Magic Academy (A Fantasy New Adult Romance) (23 page)

Silence hung in the air, and finally
Varuj stood up. “You’re going to do it, aren’t
you?” he asked with such certainty. He had such an ability to
see right through her. See her true feelings, sometimes even before
she did.

It was getting obnoxious, and she kept
shifting so as not to look at him. “I’m going to do
what’s right,” she agreed. Her father had sacrificed so
much to get her in here, but she wasn’t going to let him
sacrifice everything.

The calm charm upon the demon’s
face shifted. He was distressed; that much was obvious.

He bent one knee and came close to her.
“If you do that, you will destroy yourself. All he worked for.
And set us both back so far, Firi. Do not act hastily, please.”
Normally his charms could cut through her so deeply. And he poured it
on thick as he pleaded with her then, but when it came to her father…

It was her only weak spot. The only
thing from her human life that she truly loved and cared for.

She knew her father wouldn’t want
her to sacrifice the Academy in order to save him. She knew it.

Yet in her grief, she didn’t
care.

“Then find a way for me to do it
without destroying myself.”

Varuj rose up and turned away from her,
his long, glossy black hair swaying behind him as he clasped his
hands and began to walk up and down the length of her room.

He looked for all the world like some
dignified foreign ambassador, struggling over some matter of
earth-shattering importance, rather than the decisions in the life of
one human girl.

“If I go in your place to save
him,” he began as if each word were a dangerous blade, “you
risk being unprepared for your exam.” Failure of an exam meant
being kicked out. She knew that.

“I could surprise you,” she
retorted bitterly. “I’ve worked quite hard to get where I
am in your absence.”

He looked down to her and nodded. “I
know you have. But so much hangs in the balance… each risk–”
he cut himself off then gave her a soft smile. “I will do this
for you. If you promise me one thing, Firi.”

She sat up, her skeptical gaze upon
him. “And that is?”

Kneeling down before her again, he took
her hands and stared into her eyes with his own, almond-shaped gaze.
“Promise me you will focus on naught but success, and succeed
in this test whatever the cost. We have so much more to do together,
and we must not falter now upon our first steps together, Firi.”

His plea sounded so heartfelt.

She stared for a long time, trying to
find the hidden meaning. Even when he seemed to speak plainly it
always felt as though there were layers to his words. Something
hidden and cryptic that she wasn’t knowledgeable enough to
understand.

“I won’t be leaving this
Academy willingly, if you will take care of my father.”

Squeezing her hands he nodded. “I
will see to it that he is freed from custody. One way or another, I
swear it to you.” Before she knew what was happening, he swept
in and pressed his lips to hers with a passionate kiss.

Her mind was buzzing with so many
thoughts that he took her utterly by surprise. The taste of another
person’s mouth on hers was so foreign, yet so welcome. She
needed comfort. She needed something simple, yet logically she knew
this was anything but.

He was a demon.

So how did he manage to chase away all
her fears and insecurities, just with a kiss?

She forced herself to back away, but
her eyes were half lidded as she stared up at him, aghast.

“You have to go now,” she
managed to murmur softly, concern for her father winning out.

Varuj pulled back and gave a lopsided
grimace. “I will have to take Luka with me,” he said
grimly. “He is made from your soul-stuff, and I will require
that to mask my departure from the academy. There is no way around
it.”

She tugged in her lower lip, her brows
furrowing.

She wouldn’t admit it. Not then,
not to him, but the prospect of having them both gone from her would
be like missing a body part. Something so important.

Yet still she nodded, for there were no
other options. Sink or swim, she’d be getting her father free.

“I need to be able to trust you.
That you won’t lie about his safety.” It sounded so
silly. She needed to trust a demon. A demon she no longer had control
over, no less. A demon she gave freedom.

Her blue eyes were wet and she blinked
it away. “Just, please do this. I’ll feel a lot better
knowing he’s safe.”

