Mindee Arnett - The Nightmare Dilemma

“Suit yourselves.” Miss Norton let go of the stick. It hovered in the air before her for a moment and then began to move about the room, sweeping this way and that as if it had a mind of its own. I cringed each time it made a pass in my direction.

Finally it zoomed to the other side of the room and hung suspended over Nick Jacobi’s chair. I let out the breath I was holding, glad to have dodged the bullet.

Next second the stick did a mad race back across the room right at me. It moved so fast, I actually ducked, certain it would strike me in the head.

But instead it swerved right and stopped inches away from Eli’s face. He stared at the stick, his eyes going crossed and his mouth twisting into a frown. Then exhaling loudly, he seized hold of it, resigned to the inevitable.

“So,” Miss Norton said, smoothing the folds of her fluffy, flowered housedress. “Which magickind do you suppose it was, Mr. Booker?”

Eli shifted in his seat. I swallowed back guilt. I should’ve raised my hand.

“Any day now,” Miss Norton said.

Eli looked up. He fixed his gaze on Miss Norton, as if pretending she was the only other person present. He took a deep breath and then said in a quiet voice, “Siren.”

Eager whispers broke out in response to this, and nearly everybody turned their gaze on Katarina, the history between them common knowledge. My skin went red, both in vicarious embarrassment for Eli and a sudden swell of pity for Katarina. I didn’t like her, but I imagined the statement must’ve hurt.

It was even possible Eli wasn’t referring to her at all. Katarina hadn’t done anything so heinous to him as to be compared to a soul-sucker. No, I had a feeling Eli was thinking about what Paul had done to me. He was only a half siren, but that was plenty enough.

“And what makes you believe it was a siren?” Miss Norton said.

I closed my eyes. This couldn’t get any worse.

Wrong .

“It was me.” Katarina’s voice cracked. “He thinks I used my siren powers on him.”

Eli turned a smoldering look on her. “This has nothing to do with you.” He turned back to Miss Norton. “I just meant that sirens are capable of bending people’s wills, which is a lot like stealing someone’s soul. Plus the reference to flying could be literal since sirens really can fly. And Helen is supposed to be extremely beautiful, so the description fits.”

“Aw,” Miss Norton said, pointing a finger in the air. “But what about some of the demonkinds that really do feed on the soul?”

“I haven’t heard of any that are supposed to have the kind of beauty Helen did,” Eli said, thrusting out his jaw.

“Wait,” Nick Jacobi said. He slapped the top of his desk. “Are you trying to say that demonkind are ugly?”

“Yeah,” Royce Davidson said from beside Nick. Royce was a Metus demon, the kind that feeds on fear. “What about succubi? Could’ve been one of them.”

“That’s right,” Nick said. I could tell he was still on edge from the fight in the cafeteria. The hint of red flashed in his eyes through the glamour. He turned those eyes on me, his face twisting into a glower. “Or it could’ve been a Nightmare.” He paused. A vicious grin parted his lips to reveal large, pointed teeth. “Oh, never mind. I guess Nightmares aren’t pretty enough, are they?”

Eli stood up, the legs of his combo desk-chair scraping against the stone floor. He pointed the talking stick at Nick. The vision of him in Britney’s dream swam in my head. “You shut your mouth.”

Nick stood, too. “Go ahead and try. Ordinary .”

“No, boys,” Miss Norton said, moving to intervene.

Nick extended his hand. “Hypno-soma!” A jet of red light flew out from his fingertips.

Eli ducked sideways, just barely missing it. “Fligere,” he shouted back, aiming the stick.

What was he doing? He couldn’t work magic.

But the spell erupted from the tip of the talking stick. Miss Norton, still in motion, stepped in front of it. The spell struck her in the chest. Her eyes went wide, and she tipped backward, landing in a heap on the floor.

A silence louder than the shouting and flying spells descended in the room.

I turned my head toward Eli, my stomach sinking.

So much for the no-magic defense.

The Will Guard arrived seconds later. Captain Gargrave came through the door first, pointing his staff at Eli, who went rigid, his arms pinioned at his sides. Across from him, Nick stood in a similar state. The principal had said the Will Guard was armed with magic detectors. Apparently, they were really good ones.

“Are you all right, Miss Norton?” said Katarina, helping the fairy to her feet.

Miss Norton let out a groan as she rubbed her chest where Eli’s jab jinx had struck. I did an inner double take at the thought. Eli had done magic. There was no denying it. I’d seen it with my own eyes. Heard it with my own ears. But how was it possible?

I looked Eli up and down, half-convinced he was someone else in disguise. The dark, dangerous expression on his face was familiar, but also inscrutable. He could be thinking anything.

“This is the second time I’ve had to break you two up,” Gargrave said, glancing between his captives. Then he turned toward Eli and yanked the talking stick out of his hand. “And according to my information, you’re not supposed to have a wand, Mr. Booker. Where did you get this?”

“It’s mine.” Miss Norton stepped forward and seized the stick from Gargrave. “It’s … it’s just a classroom tool.” She hugged it close to her chest as if fearing Gargrave would take it back.

But the captain shrugged and returned his attention to Eli. “Come with me. I think the principal is going to want to hear about this.”

The spell holding Eli in place let go, and he shook out his arms as if to get the blood flowing again.

“Why just him?” I said, unable to stand idly by. “Nick cast a stunning spell first.”

Gargrave scrutinized the Ira demon, considering the matter. He shook his head. “I don’t think so. He’s a demonkind and therefore entitled to a little more tolerance.”

Although Gargrave didn’t say it, the word ordinary seemed to sound throughout the room. It echoed over and over again inside my head.

“That’s not fa—” I began, but Eli cut me off.

“Leave it, Dusty. I’ll be fine.”

With an effort, I closed my mouth.

Gargrave turned toward the door, and Eli followed after him. Our eyes met for a moment, and I saw he wasn’t angry at being the only one punished. Instead he seemed resigned to his fate.

As soon as he and the Will Guard were gone, Miss Norton ordered all of us back to our seats. We spent the rest of the period in silent reading. Although I kept my eyes glued to the page, none of the words registered. My head was too crowded with questions and doubts all vying for my attention like unwelcome houseguests. The image from Britney’s dream kept coming back to me. I didn’t want to believe Eli was involved, but I couldn’t ignore what I’d witnessed—he had done magic. Was I wrong about Eli like I’d been wrong about Paul? Feeling sick, I wrapped my arms around my chest.

I wanted desperately to talk to Eli, but by the time first period ended, he hadn’t returned. I walked to my spell-casting class alone, ignoring the gossip filling the hallways. Everyone was talking about the ordinary boy who’d somehow done magic.

When I descended the stairs into the tunnels and caught a familiar whiff of canal water, my thoughts turned to Britney. Guilt and relief battled inside me. If I had told Lady Elaine about Eli being in her dream, he would be in even more trouble. Then again, if he’d been the one to attack her …