He nods and takes another bite of the egg roll. “I’m going to get plates.”
I lean back on the couch and let out a breath, looking at Harrison and Laney. A few seconds of silence ticks by and Harrison picks up my wine glass, drinking it all. I know for a fact my brother hates red wine.
“I have vodka,” I offer.
“I want to drink, but I don’t,” Harrison says, not looking at me.
“I know what you mean,” I tell him. “Like you want to dull your senses but want to keep your mind sharp.”
“That’s where I’m at.” He blinks a few times, slowly shaking his head. “How did you set that…that thing on fire?”
“Your sister is pyrokinetic,” Ethan answers, coming into the room with plates.
“Pyro-what?” Laney echoes.
“Pyrokinetic,” Ethan repeats.
“Fire magic,” I say, Aunt Estelle’s voice echoing in my head again, and another memory crashes down at a dizzying rate.
I’m back in that office, sitting in front of a fireplace while I pet the white fox named Artemis.
“Fire magic is dangerous and unpredictable,” the woman with the pretty brown eyes says. “Without proper training, she could hurt someone or even herself.”
“I won’t let it come to that.”
“Estelle,” the brown-eyed woman says sternly. “She’s your family but know I strongly disagree. She belongs here with us.”
“She already missed the beginning of her first term.”
“You know that doesn’t matter. Our most promising student started last year after missing her first term as well and had no prior training. Don’t do this to her, Estelle.”
“Anora?” Ethan’s hand lands on mine. “You okay?”
“I…I remembered something else.” I get another flash of Aunt Estelle and me leaving the office. We pass by a group of kids, who for some reason I know are students. “Good evening, Professor Fowler,” a boy with dark hair says.
“They called her Professor Fowler.” I close my eyes, willing the memory back into my head. “And the lady with brown eyes…she’s…she’s the headmistress.” Memories rush into my head, and it’s like I’m watching my childhood in fast forward, yet I’m only getting glimpses of it.
I see a large room with pews, set up almost like a church. There’s an altar, and a triple-moon symbol—the same one that’s on my Book and the coven pendant—is displayed in beautiful stained glass.
Grim Gate.
I’m walking into a cafeteria now, and dozens of children my age are sitting around large wooden tables. They’re talking and laughing as they eat, and are wearing matching uniforms. My eyes fly open and I gasp.
“Grim Gate isn’t just a coven.” I plant my hands on the table, replaying it all in my mind so I won’t forget. “It’s an academy.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Like Hogwarts?” Laney asks, and I nod.
“But real.” I hold up my hands. “Aunt Estelle knew. She knew I could do fire magic.”
“Maybe that’s why she bound your powers,” Harrison offers, almost sympathetically. “They seem slightly dangerous.”
“They are,” Ethan and I say at the same time, and he looks at me in surprise.
“I remember this woman with brown eyes, the headmistress, saying so. She wanted me to attend the academy but Aunt Estelle didn’t for some reason.” I close my eyes and rub my forehead. “Ugh! It’s so fucking frustrating. The memories are here. Right here.” I jab my forehead with my index finger. “But she blocked them. If I could remember, then we might be able to know why demons are after me.”
Silence falls over my little group of friends again.
“That thing,” Harrison says, circling back to what just happened. I need to push my mystery memories to the side and focus on my friends right now. “What was it?”
“We’re not sure,” Ethan says. “Anora calls it a bird-demon, but what type of demon it actually is…we’re still trying to figure that out.”
“You mean there is more than one type?” Harrison interrupts.
“Yes,” Ethan says, leaving it at that. Both Laney and Harrison wait for an explanation. “You know how there are different breeds of animals? Demons are like that. We generically call any sort of evil, supernatural being a demon, but true demons are the black-smoke kind of deal that rises directly from Hell and has the ability to possess a human body.”
“Fuck,” Harrison says under his breath and reaches for the bottle of wine.
“And that’s what spooked Mystery?” Laney asks.
“No,” I tell her. “What spooked him is a type of demon called a Pricolici. They’re demon bounty hunters, and were sent by another, more powerful demon to find me. And we don’t know why,” I add.
“So…what are you going to do?” Laney pulls her arms in around her body.
“Basically sit around feeling really paranoid while I wait for another to attack me,” I say, knowing it sounds sarcastic, but it’s not.
“And we’re not sure if the Pricolici and those bird-demon things are working together or not.” I push my thick hair back out of my face and let my eyes fall shut for a second. I’m tired from using magic again, and so fucking overwhelmed. Opening my eyes, I get a plate and load it with lo mein.