Page 2 of Ever Dark Academy: Volume 6

“I’m positive. We need the adults in our lives to do the right thing. He needed to stay the fuck away from you, never do what he did,” Grayson said with a slice of his arm through the air. “You’re not responsible for this.”

“I see. You are very certain.”

“I’ve lived a long time. I’ve seen this over and over again. Children are not adults. They are learning. Evolving. Growing. Not only are their bodies and minds not fully formed, their experiences are limited,” Grayson stated emphatically.

“So your own experience makes you certain?”

“Yes. I have no doubts.”

“Good,” Christian said quietly, which had Grayson frowning a little.

He felt like maybe he had walked into some kind of trap here, but what trap could there be? There was no doubt in his mind that Christian had been abused and he wasn’t at fault for it. Any other reading of this was just false.

Christian met his gaze steadily. “I agree with you intellectually. But I still find it hard to fully relinquish the responsibility I feel.”

“That’s understandable. From my experiences with you, you seem like a highly moral person with a very well thought out code of honor,” Grayson said. “People like yourself take responsibility for themselves to always act ethically, even when they could not be expected to under the circumstances. You needed to be protected from this man. You were not. He is at fault and those that should have been protecting you are at fault. But not you.”

“You are very understanding,” Christian murmured.

“Again, my experience has shown me this is true,” Grayson admitted. Once more, he felt like he had walked into something here. Yet it made no sense. What point could Christian be making if he was making one? He set it aside. “But you were telling me about how you discovered how to use your gift.”

Another nod. “It was only when I accepted that David had been my abuser and released at least some of my guilt that I was able to send him away.”

“So you used him to free yourself from Kaly and then you were able to banish him?” Grayson asked.

“Send him onto his eventual rebirth or to whatever is beyond,” Christian corrected.

“I see.”

“Though I was unaware of him until I became a Vampire, David was constantly with me. And I believe he had an effect on me that whole time,” Christian explained.

“Good grief. He was victimizing you for years?”

“Over a decade,” Christian said. “And without my powers, he would have likely stayed until my own death.”

Grayson’s stomach churned. “How horrible.”

“Yes, so now I believe it is part of my duty to free others from their ghosts,” Christian said. “Caemorn is helping me with this task.”

Grayson let out a soft huff of laughter. “Truly things have changed when a Kaly Vampire cares about the hauntings of others unless they wish to imprison those souls and use them for power.”

“If they remain, even if imprisoned, they still have an effect on the person they are haunting. So no, they cannot be kept and I would not choose to do so in any event,” Christian said.

“No, no, of course not. It’s just–”

“I know. A Kaly’s whole gift revolves around capturing souls. Caemorn is going to be showing some of the powers that those souls have to the reporters and the students. Then the students will have their own personal interactions with the dead,” Christian said. “So you mustn’t worry that any of this would be public.”

“Am I the only one who is haunted?” Grayson asked.

“No, the majority of the people here are haunted. That’s part of why they were chosen to join the school. Haunted people have been through some things. They bring those experiences with them. Those sharp edges. But yours is a special case that I felt I could truly help with,” Christian told him.

They had made it to the center of the Memory Garden. There was a raised triangular platform where Caemorn and half a dozen Kaly stood in a V-shape, with Caemorn standing at the point of the V. The students were clustered all around the edge of the circle. He and Christian took their places there, too. A platform had been erected for cameras to record this part of the demonstration. Caemorn said nothing, he did not even move, but the crowd went from murmuring and shifting to quiet and still in an instant.

Caemorn wore all back from his black boots to the collar that fitted tightly around his throat up to his chin. Only his hands and face were free of material. He was pale and perfect. Grayson was reminded almost of a porcelain doll. His hands lifted from his sides and seemed almost to hover, armless, in the darkness. His palms were towards them and there was nothing in them, but then two soul gems, one green and another red appeared in each hand held between his pointer and middle fingers. They reminded Grayson of a magician’s hands or a surgeon’s. Quick, supple, elegant and efficient.

The red one glowed softly and began to burn like a hot red ember. A few in the front row had to lift their hands up to shield their eyes as the gem glowed as hot as the sun. The glow then lessened until it was but a dull spark left inside. But nothing appeared to have happened. At least that’s what Grayson and likely everyone else not involved with the show thought at first. But then Grayson saw the creeping mist as it flowed over the ground and between the pillars. It curled around his feet. People lifted one foot up then another, not liking how the mist completely obscured the ground. And maybe they felt the subtle plucking at their heels that Grayson did.

The mist rose up covering his calves, knees, thighs then it was up to his waist and kept rising up past his chest to his chin. The mist flowed over his face. It tasted slightly metallic, almost bloody to him, with a faint trace of rain, which was the oddest combination. He heard a few coughs around him as some tried clearing their throat. Then as quickly as it had come, the mist retreated and Grayson was left blinking as the air was clear once more. He heard someone gasp. His lips parted as well as he saw what the mist had brought.