Feudlings (3 page)

“It’s just banged up. It’ll be fine.” Nev shrugged her off, set on attacking Brittany. She whirled on her, furious. “What were you thinking?!”

“She wasn’t.” Livi glared up at the blonde, ferocious despite her small size.

“Okay this is going to get out of hand,” Charity murmured, pushing between them. “What happened?” she asked. Hunter crossed his arms over his chest and waited for an answer. Shane waited too, but most of his attention was still on the girl behind the door.

“We were decorating the gym, and Ari was up on top of that stupid ladder, and Miss Brilliant over there shut off the lights!” Nevaeh shouted.

“Why would you do that?” Charity asked, turning her big silver eyes to Brittany, who was still glaring at the floor.

Brittany turned her emerald glare on Charity. “Bec
ause
I didn’t want you to see the gym yet. It was
supposed
to be a surprise. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t just showed up like that.”

“So this is our fault?” Shane asked in disbelief, finally turning his full attention to the conversation.

“No, Shane, of course not. That’s not what I meant.” Brittany’s face melted into a smile as she sidled up to him, putting a hand on his arm and peering at him.

“Typical Brittany,” Nevaeh said, but Charity was still between them.

“Nev, you need to have someone look at your arm. Sit.” Charity thunked Nevaeh down in a chair. “Brittany, you’re alone in a room full of hostile people, most of whom have it in for you. And the dance starts soon. Go finish decorating.”

Charity shoved the girl out the door as Brittany protested, “By myself?” Charity raised her eyebrows at Shane as she turned around. Having a Seer as his favorite cousin often came in handy, although he was curious to know why she hadn’t told them about the accident before they got into the gym.

“Is she going to be okay?” Hunter asked Charity from where he still leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

Charity frowned, shaking her head. “I… don’t… know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Shane exclaimed. Hunter’s head came up sharply.

“Well she’s not a doctor, is she? How would she know?” Nevaeh snapped. Shane blinked in surprise. He’d forgotten she and Livi were there. Hunter pushed away from the wall and stalked out, jerking his head at the door as he passed Charity. She glanced at Shane as they both followed Hunter. He was halfway down the empty hallway when they caught up with him.

“You didn’t see her fall, did you?” Hunter asked, stopping to face Charity. She shook her head. “And you can’t see her now?” Again, she shook her head. “We need to get out of here.” He turned on his heel and started down the hall again.

“Wait, what? Why? You can’t be serious.” Shane laughed in disbelief.

“There’s only one reason you wouldn’t be able to see that, Charity,” Hunter said, ignoring Shane.

Charity crossed her arms and glared down at the floor. “There are two reasons, Hunter. Either
she
is the Prodigy that Shane is supposed to kill to end this stupid war or I’m a crappy Seer. Hmmm, I wonder which one it could be.”

“She’s a girl, Hunter. The Prodigy is a boy. Everybody knows that,” Shane said, and turned to Charity. “You’re not a crappy Seer.”

The Council, a combination of six sorcerers who ruled the Carules, had been excited when Charity was born. A first cousin to the Prodigy, the most powerful sorcerer ever born. But they had found no traces of Carules magic, only the gift of Sight, and not even a strong gift, in their opinion. Charity had grown up being told she was worthless. Because of that, they’d had this conversation many, many times.

Which was why Hunter ignored it. “Show me where it says the Prodigy is male, Shane.”

“Well… I’m male,” Shane said, and as Hunter threw up his hands in disgust, Shane rushed to continue. “
And
the Prodigy is more powerful than any other, right? Except me, of course. And males are, as a rule, more powerful.” Hunter opened his mouth to argue but Shane continued. “And — you’ve seen the pictures. The Prodigy is huge. That girl was tall, not huge.”

“All we’ve seen is the Prodigy in a black hooded robe clouded in a shroud spell. It could be Livi, for all we know. And males, as a rule, are more aggressive, not more powerful. Besides that, there are always exceptions to the rule. And
Charity can’t see her.
” Hunter ground out each word.

Shane shook his head as Charity said, “I can’t see a lot of people, Hunter.”

“You can’t see the Prodigy.”

“You’re getting all worked up because Charity can’t see her? Besides, if she had been the Prodigy, I would have known.” Shane dropped his voice and his lips quirked up as a couple of sophomore girls walked by and giggled hello. “There were no magical traces on her. At all.”

