Blowing Embers

Chapter 50

            “That’s my journal!” Makol cried, taking a step forward.

            Holding above his head, far out of reach of the shorter boy, Shuu smiled. “Indeed it is. An entry we should read,” he said, bringing the book back down as the other boy froze, eyes going wide. Smirking now, Shuu leafed quickly through the pages, eyes scanning them, before he frowned. Shrugging, he passed the still open journal to Kallai. “Your language I not can read. An entry you choose and for all of us, aloud do read.”

            She took it carefully, eyes already drawn to the half a dozen references to Spellless in the left hand’s day. She swallowed hard but squared her shoulders, bringing her chin up so she could look all three of her tormentors in the face before she began.

            “That book could be a fake!” Azaz growled, his finger jabbing forward as he pointed at Shuu. “He obviously planted it to distract from the things that she’s done.”

            “Your friend already admitted it’s his,” Sevilen said, quiet voice carrying, his  brown eyes blazing as they looked at the boy. “I think we’re all interested in hearing what exactly has been written by your compatriot. Go ahead, Kallai.”

            She nodded, swallowing again as her mouth was already dry again. “The third day of Wolf Moon, year five hundred and twelve since the founding of the Council,” she began, hoping the adults took note of the date that was less than three months ago. “We, me, Azaz, and Eran, arrived at dinner early, but were disappointed to find that it was fish pie. Even the dessert, a plain custard, did little to improve our moods. But then Azaz pointed out that Spellless was in the room, hiding among some of the Violets.

            He told us not to look, said we should leave and act like we were going to mess around in the distance range. We did, Eran barely able to keep the act together. Azaz had to hit him for looking at Spellless, but we still managed to get out into the hall without any trouble. There we waited.

            While we stood there, Azaz mentioned a new spell book he’d found in the library, this one full of Outer spells. Some were too advanced to master immediately, even for him, but he said he’d been practicing some of the easier ones, and he couldn’t wait to try them out. I’d also been studying a new one, a variation on the classic throwing spell, so I was glad we had the chance to try them out.

            We didn’t have to wait too much longer before Spellless came out, hugging the wall like she always does. She’s like a mouse, stupid, scared, and useless. The fact her parents didn’t drown her at birth shocks me.”

            Kallai had to stop there, hands closing tightly around the edges of the book as she took a long, shuddering breath. She blinked back the tears, trying to focus on finishing her reading. It was the only thing that would ensure they weren’t allowed near her ever again. She glanced at Shuu, who kept his expression unreadable, though she did notice that his hair was waving faster than it had been. That oddly made her feel better, enough that she could continue.

            “But whatever. A crowd of Greens came out then, and we were able to hurry along beside them, so we could cut her off from the girl’s dorm. She has a habit of bolting in there, and the teachers have made it clear if we’re caught in there, we’ll never be free of punishment duty, even if we graduate.

            It worked, and she had no choice but to run towards one of the outside doors. She’s fast, but opening the door always takes her time, so by the time she had it open, we were there. Azaz grabbed one arm, while I grabbed the other. We dragged her outside after Eran looked around for teachers.

            Once away from the doors, and with everyone else still at dinner, we knew we were safe. Azaz shoved Spellless against a wall as we spread out so she couldn’t escape. She shook, as she always does, her hair hiding her face. Azaz smiled, and said she was going to help him master this spell, since he’d spent so long practicing it.

            She shifted, trying to find an escape route as he started to chant, but me and Eran moved so she couldn’t. You could actually see her shake harder the farther along Azaz got with his chant. But then again, even she knew what was coming.

            After speaking the word of engagement, Azaz walked forward, his hands out. She tried to dodge, but he closed his hands around her wrists. She screamed then, her knees buckling. Azaz let her fall, chuckling as he walked back. ‘Fire ant skin,” he told us. ‘It makes the victim feel like every inch of their skin has been bitten. Sadly, it wears off quickly.”

            Kallai couldn’t help a faint shudder, remembering that day and the spell vividly. It had appeared in her nightmares before, except there, it really was a bunch of fire ants that swarmed her, digging their pinchers into her flesh until she screamed. She bit her lip, but kept going, the end in sight.

            “Looking back at Spellless, I could see her already struggling to her feet, tears streaking her face. The ugly cow was asking us to stop, something that always makes me laugh. You’d think, since we never do, that’d she have figured it out. But no, she’s useless and stupid.

            Sadly, her scream was heard by someone, because we heard shouts and the sound of someone running towards us. We had to bolt, leaving her there to cry or whatever it is she actually does with herself. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get to try out my spell, but it’s not like I can’t just do it next time.”

            Kallai closed the book with a snap before she looked up. The expressions on the adults faces mostly ranged between disgust and horror, with some notable exceptions. The first she noticed was Sevilen.

            His brown eyes practically shooting sparks, his hands trembling, his face flushed, he had two muscles jumping in his cheeks. With obvious effort, he opened his mouth. “If you will excuse me,” he said to no one, even his voice shaking. “I need a moment to compose myself.” Without another word, he stalked a short distance off.

            Once he was a few dozen feet away, he threw his head back and roared, the sound of it echoing through the room, the volume so loud that Kallai could almost feel the ground tremble beneath her. She winced, hoping he didn’t do anything besides yell. If he decided to exact his own revenge, the boys didn’t stand a chance. Not that she’d stop him. Not unless he would be in trouble for doing it.

            Kallai’s eyes were drawn back to Shuu when he moved, his hand reaching out to grab hers in a grip that was just short of painful. He jerked his head towards the boys, his eyebrows up, the question plain even to her. She smiled, feeling a flood of warmth over his willingness to defend her, but shook her head. He might think her odd for it, but Kallai knew official punishment would sting more sharply and for far longer than anything they could mete out. But a hissing sound had her turning away from Shuu.

            Eyes filled with hate as he stared at her, Azaz continued to chant.