TREY.
About thirty feet ahead of us, down a little hill, Trey was crouched on one knee digging with his hands in the dirt of the riverbank. And he wasn’t alone.
We froze.
A dozen men dressed in black spotted us instantly. Their eyes widened.
My pulse skyrocketed. My magic surged in my veins, ready to attack.
For a second, we all just stared.
One of the men whispered something, and then Trey looked up. His brown eyes met mine. He wore the face of a friend, and that was the part that hurt so bad.
The moon expanded into a full circle and sank lower in the sky. White light glistened on the edges of leaves and blades of grass. A wide river sliced through the clearing from up on the mountain to our right then down and around a curve behind Trey until it disappeared into the forest again. The river water rushed by, sounding like a summer rainstorm.
But all of that I registered in the back of my mind. All of my concentration was on Trey and his crew of men. None of us moved. I watched Trey. I watched him eye up my friends and calculate his odds.
What are you doing out here? I glanced down at his hands. They were covered in dirt. There was a mound of dirt next to the hole so I couldn’t see what he was digging for. I looked back up and met his stare. I arched one eyebrow.
His eyes flashed. He looked down to his hole in the ground, then back up at me.
His mouth moved. The men screamed a vicious battle cry then charged for us.
Cold air washed over me, and then silver body armor covered me from shoulder to toe.
Cooper thrust one dagger in the air and made a war call of his own, and then we were sprinting forward. Lily pushed to the front and threw one palm up. A thick stream of bright golden sunlight poured from her hand. The men in the front hissed and threw their arms up to shield their eyes. Henley fired missiles of white magic into their chests.
I kept my eyes on Trey.
While his men came for us, he scrambled to dig faster and faster. His movements were panicked and sloppy. He didn’t look up once.
I got you, bastard.
My sword was strapped to my back, but I had bigger fish to fry. Whatever he was digging for, I was going to take it. I pumped my arms and pushed harder. My long legs carried me across the field quicker than the men probably expected. Three of them dove for me, their bodies turning to shadow with only their swords in sight. I dropped into a baseball slide and threw my hands up. Ice shot out and created a tunnel over my head. I pushed my magic through my body to my feet, and the ground froze.
I slid feet first right into Trey.
The heels of my Converses slammed into his stomach and sent him flying back. I leapt up and pounced on him. He was already starting to move, and if he got to his weapon, I would lose my shot. Trey was a highly trained fighter, and I was still a rookie.
But I had my tricks.
I thrust the heel of my hand right into the base of his nose. His head snapped back, and he screamed out in pain as blood gushed. I flexed my fingers, and ice wrapped around his throat, pinning him to the ground. I jumped off of him and scrambled over to where he’d been digging— My eyes widened.
Sitting about a foot or two deep was a small wooden treasure chest about the length of my hand.
I reached down and grabbed it, then jumped back to my feet and took off running.
“BETTINA!!” Trey screamed. “We’ll get you! You won’t win!”
His screaming distracted his own shadow-men just enough for my Coven-mates to see me sprinting by them. They dropped and raced after me.
“GET THEM! GET THE BOX! GO!” Trey bellowed.
I cursed and pushed my legs to go faster. I had absolutely no idea what was in this box or why it was so important, but I wasn’t going to take the time to figure that out now. We were six on thirteen, and they were shadows. We didn’t even know how to kill them. Part of me worried I shouldn’t have left Trey alive, but killing him might’ve cost me my chance to grab the box. And it could’ve gotten my friends hurt. I prayed I’d made the right decision.
Easton laughed like a wild man behind me. “GIRL, WHAT DID YOU DO?”
“I don’t know! But I got their buried treasure!” I screamed back.
Whatever it was, we needed to get it back to Tegan to figure out. We needed the protection of our entire Coven. We just needed to slow these shadows down. I glanced over my shoulder and gasped. They were too close. A few feet behind. They’d be on us in no time.
Bright golden light exploded behind me. I glanced back over my shoulder just as thick vines the size of my body shot out of the ground and blocked the shadows’ path.
