Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7

a lot of people who hadn't talked to him, so he'd never got a chance to learn names. The test probably didn't matter, Corin decided. They'd mark him as having a lot of spirit energy, but if their ceremony to bind the demons was anything like Rafferty's, it would take a few days to properly prepare for it.
    At which point, the demons would be bound, and hopefully, they wouldn't kill Corin anyway.
    Tennyson led them to a corner of the monastery where Corin had never been before. Not unusual, Corin wasn't familiar with a lot of the monastery, and one stone wall or stone hall looked a lot like another. The library was a good size, about four times the size of Rafferty's room. Books lined three of the walls, and there was a set of four desks in the center of the room. The tops of three of the desks were completely clear.
    The last desk held stacks of papers, a few books, an ornate lantern, and a single, ripe apple. The apple seemed to glow softly, and the glow faded and strengthened slowly, casting a dark, dark shadow below the apple. Corin swallowed hard, fighting the urge to throw up. He forced himself to step into the room, hiding behind the rest of the servants as Tennyson turned to address them.
    Rafferty frowned at the apple, and Corin hoped he could get away with not touching it. He might actually throw up then, which was a waste of a perfectly adequate breakfast. He also hoped Rafferty wasn't frowning at the apple because it was something different than what he'd told Corin. He'd only said it was a test to sort out who had the most spirit energy.
    He'd also told Corin not to touch the apple. Corin glanced at it again, discomfited all over again that it seemed to be glowing with the same green color he'd seen on the roof. He blinked, and it looked like an ordinary apple again, and the urge to throw up was suddenly much less pressing.
    Corin really, really wanted this to be over already. He was tired of feeling on edge, tired of the way the demons seemed to be playing with him. The circle on the roof, the visits at night, the strange way the apple appeared in the sermon hall and now, the apple's visual fluctuation. He wanted them locked away, tucked back into the shadows where he couldn't sense them.
    "I want all of these books dusted," Tennyson said, gesturing to the walls. "You, clean the desks." Tennyson pointed to a slight girl with a dark braid running halfway down her back. "There are cleaning rags in that corner."
    Corin followed the rest of the group towards the cleaning rags, fishing one out of the bucket without much attention. He watched surreptitiously as the girl crossed to the desks, only belatedly heading towards a bookshelf to make himself look busy. Tennyson was watching the girl like a hawk, his gaze fixed on her every move as she wiped down the empty desks under his eye.
    "You had better move everything," Tennyson said, making it sound as though there would be dire consequences if she didn't.
    Corin started dusting the spines of the books in front of him, trying to make himself look busy while he watched. Rafferty was standing nearby as well, though he was staring at the floor, a thoughtful frown on his face. He was glowing slightly, Corin realized, dropping the book he was holding. He bent quickly to pick it up, wondering what Rafferty was doing.
    It wasn't a green glow, Corin realized, wondering if that had any significance. The circle on Rafferty's bedroom floor hadn't been green either, unlike the apple and the circle on the roof. What did that mean? Was it just because it was Rafferty's energy? Corin shelved the book again, turning in time to see the girl pick up the apple. She wiped down the part of the desk where the apple had sat, then set it back down, apparently unaffected.
    It still looked like a normal apple, Corin noted, pulling another book off the shelf to dust. It hadn't reacted at all, but would it? Corin didn't know. He shelved the book again as Tennyson started shouting at the girl that she was doing it all wrong and ordered her to swap with one of the morons dusting books. She scurried off, and a young man about Corin's age with wheat blond hair and a wide, squashed nose headed over to the desk.
    Corin swallowed and stopped watching. He kept dusting, pretending nothing strange was going on while Tennyson shouted at each of them in turn until finally only Corin was left to try and clean off the desks. Rafferty was still glowing, and Corin wondered why he could see that and no