Spearwood Academy Volume Three (The Spearwood Academy Book 3) (7 page)

“Not that we’re not happy to see you all, but why are you here? It’s dangerous to come here from Spearwood,” my mother says.

Amr takes a step forward. “We didn’t come here from Spearwood. We ran from there three days ago.”

Elex frowns. “Why did you run?”

Amr touches my shoulder. “They warped her mind again and told her they were coming after us. We ran to New York to get her fixed. That’s when we learned she’s been warped more than once.”

Elex shakes his head. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would they have her mind warped?”

Paden moves to stand next to me. “We don’t know. He didn’t do a good job; she was fighting with her true self the entire time. All of it was sloppy.”

Elex stares at him for a few seconds. “I almost didn’t recognize you.” He then looks to Maverick. I haven’t seen you two since you were six and five.”

So he chose to have them watch over me. Why did he send children? How could they have been capable of protecting me at five and six years old?

Elex folds his arms. “Why did you come here?”

“We didn’t know where to go next. We have to stay ahead of Spearwood, so they can’t capture us again. We won’t be here long; we just need to figure out our next move.”

My mother puts her hand on my shoulder. “Of course, you’re welcome here anytime. Are any of you hungry?”

“Igraine, we have things to talk about with them. We don’t have time to eat.”

She gives him a stern look. “We can eat and talk. They need some food in them. Now stop fighting me on the subject.”

With her arm around me, she leads us out of the room and toward a massive kitchen. Like the den, it’s decorated in blacks and whites. A large white table sits off to the side of the kitchen, in front of a large patio window. “Sit at the kitchen table. I’ll fix something up fast.”

I sit down. I can’t help but wonder if this is some type of dream. She moves around, opening and closing cabinets and the fridge, as if in some type of silent dance. This woman gave birth to me. All my life I wondered what it would be like to have a mother. What it would be like to have her make me breakfast, or take care of me if I got sick—which has never happened—it’s just the fantasy of having the perfect mother, like the ones on TV.

Once she has everything she wants out on the counter, she waves her hands around. I frown. Is she doing magic?

“She’s a sorceress,” Amr says. I look at him, forgetting he had taken a seat next to me.

“Like the Sea Witch and the one that cursed our kind?”

He nods. “But she doesn’t specialize in curses. She’s good, a healer.”

Within moments, platters of hot food float over to the table. Elex takes a seat at the head of the table. “So, let me see if I have this straight. Roseman warped Avalon’s mind, for the second time, but didn’t do it right. You escaped Spearwood in order to have her fixed in New York. Fixed by who?”

“Agnita, most likely, dear,” Igraine says. “She’s the only one other than Sibi who can repair minds and Sibi hasn’t been seen for thousands of years.”

I lean forward. “It’s also the third time my mind has been warped, not the second. That’s what her assistant said.”

“Second time? Why would your mind have been warped a second time?” Igraine asks.

I look to Paden and Maverick, who sit across from me. “I would like to know the answer to that as well.”

“It was your choice to have it done. You knew if you went into Spearwood with the knowledge of a person raised in the families, they would know you were raised by a person from the Vox. You didn’t want them suspecting Edgar of anything. You knew at some point your memories would be returned to you,” says Paden.

“How did I know that?”

“You made Maverick and I swear under oath to take you to the Sea Witch during winter holiday. But then Roseman warped your mind with that new personality, and we couldn’t wait for winter holiday.”

“Why couldn’t I have just faked not knowing anything?”

Maverick takes his ponytail out and redoes it. “You wanted it to be real.”

“Then why have my memories returned during the winter holiday? Why not just leave me naïve for the rest of my school career?”

“Because you had plans to take the power back.”

My head starts to throb. I know what they’re saying is true. I can sense the memories just under the surface, but I can’t access them. What are they talking about?

Igraine takes a seat on the other side of me. “Eat, please. After, I want to heal you, Avalon. Make it so your mind can never be warped again, by anyone.”

I managed to eat a small plate of food. It was incredible, the best cheese and mushroom omelet I have ever tasted. But ever since getting sewn back together, I’ve gone back and forth between feelings of starvation, to not wanting the food set in front of me. Now, we follow Igraine down to the basement where she keeps all her things for magic.

She turns to me once we’re down the stairs and takes my hand. “I’m so happy to see you. You have no idea how much I’ve dreamed of this day. I’ve cried for you every night. I never wanted to put you in hiding, but it was necessary to keep you safe until you could protect yourself and rise above them all.”

“Why do I have to be protected? Who’s after me?”

“People who think females shouldn’t be born into our world due to the curse. People who are old in their ways of thinking, scared of the unknown, or just want power.”

“How could I stand in the way of someone who wanted power?”

She smiles and touches her chest, because you have goodness in your heart and would not stand by while they try to rule the world. The worst of the threats is over now, locked away right after we put you into hiding.”

Pulling me over to a shelf, she has me stand still. “I have the potion I need already made.” She pulls a tiny, blue genie-like bottle off the shelf and uncorks it. She tips it and pours the liquid into her hand. “Now, this will hurt a little bit, but no one, no matter how strong they are, will ever be able to modify your mind again. Okay?” I nod, not even sure what she’s going to do. “Give me your right wrist.” I hold it out to her. She pours the liquid from her hand near the top of my wrist and mutters words I can’t make out under her breath.

I hiss when the initial sting starts, but it’s nothing compared to my transformations. The warmth of her magic flows into my arm and through my veins. It’s calm, peaceful, like a small stream.  She pulls her hand back, revealing a metallic gold symbol; it reminds me of a triton or a bird’s foot, almost. I touch it. It’s smooth. “Like a tattoo.”

“It is a tattoo. It’s there for life.”

“Does it mean anything?”

“It’s a rune called Algiz. It means protection, among other things. No one will ever be able to touch your mind again.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you.”

I frown at her. Why is she thanking me?

“You turned exactly into the young woman I wished for you to be. I can see it in your eyes.”

“One of you is missing,” Elex says.

We turn back to the group. What is he talking about? I look over to the group. At first glance, they look to all be here, but then something dings inside of me. Triton is missing.

“Where’s Triton?” I ask.

Everyone looks at each other, as if the others have more information than they do. I fall into Igraine as the basement begins to shake. Her eyes go wide. “Oh, no.”

Elex runs through a door at the back of the room. Igraine follows. Curiosity sinks in and the rest of us run after them.

We follow them into an unfished dirt room. A young man stands at the center of the room, his hair long and white. Next to him stands Triton. The hair on my arms and neck stands in end.

Elex ignites fire in the palm of his hands.

The man cocks his head. “Not excited to see me, Dad?”

Dad?

“How did you get out?”

“My good little servants helped me.” The man’s eyes fall on me. “Well, look at you, little sister. All grown up. How long has it been, eleven years?” I try to search my mind for memories of an older brother, none come to mind.

“You walked right into my trap. It will be so easy to destroy all of you.”

To be continued

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