by Lynette Noni
“Then let’s go see the headmaster and explain where we’ve been,” Jordan said, turning and walking away. But then he stopped and looked around in confusion, spinning back to face them again. “Um, where’s the exit?”
Even with the unpleasant feeling still roiling in her stomach from Athora’s abrupt departure, Alex’s lips quirked at the puzzled frown on Jordan’s face as he examined the sealed room. She had wondered the same thing the first time she’d arrived, but she wasn’t cruel enough to make her friends jump into the dissecting river and then fall through a waterfall painting just to arrive in the foyer.
Instead, at a mental summons, a doorway appeared, and she led the way through it and back up to the Library proper. When she came out the other side, however, what she found prompted anxiety to start bubbling within her.
As her friends arrived directly behind her, they began talking all at once.
“Ouch!” D.C. cried. “Alex, move!”
Then came Jordan’s voice, saying, “What’s going on—I can’t see—ow, Bear, is that you? You’re on my foot!”
“Shuffle along, guys,” Declan said, “and someone, turn on a light!”
“Alex, where did you lead us?” asked Bear.
“Everyone, quiet.”
The last was said by Kaiden, and at the urgency of his order, the others silenced immediately.
In the all-consuming darkness that surrounded them, even Alex’s enhanced sight could see nothing beyond the glow of her vaeliana. It had been a long time since she’d encountered such pure, inky blackness, but she still knew what it was. And she wasn’t the only one.
“Is this—Is this the Library foyer?” D.C. whispered. “Is the academy under Lockdown?”
Alex nodded but then verbalised her answer, knowing her friends were as blind as she. “Yes. And yes.”
“Does that mean—” Jordan started to ask.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Kaiden interrupted. “Let’s not jump to conclusions before we know more.”
“It could just be a drill,” Alex agreed, reaching out until she touched the nearest wall, careful not to press too hard against any of the paintings lest she end up inside one of them by accident. “Once we make it outside, we’ll be able to figure out what’s going on.”
D.C.’s voice was higher than normal when she said, “But what if Aven is out there?”
Alex’s blood thrummed at the very idea, but she kept her voice calm as she said, “We don’t have a choice—we’re blind in here. We need to know what’s going on.”
An idea hit her then, and she quickly summoned A’enara. The Bringer of Light arrived in a blaze of blue flames that had her friends shielding their eyes as the brightness chased away the dark.
“That’s handy,” Bear commented, and the rest nodded in agreement.
“Pity we don’t all have magic swords,” Jordan said.
“Or any swords,” Declan added, cracking his knuckles nervously. Both he and Kaiden were in her Epsilon Combat class, so they were more than capable of handling a blade, if it came to it. Jordan and Bear were also competent fighters, being Delta-ranked. The problem was, other than A’enara, none of them had any weapons.
“Follow me, and stay close,” she told her friends. But just as she began to walk away, Kaiden reached out for her elbow, turning her back to him.
In the blue light of her blade, she could see him pushing the gift bag towards her as he pointedly said, “Just in case.”
Alex knew what he was saying. She hated the idea of being protected when her friends weren’t, but on the off chance that Aven was out there, he would come for her, not them. Just as it would be Vae’varka who she would cross blades with. Because of that, after ordering everyone to turn around—which was pointless, really, since as soon as she carefully handed her weapon to Kaiden, the flames vanished and they were again surrounded by darkness—Alex quickly swapped her clothes for the Tia Auran armour, marvelling at the perfect fit and how soft yet strong it felt against her skin.
When she blindly reached for her weapon again and the flames burst back into existence, the expressions on her friends’ faces as they took in her new appearance were almost comical.
“Whoa,” D.C. said. “I’m intimidated just looking at you right now.”
Nerves were zinging along her flesh but still Alex managed to force a smile and say, “Let’s hope if anyone is out there, they will be, too.”
Her words prompted grave nods and she set off again, not willing to waste another second.
“Stay close,” she repeated as she hurried up the staircase, frustrated by having to stick to mortal speed so as to not leave them behind.
