“Hmm,” I muttered, my mind mulling over it. I wondered when I’d manifested. It could’ve been amidst any one of my many panic attacks. “It sounds like how the X gene manifests.”
Trent straightened up, the glimmer in his eyes giving away he was a comic book fan. “You like the X-men?”
“I’ve seen all the movies, but I’m not sure that counts. My best friend, Jackson, is into all of that stuff—he’s a professional gamer.”
“No way! That’s epic.”
“What a world we live in huh? Demons are trying to bring about an apocalypse and playing video games is a legitimate way to make a living.”
“It must be great being human,” he said, taking me by surprise.
“Why would you say that? You’ve got magical powers.”
“Yeah, that we have to hide. Humans get to be anything they want.”
I hesitated, a pang of hopelessness tugging at my heart. These kids only had one path they could follow. They were born to be drafted into war and nothing else.
I wasn’t sure it was such a great future to aspire to, which made it even more important that I find Arondight. It wasn’t just about saving the world, it was about giving these teenagers a life where they could choose who they wanted to be.
I opened my mouth, but I didn’t know what to tell him. This was our burden and that was that. We were the only ones who could stand against the Darkness.
“You should tell Kayla how you feel,” I said. “If she doesn’t feel the same way, then at least you’ll know. It’s better than what you’re putting yourself through right now.”
Trent sighed. “You’re right. We’re graduating this year. I’ve got to man up.”
I thumped him on the back. “That’s the spirit.”
He looked around the clearing, his confidence fading into a frown. “Can you see her?”
I stood and scanned the faces around us, but Kayla wasn’t anywhere. “No, I—”
A scream tore out of the night, shredding through the music and causing everyone to stop and stare at the darkness. Trent rose to his feet, but no one moved as the sound echoed.
Me? I didn’t hesitate. Dropping my empty can, I sprinted into the shadows… directly towards the danger zone.
10
The scream echoed through the clearing and I didn’t hesitate.
I was vaguely aware of the other students falling silent, their heads turning towards the sound as I broke through the tree line. My boots crunched on fallen leaves as I legged it down the path to the stream.
The water bubbled and trickled, all it’s quaintness suddenly too loud in the silence. Using my Light, I sensed someone up ahead—another Natural.
I picked my way over the uneven trail, searching for the student. Clouds had skidded across the moon, obscuring my vision and darkening the night. I wished I hadn’t skipped over the enhanced sight lessons.
When I rounded a bend, I saw them. A dark lump was heaped at the foot of a tree, prone and unresponsive. A shock of blonde hair caught the moonlight and my breath caught.
Kayla.
I fell to my knees beside her and pressed my palm against her forehead. Her skin was clammy to the touch and her temperature was spiking. I could feel it radiating off her in waves. There was no blood or any visible wounds, but it didn’t mean she was going to be okay. Something else could be lurking out here. Something Dark.
My thoughts instantly went to Trent, but he was back at the clearing—he couldn’t have done this. None of the students could have. As far as I could tell, no one had left the clearing, not until we’d heard Kayla’s scream. But then who?
Sensing movement behind me, my head jerked up, but it was only a group of students who’d followed my mad dash into the woods. I was surprised to find it was Trisha, Maisy, and Trent. Maybe they had spines after all.
“Oh my God,” Maisy cried when she saw her friend leaning against the tree.
“Kayla?” Trent hovered over me, panic clear in his features. “What happened? Was it a demon?”
“If it was a demon, the alarms would’ve gone off,” Trisha stated.
Before they could descend into chaos and appoint a mob leader, I stood and shoved Trent down beside Kayla.
“Stay with her,” I ordered. Turning to the others, I assigned duties. “Maisy, go back to the main building and get help. Trisha, go back to the party and make sure everyone stays put until the teachers get here. Use your Light if you have to. If something’s out there, we don’t want anyone else wandering off and getting attacked. Got it?” They stared at me, completely dazed. “Go!”
The two girls sprung into action, sprinting off towards the clearing.
“What are you going to do?” Trent asked.
I whipped my dagger out of my boot. “I’m going to do a sweep of the area.”
His eyes widened when he saw the blade in my hand. “But you’re a student,” he argued. “What about Kayla? What if they come back?”
“Trent,” I slapped my hand onto his shoulder, “you’ve been training for this your whole life. You already know what to do.”
He swallowed hard and nodded, turning his attention back to Kayla. Other than the slight rise and fall of her chest, she hadn’t moved.
I took a step back as I felt his Light flare. I gasped as a curtain of silver strands lowered over the pair, the shimmering tendrils shielding them from harm. The way it fluttered and settled over the two teenagers was beautiful, the glow pulsing in the ancient forest.
That was all it took for me to realise that Trent didn’t just like Kayla—he loved her.
I felt a pang of jealousy but stopped it before it reached too far. Shaking my head, I brandished my dagger and forged into the darkness.
There was a lot of leaf litter and debris on the ground, which made my progress slow. If something was still lurking out there, I didn’t want them to hear me coming. I could’ve used my Light to dampen the crunch of my progress, but I wasn’t sure if whatever had attacked Kayla would be able to sense it. It was probably best to rely on the basics at a time like this.
