I started jogging then running faster as the light ahead tried to dance away again but I finally felt like I was gaining on it.
I rounded a corner and fell still as I found myself in a wide room. There was no furniture in sight but various weapons lined the wall, urging me to claim them.
On the far side of the room, three figures stood, hidden beneath deep red robes, their faces in shadow within their hoods.
Their attention was clearly on me and as I watched, three beings built from flame leapt to life in front of them. The figures were humanoid in shape though their arms hung down past their knees and their fingers curved with burning claws. In place of eyes they had black pits which stared at me hungrily.
I only had a moment to stare in fascination before the fire manikins sprang at me.
I cried out in alarm, launching myself at the collection of weapons. I ripped an axe from the wall and swung it before me as the first manikin reached me. The heavy weapon carved straight through the creature’s chest but the flames quickly reformed around the hole.
I stumbled back, swinging again in a vain effort to keep the things away from me but they barely flinched beneath the might of my attacks.
I launched the axe at them and ducked aside, making it to the wall again and claiming a dagger. I threw it at the closest manikin but it sailed through it harmlessly.
Before I could claim a third weapon, the creatures moved too close and I cried out as a hot hand brushed against my thigh, singeing the fabric of my yoga pants.
I threw myself at the inch of space between two of them, clasping my hands over my face as the brush of flames caressed my bare arms.
I could feel my magic welling up inside of me, filling me to the brim and aching to be set free but I had no idea how to harness it.
I rolled across the smooth floor and jumped to my feet as I backed away. The three fire manikins came at me again as I eyed the wall of weapons behind them. There were swords, spears, bows, even a mace. None of them would do a damn thing against a creature made of fire.
They rushed at me and I backed up as fast as I could. My gaze fell on the three students who were controlling them and I was struck with the certainty that they should be my real targets. Behind them, a wide doorway stood open which must have been the way forward and I fixed its position in my mind as my escape route.
I tried to run for it but the manikins leapt into my path, forcing me to halt before the wall created by their flaming bodies.
I backed up quickly, my mind whirling with ideas as I tried to figure this out but they wouldn’t let me think before coming for me again.
I threw myself aside, rolling across the cold floor then trying to regain my feet once more. A manikin was there to stop me, its flaming claws reaching for my face.
I screamed, slamming back down onto the ground and hitting my head.
I can’t fight against fire! What I need is a bucket of goddamn water!
As the thought left my mind so did a flood of the liquid I desired. A torrent of water shot from my hands and slammed into the nearest manikin before drenching the students behind it too. The creatures were extinguished and I grabbed my chance without wasting time marvelling over what I’d just done.
“Hey!” one of the students moaned as I sped between them.
“She’s only gotta get past,” another replied. “There’s no rules about how.”
I grinned to myself as I ran through the door and found a spiralling flight of stairs. I took them two at a time, sparing only a little attention for the burning sconces along the walls which pulsed in colours from blood red to orange, yellow and even blue.
At the top of the stairs was an arching doorway and beyond it sat a wide room filled with comfortable chairs and soft furnishings.
Darius looked up from the centre of a group of preening admirers as he heard me approaching and for a moment I could have sworn his eyes flickered with surprise.
He got to his feet before I could make it inside and the doorway suddenly filled with fire.
I fell still as I looked at it. There was no way around. The only option was to go through.
“Final challenge,” Darius called from somewhere beyond the flames. “If you really want to be one of us, you’re going to have to leave everything from your time with the mortals behind.”
I frowned, wondering what he meant by that. Darcy was here with me and there had really been very little else in my life that I cared about enough to bring anyway. Did he imagine I’d left behind some great group of friends and family who I held some desperate urge to return to? Perhaps he thought that challenging me to release those bonds would be endlessly difficult for me but I had no such concerns.
His attempt at cruelty was falling flat and he didn’t even realise it.
“You can step through the flames once you’re ready to leave your mortal trappings behind. The fire will burn them all away but your flesh will remain unscathed,” Darius sounded amused though I couldn’t see his face and I couldn’t help a small smile of my own. Leaving the mortal world behind was just fine by me. It had never seemed to care for me much anyway. And the feeling was mutual.
I blinked at the wall of fire, fearing that more than any separation to the mortals I knew. My adopted parents had died in a fire. And though I had no memory of the event, I knew Darcy and I were lucky to have survived it. That knowledge had always made me a little wary of open flames. But I wasn’t going to let a little fear stop me.
I took a deep breath and stepped through the fire.
Heat enveloped me but instead of burning, I felt only the gentle embrace of it against my skin like a thousand tiny kisses.
The stench of burning filled my nostrils and my heart stuttered in panic as I clutched at my long hair but thankfully it was completely fine.
The warm carpet was a relief to my bare feet as I stepped into the room and I looked up at Darius, prepared to tell him just how little his last challenge had meant to me but everyone in the room started laughing before I could.
Darius was smirking at me, his eyes dripping over my body in a way that made me look down.
I gasped as I realised what he’d done; my clothes were gone, burned away by the fire he’d created so that I was left standing before them butt-naked.