Finally reaching the ground floor of the Tower building, Alex and her friends rushed outside, the single moon overhead lighting up the academy campus enough for her heightened sight to take in the landscape and what was—or rather, wasn’t— happening.
“So… False alarm?” Bear asked tentatively, also noting the distinct lack of movement.
Thinking back to the other times Alex had witnessed the Lockdown in action, both of which had occurred when Aven had triggered the academy wards, Alex wasn’t sure. It looked like nothing was going on… but she also knew looks could be deceiving.
“Should we just…” D.C. hesitated, “… go back inside and up to Professor Marselle’s office, as planned?”
That made the most sense, even if doing so would mean they’d have to ascend the staircase in the Lockdown darkness— something she, Jordan and Bear had done once before. And yet, Alex couldn’t help feeling like the night was too still, too silent.
Turning to Kaiden, she whispered, “What’s your read on this?”
His eyes were alert as he scanned the campus. “Something’s not right.”
That was all the confirmation Alex needed, knowing by now to trust his gift of intuition. But that didn’t help her decide what their next steps should be; whether they should retreat into the Tower and go down to the Library or up to Darrius’s office, or if they should instead step out in search of what might be wrong.
“I hate to be the one to point this out,” Jordan said quietly, “but does anyone else think something is missing here?”
Alex wasn’t the only one to look at him in question. But it was Bear who answered.
“Where’s the snow?”
As one, the group looked to the ground, noting the thawed, grassy earth underfoot.
“What—”
Declan didn’t get a chance to finish his exclamation because suddenly the air in front of them rippled, like an invisible curtain falling down from high above their heads, after which the campus was no longer still and silent.
“DUCK!”
Reflexively, Alex followed the screamed order, shoving her friends out of the way just as a ball of flames sailed towards them.
“SORRY!” Mel screamed, running past, but that was all she managed to say, since she was busy shooting off another fiery attack at the female Meyarin who was blurring towards her with a sword drawn.
Alex watched in stunned silence as Mel, gifted with her elemental fire ability, sent the next ball of flames straight into the chest of the Meyarin. The immortal stumbled backwards, screaming as she slammed her hands against her clothes before activating the Valispath and disappearing. But once she was gone, Mel didn’t stop—she ran straight back into the fray.
And there was a fray. In front of them were at least two dozen Meyarins, each with drawn weapons, attacking academy students and teachers alike.
Darrius was in the middle of the field before the Tower building, a sword in one hand and a Stabiliser in the other as he fought side by side with Hunter and Karter, the three men defending against any who dared approach. Likewise, Finn and Varin were doing the same, if slightly separated from the group. Tayla and Mayra were a few steps away from them, both favouring bows over swords, but just as punishing with their chosen weapons. Mayra in particular was a sight to behold, easily holding her own against the oth
ers of her native race.
But they weren’t the only teachers out fighting against the small but deadly group of immortals.
Caspar Lennox was also there, shadowing in and out to offer stealth attacks with his own blade, made easier when Professor Marmaduke used her low-level telekinetic ability to slow the Meyarins down.
Fletcher was also fighting, perhaps offering the greatest surprise of all, because any Meyarin he pointed a finger at suddenly clamped their hands over their ears, screaming in pain.
With wide eyes, Alex marvelled at what was unfolding before her—not just the warring teachers, but also the students who, like Mel, were battling alongside them.
Everywhere she looked, familiar faces blurred past: Connor, using his weather affinity to send lightning strikes at any Meyarins who closed in on him; Savannah, using her freezing gift to turn her opponents into living icicles; Kelly, who had her arms raised forward, creating a wind tunnel of protection in front of Sean, who was unconscious and bleeding on the ground—with Alex suddenly understanding that the rippled invisible curtain had been a shield he’d created, a defensive bubble keeping the Meyarins from further entering the grounds. When he’d fallen, so too had his shield.
