The slake darted to the side, evading the red and gold balls of sputtering flames. Released, Moira collapsed on the ground where she lay limp and unmoving. Had he killed her?
My fireballs tumbled against a tree and flew upward, reaching the branches, bursting them aflame.
Screaming and blubbering, I shot more balls of fire at the slake’s retreating back, but the creature bolted left and right, its motion a blur, and I missed with every shot.
Ahead somewhere, a bone-jarring roar thundered through the forest, bringing my heart to a standstill. My pulse fluttered as the dragon snaked around trees and burst into the clearing. His gaze was pulled to the fleeing slake, and the dragon shot after him, tail whipping, claws scrambling. Fire erupted from the dragon’s mouth, joining with the balls I still shot at the slake.
The slake’s robes fluttered, and it sprung off its feet. It flew forward like a bat, slithering around trees with the dragon right behind.
My knees buckled as the last of my energy drained from my moonstone, but I made myself remain standing and stumbled over to drop beside Moira.
Would I find her skin cold when I touched it? She wasn’t moving.
The slake had to be Bryce. He’d called her here to drain her. A sob choked in my throat at the realization that someone I’d started to think of as a friend was a danger to us all.
“Moira?” I whispered. With only a shred of hope left inside me, I turned her onto her back.
Her gasp made my eyes sting with unshed tears.
As I leaned near and rubbed her shoulder, her eyelids flickered and she opened her eyes.
“Fleur?” she stuttered out. Her face pinched. Moaning, she rubbed her forehead. “What…I don’t—”
“We’ve got to get you out of here. Can you stand? I’ll help you.” We had to escape the forest before the slake returned to drain us both. The dragon…I desperately wanted to make sure he was okay, but I couldn’t leave Moira defenseless. I had to trust the dragon could protect himself.
Half rising, Moira squinted around. “Where am I?”
“We’re in the forest.”
Panic widened her eyes, and she gripped my arms hard enough I winced. “We’re not supposed to be here.”
“You were drawn here by a slake. I saw it from my Coven room window.”
“No.” Frowning, she shook her head. “I don’t…remember anything. I was in my room…Asleep. I think.”
“When I saw you crossing to the woods, I followed. I…I didn’t know what else to do. I know we’re not supposed to be here, but I was worried about you. So, I disobeyed the Headmistress’s order.” I lifted my chin. Consequences be damned. I wouldn’t leave a friend in danger. “I’m glad I did. The slake was draining your power. I chased him away.” Should I mention the dragon?
Alex insisted the dragon was a secret. Not my secret to share.
“Can you get up?” I asked her. Limp after flinging fireballs, I didn’t have the strength to flit myself from the forest, let alone me and Moira.
“I’ll try.”
Together, we got her to her feet, though her knees buckled and she almost fell again.
When cries rang out behind us, followed by roars of the dragon, Moira’s mouth dropped open and she peered in that direction with terror stark on her face.
“Go,” I shouted, urging her on with an arm around the back of her waist. We ran, stumbling, tripping over roots and rocks and sticks. Both of us fully depleted. Her by the slake, me by stretching myself to the limit to defend her.
We hit the edge of the forest and rushed out into the field.
And slammed into someone.
Couldn’t help it. I screamed.
“Fleur?” someone said in astonishment. He grabbed my arm before I fell.
“Cloven?”
His intent gaze took us both in, our lungs heaving, our faces probably lined with horror. “What…Wait a minute. Girls…It isn’t safe here. What are you two doing out this late at night?”
I could ask him the same thing.
“After…Well, I was patrolling the grounds,” he said as if he’d read my mind. “I heard an uproar in the woods and rushed this way.”
“Moira was in the forest,” I gasped out. “I followed her. A slake! It was draining her power.”
