Canaan Club - 46. Chapter 46

Tiny, black ants crept ever so slowly across her arms and back.

That was the best way to describe the current state of Lindsay Warlane’s nerves as she anxiously maneuvered through the large space of Ironward Academy’s main building. Seriously, who could find anything in this place? Not only was she a dainty, little thirteen-year-old freshman, but she was surrounded by older, mean-looking upperclassmen who paraded around in massive groups, obviously knowing the ins and outs of the place and were probably internally laughing that the first-years getting lost like lambs.

Lindsay sighed and brushed her blue hair back, trying to calm herself in some way. It had been cool in elementary school, using magic to dye it indigo because she loved the beach as a kid, hoping to reflect its waves in her style, but now there were girls with snakes for hair – the gorgons – and others that could literally shift into gorgeous-looking animals. She wondered if there were any liger-

“You lost?”

Despite the voice being a damn-near light whisper, it was still enough to make Lindsay jump just the slightest bit. She couldn’t hide the embarrassed flush that came over her face as she spun around to find another girl smiling shyly at her.

Lindsay stared owlishly at jet-black hair and a freckled face, adorable dots scattered across the beautiful tawny skin of the cheeks. Dark brown eyes glittered hopefully, waiting patiently for the blue-haired girl’s response.

“U-uh, yeah, unfortunately,” Lindsay stammered. “Do you mind if-”

“Oh, thank the gods!” the girl dramatically sighed with relief. “Don’t worry. I’m just as clueless as you are. I thought I was the only first-year here.”

Lindsay didn’t know how to describe the lifting of most of her stress. Looks like there was someone else here to share it with.

“I…” a laugh slipped out as she answered, “don’t think being two lost little lambs will help us any better.”

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she should be a little embarrassed for how obviously desperate for relatability she must have looked, but this was a major exception.

“But we can lure other confused babes to the slaughter. Safety in numbers as they say,” the brunette joked as she elbowed her.

“Good thinking. Lindsay Warlane, by the way,” the blue-haired girl extended a hand. “A fellow babe.”

Her possibly-hopefully-new friend giggled before placing two of her hands atop Lindsay’s, shaking with both of them. “Yelena Perez. What do you say we try and barrel through the masses?”

She’s an odd one, Lindsay thought. I like her.

“I was about to suggest finding the biggest person here and beating them up. That’s the fastest way to gaining respect.”

Yelena clicked her tongue and grinned. “That was my second proposition.”

Lindsay shrugged, smiling as they wrapped their arms around each other’s shoulders, heading semi-bravely into the masses. “Great minds think alike, I guess.”

-POI-

“And that’s how we met,” a wistful smile graced Linday’s face as she reminisced. “In public, she was the shy nervous type, but when it was just us and our friends, she was a dramatic motormouth. Especially when it came to magic.”

“You were both mages-in-training, right?” Rudy asked.

She nodded. “That’s right.”

Rafe was curious. “You both train under the same merlin?”

He didn’t know too much about the mechanics of magic, or even the world of mage-kind in general despite having a werewolf for a best friend. It was always about him showing Andre his side of the fence rather than the other way around.

“The what?” the second-year blinked, raising an eyebrow.

“Your wizard teacher,” he clarified. “They’re always named ‘Merlin’ in the books and TV shows.”

That got a surprised laugh out of her and the group – barring Bones, the grumpy sourpuss, of course.

“I actually never asked about that,” shrugged Lindsay. “I’ve heard that wizards preferred to keep their pupils separate, but I always assumed she was from a family of mages.”

“Why wouldn’t she ever mention that? You said she was a magic nut, yeah?” Joe wondered.

“Oh, she was. Though, it was never about her own abilities. You see, she was a mage. It’s just… her powers… were dangerous.”

Rafe nodded in understanding. “And that made her a hot commodity in Deyja’s skeevy eyes. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was rubbing shoulders with the upper-class dregs of society.”

“Yeah,” she shifted in her seat. “She couldn’t exactly be loud and proud about it.”

Rudy leaned forward, nearly spilling the remaining contents of his mug, excited anticipation lighting up his eyes. “Well, don’t just tease us like that. What was her power? You know we can keep our lips zipped up tight.”

