Fury and Fire

by K T Quinn

  “The puny blades of Eternal Sleep” I replied wielding my dual blades in front of me.

  “Umm impressive?” Victoria awkwardly gave the thumbs up hand signal and tried to avoid eye contact to hide her small white lie.

  “It’s way better than anything we have….” Twyla joined in nodding her head in agreement shoving the whip behind her back like she hadn’t just shown it to me five seconds ago.

  “It’s okay guys” I sighed. “At least I have weapons. I’m not great at combat anyway so I guess if anyone gets too close I have two chances at saving myself.” I raised the Blades of Eternal Sleep and mimed some mock battle scenarios.

  “Oh look, the demon scum managed to summon the kitchen cutlery” a high pitched nasal voice sneered behind me. Sabine aggressively bumped into my shoulder and laughed, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder. “What are you going to do scum, butter me to death?” She bumped into my shoulder again almost sending me flying but I refused to give her the satisfaction of a reaction even though I so badly wanted to deck her. I closed my eyes imagining doing just that and smiled. Breathe in, breathe out Mikah. Clenching my teeth I turned away from Sabine giving her my back. First rule of Academy fight club. Never turn your back on your opponent. A sharp pain shot up my leg as it gave way and I fell to the hard floor. My breath whooshed out of me. I struggled to remember to breathe momentarily.

  “What the hell Sabine” Twyla shouted angrily leaping to my defence, golden whip uncurled. She reminded me of a mini green haired Wonder Woman. Victoria’s bow was at the ready to use as a whacking stick. “Wouldn’t want to waste a single arrow on someone like you” Victoria taunted. I. I silently thanked the girls for giving me the moment needed to recover and regain my breath. Sabine giggled. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “Wouldn’t want to waste a single arrow on something like me? Sabine repeated acidly. “You wouldn’t be able to even shoot that thing off fast enough to touch me before I sliced your throat open you filthy worthless demon scum” Sabine lurched forward with her longsword outstretched towards Victoria’s throat. Time slowed down. I could see everything unfolding before me. Hypnos and Thanatos glowed an electric blue sending a shockwave of power through the blade into my body as both the weapons and I burst into flames. I smiled a feral smile, the feeling of power was intoxicating. My fury side had awoken. The injustice about to be committed had called to her and she was ready to fight fire with fire. I slowly rose from the floor levitating off of the ground towards Victoria. I knew deep down that my Fury was about to cross a line I was not ready to cross. She may have felt that what she was about to do was justified but I disagreed. I could not stop her, the promise of power was intoxicating and filled every sense until my doubts had disappeared to a quiet dull whisper. Diving in front of Victoria I met Sabine’s blade with my own. Our swords connected with a loud crash startling the crowded room. Blue flames leapt from my small blades onto Sabine’s blades and crept slowly towards her flesh until her upper arms were completely engulfed in flames. A cry of agony left Sabine as her skin bubbled and blistered. Classmates stumbled and fell over one another as they scrambled for something to help get the flames out. A feral grin covered my face, my Fury side was satisfied. Justice had been served. The surge of intoxicating power receded as did my Fury side.

  “HARPER! What have you done!” Crigler shouted as he left Sabines’ side and stormed towards me. “You have just broken almost every edict in this academy! I will have you expelled for this!” Spittle flew from his mouth as he screamed at me and pointed at Sabine. She was moaning on the floor holding her arms in front of her unable to lay them down they had been so badly burned. “What do you mean! If I hadn't acted she would have killed Victoria” I shouted at Crigler. My body burned with anger. Was he joking? Yeah maybe I shouldn’t have burned her as badly as I did but she was going to kill Victoria! “Sabine did not do anything wrong! Victoria” Crigler barked. “Did Sabine touch you in any way?”

