet?”
Fire blazed over Emilia’s cheeks. “No. Do you think I should?”
Shrugging Betsy buried her hands under her pillows. “You said you think you love her, right? Until you know, you should keep your trap shut about it. And don’t lead her on.”
“Why does that sound like advice born of experience?”
Betsy snorted. “Emilia Olren, you know everything there is to know about me. Do you think I could keep a secret like a lover from you?”
“That’s not really an answer to my question, is it?”
This time, Betsy laughed. “Think what you want, but if you find yourself in love with Cary, tell her as soon as you can.”
“Why’d you say it like that?”
“She’s a demoness.” Betsy said it like that was all she needed to say to end the discussion.
“Why does that matter?”
“She doesn’t think like a human, like a mortal. If you refuse to devote yourself to her, if you make her think you don’t really love her, she’ll move on before you realize it.”
Again, the words sounded like Betsy had a personal experience with the matter. Or she’d conducted her own investigations into the topic. “I’ll… remember that. Thanks Bets” The urge to change the subject overwhelmed Emilia. “So about classes here. What are they like?”
“Brilliant diversion.” Betsy winked at Emilia and made a little finger gun motion. “They’re just like school. Less homework and more practical stuff, I guess?”
“That sounds… kind of amazing.”
“Yeah, I should add that they’re making me take correspondence school until I get my GED. That part is a shit ton of homework. But since you’ve already graduated, I’d imagine your classes will be more like what Regina does. All practicums and magical exercises.” Betsy rolled onto her back and pointed at Emilia with both of her hands. “Now I need to sleep to be ready for tomorrow, you should do the same.”
“Goodnight Bets.” Emilia paused and nodded to herself as the lights in their room blinked out. “Thanks for all that stuff.”
“Of course, it’s what best friends are for.”
Emilia could feel Cary’s presence, like someone pulling a hair attached to her midsection. At first, she tried to ignore the steady drag. But after so many nights spent next to each other in the darkness, Emilia found it hard to sleep without Cary nearby.
When she rose, Betsy had already started to snore. Her legs twitched in the darkness, which looked almost as bright as day to Emilia. The twitching was a sure sign Betsy had fallen asleep. She’d been known to fake the snoring, but never the wild leg jumping.
Slipping out of their dorm room was easy, someone kept the hinges well oiled. The old stone walls of the dorm hallways watched Emilia pad out of the room on nearly silent feet. With her hearing enhanced as it was, she could detect the whisper passage of her clothing. She could seek out a foundation for her treads that left no auditory signifier of her movement.
Ninja.
Emilia smiled to herself with the thought. Silence wrapped around her as she reached the door to the dorm tent. As with most of the buildings in the academy, the dorms occupied an alternate dimension who’s only entrance led from a humble canvas flap. Opening the wooden door at the end of the hall opened the flap and led outside into the darkness of late night.
The tether that bound Emilia to Cary led her toward a brown tent. As she passed over the well-trod grass, Emilia puffed out her chest with pride in the fact that she’d avoided anyone else so perfectly.
“Formless one, is that you?” A liquid voice, heavy with rolling r’s and deep with liquid consonants stopped Emilia in her tracks. As she moved by a narrow tent, she’d passed a blind spot. The woman who’d addressed her was a tall demoness with curled horns and wearing a large black robe. “Oh, bother. A mortal.” The woman favored Emilia with a flat, disinterested stare. “But you have a link to the Formless One, don’t you? Is she your servant?”
Sleek arms poked out from the blackened depths of the robes and the scent of lilac and heather washed over Emilia. Suddenly she felt compelled to answer the demoness’s questions. Though she recognized the demoness’s type, Emila’s brain refused to supply the word. She answered automatically, with nary a thought to the stranger’s intentions. “Nope.”
“Nope?” Walking forward with a languid sway to her hips, the demoness closed with Emilia. “Nope huh? Tell me, how are you connected to her then?”
Emilia couldn’t tell this woman, this… what kind of demon was she? Shaking her head, Emilia said, “she’s my friend.” Or were they lovers? Emilia wanted to be forthcoming with this demoness, but at the same time, she refused to divulge the dangerous secret she and Cary held from the teachers here. Her mind created a modicum of space where she could think and answer at the same time.
