Furious Flames (Elemental Book 3) (9 page)
Read Furious Flames (Elemental Book 3) Online
Authors: Rain Oxford
“I was not sure of your schedule, so I asked Ghost to
watch for your arrival.”
“Have you come to tell me about the key?”
He grinned and sat in Henry’s chair. “I would not do
that to you; it would deprive you of the fun.”
“What fun?”
“Didn’t you become a private investigator because you
liked to solve mysteries? How could I deprive you of your investigation?”
I sighed. “Are all wizards out of their minds or just
the ones I know?”
“You have all the answers you need. If I told you too
much, you would be targeted, and to tell you too much before you learned to
protect yourself would be irresponsible. However, you apparently have not
changed much since you were a child. You will try to find that tower no matter
how many times I tell you you’re not ready, correct?”
“Of course.”
“Then I see no other option but to teach you faster.
Your element is fire, so are you meeting your elemental mentor on Sunday or
Tuesday?”
“Sunday.”
“Then you will meet me on Saturday mornings at nine
in the north tower library.”
The library where I kept seeing Heather in. “Are we
going to continue with the visions?”
“No. It’s a library. You are going to read.”
“Can’t I just have Darwin read the books and he can
tell me the information?”
He laughed, stood, and started for the corner. As the
shadows started to reach out for him, he paused. “Stay away from the tower
until you know more.”
“No promises. I think Krechea is after Astrid.”
He looked at me. “There is power in a name, so be
very careful about who you call. If you want to protect Astrid, you need to
keep her away from Keigan.” He vanished. In the middle of my desk was Vincent’s
book.
When I sat in my chair, the book flipped open to a
specific page about a quarter of the way through, so I started reading.
When we arrived for dinner, the other students were
very agitated, and we quickly found out why. There were over a dozen copies of
the same letter taped to different areas on the walls of the dining room, to
the point where it was impossible for anyone to miss them.
Fellow students,
This is a warning of what’s to come of our world.
The wizard council has devised a plan to enforce new rules on ALL paranormals beginning
in January. In order to enforce these rules with severe consequences for
breaking them, they have already begun cataloging every paranormal known. Soon,
everyone will be known as a number. Everyone will be judged and labeled.
All wizards will be required to have a license
sold by the council in order to use magic, and women will only be able to use
magic under the supervision of men. Every paranormal person, throwback, or
person even remotely related to a paranormal in this country, visiting this country,
or with a citizenship of this country will have to pay taxes to the council.
Starting in January, only students who attended the children’s paranormal
school can attend the university, and only after receiving their license.
These are rules that have already been approved
and will take place if the council is not stopped. What’s worse is that even as
you read this letter, the council is trying to build evidence to close down
Quintessence for good.
The council has committed and covered up many
crimes, including arresting and killing human witnesses, children of
paranormals, and foreign paranormals. We must stop them before it’s too late.
“Do you believe it?” Darwin asked.
“It’s very specific, but I don’t know. It’s not signed
by anyone and although it ends saying that we have to stop it, there’s nothing
to say how everyone can get together to do something about it. No meeting place
or time. Plus, there have been a lot of pranks lately.”
Most of the pranks were harmless, such as dumping
sticky sparkles in the pool so everyone who went in came out sparkling. Others,
however, like the itching powder in the washing baskets that three people had
serious allergic reactions to, were not so innocent.
“Is there anyone here foolish enough to make
something like that up? Nobody knows how many students here have parents on the
council, and I can name at least two dozen who would rat out their own mothers
for a chance to make the council proud, so I can’t imagine anyone here would be
daft enough to risk getting caught just to make something up. Well, maybe
Jackson, but he’s not smart enough to make this up, either.”
“If it’s real, though, who could get this
information? Other than you, of course. And furthermore, how would you not know
about it? I thought you would be the first to know when the council screwed
up.”
“I’ve been with you all summer. The council doesn’t
have records online. To spy on them takes tapping their phones, conspiring with
their servants, and breaking into the council mansion itself. I couldn’t do
that from your apartment.”
“They have phones?”
“Old wired ones.”
“Isn’t everyone going to blame you? Everyone’s got to
know you’re capable of getting that information.”