“That’s not gonna hold ‘em for long!” Royce yelled as we raced through the trees.
I flicked my hands out left and right, over and over, shooting walls of ice between us and them. It wouldn’t keep them forever, but I was hoping it would give us a little head start. We just had to make it back to Eden before they caught up to us.
I pushed my magic through my heels. TEGAN! THEY’RE COMING! FIGHT! BE READY!
TEGAN! TEGAN, HEAR ME! WE’RE COMING! BE READY!
Chapter Fifty
Bettina
We were fifty feet from Eden when an army of shadow-men leapt out from the tree line to my left. I heard a rumble behind me and then Trey’s furious screaming. Eden was still too far away. I saw the brick buildings, but we weren’t going to make it in time.
TEGAN! HELP!
Something hit my feet, and then I was airborne, catapulted into the sky like a rocket. I screamed as I soared a few stories off the ground. I tried to shoot an ice ramp to catch me, but I was flying too fast. My heart was racing.
A dark shadow cut across the night sky. I gasped and braced myself.
And then a warm arm snaked around my body and we flipped. I smelled fresh rain, and then golden glittery wings wrapped around us. My eyes widened. TENN! I glanced over my shoulder and recognized his sharp jawline and long black hair. He scooped my legs up and then landed in a perfect crouch on the ground.
He dropped his hold on me and backed away. The ground rumbled and shook under my feet. A wall of shadow-men charged for us. Cooper, Henley, and Easton raced ahead of them. Lily and Royce were right behind, shooting their magic in desperation.
Trey emerged from the trees and screamed, “BETTINA!”
Tenn spun around with wide eyes. “What—”
“I stole this box, but I don’t know what it is!” I shouted in a rush and held it up for him to see.
A few shadows popped up in front of us. I cursed and shot ice around their feet. In the blink of an eye, Tenn tapped his golden bands and summoned Michael’s sword. The six-foot-long weapon glowed like a supernova. Tenn swung it through the shadows like it was any regular weapon. But as this blade hit their shadowy forms, they shrieked in pain and crumbled to dust at our feet.
“TENN!” Cooper shouted, and I heard an unfamiliar panic in his voice.
Tenn’s eyes widened. He looked down at the sword, then to me. I nodded and jumped to my feet. Together we raced toward our friends through an army of shadows. I froze their feet then Tenn sliced them back to the Creator. The two of us worked as a team, freezing and slicing. Tenn’s entire body was glowing.
Portal in five…four…
“BUBBLE!” Tenn screamed.
A gust of wind pushed a fleet of shadow-men right toward us—and away from our friends. I pulled my sword off my back then slammed the blade into the ground, pushing with all of my power. A bright pink bubble shot out and dropped over us.
Three…two…
The shadow-men had no time to stop. Or maybe that was Tenn’s wind pushing them toward us. But they smashed into my pink bubble at full speed. A few of them flew backward. Most of them shrieked and exploded into dust.
ONE!
Bright white flashed and sucked Cooper, Henley, Easton, Lily, and Royce right up.
Then it was gone. Without us. But I understood why. The shadow-army
was too close.
Trey was gunning right for me, his eyes full of murderous hate. I glared back at him.
Tenn cursed. Then he leapt forward and plucked me off the ground. We shot straight up through my pink bubble.
MY SWORD. I gasped and reached out to grab it, but we were already in the air. But then it wobbled and shot out of the ground then flew into Tenn’s open palm. His golden wings flapped twice—and then we landed on the grass right next to Tegan.
“She stole something,” Tenn said and tossed my sword to me. Then he flew off like an avenging angel into the thick of the shadows.
Tegan flicked rainbow-colored balls of magic into the shadow-army then glanced over her shoulder at me. “Stole—"
“Take it!” I held the wooden treasure box up.
“TINA!” Trey screamed and barreled toward us. He pointed at me. “HER!”
“Oh, shit.” I jumped up and thrust the box into Tegan’s arms. “Take it, take it, take it!”
