“Alright,” Seth said after a long pause. “But you can only get down when you've cut off all of your hair.”
On cue, Kylie produced a sharp pair of scissors from her pocket, her gaze venomous as she passed them to Seth.
“What?” I gasped.
“It's that or jump.” Seth shrugged and laughter rang out from every direction.
I wanted to curl up into a ball, but I refused to let them see me break. Seth held out the scissors, his face cast in shadow.
I clenched my jaw, furious that I was backed into a corner like this. It was clear this had been his plan all along. He wanted me wholly ridiculed. He wanted the entire House to laugh at me, to humiliate me beyond repair. It wasn’t just my hair he was trying to take, it was my dignity.
The wind pressed at my back and a trickle of energy met my fingertips. The air moved between my hands, dancing, floating, completely under my command.
My throat tightened and I threw a glance over my shoulder. My heart screamed at me not to do it, but this was the only way I wasn't going to be destroyed by Seth Capella on my first day at Zodiac Academy.
His brows pinched together as he realised what I was about to do.
I sucked in air and felt it moving through my body with a promise. And I simply had to have blind faith in that feeling. It was the only thing I had to hold onto as I threw myself over the edge.
Screams and gasps followed me as I cascaded through the air, my heart trying to break free of my chest. I tumbled and lost sight of everything, panic invading me and gripping onto every cell in my body.
I spread my hands desperately, knowing the seconds were ticking by. That I was only feet away from smashing into the hard ground below.
The well inside me spilled over and I felt a shift. A rush of energy like a hurricane unleashed itself in my body. The moment it met my fingertips, the power exploded from my skin in a gigantic gust. At the last second, I begged it to stop my fall and I came to a swooping halt.
I hung suspended, ungraceful but completely alive as I gazed down at the ground a few feet below me.
I'd been so close to failing. So close to dying. And as cheers called to me from above, a smile forced my lips wide. The cushion of air collapsed and I crashed to the ground in a heap.
Adrenaline surged. My entire body trembled. But I was alive. And for now, I'd damn well earned my place in Aer. And it sounded like the rest of the House knew it too.
I FOLLOWED THE crowd of Fire Elementals away from the Orb and down a curving path which led around to the south of the building before dropping down a steep hill.
Pillars of stone sat either side of the path every few meters with flames burning in plinths on top of them. As the older students began to pass them, the flames took the forms of various creatures and my lips parted as I stared at horses, wolves, birds and men built out of nothing but flame. My mind wanted to cast it off as some kind of illusion but I knew it wasn’t. The power roiling within me responded to the fire and each flare of magic which shaped it and I ached to unleash my own magic upon the blaze despite having no idea how to do such a thing.
Sofia slipped through the crowd until she was walking at my side, offering a friendly smile as I glanced her way. Nice to know I’m not a total pariah then. Most of the other students were giving me a wide berth and I’d gotten the distinct impression that offending the Celestial Heirs had put me firmly on the shit list. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about sending any Christmas cards as I wasn’t likely to be receiving any.
“Well you certainly know how to make an entrance,” Sofia said, the corner of her mouth hooking up in amusement.
I snorted. “Never did learn when to keep my mouth shut,” I admitted. “Where I’m from I found out the hard way that this life will throw all kinds of crap at you, but the one thing you don’t have to accept is other people’s bullshit.”
A few of the other freshmen heard that comment and edged away from me uneasily. I guessed they were concerned my status as persona non grata might be catching. And perhaps it would but Sofia didn’t seem to mind the risk at least.
I kept thinking about Darcy, wondering if she was doing okay with the air Heir. Seth seemed like a bit less of an asshole than the other three on first impressions but it was hard to be sure. Birds of a feather and all that... I just hoped I’d be able to check in with her over breakfast and make sure she was alright. Our lives had never exactly been plain sailing but she’d never developed such a thick skin as me and the idea of those douchebags giving her a hard time without me there to back her up sent a shiver of anger coursing through my blood.
“Well I wish my balls were big enough to allow me to stand against the Heirs like you did and come out unscathed,” Sofia said appreciatively. “Not that I have any reason to stand against them or any intention to find one.”
“I wouldn’t say I came out unscathed,” I muttered, touching a finger to the tender skin on my neck where Caleb had bitten me.
Sofia’s wide eyes followed the movement of my hand and she leaned closer to inspect the wound.
“Oh, I guess you didn’t realise Caleb was of the Vampire Order when you provoked him?”
At the mention of him being a Vampire, a cold trickle of ice danced along my spine. Of course the word had come to mind after what he did to me but the idea of something so... insane existing just didn’t want to line up in my brain. I wasn’t sure why the idea of magical creatures was more difficult for me to accept than the idea of magic itself but it just seemed to go against every law of nature I thought I’d understood.
“I didn’t know anyone was a Vampire before he attacked me,” I muttered. “And he’s bitten me now, so shouldn’t that mean that I’m gonna start getting a thirst for blood or an appetite for toe sandwiches or something?”
Sofia laughed in surprise. “You really don't know anything about our world do you? All of your ideas about us come right out of a mortal fairytale!”
