Witch Born - LJ Swallow Page 0,70
my ears. I spot the basilisk mid who stands in the middle of the courtyard, hands on hips as he looks upwards.
“I need your help!” I call out to him.
A small group of students stand beside him, also gazing upwards, as the rain falls onto them. “Hey, dude, how did you get up there?” calls one.
No.
I almost don’t want to look, because I know what I’ll see.
Samuel squats on the edge the roof eaves, three storeys up. He grips the ledge as he looks down, silent.
“Fuck.” Oriana appears and elongates the word as she steps next to me. “I know this place gets to people, but not many kill themselves. They just sedate them and lock them in the infirmary for a few days.” I look at her in horror. “Months. Whatever.”
“Months?”
Oriana barks a laugh. “Samuel sucks up to Francesca; I guess her meditation classes don’t work after all.”
A strange sensation prickles my scalp. One of Francesca’s favourites.
“Do you know much about him?”
“Samuel? He’s the Riverside kid who arrived the day the two witch kids disappeared. Embarrassing for his family, since his dad is high-ranked on the Confederacy council.”
The prickle grows. “Do you know what he did to land himself here?”
“I heard he lost his shit with his parents and conjured an ice storm. Froze his dad in an ice block in the middle of a fucking supermarket. Took quite some time to wipe all those human minds.”
Her hilarity shocks me. “Oriana. Not funny. Look at him.”
“I know. Don’t stress; the mids will be up there soon.”
Pissed off at her impassiveness, I look around to see if any academy staff are around.
Ethan walks out and halts. He strides to below Samuel and wipes rain from his face as he looks up. “Samuel. Don’t be fucking stupid. Get down.”
Great. Insulting someone on the verge of jumping to their death.
Where the hell is Dorian?
Samuel doesn’t respond. Turning on his heel, Ethan walks up to a nearby open-mouthed guard and shouts at him to do something. Seconds later, Ethan is by my side and seizes my hand.
I stumble as he pulls me after him towards the fence. “Do you believe me now?” he growls. “Ravenhold isn’t only screwing with us. The academy did this to him.”
Last time, I wanted to protest; this time I’m not so sure.
“No, you thought they were activating the hybrids’ magic.”
“Maybe what they do fucks with kids’ heads. Like they test them to see who’s strong enough. One reason I avoid her classes and don’t waltz in for extra sessions like Dorian and Zeke? Because I swear something’s happening.” Ethan scratches the edge of his cheek as he looks up at Samuel. “So far, we’re the only ones who’ve manifested any magic. Whatever they’re doing is too strong for normal students.”
“No,” I whisper.
Ethan throws his arms in the air. “Why the fuck isn’t anybody helping this kid?”
“Because nobody cares and it’s one less kid to worry about,” says Kai from beside me. He crosses his arms across his broad chest. “There are too many of us. Makes room for one more.”
“That’s not true,” I mumble.
“No. It’s not. And it’s not a coincidence that this is Samuel,” snaps Ethan.
Ethan breaks into a run towards the building. I’m about to follow him when somebody calls, “What the fuck is Dorian Blackwood doing up there?”
I jerk my head upwards again. A second figure on the roof stands close to Samuel, one arm outstretched. He’s calling to him, but I can’t hear Dorian’s words.
“Whoa. You reckon he’s gonna push him off?” asks Oriana.
“No,” I snap. “He’s helping.”
“Since when were you a Dorian fan,” sneers Kai. “That arsehole doesn’t help anybody.”
The mid finally breaks his stupefied staring and charges towards the building. I turn to look for Ethan and when I can’t see him I rush after the mid. Before I reach the door, a girl’s scream echoes through the cold Scottish day and the world falls into a blackened silence.
I don’t look back.
I don’t need to.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The aftermath to Samuel’s death horrifies me as much as the event.
Everybody continues life as usual for the rest of the day. There’s gossip at dinner, but nobody mentions him in class, as if nothing happened.
I can’t face Francesca’s stupid lessons today, instead sitting on a bench outside, letting the wind batter my stunned body. The spot where Samuel landed looks like ordinary tarmac, everything was cleared up and back to normal within the hour.
I can barely stomach sitting here—was I attracted to this spot because I