  Victoria looked at me with fear in her eyes. She was afraid of me. “No sir, she did not.” Victoria cast her eyes downward refusing to look at me. Twyla glared at me before wrapping her arms around Victoria. “Sir may we leave class” she asked. “Of course. Everyone may leave except for you” Crigler glared at me with his beady eyes full of hatred. “Girls, get Sabine to the nurse” he said to the brunette kneeling over Sabine. She nodded and looked sharply at me. Hushed whispers floated by me as my classmates left the room. They stared at me with fear and hate. Like I was something bad, some science experiment gone wrong. I didn’t belong here. I don’t belong on the Dark Side either, they wouldn’t welcome me back now that I had been tainted by the Bright-Side. My only saving grace would be the King’s protection while ever he held it over me. I felt completely alone for the first time in my life. I didn’t belong anywhere in this world.

  “Give me your blades” Crigler demanded in the now empty room, his hands outstretched.

  “No” I replied. I wasn’t going to hand the blades over. I felt how much power was contained within them. I didn’t trust anyone else with them. Besides they were mine. They felt like they were now a part of me. I couldn’t give them back. “You said that once a weapon chooses us that we are soulbound to them until we die. I can’t give them back even if I wanted to.”

  “They are the Blades of the Eternal Sleep. They cannot leave this academy. They are the most sacred and ancient blades we have in this collection. I don’t even know how they had made it into the pile of student weapons. I vetted that pile myself! They should have been under lock and key in the armoury.” Crigler stood with his hands on his hips thinking. “You may be soulbound to these weapons but you cannot take them with you outside of this Academy. It is forbidden.

  “What do you mean? What kind of BS is that!” I exclaimed. “The blades chose me fair and square! Why on Earth would you put weapons that are forbidden out if we aren’t meant to have them in the first place!” I stomped my foot angrily and curled my hands into fists. I didn’t care if I was having a temper tantrum. What a load of baloney! “This is just another way you Bright-siders are going to discriminate against me! It doesn’t matter what I do it’s always the wrong thing! You allow other students to bully me and it goes unpunished! But when I retaliate to this bullying I am the one who gets into trouble?!!!” I was so angry my vision bled to shades of red. I couldn’t believe this! My skin began to itch and I felt like I could scratch it off just like a snake when it needs to shed its skin. Lessi began to push to the surface. I doubled over in pain as my bones began to crack. It felt like they would break slowly one fraction at a time. Pain seared through my body, white hot and blinding. My body dropped to the floor. I was burning up quickly and began to sweat. Mr Crigler paled. He leaned down and placed a hand on my back.

  “Are you alright?” Worry creased his brow. He placed a hand on my forehead that had begun to sweat. “Just try and breathe through the pain. Big deep breaths” he soothed. If i wasn’t in so much pain I would have rolled my eyes. Crigler didn’t care about me, he just didn’t want my death on his hands - or in his room for that matter. “Can you speak with your dragon?" I nodded my head grunting in pain. "Ask her to settle, she is the only one who can stop this." The sound of footsteps hurried towards us, Crigler signalling then over with his hand. “Hurry” he said. Panic and worry laced his voice.

  "What is happening to me?" I cried out as waves of pain rolled over my body. I began to shift and change. My hands turned into dragon talons. Sharp and dangerous, then changed back to human again.

  "Micah, this is really important. You need to try and calm your dragon down. The more you panic the more she is reacting to your emotions. If you change without proper instruction, and in this room, you might hurt both of you and you will hurt a lot of people in the school. It is vital that you stop the shift." I tried to speak to Lessi to calm her down but couldn’t reach her through the blinding pain. There seemed to be a glass wall between us and I didn’t know how to get through to her.
>
  ‘Less did you hear that . You need to stop the shift, we will hurt a lot of people. We will hurt ourselves. Lessi, can you stop this?’

  ‘I’m trying! I’m trying… I can’t stop! Your Fury is interfering! I can’t get a hold of the shift!’

  ‘Please Lessi, I don't know how to do this! It hurts!’

  “Make it stop!” I screamed falling to the floor twitching in pain. Through the haze of pain and delirium I felt someone pick me up from the floor. They smelled familiar, their arms were like I’ve on my hot burning skin and soothed my pain. I snuggled into their arms trying to touch as much if my skin to theirs as possible. “Get her out of here, help her” I heard Crigler say.

