Bitter Magic Read online

  Bitter Magic

  Born of Light Book 2

  Raven Steele

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

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  Truth is beautiful, without doubt; but so are lies.

  * * *

  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Chapter 1

  People told me life would return to normal, but how could it after you’d killed someone? Or some thing. Life would never be the same again, apparently starting with my new dorm room at Lucent Academy.

  “Why does it smell like blood in here?” I dropped my duffle bag on the perfectly made bed. The pink floral bedspread wrinkled its way out of perfection.

  “What a silly thing to say,” my aunt Sophie said. “This room is practically brand new.”

  “I don’t think so.” I glanced under the bed. Where was that smell coming from? “Did a butcher live in here?”

  May, my best friend, walked through the door. “What butcher?”

  “The butcher who killed a cow in my room.” I looked all around for its source. My dorm room was twice the size of my bedroom back home but not nearly as comfortable. The wild rose-colored walls and heavy wooden chests screamed pretentious. So not my style.

  May wrinkled her nose. “There was a cow?”

  Sophie groaned. “Really, Llona. You have such an imagination.” She turned to May; her long and ruffled blue skirt followed. “Did you find your room satisfactory?”

  “I did. And thanks again for inviting me here.”

  Sophie placed a hand on her shoulder. “Lucent’s glad to have you. We always look forward to having new Furies.”

  “When’s dinner?” I asked. May and I had been traveling for a week since leaving Utah. Sophie thought it would be fun to let us sightsee before we started school again. At first, I thought it was a great idea, but by our third museum and our tenth fast-food restaurant, all I wanted was a good meal and a place to call home.

  “In about twenty minutes.” She swiped her finger along the edge of the chair rail, obviously inspecting for dust. “Why don’t you get settled, and then come on down when you hear the chimes. Do you remember where to find the dining room?”

  “Um, first floor, all the way at the end,” I answered. Sophie had given us a quick tour on the way up. There were so many rooms, I was surprised I’d remembered.

  “Good. I’ll see you girls down there. Oh, and by the way, Llona, even though Auras aren’t normally unkind, just remember that they’re still teenagers trying to discover who they are. Sometimes they say things that surprise even me.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  She paused. “You’ve been on the outside your whole life. They may view you as different.”

  “Fantastic. So I was a freak before and now you’re saying I’m a freak here too?”

  “No, it will just take a while for the girls to get to know you. I’m sure once they do, they will love you just like I do.”

  Uh-huh, sure. ’Cause that’s how girls are.

  “I wish Christian was here,” I mumbled and turned my attention to my bag so she wouldn’t see me scowling. It was amazing how easily adults forgot what it’s like to be young and on the outside.

  “What did you say?” Sophie asked.

  I looked up, surprised she’d heard me. “Nothing.”

  Sophie pursed her lips like she wanted to say more but thought better of it. “Try not to be late, girls.”

  The door closed.

  May jumped onto my bed. “Can you believe this place? It’s like right out of a fairy tale. I feel like a princess!”

  I forced a smile and shoved my clothes into the nearest dresser.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing I can’t get over.” I crinkled my nose. “Except for this awful smell.”

  “What smell?”

  “You really don’t smell it?” I opened the closet doors and with just a thought turned on the light. The walk-in closet was bare except for a thin layer of dust covering the wooden floor.

  “It might smell a little musty,” May offered. “Do you really think the other girls will be mean to us?”

  I shrugged. “Probably not to you. From what I hear, Furies are a rare find. I’m sure they’ll treat you like the diamond you are!”

  I grinned and sat down next to her, but I secretly wondered how things would be different if I were a Fury instead of an Aura. May’s ability to create and control fire was pretty cool. Not only that, but Furies, especially good ones, were rare. That’s why Auras were always excited to have one around. Then again, being an Aura had its perks too, if I could use it the way I wanted to, as a weapon. At Lucent, however, Light was only to be used to edify and beautify the world around us. Ugh.

  May laughed. “You sound just like your aunt.”

  I sighed. “This place is going to take some getting used to.”

  May nodded, her fingers tugging at a loose string on my bed.

  “How are you doing?” I asked. She had been quiet on the drive over from New York City, but I didn’t dare ask her what was wrong in front of the man who had escorted us to Lucent Academy, a school over a hundred miles north of Coast City.

  “For some reason, I thought I’d feel better putting all this space between us and high school, but I almost feel worse. It’s like I’ve run away or something.” May looked up at me, searching for understanding. “Does that make sense?”

