As I moved farther away from the monster, I started to feel something. It was faint and fragile, but it was there. The tiny flicker of magic that only Raven could make me feel.
She was close to me, or at least closer than she had been.
Relying on the connection we had, I continued away from the monster, adjusting my direction based on the strength of the magic I could feel.
It thrummed in my chest, calling to me.
She had to be nearby but all I could see was darkness. This was a time for faith. Faith that our connection was stronger than whatever the hell else was in this dark room.
I wished I would have learned more about the creatures that lived in hell. Silently cursing my lack of paying attention in school, I crept through the darkness. What was it about those monsters? Were they the kind that could smell fear? Did they drain magic with a single touch?
I froze, recalling something that explained a whole lot right now.
They absorbed light.
Not just breaking lights, they sucked it in, leaving a black, empty void. Much like the one we were standing in now.
So as long as the creature was alive, we were stuck in the dark. And we had no chance against this beast. Even with weapons, it was a suicide mission.
My only hope was to find Raven and get us the fuck out of here.
35
Matt
Frustrated, I gritted my teeth. There had to be a way to create light. I was good at this. I was good at using magic. I was a fucking fire elemental mage from one of the most powerful magic families of all time.
Any flame I made only lasted a second before fizzling out to nothing. I couldn’t even see the smoke in the black expanse of nothing around me.
What the hell was this?
It wasn’t the same as just turning off the lights. I wasn’t an expert on darkness, but this was like a black hole or something. And apparently, I wasn’t able to add any light to the room.
Whatever beast was circling the space with its eye-watering screech was clearly not something I wanted to mess with. So maybe it was for the best that I wasn’t drawing attention to myself. But I couldn’t feel Raven and it sent a heavy weight of dread in the pit of my stomach.
Where was she?
I was right behind her when we came in. I was right behind everyone. Yet, I was alone. I couldn’t feel any of the others. Not Raven, not any of the other males. It was as if I was in some kind of vacuum where magic and light were sucked away into a void.
What the fuck was going on here?
The beast screeched again, making the floor rumble. I wrinkled my nose as the scent of something awful wafted through the air. It smelled like burning and death.
Trying not to inhale too deeply, I instinctively moved away from the smell, knowing that whatever caused it was bad news.
The only thing I did know was that I had to get out of here. And I knew that if I wandered in circles trying to find Raven, she’d be pissed at me for not getting myself out.
I laughed, thinking about how mad she’d been when I took the blame for her using her time magic.
What I wouldn’t give for her to use it now. If she froze time and found some light, the five of us could walk out of here away from whatever the monster in the dark was.
But I knew she wouldn’t do that.
Maybe she was already out of here?
I needed light. If I could see, I could find her. I could check and make sure she was okay. I could also find out if the awful monster noises were just Coach Miller trying to scare the shit out of us.
I could picture him doing that. Trying to make some kind of psychological terror with noise and darkness.
I wanted to believe that the threat wasn’t real. But there wasn’t any way to explain my inability to create fire. Or the fact that this dark wasn’t normal. It was heavy and thick. The kind of darkness that could swallow you whole.
Carefully, I walked forward, my arms extended in front of me. If I could find a door, I could let in some light. It might be enough to draw the others toward me.
I just needed some light.
36
Zach
I thought I heard someone calling me. “Raven? Is that you?”
My voice was swallowed up by the darkness around me.
Shaking my head, I kept walking. It felt like I’d been walking for hours. How long had we been in here?
All I was doing was walking in circles, feeling for walls or people or god forbid the creatures making those horrible sounds. Making fire would be stupid. It would draw the monster to me, but it was tempting. The sinking darkness was starting to make me feel a little bit like I was at the bottom of the sea. And not in a good way. Like in the cement shoes kind of way.
My breaths grew shorter and I had to force myself to inhale and exhale slowly, calming myself. It was so claustrophobic in here. I knew we were in the gym. I knew the room was huge, but it didn’t feel that way right now.
I took another step and my foot slipped on something, sending me landing on my back with a thud.
I groaned. “Fuck”
Aching and a little dazed, I rolled to my stomach and set my hand in something wet and warm.
And slimy.
It was either drool or shit from whatever creature was roaming around the room.
I had to swallow down the vomit that rose to my throat as I wiped my hands on my pants. When I got out of here, I was going straight to the shower.
Maybe I’d bring Raven with me when I found her. I kept telling myself that staying positive would help get me through this faster and there was nothing more positive than thinking about Raven naked.
The thought didn’t last long, through, as my feet stepped in another pile of something wet. Immediately back in the present reality, I side stepped, hoping to be free of whatever this substance was. I tried to breathe in through my mouth, afraid of smelling the goo that was all over me.
A low rumbling growl sounded from behind me, the sound making my bones rattle. I froze.
Whatever had left the fluid all over the ground was behind me. And there was no amount of breathing in through my mouth that would cover the stench of death and fire breathing down my neck.
