Corruption

The fire crackling around my arm dissipates almost instantly, leaving only a small vapor of thin smoke. I swallow, frightened of the livid look on Amelia’s face.

“Amelia! I’m s-sorry, I--”

“You will address me as Mystic Everhold, young witch!” she yells, striding toward us. Power radiates from her in harsh waves, making her more frightening than I could imagine. A shadow ripples behind her, like a cat lashing its tail in anger.

“Yes, Mystic Everhold, I’m sorry, she started to--” I say.

“I know damn well she started it,” Ms. Everhold snaps.

“Mom!” Hayden exclaims, looking like a little kid who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. And not for the first time, apparently.

Ms. Everhold ignores her. “You should not have retaliated! If this ever happens again Headmistress Lucinda will be informed, do I make myself clear?”

“Yes ma’am,” I say quickly.

“Hayden, you’re leaving. With me. And you can kiss your Tribal Ceremony goodbye for the time being,” Amelia says.

“But mom!” Hayden exclaims, looking pissed.

I quickly step inside my room, breathing hard, and am greeted by a very curious Lilly.

“What the hell was that?” she asks, sitting up.

“Hayden messed with the wrong witch,” I say, comfortably using the term for the first time. Power still surged within my chest, raw and feral.

“Details,” Lilly says.

I explain what happened in detail, and as I talk I feel the magical energy fade, allowing me to calm myself.

“Well, pyrokinetic is a definite check,” Lilly says after I finish.

“What?” I say.

“You’re pyrokinetic. You’re like me, but with fire instead of water,” she explains.

“Cool,” I say. “But what the fuck is Hayden?”

“She’s electrokinetic,” she says.

“Fascinating, when can I kill her?”

Lilly laughs, and I quickly change into sleeping attire. I climb into bed and curl up, feeling exhausted.

“Good night Aradia, good luck with your assessment tomorrow,” Lilly says with a yawn, and then switches her lamp off.

“Good night Lilly, and thanks,” I answer, and then close my eyes. I fall asleep in seconds.

I sleep dreamlessly, and am later awakened by a knock on the door. I roll out of bed, groaning, and walk to the door. I try to smooth my hair down and get out the knots, and then I open the door. Tristans standing there, in a black beater with an embroidered silver symbol over his heart.

“Hey,” I say, and yawn.

“Sorry if I woke you up,” he says, flashing his sexy grin.

“It’s fine, what’s up?” I ask.

“Justine LeMark will be arriving in an hour, and your assessment is shortly after. It’s my duty to escort you,” he says.

“Oh, shit, okay,” I say. “Come in, I need to shower.”

Tristan follows me inside and sits on my bed. Lilly’s gone, so I’m guessing she’s at breakfast or something. I check my phone and the time reads seven am, and I sigh. We’re on break and I can’t even sleep in. I go to the closet and grab a towel, and then go into the bathroom to shower. After a short time I step out, my hair hastily towel dried and the towel wrapped around me.

“Forgot clothes,” I tell Tristan as I walk to the closet.

Hanging up on my side are crisp, brand new uniforms, so I grab one. As I’m turning to return to the bathroom Tristan speaks up.

“You know, I am your Guardian, you should be comfortable changing in front of me,” he says.

I turn to look at him, and he’s now standing. His toned biceps are in full view, and I resist the urge to bite my lip. Instead, I lift my eyebrow at him, but I decide to tease him. I turn my back on him and drop the towel, leaving me completely naked, and I hear him intake a sharp breath. I smirk, and then put on a black, lacy bra and matching panties. I turn back toward him, and he’s staring at me.

“What?” I say, smiling innocently.

His only response is the bobbing of his Adam’s apple in a swallow, so I shrug and continue to dress. When I’m done I’m wearing the white dress shirt, black silk button-up vest, and the plaid skirt. I put on fishnet stockings and black, high-heeled boots. I look myself up and down in the full-body mirror.

“Okay, I know I said you were beautiful,” Tristan says from behind me. “But right now you’re hot as hell.”

I laugh and say “Not yet.”

