First Magic by Raven Steele (ebook reader screen txt) 📖

a Vyken wants to chop my head off, I’ll become a raving lunatic. I need to have a clear mind about this, stay unemotional. Isn’t that what you have been trying to teach me?”

“Maybe I need to stop being such a good teacher.”

“So finish your story. How did you get hurt?” I needed him to get my mind off the image he’d planted. The truth was—I was terrified.

Christian continued, “After his psychotic transformation, I lost it. I charged after him, determined to kill him. I chased him through the mountains for almost an hour. I was so intent on getting to him that I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. I lost my footing and fell down a steep ravine and ended up looking like this. It was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done.”

“What rule did you break?” I asked.

“Huh?”

“Your father. He said you broke a rule.”

He puffs air out his mouth. “It’s a dumb rule to begin with. You see, we’re not supposed to pursue a Vyken. We are always supposed to stay with our charge.”

“And wait like sitting ducks?”

“Like I said, it’s a dumb rule, but a rule nevertheless.”

“Actually, it’s a good rule.” I twisted my hands together. “Your father’s right. This is my fault.”

“No, it’s not. I just made a bad decision.”

“As much as I don’t want to, I think it’s time I went to Lucent. At least if I was there you’ll be safe. It’s selfish for me to stay.”

“No. Things are different now.” The lines in his face pulled tightly together. “I have to tell you something. When you first started learning to fight, I really believed you wouldn’t be able to do it. It isn’t that Auras are weak or anything, they’re just,” he struggled to find the right word, “too pure or something. Fighting is supposed to be a conflict of their nature, but then you came along and destroyed that whole theory. You have learned more these past months than a guardian does in five years. You’re fast, strong, logical, unemotional; well, most of the time.”

I smiled. “I am still a girl.”

“I’m very aware of that. Too aware.”

Heat rose in my face, and I averted my gaze.

“I don’t want you to go yet, Llona. There’s so much more I want to teach you, to see what you’re capable of. Maybe we could change things for the better.”

“How?”

He leaned toward me, wincing. “I’ve never liked the idea of sending Auras to a private school where they learn to blend in and mask their gift just so they can stay hidden. I think we need to have people out there hunting and killing Vykens, making it possible for Auras to really make a difference in this world. Can you imagine what Auras could do if they weren’t afraid to be who they really are?”

I considered this. It would be an amazing world to have Auras like my mother around who knew how to defend themselves. I remembered the tale my mother used to tell me about how wonderful the world was when Light didn’t have to hide.

Christian chuckled. “Wouldn’t it be great if Auras could just use their powers and hunt Vykens?”

My head snapped up. “But they did!”

“What?”

I spoke fast. “The story my mom used to tell me, like every night. She said Auras,” I lifted my hands and made the air quote gesture, “used Light’s power to fight against the Vykens. Used their abilities, Christian. I’d always get mad at my mom for telling me the same story over and over, but now I can see why she did. She wanted me to know the truth! She wanted me to know what Light’s capable of!”

Christian bit at his swollen lip. “I don’t know. The Council’s rules are strict, and they’ve been around for hundreds of years.”

“But surely there are others who think the rules are lame.”

“Some, but they are very careful who they voice their opinions to. Years and years ago, like in the thirties or something, there was a strong movement to hunt Vykens. They even had an Aura fighting with them.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. I guess she was pretty amazing and even managed to kill some Vykens.”

“What happened?”

“She was eventually killed. When this happened, anyone who followed her was brought to trial before the Council. The group was quickly disbanded, and they all faced harsh punishment.”

“Like what? It’s not like the Council are police or anything. They can’t put you in jail.”

“No, but they have other ways. Like they can ostracize you from your own. Basically make you a leper. Not very many Auras go against the Council. Take your mother for example. She didn’t have any Auran friends. Your father, too. They were completely cut off.”

I laughed out loud. “Like they cared, especially my mother. She had more friends than anyone I’ve ever known. I highly doubt this bothered her in the least.”

“It probably didn’t, but for most Auras this can be very frightening. If you don’t obey the rules of the Council, then there’s no one to teach you, no one to protect you. Your mother was lucky her husband was a guardian, otherwise she would’ve been left defenseless.”

“How come I have one then?”

He paused. “Not to make you feel bad or anything, but the only reason you were assigned a guardian is because your aunt is on the Council.”

“So your dad was right,” I whispered.

“You may have gotten special treatment, but I can promise you no other Aura has been through what you’ve gone through. I think you deserve it.”

“I don’t deserve anything.”

His hand gripped mine. “You deserve to be happy and feel safe. I’m sorry I haven’t done a better job of making that happen.”

“You’ve done great, but it has got to stop.”

He feigned a smile, showing the dimple in his cheek. “It’s just the way it is.”

“Not any more. If I’m going to stay here until the end of school, and you’re going to stay my guardian, then our arrangement needs to change.”

“And what would you suggest?”

“Jake said you could sleep at our house. On the couch."

“Really?”

“It’s a great idea. You’ll be close enough to know if there’s a problem, and you’ll be able to get a lot more sleep.”

I expected him to give some kind of resistance, but instead, he surprised me by saying, “That would make things easier.”

“Do you think your dad will care?”

“Not at all. It will probably be easier on him, knowing I’m indoors instead of out. You sure Jake’s okay with this?”

“Totally, but only as long as you promise to keep your perverted hands off me.” I grinned.

He smiled back, a twinkle in his eye. “I’ll try, but it’ll be hard.”

I touched his face again. “Is there anything I can get you?”

“Not now, but after school you can bring me back one of those fat sugar cookies with pink frosting and a glass of milk.”

“Deal.” I rose from the bed and turned to leave.

“Wait! One more thing, Llona.”

“Yes?”

“If what I’m about to ask you makes you feel the least bit uncomfortable, then I want you to pretend I didn’t say anything, okay?”

His serious expression made me nervous. “Okay.”

He took a deep breath before he said, “I want you to start using Light as a weapon.”

Use Light as a weapon.

I didn’t want to tell him that I’d already been training myself, not necessarily to use it as a weapon, but to use Light defensively. I didn’t think he’d care, but to hear him say this was shocking. It went against Aura’s number one rule.

But I was glad he’d said it. The moment I heard the words, something snapped inside me, and I felt this rush of adrenaline at the thought. Use Light offensively instead of defensively. I was so ready.

It was late, later than I wanted it to be, but I had to wait until Christian fell asleep before I could experiment. Every night I waited for the inevitable sounds of sleep to fill the house before I tried manipulating light. I felt self-conscious doing it in front of him. Even the thought of showing him my Light made me feel like I was undressing.

I opened my bedroom door quietly and listened for any sounds coming from the living room. All the lights were off and everything was quiet. Jake had gone to sleep hours ago. There was a chance Christian wasn’t quite asleep, but by how silent everything was he would be close. He had a tendency to toss and turn if he wasn’t asleep, and I heard none of those movements now.

Like Christian had promised, he had recovered from his wounds more quickly than a normal person, a perk to having great genetics. Within a couple of days, he began sleeping on our couch. He’d come over around eleven p.m. and leave at sunrise. Most of the time I pretended to be asleep when he showed up. I thought it would be easier on everyone, especially Jake. I could tell he still questioned his decision, but I never did. The improvement in Christian was worth it.

I quietly closed the door and drew the curtains. Lying down in bed, I stretched out my hands. With all