by Demi Dumond
“The point is, Keira, I was free, in the outside world. I made it. And the plan all along was for me to stay there. But I couldn’t. I had to come back and save you. I wanted to be with you. And trust me, now I want to get out twice as bad. But this time, I won’t leave without you.”
As much as I hated him right now, I could barely believe that he came back to a place he believed was killing students just to be with me. We hardly knew each other. Giving up a chance at living for someone you’d known for a few months seemed insane.
I tried to consider what I’d do if what he was saying was true. Could I walk away from everyone here and save my own skin? A nagging sensation tugged in my chest and then panic gripped me at the thought of leaving him behind.
There was also Ian. I couldn’t leave him behind either. It was confusing, but I knew that what I had, the bond I felt with Malachai and Ian was real.
Malachai stood up again and his eyes searched mine hopefully. Then he lowered his angelic face and pressed his lips against mine ever so softly. It was the most tender kiss I ever experienced. And the feel of them sent my heart racing. I could feel my cheeks heat up as my body reacted to him.
The tenderness and intimacy took me by surprise. My breath hitched for a moment and then I joined in, moving my lips in time with his. His tongue darted between my lips in a slow, tantalizing, rhythm that made my body cry out for more.
His musky scent filled my nostrils. The flesh between my legs pulsed with desire. My need for him was overwhelming. It wasn’t just my body that had lost its resistance, it was my magic too.
Anytime he was near I felt stronger. And after we got together in the library, I felt my own power grow. I didn’t understand it, I just knew that I wanted more.
I breathed out a moan, and on cue his hands started exploring my breasts and nipples through my shirt.
I should have slapped him or pushed him away, but instead I kissed him even deeper, feeling the dampness between my legs grow.
His fingers dipped under my skirt and I let out a gasp as he traced a line up my thigh slowly, excruciatingly slowly, until his finger brushed my now soaked panties.
I broke the kiss to look up into those golden eyes. He met my stare. And this time, I swore I saw the truth in them. I wanted to believe him. I needed to believe him because being away from him wasn’t an option.
Them the bell rang. No that couldn’t be right, it wasn’t time for that. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flashing red light.
Oh shit, it wasn’t the bell, it was the fire alarm.
8
Keira
I snapped out of the trance I was in with Malachai. Shaking my head, I wondered how I let it get that far.
Malachai protested with a groan. “Class can’t be over already.” He grinned at me. “We were just getting started.”
I was already up and gathering my things. “It isn’t the class bell; it’s the fire alarm.”
His expression changed. “Oh shit.”
“Yeah,” I said. “The dragon has been right at the edge every of the forest every single night since I got dragged out there. Hopefully he stays away. I mean, it’s not night yet, right?”
I was worried the dragon was going to kill again. So was everybody else. Ever since it had chomped down on the student in the courtyard, everyone just avoided going out there.
A minute later, spurred on by the blaring of the alarms and the red flashing lights, Malachai and I both headed down the hallway toward the courtyard double doors that haunted my dreams.
My mind flashed back to the angry faces of the students on the other side of those doors as I pounded on them trying to get back in. That night when the dragon came for me.
“You okay?” Malachai asked. I didn’t even realize I had stopped walking.
“Yes,” I said, continuing on. But I couldn’t shake the dread I was feeling.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” he said. “About how I felt about you. I was worried that something very bad was going on in the academy. And I was right. I hate to ask, Keira, but I need your help.”
I wasn’t fully listening to him now though because as we turned the corner toward the double doors, there was a huge backup. Panicked students refused to go outside, and now we were all just stuck in the hallway.
The fire alarm was probably just a drill, but if it wasn’t, we were all going to get roasted where we stood rather than go outside like we were supposed to if the people in the front didn’t move.
Professor Smythe appeared. He knifed into the crowd, cursing and pushing his way through the sea of students packed in like sardines all the way to the double doors.
Once there, he opened them up and screamed, pushed, and pulled students through. Once he did that the mob surged forward and made their way out the door into the courtyard.
I didn’t like his method, but the end was result in this instance was that he actually helped everybody for once.
As I passed through the double doors myself, I felt my gaze locked onto by Professor Smythe who fixed me with an evil death stare. We had gotten off on the wrong foot when he sent his mob of students after me the first day of class, and it had only gotten worse since.
I guess it didn’t matter what I ever did or didn’t do, some people were just going to hate me. I did my best to return the glare, showing him I wasn’t going to back down because I hadn’t fucking done anything wrong.
If anyone held the angry moral high ground right now, it was me.
Once outside, the chill breeze hit me, causing goose pimples to rise on my arms and legs. The calendar was getting on toward the winter equinox and even though it was still early afternoon, the sun was already going down.
I regretted not taking a jacket this morning, but it had been weeks since I had been outside. This was unexpected.
The students fanned out, hugging the sides of the building instead of venturing forward toward the statue and the imposing trees of the forest that loomed ominously over us.