“So I’m not about to sprout fangs?” I confirmed, ignoring the subtle mockery. I could tell she didn’t mean anything malicious by it. But I wasn’t much of a fan of being the latest science experiment either.
“Nope. Vampires are just an Order of Fae. Each Order replenishes their own magic in different ways. The Vampires can’t create their own so they have to take it from others by overpowering them. As freshmen we’re all going to come under a lot of fire from them - we can’t defend ourselves with our magic yet and trying to overpower them physically is crazy difficult. With your magic being as potent as it is you’ll probably find that you get a lot of attention from the vamps while they’re able to overpower you so you might wanna get used to it.”
“Perfect. I always wanted to be a walking packed lunch,” I said dryly, making a mental note to avoid all Vampires until I was strong enough to fight them off. Which would be a lot easier if I knew how to spot one. I eyed Sofia’s teeth for a moment, wondering if I’d find any fangs.
She flashed me a smile at my joke and I was able to confirm no fangs. “Sometimes the strongest Vampires will lay a claim on a power source-”
“In this scenario am I the power source?” I asked.
“Err, yeah,” Sofia shrugged apologetically. “But if Caleb decides he likes the way your power tastes he might want to keep you for himself and as he’s one of the most powerful Vampires in the school the others would all bow to his dominance.”
“Meaning he’d be the only one biting me?” I confirmed, just about understanding where she was going with this and not sure that I liked it one bit.
“Well, yeah. But look at it this way; if he does then you’ll only have one Vampire to worry about instead of a whole Order of them. Besides, Vampires aren’t even the most dangerous Order in this school; some of the creatures here could straight-up kill you if you caught them at the wrong moment. At least a Vampire needs you alive. And if I had to choose one Vampire to be pinning me up against a wall and putting his mouth all over me then Caleb Altair would be top of the
list.”
I let out a surprised laugh, wondering how I managed such a thing after the ordeal I’d just been through but I had to admit Sofia had a point. I didn’t exactly relish the idea of any Vampire biting me but if I had to pick one then Caleb with his head of messy blonde curls, eyes as dark blue as the depths of the ocean and body cut straight from an Abercrombie and Fitch commercial would probably top the list. Or at least he would if he wasn’t such a jackass.
Before I could voice my opinion on Caleb Altair’s lack of personal boundaries and general aura of entitled douchebag, the crowd of students came to a halt and I gave my attention to what had stopped us.
As the hill was still sloping down, I was offered a view of the building that we’d reached although the term 'building' didn’t seem to cut it.
An arching doorway was cut into what looked like a hulking rock but the clouds had drawn in over the stars and I couldn’t see anything outside of the huge fire which blazed above the opening.
Most of the older students had headed on in and only the freshmen and ten of the older fire Celestials remained. Darius moved to stand before the doorway and the huge fire on the platform above it moulded itself into a giant dragon. The detail of the beast was insane; its body was darkest red with glimmering gold outlining individual scales and teeth which looked sharp enough to bite. The fire beast unfurled huge wings which spread out widely on either side of it as it opened its jaws.
My heart was pounding as I watched the display of magic and the dragon turned straight towards me. I knew the creature wasn’t real but something about it felt like so much more than a mirage.
With a roar created from the crackling rumble of burning embers, the dragon blew a torrent of fire over our heads, low enough to make a lot of the freshmen shriek and duck aside.
I held my ground, tipping my head back as the heat of the fire warmed my skin and the power within me purred with appreciation. I already felt like some of what Caleb had stolen from me was returning and my magic seemed to rise to meet with the dragon’s flames as if it were greeting an old friend.
“Fire is the most potent Element of all,” Darius announced. “It brings light to the dark, warmth in the cold and can destroy everything placed in its way. Only those born with veins filled with the heat of the sun and hearts blazing with the true power of the flames can enter our House and claim their place amongst us.”
I glanced at Sofia, wanting to ask her what this was all about but the hush that had fallen over the crowd of freshmen held me silent.
“So who wants to be the first to try and gain access to the greatest House in Zodiac Academy?” Darius called, holding his arms wide as he stood before the entrance like a monster guarding its keep.
The other students were all casting glances at each other, none of them seeming to want to volunteer to go first. More than a few sets of eyes drifted to me and I wondered if my title as the lost Vega Heir meant I was expected to go first.
As the idea occurred to me, Darius’s eyes met mine through the crowd and the dare in his gaze was clear. My blood simmered with the urge to rise to the challenge and my feet began to carry me forward before I’d fully made the decision to face him.
The rest of the freshmen parted like a tide and I prowled forward with my best don’t-screw-with-me look slapped on my face. A few years of hanging around Joey’s bar had given me enough practice at dealing with dangerous men and rule number one in my book of survival was ringing in my ears.
Don’t back down. Don’t show weakness.
So despite my thundering heart and slick palms, I held Darius’s eye and gave off an aura of mildly underwhelmed as I approached him.
“First one in always gets the toughest run of it,” Darius warned. “Feel free to back down if your mortal upbringing has left you unprepared to face the gauntlet.”
“We’re all going in one way or another. I’d sooner get this over with quickly,” I replied dismissively.
