AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Meredith gave him a weak smile. “Precisely why we started with a tamer element.”
I gaped at them. How were they all so cool about this? Was it always so dangerous to train someone in magick? You’d think they would have come up with a less volatile lesson plan by now. I felt guilty for thinking that way and was grateful they could no longer read my thoughts.
Mr. Abbey cleared his throat and all three of us looked at him. “I have some news.”
The way he said it made me feel like I wasn’t going to like it. “I received an email today from the school board Raven.” My galaxies, which had just started to stabilize began to wobble again. “Unfortunately, Mr. Green’s father has threatened to sue the school board if we permit you to continue your education. As an attempt to keep the peace, they have ordered your expulsion.”
“No…” I whispered, sitting back on my heels. My hands fell to my lap and I felt myself deflate. This couldn’t be happening. I was just starting to get a handle on myself. My hopes and dreams of attending school as a normal girl flew from my head. I would never have the chance now to see if my new skills would allow me to make human friends. I had thought for sure that if I had worked hard, Mr. Abbey would have been able to get me back into class. What was Jeremy going to think? What would Clair say? My mind was racing and my aura began to act up around me again. The fist in my chest which had been relaxed since my explosion at the house started to tighten again around my heart.
Then, peculiarly enough, that odd spot on my chin started to burn and a cool voice slithered through my mind. ‘Calm,’ it whispered to me, ‘Breathe.’ It was as if someone had taken my hand and helped me reign in my ricocheting planets and stars. My little universe was at peace again. What the hell was up with that? I thought in alarm, glad that my mental shields were still in place.
I glanced up at the magick folk around me to see if they had also heard the strange voice in my head, but none of them had seemed to notice. I touched my chin. It was colder than the rest of my face. It was also where Amon, the daemon Prince of the Court of Pride had touched me. That altercation in the library now felt like it had happened eons ago. I had nearly forgotten about him. The book he had read to me still sat, untouched, on my end table.
“Raven?” Someone was talking to me, and this time, it wasn't a voice in my head. I jerked my head up to find the magick folk staring at me. Had someone asked me a question?
“Sorry,” I murmured, dropping my hand from my face. “That was just a lot to take in.” I lied, curling deeper into my barriers. Mr. Abbey was looking at me sympathetically.
“It is what it is.” I said. The callousness of my tone was forced and I stood up.
“Rayven ? ” Conrad’s voice was filled with compassion and he reached out to me as I moved to walk past him. I dodged his touch and slipped past Mr. Abbey.
“Don’t worry about it. I think I just need to walk it off.”
Mr. Abbey frowned behind his spectacles, but thankfully he nodded and stepped back to let me pass.
“Maybe mi should go with yuh,” Conrad suggested. I shook my head at him and attempted to smile. I realized, I hadn’t really had a lot of alone time since Conrad had come into my life. I was grateful to finally have people that I called friends, but it was a big adjustment, especially for someone as introverted as I was.
“I really just want to be alone right now Conrad. I need to think about what this means for my future. If I can’t go back to St. Bernadette’s to finish the year, I’ll fall behind. It’ll be hard for Clair and Jeremy to get me into another school on such short notice, especially with my track record. I just need a second to think…ok?”
Conrad nodded minutely, though he did not look at all pleased. He and Mr. Abbey made eye contact and I knew they were having a private conversation about me wandering off unprotected. I had a feeling that Conrad would probably be following me at a distance. If not just for my safety, then for the safety of anyone who crossed my path. I resisted the urge to growl at the thought of being tailed and bit my tongue.
I could understand the paranoia. If the daemon world was really after my blood, then wandering around by myself to work through my teenage angst was probably not the best idea I’d ever had. Nothing had really happened since my incident. Even the episode with Amon in the library had been anti-climactic.
He never ended up pursuing us as we had raced to Meredith and Mr. Abbey’s house. As far as I knew, there hadn’t been a breach in the barriers surrounding my home. So, I apologized again to Meredith and slipped out the front door, my boots clomping on the steps of the front porch as I left.
My shoulders slumped almost immediately as I slid through the wards that marked the perimeter of Mr. Abbey’s property. I hadn’t realized how much I’d really missed just spending time by myself.
I did small exercises with my aura, as I made my way home. I tried to expand it at will and retract it whenever I approached another person on the street. Once I made it onto the streetcar, I practiced holding it tightly against my skin for the entire ride. Playing with my aura was a lot like working out an under used muscle. By the time I got off at my stop, I was tired, hungry and my skin felt raw. I arrived at my house and though I couldn’t see Conrad, I had a very strong feeling that he was somewhere nearby, making sure I had gotten home safe.
I picked up the stack of flyers sitting on the welcome mat and leafed through them as I pushed open the front door. It was unlocked which meant Clair was probably home early from work.
“Hey mom,” I called out, kicking the door shut behind me. “It’s me. What’s for dinner ? ” I stopped dead in my tracks, the flyers tumbled from my hands and scattered across the floor.
There was a stranger in my kitchen.
19
He was wearing scuffed motorcycle boots that he had propped up on my kitchen table as he leaned back in one of the chairs. His whitewash blue jeans were shredded at the knees, and his leather motorcycle jacket was all straps and silver buckles. The buckles on his jacket matched the trail of silver earrings that marched up his left ear, standing out against his dark olive skin and ink-black hair.
You would think the most shocking thing about him was the knife that he was tossing lazily into the air, then catching it effortlessly by the hilt. It wasn’t. The most shocking thing about him were his eyes. They were golden… so much so that they were almost yellow. The pupils were slit vertically, like a cat’s. As alien as he was, and as much as he did not belong in my kitchen, he seemed vaguely familiar.
“Hello, Kitten.” His mouth curved into a smile. “I’ve been wondering when you would come home.” My heart was beating so loudly, I was sure he could hear it. My mind was racing, where were Jeremy and Clair? Were they at work? I couldn’t remember what their schedules were for the week. Had this man hurt them?
“Where are my parents?” I managed to get out. He tossed the knife in the air and caught it again by the hilt. He studied it and ran his finger along the blade as if checking it for sharpness.
“Don’t worry luckily for them, you came home first.”
My blood ran cold. He glanced back up at me. “You’re the one I’m interested in. If you cooperate, I promise I won’t hurt them.”
