Clash (Academy of Unpredictable Magic Book 6) Page 4

  He pulls me a little tighter against him, gently pushing some of my hair out of my face. “I have everything I’ve ever wanted, but I also can’t forget that I could lose it all in just the span of a second.”

  “I get it. I really do.” A small sigh falls from my lips, and I smile sadly. “I was just telling Dmitri earlier how I feel the same way. I love you all, and I’m so happy to be with you, but—the more I have, the more there is to lose, you know?”

  Cam makes a noise in his throat, and for a moment, we cling to each other, holding on so tightly it’s hard to breathe. When I finally pull away, I rest my palms on his chest, feeling his heart beat in a steady rhythm beneath my touch.

  “This isn’t over though.” I shake my head fiercely. “It’s not. We can’t just sink into despair. We have to keep fighting. We have to keep pushing. It’s not over until we say it’s over, and he hasn’t won yet. He thinks he has, and you know what, let him think that. But we’re going to keep taking a stand. We’re here together, and that’s already a victory.”

  Cam looks at me with this soft expression that’s like… I don’t even know. Like I’m the moon, and he’s seeing me for the first time. He cups my cheek and kisses me softly, achingly, and I swear I can almost taste the sweetness of it.

  Then he rolls me off of him and sits up, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans and digging around for—his wallet?

  “I appreciate the thought,” I tease, wondering if he’s about to pull out a damn condom, “but it’s a little late for that, stud. You literally just came inside me.”

  Cam gives me a playful, deadpan expression and then pulls something out of his wallet.

  It’s… a bracelet.

  It’s simple, silver, not flashy, with a few symbols carved into it. If I remember correctly, those are runes signifying love, connection, and resilience.

  “This was my mom’s,” Cam says softly, holding it out to me.

  It takes me a moment to realize he wants me to put it on. I hold out my wrist, and Cam slides it on—onto the spot where my cuff used to be, when I had to wear one to dampen my magic. Hey, it fits. And it looks pretty good on me, actually.

  “I had to get rid of most of my stuff to pay for the funeral when they died. Social services took care of it all. But I was allowed to keep a few things, and I wanted to keep this. My dad gave it to my mom after they’d been dating for a while, I think to kind of test the waters on proposing to her. She wore it every day, no matter what else she was wearing, except in the lab when she couldn’t wear any jewelry. I never saw her without it at home.”

  He runs his fingers over the silver band, and goose bumps flare where his fingertips brush my skin.

  “So when I got to keep this and a few other things, I thought ‘someday, I want to give it to someone’. Every family has those heirlooms, you know? And so I thought it would be something like that. For someone that I knew would be sticking around in my life for a long time. And, well, you’re not like my mom, and I’d worry if you were, but you have so much love and compassion, Sin. Even if you like to pretend otherwise. And you’re persistent, and resilient, and you never give up; you keep fighting. So I thought that just… made it all extra appropriate.”

  A lump grows in my throat. I don’t even have words for how touched I am. It feels like my heart is trying to leap out of my chest and also like I’m stuck on the beach while a tsunami is headed straight for me—but in a good way. I don’t want to move. I want the wave to knock me over.

  “Thank you,” I whisper, my voice hoarse. I kiss him on the corner of his mouth. “Just… thank you, Cam.”

  He touches his forehead to mine and smiles softly. “Of course, Elliot. You’re the love of my life.”

  We take our time getting dressed, relishing the few last minutes of peace in this little bubble we’ve created. Then we rejoin the group in the common room, most of whom haven’t even noticed we left. The rest of the guys all did though. Dmitri silently pats Cam on the shoulder when we walk up, while Roman raises an eyebrow at me in question. I nod reassuringly, and he relaxes.

  Asher doesn’t even need to ask. He just has an amused and slightly besotted look on his face like he thinks Cam and me being sweet is the cutest damn thing he’s ever seen, surpassing even videos of baby bunny rabbits.

  I roll my eyes at him, but that only makes him grin wider.

