The Moonstone (Enchantment Book 1) (36 page)

“Orpheus!” I say his name because that’s what I hear echoing endlessly in my head.

He freezes, backs up in a flash, and then quickly exits the bathroom. I surprise myself and follow him at a run. He exits the house and runs towards his sanctuary. I’ve lost him forever, of that, I’m certain…or rather, I never had him in the first place. I’m there, standing in the absolute black of the summer’s night, frozen to the ground and completely destroyed. I was right when said there would be a before and after Black the first time I saw him; never will I feel that with another, never!

“Normalcy is an illusion. What is normal for a spider is chaotic for the fly.”

Morticia Addams

No news from Orpheus, not yesterday or this morning. I presume he spent the night in his cave. Oh, Orpheus! Just saying his name gives me shivers. I’ll never be able to see him as Black now that Orpheus has appeared. I close my eyes and recall every time he touched my skin, my neck and my hand.

I would so love to have felt him on my lips, to taste them.

“Miss Mills,” the chauffeur’s voice calls out from the bottom of the stairs, pulling me out of my reverie.

I imagine Orpheus is having me sent to the Academy for the selection day process. Disappointment washes over me. He won’t be there. I’m astonished that he’ll let me go alone, I imagine he won’t be far. Anyways, it seems to me that he has to preside over the selection. I join the chauffeur who opens the car door for me, and my heart stops when I spot Orpheus already sitting in the car. His beauty overwhelms me; how can he be so magnificent?

He’s staring out the window and doesn’t turn to look at me. I feel like forcing him to look at me and explain why he ran away. Was it because I said his name? I refrain from asking the question, I don’t really want to hear the answer…Eurydice. He doesn’t need to say a word. It’s one of the things that makes him so attractive, his commitment to his wife, despite all the years. Who else can claim to have loved someone for so long? We arrive at the Academy without crossing gazes. I get out of the car and walk into the building alone.

Everyone is in the arena and I feel weak, it will all become official today. Bethany is at the front of the room and has been joined by a sullen looking Orpheus. It’s as if a flame has gone out in him. He seems to even have lost his arrogance. He’s simply a man standing there, staring off into space.

I look around the room for Zach, who hasn’t answered any of my text messages. No sign of life! He doesn’t seem to be here either. I start to worry. What if Orpheus sent him away longer and further than he admitted to? He wouldn’t dare do that, I hope. Just as I am mulling this over, Zach enters the room. My friend comes flying in as if he is completing a marathon. He smiles at me and then looks at Black angrily. For the first time since yesterday, I see a flash of emotion cross Black’s face; a sudden darkness passes over him. Those two evidently suffer a deep hatred for each other. Zach takes his place with the other professors and Bethany starts with her usual speech.

“Dear friends, we are now at the moment of truth, the one where you will make a choice that will follow you the rest of your life. The day will be divided into two sections; this morning we will listen to the professors who will present each of the candidates for the positions of team leaders. The better of the two per gift will then choose his or her team in the afternoon. We will then gather in the garden for brunch and the beginning of the presentation of candidates. Finally, at the end of the day, the leaders will choose their teams. An enchanter who has been selected for more than one team will be able to choose his or her own leader. For all the enchanters who are not chosen, you will, unfortunately, have to say goodbye to your dream of becoming a warrior, for there is never a second admission to the Academy. I wish you all good luck.”

The professors then call out the names of their candidates and my heart stops beating when they call out the last name for the Air sign. They chose Pax! I know that it shouldn’t surprise me; even Orpheus said that putting a mirage on top of another one is rare, so he will surely win the duel against the other master of illusion. I can’t bear to think of losing him. He turns to me and whispers:

“Don’t worry, Lou. I’ve no need to be a leader. I want to stay with you and Flicka, so don’t worry!”

