Page 23 of The Holy Academy of Witches

“That’s not what I’ve heard. He can make you his slave, repay the debt in all manner of dark deeds.” Her face was twisted into disgust.

“Those are fairy tales.” I tried to keep calm as I traced some markings over her phone.

“Life bonds are fairy tales! Anything could be true. And you refusing to tell me his name makes this all much worse.”

“How could telling you his name make anything better? You gonna kill him to free me from it?”

“No, of course not!”

“Well there you go then. It’s my mark, my business,” I placed her phone in my pocket and laced my fingers in my lap.

“That’s terribly selfish Sage, we’ve only just met… how can you expect me to trust you?”

“Exactly. We’ve only just met, and I have a lot more to lose if this becomes public.”

“You don’t understand, these people… this dorm, is my family. I have to protect them.”

“I would never hurt them.”

“He could make you!” She spat.

Visions started unfurling in my mind. Fear. Pain. Panic. “He couldn’t! That’s a lie!” I shouted, head bowed again, as I pushed the images back.

“You don’t know that!”

“Neither do you!” I yelled.

“I won’t risk them for your peace of mind.”

The world began to blur as I felt my mind’s walls crumble. Cillian’s taunts about my weakness grew louder.

“Tell me what happened, who it is,” She persisted, “Or I’ll tell the whole school.”

“No.”

“You owe me something, to keep this secret and for putting us in danger.”

“I… owe you? You think that almost dying is my fault?” Theo’s devastated face flashed in my mind - briefly halting the flash of colours - the repressed memories fighting for my attention.

Your fault your fault your fault.

“Of course it’s your fault, who else should be responsible for your life?” She summoned her phone out of my pocket, “I’ll be telling them about the mark if you don’t give me a name.”

With a plea to the universe for understanding, I activated the runes I had traced onto her phone.

She screamed and dropped the phone, the silencing hex burning her hand. I looked away, I couldn’t bear the betrayal in her eyes.

“I think you’ll find you won’t be telling anyone about me or my mark,” I whispered.

Her eyes filled with tears as the hex held her tongue. Walking back to the freezer, I grabbed the gallon of cherry and chocolate chunk ice cream it offered. Not bothering with a bowl, I grabbed a spoon before turning around. “…It’s just a silencing hex. You’ll be fine.”

She narrowed her eyes, the collecting tears running slowly down her cheeks. I looked away before the guilt could overwhelm me. Right or wrong it was done, I hadn’t lost control. I’d just done what I could, what my parents had spent our limited time teaching me, in case anyone discovered the secret I’d willingly told Cillian. I guess life would never go the way I planned.

* * *

A book, I needed a book, any book. No… that wasn’t true. I needed agoodbook. The kind that sent you into a deep meditative state, heart rate slowing and racing to the story like music. I needed a book that helped me forget who I was and everything that came along with it. But where was I supposed to find that kind of book? The library’s endless floors continued up the tower. Bonds and curses had been much more straightforward to find, but what level would Fantasy be on? Romance? Were there any in stock? A directory, that’s what I needed. I continued brushing the books’ spines as I was enjoying the sparks of magic prickling against my fingertips, until I heard a loud thump. Looking back, I saw a thick tome with the word: “Directory” appearing across the cover in the same golden font from the doors.

“Excellent,” I muttered, as I picked up the heaviest book of my life. Stumbling over to a table, I set it down as gently as possible. The spine creaked as I opened it, causing me to wince in fear of breaking the binding of what had to be a priceless piece.

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