Deal with the Devil
Gia
"You're supposed to be in your room until I call for you Gia," Kaius' crisp voice greeted me as I crossed the threshold of his office.
There was a gilded birdcage beside his desk, inside, a green canary chirped and stared at me with judgmental beaded black eyes. Berating me for being foolish enough to get caught loitering around.
Kaius' unwavering gaze was piercing, as if I was being observed by a large bird of prey, despite him having sunglasses on. The drapes were closed and the only source of light in his office was from a blazing fire place.
He was younger than I'd expected for a Principal, with curly brown hair combed away from his face, and slightly bushy sideburns. He finally averted his gaze and I visibly gasped, I felt like I could breathe again.
Kaius supported an almost unconscious Zach to a nearby couch and set him down. Zach's naked sculpted torso was slick with sweat and dotted with scars. The most obvious one was a long line that had faded to a faint wispy white. It ran from his ribcage to his navel.
His eyelids were barely open and his chest rose and fell heavily as he looked in my direction and murmured something unintelligible.
Kaius offered him a tiny glass vial containing a clear liquid. He tossed the contents into his mouth and swallowed with a grimace, immediately his eyes started to droop and his chin fell to his chest.
Kaius chuckled when he saw my alarmed expression. "I added a little sedative to the potion, he needs to sleep so his wounds can heal,"
All of the harshness from his face was gone, and he looked relatively calmer, as if my intrusion had been forgiven, I still felt uneasy.
It was twisted because he was the reason why Zach had wounds that needed healing.
He walked back to his desk and started cleaning the knife he'd just used on Zach with a square piece of linen. My body was still angled toward the door as I eyed the blade with apprehension, was I next?
"I'm sorry you had to see that, especially on your first day," Kaius said and gave me an apologetic smile, "As per his father's orders I carved suppressing runes onto Zach here,"
My brows furrowed, despite the awkwardness of the situation, his choice of words still managed to prickle my senses, "As per his father's orders?" The gears in my head turned as I put two and two together. I'd seen the person who'd given the order back in the chamber where my trial had been held,
It finally dawned on me. I spluttered and my eyes widened,
"The High Septon is Zachary's father?"
Kaius just scratched his chin and raised his eyebrows. I directed an evil glare toward where Zach was sleeping.
I felt like a total idiot. He'd just conveniently forgotten to mention that the man who'd been hell-bent on having me executed was his dear old daddy!
Kaius cleared his throat,
"How about some tea? You look quite upset and you've been through quite the ordeal." His voice was gentle.
I tried to swallow, my throat was like sandpaper. I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since my arrest this morning.
I accepted Kaius' invitation, deciding that it wouldn't do to murder Zach while he was still unconscious. I sat on the chair opposite Kaius' desk while he poured me some chamomile tea from a kettle and placed macaroons on a saucer. I took a delicate sip of the hot beverage. It was perfect, exactly how I took it. Weak with a lot of milk.
The leather of Kaius' chair squeaked as he sat back down and steepled his fingers in front of him,
"I'm not surprised Zach didn't tell you of the identity of his father. It's a rather complicated situation."
My lips pursed, he sounded like he was trying to make a case for Zach. I don't know why I was upset, it's not like I'd been brimming with the urge to spill out every single persona detail about my life to Zach, but it just felt like I'd been the butt of some private joke.
His father had tried to have me killed and then to top it all off, I was now being forced to babysit his son. And Zach hadn't thought it prudent to mention that his father was the reason my life was hanging on the balance.
A hot ball of anger welled up in my chest, I didn't trust myself to speak at that moment so I picked up a macaroon and took a nibble. I would be taking this up with Zach not him.
Kaius sighed, observing my petulant expression briefly before wisely changing the topic. "Your case is definitely unique Gia. The High Council had no idea you existed, which was a good thing for you. Why did you come to the department of records announcing who you were? What were you hoping to find?"
I exhaled through my nose and my grip on the cup handle tightened. I could see my reflection on the dark lens of his glasses. My long auburn hair caught the orange glow of the fireplace and cascaded down my shoulders and back, and my tie was a little askew.