  “It does. It feels like we’re betraying Tracey by being here. We get to live our lives while she’s six feet under.” Beneath the pillow on my lap, I dug my nails into my palm, remembering how Mr. Steele, a Vyken posing as my math teacher, had sliced my friend’s throat. And even worse, it was my fault. My selfishness had left Tracey dead, May injured, and many others traumatized. If only I would’ve left for Lucent sooner.

  “Are you going to call Christian tonight?” May asked, like she thought mentioning the name of the guy I loved would help me forget about what happened.

  I forced another smile. “I have to call my uncle Jake first to let him know I’m finally here, and if I don’t have someone standing over me, I’ll call Christian next.”

  “I can’t believe they won’t let you talk to him,” May said.

  “Oh, I can talk to him, but it’s,” I made air quotes, “really frowned upon.”

  Christian wasn’t my official Guardian anymore, but it still wasn’t considered proper for us to speak informally to each other.

  May chuckled and stood. “I better finish unpacking before we have to go downstairs. Come grab me when you’re ready.”

  After May shut the door, I opened the window to let in fresh air. I was looking forward t
o the cooler weather. I didn’t think I could’ve handled sunny and warm at this point in my life. There was nothing bright about it. Every night for the last week, I’d been having nightmares like nothing I’d ever experienced before. I kept dreaming of death; vivid pictures of people drowning, burning, being strangled.

  I inhaled deeply and shook my head, shaking the images from my mind.

  A window screen prevented me from seeing the full extent of Lucent. I traced its edges until I found the latch. I popped out the screen, slid it under my bed, and then returned to the window. Leaning out as far as I could, I scanned the area.

  My room was located in the right wing of Chadni Hall. I was on the third of four floors, which was for sixteen-year-olds and upperclassmen. When we had first arrived, I was in awe at the size of the school, but now looking at everything from this high in the air, Lucent seemed so much bigger.

  The sun was setting, taking the shadows of trees and buildings with it. They stretched long and thin, crossing into each other until they blurred into the forest just beyond a tall rock wall surrounding the school.

  Behind the main building were three more buildings almost as big as Chadni Hall. If I remembered correctly, the square, three-story building to my left was Denelle Hall where all the classes were held. To the right of it was a circular, red brick building with tall, white columns. Sophie had called it Risen Auditorium. That’s where the theatre and the music rooms were. And in between these two buildings was the tallest structure of all: a gray stone clock tower. Finally, toward the rear of the school grounds, the square shape of Lambert House stood, which Sophie said were living quarters. She didn’t say for whom though.

  From Denelle Hall, a steady line of people headed toward my building. I sucked in a deep breath. That was a lot of teenagers, most younger than me but still intimidating. Just then, one of the girls’ faces turned up in my direction. I quickly ducked back in my room and away from the window.

  Already the fresh air was making a difference on the smell. Either that or I was getting used to it. I sat down at the vanity and ran a brush through my hair. Maybe someone at Lucent could show me how to change it, I hoped. I was tired of its blonde, almost white, color. I always thought I’d look better with brown hair, like May’s, but dye never worked on my hair.

  A tinkling sound, as if someone had waved a magic wand, chimed. I assumed it was the dinner bell Sophie had talked about.

  I swept my long hair to the side of my neck and examined the two small holes where Mr. Steele had bitten me. They were still there, as if it had happened yesterday. The red, swollen edges around the wounds made them look like eyes. I quickly applied concealer. I hated the way the marks stared at me, accusingly.

  I leaned back in my chair, thinking. How could I have not recognized that something was wrong with Mr. Steele? At the time, I’d thought it was because of some weird attraction, but looking back, I could see how stupid that was. For months Mr. Steele had secretly terrorized me, forcing the Light within me to mature early just so he could steal it from me like he did when he’d killed my mother.

  The Light in an Aura’s blood was the one thing Vykens wanted most because it gave them many powers, including the ability to change their appearance. But Mr. Steele had underestimated my abilities. With the help of Christian, I had learned to use my ability over Light as a weapon—a weapon that ultimately saved my life.

  However, my victory came with a price.

  Mr. Steele had bit me, and ever since then I felt something growing inside me. It was dark and contentious, and its evil pressed on me from the inside out. I’d never felt dirtier, like I’d been touched by the worst kind of monster imaginable.

  I turned away from the mirror and pulled a pink beanie over my head. Enough of the past.

  I stood and was about to open my door to get May when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I glanced to my left, to the corner of the room where it was the darkest. There was nothing there, only an old dresser. I waited a second longer but nothing happened. Strange.

  May opened my door, startling me. “What’s with the weird chimes?”

  “I don’t know, but if I have to hear that every day, I think I’ll go crazy.”