Pax joins the other chosen candidate for the gift of illusion. The second is a small, frail girl, so tiny that she looks as if she would break in two. I hope she’s good, or I’ll be out of luck. Pax bows to the young woman, offering to let her go first. Good strategy, Pax. Now you can create your mirage based on what she presents. The young woman stands in the middle of the room and makes the walls disappear, putting us right in the midst of the city. In a moment the city vanishes in front of our eyes, leaving the room empty. We then feel an immense earthquake and the field that we are standing in literally detaches from the ground, rising up suddenly towards the stars. The young girl then counts to three and the platform we are on falls, giving us the realistic impression that we are falling from the sky in a deadly drop. A moment before we land, the room returns to normal and all the people in the room grab their chest, impressed by the quality of the young girl’s mirage. I’m so happy that she’s so talented. The key to being an illusionist seems to be in having a great imagination and knowing how to use it.

Pax smiles and turns to us, probably letting us know that he’ll be sabotaging his victory. He walks to the center of the room and waves his arm. I can see his professor watching him intently. I presume he has high hopes for his protégé and will certainly be disappointed. Pax brings us all into a forest in China. The images are incredible, but the smells and the feeling of it being real are not very convincing. He lowers his arms and the spectators stand there, not knowing if they should applaud or not. I can see the professor grab Pax by the shoulder, apparently disappointed with his display.

“He’s asking him why he ruined his chance to win,” whispers Éloï in my ear. Her bionic hearing really is quite handy.

Pax shrugs and comes back to join us.

“So, please applaud if you think that Sophie deserves to win with her levitation mirage,” says Bethany, pointing at the young woman.

The crowd is thrilled and whistles and applauds Sophie as if she were a rock star.

“Now, those who think that Pax should win based on his mirage of a Chinese forest,” she says, not convinced.

The crowd does not react. We could hear a pin drop and the silence is deafening. I turn to Pax, who doesn’t seem bothered by the reaction. Quite the opposite, he seems more than happy and smiles broadly at Flicka. He certainly has a pure heart, that one. He’s ready to leave his credibility behind for the one he loves. I guess that’s what real love is. I turn to look at Orpheus, who was apparently looking at me, but turns away when I spot him. I wonder if he can be thinking what I am.

“Perfect! Well, I would invite you all to go to the garden for brunch,” says Bethany to the crowd.

“Why weren’t you three selected? Your talents are certainly superior to all the other enchanters?” I say to my friends.

“Oh, believe me. I would have liked to have become a leader, but my sister forbade me from showing my Swiss Army Knife to my professor, so…”

Pyros still likes to annoy…

“Stop saying dumb things, Pyros. Tell her what you said yesterday,” says his sister, nudging him slightly.

“He thinks it’s great that you’re so special!”

“Don’t lay it on too thick, I never used the word “great.” I said that she wouldn’t be as bad a leader as I thought.”

Coming from him, that’s high praise indeed.

“What about you, Flicka? Why weren’t you chosen?” I ask.

“There were better healers than me, sorry. I still have a hard time with deep wounds.”

“Don’t worry about that! I think your two gifts are great. Ok, let’s go eat, I’m starving,” I say, pushing them towards the exit.

“Lou, can I talk to you alone for a minute?” Zach comes up behind me and is looking at me with a serious look on his face.

“Ok, you guys go on ahead, I’ll join you in the garden in a couple of minutes.”

My team members leave with a questioning look on their faces. Zach turns and spots Orpheus, who is watching us, or rather, who is watching him. I grab Zach’s arm, not meaning to anger Orpheus, but realizing that he’s now furious.

“Come on, let’s go.”

We leave the room and walk toward the library. As all the others are outside, we’re alone in the room.

“I’m so sorry to have left in such a rush. I think you know, but I had to go. I wanted to thank you for keeping an eye on the stables while I was gone. Look, I need to tell you something… Black is a manipulator. You saw what he did to me to get me out from under his feet! He’s going to use you, Lou, and I can’t sit back and watch it happen.”

“Zach, I’m a big girl now and I can take care of myself. Black doesn’t always do the right thing, but his intentions are good. We can trust him.”

