No time for holding back.
Rage.
It filled every fiber of my body the same second I let go of my self-control. The dragon I didn’t know made a startled face as I killed him. Chunks of the ceiling were falling all over the place. Car alarms were going off. Nothing of this mattered to me anymore. Time to punish these assholes.
Chapter 21
Lotian
“I’m coming. Where are you?” asked Nix.
“Commons between fairies’ and supernatural’s sections. The same we used for pranks.”
I dropped the connection with Nix. It left me with a weird feeling. Nix had always been in the opposite camp and direct connections were reserved for the allies. I shrugged off the political divagations. Why the hell did I think of it at the time as this? The ruthless upbringing was ingrained in me so deeply it was difficult to stop considering the political consequences of our actions.
Since Flare had walked into the picture it all has changed. At first it was a strange pull, which morphed into a sexual attraction and from there everything has escalated. The Blood of Dragons spell played a role too. A deep connection it created with her, shed new light on our relationship. There were angles in it that I couldn’t understand. My heart, my stomach and my chest and more, hurt at the fact that Flare had been gone. I’ve never felt like this with anyone.
Flare was special. Every little thing about her was extraordinary. She was beautiful, full of rage and anger we dragons loved, and that was just the beginning. She caught four demi-dragons under her spell. Saaron could pose all he liked but the truth was written all over him. He was madly in love with her. As much as I was, because there was no point in denying it. I loved that flame-haired delicate and sharp girl.
But that punch… it smelled of the unicorn’s magic. Part of me didn’t want to accept what I’d seen in her room. She stopped, for a split of a second, the fucking time. It could be a one-time spell given to her by a unicorn. What if not?
Fogs lingering all over my mind began dispersing with every step. The common room where we planned to catch Tristran Fargo had been completely destroyed. Not a single faculty member or a Dragon Soldier came down to check it out. The explosion shook the entire Academy. It was clear as the day that Miranne had a hand in it. I heard some shouts and sensed magic in other corridors. Their signatures told me that none of them was faculty or military. Most likely they all were students fighting with each other. After Elleria’s attempt at uprising some of the students felt compelled to take matters in their hands.
It held no meaning for me. Flare was all that mattered.
I passed through the charred remnants of tables and chairs. The odor of the magic reminded of fairies. These bastards had their hand in most of the deadly spells available in the dark market.
Two corners later, I met the first combatants or rather vandals. I wrongly assumed they were fighting with each other. Two supernaturals’ eyes widened in terror. I dropped on of them before he could do as much as twitch. The second one begged for mercy.
“Where if Flare?” I asked slowly, keeping my rage from consuming me. If I let it go, this boy wouldn’t see another day.
“I don’t know. I was told to be here to destroy runes on the walls.”
“Who ordered you to do so?” I hissed.
The supernatural opened his mouth, but only white foam came out. His eyes rolled back. He died on my hands.
I growled, all of sudden flushed with dragon fire. I moved ahead. Somewhere there was Flare. I needed to get to her.
On my way to the second common room, I’ve encountered a few other groups which used their pathetic magic to destroy runes. These have fled at the first sight of me. No point bothering with them. They weren’t going to say anything. Whoever they worked for made sure to keep their mouth shut, literally.
I contacted Nix, but he didn’t answer. Bad feelings contracted my stomach. It was like with Elleria all over again. No connection, chaos, panic. Could the same people be behind this? I didn’t think so. When Elleria attacked the Academy, Flare wasn’t on anyone’s radar.
The common room was deserted, but a strong hunch brought me here for a reason. Whoever—
In the corner beneath the table lay a body. A boy whose hair was similar to mine. His magical aura was odd. Almost as if it resisted my mental penetration. I slowly approached him. He lived, but his condition was bad. Who was he?
“Stop right there!” said an exhausted woman’s voice. She just came through one of the five entrances. Her magical aura was so weak that I didn’t sense her at first. I guessed that she barely could stand.
“Chill,” I said soothing my own rage lest I exploded at a wrong moment. “I mean no harm as long as you don’t try to attack me.” Not that she could do anything.
I turned.
“It’s you…” she admitted weakly. I grabbed her before she hit the floor.
“You smell of… Flare,” I growled lowly. If she had a hand in her disappearance, I’d make her beg for death.
“She is my best friend… Fargo and his people attacked us, I barely escaped before the room went off…”
She closed her eyes. Her body was a mass of bruises and wounds. She had an intense fight behind her. If she said the truth, her name must be Simona and the boy in the corner… Rast? No. Rust.
“I’m sorry. I should be there.” I would if I wasn’t knocked out. Such a thing could be only achieved by an equally powerful entity. A demi-dragon or demi-unicorn. Whoever brought me down, planned this well. Get rid of Dragon Soldiers, delay the alarms and the faculty teams, hire thugs to kidnap Flare, knock me out and create chaos. A series of explosions in several places has gone off. The Academy shook but the spells in place would stop any structural damage. All of this to get Flare.
“Shit, I can’t leave you here.”
I took them both under my arms and teleported into the medical section which already looked busy. The first injured checked in. So, there has been some fighting after all.