Fear and adrenaline spiked and I knew I had two choices. I could run or I could turn and attempt to fight an unseen monster.
Running was probably the smarter choice. But sometimes I made stupid choices.
Slowly, I turned around to face the beast.
I could smell it, the rotting, putrid scent as it breathed its warm breath on my face. The creature was waiting for something. For some reason, it wasn’t attacking. It didn’t make one of its shrill cries. It was just standing there.
This was my chance. If I could take it down, Raven and the others had a shot to get out of here unharmed.
Fire was my best weapon. It came to me easily and it was reliable. Quickly, I called to my magic, igniting my hands. The flame rose, for a moment I could see the horrible monstrous face of the creature.
It had a huge head like a giant but the teeth were like those you’d expect to see on a tyrannosaurs rex. Its long, lanky limbs were capped by fingers and toes with massive claws. Between its naked legs was a tail lined with spikes. The creature was hideous and horrifying all at once.
Extending my hands, I commanded my fire to release. Instead, it just fizzled out.
Quickly, I called the fire again. Once again, it illuminated the monster then died before I could do anything.
It was as if the magic was being pulled away from me. What was going on?
The creature growled again, the same low rumbling that felt like someone had the bass on way too loud. It made my teeth chatter and vibrated in my bones.
There was no way that was a good sound.
I had no weapons. I had no magic. The monster in front of me was twenty feet high with claws that could take down a yeti.
I turned and I ran.
37
Raven
Ah
ead, I saw a crack of light as if there was a door in the distance. I’d been walking around here for what felt like hours, desperately trying to find my mates and avoid the monsters.
I was sure I’d walked past here before and I’d never seen a light. But then again, in the dark everything sort of looked the same. For all I knew, I’d been circling the same little area and finally turned a different direction.
Moving slowly, I walked toward the light. Hopefully, that meant someone got out. I wanted to know that Ben, Luka, Matt, and Zach were all safe. For a while now, I’d started telling myself that maybe they’d listened to me. Maybe they were all out of here already and that’s why I couldn’t sense them.
Maybe they were beyond that door, waiting for me to get through and join them. The thought motivated me enough for me to pick up the pace.
I moved faster, desperate to reach the light.
The closer I got, the more hopeful I felt. My chest filled with flutters of anticipation as I realized it was actually a door ahead of me. An actual way out.
This was it, I was almost done. Was I really going to finish the trials? It seemed too easy, but I didn’t want to complain. I just wanted to get out of here.
The gym was scary as hell in the dark.
Reaching ahead, I felt a doorknob. Tears stung the back of my eyes. I’d never been so emotional about a door before in my life. Being alone in the dark with just the sound of monsters screaming was enough to break anyone.
I paused, my hand on the doorknob. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure I should open it. What if it was a trap? What if it released more monsters? In all this darkness, there was only this one door.
A monster screeched again, the sounds making me wince in pain. It was worse than nails on a chalkboard. Whatever that thing was, it was terrible. I did not want to come face to face with it. Especially in the dark. Especially when all the magic I had tried didn’t work.
We were defenseless in here. And I had a feeling that those monsters wouldn’t be willing to turn on the light so I could at least know where to try to land a kick. Cause that was the only weapon I had. I could try to claw it to death, but something told me it probably had worse claws than I did.
The door was my only chance.
Holding my breath, I turned the doorknob.
A rush of air blew past me, sending my hair whipping around my face. I had to close my eyes against the bright light for a moment, then had to squint to try to make out what was beyond the door.
The wind pulled me away from the darkness of the gym, through the open door. I fought to hold on to the door handle. I needed to keep this door open, just in case the others were still in there. If I could prop it open, they could see the light.
The wind grew stronger and I lost my grip as I was dragged away from the gym and thrown to the ground.
As soon as I was on my feet, I ran back to the door, desperate to get it open. I couldn’t feel any of them. None of their magic signatures, none of their emotions. Which meant they were still in there with the monster.
I tugged on the door handle, kicked the door, pounded on it. Screaming in frustration, I shook the handle again. Nothing. It wasn’t going to budge.
There had to be another way in. I raced down the hall, hoping to find one of the other entrances to the gym. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if I got back in, I just knew I had to get to them.
I couldn’t feel any of them, but that didn’t mean they weren’t in trouble. In fact, it made me worry even more. My heart pounded and awful thoughts flooded in. What if they were already dead? What if they were hurt and couldn’t get out?
What the hell was Coach Miller Playing at by having a monster like that in there? And what was with the dark room? You’d think there’d be some obstacles and some things we could do to show the skills we’d gained here. Instead, we’d been left as monster food.
Fueled by my anger, I ran faster down the hall, stopping at any door I found that might lead to a back entrance to the gym. None of them opened except for one that was filled with cleaning supplies.
