“Scarlett?”
I turned, my heart leaping into my throat. I sighed in relief as I caught sight of Madeleine lingering at the back of the chapel.
“Hey,” I said, my voice echoing off the stone. “You scared the absolute crap outta me.”
“Sorry,” she said, shuffling forwards.
I looked her over, sensing something was amiss. “Is everything okay?”
“Can…” She took a deep breath. “Can I sit with you?”
“Of course.” I patted the stone next to me and she sat, shoving her hands underneath her thighs. “What’s up?”
“You said I could talk to you,” she began, her shoulders hunched. “I was hoping…”
“I’m all ears,” I declared with a smile.
Madeleine fell into silence, her entire body tense. I waited, allowing her to gather her thoughts in her own time. Forcing her to let out all her issues wouldn’t help anyone. Besides, the simple fact that she’d gathered enough courage to come to me was enough.
“You’ve been through so much,” she murmured after a long moment, her eyes misting. “How are you so strong?”
“Sometimes I wonder that myself,” I replied. “But I think it comes down to the choices I made. I don’t have to sit down and take the bad stuff. I can choose to stand up and fight.”
“What if it’s unavoidable? What if the choice is taken away from you?”
I hesitated, shivering as the air turned cold. My gaze met hers. “Madeline?”
She choked back a sob and grasped my hand, a sharp bolt of electricity passing between us. Her Light sparked abrasively against mine, a hint of Darkness reacting to the shard of Arondight lodged within me.
How did I miss this? I’d seen so much of her in myself, I’d ignored what was right in front of me, that’s how. I believed what I’d wanted to.
“How?” I whispered, my heart breaking. Two Naturals, not one… “Do you remember being possessed?”
She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. “I’m so scared, Scarlett.”
“I know, but you have to tell me everything you can. Whatever’s gong on here, we have to stop it.”
“I don’t remember,” she said. “I started losing time. A few hours here and there. I’d wake up tired and things would go missing in my room. Then I started losing entire days, and one day… I started to see things.”
“See things?”
“Like someone else was living my life and I was trapped inside, watching, helpless. I knew something had a hold of me, but there was nothing I could do. I fought it, Scarlett, I really did… but it fed off my misery.”
“That’s why you attacked Kayla.” Oh, Madeleine…
“It wasn’t me,” she cried. “It’s this thing inside me.”
“Human Convergence,” I whispered.
“What?”
How did I tell her she was possessed by an Infernal who infected her with a possible irreversible mutation? Gently.
“Madeleine…” I sighed. “There’s no easy way to say this. You were possessed by an Infernal who infected you with something that’s taking control of your body.”
“What?” She stared at me with big eyes and I grasped her shoulders.
“The same thing happened to my best friend Jackson. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I know some people who can help you.”
“They can fix me?” she whispered. “It doesn’t feel like it’ll ever go away.”
“I don’t know… but you have to keep fighting, okay?” She nodded and I offered her a reassuring smile. “We have to go find Wilder.”
She paled. “Mr. Wilder?”
I nodded. “He’ll help us get back to the London Sanctum. The doctor there, Ramona… she’s great. And you can meet Jackson. He’s really good at the whole strength thing.” I rose to my feet and gestured for her to come.
“But…” she glanced at the door then back to me, her anxiety etched deep on her face, “I’m…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”
She stood, wavering from side to side, then her hand shot out and she grasped my upper arm. “Scarlett, wait.”
Her skin had turned a sickly shade of grey and she lurched forwards as if something was twisting her stomach.
I held her steady, my heart racing. “Madeleine?”
“They know everything,” she blurted, trying to force the words out of her mouth. The mutation must be trying to stop her. “The coin, the Order, who Mr. Thompson thinks your mother is, that you hold a shard of Arondight… They know all of it. They know everything about you.”
“They know about the shard?” I asked with a shake of my head. “I never told anyone about that.”
“The thing inside me can sense it,” she said, her eyes wild. “They want you, Scarlett. Above all else, they want you.”
It was then that I realised Madeleine had been in Aiden’s office right before I’d found all of his research. It was the shadow who’d left Darkness there in an attempt to frame him and buy more time. That meant Aiden was innocent. Aiden was innocent…
“The coin is the key,” Madeleine hissed, her fingers biting into my skin.
“The key to what?”
“To the resting place of Arondight,” she rasped. “The key, the shard, and the stones.”
I stared at her, the pieces falling into place. The coin must be a key and I was the only one who could use it. As for the standing stones, wherever they were hidden, that’s where we’d find Arondight.
The race was well and truly on, but I had two out of the three pieces they believed we needed.
“We need to get you to safety,” I said. “Can you walk?”
“I can feel it trying… to take… over…” She grimaced, and I tightened my grip.
“I’m not going to leave you, okay?” I soothed. “We’re going to find Wilder and we’re getting you out of here.”
Tears began to fall from her eyes. “I’m scared.”
I didn’t have any words to reassure her. Instead, I helped her move towards the exit. The only thing we could do was get her to Ramona as fast as we were able.
“Scarlett… I can’t…” Madeleine let out a wail and her fingers clawed at her head. “Help me…”
The teen began to convulse as she fought the monster inside her, her consciousness seeming to fade from one to the other.
“Madeleine!” I slapped her across the face, my palm stinging. “Fight it!”
Her head snapped to the side, and when she turned back towards me, her eyes began to swirl and shift into two black orbs. Her lips curved into an evil grin, and I knew the mutation inside her had taken control. Was this the fate that’d been waiting for Jackson? Oh, Madeleine…
“It’s too late,” the shadow rasped. “The girl is gone, and it’s only a matter of hours until everyone here is ripped apart.”