Damn, I really wish I had my arondight blade. Whatever this thing was, it was too smart to be a lesser demon. If it was a mutated super demon or an Infernal, the most I could do with my Light was give it a zap, and stabbing it with the dagger would only annoy it.
Could I rely on my little shard of Arondight? I wasn’t sure I could take the risk. I mean, I hadn’t tested it out since the Necropolis.
Back-up was coming, I just had to play it cool.
The forest thickened farther downstream, the trees reaching over enough to make a dense canopy. Silver light was filtering through the branches, creating little moonbeams that danced across the darkened shadows.
I could sense movement all around. Animals stirred in the distance, fish swam lazily in the stream, an owl hooted as it hunted for its dinner, and the footsteps of a small red fox rustled as it lurked in the underbrush.
It wasn’t long before I felt out the outer edges of the Academy grounds, the barrier warding this place from the human world buzzed like a live electric fence. But there was something off about the way the sound reached me…
I kept moving, scanning the forest and making sure my grip was tight around the hilt of my dagger. I took another step and the taste of copper filled my mouth. Gagging, I spat, but it was still there. I remembered the demonology teacher talking about the various effects demons had on Naturals—rank smells, sounds, vibrations in the air, hallucinations, taste. They could all be hallmarks of something Dark.
The taste faded as I caught sight of a clearing ahead. A branch snapped, the sound echoing through the stillness and I froze. The sound came from ahead and my heartbeat sped up as I realised the predicament I’d gotten myself into.
I was alone in a dark forest, with a demon lurking in the shadows, and all I had was a dagger. Good going, Scarlett.
Movement pulled my attention forwards. One step to the right and I saw them. Two figures stood in a cl
earing, talking intently.
Inching forwards, I leaned against the trunk of a tree and peered around the snarl of bark. One figure was shrouded and the other was standing in a shaft of moonlight.
It was a boy, a student by the looks of him. He was just a kid and his body had been overtaken by an Infernal. I could sense its stink from all the way over here, the rasp in its voice was a giveaway as was the silver flash in its eyes as he turned.
The other figure was harder to make out. Wreathed in Darkness and shadows, the only thing I could tell about them was that they were something more. I remembered what Markzoth looked like, and it was nothing like this. He was a shadow inhabiting a body made up of stitched together body parts, but this creature seemed to be whole in a way the greater demon hadn’t been.
Tall and slender, the figure was nothing more than a shadow, an inky stain on the forest around it. It was using its power to conceal its identity, even from the Infernal that stood before it.
Was this the mutated Natural we suspected was lurking on the Academy grounds? If it was, it was nothing like Jackson. Maybe we were too late… or maybe it was something else entirely.
“You were reckless,” the Infernal hissed. “Recklesssss…”
“She deserved it,” the creature replied. Their voice was so twisted, I couldn’t tell if it was male or female.
“Scarlett Ravenwood is here. The one touched by Arondight.”
The creature scoffed, “She’s pathetic. She can’t even control her Light. She’s no threat to us.”
My mouth fell open. Pathetic? I killed a greater demon! If I had my arondight blade, I’d teach them a thing or two.
“They already suspect we have infiltrated their school,” the Infernal said. “Now they will have evidence.”
“I’ll handle it,” the shadow replied. “You gave me this power so I could stand up to them. That’s what I did.”
“Recklessssss!” the Infernal hissed, bearing its teeth at the creature.
Before I knew what was happening, the shadow creature raised its hand and slashed at the demon, tearing the boy’s throat open.
The boy let out an unearthly wail, the demon inside him shredding his vocal chords. The creature pulled away, then leapt across the clearing and through the tree line to the northeast. The Infernal roared and dragged itself south, away from my position in the west.
I had one second to make a choice… and I chose to go after the Infernal.
Leaping into the clearing, I sprinted towards the demon. He writhed on the ground, blood gurgling in his throat. I stood over him and silver eyes flashed as they met mine, his lips curving into a bloody grin.
“There you are!” it exclaimed. “Scarlett Ravenwood. Too late.”
“I won’t let an innocent boy die because of you,” I snarled.
It began to laugh hysterically. “You’d save one when you risk the lives of many?”
“Every life matters.”
“You ran after the wrong demon.” It bared its teeth and used the last of the boy’s strength to lunge at me.
I plunged the cold iron dagger into its chest with a cry, forcing the body back onto the ground. The boy’s mouth gaped as a plume of black smoke poured out of him, his chest rising off the forest floor and his arms flailing.
I slapped my palm over his throat, and blood seeped through my fingers at an alarming rate. I forced my Light into the wound, willing it to seal shut as the Infernal swirled in a confused tornado above me. The pulse of blood seemed to slow and I lifted my palm. A torn gash still gaped across his throat, but he was out of danger… for now.
The Infernal crackled and righted itself in a whoosh of static electricity. I’d excised it from the boy, but now I was completely exposed.
Holding up my hands, I called on my Light, and the cloud of smoke began to emit its own little electrical storm in responce.
