The library was on the other side of campus, and they had a ways to go. The campus was square shaped with the buildings on the perimeter and the grounds as a large expanse in the middle. Normally, they would take one of the walkways across the grounds to get to a building on the other side. Mona probably would have done the same to save time, but because of the students she had chosen to circle around by moving from building to building. They had more cover that way, and chances to seek shelter should anything go wrong.
Mona’s view from the Headmaster's tower had been accurate. Ashes rested in the place of gardens, craters where there was once a grove of trees. Sections of buildings had collapsed into rubble, blocking off pathways and scattering stones randomly on the ground. Every couple of steps lay a demon corpse, stinking of brimstone and leaking sticky green blood. They had been mashed, charred, sliced and diced by Academy magi. What remained was a disgusting mess. A few of the dozen or so students had to cover their mouths, while one of them threw up on the grass. Mona kept her bare feet far away from the bodies and pressed on, eyes peeled for anything moving in the dark.
Everything was silent in the wake of the storm. Mona reached the next building on campus without incident and waved at the students to join her. A cool breeze swept under her hospital gown, setting her shivering, and carrying with it a musky odor. She checked the infirmary from across the grounds. It had yet to explode into a tornado of violence, leading Mona to suspect that the parley was currently in progress. She estimated thirty minutes before the councillors sold her out, leaving just enough time to sneak inside the library.
Mona was about to turn the corner of a building when the shadow of a winged creature loomed over the pathway. She grit her teeth and held out an arm, signally the students to back away and stay quiet. Mona edged back, slowly putting toe to heel until she judged herself far enough away and jogged to where the students were waiting at the side of the building.
“What is it?” one of the students whispered.
“Something is blocking the path behind the building,” Mona whispered back. The students looked at her wide eyed. “We need to go around the front.” The words were just off of Mona’s lips when grunts and heavy footsteps came from the other corner of the building.
More hell spawn, searching for the seed. The students were frightened. Some looked ready to bolt out into the night while others were petrified in terror. Yes, you should be scared. There’s probably a whole pack of them.
To go forward risked attracting the attention of the demons, while going back meant passing the infirmary and being captured by the councillors. Neither location was safe for the students. They had latched onto Mona like a pack of fleas, forcing her to take responsibility.
She had to choose between angry fae and hungry demons. The little brats looked up at her so hopeless and scared that she almost considered giving up and barricading them inside the auditorium. If only I had snuck out without them seeing me. Stupid. Now you have a dozen lives on your hands.
“How many of you can levitate?” she asked.
“We’re not kids. We know how to do spells,” a girl huffed.
The heavyset kid with curly brown hair stepped forward. “We can all levitate. What’s your plan?”
Mona pointed up. “Get on top of the building, cross and go back down.”
“They’ll hear us on the roof,” someone whispered.
“Not if we’re quiet,” said Curly.
“You all chose to follow me,” Mona said. “This is the way I’m going. If you want to wait in the auditorium, you’d better head back before we go any further.”
“Is this the only way to Masters? Where are they?”
“The Masters are busy dealing with fae,” Mona explained.
The students took the information in stride.
“Ok, we can’t go to the Masters,” Curly acknowledged. All the students seemed to agree on this. “So where are we going?”
A pair of ghouls stepped around the corner before she could answer. They had the rotting bodies of humans and large wings made of smoke. One of them noticed the students and drew a huge scimitar from its side. The other one roared, spread its wings and took a flying leap towards the students.
It’s an examination, Mona told herself as she readied a spell. That’s all it is, another stupid test. Stay calm. You’ve got this.
“Everyone get down!” she bellowed.
Blue bands of light swirled around Mona’s hand. She made a pistol with her forefinger and thumb and pointed it at the flying demon.
Bang.
She dropped her thumb and a crystal shard shot out from the tip of her finger. The ghoul jerked mid-flight and crashed to the ground. Green blood dripped from a hole in its chest. It tried to stand, and the shard shattered, killing it from inside. As the ghoul slumped over, the wings jutting from its back lost their form and were carried away in the wind.
“Little witch,” the second ghoul growled. It stalked forward with its sword held high. “Where is the seed?”
“Eat shit,” Mona growled back, and launched a crystal at its face.
The demon swept its scimitar and deflected the crystal off to the side.
“Start levitating!” Mona ordered, as she fired off two more shots. The ghoul blocked them both and slowly advanced. “Get on the roof and make your way to the next building.”
“What about you?” asked Curly.
“Forget it, just run.”
The students quickly cast levitation spells and rose in the air. Curly stayed behind. “I can help,” he said. “Check this out.” He started chanting a spell that sounded like metal spiders scuttling across a chalkboard. Mona winced and her next shot went wide. The demon used the opportunity to race forward, quickly covering the open ground between them.
A blade of darkness took shape in front of Curly’s chest. He spoke a final word and it flew outward, intercepting the demon and slicing through both its legs. The demon fell to the walkway, bleeding terribly.
