Jack turned and grinned at Lana. “I knew it. We did it.”
“Congratulations,” Chadwick said. “You now have more than enough in your account to pay your fees. Now, the fees aren’t taken out until the end of the semester, so if you choose to spend it, that is up to you. Just make sure you have enough at the end of the semester.”
Lana hugged Chadwick.
Chadwick looked shocked. “What was that for?”
“Being the best Ancient Lands advisor ever,” Lana said. “You’ve been great.”
Chadwick grinned. “All in a day’s work. Now get out of my hair so I can sort all this. It’s going to take me hours.”
Jack laughed. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I was bored anyways.”
Lana laughed and grinned at Jack. “Let’s go tell the others.” She started running out of the room.
Jack looked over at Chadwick, who just waved him off. Jack nodded and ran after Lana.
Together they burst into the apartment. Jack was glad to see that all three of their friends were there.
“What’s going on with you two?” Talia asked suspiciously.
“Oh nothing,” Lana said, acting innocent. “We just came from seeing Chadwick Deeter.”
Stann, Talia and Colin all sat up straighter and looked eagerly at Lana.
“And?” Colin said.
“Oh, you know, we counted the weapons a—”
“Quit teasing and tell us or I’ll cut you,” Talia said.
Lana laughed. “We did it. We now have more than enough in our account to pay the fees. We don’t have to worry about it anymore. We get to come back next year.”
Stann let out a loud wolf howl, while Colin pumped his fist. Talia just grinned and ran over to hug Lana.
“This is awesome news. I thought we might have enough but I was scared to do the math,” Talia said.
“What do we do now?” Stann asked.
“Go to classes, train, avoid getting killed,” Colin said.
Jack agreed. “Time to play it safe. We have enemies trying to keep us from passing. Well, they can’t prevent that now. The only way they can stop us from going to second year is by killing us. That is a lot harder to do at the Academy than it is in the Ancient Lands. We’ve won. Let’s enjoy it, keep getting better and be ready to start next year off with a bang.”
Stann frowned. “But I like questing.”
“It means more cuddle time,” Talia said.
“In that case, we should play it safe. Stay at the Academy,” Stann said.
Jack laughed. It wasn’t just that Stann was predictable, it was that he was right. There were lots of good things they could do at the Academy, including spending time with the people they cared about. For the first time since he’d joined the Academy, Jack felt like he could relax. Things were good.
39
Jack was training with Lord Scratches when Talia came and found him. They were working on hand signals for when Lord Scratches was scouting. It had been a month since they’d paid their fees, and Jack was getting really good at nonverbal communication with Lord Scratches.
When Talia approached, Jack knew something was wrong. She’d been crying.
She came up beside him and picked a handful of rocks and started throwing them.
Jack waited for her to start the conversation. Obviously something was bothering her, and she’d tell him when she was ready. He thought he was ready for anything, but what she said rocked him.
“I need to leave the Misfits.”
Why would she want to leave the Misfits? It didn’t make sense. The school year was almost over. They had their fees covered. Had something happened with Stann? “That’s crazy, why would you do that?” he finally blurted out.
“I need my share of the fees.”
“You’re quitting over money? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“My father’s company is in trouble. He’s been lying to me this whole semester, but my mother finally wrote me and told me the truth. Isaac’s father has been trying to ruin my father the same way he ruined Colin’s. He’s bought all of my father’s long-term debts and is forcing him to pay them right away.”
Isaac Dixon, Jack thought. Of course he and his family would be behind an attack on the family of one of the Misfits. Jack gave Lord Scratches the sign to come down. “Have you told any of the others yet?”
Talia shook her head. “I can’t face them right now. I’m ashamed, but I have to do this. My family will be destroyed if I don’t help them.”
“We have to tell them. This has to be a group decision. Let’s head back to the apartment.”
As they walked, Jack thought about Isaac Dixon. Why were the Misfits such a threat to him? Was it simply a bully who’d been stood up to and now he needed to destroy them to save face, or was there a deeper issue? Right now, it didn’t matter why the Dixons were attacking, what mattered was the fact that they were.
They got to the apartment and the only one there was Lana.
“I’m going to wait in my room until the others get here,” Talia said. She went to her room, barely acknowledging Lana.
Lana watched her leave and then looked at Jack. He could see the concern on her face. “What’s wrong with Talia?”
“She wants to leave the Misfits,” Jack said.
“What!?” Lana said. “No way.”
Jack explained the situation.
“But why leave the group?” Lana said.
“Because the semester is almost over. She’s trying to help her family while protecting us. If she quits, we don’t need her money, the rest of us still pass.”
Colin walked in the door. Lana turned and pointed at him. “Colin, find Stann right now. We have an emergency. Talia needs help.”
Colin didn’t even blink. He just turned around and left.
Lana turned back to Jack. “What do we do now?”
“Right now, you go be her friend. We’ll come up with a plan to deal with this when Stann and Colin are back.”
Lana nodded. “OK. But I’m telling you right now, she’s not leaving the group. I won’t allow it.”