Unfortunately for him, that was when Bones ran out of patience. “Never mind that! You guys hit it off and were friends for most of the year, but she’s not here now. Why is that? What happened?”

Lindsay snorted. “Who do you think? Zoel fucking Wulfrot happened.”

-POI-

“Impromptu study group ad hoc,” Lindsay spoke dryly to her WardNav as she walked under the setting sun to the first-year dorms. “Foreign Medical Physics is kicking my ass and Ms. Sumas is laughing in the background.”

Rexel’s exhausted face filled the screen, her head laying back on a set of pink pillows as she sighed. “Honestly, I was thinking about doing the same. I can’t even enjoy Magic Manipulation without the exam popping up in my mind.”

“This can’t be a first-year class. It’s more like… mental torture for freshmen.”

“Don’t let Sumas hear you say that. I swear, that woman’s gonna make us go brain-dead by the end of the year.”

“That’s Ironward for you,” Lindsay shrugged before another thought came to her. “Hey, have you gotten ahold of Lena yet? I’ve tried getting her attention with calls and texts, but I guess she’s still doing afterschool stuff, I think? I know she’s the nerdiest out of all of us, but even she wouldn’t stay in so late.”

Rexel’s lips pursed, shaking her head. “Yeah, I know. It’s strange. I’m getting a little worried. You think she went to the Abellon club’s afterparty?”

The blue-haired girl had to snort at that. “Absolutely no way. She hates those things. Big crowds, you know. Not that I favor them either-”

Then she froze, suddenly realizing she was at her dorm room’s front door. Of course, after four months of the same routine, it’s become muscle memory. She would have definitely remembered putting up a security spell on the door. Was this Yelena’s doing? Perhaps the lock was broken?

“Linds? You still there?” Rexel called out after a bout of silence.

Lindsay shook her head before readying herself to undo it. This was going to take a while.

“Yeah, I’m-” she shrugged her purse off. “Listen, I’ll call you back, Rex.”

One awkward goodbye later, she set out for the task. Despite being here for only a short amount of time, she had come a long way in controlling her magic. The wizard masters back in elementary were all about slow and steady, but here, they got right to the point and let their students go from there. It’s exactly what Lindsay needed.

Undoing a locking spell was lower-level stuff, and this proved it as such. Tracing over an invisible insignia was easy enough when one knew to look for the lightest part on the door. After a few swipes with a glowing, blue finger, the symbol sparked before popping like a mini-firework.

She smirked proudly before picking her purse up and entering…

…then stopped…

…because Lindsay absolutely knew she did not leave the mess she was now witnessing. It wasn’t a complete and total catastrophe, but several school utensils scattered across the room, a splintered headboard, and two large foot imprints that somehow managed to leave cracked impressions on the floor were beyond both Lindsay and Yelena’s standards.

Then, she saw the blankets on the bed on the right side – Yelena’s side – move slightly but erratically.

“Lena?” the blue-haired girl slowly stalked toward the trembling covers.

They were nearly falling off the bed as if they had been thrown over her in haste and forgotten about, and every little twitch made it inch closer to falling off the bed. Fortunately, it revealed a nest of tangled black hair, and Lindsay quickly hurried over to her friend.

“Gods, Lena. A-Are you okay? What happened? This place is a mess,” she spoke, but she paused when she heard little sniffles. Yelena was crying? And… was that a blood stain on her knuckles? “Lena? You’re hurt. What happened, Brain-gal? Who hurt you?”

She sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at her shivering roommate with worry.

“I-It’s… I c-can’t…” Lindsay had to strain her ears to hear the soft, stuttering whimpers, each one filling the pool of dread in her stomach.

“Someone hurt you. You wouldn’t make this mess. You’re the neatest freak I know. Did someone… break in?”

She let the question linger, not wanting to hasten things and mess everything up. Eventually, dark brown eyes that were once vibrant and full of bright intelligence were now dulled with pain and fear. The blue-headed mage could feel her heart cracking at the sight.

“L-L-Linds…?”

Lindsay smiled sadly. “I’m here, Lena.”

That did it.

She leaped toward her, and Lindsay embraced her best friend with all the love and compassion she could muster as Yelena sobbed loudly. All the while, Lindsay cooed into her ear, letting her know that she was still there.