I walk back to the bathroom and do my makeup, liquid liner on the top of my eye and dark stick eyeliner on the bottom. I end it in a small point at the outside corners of my eyes, and then apply mascara. I quickly straighten my hair, burning myself in the process, and then step out of the bathroom.

“Okay, now I’m hot,” I say jokingly.

“You’re damn right,” he jokes back.

I laugh and throw on the school’s uniform hoodie, which is surprisingly tight and attractive but warm and really comfortable. I’m glad Elemental Academy doesn’t have the shitty, horrifying uniforms some private schools have. A silver cross, similar in shape as the one in Lucinda’s office, is embroidered over my heart. Remembering the flash of silver on Tristan’s shirt, I turn my attention to him.

“The symbol on your shirt, what is it?” I ask, curious.

He steps closer so I can see it. Stitched perfectly into the shirt is a sword and spear crossing each other, enclosed by the outline of a shield. The top of the shield has one star, under the left tip.

“It’s the symbol of the Guardians,” Tristan says.

“What’s the star for?” I ask.

“It means I’m on my first level of training,” Tristan says. “We can’t graduate to become true Guardians until we’ve completed the third level of training and have bonded with a witch.”

“Is it abnormal to be the Guardian of a witch at your first level?” I ask.

“Kinda,” he says with a smile.

I smile back then check my phone, and the time reads 7:52. “Shit, we should get going.”

Tristan nods and we leave the dorm room.

“So if it’s weird to have a first level Guardian-in-Training, why were you there at all?” I ask.

“There seems to be a physical connection that comes with the magical connection, so your selection was chosen by guessing what physical attributes would appeal to you, regardless of rank,” he says. “It’s also odd that a witch, especially a brand-new witch, found a Guardian her first try.”

By now we’re in the Office Hall, the hallway that connects the tower. In the middle are a group of women, talking animatedly. I recognize Lucinda just as she sees me, and she waves me over. Tristan and I walk together to her.

“Aradia, this is Erin, your Control teacher,” Headmistress Lucinda says, pointing to a woman with curly brown hair. “We must go to the Elemental Temple, quickly. Lady LeMark will be shimmering in shortly, all the way from England.”

“Shimmering?” I say, but Lucinda’s already turning.

From behind Lucinda appears to be wearing a cloak of raven feathers, the color of the nighttime sky. But when I see her turn to bark at a pair of student witches I see the feathers ruffle, like an agitated bird. I realize then that she’s not wearing a cloak, but has a pair of wings.

“She has wings?” I whisper to Tristan.

“I’ll explain later,” he whispers back quickly as we’re ushered outside and to the temple.

Once inside, we all stand in the center of the temple, waiting. We stand in a circle, leaving a moderate amount of space directly under the chandelier. After a few nerve-wracking minutes, an image of a woman begins to shimmer into existence in the empty space. In the course of a couple seconds she’s there, completely solid. Her hair is a dark, brownish red, slightly wavy and ending just below her breasts. She turns and looks at me, knowing who I am based on the fact that I’m the only young witch here. Her eyes are a shocking golden color, like a hawk’s. A pair of wolf ears are on either side of the top of her head, and I don’t know if they’re real or some kind of headband.

“Ah, Aradia Hollow,” she says with a smile, and I notice that she has thick fangs on the top and bottom of her mouth, where her canine teeth should be.

I stare at her, silent. First wings, now fangs and ears? What the hell? Before I can react Lucinda steps forward.

“Justine, how I’ve missed you!” she says, hugging Justine warmly.

“Lucinda, it’s great to see you again,” she answers, pulling back from the hug with a smile.

“Shall we begin?” Lucinda says, stepping back into the circle.

Justine gestures for me to join her in the center, so I hastily stifle my fear and step forward, nearly tripping over my own feet with nervousness. I stand before the adult witch, feeling small.

“What powers do you possess, of your knowledge?” she asks me.

“Pyrokinesis,” I answer immediately.

“Hmm,” she says. “Can you show me?”