I skidded to a halt at the end of the hallway, peering out to where my classmates were moving around the school. Maybe someone out there had an answer. An idea of how to get in or a weapon I could borrow.
As I stared at the hallway, I realized something wasn’t right.
Narrowing my eyes, I studied the figures in the hall. No. No, no, no. This wasn’t right. This couldn’t be.
None of my classmates were moving. All of them were frozen in place, mid step, mid conversation, even one mid-jump. Someone had stopped time.
Like the time it happened while I was in Dr. Green’s office, I knew it wasn’t my doing. There was someone else here using time magic. Last time, Officer M had told me it was someone outside the school. Was that still the case or had someone found their way in?
If they did, it was possible they were looking for me.
Hoping that the time stop had also applied to monsters, I raced toward Dr. Green’s. His office was magic proofed. He might be sitting in there right now not even aware of what was going on.
I got halfway to his office when someone walked out of a room in front of me. I stopped, heart pounding as I stared at Professor Halifax.
“Thank the gods you’re okay,” she said. “Are your mates with you?”
“No,” I said. “They’re still in the gym. What’s going on?”
“Time bubble,” she said. “Hurry, in here.”
I followed her toward her classroom. “Were you in your back room? How long has this been going on?”
As soon as I stepped into the classroom I knew I was fucked. Staring back at me, a wide grin on her face, was the magic thief. The magic thief that was supposed to be dead.
I heard the door close behind me and everything started to come into place all at once.
Professor Halifax was the one who killed the thief, she was up and moving after the last time bubble, she’d made sure I was in a trials group with my mates. For all I knew, she was the one who moved the trials up.
All of it was a trick.
“You’re supposed to be dead,” I said, glaring at the thief.
“Funny, so are you,” she said.
I balled my hands into fists and clenched my jaw as I stared at the fae who had killed my parents and tried to do the same to me. I wasn’t going to let her win. Even if she had help, I wasn’t going down easy.
Professor Halifax walked around me and stopped in front of me. She was in an emerald green tunic and black leggings with thigh high boots today. Her long hair hung loose down her back, tucked behind her pointed ears.
“Why?” If I was going to die, I at least wanted to know why.
“It’s nothing personal,” she said.
“I think trying to kill someone is usually personal,” I said.
“You sound like a human,” the thief said.
“Half human,” I said. “And if not killing people is what humans are known for, I’m happy to embrace that side of myself.”
“You would,” she said, then she turned to Professor Halifax. “I don’t understand why I can’t just kill her and take her magic.”
“I told you, we need her,” Professor Halifax said.
The thief rolled her eyes in a very human gesture and walked over to the front row of benches. She sat down and crossed a long leg over her other leg. Leaning back in her seat, she stared at me, as if she was waiting for me to do something.
“What am I doing here?” I asked.
“You and I have been working on opening portals for months now,” Professor Halifax said.
“So?” I asked.
“So, I need you to open one with me,” she said.
“That’s not going to happen,” I said.
“Oh, I think it will,” she said.
“Just open it yourself,” I said.
“I’m still up for taking her magic and us doing it,” the thief said.
“I’ve waited too long for this,” Professor Ha
lifax said. “The last time you tried to open it you just made a time bubble. I told you, killing her isn’t enough any more.”
“So that’s what that was,” I said.
“If she’s not strong enough to do it after stealing my parent’s magic, I won’t be strong enough. Just let me go,” I said.
“You weren’t strong enough,” she said. “Not until you completed that bond with all of your mates.”
“Seriously?” I shook my head. “That’s what this was all about? That’s why you moved up the trials and pushed us toward the magic meld? So I could open some stupid portal for you?”
“Stupid portal!” The thief was on her feet now, moving toward me. “What do you know about being trapped in a realm that’s not your own?”
Professor Halifax intercepted, stopping the thief from moving closer to me. “Sit down, Leanna.”
“That’s what this is all about?” Sympathy tugged at my insides. I didn’t want to feel bad for her, but I understood wanting to go home. Honestly, I would be more sympathetic if she hadn’t tried to kill me.
“You just want to go back to Faerie?”
“And you’re going to make it happen,” the thief said.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “I might barely stay awake in Magical Theory, but I know enough to know that opening portals is bad news. I haven’t even been using magic for a year!”
“You’ll do it,” Professor Halifax said. “And you’ll do it correctly.”
“Right, cause you threatening me is going to make me do it better.”
“It will when you know the stakes,” she said.
My brow furrowed. “If you’re talking about me dying if I do it wrong, I’m pretty sure that’s the same result if I don’t do it at all with your little trigger happy sidekick over there.”
“I’m not talking about your death, though that is a possibility,” she said.
My chest felt tight and I tried to hide that it suddenly felt more difficult to breathe. I already knew what she was going to say but I didn’t want to hear the words.
Academy of the Elites: Fated Magic Page 16