Smoke and Mirrors (38 page)

Kimberly picked up an empty chair from a desk at the back of the classroom, though Eddie pulled it out of her hands before she took more than two steps with it. She led him to her desk, where he settled beside her to wait. He looked around with some interest, taking in the charts showing diagrams of opposing elements, a poster with a list of do’s and don’t’s when casting counterspells on the fly, and a long, thin banner over the chalkboard at the head of the room that said, “Disruption Is How You Pass This Class.”

Professor Orlando Towers entered the classroom just ahead of the first bell, humming something distractedly under his breath as he scanned the papers in his hand. He plopped the suitcase in the other down on his chair before paying a glance to the students filing in and then those in their seats, noticing for the first time that they had a visitor in their midst.

“Somebody’s taking my teaching philosophy to heart, I see. Anyone care to explain the centaur? Bueller?”

Kimberly grimaced and spoke up. “Sorry, Professor T. He’s with me.”

The professor grinned, a flash of white against his dark skin, before he ran a hand through his graying curls. “Ms. Wells, I should have known. I’ll need him to wait by my desk or outside until after you complete your test. Do you mind, Mr…?”

The centaur got to his feet, lifting the chair to set it beside the teacher’s desk as ordered. “Just call me Eddie, sir. I’ll wait here.”

Professor Towers gave him an approving nod, and the other students watched with interest as he settled into his seat, facing the class; more specifically, Kimberly.

Aside from the centaur’s eyes focused on her, she shrank down in her seat as some of the other students shot questioning looks in her direction. The professor made no fuss about Eddie’s presence as the second bell rang, taking a quick roll call before passing out the written final exam for the class. Kimberly breathed a sigh of relief and threw herself into the test with a gusto, barely taking the time to read the questions before scribbling her answers.

Time simultaneously sped and crawled by for Kimberly. Fidgeting in her seat the entire time, she finished with almost 20 minutes left, and took the opportunity to skim over her work. Which was good, because she had made some truly boneheaded mistakes in the first few questions thanks to her haste. She had to resist the urge to slap her forehead every time she spotted another one.

When the bell rang, the professor shouted above the din of chatter that immediately sprang up. “Pens and pencils down, people! Turn in your test in the basket on my desk. Don’t forget to bring your compact mirrors and a change of clothes for tomorrow’s practical portion of the finals. In the basket, not the middle of the desk, Jones. I saw that.”

Eddie followed Kimberly when she dropped off her test. He gave her a smile and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sure you did great. Don’t worry.”

She mustered a smile of her own. “Thanks. Are you sure you’re okay? Conjuration is next.”

His smile faded into a grimace. “No, but I’ll survive.”

His nervous chuckle prompted a little laugh out of her. She took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Some of the tension in his shoulders eased, though sensing the tiny tremors and how cold and sweaty his fingers were in hers, she pulled him into a quick hug.

“It’ll be okay,” she whispered.

He didn’t respond, other than to return the hug, so tight she could barely breathe. It didn’t take long for him to release her, red-faced and muttering an apology as he backed away. She grabbed his hand again and gave it another squeeze, waiting until he lifted his gaze from the floor. It took him a moment to let out his breath, shoulders falling as he nodded in response to her questioning gaze. He was ready.

They made their way in companionable silence to her next class, hand in hand.

Professor Lim didn’t even look up from his desk as they walked into the stadium-sized summoning chamber, just snapping his fingers and pointing to her circle in the long line of those waiting for the students to claim the ones they etched with chalk last week.

Eddie took his place in the center without being asked. Kimberly moved the box of components somebody had set before her circle back against the wall and sat down behind her circle, cross-legged and facing the professor’s desk.

Other students filed in, chattering with each other, their excitement and anticipation charging the air. Four years of intense study and preparation had brought them to this crucial moment.

The professor didn’t budge at the second bell, still scribbling notes at his desk. Several minutes ticked by. A few whispers started up—soon silenced by the sharp clack of the pen being slammed on the desk.

“All right. I hear we have something different this year. Show of hands. Who is binding an earthbound familiar instead of summoning?”

It sounded more like an accusation than a question. Kimberly tentatively raised her hand; the only one in the class.

The professor gave her a sharp nod. “You’ll be the quickest, then. Get to it.” His voice rose, carrying to the rest of the class. “Everybody else, set up your summoning components. Points are deducted for incorrect placement.”

He picked up a clipboard and strode over to Kimberly, standing uncomfortably close to observe as she got to her feet and took her position in front of the circle. She knew he was watching her with his Sight, keeping track of how she was casting and whether or not she had control over both the circle and the binding. Eddie shot her a quick smile of encouragement, which she returned with a wan one of her own.

This was it. This was the defining moment of her four torturous years at Blackhollow.

She closed her eyes and took a breath. Let it out.

The circle flared to brilliant, blinding life, a white light shooting from the symbols inside as Kimberly willed her power into them. They soon died down to dim embers, then faded entirely, though the hairs on her arms were standing on end and some of the hair on her head was lifting as if from static electricity. The circle was active; she could feel everything. Eddie’s accelerated heartbeat, the sharpness of his breath, the growing panic he hoped wasn’t visible to her or the professor, and his overwhelming awe of this den of magi that was so much more than he had imagined. His need to be near his herd, his desperate love and desire for Damaris, his fear that this would hurt, or that he might never see them again.

Kimberly hadn’t known that she would see so much. Feel what he was feeling so intensely. His fear of her was so overwhelming that the tears pricking her own eyes from seeing what he envisioned she might do to hurt him barely registered.

