The spell had finally reached its peak. Power was flowing from the rune in visible waves that refracted the chandelier lighting, making the air ripple. Naven stretched out his glowing red arm, aiming at the boy closest to him in the casting circle. He was going to kill the boy and stop the spell.

Kayden had only a second to react. She wrenched her hand out of Lexi's grip and hiked up her gown.

She heard Lexi gasp "Kay?" behind her, but she didn't have time to turn around. The spell pressed against her, willing her to be still, but she ignored the feeling and pushed away from the wall. She took an odd first step and felt her ankle twist in Lexi's high-heeled shoes, but there was no pain. Instead, just as Naven opened his mouth to speak an incantation, she barreled into him from behind.

Naven stumbled and wheeled around. The lights from the spell were blinding, and Kayden closed her eyes as she grappled with him. She felt the sting of his hand burn her flesh and she cried out in pain, but then the last word of the shifting spell was spoken, and with a ripple of power unlike anything she had ever felt before, she and Naven were torn apart, flung away from one another as if by an invisible hand.

Kayden landed on her back a few feet away, jamming her elbow on the wooden ballroom floor. Pain shot up her arm, and she could finally feel her ankle throbbing. She gasped as she tried to prop herself up, pointing at Naven who had just begun moving from his spot on the floor. "Grab him!" she yelled, her voice hoarse. She made a futile effort to stand up, but cried out in pain when her ankle buckled beneath her weight.

Lexi rushed to her side. "Kay, are you okay?"

"Someone grab Naven!" Kayden shouted again, pushing Lexi away. Most of the potestas stared down at her in confusion, dazed from the strenuous casting. But Blaze heard her cry.

"Walter! Joseph!" he called out, darting across the chalk circle to where Naven was attempting to get up.

A second later, a swarm of people were atop of Naven. The first couple of people who reached him, people who had been in the conference room the night before, tried to pin him down. But then there were the latter few who were trying to rip the others off of the man.

"Naven's hurt!" one tall black man called, trying to pry Blaze away from Russ and nearly succeeding. "Give him air to breathe!"

This is what happens when we don't tell everyone about what he's done, Kayden realized through the throbbing pain of her ankle.

Thankfully, the rest of the Congregation seemed to realize what was going on.

Lira gestured for an attendant, who fumbled in his pocket before pulling out a vial of orange liquid. He passed it to her, and she shouted, "Pin him down!" as she rushed over to the mob, sweeping her long gown aside so she could kneel down over him.

Kayden expected Naven to speak. Instead, he just spat in Lira's face. There was a loud gasp from those around her, but Lira's face was like stone. She uncorked the vial and poured the contents on Naven's mouth. His lips were pressed tightly together, and Kayden doubted that he swallowed any of it, yet after a moment, his thrashings stopped and he grew still. He was out cold.

Lira paused for a moment, looking down at his face. The room was silent. Finally, she said, "Keep holding him down and someone grab me some rope." Her voice was very calm.

A woman on the other side of the ballroom shrieked.

Everyone turned and saw another Naven standing across the room, looking around in confusion. The nearest man grabbed onto him, but then dropped the arm hastily. "It's an illusion," he called back.

This was too much for everyone. The ballroom erupted into a loud slew of shouts and accusations, all aimed at the Congregation. Carsten looked like he was about to be sick, and Wheeler tried to fend off the questions with outstretched palms. Lira Fallon was the only one who was able to ignore the crowds that pressed on her from all sides. The woman remained on the floor near Naven, pulled at his eyelids as if checking for something, and then graciously accepted the rope someone had found for her. She began to bind Naven tightly, and then passed the task off to a few advisers with some recommendations on knot types.

When she finally stood, Kayden expected her to address the crowd. Instead, Lira walked towards her. She crouched down so she was level with Kayden.

"How's your shoulder? Where Naven got you with that spell?" she asked.

Kayden was stunned. Men and women alike were clamoring about, demanding an explanation, and here Lira was, asking her how she felt. "It stings, but it's not too bad. But I think I sprained my ankle."

Lira appraised the shoulder burn, and then probed her ankle gently. Kayden winced at the pain.

"Normally I'd whip up a rune for you, but there have been orders to not use magic for the next few hours to make sure the spell worked. Would it bother you greatly if we heal you the old-fashioned way? With some pain killers and an Ace bandage? I'd be happy to do a formal healing in a few hours if everything is deemed safe."

Kayden nodded.

Lira smiled gently down at her and patted her leg. "All right. One moment."

Lira found an Ace bandage stowed away in a First Aid kit stuck to the wall. She took her time wrapping Kayden's ankle tightly, all the while ignoring the people bombarding her with questions.

"Thank you," Kayden said when she had finally finished. "I really appreciate this."

Lira smiled. "Thank you for stopping Naven." She finally seemed to notice everyone milling around her and shook her head. "Now to deal with the hordes..." She stood up and trailed away regally, her dress of liquid silver flowing around her feet.

"Let me help you up," Lexi said, grabbing the discarded right shoe and letting Kayden hold onto her for support. Her cousin was surprisingly strong and carried her weight well.

