ChapterOne
BACKUP I SHALL BE
Moni
Standing there motionless for a split second, I watch in shock as my best friend runs back to the dorms.What just happened?Looking back over at the guys, guilt is splayed all over their faces, but guilt over what?
“Levi?” I accuse him, my tone coming across a little harsh, but I don’t care. His hazel eyes pierce mine as confusion consumes his expression. Swinging my gaze over to Zeke, he looks like he’s about to be sick, so that leaves JP since the other two are sporting their imitations of solid granite statues. He doesn’t even wait for me to ask. Since emotions are so high, he quickly picks up on the thoughts of the group.
“How could you allow your parents to use you like that? And to do it to Rez?” JP spits out through clenched teeth.
“JP, it’s not like—” Zeke sputters.
“Really, Zeke? Because Rez just saw a video of the fucking proof,” he growls out, cutting him off. He swings his gaze to Levi. “Your bitch of an ex-girlfriend showed her a clip of the entire council talking about her. At least that’s what I picked up from the little I heard before she stormed out of here,” he seethes, getting in Levi’s face. Pain and confusion fall upon Levi’s face for a moment until he swallows it down and returns to his stoic, statue-like state.
My heart plunges at the thought of how she must feel. I know we weren’t super close yet, but I consider her my best friend, my bubble buddy. She accepted me without hesitation and didn’t treat me like an outsider, like most people do. When my mother disowned me and left me to die, she branded me a dud in the eyes of our society. Marking me as less than the lowest of the low. Hell, it actually marked me lower than a human. The devastation she must feel trying to find her feet in this crazy world and finding out her ‘friends’ were just using her? Tears start burning the back of my eyes, and a chill washes over me. I know the surrounding temperature is dropping as my skin cycles through a rainbow of colors, but the guys don’t notice.
Their voices raise in a heated argument, and emotions begin swirling around in my body. I can feel the change, the pressure, but I can’t stop or slow them down. I don’t have the knowledge to, but a small part of me revels in the idea of the power I feel growing, of needing a release. My body vibrates with tension because I can’t control the forces that are bouncing inside of my skin. It’s like tidal waves crashing against a cliff, looking for a way through, or out in this case.
I glimpse Emer through the bonfire, and the glint in her eyes as she watches the guys argue pushes me over the edge. My back bows as wave after wave rolls out of me on a scream that’s swallowed up by the boom my body emits. I watch as I throw everyone back. Some land in the sand, others smash into the cliff wall, and a few unlucky ones land in the water. I don’t have time to worry about them, though. I need to get to Rez. She’s hurting, and I, at least, want to be there for her.
I make it back to the dorm as fast as possible, after throwing JP a mental message as to my intent. It definitely helps when you have wings. Pushing through our door, I find the hallway lights flickering. My first thought is that it's a disco, but then I push that thought away when I notice Knots is wide open.That’s not normal.
“Rez? Knots?”
I fly down the hallway and notice the dorm room is pitch black; confusion and worry twist my insides. A piercing scream chills me to the bone, cutting through my thoughts, and I rush into the darkness. Following the sobbing and gut-wrenching sounds coming from Rez’s room, I zip my way through the dark. The first thing I notice as I reach her doorway is the smell. That’s blood magic! It has a distinct scent to it, like burned parchment and black licorice; at least that’s what Matthew, the Dean and my pseudo father, had told us. There’s a reason no human actually likes that candy. It’s the devil’s creation.
Rez is in the middle of the floor, balled up in the fetal position. There’s a faint trail of blood leading out to the patio, but it’s empty.
“Rez?” I approach and get close enough to put my hand on her shoulder. She jerks from the contact and begins whimpering.
“He’s gone.” Her voice cracks as the words leave her mouth in a whisper.
“Who?” I ask, moving her hair from her face. The moonlight casts a glow across her skin as it spills through the open curtains that are rippling in the breeze. Her eyes are wild and unfocused, staring out at the balcony. Tears stream down her cheeks, her face puffy and red, and I realize there is a faint silver mark across her neck, and a dark stain on her shirt over where her heart is.
Oh shit!
“He’s gone. I can’t feel him. I can’t hear him. I’m…I’m empty,” she chokes out. I’m completely lost. I know she’s upset about the guys betraying her, but what does that have to do with the nonsense she’s blabbering about now? Before I can search her face again, she throws her head back and screams into the night. Her back arches—like I just experienced moments ago on the beach—as all of her pain, frustration, and emptiness releases. Her emotion is so potent that I can feel it in the air as it collides against my skin.
The room starts moving violently, and I take flight as fear courses down my spine. Even though I’m safe from the floor shaking and items vibrating, it’s disorienting, to say the least.
“Moni!” JP yells down the hall.
I fly out to meet him in the hallway as he trips over the shaking ground and whatever is in the way. I have wings, so I’m lucky I didn’t have to navigate that way. It’s dark as hell in here, and I can barely make out his silhouette. Keen eyesight isn’t one of my gifts, at least I don’t think so, since I’m still growing into my powers.
“Here!” I shout over the noise the building is making as I reach him.
“What the fuck is happening?” he asks, fear tinging his voice as he braces himself against the wall.
“It’s Rez. Something’s wrong.” I grab his hand and lead him back to her room as everything continues to shake and rumble around us.
As soon as JP makes out Rez’s form, he lets go of me, dropping to his knees to crawl over to her. Without hesitation, he pulls her rigid form into his arms.
“Chéri. Please!” he cries out, wrapping himself around her and doing his best to become a barrier between Rez and the items tumbling off the shelves. Dodging a nasty set of bookends, I dart outside to the balcony where there’s less of a chance of me being skewered.
Out on the patio, I notice the shaking is just contained to the building and not the entire area. Hell, I’ve never felt an earthquake before, but we learned about them in class at Purgatory Junior. Our instructors wanted us to be prepared for when we were able to travel to Earth. They insisted some places have them all the time, like the Ring of Fire, whatever that was.
The stench of blood magic is more pungent out here than inside, and I focus on the chaos that’s beneath my feet. The blood that’s pooled on the patio almost has a shiny silver sheen to it, like flickering crystals are laden in the dark puddle. The shaking of the building intensifies, and I move back from the opening when the glass cracks. I tilt my head a tiny bit to look back at JP and Rez to see if they are still okay, and that’s when I see it.