Pushing his shoulders back, Varuj
grasped his rope-like belt in both hands and nodded to her firmly. “I
will see it done. But don’t you fail us both while I am away.
So much counts on you, Firi. The future. Our future.” It was
slow to occur, but the striking demon gave a soft smile to her. “Do
whatever it takes. You’ve come too far to stop now.”

Reaching behind him, he pulled the hood
of his robe up over his head, hiding his horns and much of his face
beneath its shadow. “Come, Luka,” he said, the spectral
familiar looking to Firia as if in silent request of permission.

She hesitated before her fingers moved
between the fox’s ears, giving it a farewell before nodding.

“Hurry back, with my father’s
life assured, and I promise that I will pass this test.”

The spectral fox moved to Varuj, and
the demon held out his hand, touching it. The swirl of light created
a near-blinding flash as Luka was absorbed into the dark-skinned
demon, swirling about his fingers, his arm, before settling in
beneath his skin.

Without another word the demon turned
to the door and opened it. He gave a final look back to Firia, his
exotically shaped eyes tinged with glossiness before he quickly
vanished out into the corridors, the passing women seeming not to be
able to see him. At all. As if he were invisible to sight.

Firia took a deep breath and held it.
Was he truly sad? Lamenting that he had to leave her? It startled her
how much she wished that would be true, and she took a step back
before plunking down on her bed.

She couldn’t let herself become
distracted. Rationally, she knew that, but with everything that had
happened the past couple of days her head was spinning.

And she still hadn’t seen
Mae’lin. Her study partner. Her… What was he?

What did she want him to be?

She tried to take a deep, calming
breath, but it just made her feel more agitated and she swiftly moved
to the door. She needed to study.

Awaking with her face in a book was not
uncommon for Firia, though she couldn’t help but lament lost
hours of study due to falling asleep. The insistent knock on her door
was more pressing however, and she had to get up, straighten her
sorceress robes and go to answer it.

When she opened the door she saw
someone she wasn’t expecting. Gway’lin, the strikingly
handsome elf, stood there in his resplendent instructor robes, the
gold and emerald blue seeming to shimmer even in the dull hallway.

His broad, usual smile seemed to
falter, and he looked her over curiously as if noticing some profound
change that wasn’t simply seeing her dishevelled after a late
night of study. It took him a moment to recompose himself. “Ah,
morning.” He hesitated again. “How are you?” His
whole demeanor awkward, not at all as she was used to seeing the elf.

Her brows furrowed. Lack of sleep must
have been doing things to her mind, though she suddenly wished she’d
glanced at a mirror first.

How was she? Terrible.

Hopeless. Despondent.

“At a disadvantage,” she
finally admitted. “Couldn’t you have just played your
flute to make me come to you?”

The stunning male cracked a smile at
that. “Who says I didn’t? Maybe you were just in too deep
a sleep,” he remarked with casual humour. “But the real
reason I am here is somewhat urgent, miss Firia. I could use your
help.”

She cocked her head to the side. “I
have an exam to study for. You remember, the do or die one?”

He leaned in towards her and spoke
quietly. “As I said, it’s urgent.” He peered over
his shoulder, the hallway empty outside. “Some of your friends
are missing, and I need your help to find them before it’s too
late. As you say… do or die.” His luminescent eyes
locked onto hers, glowing bright like the morning sun.

Wait, was this the exam?

She tried to blink the grit from her
eyes, even as she grabbed her bag and pushed past him into the hall.
“Alright, so what are the clues or whatever?”

She felt like a ragged mess, but it
didn’t matter. She’d do everything she could to succeed.

Though honestly she was a bit curious
who he thought were her friends any longer.

Gway’lin put his hand at the back
of her shoulder, the warm touch gently guiding her along as he lead
her down the hall and out of the building. “Two of them,
Mae’lin and Bran, were last seen fighting on the roof of the
library. An unsanctioned magic battle,” he added ominously.

