Page 93 of Bonds of Magic
“I’ll try to tell you. Just…listen. How much do you remember of the conversation we had in Isaac’s office, the night you were attacked?”
“The night Erika died,” I said. “Me getting attacked barely matters, next to her death.”
“It might feel that way. But we’re pretty sure you were the prime target. Do you remember anything the dean told you that night?”
I cast my mind back. Most of that night was shrouded in confusion and pain. My memories were like shards of glass. They hurt when I tried to pick them up.
“Someone’s after me,” I said slowly. “They want to kidnap me to use me somehow.” I grimaced. “And the dean thinks it’s safer to have me here, where I could hurt other people with my presence, than to leave the school.”
“Isaac is right,” Noah said. “The potential for your power to be misused, if you were taken…”
“But how? You’ve never explained how that would happen. I swear, I would never do anything to hurt someone.”
“You wouldn’t have a choice,” Noah said. “And that really is as much as I can tell you about it, until Isaac decides it’s safe for you to know more. The only other important thing is that we think someone on the faculty might be in league with A—” he cut himself off sharply. “With the person who wants to use your power.”
A. The person’s name started with an A. That tickled something in the back of my mind, but I couldn’t remember what. Had Noah said that person’s name to me once? It felt like it was in my brain somewhere. But I couldn’t bring it to the surface.
“One of the faculty?” I repeated.
“At least one. Possibly more. We’re not sure. But if Erika was in a trance when she made that door, someone had to put her into it. We think it might be one of the wardkeepers. Isaac has me investigating, trying to find out for sure.”
I frowned. “If one of the professors here wanted to kidnap me, wouldn’t they have done it by now?”
“Not if they don’t know who you are. Only that you exist.”
“I don’t get it.”
“The man who killed Erika. I don’t know if you remember this, but you told us he said he thought he’d have to search for you for weeks.”
That sounded vaguely familiar, but that night was too clouded for me to be sure.
“We think that these people know you exist. They know that there’s an incubus at Vesperwood, but they’re not sure who it is. That’s why it’s so important to keep your nature a secret. That’s why Isaac wants you admitted to Horizon. We can’t convince people you’re a regular witch, but if we can convince them you’re a Hierophant, we can throw them off your scent.”
“But I am a witch,” I said, astonishment filling my chest.
In all my surprise at Noah’s appearance, I’d forgotten to share that bit of news.
He looked at me sharply. “What?”
“I did magic.” The shock of it was still fresh. “Professor Kazansky assigned Rekha Bakshi to tutor me. I thought it was going to be a waste of time, because I’m an incubus. But somehow… somehow, in the library, I was able to make a light.”
Noah’s eyes narrowed.
“I’m telling the truth,” I said.
“I believe you. I’m just thinking it through. Your mother was an incubus. She’s the one who disappeared after you were born. Incubi can’t stick around in the waking world for very long. Noteasily, anyway. But if she was an incubus, that means your father has to be a witch.”
All the excitement and marvel inside me went flat.
“No.”
“Cory, it makes sense.”
“No it doesn’t. My dad never did anything remotely magical. He would have hated stuff like that.”
“Maybe he did. Maybe that’s why he never used his powers. But he had them. And he passed them onto you.”
“No!” I shouted, and Cat flapped up into the air in surprise. They gave me a reproachful look when they settled back down to the bed, closer to the foot now.