“None?” Hunter asked in disbelief. It finally dawned on Shane that his best friend was serious. He believed this girl was the Prodigy

“None, Hunter,” he responded.

Charity started down the hall, but stopped, tipping her head to the side with a thoughtful frown. “Anyway, Hunter, everyone knows the Family keeps him close in case they need him to fight. They’re not going to send him away to a boarding school where he’s unprotected and out of their reach.”

“She’s got a point,” Shane smirked, but Hunter only scowled at the ground.

****

Ari tossed in her bed, conscious enough to know she was trapped in a dream she’d had a thousand times before, but not awake enough to stop it. Pain and the nightmare. That was all.

Ada glared out at the storm. Lightning struck five, six, seven
times;
splitting the sky in brilliant light so bright it was like the noonday sun had risen again. And then came the thunder, before the light had even faded, booming so loud it shook the house, causing the fine crystal chandelier to sway and creak. It was the worst storm she had ever seen, and it had ruined her wedding. Instead of the ceremony being a grand fairy tale and the envy of every girl in society, it had been a muddy, embarrassing mess. All that planning, gone to waste.

Not only that, but the worthless servant girl had been too frightened of the storm to travel to her father’s home and retrieve the trunk that Ada had forgotten, and she could not have her wedding night without that trunk. William, her new groom, had chivalrously gone to get it. And now this horrid storm is slowing him, she thought with an incensed stamp of her small foot.

Lightning flashed again, lighting the sky, and Ada screamed as a face leered back at her through the window. The glass shattered inward in a blast of blue flames, throwing her back against the wall where she lay trembling. Christian stalked through the gaping hole, the storm at his back. “You’re all alone now, Ada. You have even less than I do.” He gave one short, barking laugh, and then he was tracing a spell into the air with such speed she didn’t even have time to see it before he was gone. It hung in the shattered air, surrounded by flames, but by then she already knew what it was. Christian and his mother had always been good at
saldepement
spells, spells that allowed them to move from one place to another through a doorway of some sort. Edrens, for some reason, could rarely do
saldepement
spells, something that bothered her father to no end.

Father. Her heart tightening in horror, Ada whirled and raced for William’s stables.

She roared into the storm on William’s fastest horse, driving her heels into his flanks relentlessly, pushing him faster and faster across the rain-ravaged roads. An eternity passed before she blew through the gate that hung broken on its hinges and raced down the once tree-lined drive. But now the trees were charred, blackened stumps, and the sickened feeling in the pit of her stomach told her what she would see before she rounded the final bend.

Despite the storm, the hungry blue flames had been visible for miles.

Still, mud-covered heaps scattered across the huge expanse of lawns and she gasped in horror as she realized they were her father’s guards. The Duke’s crumpled form took shape as she neared the inferno that had once been her home, and she leapt from the horse and raced toward him, stumbling over her skirts, falling to her knees in the mud at his side. “Father!” she wailed. Her eyes searched the devastation, looking for help, for anything alive. Nearby another still form caught her attention and she crawled through the mud, unmindful of her tearing,
filthy
dress, keeping one hand on her father’s chest, unwilling to let him go.
A horrified screech erupted from her throat as she realized who she was staring at.

William, his eyes wide and unseeing.

She heard a low, agonized moan and stumbled back to the Duke’s side, ducking in terror as
lightning
smashed into the manor a breath away, sending sparks shooting through the air. “They’re gone, Ada. They’re all gone. They…
they were…
trapped inside,” her father whispered.

In horror, Ada’s eyes swept back to the house, but there was nothing left. No one could have survived that. It was a massive inferno, so hot that even through the hellish storm the heat singed her eyelashes.

Her heart hardened in her chest, and when she leaned close to her father’s ear to be heard over the storm, her voice was icy and flat and terrifying. “I’ll find him, Father. I’ll destroy everything he has. He will pay for this.”

Her father’s grip was surprisingly strong as he grabbed her arm, and his gaze darkened until no sign of hopelessness remained. “Then you’ll need help. We will summon the Edrens.”

Edrens. Red Flame throwers. Sorcerers. Her family.

Before she even realized she was awake, Ari could feel pain — horrible throbbing throughout her head that made her nauseous, and aching, burning pain in her shoulder and ribs. “Ugh,” she groaned. Tentatively, she opened her eyes. The room was dim and blurry. It took her a second to realize that it was her vision that was blurry, but the room was dim because the curtains had been drawn.