  “Shhh it’s okay. I’ve got you gorgeous” soothed a deep male voice. I felt the wind stream past us as the man ran, the scent of oranges and chocolates deep in my nose. I squeezed my eyes shut so the blur of buildings didn't add to the nausea I was already feeling. My hands kept switching from human to dragon and I clenched the poor man’s arms in pain. My dragon talons cut deep into his skin, blood trickling from his biceps. Yet still he ran. Blackness crept at the edge of my vision. The pain was unbearable. I felt like I was going to die. My skin burned hotter and hotter. It felt like an eternity that I was in this man’s arms racing to some unknown destination, but it was only moments. I had been taken to a dark room somewhere on academy grounds. I could barely see through the pain. The man laid me on the ground and lay next to me pulling me into his cold embrace. His skin was cool and pallid in contrast with my own blistering skin. It soothed the unbearable pain but it was not enough. I heard faint murmurs in the background and soon more bodies came and lay close, their cold skin cooling down my own and stopping my change. Very soon I was at the bottom of a pile of cold corpses - only they were very much alive.

  “Why did you bring her here?” A man’s gravelly voice asked.

  “She was going to shift and destroy herself - and the Academy” replied the familiar voice belonging to the man who smelled like oranges and chocolates.

  “I see” the older man’s voice replied thoughtfully. “You did the right thing. She stays until the shift has fully ceased then you must return her to her dorm room. We can’t allow Gabriel to be suspicious of our coven any more than he already is. Remember we are here to observe until the time comes.”

  “Of course father. As you wish.” Pain flashed through my body once more and the world faded to black.

  I opened my eyes and looked around the room disorientated. I was in my dorm room. Wyrmie was laying next to me and we we’re surrounded by empty Twinkie wrappers. Suddenly my memories came flooding back.The change, the dark place with the strange men… weapons class. Depressed and exhausted I reached for an unopened Twinkie. My arm was covered in cuts and bruises. I felt like I had been hit by a freight train. Surely my human body shouldn’t be like this after an almost shift?

  ‘Lessi are you still there?’ I asked.

  ‘Sorry. I tried to stop. I’m so sorry’ Lessi sniffled in my mind.

  ‘It’s okay Less, it’s done now. There isn’t much that can change it. I need to know, should my body be like this after the change - or almost change?’

  ‘No. Your body shouldn’t be cut or bruised. Sore maybe, but not like this. It is because we haven’t melded together. We are still very much fighting for control whether we realise it or not. We must become one. You must become at peace with what you are - dragon, Fury, empath. Until you fully accept who you are this will continue to happen. It is all up to you Mikah.’

  I nodded my head frustrated. If I knew how to become at peace with myself I would have already done that. A loud ding interrupted my thoughts. Crap! The phone! The King’s phone! I had forgotten to call him! My stomach sank. I needed to check on my family and hoped that the King had not taken my absence out on them. Crap! I had to send a message to Bri too! I felt terrible. I hadn’t kept in touch as much as I should have been with Bri and my family. For a moment I felt incredibly selfish. I grabbed the phone off my bedside table and checked the messages. There was only one text. It was the King. Bri still hadn’t forgiven me it seemed. I opened the message from the King.

  Explain yourself. Now.

  Crapsticks! I quickly punched in the King’s direct line.

  “Explain yourself” the icy tone of the King crackled through the phone line. I shivered and took an involuntary step backwards, which was silly because it was just a voice on the phone. Feeling foolish I shakily cleared my throat.

  “Explain what sir?” I asked meekly.

  I could feel the King’s uncontrollable rage building in the heavy silence between us, his short heavy breaths the only sign that he was still on the other end of the phone. “Don’t play games you can never win. Have you spoken to your little brother lately?”

  No. I hadn’t. My hand involuntarily flew to my throat as I struggled to breath trying not to give in to my anxiety and panic. Shakily I counted backwards from ten in my mind in rhythm with my breathing.

  “I apologise my King, I have been unwell and unable to speak on the phone. The Dark recruits have been receiving a fair bit of shade which has made it difficult to obtain much information.” My voice had more strength in it than I felt. I hoped that it would be enough to satisfy the King. As much as I wasn’t enjoying my time here I still didn’t want to throw these people under the bus. They were meant to be the good side weren’t they? The pure of heart, full of light and love and all that stuff they preach over here. Although there are some that need to pay more attention to their lessons I thought as Sabine and her friends came to mind.