He turned to face the woods, and his hands flexed into fists at his sides. Whirling back to us, he said, “I need to know you’re safe.” Near desperation came through in his words. “Take Moira to the clinic. They’ll help her.” With a stiffening spine he clutched the star pendant he wore on a chain around his neck. “You can leave this to me. I’ll take care of the slake.” At a dead run, he disappeared into the woods.
Worried about his safety, I stared after him a moment. But like with the dragon, I had to trust he could defend himself.
“Can you walk?” I asked Moira.
“I…I will.” Her voice cracked and a sob burst out of her. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why…But thank you. I can’t believe it happened.”
We started forward, me half dragging her toward the Academy. Finally, we reached the western entrance and I essentially hauled her inside, then took her to the clinic.
Fortunately, there were lights on, and the door was unlocked. When I shoved it open and it banged on the wall, a woman sitting behind a desk leaped to her feet.
“What’s going on?” Her gaze slid to Moira and she blanched. “Oh, my gosh! Whatever happened?” She hurried around the desk and helped prop Moira up on the other side. “Let’s get her into the back room where I can examine her.”
I explained about seeing Moira going into the forest, following, and then chasing off the slake. I left out the dragon.
Pausing after helping Moira lie on a stretcher, the woman’s amber gaze narrowed on my face. “You, a First Year student, drew power and deployed fire?”
“Um, yeah.” I winced. “Sorry?”
Yes, I wasn’t supposed to use power outside my classroom, but this had been extenuating circumstances.
“Thank you for bringing her to us. We’ll take care of her now,” the tall, thin woman said. A frown took over her face, and I knew she was mindspeaking. To whom? Grunting, she nodded then turned back to me. “Go to your room and do not leave until you’re called. Hurry and don’t talk to anyone on your way.” She hustled me out the front door.
I ran to our room and locked myself inside, my body a trembling, spent wreck. After ditching my clothing and tugging on a nightgown, I skipped my teeth and tumbled onto my bed. I yanked the quilt up, all the way to my chin. My hair draped across my face and I shoved it off, my fingers clammy.
A ping hit my mind.
I’m outside your room, Justine said. Don’t wake your roommate. Come out here immediately.
Chapter 23
“Why did you enter the forest?” Justine practically shouted.
We sat in her office. Before I could speak, Cloven slipped into the room and took the seat next to me, giving me an encouraging smile.
“You’re okay,” I whispered through the corner of my mouth. I’d been worried.
“I—”
“I thought I made it clear that entering the forest was strictly forbidden,” Justine ground out.
With good reason.
“I saw Moira going into the woods.” The words stuttered out of me. My teeth chattered and my body quaked. Exhaustion had taken over. I wanted to climb underneath my covers and sleep for three days.
“You could’ve come to me, pinged me,” she said.
“Me, too,” Cloven said, patting my arm. “You know I’m here for you, no matter what.”
I wanted to hug him because Justine wouldn’t stop fuming and Cloven seemed willing to listen. Gathering myself together, I turned toward him. “Moira was following Bryce. He’s a slake and the other night I found her in the library acting all weird. Tired, confused, weak. I think a slake was draining her then. Even worse, I caught a slake draining her tonight in the forest.”
“Bryce?” the
Headmistress asked, leaning forward. She braced her arms on her dark green desk blotter. “You think he’s somehow involved?”
“Who else?”
“He’s bonded,” Cloven said. “Took care of that one myself.”
“Bryce cannot be involved.” Justine nodded to Cloven as if to confirm his words.
“Where is he, then? Why did he seem to be luring her into the forest if not to suck all her power? He—” I explained about my first day here, how he’d acted at the fountain and then in my dorm room when Donovan introduced us.
“Did he attempt to drain power from you?” Cloven asked, his face wracked with concern. “I didn’t have time to ask earlier.”
“I don’t know.” I’d been creeped out but I hadn’t acted like Moira, as if I’d find it a challenge to lift my finger. Mostly, I’d been scared.
Justine stood. “I am grateful for what you did for Moira.” Her voice cracked. “There’s no denying that. If you hadn’t been there, who knows what could’ve happened?”