"Up until today I had no idea my last name carried such stigma." I said, "All that I know about magic and the supernatural world was explained to me by my foster parents. They always said I was special…"
I swallowed the ball of grief that was lodged in my throat. I hadn't allowed myself to think about Sarah and Kevin for too long. Their untimely deaths was still a fresh wound upon my soul,
"They died in a car accident three months ago." I explained to Kaius,
And my entire life was turned upside down within those few months. From running away from social services to finding Sarah—my foster mother's journal where she'd recorded the circumstances surrounding my adoption.
"After they died I was all alone, I thought maybe I had family out there somewhere that would welcome me, that was why I came looking for any clues, instead…"
I shrugged like, well you know the rest of the story.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Kaius said, with genuine sympathy. His hand strayed to a gold chain hanging around his neck I hadn't noticed before. There was a blue gem at the end of the chain. He rolled it between his fingers with a faraway look in his eyes. His voice was soft and wistful.
"It is never easy to lose a loved one,"
I observed the stone dangling from his chain closely. It was blue like a sapphire and smooth like a pebble. The depths of it swirled with white mist, and the longer I looked the more it felt like my head was filling up slowly with fog.
A distinct presence brushed against my consciousness, as if the stone was trying to communicate with me. A faint voice whispered in my ear. I was left with a baffling thought that all I had to do was concentrate and I'd be able to hear the voice more clearly.
The idea freaked me out so badly that I shivered and my hand quivered as I took a sip of my tea.
Kaius had stopped toying with his necklace and was now tracing his upper lip with his index finger. He had the look of someone trying to select their words carefully.
"The High Council's reaction to your appearance was only out of fear. For many of them, the events that took place sixteen years ago are still very fresh on their minds."
The fire crackled in the silence that followed before he continued:
"You bear the name of a rogue family that practiced black forbidden magic, and it doesn't help that you look just like your mother who was the worst perpetrator of them all,"
"Katerina," I said the name without thinking.
Kaius raised his brows. "Oh so you're not as ignorant as you project,"
I blushed and quickly explained,
"I only heard the name during my trial. It was like someone had said a forbidden word from the way they all reacted, what exactly did she do?"
He ignored that question, and studied me for a long time. He seemed to come to a decision.
"You'll need to be careful Gia, you're welcome in my school but there are many people here who lost loved ones during the war to stop your family. Many people your mother killed. You'll not make many friends."
The macaroons suddenly tasted like sawdust in my mouth, "I just want to find out more, I need to know what happened, who I am,"
Kauis drummed his fingers on the surface of the table, "I'm forbidden from telling you anything about your family, and most of the records have been sealed off, and by my predictions you'll most probably be killed before the end of the week."
My face fell, "It's hopeless then,"
"Not necessarily," He gave me a wide grin, "I have a solution. You'll need to place yourself in a position that'll make it very difficult for someone to mess with you,"
I frowned,
"How?"
"You come from a noble family, albeit a banished one. You can run for head of the student body of witches, the coven leader if you will. It'll give you some much needed advantage,"
I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of such a statement. Me? Magicless, powerless little me? I was afraid if I told him I had no magic he'd bundle me right back to the High Council to face death. After all my leading argument had been just how useful I could become to them if trained properly.
"I don't think I should draw more attention to myself," I murmured.
I didn't trust his motives. I was being prodded along in a direction and I needed to know why he was doing this. It couldn't have been out of the kindness of his heart.
His gaze burned behind his glasses, "Heads of factions have access to archives in the catacombs below the school, and you may find some information about your family down there. And it couldn't be better timing, the witches have been leaderless for a while now,"
My head perked up and my fists balled up as I weighed my options. This was like dangling a juicy carrot in front of me. All I wanted was knowledge and some understanding of my family history. But how was I going to win a duel or even lead a coven of witches without any magic of my own?
It was a suicide mission yet, I was filled with determination. I'd made it this far, I couldn't give up now.
So I looked him dead in the eyes and said, "How do I compete?"
He grinned at me, "There's a challenge being held this evening, you'll enter and battle for your right to lead the St Gordon's coven of witches,"