by CY Jones
I smile, feeling the warmth of his presence nearby. Archer is already here, having left before the sun had even risen to keep an eye out on things. This may be a crazy plan, but I’m not leaving anything to chance. This plan was carefully crafted to the very last detail. Granted, having Puck here is a surprise, but his involvement will only help us. Oberon was correct to up our numbers.
After telling Puck where to go, we all separate. Hopefully, if everything goes to plan, this school won’t be my final resting place. Staring down at my tiny men that are left, I lift my chin in the air, twirling my staff like a baton, I begin to sing a favorite preschool song of mine that’s perfect for the occasion if I say so myself.
Chapter 9
Angelica
“The ants go marching one by one, hoorah hoorah. The ants go marching one by one, hoorah hoorah. The ants go marching one by one, the little one stops to have some fun. And we all go marching, toward the school, to kill some mages.
The ants go marching two by two, hoorah hoorah. The ants go marching two by two, hoorah hoorah. The ants go marching two by two, the little one stops to tie a noose. And they all go marching, toward the school, to kill some mages.
The ants go marching three by three, hoorah hoorah. The ants go marching three by three, hoorah hoorah. The ants go marching three by three, the little one stops to watch his prey. Swing. From the noose. High up. In the tree. And they all go marching, toward the school, to kill some mages.”
Humming our death march, I don’t bother with opening the tall steel double doors like one would do at a normal visit, and instead, I rear my leg back and kick the doors in. They fly open with a loud boom, and all who’s in the hall eyes zoom in on me, some in fear, most shocked that I’d be so bold in what is obviously a blatant attack. My little army men storm in behind me, and scatter in the carnivorous space. As soon as they cross the threshold, the spell stitched inside them activates and multiple recordings of my voice and the melody of my jingle bells fills the space.
Not every mage here will fall under my thrall since it’s coming from a second-hand source, but the spell is a strong one and most of the mages’, who were just preparing to fight, faces grow slack as they stand there, trapped like rats in a trace. I’m giddy with amusement, and with a twirl and a flip, I dance through the lobby on light feet, efficiently stopping those not under my spell by blowing sleep dust in their faces.
I thought neutralizing the school would be harder, but my tiny army is working a whole lot better than I ever realized. I thought this academy was supposed to be made up of strong mages, which is why the heirs saved them for last, but I guess not if they fell into my spell so easily. Cocky thinking like that is what gets you killed, and I curse myself for dropping my guard when a bright orange flame nearly strikes me on my shoulder. Flipping off the wall with cat-like reflexes courtesy of Mr. Meow, I turn to my foe. A female mage with ombre hair like flames and golden eyes stares back at me with a cruel smile on her pretty face. If I didn’t nearly get taken out by a fireball, it wouldn’t be hard to guess she has control of flames by her appearance.
Casually tossing another fireball in her hand like it’s a harmless bouncy ball, she narrows her eyes on me. “You have some nerve attacking our school out in the open like this. Don’t you know the rules, Boudreaux scum?”
Obviously she has intel on me, even if it’s not all entirely accurate if she’s calling me Boudreaux, which makes it a safe guess that she’s also a Master, but where is her Champion? He or she has to be nearby. And what rules is she talking about? No one told me anything about rules. Not that I asked, I think to myself.
“Do you sense her Champion nearby?” I ask Archer.
“No, but Oberon is already engaged in combat out in the meeting spot with multiple Champions. He could be one of them.”
“Ahh, the divide and conquer strategy.” Somewhat what we’re doing, but the Champion’s mages are coming after me, thinking it’d be easier and faster to kill me since they have no way of knowing what class Champion I wield. “Watch his back. I’ll make short work of her and join you.”
“Your cockiness is going to get you killed, but as you wish,” he whispers in my mind before going off to do as ordered. It may be crazy to send him away, but I want to keep the identity of my Champion secret for a bit longer. Archer is my trump card. If my life is in danger, he’ll come save me.
Tuning in back to the fire mage, I give her a deliciously wicked smile. “Rules you say. There’s no rules in war,” I mock before I attack.