“We’ll figure it out. I promise.”
Lana went into Talia’s room, and Jack was left alone with Lord Scratches. He rubbed the little dragon behind the ears and he purred. “We’ve got troubles, little buddy. Time to put on our thinking caps.”
Jack was pacing back and forth; he had the basics of a plan starting to form in his head when Stann came running into the room. He almost took the door off. He glanced around the room looking for Talia. “Where is she? Is she OK?”
Jack raised his hands. “She’s here and she’s fine. Calm down, there is a problem that we need to talk about.”
Colin came into the room a few seconds later, gasping for air. “Sorry, Jack. I told Stann there was a problem with Talia. I didn’t know what was going on.”
“It’s OK. You both are here, now we can talk. Stann, take a seat. You’re making me nervous.”
Stann reluctantly sat on one of the couches.
Jack went and knocked on Talia’s door. Lana answered.
“Time to have a group chat,” Jack said.
Lana nodded and closed the door. A few seconds both of the girls came and stood beside Jack. Lana had her arm over Talia’s shoulder. She looked shaken.
“Guys, Talia has had some bad news. She needs to quit the Misfits.”
“What? No way,” Stann yelled.
“Hold on, Stann. Wait until you hear all the details.”
“The reason she wants to quit is she needs to give her share of our earnings to her father. Isaac Dixon’s family is trying to sabotage her father’s company the same way he did Colin’s. If she leaves us, she can send the money and not worry about the rest of us not being approved for second year.”
“Those bastards,” Colin said.
Stann simply got up and went over and hugged Talia. “I’m here for you, whatever you need,” he said.
“You have a pla
n, I can see it in your eyes,” Lana said.
Jack nodded. “It is simple. Talia, you aren’t allowed to leave us.”
She looked at Jack, and all he saw was hurt and confusion.
“You can send your father your share of the money, in fact, you can send mine as well. But we are a team. You don’t get to do this alone.”
“You can have my share as well,” Colin said.
“Mine too,” Lana said.
“All of it,” Stann said.
Talia shook her head. “I can’t do that.”
“Yes you can. How much does your father need?”
“80,000 gold.”
“We don’t have that much right now; we only have 68,000 in the account. Would that be enough to save the company?”
Talia nodded. “Yes, he can borrow the rest, but I can’t let you guys fail because of me. This is my family’s problem, not yours.”
Colin stood up. “No. It is our problem. When you joined this team, you could have easily replaced me. You all decided that I was a part of the team, and even though I couldn’t help much other than with maps and research, you kept me. That means you all are my family now. And there is no way in hell that I’m letting the Dixons screw my family over again. Even if it means not getting to second year.”
“Who said anything about not getting to second year?” Jack said. “We’re going to go and get that money.”
Talia shook her head. “Jack, there’s only a few days left in the semester. That is too risky.”
“We could do it,” Lana said. “We still have the two sites Mage Nowak gave us.”
“And one of them was so dangerous he told us we shouldn’t try it until we had more experience,” Talia said.
“Everything in the Ancient Lands is dangerous. I say we do it,” Stann said.
“Sorry, Talia. You’ve been outvoted. You’re staying in the Misfits and you’re sending that money to your father. Think of it as us investing in your father’s company.”
“Have I told you guys I love you?” Talia said, wiping tears from her eyes.
“Go get cleaned up. You and I have to go talk to Chadwick Deeter.”
Talia wasted no time. She turned and went to her room.
“Colin, I want you to go the library for information on the city of Borcha, and its temple of Rahmann.”
Colin nodded.
“And Colin, don’t worry about spies. I want them to know where we’re going.”
“Are you sure?” Colin said.
“Yes. It is time we fought back. If Isaac wants to pay people to hunt us, we’re going to make them earn their money.”
“Damn right,” Stann said.
Jack turned to him. “Go see Chef Ramsey. Get enough food for a week.”
“And me?” Lana said.
“See Master Horton. We’ll want the best health and mana potions we can get.”
They all left to deal with their tasks. Talia came out of her room. She’d wiped her face clean, but her bloodshot eyes gave away the fact that she’d been crying.
“Much better,” Jack said with a grin.
“Liar,” Talia said. “But a sweet lie. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Then don’t. We’re a team. You don’t owe us anything for acting like a team. Now let’s go make Chadwick’s head explode.”
Talia laughed softly.
They found Chadwick sorting through a pile of items. He looked content.
He grinned at them. “Never fails. End of semester and all the questers are panicking to pay their fees. I’m sure glad you guys don’t have to go through that.”
“Well… that might be changing,” Jack said.
Chadwick’s smile disappeared. “Why would it change?”
“Because we have to send all of the money to my father,” Talia said.
Chadwick’s jaw dropped. He started to say something, then saw the look in Talia’s eyes. He paused and straightened himself up. “I gather there is an emergency?”
Jack nodded.
“And the rest of the team agrees?”
“Actually, they insisted,” Talia said. “I only asked them to send my share of the fees, but they won’t let me.”
