The Clinic: Test Twelve (mild language, sexual conduct)

**Katherynn** · 10-18-2012 05:23 PM

Test Twelve
I shut the door behind me, sliding down it, as the tears fell. All I could think about was Zaien and the other Patients at the Clinic. Rho and the other mages had just dropped me in here, expecting me to cope and forget about the Clinic.
But how could I?
How could I forget when everyone left was trying to survive at the Clinic? Someone could’ve easily died from the drugs and I wasn’t there. I had to get out and save them.
Somehow, blindly, I had made my way to my window. The sky outside was bleached in a pink tone from the setting sun and, for the briefest of moments, I had sworn it was blood.
The sound of someone tapping on my door made me jump and I didn’t bother calling for them to come in. The visitor, apparently, didn’t care one way or another.
“Claire?” a new, familiar voice said calmly. “Is it alright if I come in?”
I looked over at my shoulder and into Kyle’s dark, amber eyes. They gave no emotion as he gave me a once over.
“What do you want?” I said quietly, looking back out at the sky. “I think I should probably get to bed.”
The excuse was a weak one but it was the only one that I could think of, at the moment.
In the next moment I felt his arms wrap around me and I almost lost it. Even his hold was too much. I just wanted everyone to disappear. It would make everything easier.
“Ky—”
“Just cry,” he said softly. “I’ll hold you.”
As if something inside of me snapped, the tears came without any warning. It felt as if it would never end. I cried for what seemed like forever.
When I stopped, when I finally came to my senses, Kyle’s shirt was soaked with my tears and my head was pounding.
“Claire…”
My name. That was all he said…yet it still felt as if everything was crashing down around me. The pain…it was almost unbearable. All I wanted was to go back—to return everything to how it once was. When I was still naively innocent.
It made sense now, what Zaien had once said. Somehow, he knew. Somehow, against everything, he knew what was going to happen. He’d tried to save me and I’d repaid him by throwing it all in his face.
“Kyle,” I said softly, looking up at him. All I could see was Zaien.
He said nothing and I let out a breath—not quite a sigh—before pulling out of his embrace. The look in his eyes told me he hadn’t wanted to quite yet but allowed me to nonetheless.
“I’m fine,” I said with a sad smile. “I plan on going to sleep. Tomorrow will be…busy.”
He nodded, the silence remaining, and I smiled slightly, hugging him gently.
“Thank you,” I whispered before releasing him. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Claire.”
I turned away and waited for the door to close behind him before I tried what my mind had conjured up while Kyle held me.
Slowly, I closed my eyes, picturing Zaien in front of me. I could feel the familiar push against my skin as I knew the image took form in front of me. When I finally opened my eyes, he was with me.
“Claire.”
His voice. His lips. His smile. All of it…it was all him, yet not a single inch of him. What I saw was a fragment of my memories. He would say whatever I wanted him to say.
A copy would never be as good as the real thing.
Zaien closed the space between us and stroked my tear-stained cheek as he spoke softly.
“Claire…what happened?”
I shook my head and hugged him tightly.
This was something I could never have done while I was at the Clinic. I never would’ve had the nerve to. But, after all of the events that had transpired, I found the simple joy of touching him was something that changed everything.
He titled my chin up and kissed away my tears before kissing my lips gently—the barest of touches—before I pushed back, deepening the kiss.
“Claire,” he said through the kiss. “We can’t. We have to stop.”
I slammed the image away immediately.
There was no way. I wouldn’t be able to handle this. It was too much. There was no way I could cope and learn to grow.
“If you do not grow, Claire, you’ll never be allowed to leave this school.”
“Then I’ll just break out,” I growled back to Rho mentally. “I have other responsibilities. There are people I have to protect!”
“And you can’t protect them if you go back now! You’ll only get yourself killed in your current state!! If you do not grow then you will die if you face the Time siblings!”
I didn’t bother replying as I tugged off my uniform and slid beneath the covers of my bed. Rho would never understand. Not like I could.
Protecting the other Patients was my life. I’d done it for as long as I could remember.
I wouldn’t give up on them now.

“The Clinic girl?” someone whispered as I walked down the halls to my classroom.
