Dangerous Magic

22. Caught in the Act

"How did you even get in here?" Charlotte Williams demanded. Her patented leather boots hadn't made a sound coming down those stairs. Neither had Tony, the man who had called her away that first day.

All the color drained from Jackson's face when his aunt asked her first question. Regardless, he didn't seem keen on answering. I looked at Emily, who stared back at me. Orville was nowhere to be found.

Invisibility had its perks.

I held onto Emily's promise--if we do get caught, you won't be alone--and waved at Ms. Williams lamely.

"We were just practicing for--" and my tongue stopped moving. Ms. Williams's binding magic apparently worked on nulls just as well as it worked within the confines of the magischola's wards. My lips refused to form the word 'Omega'.

"This arena is off-limits after hours." Ms. Williams had her hands on her hips. I noticed that one boot wasn't zipped all the way, and her shirt, usually fashionably tucked in, hung weirdly off her shoulders. Tony stood comfortably close behind her; they'd been coming from the same place and obviously hadn't expected to find any students in the arena. "Which one of you broke into my office to take the key?"

"That would be me, Aunt Char." Jackson finally found his voice in time to use the familial connection in his favor. He took a step forward to stoically accept his punishment.

"And what, you invited your girlfriends down here for a little magic foreplay? I thought you'd learned your lesson with the last one, nephew." Ms. Williams was not to be swayed by the nickname Jackson used.

I noticed that Jackson did not, thankfully, correct his aunt on the nature of our relationship. What would he even call us, anyway? He might count Emily as a friend but me... were we enemies?

"How did you even find the key?"

Jackson smiled sheepishly at her. "You picked a predictable hiding spot. There are only so many books on your shelf. All I had to do was find the right one."

Ms. Williams fumed. "The office will be locked starting now. Don't bother trying to break in; I'm going to keep the key with me from now on. You may be my favorite nephew, Jackson, but this is unacceptable behavior. This is the kind of stuff I am to report to your father."

The smile slipped from his face into a hardened frown. Was his aunt here as a spy for his father?

I hated the tension between them. Just a few days ago they had laughed while they sparred in this arena. Now the regret hanging between them was thick.

"All of you, out. Now," Ms. Williams demanded, pointing us to the arena's entrance in case we didn't know where to go next.

Without a word, we filed out. I couldn't tell if Orville had already gone or if he stayed hidden to watch the drama. I hoped he wasn't about to get himself locked in the arena overnight--or caught for lingering too long where the wards would block his ability to stay hidden.

Emily passed through the door in front of me and headed up the stairs. Mentally preparing myself to lose the connection to my magic, I followed after her. Ms. Williams watched me out of the corner of her eye until I passed.

I waited for Jackson at the base of the stairs. Remember how my feelings about him changed every few minutes? I didn't have to like him to know that he shouldn't have to take the fall for all of us, even though he was the one who stole the key.

He might have gotten away with it if it weren't for us.

When Jackson, bringing up the rear, made it to Ms. Williams, she stopped him with a hand on his chest. A stern hand, but not unkind.