  The rest of the day goes by in a blur. We’re all on our computers and phones, continuing to upload the footage Cam shot and spread it as far and wide as we can. News outlets are picking it up now, but they’re scared to go against Agustin—a bunch of random Unpredictables uploading a video when they’re already targets is one thing, but people who don’t have a target on their back already aren’t too keen to earn one.

  Cam, Roman, Dmitri, Asher, and myself are “interviewed” by Tamlin to explain what happened and give more context to the video, and then we all start uploading that too. It’s kind of crazy actually, to see the makeshift command central that’s sprung up in the common area as everyone puts the video back up as soon as one gets taken down, spreading the word over and over: if given the chance, Agustin will crush all magic users. None of us are safe.

  Around dinner time, I call Maddy. The cell networks are finally functioning again, and I want to make sure she’s all right. I like to think she’s okay at her school, but I don’t know.

  She picks up immediately. She must’ve been waiting for me to call. “Ellie?”

  “Thank God you’re safe!” I blurt out, then immediately feel like an idiot for saying that. She’s safer than I am, theoretically.

  “You’re glad I’m safe?” Her voice gets a little high-pitched. “I’m not the one a psycho murderer with a tyrant problem just declared excommunicado from the magical world!”

  “I’m okay,” I promise her. “I’m fine. We’re all just trying to figure out what our next move is.”

  I fill her in on what we’ve been doing all day, and when I finish, she makes a sort of growly sound in her throat.

  “I knew that guy was bad news when he gave his little speech from the High Table. I didn’t trust it for a second. But now that you’ve uploaded the video—people are watching it, and they’re realizing just how fucked they all are without you guys. I mean, there are definitely people who still think Unpredictables are awful, or that you’re liars or something. But from what I can see, a lot more of them are realizing how much they screwed up by buying into this anti-Unpredictable bullshit.”

  Well, that’s a nice silver lining, I suppose. It feels kind of like too little too late, but I try to remind myself that it’s not over yet, and that the tide of public opinion finally turning in our favor can only help us. That’s why we uploaded the video, after all—to get people to see the truth about this asshole and not fall in line with him blindly. So at least that’s working.

  “Were you really there with him? In his lair or whatever?” Maddy asks. “I’m so glad you’re okay. How did that even happen?”

  “It’s a long story. We kind of got in over our heads.” I explain what happened at Agustin’s house, and what’s been going on since.

  “Wow. He didn’t waste any time,” she comments, a note of disgust in her voice. “He must’ve realized it was getting too hot for him, and that he had to put his takeover plans into action or it’d be too late.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking.” I sigh. “And now I’ve got to go and try to kick his ass again.”

  “Do you have to though?” Maddy’s voice gets quiet, a little tentative. “I mean, the video is helping people realize it was a mistake to rally against Unpredictables, to see you as the enemy. People—at least here on campus and in a lot of the comments on social media—are saying that we need Unpredictables. That Agustin’s plan is to get rid of you all because he knows Unpredictables have the best chance of stopping him.” There’s silence on the other end of the line for a moment as she pauses. Then she adds, “But why does it have to be you?”

 
“Well, who else is going to go after him if we don’t?”

  “The authorities, maybe?”

  “What authorities?” Ugh, that was probably too harsh. I sigh. “Mads, I know you’re worried about me, and I appreciate that. And really, I’ll do everything I can to be safe. But there’s nobody left to stop him. He’s shut down the majority of the government. He has us in a stranglehold. We’ve got to do something, and we’re the only ones who can stop him. Or who at least have a hope of stopping him.”

  I can hear Maddy inhaling, ready to give a response—when I suddenly hear something else too.

  Loud noises, dulled slightly by the thick walls of the holding facility, echo from outside.

  Oh, fuck.

  Someone is here.

  Chapter 6

  “I have to go,” I tell Maddy, and I quickly hang up the phone over her protests. It might be nothing, or maybe it will even be good news, and if it is, I’ll call her right back.