I was on my way to my final class of the day—Creature Care or C.C. as it was known to the students. All day long I’d heard people whispering things about me. I’d been labeled as the ‘Clinic girl.’
After about twenty minutes, it began to unnerve me. A handful of brave students had come up to me and say hi. Before I could reply they would run. It was almost as if they thought I was disease ridden.
I’d been called a ‘druggie’ and an ‘addict’ and, even, a ‘drug whore’ but none of it had affected me. Elly had tried to near me a few times today but gotten dragged back by her friends. Kyle had kept to himself like the others.
Scorpion was still, as of late, nowhere to be found.
I stepped into a room that was about the size of the lobby of the Clinic—which was very, very big. It was set up in a biome-changing state and had settled on a forest. I guessed that it was to suit the animal types living in the certain biome.
“Claire,” the director said, calling me forward. “You’ve never handled animals before, have you?”
The class’s attention, even though I had just arrived, was already directed on me and I couldn’t help the small feeling of nausea building in the pit of my stomach.
“N-No, sir,” I said gently, clutching my books. Like the others, I sat them down on a table before joining the crowd. “No animals were ever around th—where I lived.”
Some people made comments but one look from the director made them quiet rather quickly.
“Would you like to try?”
I froze as more comments flew. Some I heard fell around “she’ll probably screw it up” while others were “I want to see that try to handle an animal.” One girl patted me on the back as I stayed silent.
“You can do it,” she whispered.
I looked as she winked, her orange-amber eyes light. Her voice and eyes seemed genuine and I nodded.
“Yes, I’ll try,” I said finally.
Shocked noised echoed from around me but the girl just smiled, pushing back a few strands of her hair that had fallen from her waist-length braid.
The director motioned me forward and I took a breath before joining him, going through procedures I’d taken at the Clinic.
This was like being tested—only with animals instead of needles. And instead of a medical room, I was in a forest biome.
“I want you to focus on the woods,” the director said calmly. “Allow the animals to come to you.”
The director was a man, about six-eight, with an elfish figure. His jade eyes and almost-white hair made him look like a young man but his voice gave way to his age.
I closed my eyes, letting everything else fall away like I had during my testing sessions with Feiral and Jate.
Almost immediately I felt something pull inside of me. It was as if, deep inside of me, there was a pool of water and something had hit it, causing a ricochet of feelings through my entire body.
I heard, far away, someone gasp before I opened my eyes. In front of me stood three animals.
“Oh my God,” someone behind me said in awe. “Has that ever…?”
Multiple whispers and murmurs broke through the crowd as I assessed the three animals.
Somehow I knew what they all were, though I’d never seen anything like them.
On my left was a large bird—larger than any type I’d ever seen—with different arrays of flaming and royal blues. It’s black-blue, glassy eyes watched me intently. It was a phoenix. I had no idea how I knew, I just did.
Next was a dragon. It wasn’t fully grown and, like the phoenix, I knew that it was a wyvern. It focused on different shades of blues and greens. It was as if, where the light hit it, the scales reflected blue but, other times, shone green.
The third, final creature, on my right was a giant snake. It was a pale ivory with dark eyes. It was at least twenty times longer than I was and five times as wide. Its head knelt down to me almost in…reverence. It, I knew, was called a basilisk.
“Claire,” the director said almost…coldly. “If you’ve created these creatures from your own imaging’s that wasn’t the point of this test.”
I gave him a confused look.
“What are you talking about?” I paused. “I didn’t do anything like that. Not to sound rude, but I am not that creative. Also, I can barely create a form let alone hold three. Did I do something wrong?”
“The process,” the director said, drawing out the words, “is to bond. Some people bond with more than one animals but those are familiar animals like tigers or foxes. These three…they’re not meant to be bonded. All three only bond to one person in their lifetime. If one chooses a person, the other two remain away from them. What you’ve done…it isn’t possible.
“The blue phoenix—no one has ever bonded with her before. The basilisk had only bonded once, as has the wyvern.”
“Did I do something wrong?” I asked hesitantly, still confused.
There was so much about magick that I couldn’t understand. I would have to ask what ‘bonding’ was eventually but I had a feeling that now wasn’t the time.