My kick is swift, and I send her flying into the long line of lockers against the wall. Not giving her a chance to recover, I use my staff and a cloud of purple and blue glittering smoke leaves the mouth of the skulls attached and goes hurtling straight for her. Just in the nick of time, she rolls out of the way, putting up a wall of fire that burns the deadly smoke away. Not bothering to wait for the flames to die down, she comes flying through the flames right for me.
She’s good, and just like Zion, she has full control over the volatile element. Not a single hair on her body is singed or her clothes burned to a crisp after jumping through the wall of flames. She’s quick too, but not as fast as me, which I use fully to my advantage. We’re a blur of movement with fists and kicks, flying all over the place. The heat of her flames causes sweat to drip down my brow, making my eyes sting. What I thought would be a quick fight isn’t as easy as I thought. I take it back. The mages here are strong. Truly, the real deal. This girl is relentless, and even angered, it’s hard to find a weak spot. Just when I think I’m pulling ahead, ready to end this, behind me I sense another presence with an aura just as strong as the fire mage, and I curse under my breath. Maybe sending Archer away wasn’t a bright idea after all.
Falling quickly to the ground, I avoid a snaking vine covered in tiny thorns to my spine and a stream of fire shaped into a whip that nearly singes my hair as it sails above my head. On the ground, I’m vulnerable and another vine wraps around my wrist, sinking its sharp thorns into my flesh. Mr. Meow moves, peeling himself off my skin to help when another vine wraps around my stomach, efficiently stopping him in his tracks. Fuck, these vines must be tough if they can hold back my familiar.
“Pardon my intrusion, Ferra, but it looked like you needed help.” I cry out when he pulls on the vines, making the thorns sink deeper into my skin. Frustrated, I kick my legs like crazy as more vines crawl toward me like snakes, ready to bind me and use me like a human pincushion.
“I had her, Kerron. You could have butted out,” fire mage snarls.
“How do you figure that? I believe her familiar was about to maul and eat you. I hate to see a scratch put on that pretty face of yours,” he mocks.
“Get bent, Kerron. You’re nothing but a horny nuisance,” she spats.
While they squabble, I snatch one of the tiny vials hanging off my bracelet and empty its contents on the vines. In mere seconds, the powder dissolves the vines, and I grab my staff as I stand, shaky, to my feet. A well condensed of power leaves the staff and hits the earth mage square in the chest and sends him flying across the floor, where he doesn’t move again. Good. I hope he’s dead. I may be free of his vines, but they shredded my skin, leaving me a bloody mess. I almost gag when I see the white of my bone in my wrist, but I have no time to dwell on my injuries, which the fire mage reminds me of when she scissor kicks me into the wall. The back of my head hits the stone with a loud thud, but thankfully, the blow wasn’t hard enough to knock me out.
“I commend you for getting this far. It’s not everyday someone gets the best of Kerron, but you still have me to contend with, and unlike him, I’m even harder to kill,” fire mage taunts.
“He was nothing, and you’re even less than a threat,” I taunt back as I look for a way to escape. I may not be able to kill her, but I can outrun her. She’ll definitely follow, and I can lead her out in the open, making it easier for Archer to take her out.
Dodging another attack of fire, I smash another
vile, this one filled with blue smoke, and I take off down the hall while her vision is impaired. I’m sweating even more now, and my own vision is hazy. Earth boy’s thorns must have been laced in some sort of nasty poison. I’ve already deduced my injuries won’t allow me to last in a close combat fight with her in such a narrow hall, so I swallow my pride and flee. I can hear her on my heels, and I pull a poison dart from my hair and throw it at her before continuing to run.
The hall ends, but there’s an empty staircase, and I take the stairs two at a time like an Olympic runner in a dead sprint. Once I emerge, I seal the doors shut, hoping it buys me enough time, before running down another hall, this one filled with mages in my trance like zombies. One of my dolls watches me run past with a gleam in its button eyes, and it salutes me before heading down the hallway I just came from, probably to engage with the fire mage. He won’t last long, but hopefully, its sacrifice isn’t in vain, and it’s enough for me to escape.