  “I know, right?” May turned to the mirror and adjusted her hair. She was wearing a different outfit—it looked brand new—and she had reapplied her makeup. She must be nervous. I never considered how hard this must be for her. She had guarded her secret of being a Fury for so long, that to all of a sudden be surrounded by people who knew the truth might be overwhelming.

  “Everyone is going to love you, and I’m not just saying that.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go be the new kids.”

  May, with her easy-going personality, would fit right in, but I wouldn’t, nor did I care to. I was here for one reason only: to learn as much as I could about my ability, then I was out of here. I didn’t want to be a part of the Auras’ strange culture that didn’t allow us to reach our full potential. I wanted more.

  We were almost to the end of the hall when a door opened and four laughing girls appeared, but when they saw us they stopped.

  “Hi, guys,” May said in passing and smiled.

  They said nothing, just stared like we were a new zoo exhibit. But before we turned the corner, my sensitive ears, which I’d inherited from my Guardian father, heard one of them whisper, “I can’t believe they put her in that room. I bet she’s dead by the end of the month.”

  Chapter 2

  I paused for just a moment, wondering if I’d heard correctly, but when May glanced back at me, I ignored the cold chill rooting itself in my spine and continued downstairs.

  The dining room wasn’t at all what I expected. It looked more like a grand ballroom inside a five-star hotel. Ten chandeliers hung from a white-trimmed ceiling, and in between square moldings were paintings of what I imagined heaven would look like. It should have made me feel all ethereal, but instead I felt unworthy.

  Positioned perfectly throughout the room were dozens of circular tables, each decked out like Martha Stewart had decorated them. Even the tall glass vases in the center of the tables held real flowers. I glanced down at my attire—jeans and a t-shirt. “Do you think we should go back and change?”

  “No, we’re good. Everyone else is dressed casually too.”

  I looked up, seeing the other girls for the first time. Most of them were already seated, but they were so still and quiet, it’s no wonder I had missed them. I would’ve thought they were statues if it hadn’t been for their eyes, which were darting around the room meeting the gazes of other girls as if they were silently communicating.

  “Where should we sit?” May whispered while we stood awkwardly in the doorway.

  “Let’s go—”

  “Can I have your attention, please?” Sophie’s voice boomed through a speaker nearby. I jumped and grabbed May. Everyone turned to the front of the dining room. Sophie was standing at a podium speaking into a microphone.

  “I know we don’t normally interrupt your dinner,” she said, “but we have a couple of new girls we’d like to introduce to you.”

  I groaned. Nice, Sophie. Couldn’t you have waited a day?

  Sophie motioned us over. May and I glanced at each other.

  “Come on now, don’t be shy,” Sophie said, like we were first graders at a new school. I could strangle her.

  May moved first. I followed her lead through the maze of tables up to the front. The hard stares of the girls drilled holes right through me.

  When we reached the front, Sophie said, “This is Llona Reese, and this is May Cellini. Llona is an Aura, and May is a Fury.”

  A unison gasp broke the silence. Their eyes moved to May, relieving me of their cold stares.

  “Let’s make them feel welcome,” Sophie continued. “It’s not often we get new girls.” She turned to us. “Welcome to Lucent Academy!”

  A polite applause, like the gentle pitter-patter of a spring rain,
echoed across the great room. I bowed my head slightly in acknowledgment, but wondered if I should have curtsied or something.

  As soon as their clapping slowed, May followed as I dived toward the nearest seat. The table was almost full. I smiled at the other girls, who I just now recognized as the ones who’d joked about my room and me turning up dead inside it. Awesome.

  The girls didn’t say or do anything—just remained in their statue-like stance—but then the magical chimes sung their song, and it was as if the sound woke the girls. The room burst into an array of sounds all at once: girls chatted and laughed, dishes clanked together as many poured water into their glasses, and doors at the side of the room flew open, letting in a steady stream of people in uniforms, carrying platters of food. From where I sat, I smelled chicken and broccoli.

  A girl across the table said, “So, May, Llona,” there was contempt in her voice when she said my name. She’d obviously heard something about me she didn’t like. “I’m Ashlyn and these are my friends, Valerie, Anna, Jan, and Katie.”

  The girls smiled and said hello.

  “Welcome to our school,” Ashlyn said. “It’s always nice to have a Fury among us.”

  Ashlyn was very pretty with petite features and long strawberry-blonde hair that fell past her shoulders in big curls. I wondered how she was able to get curls that big. I reached up and tugged at my own straight hair.

  “Where are you from?” Valerie asked May. Valerie’s blue eyes were the same navy blue color as her baby-doll t-shirt.