“Yeah, but if they know I can get the info, they know
I’d be smarter in leaking it. I would splash it in the face of every paranormal
in the world simultaneously using an entire network of systems. People,
technology, books… If I wanted the information out, I would have proof. Also, I
would make sure the council couldn’t even slow it down or trace it back to me.
Trust me, it wouldn’t be this simple. If this is real, then it’s really bad,
and whoever leaked it just shot themselves in the foot.”
“I’ll talk to Vincent when I see him tomorrow.”
* * *
Saturday morning at nine, I went to the north tower
library. This library was older and smaller than the others and had many large,
hand-written books. There was a heavy wooden desk, which my uncle was sitting
behind and reading from a huge book. “I’m not really here just to read, am I?”
I asked.
He sat back. “This school hasn’t been around for a
long time. There are many iconic places, objects, and people in the paranormal
world. This school is not yet one of them, but when it is hundreds of years old
and some of the most powerful people graduate, it will be. Eventually, Logan
will leave and it will follow the path of other iconic places. Quintessence
will become a legend and wizards will wonder how something so great could ever
fall.”
“How do you know it’ll close?”
“Because no matter how powerful a wizard gets, he is
still a person. The history of wizards in power is no different from that of
humans. Greed, envy, and betrayal are just as strong in our world. If anything,
the fall of our heroes is even more gruesome.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“The stronger you get, the more people will try to
bring you down. And if you’re not one of the strongest, you’ll get left
behind.”
“What about the council? Are they going to go out the
same way?”
“Eventually, yes.”
“Before the implementation of their new rules?”
He frowned. “Not unless someone stops them first.”
“It’s true then? Have they gone completely insane? I
thought with the bad guy dead, they were supposed to get better.”
“John was a criminal mastermind, but he knew how to
keep his position. He made sure the council would remain for many years in
order to further his own power. Without his mind control, the council turned to
enhancing their power. They have tried repeatedly to confiscate Logan’s
records, because they can’t know for sure who attends the school until they
have those. Darwin was a weak excuse that will only pan out if he fails his
test.”
“Darwin won’t fail.”
“Good. Then let’s begin.” He passed the large book to
me.
With a sigh, I sat and started reading. It was all
about magic circles. Although I didn’t know why I needed to learn how to make
magic circles, differentiate them, and dissolve them, I read it anyway.
I decided not to tell Darwin why the council was
harassing him, because he would take that to mean the welfare of the school
depended on him. He didn’t need that much pressure. Unfortunately, he hadn’t
yet made any progress with the amulet.
* * *
On Sunday, I waited for Professor Nightshade at the
burn field, which was a circular rock platform raised about two feet with a
diameter of about ten feet. Around it was a field of small pebbles instead of
grass. It was apparently used for practice quite a lot, because the entire
surface of the platform was charred. Thirty-one thick, unused, white candles were
set in impressions spaced evenly apart along the edge of the platform.
The professor arrived in her person form, which was a
little disappointing. My fire elemental mentor was a dragon— I couldn’t see a
more perfect fit. “Were you born in your person form or dragon form?” I asked
when she stepped onto the rock slab.
She smirked and flicked a lock of orange hair out of
her eyes. “A misconception. I’m a dragon who can shift into a person, not the
other way around like shifters. I was hatched as a dragon and developed the
ability to change at about thirty years of age. Most dragons can shift.”
“So there are more of your kind?”
“We’re very rare, but that is because our birth rate
is very low, not because we were hunted. Of course, the council didn’t help. Now,
you mastered water and earth, right?”
“According to Remy and Professor Langril.”
“Show me.”
“Show you what? Water is trust, love, and healing,
while earth is strength and balance.”
“Those are the essences of those elements. Magic is
not just controlling the elements, but every spell you do is dependent on your
intention, and thus, associated with an element. Even psychic magic, like
reading minds, is associated with an element.”
“That’s air, right?”
“Yes. And in turn, it takes mental training to
manipulate the elements, which makes elemental magic fall under psychic magic.
Mind over matter is the entire concept of Quintessence, in my opinion. Everyone
will tell you something different because this school means something to us
all. How did you master water?”
“I learned to trust people and heal with water.
Before I understood what water was, I seemed to use it instinctively. It became
more controllable when I focused on the emotions while trying to do magic. The
same with earth. I tried to fight my abilities because I thought that was the
same as controlling it. When I learned otherwise, the magic became easier to
control. I realized that the strength inside me was earth magic.”