The dream again. Of course she had the dream again. Why wouldn’t she? It seemed like she was having that same dream every time she even though about sleeping. Ada Aleshire was her ancestor, and the Edren responsible for starting the war, although the Carules were mostly to blame. At least they were according to any Edren.

A shadow moved at the corner of her vision and Ari pushed herself up, untangling her hands from the blanket.
Bad move
. The whole room spun and Ari fought to keep from throwing up or losing consciousness. The shadow moved through the room without a sound, closer and closer. Ari winced in pain when she moved her head, and inwardly cursed the fact that she couldn’t see clearly, and then winced again when she raised her arm to draw a protective spell around herself. Nausea washed over her and she fought to keep it down as the room spiraled around her. Blacking out now would mean death.

“What on earth are you doing? Are you insane?” a woman’s deep voice bellowed from the shadows. Startled, Ari froze in confusion. “You’ve had a nasty fall. You need to lie still or I’ll have to take you in.” The woman moved into the dim light. She was tall, although probably not as tall as Ari, with long black hair just streaking with gray at the temples. Large brown eyes glared at Ari through wire-rim glasses.

“In?” Ari asked, totally lost.

“To the hospital,” the woman said matter-of-factly, flipping on a lamp next to the bed and pulling a stethoscope from around her neck. Ari closed her eyes against the light, since she had learned mere moments ago that wincing hurt. A lot.

“I've got some pain killers here that will help your head.” The woman was a tad more sympathetic, prying open one of Ari’s eyelids and shining a light into it. Ari sucked in a breath. “Sorry,” the woman said, although she didn’t sound apologetic at all. “You have a concussion, but it isn’t too severe.”

Finally, understanding dawned and Ari groaned. “You’re the school nurse.” She collapsed back against the pillows.

“Well, yes. Who did you think I was, the boogeyman?”

Ari almost smiled. “Something like that.”

The nurse chuckled. “I’m Ms. Neemer. Shane brought you here a few minutes ago. You were knocked off a ladder, but they’re still discussing whose fault that is. Not yours, if that’s any consolation.”

Ari slowly opened an eye and attempted to peer up at Ms. Neemer. “Shane?”

Ms. Neemer raised an eyebrow in surprise as her hands moved over Ari’s shoulder, looking for injuries. “I thought every girl in this school knew who Shane Delyle is.”

Ari attempted a shrug but only succeeded in squealing a little in pain. “It’s my first day here.” She gasped.

“You landed hard on your shoulder. It’s going to be sore for a few days,” Ms. Neemer said, stating the obvious. “You should try not to move it.” She walked over to the sink and brought back a glass of water. Dropping two pills into Ari’s hand, she said, “Take these and drink all of this. It will help you feel better.” Hesitating at the doorway, she turned back to add, “We attempted to reach your grandfather, but no one could seem to locate him.”

“Oh,” Ari mumbled. She had been hoping they wouldn’t think to call Richard.

“Well, I did reach your mother, so I let her know. She wasn’t even on your list of contacts, so it was by accident that I reached her at all.”

Imagine that,
Ari thought grimly.

While the pain meds helped with the pain, the magic flames roaring through her body trying to heal her made her very, very sleepy. Sleeping was a potential life sentence for Ari, because she couldn’t fend off a Carules attack in her sleep. At least, she didn’t think she could — she’d never had to before. Trying to keep herself awake, she ran through a list of spells the Carules had that could kill her. Traditionally, Carules magic had been defensive — they healed and transported and did, well, defensive things. It had evolved to be more like the offensive magic Edrens possessed, but their spells still weren’t as powerful. They made up for that in the fact that there were more Carules than Edrens. So now that she thought about it, she probably could fight off a Carules attack in her sleep. To be safe, though, she should stay awake anyway. She feuded with the magic-induced weariness for as long as she could and she won. For a whole ten minutes. Just when she was drifting off into what was sure to be a blissful, pain-free sleep, Ms. Neemer woke her up. “If you don’t stay awake, we’ll have to take you to the hospital.” She admonished, flashing the bright light into her eyes again. Ari gritted her teeth, vowing not to fall asleep again. Carules attacks she could handle. Bright, painful light in her eyes she could not.