“Demi-dragon Lotian, what’s going on? The director and the Heads don’t answer our calls. We received many contradicting reports.”
I put Flare’s friends on the beds in the triage. “Keep them alive. I don’t have any answers for you.”
I had no idea where to go now. My bond with Flare indicated only one thing. She was alive. But where was she I couldn’t say. I needed answers myself. If Mirenne was behind this, then the best bet was to go straight to her.
The elevator had been disabled due to the emergency measures. Showed an inscription. I guessed that the direct teleportation to the Academy had been cut off as well. Nix would need to use a car to get here.
Fucking hell. The top of the Academy was closed.
That left one person. Fargo.
*
The supernatural’s section had none of the splendor and wealth of the dragons’ sections. Nothing weird that Children of Entropy recruited most of his members from this the Supernatural House.
Most of the corridors remained empty Somewhere here was Fargo… I heard voices behind the corner. Instantly, my power relaxed camouflaging my presence.
“What the fuck do you mean, you lost her?” That was Hugman’s voice. So the old prick lived? What the hell?
It required tremendous will to remain in place.
“Someone knocked Rick out and stole her.”
“Rick? You gave her to Rick?” Hugman cursed. “He’s an imbecile! And you’re not better than him…” His voice dropped and for a moment I thought he detected my power, then he spoke again. “Activate everyone in the Academy! You must find the dragon bitch. If you fail, Fargo, if you fail this. There is no coming back for you from this. Children don’t accept failures.”
“Yes, master Hugman, I won’t disappoint you and Children.”
Hugman grunted something weakly. It was the time for the stri
ke. I came out of the corner, Fargo’s eyes went wide, while Hugman held his shock out of his face for a little longer. I didn’t know much about the ex-Head of the Supernatural House. What I knew was that he has been a skillful sorcerer who used magic in shady ways. Saaron revealed that the Academy had investigated Hugman but found nothing against him.
It seemed he wasn’t as innocent as he claimed. So, Children wanted Flare. They could have me instead.
“You should stay dead, Hugman,” I growled at him.
“You pup, you know nothing!” Hugman replied at the same time his hands weaved a spell. “Go find the girl!” He snapped at Fargo who started running in the opposite direction.
“This is the end of you and your Children, Hugman,” I made a step.
There were different types of curses. Some required extensive preparation while others could be cast as spells. What I didn’t know, soon became apparent, Hugman had prepared this section of the Academy for the emergency like this. Fuck, we left them to their own devices. No surprise that they took matters in their hands.
As Hugman recited words in some ancient language, the walls on each side of me exploded spraying me with bricks and pebbles. That wasn’t meant to harm me. Metal rods, sharp as spearheads, sneaked out in the chaos and snapped at my neck. Some kind of mechanism hidden in the walls? My reflexes were too fast for such cheap tricks.
Hugman’s monotonous voice continues. I didn’t know the words, but knew that something in the language and tone have changed. He was attacking me mentally now. Telepathic assault coming from a supernatural. How pathetic.
I shoved him out of my head.
Right after that came cobras. Their fangs drenched in venom hoped to get through my skin, but half of me was a dragon. My fire burnt them before they could reach my flesh.
The frequency of his attacks increased, his voice drilling and unpleasant. He tried to drown me in the mud, built an invisible barrier, create a vacuum, and much more. But the harder he came at me, the more violent my rage has become.
CLANK.
A sound of a crossbow. Magical bolts hit me in the neck but didn’t penetrate my skin. Hugman’s sat with crossed legs and closed eyes, still reciting his bullshit underneath the nose.
Someone behind me yelped in terror. I ignored the small fries. Their presence was irrelevant. I could deal with them later. For now, I needed to know why Children of Entropy wanted Flare. They hated dragons, wished our extinction, sure. Why not kill her then? What a twisted reason stood behind this?
I reached for Hugman’s shoulder, but my hand met nothing.
An illusion. Where was he? Illusions couldn’t cast spells. I extended my mental senses, which wasn’t an easy thing while the rage rampaged inside me. My body brimmed with power so hot it threatened to turn everything into a slag.
CLANK.
CLANK.
More crossbows.
Ignoring them, my mind expanded. Somewhere in this corridor hid Hugman. The old man despite his appearance of a starved apparition had a surprising amount of magical energy inside him.
I pinpointed his signature behind the corner. He used complex sequences of runes hidden in the floor to cast spells without revealing his location. Unfortunately for him, these corridors didn’t have many places to hide, unlike the dragon’s section which had hundreds of alcoves and niches throughout the corridors.
The beam of liquid fire went through his thigh. The illusion and the attacks ended abruptly. He grunted loudly, behind me I heard more shuffling.
“Get ready! Kill the drag—”
A sound of a dozen bodies falling on the ground at the same time brought my attention around.
Flare.
And Selene.
FLARE!
Chapter 22
You dummy! I said in my mind, smiling and crying at the same. Lotian looked terrible. Blisters and wound all over his body. His designer clothes were in tatters. Why is it always you who need saving? I added.
His embrace welcomed me.
