“Our magic was stronger together.” Tory snatched my hand and the keen wave of her power swept into mine. “Ready?”
I nodded and we raised our free hands. I drew air to my fingertips, a powerful storm swirling around us and sending our hair flying out in tendrils. The fire in Tory's hand flared blue with the intensity of the heat and as one, we released the blast at the shield. It slammed into the centre, creating a ripple of colour over it, but it didn't give.
“Shit!” Tory snapped.
“Again,” I encouraged but my breathing faltered as a thick pocket of darkness seeped across the forcefield above, swallowing us up in its shadow. It moved like a living thing, the thickening cloud crackling with a strange energy. Adrenaline pushed through my veins, my muscles tensing, urging me to run. But there was nowhere to go.
A dreadful rasping, sucking noise filled the air and my worst nightmare came true.
“Tory- it's a Nymph! The Academy must be under attack,” I exclaimed, the smothering feel of its horrible power settling over my insides.
“It's okay, it can't get through the Heirs' barrier,” she breathed, but she didn't look too confident about that as we backed up to the furthest corner of the Pit.
The shadow spread out against the forcefield and lights flashed where it touched. In a horrifying instant, I realised it could immobilise the magic in the very air.
The shield stuttered out and something hair-raisingly terrifying dropped right out of the darkness. The Nymph landed before us, impossibly tall, its body a twisted, gnarled knot of long limbs, serrated teeth and curling horns. Its probing fingers extended towards us and fear slammed into me full force.
“We have to get out!” I screamed, grabbing Tory's arm and stumbling as the full strength of its influence sucked at our magic, draining our energy by the second. The moment it locked down our power, we were doomed.
I clawed my way up the far edge of the Pit with Tory at my side, using the last of my strength to cast vines into existence and tug ourselves higher.
Something brushed against my ankle and I kicked sharply, releasing a yell of determination. It curled tighter around my foot and a scream escaped me as I lurched backwards. Tory scrambled over the edge, grabbing my arm and hauling backwards with all her strength.
I clung to her with fear scraping at my ribcage. She shot a spear of ice over my head and a shriek behind me made me wince.
The Nymph released me and I scrambled away in relief. Tory yanked me upright and we stumbled forward. Before we made it three paces, she slammed to a halt and I staggered away to avoid colliding with her.
Terror strummed every nerve ending in my body as I took in the churned up pitch spreading out ahead of us, the chaotic crowd tearing past us in a mixture of Order and Fae forms. At every exit were Nymphs, standing tall, blocking everyone's escape paths. Their shadowy creatures were like wraiths as they released their rattling call, immobilising the Fae surrounding them before descending on them in their weakened states.
A sea of red, white, blue, and silver shirts massed around them as students from Starlight and Zodiac fell prey to their malignant power.
“Oh my god,” I breathed, counting more and more of the monsters around the stadium. Several at the verges of the pitch, one in the Pit and an uncountable amount up in the stands. Thirty...forty? More?
A group of Harpies swarmed across the stands like bees, casting powerful blasts of magic at the Nymphs from a safe distance.
A baying howl cut through the air and I spotted Seth high up on the stairs directly ahead of us, cupping his hands around his mouth. His howl was echoed by hundreds of students and the Werewolves burst into their Order form, the gigantic beasts charging up the aisles to take on the Nymphs. They relied on the brute force of their teeth, diving onto the tree-like creatures and ripping them apart.
I hunted for our friends amongst the masses, for Orion. But I couldn't spot them in the surging crowd. As a Nymph was brought to its knees before one of the exits, a stampede of students headed that way to get out, soon crushing each other in their bid to escape.
My throat was tight, my lungs even tighter. Shock held me in place but I knew I had to move. And not just move, I had to fight.
The rattling, rasping pull of a Nymph’s magic behind us made me lurch around, raising my hands as power coiled into my veins.
The beast was dragging itself out of the Pit and I propelled a jet of water from my hands, forcing it back down. Tory hurried forward, freezing the water as it cascaded over the vile creature, holding it in place at the bottom of the hole.