  I really don’t think it’ll be good news though.

  My heart lurches as I hurry to a window and peer out.

  Holy shit.

  I suspected Agustin would come after us, but dammit, I didn’t think that it would be so quickly. And now—now there’s an army of mages and demons at our front door, trying to knock it down.

  The onslaught came so suddenly that the perimeter guards didn’t even have time to raise the alarm, but the crashes, grunts, and howls outside are so loud that everyone in the facility knows we’re under attack. Everyone is screaming and yelling, fear and panic clear in their faces. I can’t blame them. Dozens of enemies are outside the gates.

  “We have wards.” Cam dashes up on my left, bracing his hands on the windowsill as he peers outside. “That’ll slow them down.”

  “But it won’t stop them,” Asher adds. “Look. They’re breaking them down already.”

  I stare out the window at the actual army of goddamn demons that are gathered outside the fence that surrounds the holding facility, working on tearing down our protective wards so they can get inside. Creatures of smoke and flame, ice and darkness, magma and stone, and a few made up of what looks like actual vomit—honestly I’d rather face the fiery ones than the vomit-looking ones—they’re all just a hundred feet away from us.

  My stomach lurches and twists. I’m not all that scared for myself, oddly enough. I’ve faced demons before, and so far I’m still alive and didn’t get my body turned inside out so, that’s a win. But what about my classmates? Especially the first-years who are so new, who’ve never used magic before and are just barely starting to learn how to control their powers?

  Our cuffs are off, thank God. I suppose that’s a small blessing, but it hardly stops the fear from choking me. We’re surrounded, and I’m terrified my friends aren’t going to make it out alive.

  The demons are roaring, snarling, and stomping while the mages work to dismantle the wards. There seem to be a few other people mixed in with them—magic users who don’t look super powerful or strong and seem a little frightened of the demons instead of single-mindedly concentrating on getting rid of the wards.

  “Any idea who those people are?” I ask Asher, jerking my chin toward a few of them.

  He concentrates for a second, and I know he’s trying to probe their minds—not easy through the protective wards, but hopefully he’s strong enough to skim their surface thoughts.

  “I think they’re Unpredictable haters,” he says with a grimace. “There aren’t many of them. They must be trying to get in good with Agustin, or maybe they just want a chance to get a few licks in.”

  “Everyone!” Hardwick yells, his voice bellowing through the room behind me. “Remain calm. Listen to Tamlin and Roman!”

  Of course. Tamlin’s our fight instructor and Roman has the most real-world combat experience. In the absence of any real Circuit officers, they’re the ones best equipped to defend this place.

  And they’ve known each other long enough and trust each other enough that they don’t even have to confer before leaping into action. They start separating us into groups and dispatching us around the building, using our Unpredictable skills to our advantage, pairing people up with others who will complement them well and putting a skilled professor in each group to lead the defense.

  “Elliot, Asher, Cam, Dmitri, with me at the front,” Roman calls, his expression grim. I know it has nothing to do with favoritism—we’re the ones who’ve got the most experience with demons and against Agustin at this point.

  I think it might also be a propaganda thing, even if Roman doesn’t want to admit it. If I’m the face of this whole Unpredictable movement, and that seems to be what I’ve become whether I like it or not, then it’ll be good for people to see that I’m at the forefront fighting against an attack on us, striking back at Agustin.

  I can also see why Tamlin and Roman made such a good couple, once upon a time. When it comes to planning a battle, they’re completely in sync. That must’ve been what drew them to each other in the first place. But I understand now better than ever that it’s not enough—they’re too similar, both too controlled and poised, too focused on the same things. Tamlin needs someone who will knock her off-kilter and so does Roman, someone who will lighten him up.

  I like to think that’s what I do for him anyway. At least, I try.

  But right now, I’m glad as hell that both Roman and Tamlin are here, and that they are so serious, controlled, and strategic.