“Wait, is this the exam?”
Were they actually fighting over her? She felt some heat of rage and
pleasure rising within her, the sick emotions wrapping around her
heart. She shouldn’t take such enjoyment in needless violence,
but she’d never had anyone who cared about her.

None except her father.

Her heart panged with worry but she
tried to forget it. Forget it all.

“Focus here, Firia,” the
elf said to her as they walked across the campus grounds. “I’ve
checked the scene atop the library, and didn’t find anything,
but I’ve my own leads to follow. But being close to them as you
are, I thought you might be able to discern something I couldn’t.
The markings of magicians can be hard to decipher for those not
familiar with the caster.” He looked to her seriously. “You’ve
studied with them both, I need you to do this. If they’re
missing much longer it’ll be impossible to keep secret, and
their time here will be over. Regardless of anything else. You
understand?”

“I’ll do this.” Test
or no test, she understood that it was important. Still, a shiver
went down her spine as she tried to recall all she could about the
two men, about how they used magic.

They were both powerful, but Bran had
the advantage of wealth and class. He had access to knowledge that
Mae’lin and she were still trying to discover the basics of.

Suddenly she was desperate to find them
both, safe.

Gway’lin took her to the front
door of the library, finally releasing her of the touch of his hand.
“The door to the roof is unbarred. I removed the glyphs of
binding so you could access it and examine the scene. I’ve got
to go, so do what you can.” He gave her a serious stare before
he turned and left in an obvious hurry.

Firia ascended the great library
through the series of tubular tunnels, using the magic imbued in them
to levitate up, the whole time her mind reeling with thoughts of what
was really going on.

The access to the roof was normally
barred, but true to Gway’lin’s word, when she got there,
she found it open to her.

So high above the academy, the sun
seemed brighter, as if the grey clouds were thinner, or that she was
above them. Though she knew that couldn’t be, rationally.

When she looked around, she saw no
immediate sign of a spell fight. Nothing.

Carefully she began to inspect the
place. Though as she began to run out of rooftop, her memories took
her back to the government building back home. How Luka had sniffed
out signs of magical influence on such an undetectable scale.

The familiar would’ve been an
incredible asset to her in the search, yet he was off and away with
Varuj. Seeing to the safety of her father.

She nearly caved to despair as she
finished her search with nothing seen. Was this why Gway’lin
had called on her for this task? He knew how she had performed back
then. He was there, albeit in disguise to monitor them. He likely
assumed she could trace magical trails with ease. And she could, if
Luka were there.

The morning was passing by, however,
and she knew time was bleeding away, both for her and her two
friends. So she began the process again, this time focussing her
senses further. She’d been at the academy a while now, and she
could sense magical power, albeit crudely. She just needed to hone
that ability further.

It was a hell of a time to have to do
so, but as she made her fourth survey of the rooftop she finally felt
something. Like seeing waves of heat over a hot stove.

Her excitement caused her to lose sight
of it. She had to calm herself, focus her awareness and search again.

This time she kept herself composed,
and she could feel the strangely familiar scars of magic use. She
knew instantly that it meant they were cast by someone she knew well.

Mae’lin was responsible for most
of it she realized. There were only a few, faint trails of Bran’s
casting. Though, she regretfully admitted, her ability to interpret
the marks was not so great that she could figure out exactly what
spells were used.

The shifting placement of the battle
scars did leave her with the distinct impression of motion, as if the
fight had shifted in a certain direction. Though once she realized
what direction that was, her heart skipped a beat.

The last signs of their encounter that
she found were as if spells themselves had grappled, the two
combatants entangled before taking a plunge. Directly over the side
of the library roof to the waiting tower, at least a hundred feet
below.

When she looked down she saw evidence
of the truth to that: the ceiling seemed dented, and a small steeple
atop that mini-tower was broken. Undoubtedly from one or both of them
landing.

With that realization she rose up and
dashed for the door. She had to get news to Gway’lin or someone
else to help. Perhaps follow the trail, for they did not stop there
at that tower. They either survived and moved on, or rolled over the
edge.