I knew what would’ve happened. Moira would now be a shriveled husk. But naming it would create more questions I wasn’t prepared to answer.
“The thing is,” she said. “I’m horrified that you were in danger. Moira, too. I’m truly worried about her.”
Professor Mealor flitted into the room, appearing beside Cloven.
“What did you find?” Cloven asked.
Had Professor Mealor joined Cloven in the hunt?
“Nothing.” Professor Mealor grimaced and rubbed his right leg. He leaned back, against the bookcase. “He flew, and you know that’s not one of my strongest skills.”
I could swear Donovan said Elites couldn’t fly.
“Hopefully, now that he knows we can identify him, he’ll leave,” Justine said. “I’ve notified the Council already. They’re sending a liaison tomorrow, someone who will hunt the slake down and make sure he pays for his crimes.” Her head dipped toward me. “I’ll flit you back to your room, now, dear. I’m asking—no demanding—that you promise to remain in your room for the rest of the night.”
“I will.” No more running around in the woods. For now.
Cloven patted my shoulder, and the skin around his eyes crinkled with suppressed humor. “Try to keep the bravery contained to the classroom, okay?”
I nodded.
“You did the right thing, though,” he said. “You defended a friend.”
“Will she be okay?”
Cloven’s solemn gaze slid to Justine. “We don’t know.”
* * *
Patty and I were getting ready for class the next morning when Justine pinged every student at the same time.
Overnight, she said, something tragic happened.
Patty’s wide eyes met mine. I hadn’t said anything to her, though I planned to tell her about the events over breakfast.
A student was attacked, Justine said. I want everyone to join me in the auditorium at eight.
Half an hour from now.
In between then, she said. Do not go anywhere alone. Remain in pairs or groups of students. Thank you.
I explained everything to Patty.
“You’re wrong about Bryce,” she said, her fingers tight enough on her bookbag they blanched. “He wouldn’t do anything like that.”
When had she gone from ripping him a new one to defending him?
“He’s a slake,” I said, my voice rising. “I saw him. Moira followed him. I’d say the evidence damns him.”
“But he can’t be involved.”
“Have you seen that he isn’t?” Seen, as in with divination.
“No.” Her shoulders slumped. “But I bet he has a good explanation for last night.”
“What could it be?”
We crossed the room to the door and I pulled it open.
“I don’t know, but…I still don’t believe he’s involved. I trust him.”
I tilted my head, because, frankly, I just didn’t get it. “Why?”
“Because…” Her gaze shifted out into the hall.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I suddenly had an ah-ha moment. “Your date last night. Was it Bryce?”
Her cheeks flushed almost as pink as her hair. “We’re just friends.”
I smiled, despite the tension swirling in the air. “So are Donovan and I, but that hasn’t stopped us from rolling around in the upper pasture.”
“What?” Patty grabbed my arm. “You didn’t tell me you two were doing that!”
“Not quite that.” My turn to color. I shook her hand off in a friendly way, and we walked to the elevator and pushed the down button. “He’s…nice.”
Her eyebrows wiggled. “And hot.”
“No denying that.”
“Later, you have to fill me in on what’s happening!” She skipped in place. “I want to hear every detail. The feel, the emotions, the…” A grimace took over her face, and her giddiness slipped. “I don’t want to know every detail. Too much information, there, but you can share the PG version.”
“I will.” My smile fled. “But Bryce…”
“Please.” She turned pleading eyes my way as the elevator dinged beside us. “Trust me about him?”
I wanted to, but how could I? “I’m worried. He’s…”
“What?”
“You know what he can do.” I followed her inside the tiny compartment and we pressed G.
“I also know what he wouldn’t do.”
Unconvinced, I followed her outside. We cut across the inner campus and went to the coffee place to grab iced lattes and bagels, taking them with us to the auditorium where we dropped into seats on either side of Donovan.
