Mage of Shadows (40 page)

With that, he walked away, still laughing uproariously as he went. Everyone he walked by gave him a wide berth, recognizing that this was someone who had clearly gone off his rocker. They didn't know how right they were. I could only watch, numbed with shock, as he left.

Even though I recognized the animosity and tension between Nishi and Vik, I had never understood it to be something dangerous. Apparently I should have given it more thought, but it hadn't escalated into anything really bad until the past week- and I had Carmen to worry about alongside stupid finals.

For a moment I considered going back to the frat house and pleading with the initiate leader to reconsider. I rethought that course of action immediately. Vik wasn't someone who changed their mind, most likely I would just find myself under house arrest until Kraven extracted his revenge against me and the matter was put to rest. I would have to go to the address myself, without soliciting any help.

If anything happened to Nishi because of my stupid mistakes, and Vik's callousness… I would never forgive myself, and he and I would have a reckoning.

I pulled out my phone grimly. There was at least one person I could call for definite assistance.

Jimmy had come immediately at a highly panicked run after receiving my call. It took a few minutes just to calm him enough just to talk.

We then took off together at a quick pace, heading out of the campus and towards the address of the building that Kraven had left on the note. He explained along the way what I had already begun to work out in my head. It wasn't a very pretty picture, and I was equally as angry with Jimmy for not telling me this stuff in the first place. Maybe it wouldn't have come to this, otherwise.

"Nishi's brother didn't commit suicide, did he?" I said grimly, "I shouldn't have had to hear the story from someone else- and so late. You guys should have told me. That's why Nishi came here, why she joined Archanos even if she doesn't really care about magic that much."

Swann grimaced, but nodded, "I'm sorry. She didn't want me to tell you. It wasn't my secret to tell… she said she could handle it."

"She obviously couldn't." I muttered, "God, didn't you tell me I had to be the one to be careful? I wasn't even paying attention and I could tell how much she was poking at Vik since she joined. Why? Was he the one who killed him and made it look like a suicide?"

"That was the idea." Jimmy admitted as we hurried along, "It had to be him- maybe he had help, but it was Vik. About a year and a half ago, a few semesters before we got to UD, Nishi's brother committed suicide by jumping off the top of Residential Towers. It was a huge shock, since he didn't present any signs… but the note he left match his handwriting perfectly, as did his signature at the bottom. It was perfect… unless you were a mage and realized that he could have been Pushed to write it."

"Dammit, why?"

"Something called the Aberrant Project," Jimmy recalled, and I was suddenly reintroduced to what Carmen had explained to me almost a week and a half ago, "Alok- Nishi's brother- was a research assistant to a professor on campus. I don't remember his name."

Anthony Daniels, I thought grimly to myself, remembering Ruark's confession after all this time. Ruark never told me that Nishi's brother was his assistant, or that he died, committing suicide or otherwise. Carmen had to be the one to tell me, and I despised Ruark even further because of it. Carmen always had to be the one to put up with my questions because other people weren't willing to tell the truth. It wasn't fair to her, not when the past had hurt her so much.

"Nishi never believed it." Swann continued, "Neither did I. Alok was a cool guy, really at peace with himself. He wasn't the type to commit suicide. When we joined Archanos, we had agreed to just try and confirm his death for what it was, murder for whatever reason, but Nishi couldn't leave it alone… it was her brother. She wanted Vik to admit he killed Alok, or was at least instrumental in his death. Vik, up to this day, has never admitted to it. I think what really pissed her off… Alok had mentioned Vik to us before, and claimed him as his best friend. He was betrayed by Vik, and Nishi is pretty sure that was why Vik was made leader of the initiates last summer when he became a senior."

A very, very, gruesome picture.

"God," Jimmy panted worriedly as we jogged, "I really hope nothing happens to her, that we aren't too late."

"We won't be." I assured him grimly, "Kraven wants me to see it."

My phone's GPS tracked us to the address, well away from campus at an abandoned factory. The place lay at the very edges of midtown, before the city skewed into the downtown city that was thick with buildings. It was a few miles away from campus, but our stamina training had served us well.