“I see,” Chadwick said. “This family emergency that’s happening right before the end of semester… That doesn’t seem random.”
“It isn’t,” Jack said. “The parties behind the problem knew exactly what they were doing.”
“Do I want to know any more?”
“Nope. The less you know, the better. But we need those funds transferred before anyone finds out and tries to stop us.”
“Got it,” Chadwick said. “I’ll get it done right away.”
Thank you, Chadwick,” Talia said.
“Least I can do,” Chadwick said.
“You may want to get this pile dealt with,” Jack said. “When we come back, we’re going to need the room.”
Chadwick nodded. He understood what Jack was saying. “I’ll have it ready. Remember, you have until midnight of the last day. Not a second longer. Your items have to be in this room before the clock strikes midnight. You have two and a half days. Good luck.”
40
At the crack of dawn, Jack joined the others in the living room. They’d taken the evening to prepare. It had been frustrating, but Jack had wanted to make sure they were properly prepared and well rested. They would be staying in the Ancient Lands until they had what they needed. Sleep might be a luxury the rest of the way so taking that part of a day to prepare had seemed logical. The only problem was now they were really pressed for time. They had two days to get 50,000 gold worth of ancient artifacts.
“I don’t have the mana to take us directly to the city of Borcha,” Lana said. “We’ll go to Pailron first.”
“Shouldn’t we search Pailron while we’re there?” Stann asked.
It wasn’t a bad idea. After all, they’d done really well there last time. But most of that had come from rounding up undead. They would need to find a lot more undead if they were going to come up with the kind of numbers they needed. “That is our backup plan. If Borcha is a failure or ends up being too risky, we retreat to Pailron.” Jack cast a healing spell over the group and nodded at Talia. It was time to go.
Talia opened the first portal and they walked through. They stepped out, and immediately an explosion rocked them.
Jack watched in horror as everyone in the group’s health dropped to almost zero. Jack cast another group healing spell and then hit them with individual healing spells. Talia grabbed a health potion and drank it; she also threw a couple to Stann and Lana.
Lord Scratches flew into the air. Jack couldn’t tell how much damage the dragon had taken but he seemed OK.
Stann used his stone-body and then stood up. He looked around and then spotted a pair of mages. “There,” he said, pointing at them.
One of the mages fired a fireball that Stann blocked with his shield.
Talia fired a fireball back, but one of the mages had an energy shield around them.
Jack looked around; he couldn’t see any other threats, so he ordered them forward.
Stann charged forward, keeping his shield high to block the mages’ attacks.
Talia and Lana spread out wide, and Jack stayed in his position; he let the others get farther away before he started moving forward. Ever since he’d upgraded his gear, Jack had a much larger healing radius and he no longer needed to be right next to his friends to heal them.
One of the mages lobbed a magical attack towards Jack. He used his own energy shield to block the attack and then fired a solar burst of his own. The other mage’s energy shield stopped the attack. But it seemed to drain the shield. “Keep hitting the shield. It will come down,” Jack said.
Talia launched a series of attacks that forced Jack to send mana her way as fast as he could. But the attacks were effective. The shield looked like it was starting to crack.
Stann had reached the shield and it was blocking him from attacki
ng. He stood at the shield, staring down the mages, waiting for his chance to get closer to them.
Meanwhile, Lana had moved further around to flank the mages. She started firing her energy arrows into the shield and it continued to degrade.
Talia paused for a moment to drink another mana potion. When she was done, she launched another series of attacks. Massive glowing balls of fire that arced through the sky, smashing into the energy shield. Finally, the energy shield shattered. One of the mages concentrated his attacks on Talia while the other turned to attack Lana, whose energy shots were now striking the closest mage.
When the shield shattered, Stann charged in.
The mages had made a critical error, they’d forgotten about the angry orc. Stann made them pay. He threw his axe into the chest of the mage who’d been attacking Talia and then he kept charging forward at the mage who’d turned to attack Lana.
The mage spotted Stann out of the corner of his eye and turned, blasting Stann with a powerful energy shot. But with his stone-body activated, Stann ignored the damage and kept charging forward until he bashed the mage with his shield. The mage flew backwards, landing on his haunches. Stann kicked him in the chest, knocking him all the way down before jumping on top of him. Stann started raining down blows to the mage’s face.
Jack pulled Stann off the mage before he could kill him.
The mage tried to lift his hand to cast a spell, but Lana fired a normal arrow into his hand, pinning it to the ground.
Jack stepped on the mage’s other arm so he couldn’t cast with that arm either. He placed his sword so the tip was resting against the mage’s neck.
The mage closed his eyes and sunk down towards the ground. He had quit trying to fight.
“Who sent you?” Jack asked.
The mage glared at him.
Talia stepped closer and looked the mage in the eye. “Listen close, mage. I’m only going to say this once. If you don’t answer Jack’s questions, you will answer mine. I will not ask nicely, do you understand?”
Menacing Misfits: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (Darkthorn Academy Book 1) Page 42