She grabbed it with one hand then fired a massive orb of magic right into Trey’s face. Then she turned and flexed her fingers. A wooden treasure chest identical to the one I stole appeared in her hands out of thin air.
She shoved that one into my chest and leaned forward. Decoy. RUN.
I nodded and spun around to run when a vine lunged out from the dirt then wrapped around three shadow-men. They started to turn back to shadows, but smoke billowed from under the vine. The men shrieked in agony then melted into puddles on the dirt. My eyes widened.
Royce flew back cackling and cheering. “WOO! Poison Roycy is here to play!”
Tegan turned to me with wild eyes as Royce melted two more shadows.
I grimaced. “Tell you later!”
It went against every instinct to run away from Tegan. But whatever this treasure chest was, it meant something. Enough for them to attack us when they knew we’d be ready. Which meant this decoy was crucial, and I had to get it away from the real one.
Red lightning flashed in front of me. I dropped and slid under it as a wave of red mist sucked in a few shadow-men. I rolled out of the way, and then Emersyn lit them on fire. A massive hand gripped my hair and dragged me up to my feet. Kessler barely glanced at me before he stormed off toward Chutney.
I started to turn to check on Tegan when my gaze landed on a large figure standing between two trees.
Joseph.
He stood there watching me in human form, and somehow, it was even creepier than him being a shadow. Because that way he was an obvious monster…but this looked normal. And that’s what made my blood curl. His gaze lingered on me for another moment then flicked down to the chest gripped in my arms.
A soul-chilling smile spread across his face.
And then he vanished into a dark cloud.
My heart twisted. I turned and sprinted forward. Something jumped out and tackled me. We flew backward until my shoulders hit the cold, hard dirt. I cursed in pain, and we flipped into the air then crashed back to the ground. I coughed and spit dirt out of my mouth. Everything was kind of dark with nighttime and the shadows, so I couldn’t really make out what was above me except for flashes of magic and lightning.
I thrashed and tried to get up, but something was weighing me down. A dark figure pushed up, and I recognized the shaggy brown hair and chocolate eyes. Trey. He pinned one shoulder to the ground, then pulled his arm back and slapped his palm right across my face. Pain laced up my cheek.
“Bitch,” Trey hissed and smacked me again with the backside of his hand on the other side of my face.
He straddled me, pinning me to the ground. I snarled and spit at him, but it was ice not saliva. It hit his cheek, and half his face froze. He yelled and swung his fist right at my face. At the last second, I summoned a plank of ice above me, and his fist slammed right into it. The ice shattered and Trey cursed. Blood dripped onto my face.
I called on my Black Widow fight moves and swung both legs up. I braced myself on the ground and hooked my legs around his neck—then pulled. He choked and gagged as his back hit the ground. I sat up and slammed the wooden treasure chest right into his groin. He wailed. I dropped my hold and scrambled back to my feet.
The fight still raged on around me. I wanted to check on Tegan, but I couldn’t risk Trey and Joseph realizing I had a decoy so I sprinted away from her. I ran through the shadow-army, flicking my ice as I ran. I didn’t know where I was going though. I needed a game plan—
Heat wrapped around my ankles, and my feet locked in place. My body flew forward, then my face hit the ground. My ears rang a high-pitched squeal. I pushed up on my hands, and the world spun. My stomach rolled. C’mon, Tina, keep moving. You have to get up.
Something gripped me by the back of the head and yanked me back. I gasped and tried to fight them off with my magic, but there was a strange delay in my thoughts and movements. Everything was slightly blurry.
The back of my head slammed into something hard, and pain echoed down into my limbs. I hissed and threw my hands up—they flew together like magnets. Warmth wrapped around my wrists. I tried to pull them apart, but they weren’t budging.
Trey hovered over me with a sick, self-satisfied smile. He picked up the wooden treasure chest and wiggled it in my face. When I tried to move, he laughed then covered my mouth with his palm. “Tsk, tsk. Thanks for making this so easy.” Then he winked and jumped off of me.