“Tory!” I gasped as a Nymph burst through the crowd beyond her, its blazing red eyes seeming to lock onto her as it knocked students aside to get closer. Its arms raised and its twisted, pronged fingers were ready to strike as its rattling cry paralysed the Fae surrounding it.
Terror threatened to overwhelm me as my limbs weakened and my insides hollowed out. They just had to get near and we were finished. No more Academy, no more Heirs, or dreams, or thrones. No more Lance Orion.
I ran toward Tory, snatching her hand and urging that powerful energy to roam between us. It flickered at the edges of my skin and I lifted a hand barely in time as it exploded from my body. Tory's magic combined with mine, twisting into a tight coil of fire and water. It slammed into the Nymph, holding it off. But it wasn't enough.
I shouted out in effort as we continued the onslaught, desperate to keep it at bay. But the Nymph's power fell over me and my knees quickly weakened. It tugged at my insides, halting my magic and as we turned to run, I found it impossible. My legs nearly gave out and Tory groaned in fury as she fell under the same spell.
The students close by had scattered, leaving us alone with the terrifying monster. I felt its hold on my magic right down to the marrow of my bones.
Fear drilled through to my core and panic threatened to overwhelm me.
We can't die here like this!
A bellowing roar shook the foundations of the stadium and a huge beast swooped down from above, casting a thick shadow over us. Hellfire rained out of the Dragon's mouth and with a jolt of recognition I realised the magnificent golden beast was Darius. A surge of hope filled me as he swooped low to the ground, releasing a furious blaze over three Nymphs on the pitch.
As he banked hard, careering our way, Orion leapt from his back and fell onto the Nymph before us, slamming a shining dagger into its spine.
Black shadows burst from the wound and the creature wailed a horrible moan as it shuddered and died beneath him.
Darius landed on all fours with an almighty crash, drawing back his wings and releasing a spiral of fire which circled around one of the Nymphs at the nearest exit, consuming its body in the blaze. The heat of it rolled over my cheeks and smoke tingled my senses.
Students ran for the exit while a group of Pegasuses shifted beyond them. I spotted Sofia amongst them with a wave of relief just before a glittering sparkle washed over her and she took off into the sky as a beautiful flying horse. Instead of racing for freedom as I expected, she and the other Pegasuses turned in perfect formation, targeting a Nymph in the stands and blinding it in a cloud of thick glitter. One by one they each took it in turns to smash and kick their back hooves into its head before circling around to do it again.
Three more Nymphs stepped out onto the pitch and Orion cast a wall of air at them to hold them back. His muscles strained as he dug in his heels and Tory and I threw up a huge wall of energy to join his. I immediately felt the creatures’ power fighting to stifle our magic and knew this couldn't go on for long.
“Hold the wall!” Orion commanded, dropping the power of his shield and racing toward them with his Vampire speed. My heart stumbled as he used the propulsion of our air power and dove toward the Nymph on the far left, driving his blade deep into its heart. It released a horrible shriek that raked at my eardrums, tumbling to the ground and bursting into nothing but smoke and dust.
Darius roared furiously and I turned to watch
as a deep shudder rolled down his spine and his tail flicked out in a deadly swipe. Seats in the stands were shredded as the lethal appendage cut a path through them and several Nymphs. He released a swirling ring of fire which engulfed the two Nymphs still held back by mine and Tory's power then snapped his teeth together in satisfaction.
Four more descended onto the pitch to take their place, one of them knocking the blade from Orion's hand and sending it skittering across the mud.
“Lance!” I yelled in panic as he fell to his knees under the powerful onslaught of two Nymphs at once. He extended one hand our way as he cast a swirling shield of wind around us in a final effort to protect us.
“No,” I gasped in complete, desperate panic as a Nymph moved toward Orion, reaching down, aiming its probing fingers for his chest. I was moving before I could stop myself, charging toward him in a desperate act to help. I managed to hold onto the very last inch of magic I had in my grip and that would have to be enough.