“Just a friend?” The demoness parted her robes to reveal a fully nude body. Emilia licked her lips at the sight, only the second time she’d ever seen another naked woman in her life. “Or perhaps something more?” Every step this demoness took thrummed through Emilia’s brain. As she brought her body a step from Emilia, embarrassment roared in Emilia’s mind. Shame broke a tiny portion of the demon’s spell.
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“Temptress.” The demoness blinked and pulled back a fraction at Emilia’s words.
“What did you say.” She raised her hand to cup Emilia’s cheek. But by then it was too late for whatever the Temptress had planned.
Papa Butch and Cary’s training asserted itself with a body-shaking force. Emilia rocked back on her heels, and caught the demoness’s hand as she started to fall. As she did, her Consumption rose in a defensive reaction against the magic the Temptress had tried to use against Emilia.
Wind rose about them as Emilia’s power shoved itself into the Temptress’s — Esme’s — core. It stole away both of their words as Emilia unleashed the full fury of her talent. She could taste Esme’s bitter, vindictive soul. Cary had done something to her earlier, something that tweaked this demon’s nose enough to exact revenge though Emilia.
Disclosure of such nefarious ends enraged Emilia. This woman had been trying to steal her will. Her voice returned with a gasp and Emilia took a step toward the demoness, “how dare you!?” What started as an autonomic probe turned into a rage-filled assault from Emilia’s power. She drank from the Temptress center of power, pulling out fragments of the demon’s magic as she did. Almost as bad as trying to snatch away Emilia’s will, the demoness had been trying to hurt Cary.
With a thought, Emilia intended to end this evil bitch.
At last the Temptress screamed as Emilia’s power dug into her. It filled Emilia with thoughts and memories, snippets of Esme’s recent past. Cary had grabbed her by the throat and squeezed hard enough that the Temptress thought she would die under Cary’s hand. Then she’d accosted Cary this very night, and attempted to use her alluring magic to take control over Cary’s mind.
“Die fiend.” Emilia’s voice sounded harsh, gravely to her ears as she began to draw away not just Esme’s magic, but her very life force. A swirling tornado of power and lights surrounded Emilia and Esme and lit the night.
Esme’s scream turned to one of wailing despair as something stabbed Emilia in the back. It rocked against her skin and she turned to regard it with disdain. A small blade, no bigger than her pinky jutted from her side and a fur-covered man who stood a head taller than Emilia’s knees shouted at her, but the sound couldn’t reach Emilia from the maelstrom of magic surrounding her. With an act of will, she pulled the knife out. In her whole life, she’d barely ever mastered such a magical feat, but with Esme’s power bubbling through it, moving the blade and snapping it midair was as easy for Emilia as flexing her toes.
The tiny fur-covered man opened his mouth and a small gout of power flooded over Emilia. Papa Butch and Cary had instilled the knowledge of protective wards into Emilia and made them second nature. With a flick of her head, the breath of power streaming diverged harmlessly into the Earth.
Emilia found the bottom of Esme’s incredible reservoir of power, the end of her life force. Fury from the second attack and from Esme’s attempted violation sealed the Temptress’s fate in Emilia’s mind. She locked her fingers into hooks and took hold of that last thread of power.
A ringing noise stopped Emilia in her tracks, the final thread of Esme’s life clinging to her nails. She turned just in time to see Joshua and a second magician pointing clockwork wands at her. Before she could respond with a new protective spell, yellow-white jets of ephemeral flame washed over her. This time the magic took, sinking into her bones through her skin and dropping Emilia into a shaking pile on the turf.
Letting go of Esme’s life angered Emilia and let the Temptress live. Irritation that Esme survived was the last thing through Emilia’s mind as she dropped unconscious.
“It is a fine thing that you did not try to rip the stone altar from the testing open with such force.”
Emilia stirred at the sound of the voice. It’s tone came to her, vaguely familiar has she clawed her way back to consciousness. Aside from the minor headache, Emilia felt surprisingly good, considering she could only metaphorically move her body. Something wholly restrained her. The fact she was trapped brought her eyes open with a start. “What? Who’s there?”
She had to blink her eyes for several seconds before she could make out the form of Master Boris. “Ms Olren. How do you feel?”
