by A. S. Oren
I grab Jericho’s hand. “Well, we better get moving, it’s going to be a long, two days traipsing through snow. Keep an eye out for wood, shelter, or animals we can eat.”
“Who died and made you leader, Princess?”
I roll my eyes at Mirren and motion in front of me. “No one, feel free to take over, if you think you can handle it.”
He stays silent and doesn’t budge from his spot. I walk forward with Jericho. “Does anyone else have qualms with me voicing things we should take into consideration? I’m open to suggestion.”
The others shake their heads.
“Okay let’s get moving. Eyes and ears open.”
We walk barefoot for a long while, nothing but mountains to look at. How is this cut-throat? Watching paint dry has more thrill.
I stop when another set of footsteps joins ours, crunching through the snow. I still; the others stop with me. Is it human or animal? I hold a finger to my lips.
Staggered, two sets of feet, but I don’t think they’re human, they don’t sound right. It’s somewhere off to the side of us. I roll up my sleeve and shift my arm, just in case. The steps grow closer. Soon, I can see a tan thing out of the corner of my eye. I throw a spiked scale from my arm. It flies through the air, striking the thing, it falls into the snow with a thud.
Dante’s eyes widen. “Woah, how did you hear and do that?”
I shrug. “I’ve been hunting for years. You learn to pick up on little noises like that, and throwing the scale is something you’ll learn to do if you have the right type of scales. You didn’t have that training before coming here?” We walk over to the fallen goat, my spike sticking out of the side of its head. Well, at least we’ll have food for tonight. I wish I could’ve killed it later on though, then I wouldn’t have to lug it for a long way. Who knows what we’re in store for. Oh well, if we have to leave it behind at some point, I might be able to come get it in my dragon form later or kill something else for them to eat once night falls.
I let go of Jericho’s hand, and crouch to test its weight. It’s well over a hundred pounds. If we had something to carry the meat in, I would dress it here, but I also don’t know what other predators are out here. Is it just us shifters, or have they put bears and other things out here with us? When is the next full moon? We could have werewolves and even yetis to contend with.
I peer back at the group. “We can’t carry it with us right now. It can create too many problems. Lugging it around will slow us down, and we don’t know what’s out here or if the blood will attract something.”
Mirren crosses his arms over his chest. “Well, what do you want to do with it? We’ll need to eat later.”
Just for that, I want to tell him to shove it, and that he won’t get to eat later on if he keeps up the attitude. I know that won’t be the best choice to make, with us needing to stay and act like some semblance of a team. “I can find it after I shift tonight, if I can’t, then I’ll hunt something else. Either way we’ll be eating tonight.” I start pushing the snow over the body, making sure to look around for mountain markers and take in its scent. I’ll remember it as a dragon.
Dante comes to help me cover the goat in a mound of snow. “After you shift? So the rumours about the curse are true?”
I nod. “Why do you think I always disappear before dinner is over? The sun sets and rises early here.” I stand and shake out my hands.
Dante stands, too. “So does it hurt you, like the legends of the curse say it does?”
I sigh. “Every time I shift. It feels like my skin is being ripped off and burned at the same time.” I nod in the direction we were heading and start to walk again. Jericho jogs to catch up with me and takes my hand.
“Then why do you shift all the time if it hurts?” I glance over my shoulder at Bullock. He pushes his thick-framed glassed up onto his nose. His gait falls more on his left side, either his leg or his hip is bothering him. Was that from the fight two weeks ago, or a new injury? Why didn’t the infirmary doctor heal him?
“Because I don’t have much of a choice. I can’t hide from the pain, so I might as well use what skills I do have, regardless of how it makes me feel.”
We stop as a bang echoes across the mountains. Was that meant for us, or another team? “I wonder how many teams they have doing this today? It can’t be the entire school. The handbook says they break us up by year,” Jericho whispers. We start walking again.
I glance at him. “You actually read the handbook? What about the rulebook?”