“No!” he said hurriedly. “Now try something. I want you to touch them. This is merely a test. I am curious to see what occurs.”
The voices were still entertaining the air around me but I ignored them as I walked up to the creatures. They circled around me, but I felt no fear—even from the snake.
Naga—the basilisk—laid her head gently on my shoulder, her glassy eyes inches from my own. I touched her head softly and she, you could say, nuzzled me.
Cheylo—the phoenix, drew close before gliding around me to land on my right shoulder which remained unoccupied. Her beak made a swift dive towards my face and I heard multiple people—perhaps even the director—gasp. She pulled some of my hair between the two, black pieces of her beak, holding onto it tightly.
Aversion—the dragon—stood at least two feet above my own height, knelt, curving it’s large neck around to lay his head on my feet.
“Claire,” I heard the director say breathlessly. “How do you feel? Are they hurting you?”
Hurting?
“No,” I said gently, turning slightly. The animals followed. “It actually feels…normal.”
I looked at Naga and Cheylo and nodded. As if I’d commanded them, they left. I did the same with Aversion and he disappeared into the forest as well.
“Did I do that correctly?” I asked hesitantly.
There were no more whispers. There was just silence—even from the director.
“Call them back,” the director said slowly. “One at a time. First the dragon then the phoenix then the basilisk.”
I couldn’t fathom while he wanted me to continue these tests but I obliged. Seconds later the three stood by my side the same way they had before, save Cheylo was on my arm now, her large, black talons wrapped around my forearm.
“Incredible,” he said, his eyes wide. “I don’t believe it.”
“Could you please explain to me what exactly I’m doing,” I said, frowning. “Because, currently, I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“Try to call another. A tiger.”
I gave him another confused look but attempted to complete his task. Moments later a tiger emerged from the dense overgrowth.
Whispers echoed through the air and I frowned. Apparently what I was doing wasn’t normal.
“Is it because she’s from the Clinic?” I heard someone say.
“No, can’t be,” someone else replied. “We’ve had people from there before and it didn’t happen.”
Multiple, similar, conversations flitted through the air before the bell overhead rang. The animals surrounding me didn’t even so much as flinch.
The classroom emptied rather quickly and I frowned as I looked at the director.
“Could you please explain what I’ve done wrong?”
“Wrong? Wrong?!” His voice shot through several octaves and I winced. The animals followed in unison. “Child, you’ve done nothing wrong!! You’ve done…stupendous! Amazing! Phenomenal!”
“What…exactly did I do?”
“Y—”
“Director Saunders?” a familiar voice said, entering the classroom. “Is Naga—Claire?”
Kyle stood several feet from me and Naga nuzzled closer to me. His gaze turned placid as he looked at the director.
“What has happened to where that has occurred?” Kyle said almost…coldly. “I thought that was impossible.”
“I’m not bonded with the tiger,” I interrupted. “Just the other three—Naga, Cheylo, and Aversion.”
“She already knows their names?” Kyle said, raising an eyebrow. “Naga wouldn’t even tell me her name for months.”
“It’s remarkable!” the director said, in awe. “It shouldn’t be possible! And she can call any animal she wishes at any time! Tell her an animal—she’ll bring it to you!”
“A manticore.”
“Kyle!” the director yelled. “There’s no way she can do that! That creature is too dangerous and uncontrollable! It responds to no one.”
“Then I think you should take a look,” he said coolly, pointing to me.
I turned and saw a creature, its large paws walking with the grace of a killer, its head held high.
The creature had the body of a lion with the head of a human. The tail, however, resembled a scorpion’s.
It had three horns growing from its head, the longest being the center with a length of about three inches. The other two were about an inch less. Large, dragon-like wings sprouted from its back near the shoulder blades, perhaps a bit above, and drew out before curving in to protect themselves.
The creature had all the control of a king and just as much of a royal air. The three animals around me grew wary but stayed where they were.
“Don’t let it draw too close, Claire!” the director cried out. “A manticore devours its prey whole—not bothering to leave neither bones nor anything else behind! The tail releases poisonous barbs that paralyze its chosen prey! Be careful! The manticore nature is unsteady and dangerous.”