I started to scream, but my mouth was sealed shut. My pulse skipped. Adrenaline rushed through my veins.
Trey leaned over me and laughed. “Don’t worry. You’re used to these confinements by now.”
Then he was gone.
I screamed, but it made no sound because of my invisible duct tape. My wrists and ankles were bound tightly. I couldn’t even try to get enough leeway to rip apart. No, no, no, no, no. Not again. I’d had these before, just like he’d said. When they arrested me for murdering Timothy, they strapped these on me. There was no breaking these by force. I knew from experience.
Trey had taken the decoy. I didn’t care, but I needed to see where he went and where everyone else was. I needed to know they were safe. But I also needed Tegan to get me free. It took me a minute or two to roll onto my stomach then push myself up on my knees. When I got upright, the world spun in circles. I groaned and blinked a few times until my vision began to clear.
Then I spotted Trey. At the very edge of the forest. He paused to give a final glance, then slipped between trees. I was about to look away when I saw Joseph lurking in the darkness. He met my eyes then winked. Then they both disappeared.
I turned, expecting to see the other shadows fleeing for Joseph, but they didn’t. The fight was absolute madness. We were severely outnumbered, five to one, at least. We had to do something. I tried to scream and beg for help, but everyone was busy fighting for their lives.
Everyone except me. I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t move my hands. I couldn’t even cry for help.
The ground rumbled and shook. Some of the shadows stopped and fled back to the forest with smiles on their faces.
And then a wave of maple syrup rushed over Eden like a tsunami.
I froze.
Demons.
The trees in the distance swayed like something out of Jurassic Park, and then four massive black creatures the size of school buses dove for us. Magic and lightning soared over my head and slammed into one of the demons. It hissed then merged with the other one. My eyes widened. Those two demons had just become one.
Deacon cursed violently behind me. “MORPHER! PULL BACK!”
I glanced over my shoulder and saw pure fear on their faces. Emersyn jumped up then pointed way over to the left and mouthed the word Tenn. I followed her point, and my stomach tightened into knots. Tenn was at the back of the battlefield, and he had to be fighting off two dozen of them himself. Everyone was thick in battle. They could stop fighting the shadows, but they’d be overrun.
But the demons were coming.
I tried to push up to my feet ag
ain, but it was no use. I couldn’t even scream.
I looked up just as the three demons merged into a massive cat-like creature. And it was coming straight for me like I had a demon target on my forehead.
Oh no. No, no, no. This isn’t good.
No one else was close enough. They weren’t going to make it. There were too many shadows. My heart lodged in my throat. I lifted my bound hands up and held my palms up. My whole body trembled. The ground shook with each of the mega-demon’s steps as it barreled toward me. Venom dripped from its fangs. Its bright red eyes were fixed on me.
I summoned my power and energy then screamed through the binding. I pushed with every ounce of magic I had left inside of me. I screamed for Erin. I screamed for Timothy. I screamed for all those innocent lives stolen. I screamed and pushed with everything I had.
Glittery white dust exploded out of me. A wall of ice shot up out of the ground at the edge of the forest, blocking shadows from getting in or out. The wall went all the way up to the clouds. Shadows crashed into it then collapsed to the ground.
I pushed harder with my magic. I pushed until snow covered their bodies and they froze against the wall instantly. The ground went slick with ice and people dropped. My ears popped. My eyes burned. But I pushed even harder.
Shadow-men froze mid step as they tried to flee.
The bottom half of the morpher demon turned to ice, and it collapsed on the ground. Tennessee flew over my head then landed on the demon’s back. He swung Michael’s sword through its skull, and the demon burst into dust. Tenn looked up at me with wide eyes.
I sighed and released my magic. Heat exploded in my chest like a volcanic eruption. My blood turned to magma and scorched a trail through my body. I was on fire, burning from the inside out. I screamed and curled over.
Chapter Fifty-One
Bettina
I sucked in air through my nose, and it was like swallowing a branding iron.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 104