He laughs. “Are you kidding? No, I just wanted to see if the book would tell us anything that we would need to know. Everything has been too easy since we came here. Where’s the hell on earth Ed talked about?”
I nod. “I agree, I expected Spearwood to be bloodier, but only the first day proved to have anything interesting happen.”
A crack of thunder rolls overhead. A shiver runs up my spine. Bullock sprints ahead of us, limping as fast as he can with his one good leg. “Run!”
I peer at the group. A cloud of snow rolls towards us, threatening to overtake us. I hold on tighter to Jericho’s hand, sprinting forward. Mirren and Dante keep up with us. There’s no way we’re going to out run the avalanche. Not while in human form, but the others don’t have the training to change more than their arms. This thing could crush us if we don’t do something fast.
I’m going to have to shift all the way. At least, it will help them from getting crushed, and I can warm my body to help unbury us. I unzip my jacket and take it off, shoving it at Dante. I’ve never done a full shift when the moon wasn’t forcing me too, and I certainly haven’t shifted while trying to run at the same time.
“What are you doing?” Jericho screams over the roar of the rolling snow.
“No matter what, keep running, all of you.”
I gasp as I focus on shifting my arms and back first. Fissures run up my skin, turning it into clay. My golden scales push through, tearing at the under muscles and forcing the hardened skin out of the way.
Forced to stop in my tracks, I grow in mass, golden scales covering me as my dragon form takes shape. A roar of pain erupts from my throat as my spine extends into a tail, and the leathery wings rip my back open. Rushing forward, I grab Bullock and the others with my tail, wrapping my body around them.
The snow crashes into me. I hold my ground, not letting it push me further along the path. Darkness and cold consumes us; the weight of the snow presses down on my back.
The group groans underneath me. I try to readjust myself, so I don’t crush them. Moving my head proves to be difficult. Warming my core temperature, heat radiates outward from my body. The snow begins to melt, but the water drips into our igloo like hole. How much fell on top of us? Expanding my wings, I try to push the snow off us, it begins to give. I arch my back to push against it more.
Grab onto my legs or the scales on my stomach and don’t let go. I speak into their minds. Their hands grab onto me, several jolts move throughout my body, giving me the added energy I need to break through the surface and flap my wings, flying into the air.
I make sure they’re are all holding onto me before flying a few miles east, onto more compacted snow. They let go, and I stumble off to the side. Pain racks through all of my muscles. It would be beneficial to stay in this form. We could cover more ground, but I don’t think I can willingly do it.
I shift back and collapse onto my knees. I don’t even have the strength to cover myself. Dante places a slightly wet hoodie onto my shoulders. I know a kiss from him, a member of my Fold, will return my strength and make it so I can carry on.
Before he can step back, I grab his arm and pull him down to me, my lips meeting his before he can realise what’s happening. The spark lights up and the energy for a hundred marathons flood my body, washing away all the pain. He takes the kiss deeper, his hand going into my hair.
Please, Jericho, forgive me.
I pull back. I can’t spend the rest of the day making out
with him; we have a ton of ground to cover. We haven’t even reached the mountain; we need to get to for the key. I just barely got a glimpse of it while flying.
“Wow, what was that for?”
I sigh and stand to zip up the hoodie. “Long story short, I’m half angel. Because of this, I found out recently I have a Fold. You are one of the people who’s a part of my Fold. I know this, because when I touch you, I feel a shock. When I kiss you, all pain leaves me for a short period of time.” I look at Jericho, he won’t make eye contact. Dear Sun god, please make him understand I love him regardless.
Dante blinks for a second. “Interesting. I think I understand. I definitely felt that shock with the kiss.”
I swallow hard and nod. What does he think about that? It’s always been me and the guys, how will a new guy feel about entering this type of situation?
I look around. “Is everyone okay? I’m not sure what triggered that, but I’m glad we made it out.”
Jericho continues to look at the ground, not responding to me. Mirren nods.
Bullock adjusts his glasses. Is his hip still bugging him? It couldn’t have been helped by that run. “I’m good. Thanks to you and your quick thinking. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone our age do a full transformation.”
