Tarot Academy 4 - Sarah Piper Page 0,1

up from the sheets. It reminds me of a hospital bed. The barriers in my memory rattle, an army of old ghosts threatening to break through.

Fuck every last one of you…

“Let me take a closer look, Cass.” With a kind but firm touch, Kate nudges me aside, leaning down to examine Ani. She presses a hand to his forehead, then lifts his eyelids, checking his eyes. “What did he ingest, exactly?”

“Dream potion.” Stevie hands over the remains of the broken vial we found clutched in his hand. “Silversword root, witch’s cauldron, and moonstone elixir. Spelled for Dark Arcana communications.”

Kate sniffs the vial, her eyes widening. “Did he take all of this?”

Our silence is confirmation.

“How long has he been using it?” she asks, right as Kelly Maddox enters the room with a tray full of clean, wet towels.

“At least one other time that I know of.” Stevie steps aside to let Kelly pass. “I didn’t realize it then, but I’m pretty sure he used it Sunday night. We ended up in the dream realm together—it all happened really fast. I pulled him out, and he was kind of pissed about it. He kept talking about finding the wand…” Her voice breaks, and she closes her eyes and shakes her head. “He must’ve taken the rest tonight.”

“Good thinking to keep the broken glass,” Kate says. “We may be able to use it for a banishing spell to counteract the potion in his bloodstream. Was he conscious when you found him?”

“Not exactly.” Stevie opens her eyes, our gazes meeting for the briefest instant before she drops hers again. Shame colors her cheeks as she describes the scene in her bedroom—Ani slumped in the chair. The black blood. Eyes half-open. Trembling. The vial. Her screams…

“I should’ve known something was wrong,” she whispers, a tear sliding down her cheek. “He wanted to talk to me. I put him off so I could meet Carly. It’s my fault.”

My heart recoils at her words. If anyone is to blame for this tragedy, it’s me. Everything in me wants to tell her as much, to go to her, to comfort her. But my feet are rooted to the floor, my muscles ignoring my every command.

Don’t touch her, an old voice echoes inside, cruel and bright, precise in its mockery. You are poison, Cassius Devane…

“It’s not the time for blame,” Kelly says, gently cleaning the blood from Ani’s face. “The best thing you can do for Ani right now is to send him warm, healing energy. Love. Light.”

While Kelly works to wash away the grime, Kate starts on his clothing, cutting through his T-shirt with a pair of shears.

“What in goddess’s name…” Kate runs a hand down Ani’s pale chest. “Was he in a fight before this happened? An accident?”

“Not that I’m aware of.” I step closer to see what’s got her so worried, and my stomach churns. Ani’s flesh is covered in wounds—dark bruises, slashes, burns. I’m about to ask Stevie if she knows what happened when a blaze of orange sears his right palm, splitting the skin. The gaping wound glows like a hot coal, then fades, the skin turning black.

“No!” Stevie drops to her knees beside the bed, grabbing Ani’s left hand, still unmarred. “Fight him, Ani. Please fight.”

She presses her mouth to his palm, whispering against his skin, begging him to fight the invisible enemy.

I know the monster’s identity at once.

“Judgment.” I curl my fingers against my palm, wishing I could break something. “He must’ve found Ani in the dream realm, and now he’s tormenting him, just as he tormented the others.”

“None of us had such vicious wounds,” Stevie says, looking across the scarred planes of Ani’s chest. “I don’t know what’s happening. Why is he tormenting Ani like this? Why isn’t Ani fighting?”

The professors exchange a horrified glance, then they spring into action, new urgency lighting a fire under their feet.

“We need hematite, black tourmaline, and obsidian to ground him,” Kate says, rummaging through the selection on the bedside table. She finds what she’s looking for, then places a series of black and silver crystals in a line down Ani’s sternum. At the foot of the bed, Kelly places three Tarot cards between Ani’s feet—the Empress, Judgment, and Queen of Cups.

“We may be able to use the creation energy of the Empress and the compassionate, healing energy of the Queen to counteract the destruction of Judgment reversed,” she explains. “Our first priority is preventing further injury. Once his physical body is stabilized, we can