100
Lucy
I entered the campus coffee shop; a woman twirled her finger in the air, making a line of coffee pots rotate in the air before she greeted me. Then, I saw Duke. He lifted his hand, looking as tired as I felt. I crossed the room to him and looked up at the menu.
“My treat. You like chocolate, right?”
“You don’t have to.”
He waved his hand. “Go find us a booth away from windows.”
I hesitated as he stepped up to order, but I did as he asked, finding a small booth at the back of the café away from the windows and the baristas.
Soon, he joined me at the table. He set one of the tall cups in front of me and set his own cup in front of his seat as he sunk into the booth across from me.
With a flick of his wrist, Duke whispered a few incantations under his breath. Little streams of light wrapped around us and the booth. I heard the outside noise grow softer as if we were in an invisible shield.
I picked up my cup, letting the heat warm my hands. Duke said nothing and was doing the same.
“I don’t know where to start,” Duke said slowly.
I took a sip of the drink and hummed at the warm, chocolatey taste. His lips twitched into a smile.
“Good?”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“Mocha. Extra chocolate. You can’t go wrong.” His gaze dropped back to his cup before he took a deep breath. He lifted his gaze again and locked his gaze with mine.
“Did you sleep at all?”
I winced. “Maybe a little… When I had the dream.”
“Do you mind telling me what she said?”
I winced and looked out the window. “I…”
I let out a deep sigh before I told him about the dream I had last night. He drank quietly, listening and watching me even as my voice started to crack and my eyes started to burn.
“And now… I just keep thinking that I’m never going to be free of them. Especially with everything that’s been happening at school.”
Duke nodded. “I understand… Honestly, no one could blame you for feeling like that…”
He licked his lips and shifted in his seat. “Were they… Did they hurt you, Lucy? P-Physically, I mean. Feed you?”
I blinked. “I… Well, they didn’t treat me like my adoptive parents had. I ate plenty, but… other than getting my ears pierced, it wasn’t painful, exactly. Not physically.”
“… All the pain is settling in now,” David said slowly. “Emotionally. Mentally.”
I nodded. Then, I frowned as I realized that he hadn’t been asking. He’d been stating it. As I met his gaze, I saw understanding there and my gut churned.
“D-Duke… did you…” I paused. “Y-You said that you went… somewhere else.”
His lips twitched and he took another sip. “It’s…. Well…”
He took a shuddering breath. “You can’t tell Sarah and Amy… I told them something different. A lie, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell them the truth after hearing where they’d gone.”
I nodded. “They… at least got to stay together.”
He nodded. “Benefits of having siblings I guess.”
He took another deep breath. “After the orphanage was split up, I was… taken to an auction.”
My eyes widened. “W-What? B-But you were…”
He nodded. “I still don’t know for sure who bought me. If they were part of a pack or whatever, but it was… pretty bad. I ate some days. I lived in the basement with a bunch of other kids my age. T-They made us fight for food. We got extra food if we… did things.”
My stomach churned as he went pale.
“I’m not going to get into the details. All I can say is that there was an attack on the house. They locked us in the basement and the house was set on fire.”
I gasped. “H-How did you—“
I broke off as the answer came to me. “Magic?”
He nodded. “I don’t remember if I blew up a house or made some sort of tunnel. All I know is that when I woke up, the SCF people were there and giving me medical treatment. That was… maybe a month before we met again.”
My stomach lurched. “I’m so sorry, Duke. I don’t know what to say.”
A small, understanding smile graced Duke's lips. "I didn’t tell you that to make you sorry. I told you that so you know you’re not alone. My handler told me that you had been in a similar situation and that they think that the same people who ran the auction you were in ran the auction that I was in.”
He sat back. “All that to say… We're survivors, Lucy. Fighters. We’re going to be all right. Crazy woman in white or not.”
I shuddered. “I… I don’t know what to think about her.”
He reached out, took my hand, and squeezed. “We’re not going back there. To hell with that crazy witch. If it’s my destiny, I’m making different fucking decisions.”
I nodded. “You’re right…Speaking of witches.”
I opened my bag and pulled out my notebook. “I was up researching the Moon Goddess.”
He cocked an eyebrow as I slid it across the table to him. “I think if we find out more about her and the war and all that then maybe we can make sure we don’t end up back there.”
His eyes grew hard and he opened the notebook. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
By the time it was time for us to go to our separate classes, the caffeine had kicked in and I felt a bit better. Duke drew me in close for a tight hug before we parted. My notebook was filled with all the other thoughts Duke had about the Moon Goddess and notes about what to do next. I headed to my morning magic classes. They were still mostly theory, but I had a session with Luke after I was done. My heart sped up as I headed towards his office.
He was a witch or something. Maybe he knew something more or could at least point me in the right direction.
I entered his office just as he came in from the storefront and wiped his hands. He smiled.
“Good to see you, Lucy. Had a good weekend?”
I nodded. “It’s been a rough week, but I think this weekend will make up for it.”
“Good to hear it. Let me take a look at your anchor before we get started. Anything you want to talk about specifically? Some things you have questions about?”
I licked my lips as I handed over my anchor and he sat down with a little vial of glowing liquid.
“What can you tell me about the moon goddess?”
He went still. Then, slowly, he lifted his head and met my gaze. His eyes searched my face.
“Why do you ask?”
I swallowed and clasped my hands together. “I… I had a dream last night about her. Or a vision?”
His eyes widened.
“A-A friend of mine had a dream about her too. He’s been having them for a while, but last night was the first time I had a dream of her.”
Luke dropped his gaze. “And… what did she say to you? To your friend?”
I hesitated. “That… we have a destiny that’s… going to lead us back to the people who bought us from auctions.”
He set his jaw. His eyes grew hard and he closed his eyes. His lips moved silently. Light washed over his whole body before disappearing into the anchor. He handed it back to me, but he said nothing for a moment. His face was blank as if he staring into his memories and trying not to react to anything.
“Your friend… What’s his name?”
“Duke.”
He cocked and eyebrow. “Duke… Tall? Dark hair? A little too relaxed sometimes?”
I blinked and nodded. “That sounds like him.”
“He’s… another one of my students,” he said. His lips twitched. “You two are practically colleagues.”
He clasped his hands together. “I’d like to sit you both down and talk more about these dreams, but for now, I can say that the moon goddess is… better left forgotten.”
I frowned. “Why?”
He smiled wryly. “Because she brings absolutely nothing but trouble.”
His eyes darkened as he shook his head. “Trouble that so many are still paying for to this day.”
He shook his head and stood. “Let’s start with the lesson. I’ll be happy to answer all of your and Luke’s questions when we get together.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “We’ll make it a joint lesson.” He paused and smile. “We’ll even make it a field trip.”
I frowned. “A field trip?”
I followed him out of the room and back into the storage closet.
He nodded. “I think you’ll enjoy it. I think I’ll make it a project for the two of you. Some hands on training…”
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