Dark Light of Day (22 page)

Two spots of color formed on my cheeks. I could feel them. Sure, a part of me was embarrassed. But a part of me was livid.

“Do you plan on giving this lecture to Ari?” I asked, looking straight at Rochester, my back stiff. He could eat me in one gulp, but I refused to be bullied. His question was out of line.

“Mr. Carmine will get a slightly different version,” Rochester said, returning my stare. But his posture remained relaxed. If he’d wanted to threaten me, I doubted he would be leaning against his desk while he did it. And his signature was far from fired up. Good thing. If Rochester ever lost it, I sensed it would be a seismic event.

“I heard your father sent you a familiar to work with before class,” Rochester said, changing controversial subjects at dizzying speed. “How did that go?”

“I killed her,” I said, thinking bluntness would be the best way to handle someone who seemed to know everything already.

Rochester grunted. “Did you read the books Dean Seknecus gave you before opening the ball?”

Slowly, I shook my head.

“It was a great gift that Seknecus bestowed on you, giving you his books. You should have read his margin notes.” Rochester’s massive physical presence and the bulk of his signature loomed over me. I forced myself not to look down.

“Pull out Skleros’
Lesser Demons
and open it to chapter nine,” he said.

I did. A picture of a demon familiar covered the first page of the chapter. The demon looked eerily like Serafina, with a distended belly, beady black eyes, and grayish green skin. It appeared to leap off the page, claws extended, a malevolent, evil grin on its face. I wondered if the artist had been an Angel (many were) and had infused the page with a bit of magic. My throat tightened and my belly clenched. The chapter was titled “Demon Familiars.” I started reading.

I couldn’t bear to read any more, but Seknecus’ bold strokes in the margin were impossible to ignore.

Only way out—Death or Dementia

I slammed the book shut. “Great, so my dad sent me something that had the power to kill me or the potential to drive me insane.”

“No. He sent you something that would teach you a valuable lesson. Demons enchant. Don’t become enchanted.”

I shoved Skleros’
Lesser Demons
into my bag, fighting to not cry. Did Rochester actually think I should be grateful for the gift I had to kill? Again I thought of the evergreen my mother had sent me. I would damn my parents, truly, if we weren’t all damned already. I swiped at a tear that slipped free.

“Nouiomo,” Rochester said softly, “If you were forced to kill the familiar to control her, that meant you’d become enchanted. It didn’t take long. I suspect you have a soft spot for demons. And Hyrkes, but that’s another discussion,” he said, waving his hand through the air. “Familiars are the best enchanters the demon class has to offer, but they are not the only thing in Halja that can enchant. Maegesters can enchant too.”

I frowned and shrugged. I hadn’t known but why did it matter? I wasn’t enchanting anybody.

“You and Ari Carmine are opposing counsel because I assign pairs based on rank. But there is another reason. I believe you are in danger of becoming enchanted by Mr. Carmine. The less time you spend with him the better.”

I
walked down the long hallway of the fourth floor of Rickard Building in a daze. I entered the winder lift and murmured “Lobby” to the operator. I don’t know if anyone else rode down with me. Maybe someone spoke to me. Maybe not. When I stepped out of the lift onto the ground floor of Rickard, I only knew I had something new to fear. I honestly wasn’t sure how many more things I could be afraid of without losing my mind.

In the lobby, St. Luck’s students were clustered in groups, talking and laughing. It was so loud, it was impossible to pick up individual conversations. Everyone was waiting for their next class to start. I had Sin and Sanction with Copeland in fifteen minutes. I couldn’t even remember what we were supposed to be discussing today. And I was supposed to be the Sin and Sanction expert.

I shoved and bumped my way through the crowd, thinking to find a quiet spot to sit before class. Somewhere that I could pull myself together and regroup. I could not think about the implications of my meeting with Rochester right now. If I did, I’d never make it through the rest of my day, since Ari was in all my classes.

