Until We Break (4 page)

Eventually it was Jaysin Marx’s turn. He went before the class in his flashiest attire and gave them a bright smile. “G’day, everyone. Jaysin Marx, the future god of money, here to show you the latest and greatest in divine weaponry. Now, don’t the let the fact you can’t buy it turn you off from it. I think you’ll be very satisfied with this product.” He conjured his bronze staff, which he had been using even before Ev met him. He twirled it about and made display thrusts. “Up until now, this weapon has been merely serviceable. But now I’ve added a feature no other weapon demonstrated today can match. For this, I’m going to need a volunteer. Ev, can you come up here for a second?”

That couldn’t be good. With Jaysin’s mischievous nature, Ev was sure he was up to something. “You’re not going to freeze me or anything, are you?”

“Of course not. I won’t even touch you.” His smile suggested otherwise.

“Fine.” Reluctantly, Ev went and stood beside him.

Jaysin continued his strange sales pitch. “Now, with an ordinary staff such as I have been using, you would expect to have to bludgeon or otherwise strike your enemy to have any effect on him. Well, I’m happy to report that is no longer the case. I don’t have to make any contact with Ev Bannen to knock him on his ass.”

“What—?”

Jaysin suddenly struck the floor at Ev’s feet. Without warning, an unseen force hurled him into the ceiling, and even stranger, he didn’t come down. He just sort of floated there, imbedded in the ceiling panel.

“As you can see, my staff now reverses the gravity of anything it hits.”

“Amazing,” Brandon said. “How long does it last?”

“Should be wearing off… right… about… now.”

Ev came crashing down to the floor, along with plaster and whatever other crap was in the ceiling. The class got a good laugh out of this. “You’re not making it to graduation, buddy,” Ev said, half out of anger and half as a joke.

Jaysin pointed the staff at him. “Want me to do it again?”

“No, no, I’m good.” Ev hobbled back to his seat. What Jaysin had neglected to mention was the fact his weapon not only reversed gravity, but increased it as well. He doubted Jaysin had tested it on himself, so he may not have even realized it. Ev decided to tell him all about it later. He might even tell him a few other things while he was at it, like how much that hurt.

Jaysin simply tossed a wad of cash at Brandon and said, “That should cover the damage.”

The professor rolled his eyes but nonetheless replied, “Very good, Jaysin. Maybe next time try not to smash your friend into the ceiling. Just a suggestion.”

He shrugged. “No promises.”

Chapter II

That night, Ev and Maya went on a date to the campus restaurant, Holy Pizza. Ev had always found this to be an interesting place with its heavy use of red and white, and its pictures of religious figures Photostored to be holding either pizza or pizza boxes.

The two of them sat down at a booth. “So,” Maya said, “This is our first date as an official couple.”

“Yeah,” Ev said absentmindedly.

“What’s wrong? You’re not still upset Jaysin pulled that trick on you, are you?”

“No. It’s just… I’m still not as good at conjuring as I need to be. Everyone else’s weapons blew mine away. My gauntlets don’t shoot, explode, float, rain acid, reverse gravity or have eyeballs in them. They’re just gauntlets.”

She squeezed his hand. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. In the beginning, you couldn’t make anything, and now you have weapons that also work defensively. Even your plain gauntlets were enough to beat a seasoned warrior like Arcturus Reich, and you managed to evolve them even further. Right now, you’re probably thinking it was a mistake to take Advanced Conjuring, but it wasn’t. You’re learning the skills you need to be an effective god. Don’t forget what Arcturus said about Zero Grade’s plans. We need to be ready.” How could Ev forget? Arcturus was quite clear:
They’re not content to rattle sabers with the Academy for all eternity. Sooner or later they will strike. They’re preparing for war.

“I’m still hoping they change their mind,” he said, immediately realizing how foolish he sounded. Zero Grade weren’t going to change their minds; they were dead-set on war.

“I don’t know about that,” she said. “But hopefully we caused them to rethink things when we blew up that facility in Adlo.”

He groaned. “Don’t remind me about that. I hate that I went along with Arcturus’ plan. For Bethos’ sake, I almost got you killed.”

She said, “It’s OK. You realized your mistake and made things right. I know you’re not going to do it again. He manipulated your emotions and used the guilt caused by killing your father against you. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

He smiled at her. “Thanks, Maya. You mean everything to me. Before I met you, I just cruised through life, partying and burying my feelings. But now I feel like I can open up to you.”

“It’s the same with me, Ev. I didn’t dare show my true feelings for fear of what Belial would do, but you saved me from that life, and I’ll always be grateful to you for that.”

The pizza arrived, and they ate while changing the conversation to happier topics. Ev cherished these blissful days because he had no idea how long they were going to last.

* * *

Maya had told CiCi she would be gone for an hour, but it ended up only being about half that. She opened the door to their dorm and said, “I’m back.”

The lamp was on, but not the overhead lighting, lending the room an almost surreal feel. CiCi sat on the couch facing the turned-off TV with a distant but jubilant look on her face. Concerned, Maya went over to check on her. “CiCi? Are you all right?”

As if she heard her friend’s voice from afar, CiCi turned her head and stared at Maya. No, she wasn’t staring
at
her; she was staring
through
her. “Maya?” she asked as if she had been pleasantly surprised. “Heyyyyy, what’s going on?”

“‘What’s going on?’ That’s my line. Are you all right?”

“Never better.” She burst into goofy laughter. “I thought I had more time to do this. You weren’t supposed to know.” More laughter.