“Well, that was the first time I’ve ever done it when not being forced by the curse to make the shift. If it wasn’t so painful to stay in it during the day, I would’ve had everyone climb on my back. We could’ve flown to the mountain in record time, but I guess that would’ve made this all too easy. We should keep going. Go on ahead of me.”
Dante’s the first one to move, followed by Bullock—who staggers—and Mirren.
I go to Jericho and try to take his hand, but he pulls away from me. “Jer, please, I didn’t know what else to do. I was going to pass out if I didn’t kiss him.”
His jaw clenches. “I know.”
I wrap my arms around his waist, but he doesn’t return the hug. “I love you, you know that, right?”
“I know.” He takes my arms off his waist and walks on without me. A tense pain grips at my throat. I swallow the will to cry. He just has to blow off steam. He’ll be ready to talk later. I’m sure of it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
We’ve been walking for a couple of hours. The mountain growing ever closer but still remains out of reach. I hold three large rabbits in my hands. We were lucky to happen upon the group of them in this setting. I doubt I could have found the goat again after the avalanche. I just hope its body gets used somehow, so that it wasn’t a senseless kill.
all of a sudden, a chill runs up my spin, as if we’re being watched I peer around but don’t perceive anything out of the ordinary, just the vastness of the white landscape.
A whoosh rushes past me, and Mirren falls onto a knee, screaming and grasping at his thigh. A long black scale protrudes from it.
Three more hisses fly by me, hitting Dante, Bullock and Jericho in the same spot. I jump to the side and roll as one comes at me from nowhere. What the hell? I continue to jump and flip, as countless scales come flying at me. I won’t be able to keep this up for long. Where are the damn things coming from?
Dropping the rabbits, I shift my arms and throw scales in the direction I’m sensing them from. “Ugh!” I hit someone!
The person falls into view out of nothingness. With caution, I inch toward him “Who are you?” He’s older than us, at least by a couple of years. Ebony hair falls to his shoulders, and he stares at me with lilac eyes. Something about his caramel skin tone and facial structure reminds me of Dante.
He grips at his calf. “Now.”
A vine wraps around my body, leaving only my head free. “Got her, boss man.” Another older boy steps out of thin air from my right side. Vines erupting from the palms of his hands.
“Ava!” Jericho yells. He rips the spiked scale from his thigh and rushes at us. With one movement of his hand, he sends a water axe at the vines, but it bursts as it hits a barrier.
Yet another boy--with blond hair, brown eyes, and a small mole on his left cheek--comes into view, holding up a barrier of air between the guys and me. “Perimeter secure, Minos.”
The older boy, Minos, pulls out my golden spike and then rubs snow over the wound. It closes in an instant. “Good job, Triton. You may just prove yourself worthy of the Knights.”
The Knights? I’ve heard whispers about them travelling around the school. They work for the Governors as a strike team, performing missions for them. Doing what, I don’t know, but it can’t be something like capturing me. Rosemen has had his chances to get me, and he hasn’t taken them. I doubt he’s going to start now. This has to be part of the trials the scroll hinted at.
“Brother! Let her go!” Dante runs to the edge of the barrier. His leg healed. How did he heal it on his own? Wait, brother?
I glance between the two, now I understand why I saw a resemblance.
Minos sneers and crosses his arms over his chest. “If you want her back, you’ll have to take her from us.”
I try to struggle against the binds of the vines. No one makes me a fucking damsel. “You better hope I don’t get out of here before they get to you!”
His lilac eyes turn on me as both Dante and Jericho throw water and fire at the barrier. Mirren and Bullock stand back, but Bullock moves his hands. Minos stands in front of me now, a good head taller than me, just like Dante. He tilts my chin up with his fingers. Black claws edge out over his nails and prick my skin. I try not to flinch and give him the satisfaction. Forcing my eyes to meet his, black swirls within them, just on the outer edge, and I notice the wrinkles near the corners.