“It’s okay. You’re okay, now. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

-POI-

“No way…” Rafe was pale as a sheet.

He should have expected something like this considering everything that had happened since he got here, but a part of him didn’t want to believe it.

Andre stared up at him in concern, innocent to the true depravities of the world. “What is it?”

There was an unpleasantly tense silence among the others as they waited for Lindsay to continue the daunting recounting.

Her tone was low and cracking at the seams, hands fisted on her thighs so tightly Rafe thought he would start seeing blood. “She couldn’t even stay in the dorm. Couldn’t get anything out of her until she transferred into one of the community homes on the island next door.”

“Was… Was she…?” the blond superhuman stammered.

He didn’t want to say it.

Lindsay, thank the gods, shook her head vehemently. “He made it to his packhouse with her and into his room, but that’s when she fought her hardest. It was only because he was too drunk to do anything more.”

“Fuck…”

“Wait. He?” Joe blinked.

Rexel’s lips pursed. “Zoel Wulfrot.”

That name had an instant effect on the room. Deep down, everyone knew it would be him, but they didn’t want to believe that he would sink this low. Although, he did attempt to kill Rafe some time ago and tried his hand at it again just earlier today.

“That son of bitch!” Rafe slammed punched a fist into his open palm, forcing out a small shockwave that made the room rumble for a quick second.

Nobody balked at that, sharing the same sentiment of disbelief and rage.

“But why?” Bones’ voice was dark, a glimmer of the same fury in his otherwise collected expression. “Why her?”

“Who else for!?” Lindsay retorted in a yell. “That fucking leech bitch, Deyja! That disgusting bastard hoped her ugly ass who scent Lena on him the next day to rile her up! She was already looking for other worthy blood bags by that point, but for some reason, he was her favorite. Or at least, that was what he thought!”

Andre still seemed a little confused. He was so sheltered from the darker side of the world, and in all honesty, Rafe preferred it that way. He didn’t want to dim the light in his life that was his best friend, but he needed to know the depths the enemy, or rather people in general, was willing to sink to for their own gain.

A short, whispered conversation in his ear later, and the young wolf’s face was grimacing in horror. Rafe hated seeing it, but he couldn’t regret it now.

“Piece of shit,” Daeran muttered lowly, an unusually deadly gleam in his normally cheerless hazel eyes.

Joe tapped his back, nodding in agreement. “You got that right.”

“Are there any magic spells we can use to help us get away with murder?” Rudy suggested, a bit serious for once. “Maybe we can ambush him like he did Rafe.”

“Yelena told you this, but I haven’t seen her since I got here,” Bones stated while the others seethed. “Did she drop out or something?”

“Yeah. Got out of the place that reminded her of the terror she went through. He might’ve not gotten what he wanted, but having to see him for the remaining years he was here was too much for her,” Lindsay said, tears beginning to gather in her eyes. “And… she didn’t necessarily tell me. She… She trusted me enough to… show me.”

“Through magic?” Joe voiced everyone’s confusion. “How?”

Even Bones appeared shocked. “No way! She had the power…”

“To utilize memories?” the blue-haired second-year finished, a bit smug at that. “Yeah. An untrained power, but she could do it. I saw everything during that night relayed to me like a videotape.”

“Holy shit!” Daeran hissed, astonished.

The other arcane users shared his amazement.

“Woah,” Andre’s jaw dropped.

Frodd, uncharacteristically quiet, mumbled, “The gods…”

Those types of magic users, the ones one step off the curb of almighty magic, were rare.

Exceptionally rare.

“Memory powers? And that’s… dangerous?” Rudy shook his head. “Sorry, but my magic lessons haven’t gotten that far.”

Bones nodded briskly. “Extremely so. The ability to manipulate memories is a major aspect of almighty magic, the most powerful form of arcane in existence.”

“Our memories are what makes us… well, us,” Andre continued softly. “If that’s messed up in any way…”

Rafe understood where they were going with this. “We might as well not be us anymore. It’s like using the power of someone’s own life.”

“Basically,” confirmed Lindsay, looking down at her own hands, “but I don’t think Z- he knew that when he tried to… you know. But I didn’t care. I wanted to avenge her. To get revenge for her. I tried so many times to get into the Argo packhouse, but apparently, wolves have noses that can scent the moment something is out of place. I nearly got caught trying to use the memories Lena left me to try and search his room for anything useful. So that when-”

“You hired Hecuba to get in for you,” Daeran’s head snapped to her, surprised. “She could teleport in and out, right?”