“So what have you learned about magic?”
I thought for a moment. “Although there are
elementals and supernatural beings, magic comes from inside a person.”
“Spot on. So what element out of all five do you
think is your strength?”
I shrugged. “Hunt thought the one I needed the most
was water, so I would think I would be most natural at the opposing element.
Based on that guess, I would say fire.”
“Have you controlled fire yet?”
“I can light a fire on a torch or something, but I
prefer using my lighter.”
“Good. This should be easy for you then. Since you
know what I am, you can guess I don’t do magic the same as you. I also don’t
teach the same way Remington or Keigan do. I’m not going to tell you what fire
is; you’re going to figure that out yourself.”
“Is anything at Quintessence ever to be taken
literally?”
“Only if you want to fail.” With that, she left.
* * *
On Wednesday morning, Darwin’s clothes were missing
from his locker when he got out of the shower. “It’s a
lock
-er,” I
admonished, since he never bothered to even bring a lock let alone use one. The
pranks were outlandish and mostly widespread, but I did notice Darwin getting
targeted a lot. Several more women had accused Darwin of copping a feel, which
he adamantly denied doing, so I assumed he was being framed.
“Who steals clothes? Seriously, we can’t even have
electronics, so who the hell would bother?” He stomped out wearing only a towel
around his waist.
Twenty minutes later, Darwin joined Henry and me in
the dining room, dressed in a dark blue hoodie. Henry rubbed his forehead absentmindedly,
indicating a headache. Due to his shifting ability, his wounds were completely
healed without any scars.
“Still having bad dreams?” I asked. He nodded. “Did
you get in an argument or anything with your parents before school started that
may have instigated your not-so-secret desire to tear their throats out with
your teeth?”
He shook his head. “I don’t really remember. My
memory can sometimes be fuzzy during the full moon.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t–”
I was cut off as Darwin choked on his food and spit
it out. “Poison!” he yelled. The entire table as well as his tray turned
neon-green.
Every student instantly turned to stare at him. “You
always think it’s poisoned,” Henry said.
“No, there’s something in the eggs. Something bad.”
“The eggs are poisoned?!” Becky asked from a few
tables away, suddenly very pale. “I ate the eggs!”
Neither Henry nor I had had the eggs, so we couldn’t
deny it. Mass hysteria in a room full of wizards, shifters, and fae was a
serious business. Despite the fact that none of the fae ate eggs, some of them
were convinced their fruit was poisoned, too. While several of the students
tried to vomit up their eggs, four wizards and one shifter passed out.
Immediately, I sent Henry to inform Dr. Martin and
Darwin to find Remy, Hunt, and Watson. I managed to slip into the kitchen
amongst the panic and grabbed two plastic sacks, one which I filled with eggs
from the buffet and the second I filled with Darwin’s eggs. Afterwards, I
assigned the calmest students to take the unconscious students to the
infirmary, told the students who were first to arrive for breakfast to write
down what they remembered seeing, and instructed several others to scour the
kitchen for anything suspicious.
Surprisingly, the shifters were all calm and
responded to my instructions immediately. By the time Remy arrived, most of the
hysterics were over. Unfortunately, Hunt couldn’t be found. Morning classes
were cancelled, which the professors were not happy about.
Before I could take the samples to Dr. Martin, Lenard
Newman was sent to the infirmary in addition to the five who fainted.
When I walked into the underground infirmary, Len was
sitting on the exam tables with a thermometer in his mouth, while the
unconscious students were on cots in the far corner of the room. “Here are some
samples of the eggs, which Darwin said was poisoned.”
The doctor sighed. “Thank you, Devon. I should have
the results in twenty-four hours based on the lack of symptoms these students
have. I see my day is going to be a busy one. Not like I had enough problems
with the vampires complaining about their synthetic blood. I received a
shipment from Stephen of pure blood for Astrid. She needs to get it from me so
the other vampires don’t know she’s on it. There will be riots if they find
out.”
“I’ll let her know. I’ll come back in a few hours to
see if there is any change.”
Len pulled the thermometer out of his mouth. “Really,
I don’t need to be here. I feel… fine.” His cheeks flushed and I barely caught
him before he fell. He wasn’t completely unconscious, though.