I frown. His magic mingles with mine. “You’re sick, aren’t you? Something about your magic feels off.” His eyes widen. He opens his mouth.
A bang from my left shatters the connection as he pulls away. Bullock sends multiple air balls at the force field. The blond boy, Triton, struggles to keep up the air shield against the myriad of attacks by the three elements.
Minos storms over the boy’s side. “You fuck this up, Triton, and you know what’ll happen.”
Sweat drips down the side of Triton’s face as he lets out a scream and strengthens the barrier. The vines around me slacken just a bit. The other boy holding me isn’t as focused as he should be. I can move my hands away from my body now.
Before I can try setting the vines on fire, a large orange thing barrels at the shield, grasping my attention. A large dragon made of fire bashes at the wall. Mirren manipulates it with his hands. My eyes widen, I can’t do fire magic like that; if he was capable of fire summoning, why didn’t he use it on me the other day?
The ground shakes under the force of the dragon ’s movement. They’re going to cause another avalanche if they aren’t careful. Triton’s feet slide back as his grip on the barrier lessens with each second.
The vine slacks more. The kid isn’t paying attention at all now. The dragon must be too much for his mind to comprehend.
I can move my hand enough to press my palms against the sides and light them on fire. The vines burn in seconds, allowing me to get free. The other boy screams as the fire burns up to his hands and scorches his palms where the vines had escaped.
I jump forward, before doing a back flip and grabbing his neck with my legs. I throw him; his body skids in the snow and rolls.
Minos clenches his fists. “You moron!”
The barrier explodes; the others and I flung back by the blast. I have to admit; I’m shocked it lasted that long with everything being thrown at it. It would’ve taken three or more Air users to successfully keep that up for longer. The guys rush at Minos and Triton. Four against two, how long will they last?
“Fuck. Fall back! We met the objective.”
Triton motions with his hands and the three bodies disappear into the nothingness again. We all still, waiting for another surprise attack. Dante runs to me first. “Are you okay, Fire? Did my brother hurt you?” He touches my face
and looks over my legs and hands.
“I’m fine. Are you okay, what about you guys?” I peer around Dante at the others. They all appear to be fine. I step around him.
Dante comes to stand at my side. “I’m okay, and I healed them with a snow technique my father taught me.”
I didn’t see him use snow on the others. I haven’t even heard of using snow for anything, let alone healing.
Bullock’s bad leg shakes before he collapses onto a knee. He’s reached his breaking point. He tries to stand again, but his leg won’t have any of it.
I go to him. “Why hasn’t the infirmary healed this for you?”
He stares at me. “Outcasts only receive the most basic of healing.”
I crouch in front of him and reach out for his hip. He scoots back from me. “What are you doing?”
I inch closer to him. “Relax. I’m going to heal you. I’m not going to leave you out here, and you won’t be able to keep up. I can see you’re in pain. Let me help you.”
He points to Mirren. “I saw what you did to him after you healed him.”
“He pissed me off. I don’t have a problem with you. You didn’t break something very dear to me.” I glance behind me at Mirren.
He just glares at us. “It’s not my fault he’s weak and born to an Outcast.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You still haven’t learned a thing, have you? No one in this group is weak, by any means. The magic techniques used today by all of you aren’t simple; most seniors wouldn’t be able to do them. The fact you’re still conscious after preforming a summoning is baffling. Now shut up before you piss me off again.”
I place my hands on Bullock’s hip, ignoring the jolt that travels up my arms. As my magic eases down into his body, pain crawls throughout mine, but for the first time ever it’s not my pain. How has he been functioning? Why is he in so much pain? My hips, back, arms, and eyes throb as if I’ve just shifted into my dragon form again.
This can’t all be from the fight two weeks ago. My back burns like it never has before. What the hell happened to him? A warmth over takes me as I focus on my angel side. I didn’t plan on using my full power with revealing my feathered wings again, but I’m going to need that type of power to heal him. He should feel amazing after this. The white light consumes him. After a moment, the only pain I still feel from him sits in his eyes. Why couldn’t I heal his vision too?