Zach looks upset and shrugs, backing up.

“Trust? He’s the last person in the world I would ever trust. I want you to leave his place now. Training is over and you’ll have your team. I want you to promise never to see him again.”

Now he’s gone too far.

“What right do you have to tell me what to do? I think I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions about what’s best for me!”

“I don’t agree.”

“I’ve heard enough. You’re jealous, that’s all.”

“Jealous?? Of him?? Not likely…”

“You can’t have me, so you’re taking it out on Black because we seem close.”

“Oh, so you’re close, are you? So much has happened over the past three days! Don’t tell me that you and Black…?”

He seems to be blinded by rage and puts his hands over his face.

“No, nothing happened, but even if it had, that would be none of your business,” I tell him firmly.

“Perfect! So go ahead, straight into the lion’s jaws. He’s right, you’re nothing but a naïve little rabbit.”

And with that, he storms out of the room.

I can understand that he’s hurt, but his last insult went too far. I don’t need that kind of friend and maybe I should just cut my ties with him. But a small part of me still…still worries that he might be right.

I go back to my team who are out in the garden. They’ve already prepared a little plate of chocolate treats for me. They know what I like.

“Are you worried? Are you trying to buy my favor? I think I might choose other team members, I saw a lot of potential earlier,” I say, grabbing one of the still steaming croissants.

“Stop, you can’t do without us,” remarks Flicka, taking back my plate.

“You’re right! If the others couldn’t see your potential, that’s ok. I certainly can.”

Neither Black nor Zach seem to be in the garden. I hope they aren’t somewhere having a duel. The afternoon is a sunny one. All the enchanters have their turn, one after the other. Even the members of my team give it their all, including Pax, because no matter how many leaders choose them, they’ll want to be on my team. At least, that’s what I hope. At the end of the day, it’s finally time for me to seal my destiny. Once more there won’t be time for me to back out. Bethany invites us to come to her office one after the other and we tell her our choices in private. She writes down each of my choices without looking at me or commenting. Sitting next to her is Black, ramrod straight and supervising the selection process. I can imagine that’s the cause of Bethany’s silence. I spot a small bloody split in his lower lip and assume the worst.

The candidates who were chosen more than once go into the office one by one. I sit in the waiting room and am not surprised to see each one of my team members walk by. They come back out of the office, one after the other and each, in turn, winks at me. All, that is, except for Pyros, who is happy to simply nod his head. I presume that they’ve all accepted my offer.

After what seems like an eternity, we’re invited to return to the garden for the final announcement. Bethany reads out the completed teams, one of which is mine. I can only imagine how disappointed the others are who had chosen them for their team. They must have selected other candidates. Once the teams are all announced, I see the disappointment on the faces of those who didn’t make the cut. I’m happy to have my team but suddenly overwhelmed with another feeling. Where is Zach? What happened to him and Black?

I take out my cellphone and send him a text.

*Where are you? What happened?*

*Your boyfriend doesn’t like to be put in his place.*

*He’s not my boyfriend.*

*Whatever…*

*Is everything ok?*

*You’re worried? Stop pretending you care, I know you couldn’t care less!*

*It’s not like that at all, Zach. You’re my friend. Did he hurt you?*

*Not more than I hurt him. At least, he took it like a man and didn’t use any dirty tricks. Anyways, I left ages ago to go to the stables. At least, here they understand me.*

*I’ll come and meet you there later.*

*I don’t think your buddy will appreciate that.*

*Let me deal with him.*

Then, finally, there’s no reply. I can’t believe they fought over me.

“So, Lou, are you coming to celebrate with us? We’re going to eat at the Sweet Cauldron?” asks Flicka, a smile on her face.

“Sure, just let me tell Black. I don’t know if he had something planned.”

I walk over to where he’s standing by himself at the other end of the field drinking whiskey straight out of the bottle.

“So, I’m going over to the Sweet Cauldron with the others. Do you want to come?”

“No,” he replies, dryly.