I gulp air for a second, but move my right hand gracefully in a delicate pattern, trying to repeat Hayden and Lilly’s movements from memory. Sure enough, thin tendrils of fire appear around my hand, dancing and licking my skin playfully. I smile, feeling exhilarated with the power I’m capable of. With a calm mind and no anger fueling my gifts, the element swirls around my hand, wrapping around it with a playful air rather than a hostile one.

“And you just found out you were a witch two days ago?” Justine asks.

I glance up from the magic I’m wielding. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Amazing,” shes says. “Can you extinguish them?”

I close my hand into a fist, moving on instinct, and the fire disappears, leaving a tiny puff of smoke behind momentarily. I feel a sadness once the fire’s gone, as if it was my friend.

“Come to me, young witch,” Justine says.

I move in front of her, so we’re both directly under the chandelier and facing eachother. She puts her hands up, palms out, and I copy her, allowing my hands to rest on hers in the air. She closes her eyes for a moment, her brow furrowing, and my hands begin to heat up. After a moment, I feel a zap in my palms. Justine pulls away, breathing hard.

“You are quite gifted, young sorceress,” she murmurs. Raising her voice, she says “Everyone except for Headmistress Lucinda, Erin, and Aradia, please leave the temple.”

“My Guardian stays,” I say, lifting my chin.

Justine smiles. “And Aradia’s Guardian.”

The adult witches except for the ones specified leave quickly, and soon our small group is alone.

“You are very powerful,” Justine says immediately.

“Did you get a read on her precise powers?” Lucinda asks before I can say anything.

“Yes,” Lady LeMark answers. “She holds the power of pyrokinesis, illustrative projection, perception, and the extremely rare power of alliance.”

“That’s incredible,” Lucinda says, a look of shock on her face.

“Of course, those are only her currently awakened powers,” Justine answers. “However, the reading is strong, she holds great power.”

“Excuse me!” I practically yell, my patience gone. “Can we please stop talking about me like I’m not even here? And what the fuck is illustrative projection, perception, and the power of alliance?”

Lucinda looks at me darkly, opening her mouth to scold me, but Justine smiles at me warmly.

“I apologize, Aradia,” she says kindly. “Illustrative projection is where you can bring flat images to life by putting your astral energy into them, and the power of alliance is an extremely rare gift, one I haven’t seen since the death of the Wolf Tribe’s Elder Mystic. It means you are allied with all four elements, and they will listen to your will.”

“So it’s the same as my pyrokinesis?” I ask.

“No dear,” she says. “You can only fully control the element of fire, but the other three will not harm you, for they are your allies. In times of great need, they may even aid you, if you have respected and honored them well.”

“So if someone with, say, hydrokinesis tried to attack me with that power, what would happen?” I ask, curious.

“The water would avoid you, may even retaliate against the user,” Justine responds. “In extreme cases, the water would move to your side, and follow your bidding instead of the other witches’.”

“That’s intense,” I say wonderingly. “But what’s perception?”

“A useful power, one I myself have,” she replies with a smile, her fangs glinting. “When someone is looking at or watching me, I feel a twist in my gut, like a foreboding.”

I nod, understanding. “I feel a burn on the back of my neck.”

“Excuse me for interrupting, Lady LeMark,” my Control teacher says, her voice feathery light. “But we don’t have much time left. What level of Control training does Aradia require?”

“I recommend level three,” Justine says.

“I’ll apply the change to her schedule as soon as we’re done here,” Headmistress Lucinda says.

“Which, unfortunately, is now,” Justine says. “Rohul is waiting for me.”

She turns to me and grasps my hands. “Aradia, I bid you well. Your power is a gift as well as a danger, keep your Guardian close,” she says, and then continues with a smile. “You remind so much of my lost friend, the Tribe Mystic I mentioned earlier. If you ever need to speak to me, I’m only a pinch of Dark Dust away.”

She lets go of my hands, and I crease my brow in confusion. She says goodbye to Erin and Lucinda, and then shimmers out of existence before me. Lucinda and Erin nod to me in farewell and leave the temple, leaving Tristan and I alone.

“So,” he says. “What’d you think of your assessment?”

The only thing I can think to say is “What the hell is Dark Dust?”