Orion was on the verge of death and I simply couldn't see it happen. Every fibre of my being was begging me to save him.
Darius released a powerful blast of fire which billowed overhead, unable to attack the Nymphs without also catching Orion in the blast.
Orion buckled forward, his hands braced against the ground and something shifted within me. A burning energy filled me up with the heat of a million stars, burrowing into my core. My body felt as though it was about to lift off of the ground with the sheer power of it as a rippling sensation raced across my shoulder blades.
The Nymph lunged forward, ready to slice its razor sharp claws into Orion's heart and I knew that mere seconds parted him from death.
I threw out my hands with a yell of pure rage, letting that fiery energy burn right out of me. A line of fire exploded from my body like a writhing, winged creature of sharpest blue and darkest red. It hit the Nymph square in the chest and its wails echoed around the entire stadium before the beast exploded into a coil of black smoke right before my eyes.
I didn't know what it meant, all I knew was that I couldn't stop unleashing it. Not until every one of these monstrous creatures were dead at my feet.
I let the fiery behemoth within me take over, willing it to wrap the Nymphs near Orion in a swirling inferno of death. They disintegrated as the fire fizzled out and black smoke twirled up toward the sky in their wake.
I sprinted to Orion and pulled him to his feet, pawing at his arms as if to reassure myself he was alright.
“What the hell was that fire?” he asked in disbelief, his eyes trailing over me in awe.
I shook my head. “I was hoping you could tell me.”
I searched for Tory but I couldn't see her. More of the crowd had spilled onto the pitch and I realised why as a wall of Nymphs marched down the stairways, their arms extended in a bid to immobilise their magic.
Max was high up at the peak of the stands with Caleb at his side, the two of them battling a group of Fae as magic collided between them. Horror tangled with my blood as I realised they weren't Fae. They were Nymphs disguised in Fae form, their stolen magic rogue but powerful, blasting huge holes in the stadium as they tried to hit Max and Caleb. They were one wrong move away from death, but I couldn't focus on them any longer as I turned and started running across the uneven ground with Orion at my side.
An errant blast of magic shot up toward the sky, slamming into the edge of the open roof. A groaning, tearing noise wracked my ears as a huge plate of metal tumbled from the structure.
A scream burst from my throat as it plummeted right toward us. On instinct, I forced air out from me in the way Perseus had taught me and Orion grabbed my hand, his energy flooding into my veins in an instant. It pushed the shield out around us, feeling like a solid, unbreakable wall. But was it?!
I flinched, snatching onto Orion's shirt and wincing sharply as the huge panel crashed into the top of my shield with an ear-cracking boom. It split into two before falling on either side of us and I looked up at Orion in shock.
He stared at me for half a second, his mouth parting. “Lucky you trust me,” he growled and my eyebrows shot up. Do I?
Orion dragged me on towards the exit with a spurt of his Vampire speed. He slammed his shoulders into the crowd to forge a path through, but I pulled back, snatching my hand from his grip. “I'm not leaving without Tory.”
He tried to grab hold of me again, but I ducked away, refusing to let him take me from this fight.
Horror sizzled in my blood as a huge Nymph towered at the back of the crowd and immobilised its nearest prey, making the students around me fall into a panic.
Orion caught my hand and I dragged his magic into my own on instinct, the rush of his added power filling me up like jet fuel. I unleashed the burning giant inside me and it erupted from my body in the shape of wings, speeding toward the Nymph and folding around it. The creature stumbled back as it burst into flame, its body burning up from the inside out before tumbling into a shower of black dust.
The students stared at me in complete shock as they got to their feet and ran for the exit.
Orion pulled me around to face him and my heart faltered as he clutched onto me.
“I'm not going anywhere,” I demanded and he nodded, a strange smile pulling at his mouth despite the absolute madness descending around us.
“Go on then.” He gestured to the raging battle. “Show me what you've got, Blue.”
My heart pounded an uneven rhythm as I took in the chaos surrounding me. Throughout the stands students were shredding through their clothes as they shifted into their Order forms to escape the carnage.