I’d always liked my body and I’d had a few boyfriends and flings over the years so it wasn’t like no one had seen it before but this was something else. Heat raced to my cheeks as I realised he hadn’t been talking about leaving emotional ties to the mortal world behind - he’d been talking much more literally. He’d meant everything physical I’d brought, which meant my clothes and-
“Motherfucker!” I cursed as I took a step towards him angrily then stopped myself as I remembered I was as naked as the dawn. “I had nearly three grand in my pocket! Do you know how hard my sister and I worked for that money?”
Darius only smiled wider in response to my anger as he held out a key.
“Your room is on the third floor, end of the corridor,” he said, completely ignoring everything I’d just said. “If you wanna go and find something to wear?”
I moved forward to snatch the key from him, refusing to try and cover my body. It was too late now anyway and the heat crawling down my spine wasn’t going to lessen if I made a pathetic attempt to hide. My only defence against what he’d done to me at this point was in trying to pretend I didn’t care. Though the blood which filled my cheeks must have been clear for everyone to see if they could tear their eyes away from my ass and breasts for long enough to notice it. Tears prickled the backs of my eyes but I bitch-slapped them down hard. I would not cry in front of this goddamn bastard.
As my fingers curled around the brass key, Darius used his hold on it to tug me a step closer.
“Of course, if you’d rather just come on up to my room, I can give you a real welcome to the House of Fire,” he suggested as his gaze slid over every exposed inch of my flesh and embarrassment prickled up my spine.
A
flutter grew in my stomach as I noted the heat in his gaze and I mentally cursed myself for giving even a moment’s consideration to his offer.
I squared my shoulders, looking him over just as he had me. I took in everything from the way his jeans hung low on his hips to the swell of his muscles beneath his tightly fitting shirt. I eyed the tattoos which curved out of sight beneath his short sleeves and the biceps which cried out to be touched. His broad shoulders and towering height built a type of carnal need in me as I tilted my head back to look up at him.
A cocky smile pulled at the kind of lips that I could definitely make use of given half a chance and his dark hair fell forward just enough to make me think about fisting my hands in it.
Why did I always have to want the bad guys?
I shifted an inch closer as if I was going to share a secret with him but kept my voice loud enough to carry.
“I wouldn’t come near you even if someone held a knife to my heart and told me that the world would end if I didn’t,” I snarled, snatching the key out of his hand. “So why don’t you take a long, hard look while you can. Because I can promise you, you won’t be seeing this again.”
Darius’s face dropped a fraction as the rest of the students in the room started laughing at him instead of me and I slammed my shoulder against his as I moved past him. It was kinda like walking into a brick wall but I managed to force him to move a little, mostly because I took him by surprise.
I stalked across the room to the stairs which led to the promised dorm, forcing myself to maintain a steady pace instead of sprinting.
Eyes followed my progress and whispers broke out around me but I kept my gaze fixed on my destination, refusing to look anywhere else. The tears were coming and I knew I was fighting a losing battle against time as I fought to hold them off.
Just a few seconds longer...
“You should be more careful about the kinds of enemies you make around here, Roxy,” Darius called after me, a beat too late for him to pull it off as smoothly as he must have wanted. A sense of satisfaction filled me with the knowledge that I’d rattled him for a moment too.
I didn’t bother to respond. Getting into a pissing contest with an asshole really wasn’t my style and if I didn’t get behind a closed door soon then I was pretty sure I was going to start bawling in front of everyone. If I could keep my chin high and my face blank then maybe I’d be able to leave this room with my dignity intact even if I had had to scrape it up off of the floor.
I made it up three flights of stairs and to the end of the corridor where my key thankfully opened the door.
I spilled inside and pushed it closed behind me a second before the floodgates burst and the tears fell.
I sank to the floor and buried my head in my arms as I drew my knees to my chest. Anger and humiliation washed through me and I gave them five minutes to have their way before I was going to lock them down again.
Tears never did anyone any favours, but sometimes they just needed to fall.
THE ADRENALINE WAS still thick in my blood as I used the power of air to get back inside, lighting up the symbol above the doorway and stepping into a circular chamber at the base of the tower. My fingers buzzed with the tingle of magic and I couldn't fight the giddy smile that pulled at my mouth.
I just jumped from the top of a tower and survived. Hair well and truly intact.
I gathered my wavy locks into my hands, having an intense emotional reaction to them. I’d started dying the ends blue a year ago. It wasn’t some indie statement or a cry for help. It was, in my own twisted kind of way, a reminder of one of the darkest and most pivotal moments in my life which I was determined never to forget.
On one side of the atrium, the grey stone floor met with a white marble staircase. I moved to the centre of the space, gazing up at the incredible stairway circling high above me.
I took a slow breath, fear and anticipation washing together in my belly as I made my way up the stairs. My Converses hitting the steps was the only noise around me, but as I made it up several more levels, I found my way barred.