I have no idea where I’m going. Just like in our school, the halls and staircases twist and change, but here they do so more frequently, it’s hard for me to imagine how anyone finds their way to class. One second, I’m on the second floor, and the next, I’m in the basement. Well, at least I can’t hear the pursuit of firegirl any longer. I’m winded and breathing hard. Laying a palm on my chest, it comes back wet from the sweat that has soaked completely through my clothes, leaving me a damp mess. I may use poisons to fight with, but I’m not well-versed in them, so I have no clue what’s running through my system right now. What I can tell is that it's a nasty one and slow moving if I’m still alive. Plant guy must like to toy with his victims first before they meet their maker. My head is swimming, leaving me almost delirious, and it takes a great effort just to stay standing, but I can’t stop. I need to keep moving.
“Well, aren’t you hot? I’m going to hate killing you,” a deep male voice says in front of me, and I halt right in my tracks at the next threat.
When whoever it is steps out of the shadows, I ready myself for another attack. Fighting back the effects of the poison, I stand tall and defiant on my own two legs. Just like the other mages, he’s attractive as well. Tall with a lean body and dark from head to toe. His skin is like a decadent dark chocolate, smooth and blemish free, and his onyx eyes light with a spark of interest as he takes me in, the same as I’m doing him. On the side of his neck is a tattoo of a realistic looking black spider with ruby red eyes, and I shudder as my skin crawls. It’s eyes peer down on me like it’s looking at a feast laid before it. I really hate spiders. I’ll even go as far to say that I’m frightened of them. If this mage is tied to them in any way then he’s my walking nightmare. Please, let that tattoo be a fashion statement and not his familiar. With that creepy thought aside, under a different scenario, he is the type of guy I’d ask out. But unfortunately, we are not regular teenage kids who can do mundane things like go on dates and have casual sex afterwards. We’re both killers, and we have a job to do.
“Looks like Kerron got you pretty good,” he says, tilting his head as he peers at my arm and stomach. “I’m sure it won’t be long.”
“Long for what?” I croak, taking the bait.
“For your body to shut down. His poisons specializes in slowly killing you from the inside out, shutting down each of your organs and limbs. The first phase you sweat until you severely dehydrate yourself, then your body starts to slow as your blood crawls through your veins, which causes excruciating pain by the way, just in case you are wondering. Next, your limbs fail you one by one.”
As he explains my predicament, his full lips stay turned up in a sadistic smile, making it obvious he’s fully enjoying himself. But even still, I don’t doubt he’s telling me the truth. Already, I feel weak, my body is shutting down at the wrong fucking time, and I’m drenched in sweat.
“And that’s not even the best part. Would you like to know what that is?” he asks, downright giddy.
“And what is that?” I ask dryly.
“Kerron is a kinky bastard. Even with all that going on with your body, you’ll grow aroused until the point of being painful, adding to the pain you’re already feeling. He enjoys taking advantage of that step and fucks the pretty ones, like yourself, before they die.”
“Well, I’m glad I killed him then. I hope all his victims torment and tear his body apart in Hell.”
“Hmmm. Interesting. Can’t say I’m sad to hear he’s dead. In fact, you’ve done me a favor by killing him. He was in my way, and once this war was over, I was going to kill him anyway.”
“Since I clearly did you a solid, you should let me go,” I offer, trying my luck. Who knows. Maybe he’s not as bloodthirsty as the others.
“And why would I do that? You’re in my way also. A beautiful butterfly now caught in my web, but instead of killing you right away, I’ll return the favor by fucking you and ease that need you’ll soon be feeling.”
“Fuck you asshole. I’m not weak or some fragile butterfly. I’ll be the one to kill you and scalp your dick for my dolls for all the trouble you caused me.”
“Tough talk for someone who can barely stand on their feet,” he mocks.
Tired of talking, I act, sending a blast of power at him from my staff like I did his friend. His eyes turn red like the spider tattoo on his neck before he explodes right in front of me, but not from getting hit by my power, but his own doing. Ever seen that Youtube video where they kill a spider and a bunch of baby spiders burst out from the insides? Well, that’s exactly what happened to the hottie in the basement and just like when I saw that video, I let out a girly scream. I’m not ashamed either. Spiders fucking terrify me.
