“If it’s to express doubt about your handler, then this is not the time nor the place.” She nodded at the new elementals struggling to conceal their calls. “Stay after class so we can talk. As your faculty advisor, I have a few things to go over with you. For now, let’s help the students with their calls.”
Fair enough. I’d actually forgotten about her being my faculty advisor. Talking to her about my doubts made even more sense now.
“Start with the fire elementals over there.” She motioned toward Bridget and Todd, two first years who tried to set each other on fire on a daily basis. “See if you can get them to relax enough to focus on their call.”
I marched over when I smelled the scent of their call from where I stood. “Are either of you jumpers?”
They both blinked at me, not understanding the question.
“No,” Todd finally answered. “We’re both fire.”
“Is that why you’ve been trying to set each other on fire since the first day of class?”
Bridget spoke up. “That’s because he’s a jerk, and I can’t stand him. He thinks he knows everything.”
“Just because I know more than you,” he countered.
Okaaay. This kid seemed to be living up to his jerk title. Looking around, I saw two more fire elementals. “Come with me.”
I dragged them both up a few steps and over to the other two. “Hi!” I said in an overly enthused voice.
The two boys stopped and looked at me.
“This is Bridget, and this is Todd.” I motioned as I introduced them. “What’re your names?”
“Greg,” the smaller kid with thick glasses said.
“Chris,” the bigger kid stated, his voice prickling with attitude.
Perfect. Chris was good-looking and could easily hold a girl’s interest. Bridget was already smiling up at him and batting her eyelashes. No doubt Todd would take issue with that.
“Greg, meet Todd. You two are now partners.”
“Wait,” Todd protested. “I’m partners with her.”
“Not anymore,” I corrected him.
“Who are you to tell us who we can partner with?”
“Problems?” Stace appeared at the ideal time.
“She’s trying to break us up,” Todd stated in a super whiny voice. For someone who wanted to set his partner on fire a second ago, he certainly didn’t like the idea of being separated from her.
“Katy is the TA. If she sees a reason to separate you, then I trust her.” She shut down the subject with nothing more than a look. She then nodded at me. “Carry on.”
I stayed close as the fire elementals worked with their new partners. Within minutes, Chris had Bridget giggling like the schoolgirl she was, much to Todd’s dismay. My work here is done.
I walked around the room, helping students with their calls and showing them how to conceal the scent. I wasn’t very good at it myself, so showing others how to do it actually helped me more than it helped them. By the end of the second hour, I had a solid grasp on how to conceal my call and demonstrated it several times.
I was pretty sure Stace meant for it to work out that way.
17
“And that’s why I think Spencer is using dark magic to enhance his powers.” I told Stace everything. The way the guys reacted when shaking his hand. The way he seemed to be testing me for weaknesses. The forbidden calls. “Leo thinks he might be a leecher.”
She shook her head, dismissing the idea as quickly as Clay had. “Even if they still existed—which I don’t believe they do—leechers can’t conceal their powers. If he were a leecher, we’d know.”
“What if he’s using dark magic to conceal what he really is somehow?”
“It’s possible, I suppose. Not likely, but possible.”
“How else is he still able to call an element after I hit him with light? How else do you explain the cut on my hand and dark magic finding its way inside? Oh, and he’s been stealing our air calls on top of everything else.”
She sat on the corner of her desk. “Even Clay’s?”
“Clay was the first one he went after.”
“Why do you think it’s dark magic he’s using? There are plenty of spells to enhance powers that aren’t dark.”
I held up my hand, palm facing her. “I think when I called light on him, the dark magic he used to counter my call somehow traveled through the beam and burrowed inside my hand. He’s not who he says he is. I’m sure of it. He might not be a leecher, but he’s definitely hiding something.”
“That’s a pretty hefty accusation.” She blew out a breath. “I agree he doesn’t seem to be as genuine as we’d been led to believe, but dark magic? That’s not for the faint of heart. The Council agrees, which is why I’m teaching a class on how to defend against it. The dark elementals are growing in both numbers and strength.”
“What if it really is dark magic? Would that mean I wouldn’t have to train with him anymore?” Oh, please. Oh, please. Oh, please.
“That means you’ll not be left alone with him.”
“You mean he’ll still be allowed at the academy? Even if he’s dark?”
“Using dark magic and being a dark elemental are not the same thing. A lot of good elementals have dabbled in the dark arts, myself included. The temptation is there. Most experiment with a few spells and abandon the practice. Others…” She trailed off and bounced her head from side to side. “They keep going until it’s too late.”
That didn’t sound good. I thought of my mom. She had magic in her. Did she dabble in the dark arts and go too far? “What do you mean too late?”
“They push their powers beyond their limits. The draw to all that power is too strong to stop until they no longer have any control. Simply put, they snap. Because I don’t know how far Spencer has taken his powers, I will be joining you at your trainings.”
Crap. That backfired. It was getting pretty crowded at my training sessions. “I already have the guys
