Page 69 of Reckless Witch

“Could anyone really be powerful enough to destroy an entire nation?” Fran asks.

Domini’s brows raise. “The possibility boggles the brain, doesn’t it?”

The hint of accent in his voice snags my attention. The sense of familiarity I experienced the first time I met him returns, but stronger.

“Too bad she didn’t take Damien down with her when she sank Atlantis,” a guy in the back says.

“Demigods are not easily killed,” Domini says with gravity.

“If he didn’t die when Atlantis was destroyed, what hope do we have of killing him?” Fran asks.

“Are you saying we should give up?” Domini asks.

Cries of “Of course not” and “Hell no” and “Fuck The Shadows,” go up.

“There’s your answer,” Domini says. “So, why rehash a history that we’re taught from the cradle?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” a guy mutters.

Domini chuckles. “It’s wise to know one’s enemy, right?” He walks slowly past the front desks, his robe billowing slightly. “Why does Damien want to find the Shadow Mage and make her his bride?”

“He’s in love with her,” Ariel says.

“Perhaps,” Domini says.

“She died when Atlantis was destroyed,” Thomas says.

“That is what Archon tells us,” Domini says. “But let us remember that, at the time Atlantis fell, Atlanteans were no longer magicians of light. They had become power hungry, which is why Damien and the Shadow Mage flourished. The Atlanteans didn’t try to kill her because they wanted to stop an evil being. They sent an assassin because they feared her.”

“They didn’t fear Damien?” a girl asks.

Domini lifts a brow. “Interesting, isn’t it, that we have no legends from the Atlantean pantheon about them trying to destroy Damien. I suspect they feared his father, Hades, would bring war upon them if they tried to kill Damien.”

“I guess that’s one reason to keep the Hell Gates closed,” Thomas says.

“Yes.” Domini nods. “We must never allow the Hell Gates to reopen.”

“It is possible to keep them closed forever?” a girl asks.

“We had better hope so,” Domini says. “If Hades is ever freed, he will exact retribution on Margidda for locking him inside all these millennia. And the gods help us if he and Damien join forces with The Shadows.”

I abruptly remember why Domini seems even more familiar today. The other night, when I found Grams’ place, the man smoking the cigarette. I recall Headmaster Domini’s office, the other day, he’d been out on the balcony smoking a cigarette. I stare. What was Headmaster Domini doing near Grams’ house?

Chapter Twenty-Eight

LEILAH

The Grand Witch of the North

Three hours later, I leave my second class of the day, Reaping Preparedness, the Watchman at my side. “Remember, don’t get angry,” Mr. Denney had said. Trust. Meditate. Sing fucking Kumbaya, if you have to. Okay, so I added the last part, but that’s about what Reaping Preparedness amounts to. Oh, and, whatever you do, don’t use magic.

Bottom line, make sure no one dies.

It takes a helluva lot more than mediation and sweet songs to keep from killing another person.

We break from the path between dorms and I slow at sight of the Grand Witch standing outside Penncarrow Hall. A skinny man hovers beside her like a vulture, her assistant, I bet. He watches my every step as I approach, and my heart is pounding when we reach them.

The Grand Witch smiles and says in her deep alto, “My dear Leilah.”