Chapter 25: The Feather

Throughout the afternoon, Vance busied himself with writing symbols on strips of leather with a silver pen, his tongue poking out slightly. "The binding spell won't hold Cross for long," he mumbled to himself, not looking up from the book. "Maybe three minutes. Maybe less."

Meanwhile, Jenna was sharpening the tip of an iron rod, scratching off the surface with a whetstone. The sharp scrape of metal could be heard throughout the entire room while she was testing its new blade on her own flesh. Blood pooled in her palm, and she smudged it on her jeans.

"Three minutes is enough time to stab him in the chest," she said casually.

Zoe was standing in the corner with her pipe. She swung it around in the air as though she was aiming for a fake vampire, making a hissing sound each time the blade cut through air.

I was sitting on the floor with crossed legs and my palms open. Trying to force a small blue flame out of my hands, but keeping it from growing too strong. Sparks were flying off my fingertips as I maintained it in front of my palms for ten seconds.

I glanced at Dorian sitting across the room, watching me.

—

By the time night fell, I found myself standing on the roof.

The snow had stopped falling, leaving thin clouds and clear skies behind in various shades of orange and purple. Cold wind stung my cheeks, but it felt good.

The campus lights were beginning to turn on, illuminating the landscape and making it even more beautiful than during the day. I was sitting on the edge, dangling my feet over and watching as darkness swallowed the world.

After a minute of silence, Dorian appeared right behind me. But I could feel him there, the chill of his presence spreading in the air.

"Are you scared?" he asked quietly.

For some reason, my voice got lost somewhere in my throat, and I remained silent.

"I've been alive for one hundred and forty-seven years," he said softly, staring at the horizon. "I've witnessed wars, plagues, famines. Cities burning and falling empires. In all those years, I never met anyone who made me feel like living was worthwhile."

Silence followed his words. My breath hitched in my chest, but I did not dare to speak up.

"Do you understand how you made me feel?" I asked eventually. "How terrified I am, but still willing to try because you made life worth the effort?"

His gaze softened in the dying light of the sun, and he smiled faintly. "I've never met anyone quite like you."

"So will you stay with me tonight?" I said hurriedly. "Nothing crazy, don't get any ideas. But just in case."

"If that's what you want," he said, nodding. "I wasn't planning on leaving anyway."

—

Back in Jenna's dormitory, Mira was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, lips moving silently, eyes closed tight. All of a sudden, her body convulsed and eyes snapped open.

Her irises were black.

"What the fuck is happening to me?" she said, Raze's rough voice coming out of her mouth.

"It ticked tock, little witch," the demon growled. "Only a month left. Make it count."

"Mira!" Jenna shouted, grabbing her shoulders and shaking hard.

Mira blinked rapidly and her irises returned to normal. She gasped, putting a hand on her chest.

"He just kicked me out of my body!" she exclaimed. "I only stayed for a second."

Vance handed her a cup of water. "Drink this, Mira. Stay hydrated, it makes it easier for him to possess your body."

She took it from his hands and drunk a part of the liquid, spilling the rest of it over her shirt. Dorian entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"What did I miss?"

Mira was wiping water drops with the back of her hand.

"Raze possesses her for a second. That means that he's growing stronger and Mira – weaker. She won't last a month like this," Vance explained to him.

I was watching Mira from the corner of my eye, noticing her sweating forehead and trembling hands.

"That means we need to kill Cross even faster," I said. "Tonight, at midnight. We do that, and then deal with Raze afterwards."

Jenna laid out the map on the desk and we gathered around it. She pointed at the estate.

"Arya goes alone, through the front gates. Cross will be waiting for her in the main hall. While the rest of us will be waiting in the forest behind the estate, near the back door."

Dorian pointed at a line on the map. "When Cross gets Arya inside, Vance triggers the binding spell from the car. After that, we move."

Zoe raised her pipe in her hands. "I go for the guards. Jenna goes for the door. Dorian goes for Cross."

"And I stab him in the scar, right?" I added.

"Yes. He'll only be held for no more than three minutes with the binding spell, so you have to hurry," Vance reminded us, closing the grimoire.

"What if the binding spell doesn't work?" Zoe asked nervously.

"Then we're dead and Cross takes Arya's magic," Vance said sternly, his gaze boring into me.

There was an eerie silence following his words.

Suddenly, the floorboard creaked loudly, alerting us to someone's presence.

Dorian was already by the door, pulling it open and throwing it to the wall. He quickly ran into the hallway, but came back with a feather in his hand.

It was long and black, and the cold touch of it chilled my bones.

Vance took a closer look at it and paled instantly. "That's not from a bird. This is from a spy charm, Cross has been eavesdropping on us."

Jenna ripped it from his hand and looked carefully at the black quill. "How long?"

"We don't know. Days, weeks. It doesn't matter how long he's been listening," Vance said grimly, pointing his finger at us. "Somebody around here betrayed us, and planted a charm here."

Zoe looked around the room fearfully. "Who could do that? Everybody in this room wants Cross dead."

"Except for maybe you and I once upon a time," Dorian corrected. "We're on the same team now, but it hasn't always been this way."

Mira looked at Dorian and spoke up. "It wasn't me. Raze possessed me and controlled the conversation."

"Not me either," Jenna said quickly. "I've been helping you from the very beginning!"

Vance raised both of his hands. "I'm the only one who people suspected, but I never did any harm. Someone planted that charm around here."

All eyes turned towards Zoe who was leaning back against the wall. "It wasn't me. I've been possessed."

"And who else?" Dorian asked, looking right at me. "You were watching all night."

"No way, she was possessed!" I exclaimed, taking in the feather in Vance's hand. "Someone around here was feeding information to Cross!"

Jenna locked the door and put a desk against it. "None of us leave this room until we figure out who betrayed us."

Vance shook his head. "We don't have enough time for this! Less than twelve hours before midnight tomorrow."

"Then we'll sleep in shifts, two at a time. Nobody leaves the room alone," Dorian said, moving closer to the window and looking outside into the night. "I'll take the first one."

"Jenna," Mira said, getting to her feet with some difficulty. "Let me stay with you, just in case."

"Fine," she agreed, glancing around at Zoe and Vance. "Everybody, get some sleep."

Zoe lay on the floor, using her jacket as a pillow, Dorian sat down against the wall with eyes shut, Vance sat down in his chair, opening the grimoire.

I laid down on the carpet and stared up at the ceiling. Plaster cracks seemed to form roads

on the map in front of my eyes.

"Somebody in this building has betrayed us," I thought bitterly. "Somebody who wants me dead.”