All I could do was hope that the dragon would leave us alone long enough for the fire drill to be over and the students and teachers to all get back inside without incident.
I scanned the tree line looking for tell-tale signs of the dragon, but right now, I couldn’t see or feel it.
Then I stopped looking at the tree line and looked around at the mob of people around me. Something seemed off. I didn’t see any of the teachers. Not even Professor Smythe. He must have went back inside after forcing the students out, because I didn’t see him or any of the others. A suspicious thought grew in my mind.
I had been hearing the dragon in my head for weeks, its tortured dreams and thoughts were transmitting to me like my mind was some kind of rabbit ears antennae.
And that’s how I knew it was coming.
The suspicious thought was made all the more pressing with the rumble that I alone knew was coming. The students would all panic and rush the doors.
It would be mass chaos even if I was wrong about my suspicions of professor jackass. The lack of other teachers was telling. I suspected a trap. I just didn’t know why he’d set us up like this.
I tried to saunter as casually as I could to the double doors, hoping against hope that I was wrong.
I gave them a tug. It was locked. Of course, it was locked. You motherfucker rat bastard, Professor Smythe.
This time we were all locked out, not just me. Now I remembered the face the Professor gave me as I went through the door. And the Headmaster’s words ran through my mind again, the ones about being thrown into the dungeon if any more students were hurt or killed.
The reality was there was almost no way to avoid student injuries if Professor Smythe locked the doors. The best-case scenario now was a stampede at the slightest sign of trouble.
I tried not to make a big deal of it and saunter back to where I was, but it was too late. The sight of the girl from the prophecy trying to escape back into the school and failing because the doors wouldn’
t open had attracted attention.
I heard the whispers fan out into the crowd as students ran to the doors. “It’s locked.” It went from a whisper, to a refrain, to a scream.
And that’s when the earth began to rumble, and all eyes turned to the forest.
9
Keira
No, no, no! This could not be happening.
I could feel that the dragon was angry, the sight of the students was causing it angst. I could feel the heat of the tangled emotions. The most prominent of them was rage.
Even in the confusion of emotions, I could still feel the connection I had felt with him. I referred to the dragon as him because I had begun to sense a male presence behind it. Was I going mad?
Except in all of the dreams I had, he was male, and he was trying to communicate with me. He had been since the beginning. There was more to him than just a monster. I just knew it.
My eyes searched the treetops again for the glowing eyes that I knew were coming. “No,” I said out loud, somehow expecting the dragon to hear and to stop its advance. “Don’t do this!”
The other students were staring at me. They thought I was talking to myself, but I didn’t care. I had to figure out how to get everybody safely back inside.
The rumble had caused the students trying the doors to run back and take up positions against the building. It seemed they were worried that whoever stuck out the most was going to get eaten.
I took a few steps toward the courtyard and waited. Now I was standing alone as I faced the woods. The rumbling continued. Where the fuck were all of the teachers in this school?
Sure, Professor Smythe was out to get me and apparently, he didn’t care who else got hurt in the process.
But with a killer dragon on the loose and a series of earthquakes, you’d think somebody would come to check on the bulk of the student body, which was currently trapped outside the building. We had no such luck.
Ian came and stood a few steps behind me. “What the fuck are you doing, Keira? Trying to get kidnapped again? Let’s get back to the building.”
“I can’t,” I answered, “I have to do something. You don’t understand, if I don’t do this, it’ll be me in the dungeon. The headmaster said I’m responsible if anybody else gets hurt.”
Malachai stepped forward next to Ian. “Who does the headmaster think you are, the dragon whisperer?”
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks. He doesn’t care,” I hissed back at him. “The threats are fucking real and that’s all that matters.
“Go away, demon,” Ian said, baring his fangs and pushing Malachai away.
Then Rafe appeared beside me as well. He made sure he stepped even closer to me than the others, once again placing himself in danger because of me.
“I agree. Get away from her, demon,” Rafe said. I could hear his wolf snarling.
Malachai took a step back from them and pulled out his flaming sword. “You wanna do this now? I’m ready.”
Ian moved lightning fast into Malachai’s face. “I ought to rip your throat out right here on the lawn for what you did to me and Keira. Then we’ll let you be the dragon’s sacrifice.”
“Stop it!” I said, turning away from the forest, an act that made me very nervous. “Knock it off, all of you. Seriously, this is not the time or the place. People are in danger.”
Rafe took a step back from them, closer to me. Ian and Malachai continued circling each other.
“I’m serious. Stop it,” I hissed. I took one last look at the double doors to the academy for a savior who wasn’t going to come.
Then I got a terrible, desperate idea. There were a bunch of spells in the books that I stole from Malachai. After I left his room, I dropped them off at my dorm.
All but one of them. I felt really drawn to the book that I found at the top of the pile, so I had stuffed it in my backpack and taken it with me.