“Naga—go to Kyle,” I said softly to the snake. She obeyed immediately and I turned to the phoenix. “Cheylo—go watch over the director.”
She made a soft, cooing noise and then obeyed.
“Aversion,” I said gently as the dragon lowered his head to where we were eye level. “Go between them.”
He obeyed and the director made a protest that Kyle silenced immediately.
“If she wants to do this, let her,” he said calmly. “This is her choice. We are here to learn—how else will she learn?”
The director didn’t say another word and the manticore stayed on all fours, pausing a few feet from me.
Its mouth opened to speak and revealed three rows of very sharp, very shark-like teeth. I didn’t even flinch. Somehow, I already knew. It was as if I’d known this creature my entire life.
“Human,” the manticore said calmly. Its voice echoed like a medium-level note on a trumpet that rang with authority. I merely stood and listened. “You are not like the others. You reign from spirit.”
“What does that mean?” I replied quietly. “I’ve recently—”
“I know those trials with which you’ve been sent through,” the creature said, interrupting, “just as you know the true name of my kind. But, regardless, I come because you call and I shall aide you.”
The manticore pawed its way towards me and stopped, rounding me once until its long body was curved around my own.
“You do not fear me, like the others,” it said calmly. Its dark brown eyes watched me carefully but I never wavered. “You are like her. The woman with the silver hair and orange eyes.”
“My mother.”
“Yes,” it said with a slight chuckle. “She was similar to you, but different.”
“You knew her?” I said, surprised. “If there is anything you can tell me—please. I need to know.”
“You wish to help those tortured by the broken ones,” the manticore said, settling down to where it was lying down like a lazy cat. “Lie with me; lean against me.”
“Cla—”
“You, director, should remain quiet,” it growled. “You are to have no part of this. Neither should that broken one with you.”
Kyle tensed and Naga let out a hiss. The manticore merely shrugged and turned its attention back to me. I obeyed and leaned against its side.
“What you are asking is something I find I cannot explain,” it said calmly. “I am afraid that the answers to your saving grace are found within you and only you. Even I, as wise as I am, have no knowledge of the inner heart. Only He knows.”
“There is so much that I don’t understand,” I whispered, frowning, as the tears filled my eyes. “I’m powerless to help those I love and want to protect.”
“You’ll grow quickly, Chosen,” the manticore whispered gently. “Give me you arm.”
I obeyed and its tail came down quickly, stopping just before the pointed, scorpion tip touched my skin. While the director cried out I remained still and quiet. I trusted this creature, as odd as that would seem.
“As you know, the venom inside of my tail paralyzes,” the manticore explained calmly. “And, if you are touched, you will be paralyzed. However, there is another agent that I myself can release to help you grow stronger. It is natural and will take time. However, it will leave you marked by the demons.
“Will you accept my brand?”
“I accept.”
“Claire, no!”
The tail came down gently, the first touch, even before the skin broke, caused my body to immediately paralyze. I was thankful that it had paralyzed though. It made things easier.
I could feel my skin giving way beneath the sharp point as the manticore carved delicate, overlapping symbols across the underside of my forearms. I could feel the tip moving through my skin and knew that it should’ve been painful given I could feel, even, how deep the point was going.
Perhaps this was the true nature of the manticore—not a man-eater, but I wise teacher.
When the manticore finished I saw what was beneath the fangs and tail. Beneath the fur and thick flesh.
A girl.
Her hair fell past her ankles and flowed around her gently as she floated. She wore a white gown with no sleeves. Her hands were folded and her bright blue eyes looked into my own, filled with sorrow and red tears. Her skin was so pale it glowed. But the strangest things were her wings.
Giant, white wings folded around her body, shielding her…or keeping her in. She looked…angelic. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on.
Azael. She was the manticore. An angel—trapped in the body of an animal.
“Broken one,” she called, pulling her tail back. “Take the Chosen to a room. She’ll need rest for many days to come. Take the phoenix, basilisk, and dragon with you. Bandage her wounds with the medical tape you humans use. She must keep the poison within her for it to complete.
“I trust you to care for her.” She gave a look to the director and smiled, showing all of her teeth. “I look for you to seeing you again soon, director Saunders.”