Out of nowhere, he grabs my shoulder, appearing from Goddess knows where and with those frightening red eyes, he zeros in on me, opens his mouth wide, and shoots out a web of silk that wraps around my body like a cocoon. I fall hard to the ground and those baby spiders converge on me, sealing the web around me even tighter. I’m fucking screwed and not in a good way. This is literally a living nightmare. I can practically feel my heart go out.
“This was almost too easy,” he sighs, lifting me up in his arms easily like I weigh nothing at all. I try to struggle, but it’s useless, and my efforts only serve to aid the web in cutting into my skin even more. As it is, it’s no longer smooth like silk, but sharp as wire. Whatever his icky minions did to it changed the texture entirely, making it sticky and deadly.
While almost tenderly holding me cradled in his arms, he creates a person size intricate web. When he’s finished, he places me in the middle before removing my cocoon prison. My freedom is short-lived when those tiny spiders crawl over to my body and use their sticky web to pin my arms to my side and my legs spread apart. Their hairy legs feel just like tiny pinpoints on my naked skin, and I shiver in fear, screaming, “Get off me, get off me, get off me.” Now I know what Harry felt like when he and Ron found that spider’s chamber deep in the woods.
“Out of all the fuss you made, I thought you’d be a tougher opponent. Especially when I learned you didn’t come here with the heirs, but with just your brother. I thought, how bold. How courageous are you to break the rules and stand your ground in our territory. Either you or your brother have a shiny set of brass balls. Imagine my disappointment at catching you so easily. Granted you were weakened, but even still… too fucking easy,” he murmurs. “All I had to do was have my little friends spy on you while you were fighting Ferra and warp the halls, leading you right to me. Then all there was to do was lay in wait for my prey to come to me. Maybe I got it wrong, and it’s your brother who’s the powerforce after all. Seeing that you came right through the front doors, it’s easy to see how I got it wrong. Your brother and his Champion are giving my comrades a run for their money, as well as your Archer.” Leaning toward me, he runs his pointer finger across my collar bone, and I stare back with a look of death.
“If I’m such easy prey, then why don’t you leave and help your buddies out instead of using your
insects to spy on the battle like a coward. Aren’t you guys supposed to be working together?” I snap, wishing I can bite his finger off.
“Yes, we are, and it’s going as well as you and the other heirs in your school. We’re all in this for ourselves. There’s no such thing as working together. If your brother manages to kill a couple of them before he dies, better for me,” he smiles.
“You’re despicable,” I growl.
“And you’re still hot and currently the only prey I want to focus on right now. Speaking of,” he says, moving his finger downward and across my breasts. “How’s that poison coming along? Are you aroused yet?”
Fucking hell, I need to snap myself out of it and kill this bastard. No way in hell am I’m going to be raped and die a painful death from that other dickface’s stupid poison.
“Fuck off,” I growl almost feral now.
“Guess not,” he pouts. “No worries. I have plenty of time.”
I want to rip that smug smile off his face. I refuse to go out like this. I knew the other Masters were strong, but so am I. If I call Archer to me, I can get free easily, but it sounds like Oberon needs him more than I do. Apparently, this asshole thinks that really is my brother out there fighting and Puck is his Champion. Stupid idiots, but who am I to talk with my own predicament. I went into this with the intent to deceive as well as kill, and in one aspect, I have succeeded. These assholes think they are just dealing with a head-strong harlequin. As much as I hate to admit it, the power my father gave me just might very well save me.
Like when I attacked Quinn, I reach deep into my well of power, ignoring the fatigue in my body and gritting my teeth against the sharp needle-like spikes of pain in my veins as my blood cools and slows. I’m in bad shape, but like a reflex muscle, my body instantly knows what to do without much prompting from me. Once I feel that deadly power of mine, the strings around spider boy become more pronounced. Oddly, in the shadows of magic, he has eight arms, when in plain sight, he only has two. I guess he’s more like a spider than I thought, which makes killing him so much easier. I’ll squash him like the bug he is. On second thought. Youtube video. I think I’ll stab him instead or burn the whole fucking place down.