Were my feelings for him the product of enchantment? If so, was Ari aware of his effect on me? Was he doing it on purpose? To what end?

I shook my head and sat down on the nearest bench, unable to go any farther. Around me, the din and buzz of conversations hummed along, with all oblivious to my distress.

I’d never thought the feelings between Ari and I would last, but I’d at least thought they were real. Now, I realized, they might not be. I was beyond feeling embarrassed by my
infatuation for Ari. I was afraid. After the ordeal with Serafina, I knew where enchantment could lead and I wanted no part of it. Hands on my knees, I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself with the thought that, at least if we broke it off now, the hurt would still be manageable. But could I do it? Even now, I scanned the crowd looking for him, desperately hoping to find him, desperately hoping I wouldn’t.

Luck below, was I already enchanted?

I felt him before I saw him, which ratcheted up my fear a notch. By the time he stepped into view, I was almost in full panic. I debated running off to Megiddo and skipping class, but that would only put off the inevitable. Ari stood in front of me, smiling. His hands were in his pockets and his backpack was casually slung over his shoulder.

“You did great today,” he said.

I said nothing, only swallowed and tried to shut my signature down to nothing. Magically, I tried to make myself small so I would be less of a target. I had no idea what would work or how to stop what was happening to us. Even while trying to shut down, a part of me opened to accept Ari’s signature. His warmth seeped into me unbidden. I bit the inside of my mouth to keep from crying out. Suddenly, Ari’s presence felt like a violation.

“Noon,” he said, dropping his pack to the floor and kneeling in front of me. “What’s wrong?” He grabbed my hands and a few of the students closest to us glanced our way. I shook my hands free of his and stood up, shaking.

“Nothing. Everything,” I said.

Realizing I was still capable of rejecting his touch made me less panicked. What I was feeling now didn’t feel like what I’d felt when I was with Serafina. She’d made me feel fuzzy headed and sleepy. Ari made me feel hypersensitive, ultra aware. I supposed enchantment could feel different depending on who was doing the enchanting, but the difference was enough to calm me. Rochester had said I was in danger of becoming enchanted, not that I already was. I took a deep breath.

“We’re going to be opposing counsel,” I said. “We probably
shouldn’t talk outside of class until the semester is over.”

“That’s four months from now,” Ari said, almost laughing. He seemed relieved now that I’d recovered from my fight-or-flight reaction to him. But when he realized I wasn’t joking, his expression became serious. “I can’t go four months only seeing you in class,” he said matter-of-factly.

Again I cursed how he made me feel. Just that simple statement had my heart racing, from elation, and then from fear.

“I don’t want to see you outside of class,” I said. “I don’t want to risk… things.”

“What things?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“You heard Rochester,” I said. “Collaboration between opposing counsel is prohibited.”

“We’re not planning on collaborating—or are we?” He gave me an impish grin. “Actually, I can think of several things I’d like to collaborate with you on.” His gaze caused a supernova-like explosion in my stomach. The aftershocks moved to other parts of my body and I squirmed.

“Ari,” I said, my tone a clear warning.

“Always so reluctant,” he chided. “Seriously, Noon, you’re not going to let Rochester’s pairing stand in the way of us, are you?”

“I wasn’t aware there was an ‘us.’”

Ari just looked at me, with one eyebrow raised. I guess it was stupid to deny a connection since even Rochester had picked up on it. The question was the nature and extent of the connection. Best to sever it now, while I was feeling confident about my decision.

“We should follow the rules, Ari.
Praeceptum primum, praeceptum solum.
Scrupulous rule following is ‘the first rule, the only rule,’ right? Opposing counsel shouldn’t collaborate and should avoid even the appearance of collaboration.”

I hated that I sounded preachy. Like everyone else in Halja, I was a rule follower. But it didn’t feel right to be giving Ari the wrong reason for not wanting to see him.

He studied me for a moment. I could feel his magic building.

“You’d better not,” I said.