No Bryce. And he didn’t show in the next ten minutes, either.
“Where’s your roommate?” I asked Donovan.
“No idea.” His voice came out bleak. “I’m worried. He wasn’t in our room when I woke up this morning. I pinged the Headmistress, though, and she said not to worry. He’s okay.”
He might be, but what about Moira?
Alys’s appearance in the aisle to our right suggested she’d been possessed by a ghost. Pale face, sunken, shadowy eyes, and her hands shook so badly, she could rattle chains.
When she paused beside us, I waved for her to take the empty spot on the other side of Patty, but Alys shook her head and moved on, dropping down in a seat in the front row.
Kids crowded into the auditorium.
Justine flitted directly onto the stage not long after the last student sunk into a seat.
Her no-nonsense expression made most of us sit up straight but her sharp command, attention, made a few kids jump.
“Thank you for coming this morning. I’ll get right to it.” Her concerned gaze spanned the room. “As I said, a student was hurt.”
Feverish whispers erupted around me, and wild speculation filled the air.
“Fortunately,” Justine said, interrupting the rising furor. “The student made it to the healers on time. She’ll eventually recover.”
Phew. I’d barely slept last night. I kept seeing that…thing clutching Moira, sucking away her power.
Alys’s sob caused more feverish speculation. No one could miss the fact that her roommate was missing.
“While I don’t wish to frighten you,” the Headmistress said. “You’re all basically adults now, taking on adult challenges at the Academy. It would be wrong to withhold information.” Her sigh rang out. “We have a rogue slake on campus.”
“Slake!” a student cried.
“As you know, we’ve welcomed slakes with magical abilities to the Academy,” Justine said. “They’re bonded before they’re allowed among you, naturally, and our bonds are infallible. We also deployed wards. Yet, somehow, a slake was able to slip past the barriers and find a way inside.”
A guy stood. Justin? Jacob? A J name. I couldn’t quite remember. “Pinged my dad,” he said. “I’m out of here. He’s coming to get me right now.” He stalked up the aisle, and the door banged shut behind him.<
br />
“My mom feels the same,” a girl said from the right side of the auditorium, a few rows below mine. “She doesn’t want me here if it’s not safe.”
A few other kids stood and left, while others shifted in their chairs. From their frowns, I had a feeling they were also pinging parents.
“I understand completely,” Justine said softly, a catch in her voice. This must be devastating to her. “But you can trust in the Academy, in our bonds and wards.”
“Didn’t work too well so far,” someone hissed out.
Justine dipped her head in acknowledgment. “I do ask you to consider staying, despite what’s happened. We’ve placed additional safeguards to ensure nothing like this will occur again. I ask you to give us one more chance.”
I was pleased to see the majority of my fellow students remaining in their seats. Leaving, for me, was not an option. But even if I’d had worried parents eager to rush to the school to collect me, I wanted to stay.
“Other than that, I want to again stress the rules. Please remain together until we tell you otherwise. Report anything—or anyone—unusual, though I’ll note that the Council is sending someone out to investigate this morning.” Her gaze swept across us again. “And please…I can’t reiterate this enough. Do not go into the forest.”
Chapter 24
No forest for me, though I ached to visit with the dragon. I needed to find out if he was okay.
Instead, after Justine released us, I hurried to my Introduction to Magical Creatures class with Patty and Donovan. The orientation packet directed us to the back pasture, where we joined up with other Earth Coven First Year students.
“All right, kids, gather round,” a tall woman with long, curly white hair and brown skin said. She stood on a big, flat boulder, her flowing robe made up of colorful scarves drifting around her in a rainbow mist, brushing her bare toes—the nails painted orange. Big hoop earrings twinkled through her hair. “I’ll need your complete attention, please.”
While I nodded to show I was listening, I couldn’t take my eyes off the creature half-hidden behind a cluster of trees near the northern edge of the forest. Or should I call it creatures, since it appeared to have three heads?
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