"We should probably head up to the room," Kayden's mother said, looking around a bit fearfully. "I don't understand what's going on, but I don't like it."

"I'll explain when we get upstairs," Kayden said. She glanced back at where Naven was restrained on the ground. He looked like a bad replica of himself: his skin was pale and shiny, feverish sweat covering his entire body like morning dew. But Kayden couldn't help but stare at his hands, transfixed. She hadn't noticed it before, but his fingers were stained a brownish red.

Blaze's voice played through her head. He could use blood if he was desperate...

Kayden turned away from the body, feeling ill.

Her mom and cousin escorted her back up to their hotel room, where they placed her on the sofa. Immediately, her mother began to fuss over her, propping her foot with pillows and passing her the whole bottle of ibuprofen. She then rushed to set the kettle boiling.

It was only when all three of them were sitting down with steaming mugs of chamomile in their hands that her mother finally asked her what had happened downstairs. Kayden launched into a fairly short account of the past twenty-four hours. By now she had told the story so many times that it was of no consequence to tell it again. But she barreled past her mother's occasional gasps; she was too tired to argue with her.

"All of this happened last night and you didn't tell me until now?" her mother demanded when she had finished. Kayden couldn't tell whether she was angry or frightened.

"It was a long night, and the point was not to have everyone freak out about it," she explained wearily.

"Well I am freaking out about this!" he mother said, eyes sharp. "That... that bastard! If anyone deserves to rot in hell—!"

"The Congregation knows all about this," Kayden explained for the third time. "They'll deal with him."

"Well they better find a way of dealing with him that actually works, especially since their first attempt was a clear failure. I will not stand by if this psychopath is allowed free." She pursed her lips in anger, but when she caught the look her daughter was shooting her, she frowned. "Kayden, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom." It was only a slight lie. Though she was feeling better, she was fighting the urge to cry. She kept imagining Naven bursting out of the ropes somehow and making another run at her.

Her mother stared at her for a moment longer and then nodded. "Okay." She stood up, mug still held tightly in her hands. "I'm going to change out of this dress."

"What about the dance?"

Her mother shrugged. "That's not for a few hours, and they're only having it if the spell worked. I can change back into this thing later. I really just want to wear something comfortable for now." She gave her daughter a quick peck on her forehead and slipped off into her bedroom.

Kayden shook her head and glanced over at her cousin who was seated at the very edge of the couch, right beside the mountain of pillows supporting her foot. She was tapping her mug with a manicured nail, staring at her tea.

"You already knew about last night, didn't you?" Kayden asked. "Helio told you?"

"He explained it all during brunch." Lexi's face was weary. Kayden belatedly realized she wasn't the only one going through a rough time this past month. "I asked him why he hadn't told me in the first place, and he said he hadn't wanted to drag me into it." Lexi frowned. "He shouldn't have dragged you into it. He should have just told me."

"He didn't want to see you hurt."

"I can take care of myself." Lexi took a sip of her tea and pressed her lips against the porcelain rim. Kayden could tell that her cousin's mind was elsewhere—she could see it in the way Lexi's brows furrowed, and the way her eyes locked onto the far off wall—but Kayden didn't want to pry. If Lexi didn't want to share something, there had to be a reason.

After a moment, Lexi's eyes flicked over towards Kayden. There was a different look in her eyes, and Kayden had the feeling that she had thought of something new. "Listen, Kay. I know I can be annoying, but... I hope I didn't totally ruin your summer."

Kayden stared at her in disbelief. "You didn't. If anything, I ruined yours."

Lexi smiled. "Kay, this was the most exciting summer I've ever had. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with you."

Kayden looked at her cousin and realized that she was actually really happy that she was there with her. "I enjoyed getting to spend time with you too, Lex. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done without you here."

With that, her cousin leaned forward and gave her a hug. Kayden flinched when Lexi brushed past her ankle, but then relaxed. It felt nice to hug someone without feeling the need to pull away. When the two finally separated, Lexi reached for the remote wedged between the white couch cushions and aimed it at the TV. "Want to watch some mindless non-er cable?"

"Yes please," Kayden said with a nod. She sipped her tea as Lexi flipped to a home renovation show, letting the warm liquid pool in her mouth so she could taste the bitterness of the chamomile. As the television screen played images of people painting walls, she realized how much she had missed this sense of normalcy. There was no mention of the spell on this station, no countdown in the corner of the screen or reference to magic of any sort. It was just television.

For the first time in a very long time, Kayden felt like a normal sixteen-year-old girl. And it wasn't a bad feeling.

- - -

Hey guys! So I had a rough yesterday--I ended up scraping the side of my mother's car against some sort of concrete beam that scratched up the paint, so I was quite distraught yesterday evening. Actually last night, as I was laying in bed thinking about how badly I screwed up, I thought about Blaze and it made me feel a lot better. :p So yay for this book! [And my mom isn't too upset, which helps too.]

Let me know what you think of the chapter! Thanks for all your support; I wouldn't be able to do it without you!

~Bdicocco