The inactive smokestacks rose like thick grey fingers out of the top of the factory, giving it the appearance of a open hand trapped in a sinister wave. Graffiti covered it completely, the bricks were falling every which way and the lot in front of it was a mess of shattered bottles, rusted machines that were all but destroyed, and other detritus that had been haphazardly scattered about. Nearly every window of the old factory building was broken.

We stood outside the place for a moment to take it in. Our heartbeats hammered furiously as we considered the only visible option of entrance- double doors in the very front, half-torn from their hinges like they had been flung open by some mysterious force. I shared a look with Swann and gave him a slow nod. Neither of us was going to stop now. Together, we moved in tandem to enter from each door, trying to appear more confident than we felt. I wished for a moment that I had called Carmen, but I didn't want to chance that she wouldn't be with Danae. Jimmy was the only other one I could whole-heartedly trust not to tip off Vik that I knew, and was going after Kraven.

The inside of the factory was equally destitute as the outer lot. It was a single enormous room that had been cleared completely of all its usable material after it closed. There were no machines, no work lines, nothing of value. But it wasn't empty, rather it contained several people standing at the far end, as if waiting for us.

Six total.

I picked out Nishi immediately, handcuffed to a metal pole, eyes wide as she watched our approach. As we got closer, I could see that she had been beaten. It wasn't bad- yet, but there was definite bruising and several cruel cuts visible on her face alone. My rage skyrocketed at the sight of it, and I could barely bring myself to focus on the others.

I saw Willard and Edgar, along with two other fidgeting figures that I took for other Aberrants. Yasmina had been right when she told me that the two I had fought were saner than most Aberrants, if the other two were anything to go by.

Their tongues lolled out of gaping jaws, slobbering all over themselves without notice or care. Their eyes held no semblance of humanity, rolling around in their widened sockets like spinning billiard balls. They snuffled and howled quietly like frenzied hounds, and seemed to be moments from attacking us.

The last figure stood by Nishi like a proud ringmaster of the circus freak show. Kraven had clothed himself in black leather, similar to the way his Aberrants dressed, but instead of their silver fastenings, his dark cloak had pure gold. They winked and twinkled dangerously as he moved- and he moved the way a mage would. Every twitch seemed decisive, dangerous, calculated. His eyes did not shift from my own. His pointed face was gaunt, sallow, and hungry. But it wasn't the mindless hunger of his Aberrant servants. It was lustfully focused, focused on vengeance.

This was a show for him. That was why I had to be here. He was going to kill Nishi in front of us.

"No more movement from you, Stratus." His voice was high-pitched, a nervous rasp filled with derision and rage, "Both of you. Oh I told you to come alone… but I suppose a boyfriend should be allowed to watch his girlfriend die. How are you Mr. Swann? Don't answer that, I really could care less."

A long knife flashed from somewhere within the confines of his cloak and paused just an inch from Nishi's neck. She flinched away, but it wouldn't have been soon enough if he followed through with the attack.

He laughed wildly at the alarm on our faces.

"Yes!" Kraven crooned, "That's what I want to see… despair, Stratus. For I have power over you now. Finally, an opportunity for proper revenge. No one gets away with fucking with me, Aether or otherwise."

"Let her go." Swann demanded, fear prominent over his anger.

Kraven snorted and flicked a hand at Jimmy, sending a wall of telekinetic force at him. On instinct we both blocked it with combined barrier. Still, it was a grim realization to recognize how quickly Kraven had gathered magic. I didn't even want to think about how many years of experience he had on us. I tried not to, it wouldn't help Nishi.

"Do whatever you want to me, asshole." I found myself saying, "But if you think I'm going to let you hurt her…"

His laughter was high and long, "You have no choice! Just like I had no choice to let you be, just because you're special to the Governor. You must leave me to my deserved reprisal. I want this to hurt you boy… even Lincoln will not protest. I'm doing him a favor getting rid of this girl. She asks far too many questions and demands too many answers. Fighting me here will be breaking coven law. Ironic how the tables have turned, eh?"