“After I woke up, I feared I’d be too late,” he whispered. By now, I knew what happened to him. Watermane wasn’t the only one who had spies throughout the Academy. Selene learned about our plan from Fargo’s people who had known it somehow and decided to play her ace.
“Why is it the three of us, yet again?” I asked. Lotian’s body was already healing. In a couple of minutes, there was not going to be a sign of a fight on his body.
Selene walked past us. She stopped only after she reached the corner. She made a gesture with her finger and a second later a whimpering form of Hugman levitated into the view.
“You stupid cow! You have no idea who you’re dealing with. There are powerful people backing me up…” His voice trailed off as his eyes met mine. “Give her to me and they won’t learn about this!”
“As the Head of the Unicorn House, I, Selene de Filanderi, detain you Hugman on the charge of attempt of murder, kidnapping and being in charge of a criminal organization.” She flicked her fingers and Hugman’s body twisted. He groaned in pain. “And never call me a cow. I’d rather prefer a pony.”
I smiled, then kissed Lotian’s full lips.
We need to find Fargo, I said.
Yes, but there is more. Nix should be here by now, but something has stopped him. We have to find out what’s going on. By the way, why are you with Selene? Where…
There will be time for that.
Selene had told me to keep the truth of my origin hidden from everyone. Demi-dragons or not, knowing who I was, might change their hearts. I didn’t believe that but have decided to give myself a little extra time and allow it to sink down. I was half unicorn and half dragon. Except the percentages didn’t exactly work out. I was no more than a 40 percent dragoness, which meant I should be a 60 percent unicorn which was not possible. There was missing 20 percent of my origin. Didn’t Sol-Gaia say she was as much my parent as my mother and father… could it mean, a part of me was… no! I threw any implications out of my head and focused on the situation at hand.
Selene made Hugman unconscious to stop the venomous words spitting from his mouth.
“We have to go find Nix, Selene,” said Lotian after our lips parted. “He might be in danger.”
“I’ll take care of Hugman,” she answered and I saw on her composed face, a shadow emotion. “Be careful. Children of Entropy are only pawns in this game.”
*
I’ve never been to the first or second floor. The lift took me directly to the third floor on the day I came here. Lotian didn’t give me a chance to explore but said these floors were usually occupied by the Slackers. Why would they keep them so close to the surface?
“Am I even allowed to go up here?”
“Usually, the first-year students need a sign permission from the Head’s office,” Lotian said as he swung the door open. He’d already conjured a new set of clothes. A casual jumper and jeans. I elbowed him softly still standing in the corridor.
“I can’t walk like this.” My clothes were in bad shape too. A brawl with Fargo and his minions… oh, fuck! I forgot. Rust and Simona. “Fuck. I have to get back! Simona and—”
“They’re safe,” Lotian interrupted with a smile. “I met them while I was looking for you. They’re in the medical section.”
I couldn’t believe it. They survived! When Fargo spoke of the explosive charges my mind was already too muddled. It took a great deal of time to return to its shape.
Lotian’s expression changed. There was no smug or smirk, but something else, something deeper and more profound. He approached me and my heart almost exploded in my chest. I could hear its thuds so loud.
“You’ll see them after we find out what happened to Nix. They’re safe now, but he might not be.”
“But he’s a demi-dragon. There should not be anything able to kill him…” I knew how stupid and na
ïve I sounded. Lotian almost died after Elleria had used the Green Eye on him.
“The Titan War had produced many powerful and dangerous artifacts. Many of them are capable of killing demi-dragons and demi-unicorns. Some perhaps, even the Pures. If Mirenne stands behind this, then we should expect the worst.”
That was more than I needed to be convinced, I bolted through the door into the lobby, which looked immaculate. Not a sign of destruction caused by Saaron and Dramer.
“And I fixed your clothes.”
Black jeans, designer boots, and a blue jumper. I looked nothing like a student anymore. Lotian grabbed my hand when I finally slowed down my quick stride toward the door. The day was already over. But the system of lights in the lobby made you think that day was still here. A few Dragon Soldiers stood by the massive double glass doors and argued with an official-looking man.
“…there was an alarm!” one of the soldiers shouted. “We have to get in to check it out.”
“I assure you, everything is under control. It’s a false alarm.”
He was so consumed by lying to the soldiers that he missed my approach from behind.
“Hey, asshole,” the official guy turned. My fist met his scumbag face. He whimpered as he hit the floor. “That’s for lying, you piece of shit.”
The Dragon Soldiers stepped back as if afraid of me. It wasn’t that of course. Behind me stepped Lotian. He was the source of their fear.
“Demi-dragon Lotian, what’s the meaning of this,” one of the soldiers asked carefully.
“Arrest him under suspicion of plotting murder and kidnapping.”
The Dragon Soldiers exchanged glances, then nodded. As they put magical handcuffs on the official man’s hands, Lotian added. “Make sure to arrest Tristran Fargo as well.”
I felt it then. A power so angry and unstable that my mouth dried. My first thought was that Dramer had returned and learned about me and well, his brothers. But that wasn’t Dramer’s power signature. This was Nix. Very angry Nix.
The Tears of Unicorns Page 16