Panic began to seep in. “What’s going on here?”

CiCi held up what looked like a red gummi candy and waved it like a drunk. “Fruit Punch. My own… original… creation. Really packs a punch. Get it? Punch!”

“No,” Maya gasped. While in Zero Grade, she had heard stories about gods who had created unbelievably powerful drugs just for them because normal narcotics didn’t work on the divine. “How long have you been using?”

 CiCi’s laughter became even more raucous. “A few years.” Without warning, she lunged forward and hugged the table, gripping it tight. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. This drug has some serious side-effects. Promise me you won’t open the door or the window, Maya. I’ll get sucked out if you do!”

“What?”

“Promise me!”

“OK, I promise. I won’t open anything.”

“Thank you.” There was immense relief in her voice. But then she began crying, and it was replaced with a far more powerful fear. CiCi was genuinely terrified. Maya wanted to find Dian Cecht, the Academy physician, but her promise stopped her. If CiCi was in such bad shape, Maya couldn’t even imagine what would happen if she opened that door.

So she did the only thing she could: she put comforting hands on her friend and stayed with her through the ordeal.

* * *

Later that night, when the worst of it had subsided, CiCi was in a lucid, but very emotional, state. In between sobs, she explained, “A few years ago I was up skiing in the Faust Kingdom. I broke my leg. The doctors gave me painkillers. Have you ever taken one of those? They make you feel
so
good. I had a lot of anxiety in my life, and those were a godsend. No pun intended. Every time I downed one of those, I just felt amazing. But they didn’t give me any refills, and before long, I ran out. I couldn’t go back to feeling normal all the time, I just couldn’t. I hate normal. I
needed
that pleasure. I think I told you about my severe anxiety. I needed some way to relax, so I started getting drugs illegally. I tried buying them on the black market at first, but they’re so expensive, so I ended up just stealing them. I thought for sure I’d get caught, but it never happened.

“Eventually, I awakened to my god-powers and the Academy recruited me. I thought if I got stronger, I could kick this horrible habit. Turns out it wasn’t so easy; getting stronger just meant normal drugs didn’t affect me anymore, and the need to use was still there. I ended up looking online for a solution, and I found a secret website for gods that detailed how to make your own drug. I started experimenting, and before long I had my first divine painkiller. It gave me the euphoria I wanted, and the side effects were mild. But as I built up a tolerance, I found I needed to create more powerful drugs. That’s how I created Fruit Punch. It tastes good and it makes me feel wonderful… for a while, at least. But the side-effects,” She looked away. “Well, you saw what happens.”

“Why didn’t you tell the professors about your problem? I’m sure they would have helped you.”

Her sobs increased. “I’m so ashamed, Maya! I knew they would have, and that’s what I was afraid of. On some pathetic level, I didn’t
want
to get off them. I wanted the pleasure. Can you believe what a failure I am?”

Maya hugged her tight. “Oh, CiCi, you’re not a failure. This is just a little setback, that’s all. You’re going to get clean, and I’m going to be there for you every step of the way. Not just me; Ev and Jaysin will also be there for you. They didn’t abandon me when I was in trouble, and we won’t abandon
you
.”

For the first time that night, there was a light in CiCi’s eyes. “Thank you, Maya.”

* * *

That same dream. Every night, Daryn had that same dream. They’re all fighting the refghasts in Stiftung, working as a team.

As friends.

But then he inevitably looks over, sees Maya Brünhart pointing an arrow at him. And she shoots him. He’ll never forget the pain of that metal point rupturing his flesh.

He goes down with the rest of them. Belial then comes in. Daryn expects to be finished off, but at the last moment Brandon Strong hurls a spear through his chest.

Belial is defeated. Daryn’s friends then get up, but their reaction shocks him. They’re not angry. In fact, they rush over and embrace Maya. Not just them, but the whole Academy as well. Before long, she’s surrounded by loved ones.

They forgive Maya. They don’t care what she’s done. Her betrayal, it’s like it never even happened.

Daryn is still on the ground, the arrow lodged in his shoulder.

* * *

Maya gathered Ev and Jaysin who quickly reaffirmed their commitment to their troubled friend. After that, they called Dian Cecht down to the infirmary. He gave her medicine to absorb the remnants of the drug in her system and then had her lay down on one of the beds.

He brushed aside his long red hair and said in his usual monotone voice, “The worst of tonight’s episode is behind her. However, she can’t simply stop taking the drug she created. You’ll need to cut it up into smaller and smaller pieces for her to ingest. She’ll have more episodes, but they will decrease in intensity as she is gradually weaned off the drug. More importantly, she’ll need psychiatric treatment for the issues that drove her to use in the first place. I do not have that type of training, but there is a psychiatrist on staff here who I will contact shortly.

“She should still attend class, but it goes without saying she cannot participate in missions until her detox is complete.”

“Will she be all right?” Ev said.

He nodded. “As long as she follows the plan that will be written out for her. However, I must stress that this will not be easy. Breaking an addiction to a painkiller, particularly one made for gods, is a grueling ordeal. I must also advise her to keep up her training; if she grows weaker, the drug will become more powerful in her system, and her chances for gaining independence from it will diminish. As her friends, it is vital that you be there to support her. She will need you as she has never needed anyone before.”

“I understand,” Maya said.

“I hope you do. The prognosis is largely dependant on the support you give her. You must take care to avoid judging her in any way, and give her nothing but love and support. I imagine her self-esteem has been greatly damaged by this crisis. Are you willing and able to help her build it back up?”