  The guys and I charge out of the main entrance and onto the grounds. Right on the other side of the fence, I can see our attackers. Ice and fire seem to lick my skin, and smoke rises up into the air as the demons move restlessly, eager to begin the destruction. They’re fifty feet away, and it feels oddly far and too close at the same time.

  How the hell is this happening? How are we going to survive this?

  “How much longer until the wards break?” Dmitri’s body is taut, his voice thick with tension.

  “Seconds,” Roman replies. His gaze is fixed right on the demons.

  My heart thunders in my chest, and my stomach churns so hard I feel nauseated. We might not make it out of this alive. Any of us.

  I take a deep breath, then another, then another. Shit. Maddy! I just hung up on her. I didn’t even say a proper goodbye.

  I whip out my phone and send a quick text.

  Me: I love you, Mads. So much.

  Just as I jam my phone back into my pocket, I see the wards cracking. The gate buckling.

  I ready my sonic boom as Dmitri uses his duplication power to split himself into five identical copies. An almighty roar and a rush of heat rise up behind me, and I know that Roman’s just summoned a demon of his own.

  I have no idea what’s going on in other areas of the facility, whether everyone else is okay, whether they’re holding off the attack or being run over—but I block those thoughts from my mind for the time being. Worrying about them won’t help them, and I need to focus on winning our part of this fight.

  “Stand your ground,” Roman orders, his voice hard. “Step back from Elliot, all of you.”

  He doesn’t say anything more, but I know what he’s getting at. I let the sonic boom build and build inside of me, like someone’s turning the dial up on an amplifier until the noise becomes unbearable.

  “Steady!” he yells. I can barely hear him over the rush of blood in my ears. “Steady, Reckless, steady…”

  The wards shatter, the gate crashes to the ground, and mages and demons alike come flooding in, charging straight for us.

  “Hold…”

  Roman draws out the word, his voice firm and commanding.

  He’s lucky I trust him. I hold, and hold, and hold. And the monsters keep coming toward us.

  They’re right on top of us, only ten feet away—five feet away—two feet away—on all sides—

  “Now, Elliot!”

  I close my eyes and scream as I unleash everything I have.

  I haven’t let go with a sonic b
oom like this since I first did it instinctively outside of a nightclub. When that happened, I sent myself flying backward and cracked an entire building.

  This time I’m ready, so I don’t go flying anywhere, but I can feel the ground rippling beneath me as the force of the blast travels outward. I remember reading somewhere once that if you set off a sonic boom big and loud enough directly at the ground, it’ll make the atoms vibrate so fast and become so jumbled that the solid earth will temporarily become liquid.

  I don’t know if it’s true or not, but that’s what it feels like all around me. Like everything’s turned into liquid.

  The demons and mages go flying backward in a wide circle. I see blood spurting out of faces and heads snapping back, necks broken, the sheer force of it doing God knows what kind of damage to their bodies. The demons don’t seem to be quite as affected, but they’re still blown back, left stumbling and disoriented.

  And I’m at the center of it all. The eye of the maelstrom.

  I’ve never felt this powerful before. I’m used to getting my ass kicked and just barely winning the day—or in certain cases, having someone else save my life at the last second.

  But right now? I’ve just knocked a whole battalion of demons and mages on their asses, and I feel fucking fantastic.

  The fight’s not over though.

  Far from it.

  All around the grounds, I can hear the cries of battle, yelling and cheering and shouts of dismay. I can’t tell how well anyone else is doing, if we’re kicking ass and winning the fight, or if my little group is the only one left standing. All I know is that we have to deal with the guys who are in front of us, and giving up isn’t a goddamn option.

  Asher stays in the back of our little group, his eyes closed and forehead creased as he uses his mind control powers to try to get the mages and demons to turn on each other. Dmitri has a double stationed in front of Ash, guarding him as the others go on the offensive with Cam, who’s using his teleportation ability to dodge blows, mostly from the demons. Roman stands like a mountain beside me, his hands extended, fingers like claws as he controls the demons.