I took a determined step forward, "Nice monologue. Your flaw is thinking that I give a shit about what the coven or Lincoln think. That's my friend you have a knife to; if there are consequences then I'll deal with them after. I'm not letting Nishi die, like Emily. I'm not Ruark. I don't kill people just because I'm ordered to."

Jimmy shifted uneasily next to me, but I didn't notice, too focused on Kraven.

My cloaked enemy tilted his head, puzzled, "Ruark? Kevin Ruark?"

"Who else?"

He seemed to think for a moment, as if trying to follow the logic of my thoughts, "Oh," The crime boss murmured, chuckling quietly, "Fool boy… you have no idea what you're talking about."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, confidence slipping away with the sheer amusement he was radiating now.

Kraven looked like he had just swallowed a particularly tasty morsel, "I absolutely love this." He crowed happily. The Aberrants behind him chittered and gurgled happily, as if their master's good mood influenced them positively as well.

"You don't know!" The older mage's voice was practically sing-song, "You don't know and I get to tell you…" He was bouncing on the balls of his feet like an over-excited child, but the knife its mark for a moment.

"What are you talking about?"

Jimmy whispered to me, "Nick, I'm sorry, I didn't think that- I'm sorry. I should've… but… I didn't think it was my place to tell you."

I was thoroughly confused by the pair of them. Even Nishi seemed horrified for a reason other than the knife by her throat, she barely seemed to notice it then, "Nick," She said at a near whisper, "We didn't know for a long time, and we weren't supposed to tell you when we did find out… we didn't even know how to tell you."

Kraven pulled the knife away and heavily slapped her across the head, "Shut up." He hissed, "I will be the one to tell him."

"Nishi!" Swann stepped forward again now. Kraven gestured almost absentmindedly and the Aberrants sprung forward with a howl. They completely ignored me and tackled Swann backwards and out of the way. He struggled admirably, but it was impossible for him to overpower all of them working together to block his magic. Still, he kicked and shoved at them until they had him pinned.

I went to help, and Kraven's knife flashed back to Nishi's throat again, "No, no," He grinned madly at me, "Not a step from you. Only hold him, boys, only hold him."

The Aberrants seemed disappointed to only secure Jimmy, but they did it obediently. Each gripped one struggling limb, pinning them all to the dirty ground of the abandoned factory's floor. They looked like they wanted nothing better than to rip those limbs away from my friend. I could only dart my eyes helplessly between Nishi and Jimmy, an impossible choice. I could either attack Kraven or help Jimmy fight the will of the Aberrants and get him free. One of them would die.

"PAY ATTENTION!" Kraven screamed at me and dragged my eyes back to focus on him, "Listen when I speak. Listen well, Stratus. Kevin Ruark didn't kill his lovely little Emily. No, he would never do it, he's far too noble."

"Well who then?" I demanded, Ruark had lied to me, "Who did it? Was it Vik? Danae? Larry? Which one of them? Was it Les?! Tell me!" Who had Ruark protected, admitting at the beginning of the semester, lying right to my face, that it was him who killed Emily.

Kraven laughed long and hard, even as I screamed at him. Even as I gathered magic to me, my Glow encompassing my body and flowing off in buffeting waves. He just kept laughing.

Finally, he seemed to notice me again, eyes alight with a mad fervor as he stared down at me, unafraid by my show of power.

"Nicholas Stratus." Kraven said softly, "Months of training and you still know nothing. Months of asking your silly ignorant questions, finding nothing. Told a lie, you accept it without question. Truly, this is our Aether Magnam Ignis? I do not see why the Governor cares, not at all."

The older User idly spun the knife in his hand, speaking each word with relish, "The one who killed Emily, who shot her dead while Cloaked, so many months ago. It was that girl of yours, the one you covet. The one who's mission it is to manipulate you, keep you tamed, latch your very soul to the coven… the one you foolishly love."

Kraven spat the name like a curse, "It was Carmen Munez that killed Emily Albright."

I stood there, mouth agape, for once at a loss for words. What had he just said to me? I couldn't have possibly heard that… could I?

Not Carmen. Not my Carmen, who listened to me for months without so much as making a move to try and tempt me further, waiting patiently for me…

She never needed to tempt you, fool. You happily told her about Max and all the rest.