The Charm (H. Academy Series #2)

Chapter 5: Troubled

Thar's fingers touched my upper arm, "I need some fresh air."

"Yeah, me too." My mouth wouldn't close.

Morta crossed her hands next to me, "Dude, I've never felt anything like this. It's like-"

"He's radiating magic."

"Jade, the lust charm." Thar's palm curled gently around my upper arm.

"Right-"

Then, I realised. Whatever Leon was radiating, I couldn't feel. My cheeks flushed, but I took in a breath and shook it off.

"Let's get out of here." I turned on my heel and headed for the door. "Morta!"

"Right, right." She hopped after me.

Thar opened the door and let us out. The fresh air and silence slammed into me. The sun started its descent towards the horizon, and it was significantly colder now. I wrapped my hands around myself and leaned against the column on the porch. Morta dropped on the first step, wine cup still in hand. Thar leaned against the opposite column.

A sheen of sweat covered his forehead and his eyes glinted.

"What now?" I breathed.

"I don't know, man." Morta swallowed more wine. "What if he eats them all?"

A strong urge to defend him now took over me.

"I don't think he's going to eat them." I murmured. "He could have eaten me, but he didn't."

Guilt began gnawing at me as soon as I finished the sentence. My words weren't a lie, but they weren't the truth either.

"What happened earlier today?" Thar asked the question I feared. "When you were..."

"Nothing, he had a fever." I spoke quickly. "He was in real bad shape when I arrived, and it wasn't feigned. But then, when we woke up, he was different. His fever broke, and he looked healthy-"

"When you woke up?" Thar asked.

My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't answer that. I couldn't.

Fortunately, Thar shook his head, "How long have you been there? That's all I need."

"Four hours." I bit my lip as soon as I said that, knowing that the implication was worse than the truth.

"And he hasn't done anything?" Thar asked, seemingly unfazed by my revelations.

I shook my head, "Told me he was a demon, got in the Porsche, and drove here."

"Okay, that's good, right?" Morta slurred, her eyes jumping between Thar and me. "It means he's not, I don't know, eating our magic, right?"

There lay the rub. Demons ate magic. I didn't have magic. He had nothing to eat.

"I don't think he's going to eat anyone." There, not a lie, but not the truth either.

"Are you sure, Jade?" Thar looked at me; a quiet demand behind his dark irises.

I wanted to believe I knew Leon better than to accuse him. My argument wasn't paper thin, but it wasn't solid either. Leon never guaranteed anything. But... we had to be clever about this.

"No." I breathed. "We're dealing with something we don't understand, so I can't tell you for sure what to expect. But I don't think we can afford to be rash."

Thar cocked his head to the side, and even Morta put the cup down.

I swallowed my heartbeat, "He's still Leon, sort of. He has the same memories, same tendencies, and probably same agendas."