She slid back into the overgrowth as Kyle walked to me, lifting me into his arms. Naga looked at me worriedly while he laid me on Aversion. No one said a word while they carried me back to my room as commanded.
The silence was almost unnerving and if I could’ve let out a relieved sigh, I would’ve.
By the time we made it back to my room, the tension was like a cord pulled tightly. Kyle lifted me into his arms effortlessly before lying me on my bed.
“Do you want me to undress you?”
The blatant way he said it made me believe that he’d undressed a female on more than one occasion but I didn’t think much about it. All I could manage to do was make a noise.
“Stay quite if it’s a yes,” he said calmly.
I stayed silent and, after a long pause, he carefully began to undress me as if I was a newborn child, unable to move.
He untied the ribbon and let it fall to the floor before taking of my jacket. He left on my white undershirt but I knew, in the days to come, I’d have to take it off eventually. He carefully tugged off my skirt and then my shoes and socks before covering me with my blankets.
“I’ll inform the teachers that you won’t be attending school for the next few days. I don’t think they’d be very happy for their newest student to be skipping so early.”
I wanted to tell him thank you. Nod. Blink. Anything. But I couldn’t move whatsoever.
Kyle closed my eyes before leaving.
I could feel Naga slide overtop of my legs and lie there while Aversion, I guessed, laid down beside my bed, his head on my shoulder. Cheylo, I guessed by the slight rock of the bed, had settle on the headboard.
Somehow, I knew, things were about to get even harder from now on.

Two weeks and four days passed before I was able to move anything again. Something about the venom inside of me had made all of my bodily needs and functions cease. How I remained alive was beyond me but I honestly didn’t care.
For the past eight hours, though, I had been eating nonstop. It was something rare for even me.
By the time I managed to get to C.C. Elly had made sure—multiple times—that I was alright. I had barely made it through the door before Naga, Cheylo, and Aversion were by my side.
The other students looked at me as if I was crazy. Oddly, I found it ironic given I was in a high school filled with mages.
After nearly forty minutes of agonizing silence I was allowed to leave. By the time the final bell was finished ringing, I had cleared the doors, thankful to be away. Naga, Cheylo, and Aversion stayed by my side.
Oddly, I’d grown close to them being there rather quickly and even noted a few students with animals—or, using the proper term, familiars—at their sides. It, while comforting, unnerved me.
The others had owls or even the occasional tiger but nothing mythical. I’d seen one girl with a Pegasus but nothing else came close to my basilisk, phoenix, and dragon.
“…Formal,” Sally was saying as I passed by them. “Claire! Are you going?”
I paused and shot her a confused look.
The only one who didn’t flinch when my familiars moved was Kyle. He seemed perfectly in control. Then again, he was Naga’s original mage. Having more than one “owner” wasn’t heard of but highly unlikely.
He was the only other person who even came close to having as odd familiars as I did. It was almost…comforting.
“What is it?” I evened my gaze between Sally, who was gushing, and Elly who looked sick. “Formal?”
“The Winter Formal,” Sally said matter-of-factly. “It’s a dance held every year in December for the students here.”
“What’s a dance?”
Sally looked at me as if I’d just killed her favorite pet. She recovered quickly and sighed.
“I guess you wouldn’t know, growing up in the Clinic.” Her voice sounded almost sad and I guessed that she figured it was a touchy subject for me. “Basically, a dance is a get together of people where they have fun and dress up and move their bodies to music.”
All I could do was nod.
“So a social event?”
She nodded and I tilted my head slightly.
“Oh,” she perked up a little and clapped her hands together as she continued. “You also need a date. I’m guessing you’ll go with Scorpion?”
Scorpion…I hadn’t seen him in weeks. Honestly, it felt as if, almost, he was trying to avoid me. I had a few guesses as to why but none of which that were definite.
“I think I am,” I said finally, leaning back slightly and Aversion held be up eagerly. I relaxed into him and sighed. “I’m going back to my dorm. I’m getting tired.”
Sally and Elly shared a look before nodding, a hidden note just beneath the surface, and I wanted to ask about it but I didn’t. Something, however, unnerved me.
