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I tilt my head at her. “Strange, isn’t it? And yet I sense magic, and I sense yours.”
“Damn.” Her mouth twists. “Damn you.”
“I’m right, aren’t I? What did Emrys do to you, Van? What did these boys do to you? Why this crusade?”
“You’re honestly asking me this? Think you’re a witch? You’re not a real witch until you’ve felt what they did to us. How they suppressed us. Eliminated us. Since the last Golden Moon—”
“No, this can’t be it. This feels personal. Tell me the truth.”
“Fine.” Her dark eyes flash with anger, with pain. “The demon police. They arrested my mother. She died in custody. They said she killed herself. But she wouldn’t, not my mom.”
Oh…“When did that happen?”
“Years ago. Five years ago.”
That’s about the time of the article about the killing on the Ramsden palace grounds. I get up, too, reach for her. “Van, I’m sorry about your mom. I had no idea, and—”
She steps back, out of reach. “Don’t touch me,” she hisses. “Don’t.”
“But what does your mom’s passing have to do with the boys?” I ask, frustrated.
“The four houses visited the jailhouse that day. It’s not a coincidence.” She jabs a finger at the field below us. “And all four boys were with them.”
“Vanessa, you’re making no sense. So what if they were? It doesn’t mean they killed her.”
“She had marks on her. The four symbols. The Houses marked her as a warning to other witches. And who do you think the Houses use for their dirty work? Their heirs. A rite of passage. They have to kill to ascend, you know.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You didn’t know?” She laughs and it’s an ugly sound. “You really are from off-planet, cupcake. It’s like the mafia. To gain the throne, the heirs have to pass a series of tests. Not the written kind.”
“No.” Just the thought makes me feel sick to my stomach. They mentioned that, didn’t they? Another thing I suppressed. “And you think it’s their fault? That’s so frigging cruel.”
“Well, they have a choice, don’t they? As much as everyone else in the world. Go for the throne and power, or go for decency. Abdicate. Itisa choice. Guess what they chose? Power.” She starts down the row toward the steps leading down from the bleachers. “What a shame, huh? They really are pretty on the outside, I’ll grant you, but the cover doesn’t matter if the content is rotten… Think about it.”
20
MIA
That was why Ophelia called them monsters. If Vanessa is right… then they probably did kill people.
To ascend.
I mean, and I’m trying to be objective here, not letting my attraction to them, my growing affection for them influence me, they were kids—if all the articles are from around that time. Manipulated or forced by their families to do terrible things. If they were told they had to torture or kill… what choice did they have?
If they were around thirteen, another part of my brain argues,they weren’t children, not really. They could already tell right from wrong. They should take responsibility.
But if you are raised that way… How can you tell right from wrong when you have always lived in a gray world?
Oh goody, the first voice says.But then, if they are that way… they are monsters. Even if it’s not their fault. You can’t be with monsters. Sooner or later, they will turn on you and cut you to pieces.
Squeals of joy from around me keep distracting me from these thoughts. I blink as yet another student runs into the arms of a woman or man, often both, sometimes younger siblings jumping around their legs like puppies.
This strange bittersweet feeling fills me, and I wish I were anywhere but here, in the yard in front of the administration offices where the families are visiting. I could walk away, lock myself up in my room. I doubt anyone would notice.
I had thought that during family visit day, the administration would notify the students whose family has come to visit to gather in a hall. Like they do in prison, I guess.
But all the students seem to be out in the yard, and as I glance around, I see my boys there, too. And that’s the reason I haven’t walked away yet. I want to see who will come visit them, what they will say and do.