“And that’s where the satchel comes in,” Joe figured as well.

Their blue-headed friend hummed in the affirmative. “Lena had accidentally tripped over it during her escape. It bought her some time to get out of there because he stopped to make sure nothing was damaged. It was that precious.”

“But… why did she hand it over to me?” Daeran asked. “We had no idea what was going on.”

“I have a couple of reasons why. You see, Hecuba Collins isn’t exactly an esper. She wouldn’t spill what she was specifically, but she claimed to be a descendant from a line of Unseelie fae that are known for playing tricks and games with other mortals. I had to hand over some form of payment in order for her to do what I asked. I think you can recall the first time you met me.”

“Hold up,” Rafe interrupted. “That was your payment!? Being cornered in an empty library, alone and in the dark, by that piece of fucking shit!?”

Unfortunately, Lindsay nodded. “That was what I owed for her services. At first, I thought you guys were sent over there by her to save me, but it really was just a miracle you showed up when you did, huh?”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” the blond superhuman cursed as he sat back down on the armrest of Andre’s recliner.

“And since I hung around you guys after that, she must’ve thought you all were in on the plan. Either that, or she was playing another game.”

“And the rest is history,” Bones finished, sighing.

“I know I’ve said it before, but I have to say it again,” she made sure to look in the eyes of every single one of them. “I am so sorry for everything. For causing all of this mess and leaving you guys out of it. I-”

Rafe waved it away. “Say no more, okay? We’re in now and we’re gonna get through this. Together.”

The others nodded in total agreement.

“Yup. We’ll see this to the end,” a bright smile formed on Joe’s face. “And honestly, we would have gotten ourselves involved even if you hadn’t told us anything.”

“Yeah. If you haven’t noticed, some of us are bleeding hearts,” Rafe turned to look down at Andre at that, smirking teasingly.

Andre’s cheeks pinkened. However, he was able to playfully retort. “You know you’re one deep down.”

Honestly, Lindsay considered herself lucky. Maybe because they were still new to the Ironward scene and a bit naïve, but she was no longer going to take this alliance- no, friendship for granted. “Thank you all. Truly. I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

With that, she finally grabbed the satchel from beside her feet and zipped it open, unveiling the contents inside. The others leaned in close in anticipation, but a few, such as Daeran, Andre, and Frodd, knew what they were going to see.

Andre and Daeran exchanged knowing looks when they saw the familiar five grey, circular leaf blades with a sickly yellow center. Only now, there were whole packs of them, two stacks of five within.

“An’ that’s used to make the Corpse Vice, yeah?” Frodd asked what he already knew.

“It’s basically temporary steroids,” Bones informed, violet eyes not moving from the contents of the sought-after bag. “You’ll get a pretty substantial power increase for a short time, but the cost is the shortening of your lifespan.”

The young barbarian paled at that, clutching his stomach in growing fear. “Ah, I ain’t gonna die old, am I?”

Joe snickered and shook his head. “Dude, you took one. I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem.”

“He’s right,” agreed the engineer, a ghost of a taunting smile twitching on his lips. “One intake won’t hurt you. Though, it is where the addiction starts.”

“Nope,” Frodd shook his head rapidly, waving his club along with the movement. “Never again. Thought I was gonna cough out me lung.”

After a few minutes of speculation on the usages of Corpse Vice, Azzy, Bones’ animatronic raccoon, who he summoned to fix the damages in Lindsay’s room made by Nizzy, stomped out and stared at his creator, black eyes gleaming. The sight sent a chill down most of the occupants’ spines.

Then, the email came in.

~Attention Adam Society residents,

The affected dorms have now been reconstructed and reverted and all rooms, personal items, and belongings should be in their original states. Thank you for being patient.

Ironward Maintenance~

Bones sighed as he switched his WardNav off. “Alright, let’s call it night. I’m free over the weekend, so hopefully nothing happens by then.”

“It’ll be after Combat practice,” Rafe nodded, fixing Joe and Daeran an expectant look. “We need to train our hardest during that time. Not just for the game, but for the fight up ahead.”

