Page 54 of Bonds of Magic
Footsteps flowed through the corridor once again, then disappeared up the stairs to the main level of the manor. My heart was still beating fast, and my stomach hurt more than ever. I don’t even think I breathed until Felix said, “Okay, they’re gone,” and I could suddenly see again.
The hallway was empty except for us—and we looked like ourselves again. I didn’t know if Ash had stopped the glamor intentionally, or if it had broken in our mad dash out of Hunt, but it felt good to be back in my own skin.
“Come on,” Felix said, heading towards the refectory. “We should get away from here.”
“But wait, whatwasthat?” I asked, following after him and Ash. “What did you do?”
“Nephilim have power over light and darkness,” he said. “I showed you that before, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, in my room, but I still don’t understand how it worked. Why didn’t the Hunters come and investigate the huge black cloud that was suddenly inhabiting this corner of the hallway? And how come you were sure the hallway was empty just now? I couldn’t see anything in that blackness.”
“Because the magic doesn’t affect me the same way it does you,” Felix said as we stopped in front of the doors to the refectory. “And the shadow encouraged them to look away. It’s hard to seewhen you’re inside it, but from the outside, shadow and light can manipulate your thinking a bit.” He made a face. “To be honest, we’re lucky that manipulation didn’t count as harm. I had to take an oath that I wouldn’t use my powers against anyone at Vesperwood when I was accepted.”
“Jesus, we could have been sitting ducks down there,” Ash grumbled.
“But we weren’t. That’s what counts.”
Ash looked at him, disgusted. “First Cory, now you.I’msupposed to be the reckless one, you guys. You’re stealing my whole thing.”
“Well, you’re being very reckless by continuing to have this conversation in a spot we shouldn’t be standing in,” Felix said, heading up the broad stairs that led to the main level. “We really ought to split up now and head back to our rooms.”
“What?” Ash squawked. “I still don’t even know what happened back there. Where did that lightning come from? And Cory, what did you hear on the other side of that—”
He broke off as a group of juniors passed in front of us, and Felix shot him a warning look.
“Like I said, it’s safest if we split up. We can talk about it more tomorrow, but right now, all of Hunt is looking for a group of three students who broke into their haven. Let’s not give them any reason to think it was us.”
Felix had a point, which was how I found myself back in my room, examining the skin of my abdomen in the mirror on the back of the door. The lightning bolt had burnt a hole through my sweater, and my skin was covered in angry red blisters. It stillhurt, but I didn’t want to risk a trip to the bathroom to rinse it with cold water. Felix was right. We couldn’t afford to look out of the ordinary right now.
I grimaced, replaying our flight from Hunt Haven in my mind. I wished I had a knife or a sword or something. Sure, it wouldn’t have helped against lightning bolts, but I was sick of always running away. I didn’t like feeling like a coward.
For now, though, all I wanted to do was sleep. The pain of the burn was sapping whatever energy I had left after our escape. Gingerly, I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled my sweater off so the fabric wouldn’t touch my skin anymore. Then I lay back against my pillow.
I would just lie here and rest my eyes for a minute. Then I’d get up and go to the bathroom, after things had calmed down a bit. Clean the burn, find a way to bandage it. Maybe tomorrow I could concoct a story about an accident and go see Cinda. But for now, I’d close my eyes and…
A loud pounding on my door woke me up with a start, and I sat bolt upright in bed. I immediately pressed a hand to my stomach. The sudden movement hurt my skin. I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen asleep.
Who would be banging on my door? Shit, could it be Valeria and her Hunter friends? What if they’d somehow figured out it was us?
“Who is it?” I called, forcing myself to stand.
I braced for the door to slam inwards, but it didn’t. Instead, Noah’s voice sounded from the other side.
“It’s me. Come on, you’ve got a lesson.”
10
CORY
My eyes widened. I’d completely forgotten about our lesson. Our misadventure in Hunt Haven had pushed it out of my head entirely.
“Coming,” I called. “I’ll be right out.”
Noah had never actually opened my door before, but with my luck, tonight would be the first time. I scrambled to pull on a new shirt and grab my coat, grimacing in pain as my skin stretched and moved. I smacked the back of my hand on the wall when pulling on my coat, and while jumping in pain from that, managed to stub my toe on the desk. I was breathing hard and looked like a raccoon popping up from a trashcan by the time I finally got the door open.
“Everything alright in there?” Noah said, arching an eyebrow.
“Yeah.” I shook myself, then wished I hadn’t. “Yeah, all good.”