“I know you can hear me,” I snarled. “If you’ve done anything to that kid, I swear I’ll make it hurt.”
The Infernal expanded and contracted. I supposed that meant it was angry. It was hard to tell what a swirling cloud of putrid black smoke was feeling, let alone saying.
The clearing began to glow with a dull shade of indigo as I gathered my strength. I was able to kill Markzoth with a zap of my little slice of Arondight, so why not a lower demon? There was only one way to find out.
“You know who I am,” I taunted. “You know what I did in the Necropolis.”
The Infernal flared, sparking and swirling.
“Don’t think I can’t do the same to you, because I can,” I warned. “I don’t need an arondight blade to send you back to Hell.”
The Infernal flew at me and I dodged to the side, throwing a blast of Light at it. I missed and got a tree instead, the bark cracking and exploding in a shower of splinters. Cursing, I readied myself as the demon came back for seconds.
It rushed at me with incredible speed and my foot caught on the uneven ground. I fell, landing hard on my arse. The Infernal kept coming…
An arondight blade sparked over me and sliced through the cloud of smoke. It burst into flame, the heat burning my cheeks, and I was forced to shield myself with my arms.
Please don’t be Wilder, please don’t be Wilder…
“I can’t say I’m surprised, Purples,” he said, his surly tone not surprising. “You do have a knack for running headfirst into danger. We have to do something about getting you de-magnetised.”
I groaned, my face flushing from more than a demon fireball, and sat up.
“You know, it was stupid to go after it on your own. It could’ve possessed you, then we’d all be screwed.”
“It can’t possess me,” I stated. “Arondight protects me.”
Wilder snorted as if he knew I was bluffing. “I’m sure they said the same thing the day of the cataclysm.”
Pursing my lips, I climbed to my feet and dusted off my aching arse. I turned towards the boy, but he was just as I’d left him, knife and all.
“Do you know the kid?” Wilder asked.
“Not really. He’s in one of the junior classes, I think.” I looked at the dagger sticking out of his chest and couldn’t stop the pang of despair. He was barely fifteen and now—
“He’ll have to get tested,” Wilder said, kneeling over him.
“His throat—”
“You stopped the bleeding, Purples. He’s going to live.”
A commotion in the forest broke through the still night and I spun on my heel just as three Naturals appeared—my combat instructor, Scottish Patrick, then Masters appeared out of the gloom, followed closely by Adelaide. They all had their arondight blades in their hands, ready to fight.
“Hell,” Masters cursed as he saw the kid on the ground. “That’s Stewart Granger.”
“Poor boy.” Adelaide knelt next to him and checked his temperature. “He’s burning up.”
“He needs to go to the infirmary,” Patrick said. “What was it? It stinks like an Infernal.”
“Yeah,” Wilder said, eyeing me. “It was a particularly nasty one.”
“I’ll take him,” Masters said as he picked up the boy. “You should sweep the rest of the grounds. It mightn’t be alone.”
“What about Kayla?” I asked. “She was in pretty bad shape. I don’t know what it did to her, but she was out cold.”
The other teachers looked at me as if they were seeing me for the first time. None seemed surprised that I was here, but there was too much going on to ponder the why.
“One of the other instructors has her, Purples,” Wilder said. “You should go back, too.”
“But—”
“I know you want to help, but you’re unarmed and we need to protect you, too.” He gave me a stern look before turning towards the dark forest.
Patrick and Adelaide had already moved off, and I could hear their footsteps crunching as they passed through the trees.
I grabbed Wilder’s arm, my skin zinging from the contact. He narrowed his
eyes, but didn’t pull away.
“There was someone else out here,” I whispered. “A dark shadow. I couldn’t get a good look at them, but I think it was a mutated Natural.”
He tilted his head to the side.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” I said, answering his unasked question. “And I haven’t learned about it in any book. It wasn’t anything like Jackson, it was… more.”
Wilder nodded, his gaze searching mine. “I’ll keep an eye out.”
I stared at him, but all I could see was him and Greer locked in a passionate embrace. I jerked my hand away and took a step back. Wilder frowned, his eyes flashing silver in the half-light.
“No heroics,” he said. “Go straight back to the Academy. Being the reckless hero is my cliché, and I can’t have you stealing my title.”
“Wilder…”
“Go,” he said. “Those kids trust you. If you’re lucky, they might even look up to you now.”
He was right. As much as I wanted to go out into the world and fight, there were other battles that needed warriors. Tonight, I had to go make sure the queen bee of the Academy was okay.
“Am I going to get into trouble over this?” I asked.
“For running headfirst into danger with only a contraband dagger to protect yourself with?” Wilder smirked. “Of course you are, Purples.”
Great, it looked like I was finally going to find out what Natural detention looked like.
Turning, I made my way through the forest and back towards the lights of the Academy. Somewhere in the darkness behind me, Wilder and the others were searching for a shadow that may or may not be the mutated student we’d been sent here to find.
A part of me was hoping it wasn’t true, that we were worried over nothing, but I’d seen it. It knew who I was and how much I sucked at Light studies. The Academy was in deep shite.
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