Seth stood alone, his arms folded, his eyes narrowed. The air between us was filled with static and I expected a thunderstorm to erupt from him at any moment. Instead, he thrust a hand out and in it was a silver triangle with a long key dangling from it. “Eleventh floor, room three.”
My lips parted, but no words came out as I closed the distance between us and reached for the key. Victory sailed through me on a summer breeze.
I beat him at his own game.
“Congratulations,” he purred, but there was no kindness to his tone. “You've survived day one in hell. Each day after this will be worse. Are you sure you don't wanna drop out of Zodiac yet?”
I took the key from him, my hand closing into a fist so the sharp metal dug into my palm. “Why do you care if I'm here or not? We're clearly not going to get along. So let's just stay out of each other's way.” I tried to move around him but he side-stepped, planting his shoulder against the wall to block my path.
Irritation rattled through me.
He reached out, brushing his fingers through my hair, coiling a handful around his fingers.
“Why do you keep touching me like that?” I jerked aside, my upper lip peeling back.
He released a gruff noise in his throat. “Because I'm an Alpha, babe. And this is how I show you who's in charge. You need to forget about rising against me, because you won't win.” He tightened his grip on my hair and I ground my teeth, refusing to let out a yelp of pain.
“I don't have plans to rise against you, Seth,” I said as calmly as I could. “I just want to go to bed.”
He grinned, tugging my hair extra hard then stepping back entirely, gesturing for me to go past. I pressed my shoulders back, marching past him, feeling his eyes on me all the way as I fought the urge to rub my sore scalp.
“You owe me your hair,” he called.
Anger flashed through my body hot and fast. I quickened my pace to a jog, wanting to put as much distance between Seth and I as possible.
When I found my floor, I was thankful that there were no students around. I could hear panicked cries from somewhere high above though and wondered if the other freshmen had gotten off so easy after all.
I headed down the stone corridor which held ten doors, five on either side. I pushed the key into the door of room three and headed inside with a sigh of relief.
At my movement, a light came on above me and a smile captured my lips.
The room had a dark wooden floor with a single bed to one side of it made up with white sheets and fluffy pillows. The walls were the same grey stone as the rest of the tower and they swept toward the vertical window at the end of the room. It was taller than me and had two heavy shutters bolted across it. To my left was a long desk and above it were shelves of books and notepads. A line of white pencils lay on the desk and my fingers itched. It had been ages since I'd had the inspiration to sketch anything. But it had always made me feel better, forget the world. If I hadn't been so exhausted, I probably would have jumped on the opportunity after the night I'd had.
Next to the pencils was a slim device, sleek and white. It looked like an iPad only wider with a few rectangular buttons along the bottom of it and a digital pen attached to the side.
I brushed my fingers over the screen and a noise sounded like wind chimes as the symbol of Aer appeared in black on a white background.
A soft male voice emitted from it as the image dissolved and several rows of apps appeared. “Welcome to Zodiac Academy. This is your Atlas. Your profile has been added to our database. You can now call or message your friends throughout the entire school. Click through the apps to discover your timetable, school events, Pitball matches and scores, and find your full syllabus for the term. If you need assistance, just send a message directly to your House Captain and they'll help you with any problems you have.”
“Yeah sure he will,” I muttered, picking up the Atlas and finding my way t
o a long list of contacts. I typed Tory's name in at the top but it found no results. When I typed 'Vega' I found my name listed as Gwendalina and Tory's as Roxanya. I changed mine to Darcy and my finger hovered over Tory's original name as I thought about the people who'd given it to her. Could they really have been the king and queen of this unknown world?
I'd always thought we'd been orphaned, but now it was almost worse to know our parents had chosen to get rid of us. Orion had thought we'd been in danger, but from what? And if that were true, why swap us for some random human children and put them in danger instead? It was beyond cruel.
Seth had mentioned Solaria was better off without my father as king, but judging from the nastiness I’d witnessed in him tonight, I wondered if I could believe anything he said.
I gave up on trying to figure out the answers to the never ending questions in my brain. Tiredness took hold of me and as I checked the time on my Atlas, I found it was almost three in the morning.
I yawned broadly, kicking off my shoes and slumping onto the soft bed as I called Tory. I prayed she'd answer. I had so much to catch up on with her and I half-hoped her time in Ignis had been easier than my time here. But somehow, I doubted it.
Windchimes were calling to me, ting ting ting-alinging. The noise grew louder and more persistent and I rolled over with a groan, finding I'd fallen asleep fully-clothed with my face squashed against my Atlas.
What Tory had been through sounded even worse than what I’d endured. She was strong as hell, but I always knew when she was quietly hurting. She’d sounded nothing but angry on the phone, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d let a few tears escape after what Darius had done to her.
In the end, we’d both agreed to try and make the most out of this incredible opportunity. A few idiot bullies weren't going to ruin a whole lifetime of possibilities for us. But we needed to start learning about this world as fast as we could if we were ever going to survive here. Claims to thrones and royal blood was all too much to take in without knowing a damn thing about what that meant. And the Heirs would soon realise we weren’t here to steal anything from them.
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening: An Academy Bullymance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts Book 1) Page 8