“Better not what?”

“Just keep your magic to yourself. I don’t want any part of it.” His signature folded in on itself. I wondered if any other Maegesters were around to pick up on the byplay between us. If Rochester found out Ari was the first person I’d talked to after his class, it would confirm his suspicions about my susceptibility. I glanced around, nervously biting my lip.

“What did Rochester say that scared you so much?” Ari asked. His voice was calm and his signature roiled just below full boil, but eddies and undercurrents abounded. I had to be careful not to get swept up and pulled under.

“He didn’t,” I said, unable to meet Ari’s eyes.

“Noon,” Ari said, his voice going hard. “Don’t lie to me. I was only half-serious about not being able to wait four months to see you outside of class. I won’t like it, but I’ll wait if that’s what you want. I’d wait any amount of time, if at the end of it you’d finally accept who you are and the feelings I have for you. But I cannot, and will not, let you hide things from me again. Ever.” His voice shook with emotion.

His gaze stung. I felt immobilized, helpless to prevent the feelings that were spreading in me like venom. But meeting his eyes, I realized then that even the threat of death would not keep me from Ari Carmine. If I were enchanted, or to become enchanted, so be it. I wouldn’t lie to him. And I wouldn’t keep the truth from him.

I put my hand in his, pulling him through the crowd.

“Come on,” I said. “We only have a few minutes before Copeland’s class.”

He followed me without reservation. We made our way through the crowd. More than a few people glanced our way. But it was the type of look I was beginning to get used to. They didn’t stare because they thought we were conspiring, they stared because one day we would be Maegesters.

I led Ari through the front door of Rickard, around the
corner of the building, and into a narrow alley. The north side of Rickard was the edge of campus so there weren’t any other students there. Across from Rickard was a warehouse. The tall walls of the two buildings blocked most of the sun and the area was dark and cold. Neither of us had our cloaks; they were hanging in our lockers. I was glad for the warmth of Ari’s hand around mine as I pulled him farther into the alley. It would have been convenient to use enchantment as an excuse for what happened next, but I knew I wasn’t that far gone.

Yet.

Halfway down the alley I stopped and looked around, seeing no one. I looked up at Ari and let my feelings run riot. No longer restrained, my magic heated up immediately. Rochester said I added emotion to my magic to make it stronger. I could feel that happening. Every emotion I had felt in the last hour got rolled up into a tight little ball in my chest. Trepidation over my first Manipulation class. Horror over Brunus’ bloody nose. Pleasure at proving I could provoke Ari with my magic. Shame over realizing my methods were unorthodox and dangerous. Embarrassment, anger, guilt, grief, fear, and then finally abandonment, recklessness, and desire. The ball in my chest grew so dense, I could barely breathe. I grabbed Ari’s hand and started untucking my shirt.

“What are you doing, Noon?” he asked, suddenly alarmed.

Instinctively, I knew that what I was about to do would cause something irreversible to happen. I remembered Ari’s words the first time I’d met him at Infernus.

It’s called a
signare,
which is the magical equivalent of pressing your thumb into someone else’s heart.

But I could no more stop the building emotion within me than I could stop killing a garden as I walked through it. I brought Ari’s hand up under my shirt and placed his bare palm over my demon mark, skin to skin.

The ball in my chest exploded. My knees buckled and I nearly dropped to the stone floor of the alley.

A searing wind, with us at its epicenter, raced through the narrow tunnel of the alley, burning trash and laying waste
everything in its path. Fortunately, there wasn’t much. Thank Luck there hadn’t been any Hyrkes around. They would have been fried on the spot. But they were coming. I heard the doors of Rickard bang open as people shouted, no doubt wondering what had caused the echoing boom they’d heard. Ari stood rooted before me, his hand still on my chest. His expression was like none I’d ever seen before, rife with as many emotions as I’d just released. He looked up at the Hyrkes gathering at the far end of the alley. They were just far enough away for their faces to be unclear.