The combat boys were also there: Sebastian, phasing into a black panther-like creature and back again as he attacked in both human and feline forms; Brendan, sending blast waves of energy at the Meyarins speeding towards him; and Nick, who was producing duplicated versions of himself and confusing his attackers enough that the real him had a fighting chance.
Taking everything in within the space of a heartbeat, Alex couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The Meyarins were impossibly strong and swift, but their numbers were low, and against the gifted abilities and fighting prowess of the academy teachers and students, they were slowly but surely being overcome.
But then she saw one of them get the drop on Fletcher while he was focusing his gift on bringing down another, and Alex didn’t hesitate in leaping forward to intercept just as the Meyarin stabbed his blade towards the doctor’s back.
With a clash of steel and a spark of flames, the Meyarin stumbled backwards, and only then did Alex focus on his face.
It was Gaiel.
“You!” he cried, before swinging again.
But Alex had fought him before, up in Draekora, and even Claimed as he now was, he was no match for her. In three moves she had him disarmed and on his knees.
“Where’s Aven?” she hissed. When he didn’t answer, she reached forward and grabbed his collar, forcing his attention. “Where is he?”
“Not here,” Gaiel spat, and before she could blink, another Meyarin slammed into her hard enough that she knew the immortal hadn’t just been running, but rather, had used the Valispath to better their impact.
Sprawling onto the ground, Alex had barely a moment to flip onto her back and meet Vaera’s incoming blade. Whether the steely-eyed female had been protecting her father or just acting upon the Claimed order to attack, Alex didn’t know. What she did know was that as a Zeltora warrior, Vaera was a much greater opponent than Gaiel, and Alex’s prone position left her dangerously vulnerable.
“King Aven will be so pleased to see you,” Vaera said, her eyes glazed.
The threat in her tone was enough for Alex to understand something important: Aven wanted to kill her himself. There was no way he’d allow one of his underlings to deny him that pleasure. And because of that, she took a risk that Niyx would have kicked her ass for.
When Vaera came swinging at her again, instead of meeting her weapon, Alex kicked out with her legs to trip the Meyarin. As Vaera stumbled and fell, her blade came unnervingly close to taking out Alex’s eye, thankfully missing the mark but still managing to slice open a shallow cut along her cheek that instantly started dripping blood. But aside from uttering a quick hiss of pain, Alex ignored it and sprang to her feet, pointing A’enara at Vaera’s throat before checking to see what threat Gaiel still posed. She was both relieved and concerned to see that he was now engaged with another Meyarin in a fight against Kaiden and Declan, the two of them having procured swords since their arrival.
Alex wished she could stop and watch them battle back to back; wished she had time to admire the way Kaiden swung his blade before throwing out his free hand, sending Gaiel and the second Meyarin flying without so much as touching them. She wished she could sit back and enjoy the show when two more immortals blurred in to take their place and Kaiden used his arsenal of gifts against them, including streaks of Connor’s lightning and gusts of Kelly’s wind. Any Meyarins who made it past his defences were met with Declan’s blade, the two of them triumphing over all who dared approach.
Regardless of how well they were handling themselves, Alex didn’t want to risk leaving them—or anyone else—without her help for long. Turning back to Vaera, she pressed A’enara closer and repeated her earlier question.
“Where is Aven?” Alex demanded. “Why isn’t he here?”
“He’s looking forward to seeing you real soon, Aeylia,” Vaera said. A strange clarity came to her eyes, her tone dropping as she added in a whisper, as if afraid of being overheard, “But he didn’t know you’d be here, so he never ordered us to deliver you to him. You need to leave, now. Before he gives that command.”
Alex’s brow furrowed at what seemed like a genuine warning, but she didn’t have a chance to ask anything else before Gaiel swooped in on the Valispath to steal his daughter away. Alex could have moved faster and skewered Vaera with her blade—and Gaiel, too—but she knew they were only acting under Aven’s orders. And despite Gaiel’s hatred of Alex having sprouted before he’d been Claimed, she still wasn’t willing to murder him in cold blood. That wasn’t who she was—just as she’d explained to Zaylin earlier that night.