“Let me go!” It was too close to what Cynthia had done to her, too close to what Samantha had done. Magical bonds held Emilia in place and refused to allow her to move more than to breathe and use her head. “Let me fucking go!” her body convulsed against the bonds, stretching and buckling like the victim of possession from a late night film. “Let me go now!” Emilia screamed herself hoarse as Boris spoke in even tones. Nothing he said registered to Emilia until her voice wore itself out.
“Please calm down. We need to make sure you are not in danger and won’t endanger others, Ms Olren. Please relax.”
Notably, at least to Emilia’s panicked mind, Boris did not try to affect her with any further magic. “Then let me out, please?” her own voice sounded ragged, as if she’d taken up smoking.
“That’s better, breathe for a moment Ms Olren and tell me what you remember.”
Boris gave her the way out of these bonds. With that tiny thread of possibility, Emilia could pull herself out of the well of panic and despair. “The Temptress, Esme, tried to use her magic to capture my mind…”
Boris sighed and shook his head. “Did you attack her first, please be specific.”
“I…” Emilia shook her head. “I didn’t mean to attack her. She tried to control my mind with her scent, with her magic. She closed with me and when I tried to stumble away, I accidentally grabbed her. When I touched her I saw what she’d been trying to do.”
Boris pressed his lips together for a moment. “And?”
“And then the Consumption rose. Will you please let me go?”
“That depends, Ms Olren. Do you intend to attack anyone else?”
“I defended myself. So no, as long as no one tries to hurt me or control my mind… I don’t want to hurt anyone, Master Boris.”
He nodded his head and stood. “The young lady speaks nothing but the truth. And as expected, the demoness cut her truth quite thin. I suggest we free her as she asks and bring Ms Esme back in for extended questioning.”
“I won’t have my wife near those two psychos. I want them sequestered from her!” A squeaky voice made demands as it bored its way into Emilia’s skull.
Joshua said, “fine Master Grigo. Both Ms Olren and Ms Cary will be kept away from the two of you. Master Alshin has already expressed an interest in the demon.”
“Good! Then I am done here!” The voice that belonged to “Grigo” retreated before he was done with his words. “Good riddance!” As soon as the sound of his heavy breathing faded, the bonds around Emilia did as well.
With the forces holding her still gone, Emilia could sit up and look around. Boris, Joshua, and an attractive woman with golden dragonfly wings sat in a semi-circle around Emilia. Boris raised an eyebrow as Emilia scrambled away from them and Joshua sighed. The fairy woman tilted her head to the side and said, “someone has wounded this poor little mortal birdie. Her wings do not work and she cannot tell friend from foe.” As the woman spoke, Emilia turned to face her, to make sure that none of the people around her stood at her back. The fairy woman straightened her head and, without moving the rest of her body, said, “We will not harm you little bird. We do not injure those who come to us. Unless it is absolutely necessary.”
Those last five words caused Emilia’s jaw to clench and pushed her back against the stone wall behind her. “Is it necessary?”
The woman’s laugh was high-pitched and tittering. Though Emilia could focus on her wings and her eyes, those golden hued orbs glowed as they regarded Emilia, she found she could not focus on the woman’s features. If Emilia met her again in different circumstances, she wasn’t certain she would recognize her. “It is not, little bird. For you have spoken the truth before us and you have broken none of our Laws.”
“Laws? What laws?”
At that question the woman’s expression turned sour as she faced Boris. “Why has she not been briefed and instructed as to how to conduct herself among us?”
Joshua turned red from embarrassment, but Boris just raised his opened palms in a shrug. “She arrived this afternoon. We, uh, only conducted her testing this evening. Her orientation is scheduled for tomorrow.”
“And yet she was attacked while under our care and forced to defend herself. Perhaps in the future we should bump the orientation up to the first day?” They held a conversation among them about Emilia without including her. It rankled, but she was still too intimidated by these people to complain aloud. As if the woman could understand her thoughts, she turned to Emilia and said, “I too find it frustrating when I am not included in conversations regarding my own fate. We owe you an apology, Ms Olren. Your instructors should have informed you about the dangers of our little community and about how best to avoid certain instinctive predators. But as I said before, you have done nothing wrong.” Emilia nodded, still too nervous to speak with the woman addressing her directly. “Let’s adjourn for now. Joshua, please escort Ms Olren back to her room.” The golden woman nodded in Emilia’s direction. “Ms Olren, I am sorry you had to suffer the burden of our oversight. I hope the rest of your night is peaceful.”