  “And what of the Oracle and the ring he has given you? Your mother has spoken with me on one of my many visits to your home.”

  “The ring was just a trashy trinket and the Oracle a crazy old man. Nothing more.” I did not want the King to have information on Nazar. He had been kind to me, unlike the others here at the academy. Besides if the King got his hands on the Oracle the implications would be catastrophic! He would have information about the future at his fingertips! I would be more inclined to help the King if I knew that he wanted to keep the peace not continuously fight to break it. There was no way I wanted Nazar on the King’s radar.

  The Shadow King sighed. “You are a terrible liar Mikah. Once you accept that you belong to the dark things will go a lot smoother for you. Or your sister. She is almost of age to wed is she not?”

  “Don’t you dare! My sister is not a pawn to be bargained with!” I smashed my fist onto the wall, pain reverberating along my hand as it made contact.

  “Then don’t put me in a position to need to bargain with you. If you were anyone else I would have had your head for disobeying your King!” he thundered. “Now tell me - what of the oracle and the ring!”

  “The ring was a gift - it is a Topaz. Like a dragons eye. I’m not sure what it means or what it does. As for the Oracle, he told me to choose both the light and the dark, which is what I believe I have done by being in this academy, and by finishing my schooling on the Darkside” I said meekly playing with the ring from Nazar.

  “I knew you would come to your senses” the King said clearly pleased. “My sources have advised me that there is an extremely dangerous weapon on the grounds. The Weapons-Master’s creation. I want it. Where is it kept?”

  I was shocked into silence. How did he know? I had purposely kept the weapon out of any conversation I had with my Mother - or the King. A weapon that destructive was catastrophic in either sides hands. For the moment it was just Crigler’s vanity toy nothing more. The King couldn’t get his hands on it! “It is broken, it was nothing more than a vanity toy for Crigler to impress Gabriel with” I said with nonchalance hoping the King would buy it unlike my previous lies.

  The King snorted back a chuckle. “That sounds about right, those Skybjörn idiots wouldn’t even know how to effectively make use of a weapon like that. Still, I want it. My people may be able to fix it. Location, now.” The King’s firm voice left
no room to argue or disobey. Not when he was threatening the safety of my family, of my sister.

  “Weapons storage. Second level” I replied with defeat. I hadn’t chosen a side yet I felt like I had just made a major betrayal. I felt like I was the lowest of the low. Maybe Sabine was right all along and I was just demon scum.

  “Good Girl” the King said quite pleased. “Now my question remains about your sister, she is almost of age no?”

  “I just gave you what you asked for! Leave my sister out of this! Please my King, just leave her out of this” I begged falling to my knees. I felt so helpless and utterly alone. My friends on both sides had abandoned me, my Wyrm-dragon was lord knows where and my family was so far away. I couldn’t do or say anything without putting my family in jeopardy. I felt so completely defeated.

  “I need a Queen. A wife. Someone with power yet someone who knows their place and will obey. Someone like you.” The King paused for a moment before continuing. “I will give you the gift of choice. It can either be your sister or I will accept you in her place. What do you choose?”

  A single tear rolled down my cheek. The King has won. I could not allow my sister to suffer at the hands of this monster. “I will be your Queen.” I held back the sobs that were trying to escape. I didn’t want to allow the King the satisfaction of my pain.

  “You will be sent a contract to sign shortly which will bind you to your word. Until we speak again, my Queen.” The King ended the call leaving me a sobbing mess on my dorm room floor defeated and alone.

  Chapter 9

  The Skybjörn Academy bells for first period sounded urging me to hurry my ass up. After last nights sobfest and a shower so long I ran out the Academy’s hot water supply I decided to start this day with a new mindset. Six weeks had passed since I first came for the academy, so it was about time to make a change that would work for me . From this moment on I decided to stop caring so much for those who had stopped caring for me. Everyone else seemed to put themselves first so why couldn’t I? I thought of Mom’s recent betrayal with the King. If you couldn’t count on your own Mother then who can you count on?