Mona gathered another crystal shard in her hand and shot the ghoul square between the eyes, putting it out of misery. “What was that spell?” she asked. She had no idea there was a junior at the Academy with this level of battle magic. It was unlike anything she was capable of.
“Secret,” Curly replied, tapping his nose.
“That was black magic,” Mona said, as she realized it. She turned to confront Curly, but he was already rising through the air for the rooftop.
“Come on, more will be here any minute,” he said.
He’s hiding something. That spell wasn’t meant for me to see. That’s why he took so long to use it, and waited until the other students were out of sight. Black magic or not, he saved my life. I owed him back.
Mona put aside the matter for the time being and used a simple spell to levitate to the roof. The students were waiting when she got there, and they took off in a jog for the other side of the building.
With ghouls on the prowl, the library seemed less a good option. They needed to find a closer haven, preferably a building still defended by magi. Once the junior students were safe, Mona could take off on her own.
She was contemplating the best path through campus when more ghouls flew onto the roof. They landed in a circle around the students, smokey wings spread wide and menacing. Four of them held scimitars and wore the same leather armor as the demons below. The fifth was not a ghoul at all, but a shadow demon. He had the tall, lean body of a fae and a faceless head made of black smoke. He pointed his staff and the ghouls lunged forward. They raced at the students, teeth bared and dripping saliva from the corners of their mouths.
“I know where the seed is!” Mona yelled, raising her hands in surrender. “I’ll show you the way.”
18
The shadow demon leveled his staff and the ghouls relaxed into a hunched posture. Mona didn’t know which was worse: their scimitars, long fangs, or the putrid odor emanating from their oily, matted fur. The black magic of a necromancer had
transformed them from humans into beasts loyal to their master. Mona’s parents’ bodies had never been recovered. The thought of them shambling around the Nine Hells at some monster’s beck and call set her trembling.
“The behelit,” the demon leader hissed. “Lord Korka demands it.” A bolt of raw magic arced out from his staff and blasted the ground by Mona’s feet. “Our Master does not like to be kept waiting.”
Mona rubbed the front of a cold foot against the back of her calf. It was a fine mess she’d gotten herself into. Should I message Kelendril and tell him how I screwed things up? Doing so would disrupt the parley and make the fae suspicious. Plus, Kelendril and the councillors would think she was a massive idiot and never trust her to be alone. After hearing their eagerness to sell her to the fae, Mona wasn’t exactly keen on going back into their custody. Every minute the fae went without hearing her name was another minute of freedom.
At least that’s how it was supposed to be. Mona cursed under her breath as the shadow demon stepped in front of her and flared his wings. “The behelit!” he bellowed. “Or die!”
“They keep it in the Headmaster's tower,” Mona said, cringing back. “Please, don’t hurt us. I’ll show you the way.” She hadn’t decided yet if she telling the truth. No, the seed wasn’t in the Headmaster's tower, but she would take them to where it really was if it meant saving the students. It was a question of how long she could keep the demon and his ghouls on a wild goose chase.
A plan began to form in Mona’s mind like frost spreading on a windowpane.
Oh, I’ll lead them somewhere. I have the perfect place in mind for dealing with hell spawn. And saving the students, too.
“This way,” Mona said, almost adding “precious” at the end. She felt like a good little Gollum, sweet treachery flowing through her veins as she scampered along the roof. This way, little hobbitses. You can trust Smeagol.
The students, shadow demon and his ghoul minions went trotting after her.
“There,” Mona said, putting one foot on the ledge of the roof and pointing straight at the Headmaster's tower—or what was left of it. Once standing twenty stories high, it now lay in scattered piles of rocks across the Academy grounds. “Your lightning really did a number on it. You should be more careful with magic, you know.”
The shadow demon looked down on Mona with a flat, unblinking gaze. “It was not my doing.”
“Oh, sure!” Mona said, firing up the theatrics. “No one wants to take responsibility when things get damaged. Haven’t you been attacking us for the last three days? Who else would it be?”
“The storm, was it not cast by your magi?”
Mona squinted at him. “Why would they summon a storm over the Academy?”
“Perhaps you don’t yet know…” the shadow demon mused.
“Don’t know what?”
“Enough!” The demon roared. “Stop your prattling, human wench.” The sky lit up briefly as another bolt of magic flew out from his staff. It seemed to happen when he got agitated.
Mental note: shadow demons are bad at controlling their temper.
Mona wasn’t going to test her luck and try asking more questions. “Let us ride on the backs of your ghouls,” she said.
The shadow demon was taken aback. “What did you say?”
“The ghouls. They can fly, yes? It will be faster if we ride on them.”
“No,” he said slowly, as if catching onto something. “Your cunning tricks won’t work on me. Get down from the building, at once! We will follow you on foot.”
Mona bowed her head in deference. “Of course,” she quickly replied.
“Try anything, and I’ll set the ghouls loose on the little ones.” The ghouls’ ears perked up at this, and they started yelping in pleasure. It was more disturbing than the slegs, and even the bat demons because ghouls have human faces.
“I promise,” Mona swore, looking the shadow demon. “You’ll get nothing but honesty from me.”