And the truth was, I had spent more time reading it since then than I had paid attention to my classes. That was, until Malachai distracted me before the fire alarm. In my reading, one of the spells in the book stood out to me.
The spell that I was thinking of came across to me as some sort of temporary concussion spell. It was described as being used to stun and injure potential attackers in combat.
The spell was forbidden since the magic would technically go beyond the outer layer of skin and seep into the consciousness of the subject of the spell, but no permanent damage would be done.
I thought of how disappointed Professor Kiln would be at me for using this type of magic. I’d probably get in trouble, too. I shouldn’t though, because after all, I was doing this to protect the student body.
At great possible harm to myself, I might add. Not that anybody ever cared about that. And if the teachers and headmaster were going to be mad about it, then maybe they should get their asses out here to help.
The problem was I only read the spell a few times, and even then it was only because it fascinated me, not because I was memorizing it. I didn’t know there was going to be a very real test. And yet not only did I remember it, it sort of presented itself into my consciousness as an option. Here I am, use me, Keira.
The realization that the spell had implanted itself firmly into my brain scared me. It was like that forbidden magic book was taking over my mind, not the other way around like I planned.
The rumbling intensified, knocking me off my feat. Then a roar sounded from the edge of the forest, accompanied by a blast of fire. The students started screaming. It was exactly the wrong thing to do if they wanted to escape the dragon’s attention.
I tried once more to communicate with the dragon, the way it had been communicating with me since my time in the cave, in my mind. Stay away, please. Don’t attack.
That’s when I saw the glowing eyes appear at the edge of the clearing. I knew it was too late. The dragon was going to charge. He left me no choice. I stood back up and assumed my stance.
The dragon paused just inside the trees. It pawed and stamped at the earth, like he heard my plea but was unable to stop himself. Then he charged.
The dragon broke into the clearing. I held my ground and took a deep breath, holding it in. My body and brain were taking over on behalf of the spell, which was screaming inside of me to come out.
I had never reacted this way to magic before. I was losing control. It was like the spell was manifesting itself through me, not me working up the magic to summon it. The magic was already in there actively trying to get out.
The forbidden magic scared the hell out of me, but there was no time to think. No time for me to do anything except cast the spell at the dragon, who had broken out into the clearing and was in the middle of the courtyard.
I released the spell. Or it released me. It was hard to tell. Either way, a cascade of faint purple light erupted from my hands, fanning out in the direction of the dragon.
The dragon slowed his advance, but otherwise looked unfazed until the light struck him directly with a thunderous boom. He was knocked backward into the forest.
The dragon flew backward, crashing through the trees. He landed a few seconds later with a loud thud, and one last tremble of the earth beneath my feet.
The chattering aggression and feelings of angst from the dragon that had been building in my mind for months was suddenly gone. What have I done?
The courtyard was filled with silence. Then there was the unmistakable clanking sound of the double doors being unlocked.
I turned to see Professor Kiln opening the doors wide. “Everybody,” she shouted, “get inside. Hurry.”
Me, Ian, Rafe, and Malachai rushed forward with the rest of the crowd to get back into the Academy.
I tried to sneak past her on my way through the door, but Professor Kiln wasn’t having it. She grabbed my arm. Her expression wasn’t angry, it was sad. That’s when I knew I was in real trouble.
“I understand why you did what you did, Keira. And I believe it saved lives. But it was a bol
d and public use of forbidden magic.” She sighed. “Headmaster Crowe would like to see you in his office right away.”
10
Keira
As I made my disgruntled march to the Headmaster’s office, I couldn’t help but be angry. That jackass Smythe ad locked us out. If the headmaster was mad at anyone, it should be him.
And as usual, the headmaster seemed more intent on threatening me than keeping any of the students safe. What an asshole
I was almost to his office when I realized how creepy this part of the academy was. Ugh. Was he really right here in his office all this time sitting on his ass while the entire student body was nearly attacked?
How was it that he didn’t hear the screaming? Well, he wouldn’t from here, I guess. Or maybe he would. It was so damn quiet in this hallway that I couldn’t help repeatedly looking over my shoulder, unable to shake the feeling that someone was following me.
Steeling myself for what was to come, I knocked, even though the door was open.
“Come in,” the Headmaster said. His tone sounded weary and annoyed.
I went in and sat. The Headmaster looked almost the exact same way he had when I first sat in this office when I was admitted.
In fact, I think he was wearing the exact same clothes and top hat. He had a pencil in his hand and was ruffling a piece of paper on his desk that he wasn’t even looking at.
“Keira,” he said with a sigh. “You know that I took a chance admitting you here.” He loomed down at me through his monocle. “Especially since you had a significant magical handicap.”
“I know,” I said defensively, “and I appreciate it, sir. In fact, I’ve worked very hard and the magic has come around. According to my teachers, I’m at least as good if not better than my classmates.”