Darius’s eyes flared with irritation at my tone and for a moment I thought I saw something shift within them. If Vampires weren’t the most dangerous creatures in this school then what was exactly? Because I had the distinct impression that I was currently looking one in the eye and poking it. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I held his gaze and he took a step towards me.
“Maybe you should have picked an easier House to join,” he warned. “I don’t get the feeling you’re cut out for the trials of this one.”
“Well you made it in,” I pointed out. “So it can’t be that hard.”
Before he could respond, I sidestepped him and headed into the mouth of the cave. My heart was racing so fast that I was almost convinced he would be able to hear it. But through some combination of rock hard willpower and sheer dumb luck, my bravado held out and I managed to enter the cave without descending into a trembling wreck.
As I stepped over the threshold, a strange sensation slipped along my skin and the light from the fire outside disappeared. I glanced over my shoulder, my heart leaping as I realised the entrance was no longer there. In its place was a solid wall which didn’t so much as tremble as I reached out to touch it.
I blinked as I adjusted to the dim light which came from somewhere further along the tunnel around the next corner. The flickering quality of it coupled with the orange glow led me to believe there was a fire down there. Of course there’s a fire, this is the house of fire, if there wasn’t it would be like going to a gingerbread house and finding brick walls.
I stayed still for several more seconds, listening, squinting around at what little I could see. The walls and floor were black and pockmarked with thousands of tiny holes. Memories pricked at me as I recognised it as a lava tube. One of our foster parents had been obsessed with the discovery channel and the six months I’d spent living there had filled my brain with all kinds of random facts about the world.
As lava was like liquid fire, it suddenly made sense for this cave to be a part of the House of Ignis.
The entrance was gone and there was only one way on so I took a deep breath and started walking. I adopted a fast pace knowing that going slow wouldn’t have any effect on what awaited me anyway. I’d heard plenty of stories about frat house hazing and the twisted things they forced their pledges to do but I tried not to let my mind linger on those. Whatever I was about to face couldn’t be that bad...right?
As I rounded the corner, I came across the source of the flickering light.
A pit of burning coals barred the way on, glowing deep red with heat in the centre while burning freely towards the sides of the tunnel. They filled the space ahead of me for at least five meters and I knew there was zero chance of me making that jump.
I glanced down at my favourite boots with a pang of regret. I only had two pairs of shoes and I’d left my battered sneakers back in our apartment. These boots were just the right combination of practical and fashionable. They looked good and I could run, jump and ride in them. They’d been with me for every less-than-legal acquisition I’d made and had helped me keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies...
Before I could get too lost in the misery induced by having to put my boots through the ordeal of the hot coals, a deep growl sounded from the tunnel behind me and I froze.
My breath caught as I looked over my shoulder and my lips parted in horror. There was nothing back there. I’d just come that way. And yet...
A shape burst around the corner and I screamed as I spotted the huge lioness. She roared at me as she charged forward and I scrambled into a sprint.
I pounded the final distance to the pit of coals and didn't slow as I raced onto them. They shifted beneath my feet and my arms cartwheeled as I struggled to maintain my balance while moving as fast as humanly possible. If I fell I had no doubt that the skin would be melted from my flesh just as the soles of my boots were already beginning to.
I sprinted on, the heat of the embers beneath me encasing my feet in an oven of burning leather. A lump of sole fell off an
d my bare foot hit the coals twice before I launched myself off of the pit and crashed to the cold floor of the cave beyond.
I rolled twice, shielding my face with my hands before jarring to a stop. A bloody graze drew my attention to my forearm as a hiss of pain left me. The lava rock was sharp and skidding across it was more than a little unpleasant.
I quickly looked back across the pit of coals to see the lioness prowling back and forth on the far side beyond the shimmering heat-soaked air.
My lips parted in shock as I stared at the impossible creature before me. First Vampires and now this? What the hell kind of place had we ended up in?
Warmth drew my attention to my left foot and I gasped as I spotted a small flame taking hold of my boot. I ripped the ruined leather off of me followed by the tattered remains of my sock then repeated the process on the right foot. Miraculously, I’d avoided any burns and I silently thanked my poor boots for their sacrifice.
With a twinge of regret, I tossed the destroyed items onto the coals and pushed myself to my feet. The sharp rock pricked at my soles as I headed on but I forced my attention to remain on the task at hand. The sooner I got through this, the better. I just needed to focus on taking one step at a time and I’d manage it. It wasn’t like they’d just let students die down here... was it?
The tunnel started to decline in a twisting formation which didn’t seem natural. Thankfully, the sharp rocks smoothed out and I was able to up my pace again as I stopped hobbling.
The cave was still dimly lit with an orange glow but every time I thought I was closing in on the source of it, it retreated.
Faint laughter called to me from up ahead and I stilled for a moment.
It came again and I began to wonder if the other students could somehow see me. I glanced around, trying to spot any cameras or anything like that but as far as I could tell, the cave was empty.
A chill was creeping up my spine, intuition urging me to up my pace. Those same senses had saved me from the cops more than once and I wasn’t foolish enough to ignore them.
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening: An Academy Bullymance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts Book 1) Page 7