She levitated over the side of the building and began to make her descent. The juniors came after while the ghouls and their master used their smoky wings to hover above, waiting to swoop should anyone make a run for it.
Curly didn’t look so good. He levitated slowly, drops of sweat beaded on his brow. His face was sickly pale. Mona tried to call him telepathically.
Curly, you hear me?
His eyes darted around the Academy grounds.
Mona’s telepathic connection with Kelendril was strong because of the bond they shared as mentor and pupil. She hardly knew Curly, but because of their few interactions over the course of the day, he was fresh and unique enough in her mind that she could attempt to send a message. He had heard something, but didn’t know it was Mona.
It’s Mona. The girl in the hospital gown.
Curly sent her a nervous glance, but otherwise gave no signal that he got the message. Smart kid, trying not to give anything away to their watchful captors.
Get your biggest spell ready. If you’re out of magic, make a run for it when the time comes.
Their feet touched down on the walkway. Behind them rose the administration building, wide stairs leading up to a row of Greco-Roman pillars and a large double door. Three dead bodies dressed in Academy garb had been piled out front. One body was torn and bloody all over, as if mauled by a wild animal. The work of the ghouls flying above, no doubt.
To the other side stretched the Academy grounds. Most of it was churned up dirt, dead monsters and scraps of blown-up trees. A few bronze statues of former Masters and famous alumni remained standing here and there throughout the field. Patches of cobbled stone told of pathways that once led to every building on campus. A large, marble fountain rose high at the center. Only half of it remained. Its water had spilled out from the broken side, swamping half the field and filling craters that had been left behind by battle magic.
Thunder boomed in the black clouds gathered over the Academy. “The tower has fallen,” said the shadow demon, landing beside me. “Are you certain the seed was inside?” His eyes took on a nervous glint. Mona realized that the Headmaster's tower was one of the last places he wanted to go. However, it also made sense that the seed would be kept there.
“I saw it myself,” she said, taking off down the walkway. “It’s hidden on the ground floor.”
The shadow demon growled and put a clawed hand on her shoulder. It felt mushy, like rotten flesh, and left a stinky wet mark on her hospital gown. “No tricks,” he hissed.
Mona shrugged out of his grasp and shot him a glare over her shoulder. She wished Zyzz was here. One of the councillors had grabbed him when they ported out of the tower. He could be anywhere, but nowhere near enough. A big, angry shifter was exactly what she needed to turn this situation on its head.
The storm had broken up the battle she saw earlier in the day. For now, the ogres, imps and tentacled creatures had retreated from the Academy grounds. The magi on the Academy’s side were also licking their wounds and preparing for the next fight—that, or dealing with unexpected visitors. Whatever the case, no one came to their rescue. Several times Mona tried to lead the party into well-lit areas or cut across part of the Academy grounds. The shadow demon would have none of it, and directed her with his crackling staff to go a different way. That usually meant taking back alleys and skirting the edges of buildings, staying in shadow as much as possible. The demon knew their destination and was taking his time to make sure they reached it undetected.
Mona became a bit annoyed when no one came to rescue them. Was the lightning really that scary? If the magi won’t come to me, I’ll come to the magi. That had been her plan all along, but she had hoped a Master or group of guards on patrol would have found them by now. As it was, she continued following the shadow demon’s orders.
They turned the corner of the campus gym and the top of the Shifter Hall came into sight. It was long, but a short two floors off the ground. It was also one of the oldest buildings in the Academy. Something about the cu
rving wooden design reminded Mona of viking longboats.
She knew by then that the demon had no worries about taking dark passageways around campus. Maybe his foul magic was stronger when he could draw on shadows. He made no complaints as they crossed from the outer walkway, through an archway and into the Shifter Hall’s courtyard.
The ghouls, trailing from behind, took up a growl and raised their gazes to the second level, which was a balcony encircling the courtyard from above. “What is this place?” the shadow demon asked.
Mona’s stomach growled in reply. She hadn’t eaten anything since she’d woken up. Plus, she was still barefoot and wearing a hospital gown. It was about time she got these pests off of her—all of them, not just the demon and ghouls.
“Your grave,” she said, giving the shadow demon a miserable smile.
Dozens of green and yellow eyes appeared out of the darkness. They moved silently as the unseen bodies behind them prowled back and forth, high on the second level of the courtyard. Others appeared at ground level, cutting off retreat and netting the group in like a school of fish. They were surrounded.
The shadow demon spun, one hand held high to obliterate Mona with a spell. But she had been waiting for this moment. Mona surged forward with magically enhanced strength and grabbed onto the shadow demon’s staff, nearly jerking it from his one-handed grasp.
“Get inside!” she shouted to the students.
19
Mona didn’t have time to check if the students heard her. One of the demon’s rotting hands locked the staff in a skeletal grip. The other erupted with green flames and swept for her face.
She ducked and twisted her body, pulling on the staff with all her might. The demon’s claws passed over her head, a wave of heat singing her hair. He wasn’t letting go of the staff, so Mona knocked him off balance with a kick and carried him down to the ground.
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