Harpies, Griffins, Manticores, Dragons and Pegasuses flew for the open roof, many of them with their friends still in Fae form riding on their backs.
A red Dragon who I recognised as Geraldine’s friend Angelica swooped overhead before blasting a Nymph with fire and destroying it in one precise hit.
A Sphinx and Medusa bolted for the exit and I belatedly recognised Marguerite and Kylie.
I caught sight of Darcy with Orion between the panicking bodies around me and relief spilled through me.
I started to run towards her but a surge of air magic slammed into me and I was tossed aside as a Nymph with stolen power aimed at me again. I tumbled across the mud and threw a wave of water back at my attacker, knocking the creature to the far side of the stadium with its force.
My hands sank into the mud beneath me as I pushed myself upright and a huge roar laced with pain echoed right through my body.
I turned my gaze towards the enormous golden Dragon in the centre of the pitch as eight Nymphs rushed towards him at once. Darius swung his reptilian head around, bearing a row of razor sharp teeth at the creatures as they charged him.
Dragon Fire blasted from his mouth, destroying four of the monsters before the tail end of it blazed overhead, warming me in every way. My own power burned hot within me as one of the Nymphs managed to leap onto him, driving the sharpened probes of its fingers straight into his flank.
Darius bellowed in agony again and I started running towards him as a desperate ache built in my chest. It didn’t matter that I hated him and he hated me, in that moment it was only us and them. And I couldn’t bear to let them take him.
I cried out as my power pooled within me, begging to be set free.
Flames licked their way out of my body, swarming over my flesh until they danced right before my eyes in a mix of blood red and lightning blue. The feel of them on my skin was electrifying and they pulsed with some deep magic which answered my call like it was the most natural thing in the world.
The flames burst from me like a living creature, slamming into the Nymph whose claws were deep in Darius’s flesh before burning it alive. The creature shrieked in an agony so intense that I could feel it echoing back to me through my magic.
Darius roared again, his huge head swinging above mine a moment before his jaws snapped closed on a Nymph who was running up behind me.
The g
rinding and crunching of bones mixed with the screams of the creature as Darius bit down viciously until it stopped moving. He launched its broken body away from us and it collided with the stands on the far side of the stadium which had almost emptied out as the Starlight students fled in panic.
More of the Nymphs were trying to circle closer to us and Darius swung his golden tail, the huge spikes on the end of it swiping the legs out from beneath one of the creatures.
I blasted it with red and blue flames before it could get up and the fire danced through my veins like pure ecstasy.
Darius released a torrent of Dragon Fire over his shoulder before wheeling around, his wings tucked close to protect them.
I ducked low as he moved, dancing between his feet and shifting beneath his stomach before ending up on the other side of him. Somehow he didn’t step on me even though he was thrashing about, breathing fire and swiping his claws at the monsters who came for us.
A chorus of rumbling growls announced Geraldine approaching in her Cerberus form, all three of her giant dog heads bearing poisonous fangs at a Nymph as it raced to escape her.
She pounced, slamming the creature into the dirt and for a moment my heart leapt in panic as it reached for her with probing fingers. In the next heartbeat, she ripped its head from its body, shattering its skull in her tremendous jaws before bounding after her next target.
Nova’s voice boomed out across the stadium. “All students untrained in combat are commanded to flee to the safety of your Houses! Take to your Order forms and RUN!”
My heart leapt as I realised that meant me and Darcy but I’d lost sight of her in the madness again and we still hadn’t discovered our Order forms even if I’d wanted to try and do as she’d said.
I looked around wildly, trying to locate my sister. Max and Caleb were fighting back to back at the far end of the stadium; Max wielding water in sweeping arcs as his navy scales shone wetly. Caleb darted between his magic as if they’d choreographed their attacks, finding holes in the water the moment they appeared and bursting through them to strike the Nymphs with a combination of physical attacks enhanced by his Vampire abilities and earth magic.
Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae: An Academy Bully Romance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts) Page 45