I turned on my heel and my three familiars followed suit. Unconsciously I felt my left hand touch my right arm that was bound by gauze. The memory of Azael’s true form was burned into me more deeply than the brands and I couldn’t help but wonder how she had come to attain her current form.
The courtyard was filled with students and their familiars since classes were finished for the day. Some were heading to the dining hall while others were retiring to the safety of the dorms.
My own familiars seemed oblivious to the others yet keeping a watchful eye over me. It reminded me of the Guards at the Clinic and I stopped, turning my arms palms up, as my eyes fell to my bandaged arms.
What was beneath the bandages? What did the “brands” look like? How deep were they?
But one question rose above the cool curiosity of a simple human. A question that I knew would change everything.
Would the brands truly make me stronger—strong enough to defeat Jate and Feiral in the end?
“Claire?”
I looked up, dropping my arms, as amber eyes met my own. They were a pair I hadn’t seen in quite some time.
“Scorpion.”
All I said was his name. It was all that I could even begin to even think to say.
“How have you been?” he said tentatively. “I’ve been busy with planning the Formal. Are you doing better?”
I saw his eyes fall to my bandaged arms and he took a step towards me. As if a switch had been flipped, my familiars immediately went on the offensive and stood in front of me.
“So these are them?” he asked, tilting his head. “But…isn’t that Naga? Kyle’s—”
“Yes,” a familiar voice said, interrupting Scorpion’s own, curious tone. “She is mine and I think the student council is looking for you, Mr. President.”
I turned around so quickly that my vision blurred and I had to wait several seconds for it to focus on Kyle.
“She’s still not feeling very well,” he continued. “Sally and Elly asked me to take her back to her dorm.”
“Oh…ah…” Scorpion hesitated, his cool facade falling away for an instant before he snapped it back into place. “Well, then…I’ll see you, Claire.”
He stepped forward and pressed his lips to mine. My familiars hissed in protest and I tried to kiss him back but felt nothing.
It was so unlike all the kisses I’d had before. I couldn’t help but wonder what was different—what had changed.
“Are you okay?”
Kyle’s voice pulled me from my thoughts and I managed to nod. His cool aura never broke as he walked to me and lifted me into his arms. I let him, barely feeling anything.
“I have to go to Creature Care,” I said calmly, leaning into his familiar hold. When and why it had become so familiar was beyond me but I didn’t mind it. “I have to talk to Azael.”
Kyle didn’t ask any questions as he carried me to the classroom. That was one of the reasons I was fond of Kyle. He just listened. He didn’t push. He didn’t prod. He merely helped.
When we reached the room the director was caring for an animal. I’d guessed that it had been hurt by another animal in the biome.
“Director?” I said calmly, my arms around Kyle’s neck. It was a useless attempt to hide my bandages.
The man looked up from the wolf lying on its side. As he turned I saw the cut in the animal’s side.
“Claire,” he said with a smile. “Hello there. I’ll be with you in a moment. I’m having some problems healing this little one.”
I watched as the director tried futilely to heal the animal with magick for several minutes before frowning.
“May I try?”
The director looked up, astonished, and stepped back.
“Of course!!” he said excitedly. “I’d love for you to try! Have you ever tried to heal an animal before?”
I shook my head as Kyle sat me down beside the wounded animal. It whined in pain and I frowned.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I said as the director opened his mouth to speak. “I want to do this on my own.”
The man nodded in response and I placed a hand overtop of the wound. It caused the wolf to howl in protest but the animal stayed where it was.
I brought my other arm up to its head and let its cold nose press against my skin. Warm breath bathed my skin and I smiled as I felt the animal relax beneath my hand.
As I closed my eyes, I distantly heard movement but I focused only on the wolf. Now was the time to see how strong I was.
“Heal,” I whispered softly, mending the wound mentally. I could picture the flesh melding back together and the fur covering new skin. “Heal…”
A noise of awe drug me out of my focus and I looked at the wound as a dull, orange-yellow light disappeared. When I moved my hand I wasn’t surprised to see the wound gone.
“Did I do that right?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.
“You did it perfectly!” he squealed in delight. “That was wonderful—amazing! It was awe inspiring…”
He kept rambling on and I looked back down at the wolf. Its dark eyes watched me and, somehow, I knew it was thanking me.
