Awakened (Unbound, Book 3)

Chapter Eight

"Nora?"

My head snapped up. "Go. Away."

Calin stepped around the racks of clothing and into view, a frown bringing down his lips and worry lines creasing his brow. All the anger he felt had dissipated into concern, but it felt just as debilitating and grew as he hunched down in front of me. Calin studied me for a minute until I felt like I was going to crack like an egg to spill out on the floor. Just as I felt I couldn't take it anymore, he sat, turning so that he was on my left with his back against the wall.

"What's going on?"

"I—" Shaking my head, I swallowed but couldn't continue. As soon as I tried to speak, the lights began to flicker.

Calin sighed and looked straight ahead, a new emotion mixing in with his concern—confusion. A moment later he reached down and twined our fingers together. The electric shock that seized my body jolted with contact, then hummed at a manageable simmer. Finally. I could feel the anger subside and felt as though I could finally speak.

"What happened at school?" I asked once I found my voice, afraid of asking how he could calm me so easily. What if knowing the answer diluted its effect? "How'd you get in the bathroom?"

"The lock can be picked with your hairpin thingy."

I was surprised he hadn't used magic. "And school?"

"You mean the prank?"

I nodded, biting my lip. Did I want to know? Absolutely not. But in order to deal with what the adults wouldn't and face whatever I was probably going to be sucked into, I had to know. It was the only defense.

"Well..." Calin looked down at me and shrugged. "The guys in fourth-period gym class were taking their physicals, which includes climbing ropes. During the third round, one of the guys fell from his position near the top."

"How is that a prank?" I scoffed. "It sounds like a lack of upper body strength."

"It seemed like an accident, but when the janitor untied the rope, it appeared that the rope had been cut through halfway." Calin sighed and rested his head against the wall to gaze up to the ceiling. "It was a matter of time. The first two rounds were the boys' coach knew would take the longest."

"The scrawny ones, you mean."

"Yes."

"And the boy who fell?"

Calin moved his head again, lifting it from the wall to look at me. "Kyle broke his arm. He had to go to the hospital."

The hospital? A broken arm could have just as easily been a crushed skull. The pranks had always been annoying, and I remembered thinking how bad the blue dye could have been if someone had been allergic. This? Was dangerous, which meant....

I jumped to my feet, pulling Calin up beside me without letting go of his hand. "This is exactly what Duvessa wanted!"

"I'm not following you."

He tried to pull his hand back, but I wasn't willing to lose the clarity I felt, and he used his free hand to scratch his chin. I held his gaze, hoping he would catch on, but he shook his head. Rolling my eyes, I pulled Calin's hand and then dropped it to my side.

"The prank at the dance caused property damage, now bodily injury? If the pranks are hurting people, the fact of my amnesia isn't going to stop anyone from pointing fingers my way."

"So, Duvessa escalated to hurting people so that you can be framed again?"

I nodded. "I may not have had a lot of time to think about it, but it fits. Can't say it makes sense, though."

Calin's eyebrows pinched together. "So now what can we do? Obviously, you're going to get called in to see Mr. Corbin, right?"

"Unless he's had a lobotomy, yeah."

"So, we plan a trap or...?" He waved his free hand in circles. "Is there another way of catching her? Can we stop her if we can't prove her guilt?"

"I don't know. Or, at least I don't remember." Looking away, I knew if he studied me, he would see I was lying.

Magical signatures were a perfect way of catching Duvessa for the pranks, but only when she used her abilities to accomplish the task. The essence of a person's magic is left behind when they use it, like a fingerprint identifying people for the police and morgues. But, like fingerprints in the various judicial systems, the person's signature would have to be known before it could be identified.

In other words, I would have to trick Duvessa into using her abilities in front of me before I could make the connection. I'd sensed magic on the pipes and not the doors, but it no longer felt familiar, which meant I would have to sneak back there and hope the essence remained. I couldn't tell anyone because it wasn't something anyone was taught—only the Council was supposed to be able to detect it.

But I was different, and so was my mom.

She was able to bind my abilities—another task only the Council can do, as a group—so I could lead a normal life until the day she died when her binds were ripped painfully away. Using magic with simple visualization rather than spells, and the fact that we could cloak our signatures—not even the Council could do that—set us apart. Before she'd died, she'd made me promise not to tell anyone what we could do. It was dangerous. Considering what happened to her, I couldn't help but abide.

"Nora?"

"Huh?" I looked back to Calin and shook my head. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"How do you suggest we prove Duvessa is the one behind everything?"

I looked down to our joined hands, hoping he couldn't feel what I felt the way I could him. "You teach me," I said, licking my lips. I pulled back, letting go of his grasp, and stepped back. All the feelings from before, with the added pleasure of feeling protective, surged back to life. I raised my chin and held Calin's gaze. "Show me what you do whenever you touch me so that I feel calm."

"Um..." He narrowed his gaze.

"This is what we need to do first, Calin. Then I need to talk to Luna." Putting my finger on my lips, I nodded. "Yes. First, you teach me to calm myself so that I don't have a meltdown if you aren't there, and then I go to Luna."

"Why Luna and what are you talking about? What meltdown?"

"Can you help me or not?" I shifted my weight, glaring. Answering either of his questions would lead to exposing Luna's empathy, and she worked hard to keep it hidden. "My memory is coming back, but it's not back. That makes me... emotional. Feelings are crushing any control I thought I had. The only thing that helps is you, so...?"

He nodded. "Fine. But someday, you're going to tell me the whole story."

*****

After we planned a time for me to 'train', Calin left. I was so tired, I nearly had to crawl into bed. Once I made it—fully clothed and still wearing sneakers—I gasped to realize it was past ten. Talking with Calin had felt like an entire workday filled with back-breaking manual labor had passed.

Onyx jumped up beside me and snuggled close, keeping me warm even through the blankets Miss Rose had washed. The only hair that remained was what Onyx was shedding now. I thought she'd have to resort to using tweezers, and secretly hoped that's exactly what she'd done.

Leaning over, I switched my alarm on and turned off the light. "Goodnight, Onyx."

A/N: Sorry if it was short. I promise to update again soon! Only one more sleep and my exams are DONE! (Can you tell I am excited??)

Think Nora will be able to sense Duvessa's magic?