As soon as Gaiel and Vaera were gone, the immediate area around Alex became empty of Meyarins, and she turned to see where she might be needed next. But as she watched, one by one the immortals started falling back, activating the Eternal Path and disappearing from the academy grounds.
It was just as the last one departed and she dropped her guard that three things happened, all at once.
The first was that she heard a whistling sound, as familiar as it was alarming.
The second was that she whirled around to see the Meyarin thug, Skraegon, hiding at the edge of the Ezera Forest, watching gleefully as the dagger that he’d thrown sailed on a trajectory straight for Alex’s heart, the speed and intensity of the coming blade giving her no time to avoid its impact.
But she didn’t have to, because the third thing that happened was that in a burst of shadows and light, Soraya appeared in front of Alex, Skraegon’s blade sinking deep into her side instead.
With a howl of pain, the Shadow Wolf collapsed at Alex’s feet.
“No! Soraya—no!” Alex cried, sinking to her knees as Skraegon disappeared on the Valispath. She reached for the blade that was speared through Soraya’s silky black coat, but despite every instinct telling her to, she knew better than to pull the dagger out. Instead, she helplessly tried to stem the flow of blood while screaming, “FLETCHER! HELP!”
But she needn’t have yelled for the doctor, since he was already sprinting her way, along with Kaiden and Declan who were closest to her, while still more battle-smeared faces joined them.
“Try to keep her still, Alex,” Fletcher ordered as he knelt beside her, his competent hands pressing around the wound while Alex’s moved to hold Soraya’s head.
But Soraya wasn’t a normal creature—she was intelligent beyond comprehension, enough that she didn’t need to be settled. Instead, she lay perfectly still as Fletcher called out for medical supplies, her shallow breaths and quiet whimpers of pain the only indications that something was wrong.
“Why would you do that?” Alex whispered, stroking her glossy black fur, tears leaking from her eyes and stinging the cut on her cheek. But for all Soraya’s intelligence, she couldn’t communicate in words, mental or otherwise
. And yet, as her pain-filled amber eyes locked with Alex’s, it was clear that the wolf had acted upon her protective instincts, and she would do the same over and over again if it meant Alex would be safe.
More tears dripping down her face, Alex turned to Fletcher as Caspar Lennox shadowed to his side with the supplies he’d requested.
“Is she going to be okay?” she asked, aching with phantom pain as a shudder rippled along Soraya’s flesh.
“We’ll need to stabilise her so we can move her to the Med Ward for further treatment,” Fletcher said, smearing a healing salve around the entry wound where the dagger remained embedded in her flesh. “See if you can get her to drink this.”
He handed over a vial filled with green liquid—a strong pain reliever—and Alex balked. “Fletcher—she’s a wolf. Human medicine—”
“—won’t cause her any damage,” he interrupted. “Trust me, Alex. I may not often treat animals, but humans aren’t the only beings I’ve seen to over the years. I wouldn’t give it to her if I thought it would cause more harm than good.”
Having spent considerable time as one of his patients, Alex had faith in his skills enough to believe him, and gently urged Soraya to open her mouth.
As the wolf shuddered anew, Alex desperately wished she still had some laendra left over from her sparring matches with Niyx, but she’d used the last of her supply just before the battle at Graevale. All she could do was hope that Fletcher would be able to heal Soraya with modern medicine, or that he’d at least be able to keep her stable long enough for Alex to find an alternative solution. Maybe Zain and Kyia still had some of the supplies Niyx had provided for them. If not, Alex would venture to Raelia herself, risking the ambush that would surely be awaiting her there. She would do whatever it took—whatever it took—to save her loyal companion.
“Please, Fletcher, how bad is it?” she asked as he continued examining the wound.
“It’s not good, Alex,” he admitted, and she felt her heart sink as her eyes filled with fresh tears. At least until he continued, “But it doesn’t appear the blade has hit any vital organs. I’ll know for certain once we get her back to the Ward and I run some scans, but I think it looks worse than it actually is. Pending any complications, she should start to recover once we get some proper healing medication into her.”