“So why have you come here when you should be resting?” the director asked, pulling me, once again, out of my thoughts.
“I need to speak with Az—the manticore.”
I mentally cursed myself for letting her name almost slip. I had the feeling that it was something restricted only for only the rarest of people.
“The manticore?!”
I nodded and the director closed his eyes with a sigh, his forehead wrinkling in thought before he nodded.
“You children will be the death of me,” he muttered, sitting at a table. “I swear you’ll be the death of me!”
I looked into the woods and, within seconds, I saw familiar eyes peering at me through the trees.
“What is it that you have come here, Chosen?” Azael said calmly.
“I wanted to speak with you about my brands.”
The sentence flowed from my lips with much more ease than I’d expected and I found myself startled by that simple fact. Especially because, just a handful of weeks ago, I’d thought that I was human.
It was surprising how quickly I’d grown used to being a mage.
“What is it that you wish to know?”
Her lean body slid out of the overgrowth before lying down about six feet from me.
“I know they’re meant to make me stronger but how quickly will that apply?”
Azael’s lips curved into a smile and my hands went to my bandaged arms.
“Take off the things that cover your arms—it is disgraceful to hide them,” she said with a slight chuckle. “However, in response to your question—it merely depends on how quickly your body adapts to the brands.”
I slid a finger beneath the thin wrapping and tugged gently. The bandage fell open effortlessly before sliding off. I repeated the process until my arms were bare.
“Do you recognize those symbols?” Azael asked calmly, her voice even. “I do believe you do.”
Crisscrossing lines overlapped complicated designs on my forearms. All I could really make out were warped letters. Slowly, realization came to me.
The designs I’d seen quite often. It was the markings on the Guards’ vests. It was the symbol for the Clinic.
“Why?”
The soft question escaped my lips without want and I found myself looking up into Azael’s neutral gaze.
“That place,” she said softly, “is more than just a building. Infused in its foundations is the blood of hundreds of mages, vampires, and werewolves bodies. How else do you believe that the Time siblings would be able to keep those of you under check for so long?”
Her voice sounded mocking and I inadvertently winced at the cold undertone.
“I guessed the drugs?”
“Those drugs were meant to hold you in check but draw out the powers of those in residency at that damned place.”
My gaze drifted back to my arms and I let everything else black out. A slight buzzing sound rang around me and I focused on its source—the brands.
“Strength. Power. Breath. Life.”
I gasped and jerked back, holding my arms as far from me as I could.
“They spoke!” The shock and appall in my voice was audible even to my own ears and I looked up at the manticore in surprise.
“Yes,” she said calmly, standing. “Magick is living. The brands resonate and speak strength. Ask the Guardian Mages who have taken to watching over you. Until then, I must go, Chosen.”
Before I could speak, she had disappeared into the forest again and I was left with the director, Kyle, and my familiars—including the wolf.
Kyle said nothing as he walked to me and lifted me into his arms. There was no hesitation. It was as if he’d done it all his life and I felt something inside of me stir.
“Ready?”
The clipped reply sent a cold wave of rejection through me and I nodded. We left without a word to the stunned director, familiars following just behind me.
Our trip to my dorm was carried out in silence. When we were at my dorm he opened my door, laid me on the bed, and then left.
I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d done something to offend him.
Naga nuzzled at my leg and I slid my hand over the stop of her smooth, scaly skin. A wave of relief washed through me and I looked down at my brands.
The familiar symbol soothed me and I summoned a fake Zaien next to me. It only took seconds for him to appear. The creatures hissed in protest, Cheylo fluttering her wings sporadically.
“What are you planning?”
His voice startled me and I couldn’t help but lean into him. My voice was soft as I spoke.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I just want to figure out how to become stronger to save everyone…”
One of his arms wrapped around my shoulders and he hugged me to him, his chin on the top of my head.
“Enjoy the formal,” he whispered. “Get through that and then chose your next course of action—one step at a time.”
I pushed the image away and laid on my bed, and arm covering my eyes. One step at a time…that was what I needed to do. Take things slowly and plan carefully.
I only had one chance and then everything would be over.