Page 111 of My Pleasure

Kendrick looked back and forth from Kiera to Meryn. “No.”

Ryuu stepped outside and handed Kendrick a teacup and saucer. “Sit down.”

Kendrick took the cup and sat back down in the chair. He took a sip.

Ryuu walked around the chairs until he was standing in front of Kiera. “Miss Kiera, my magic is a bit different from what Storm Keep is used to working with, but I think for the purpose of seeing if you can negate magic, it should work.” He held out his hand and a small water sphere rose from his palm.

This time when she reached for his magic, she felt a wave of coolness run through her. When she traced it back to his hand, she was shocked at what she found. There was no end to it. He had a seemingly infinite source of magic. She looked up at him and he winked. She swallowed, then reached for the small blue threads of water magic holding the sphere together. Unsure of what to do, she plucked them. The sphere collapsed.

Ryuu nodded. “Excellent work.” He went back to his position behind Meryn.

She turned to Hunter. “I can do magic!” she yelled.

He picked her up and spun her. “I’m so proud of you!”

“What the hell are those idiots at the Academy actually testing for?” Kendrick grumbled.

Hunter sat her down. She turned to Caiden. “What can I do?” she asked.

Caiden tilted his head. “Nothing… and everything,” he said simply.

“Badass,” Meryn whispered.

*****

Kendrick looked at Caiden. “As much as I hate to admit it, we may need the Witches’ Council.”

Caiden practically snarled. “Like hell we do!”

Kendrick held up a hand. “Do you remember Meryn saying that the Witches’ Council is like the clean ledger hiding the bad one?”

Caiden didn’t say anything.

Kendrick continued. “Meryn also met all the council members and said that none registered as a threat.”

Caiden sighed.

Kendrick kept going. “Their responses to the enforcers deaths have been neutral and for lack of a better term, honest, at least from their perspective.”

“That just means they’re being careful of what they say for public opinion,” Caiden said, pacing back and forth on the deck.

“True. I’m willing to take a chance. We can bring forward a valid concern to the Witches’ Council about the Academy,” Kendrick said, looking over to Kiera. “With your permission of course.”

Kiera thought it over. “You want to use my powers to possibly drive a wedge between the Witches’ Council and the Academy?”

He nodded, then shook his head. “I think we can use this as an example of gross incompetence to flush out the major players.” He turned to Meryn. “Of those in charge in Storm Keep, who has hit your radar as problematic?”

Meryn thought it over then shuddered. “That Karl guy made me puke, literally. Andrei is also a douche.”

“No one else from the Witches’ Council?”

“Nope, I got weird images, but otherwise they were benign. If my empathy hadn’t tried to put my buh-rain on a spin cycle I would have been fine after meeting them.”

Caiden looked down where Kendrick sat. “You really think they’re being used?”

“We can see.”

Kiera squeezed Hunter’s hand. “Report it. What if I’m not the only one? What if there are others that don’t quite fit the cookie cutter mold? If the Witches’ Council truly cares about representing the people, it should be everyone, not just those with high test scores.”