The other two nodded unwaveringly.

“Don’t count us out,” Garrett piped up.

Rudy sprung up from beside him. “Yeah! You’ll need the extra firepower. Well, in the form of icicle blades, of course.”

It was welcome. They were novices dealing with upperclassmen after all.

“Time to go to war,” Joe said while he stood up and stretched.

“Thank you, guys. I…” Lindsay sighed deeply, clutching the satchel in her lap. “I just want this to be over. I want him to pay.”

“And he will,” Rafe stated resolutely. This guy – this menace – needed to go no matter what. “He’s not getting away with it this time.”

The group then began to filter out, heading for their respective homes for the night. Joe, Daeran, and Frodd conferred with Rafe and Andre one last time before the former three left together, the latter duo saying that they’d catch up.

Well, actually, Rafe spoke for the two of them. This was new to Andre.

“Hey,” Rafe extended his hand toward him, “let’s head to the library in the main building.”

The omé was still confused, but he did not hesitate to wrap his fingers around the blond’s longer ones. “Oh, uh, okay.”

“It’s just that… I need to tell you something, and I don’t want anything to ruin it, you know.”

He was graced with that all-powerful, warm smile that never failed to make him melt. “I get it. It’s a crazy place. Lead the way. I need to explain some things, too.”

-POI-

One of Ironward’s finer libraries was located on the upper levels of the main building. The last one they found Lindsay in seemed unused and abandoned. It would have provided more privacy, but knowing what he knew now, it brought up bad memories for Rafe.

Instead, the two sat in an empty study room, sitting across from each other but the only thing that separated them was the corner of the table.

No one appeared to mind that, though.

After a few seconds of silence, Rafe and Andre opened their mouths at the same time. “I’m so-”

They both cut off and snickered. It was off to a comfortable start, and Rafe felt whatever little tension there still was ease.

“Here,” the omé scooted forward in his chair until he was touching knees with his friend. “Let me go first.”

The latter nodded. “Alright.”

“I said all the wrong things last time. Rafe,” he made sure to look deep into the blond’s steel eyes unwaveringly when he stated this, “I am not afraid of you. Not even close. And don’t even think for a second that I’m only friends with you because I’m trying to… contain you or something. You mean so much more to me than that.”

“I know, man. I just… with Lindsay not trusting us and everything, those thoughts just came zipping back. Maybe because I would eventually snap and go on a rampage if the finger was pointed.”

Honestly, Rafe wasn’t sure if he could muster the gumption to kill. That had been the plan when he would take down the system. If he hadn’t run away to Beau and Toby’s place for weeks and months at a time, then for the foreseeable future, there was no doubt his father and the higher-ups would force him to grow used to murder.

Andre shook his head, grabbing the superhuman’s hands in his. “No way. You wouldn’t do something like that. Seven years and I never got that impression. You’re so unlike the people over there, but we all do something we might regret out of anger. I guess I thought I was trying to ‘destress’ you or something like that, but I failed at getting that point across.”

“I’m stupid when I’m angry, eh?” Rafe joked.

“That’s all the time,” the young wolf grinned teasingly. “You said it. Not me.”

The blond feigned an offended gasp. “You little shit.”

They laughed together again. This was more like it.

“And I’m sorry, too,” Rafe spoke sincerely. “For thinking you were afraid of me, and for leaving you alone like that. That should never have happened no matter how mad I was. Out of the two of us, you’re the one with the brains.”

“There’s some pink stuff up here somewhere.” Andre reached over and lightly wrapped his knuckles on his friend’s temple.

The latter snorted. “Also, I won’t badger you about fighting or joining the Combat team anymore, Dre. I’m more than happy to be your dumbass knight in shining armor.”

“Shiny golden armor.”

The omé went in for the hug, giving Rafe no warning. The blond flushed before reciprocating. If they had an audience, he didn’t fucking care. He had his best friend back.

A thought popped up in Rafe’s mind as they sauntered back to their dorm. “I was able to feel you in trouble even when I was a bit away from the islands. Like my chest aching the further I flew away. Do you… do you feel it, too?”

This time, it was Andre’s turn to go red, though, he covered it up with a secretive smile and a wink. “All the time. It must be a pretty deep friendship bond.”