How James could have stood by while knowing Sam the naga’s thoughts on such a deep and intimate level disgusted her all the more, now that she had a better idea of what the bond was really like.

“Good. Solid circle. Finish the binding, Ms. Wells. We haven’t got all day.”

For a brief moment, she hated Professor Lim for rushing this process, but she did need to finish what she’d started.

She took one more steadying breath, then reached out with her will into the circle, and dug deep into Eddie’s mind, tethering him to herself with as light a touch as she could manage.

That might have been a mistake. Something about her power called to his mind instead of his abilities.

A lifetime of memories flashed by, not her own. A warm, cozy cottage by a field. Being kissed goodnight by his mother. Running from the big kid who wanted his lunch money. Sunset in a patch of clover. The first time he rode a bike. Being stung by a bee. The first time he changed. Playing baseball with his father. The first time he ran as more than a human. The heady rush of wind blowing through his hair, on his chest, ruffling his fur and mane. His grandmother’s funeral. A younger Damaris with daisies in her hair, smiling in a way that made his blood run hot for the first time.

It was too much. Too intimate.

With a gasp, she pressed deeper, past the memories, finding his source of power and focusing on it instead. It was a deep, still well inside him, calm and collected, unlike the rush of thoughts and emotions above it. That was what she latched on to. What she drew into herself, and made her own, using the connection through earth and air and body and soul the circle granted her. Things she could sense but not control so thoroughly without a circle to enhance her focus and keep the outside from interfering.

“Pass. Well done, Ms. Wells. You can take a free period in the library after you clean up your circle.”

The professor must have been able to tell what she had done through his Sight. She herself couldn’t say exactly how it changed, but she knew the moment Eddie was completely and utterly her creature. He would come when she called. She would know his every thought and emotion. He would obey her every command.

When Eddie opened his guileless hazel eyes and turned them on her, there was nothing but adoration visible in their depths. A calm acceptance of what he had become.

A deep and endless need to receive and carry out any order she might give him.

It sickened her.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

The rest of the school day passed in a blur for Kimberly. The school had already made preparations for the multitudes of familiars in a tremendous waiting room opposite the summoning hall. As she attended the remainder of her classes, Eddie waited among the perches, pillows and containers set out for insects, birds, lizards, snakes, cats, mice, bats, a couple dogs, and, in one notable case, a fox. Even when Kimberly pressed, he swore that he didn’t mind.

She did her best to concentrate on her tests, but it was terribly difficult with the constant tug of thoughts and emotions on the fringe of her consciousness. A constant flutter of butterfly wings seeking a way out.

By the time the last bell rang, he had come back to himself somewhat. He was up and waiting, falling quickly into step a pace behind Kimberly when she came to get him. He kept his head down, not meeting anyone’s gaze. Kimberly didn’t know how to ease the deep sense of shame she could sense he was feeling outside of letting him go, which she couldn’t afford to do yet.

It pained her to think that Cormac wanted to be subjected to the same. She couldn’t imagine being in his head this way—and was afraid to know what truths and memories she would find there.

When they emerged on the streets above, Cormac was waiting. As soon as he saw the expression on Kimberly’s face, he bit off the greeting he was about to extend and instead swept in to wrap her up in his arms. She let out a shuddering sigh and pressed her forehead to his chest, sinking into his embrace and breathing in the scent of him. Dark and spicy, with a hint of dust and old things.

It was only when Eddie’s bone-deep fear and distrust of Cormac broke through the pleasant haze of comfort that Kimberly pulled away.

She turned to Eddie, one hand still on Cormac’s chest, curled around the silky fabric of his vest like a lifeline to her sanity. “Eddie, I can’t thank you enough for this. Please try not to worry. See you tomorrow morning?”

His relief was obvious and intense. It was all she could do not to flinch at the feel of it.

“I’ll be here. See you then.”

Eddie all but sprinted away, quickly disappearing in the afternoon crowds of kids on their way home from school and the few tourists wandering outside the museum. Cormac watched him go with an undeniably hungry gleam to his eye.

Kimberly sagged with relief herself once he was gone. “Cormac, this is the most horrible thing I’ve ever done. Did Viper hear everything I was thinking? Does he know everything about me like I do about Eddie?”

Cormac’s breath hitched, and he pulled her around to face him again. “What? Are you saying you saw the centaur’s memories?”

She nodded. “Is that bad?”

“No,” he replied, though he was clearly still surprised by her answer. “No, that’s an aspect of sorcery I did not realize you possessed. It’s a… a very unusual talent. Though perhaps I should have guessed considering your skill with illusions. That does require intrusion into the minds of the people you’re fooling to make them experience what you want them to, so it’s only natural you should also have the ability to gain deeper insight into your familiars. It’s possible with practice that someday you might become as good at it as Rieva.”

Kimberly grimaced. “If that’s a roundabout way of telling me you want her to give me mind-reading lessons, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear it. What about Viper? You didn’t answer me.”

“Viper has enough experience with the binding process that it is likely he saw a great deal about you. Come, we’re drawing attention. We shouldn’t discuss this somewhere so public.”

They made their way back to Kimberly’s apartment in relative silence. Cormac kept his arm around her, providing the support she hadn’t known she needed until it was there.

When they got back to her building, it seemed unusually quiet. No kids playing. No TVs or radios blasting. No idle chatter drifting through the paper thin drywall. In the stairwell, Cormac tipped his head up, his brow furrowing as he sniffed the air.

Once they made it to her floor, Kimberly stopped in her tracks. The track lighting was flickering, revealing a furry lump in the middle of the hall. A new reddish stain beneath it added to the myriad collection of blemishes on the worn carpet.