In the center of the bodies knelt a huddled shape draped in black robes. Another drow, judging by the stark white hair falling around the bowed head and the dark ears poking through. When the drow lifted his head and met her gaze, Cheyenne’s throat tightened. L’zar.
His golden eyes glowed in the darkness, far brighter than the torches sending shadows flicking across the black stone. But the careless half-smile was gone, replaced by a creased brow and a grimace of anguish that didn’t look right on her father’s face. L’zar stared at her through the curtain of his white hair, a silent cry not yet released from his open mouth.
“I thought I could stop it.” His voice echoed around the huge stone room, the torches flickering with each resounding word. “But I wasn’t strong enough. Now it’s your turn.”
Cheyenne jolted out of sleep with a gasp, only to scramble across her bed until her back thumped against the wall. The copper puzzle box hovered near her, emitting rays of golden light. The thing clicked and whirled, each piece of the spastic Rubik’s cube spinning wildly in front of her.
The halfling reacted without thinking. Heat bloomed at the base of her spine, and her now-purple-gray hand reached out to snatch the box out of the air. “Leave me alone!”
An orb of black energy flared to life in her other hand, and she clamped it around the puzzle box that was vibrating madly in her palm. The golden light filling her bedroom was muted by a flash of black and purple between her hands, then the legacy box fell still.
Breathing heavily, Cheyenne snarled and dropped the box onto the bed. It rolled a little, stopped, and then one row of those shifting runes etched into the metal slowly turned. The thing let out a soft click, and the outer layer of symbols that had turned flashed one last dim light.
“What the hell?” The halfling pulled her gaze away from the copper box to stare at her drow-dark hands. Did my magic just turn that thing?
Her eyes widened, and she lunged across the bed to grab the box and try again. She did everything the same—black spheres of her magic with purple sparks bursting into her hands before she smothered the box again with the spell. There was a dull thump, and purple sparks flew through her fingers across the room, but that was it.
“Fine.” Cheyenne tossed the box back onto her comforter. We both have a limit. Then she grabbed her phone off the bedside table just as her alarm went off. She snorted. “Right on time.”
Once she’d showered, blow-dried her now-black hair, and donned her whole outfit of black on black on black, putting a little more black around her eyes, Cheyenne headed out to the living room. She stopped in the doorway to her bedroom, feeling another little prickle at the back of her neck, and scowled over her shoulder at the drow puzzle box resting on her bed. Don’t move.
The shower had woken her up, but she still yawned when she stooped beside the kitchen’s half-wall to snatch up her backpack and sling it over her shoulder. More crazy dreams. No wonder L’zar got locked up.
The image of her drow father kneeling in the center of those drow bodies was pretty hard to shake out of her head. Might have some truth to it. Like the raug Oracle said, everyone who touched that box is dead. Not this halfling.
She slipped into her Vans and hesitated before grabbing the doorknob, but nothing from her dream flashed out at her this time, and she was only too happy to get the hell out of her apartment and away from the box. Before she closed the door, she paused to take another sweeping glance across her apartment, then shook her head. Forget it.
Cheyenne sat through her classes, and one more time fought not to rip her hair out and claw her eyes with boredom. Just like every Monday. Just like every day of the week. Apparently, showing up on time to every class spared her from the snide remarks and dubious glances from her professors, and the first conversation she had with anyone wasn’t until after her last class as she walked across the quad toward the Computer Sciences building.
She shot a skeptical glance at the student message board and the bench halfway across the lawn, where a group of other college students was gathered to check out the new fliers posted there. A guy in a button-down shirt with a messenger bag slung over his shoulder and brown hair hanging over his eyes caught her looking and thought she was interested.
“Hey.” He headed toward her, even as she sped up. “We’re looking for more people to join the chess club. You interested?”
The halfling glanced at the flyer he waved at her and stopped. Squinting at him, she gestured toward her black clothes and the silver zippers and safety pins studding her shirt, then spread her arms. “Really?”
The guy tossed his shaggy hair out of his eyes and gave her a crooked smile. “Hey, don’t judge a book by its cover, right?”
“Probably a good idea with this book.” Cheyenne took off down the walkway again, and Mr. Chess Club laughed behind her.
“Okay. The flyers are up if you change your mind. Have a great day!”
This was a normal college. She should’ve stuck with online classes between chasing down magical scum.
She reached the Computer Sciences building without any more interruptions and found Mattie Bergman’s office door wide-open as usual. With a quick knock, Cheyenne stepped into her professor’s office and shrugged. “Happy Monday?”
Mattie looked up from the work on her desk and chuckled. “You’re saying one thing, but your face says the complete opposite.”
“Good to know I’m an open book.” The halfling cocked her head. “Second time