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, shaking it. Madeleine’s head lolled back and forth, the creature inside her laughing. “Tell me!”
“The key, the shard, the stones…” it chortled. “It’s a fine night for a cataclysm.”
“No…”
They wanted to destabilise the Naturals by going for their children… and I’d done all the research on Arondight they need to move forward. Now I was alone with the shadow, in prime position to be snatched by the demons. Three birds, one stone.
A piercing shriek tore through the air, followed by a long wail that throbbed deep in my eardrums. I slapped my hands over my ears, stumbling backwards.
The alarms!
“It’s already begun,” the shadow declared, moving towards me. “You belong to us now, Scarlett Ravenwood. Death is upon you.”
A burst of Darkness slammed into me and I was hurled into the air, twisting over and over until I hit the wall of the chapel with a bang. I landed hard, the air pushing out of my lungs.
“I’m not letting you take me,” I rasped, dragging myself across the floor, “and I’m definitely not let
ting you take Madeleine.”
The shadow loomed over me. “It’s over, Natural. You belong to us now.”
“Nuh ah,” I declared, pushing to my knees. “You said it yourself. I’ve got the shard.”
I launched upwards, ramming my shoulder into the shadow’s gut and we hurtled across the chapel, propelled by a burst of indigo Light. The creature shrieked with Madeleine’s voice, attempting to call on its Darkness, but I was faster.
As we collided with the altar, I grabbed its shoulders as we rolled. Thankfully, I landed on top, and with one swift movement, I’d flipped my cold iron dagger into my hand and struck.
I rammed it through the shadow’s shoulder, the blade sinking through flesh and bone, finally embedding into the stone beneath.
The creature wailed and thrashed in pain, but it was well and truly stuck. The Naturals were fighting back, and the power that was bound within the stone beneath us held the demon in its grasp. It wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, that’s for sure.
Madeleine’s eyes flashed, returning to their Natural state, and she screamed, her hands clawing at the dagger.
“Scarlett,” she cried, her body shuddering in pain.
“I’m sorry, Madeleine,” I murmured, smoothing back her hair. “The alarms have sounded, which means—”
“We’re under attack.”
I nodded.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
“I know. It isn’t your fault, you hear? This isn’t your fault.”
Her mouth opened and closed, and I could tell from the look in her eyes that she blamed herself. Maybe she would for a long time if she came out the other side of this.
“You’ll be safe here,” I said, reaching for my arondight blade. “When this is over, I’ll come back for you, okay? Then we’ll go to London together.”
She nodded, her bottom lip trembling. “Scarlett?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t want to die.”
My heart twisted and I moved to my knees. Stroking her hair away from her face, I took her hand and squeezed. “You’re not going to die, Madeleine. I’m going to go kick some demon arse, then we’ll go see the doc, okay?”
Her eyes drooped and she swallowed hard.
“Just hang tight, okay?”
“Okay…”
As I ran from the chapel and out into the night, I wondered if I’d just made her a promise I couldn’t keep.
17
Sprinting across the lawn, I made my way towards the Academy.
The alarms were still wailing, the sound tearing my eardrums to pieces. A shriek pierced through the unbearable sound, and I whirled, my boots skidding on the grass.
The horizon was streaked with the ominous colours of a fiery sunset—all red and orange, mixed with the fading blue of the spring sky.
A bright pulse of Light drew my attention to the north, where I also found a writhing mass of lesser demons streaking across the grounds.
Shite. The wards were down, which meant nothing was protecting the Academy’s borders.
I changed course, doing what I did best—run headfirst into danger.
I brought my arondight blade to life, trailing violet sparks in my wake. Sprinting through the first wave of lesser demons, I swung, striking with deadly precision. I cried out as my sword cut through bone and sinew, the rotting corpses collapsing in on themselves as their demon hosts bit the proverbial dust.
The sickly stench of rot filled the air as several of the possessed corpses turned and charged. I leapt, pirouetting and cutting down anything that came within reach. I knew if they were able to get onto the grounds, nothing would stop them from overrunning everything in their path.
They must not reach the Academy buildings, or they’d destroy everything we’d worked for. The students, the teachers, and the relics inside the library were all under threat.
Another scream tore through the air, and I cried out as I cut down the last lesser demon. Its flesh bubbled and spit as my arondight blade severed its head from its retch-inducing shoulders. The shell the demon inhabited used to be a human once, which didn’t make fighting them any easier, but at least their soul had already departed their body. The humans the lessers took over were spared that fate at least.
Jumping over the carnage, I ran towards the scream, my breath heaving and burning my lungs—and I thought I was getting used to all the physical exertion in this place.
That’s when I saw Trent and Kayla surrounded and unarmed, fighting back a group of lesser demons with their Light.
I charged, taking the enemy by surprise, and cut them down one by one.
Hands grabbed Kayla from behind, and she screamed as her head was wrenched back. Teeth darted for her jugular and I sprung, slamming my blade through the demon’s skull. I pulled back as the corpse crumpled to the lawn, and Kayla fell against the wall with a cry.
“Are you okay?” I asked, grasping her shoulder with my free hand.
She nodded, her eyes glassy. “I-I think so.”
I glanced around, checking for movement, but all was still. My training told me that we’d just experienced the first wave of many. The scouts—or the cannon fodder as Wilder called them—were testing our defences, looking for weak points to exploit before sending in the heavy artillery.
Long story short, the shite had not even hit the fan yet.
“I think that’s all of them for now,” I said. “Let’s get you two inside.”
Trent slung his arm around Kayla’s waist, and we began to move around the side of the building towards the gym.
A shockwave rumbled through the ground and I held up my hand, halting the others.
“What’s that?” Kayla asked.
Trent glanced at me. “It feels like an earthquake.”
The ground shook again, and this time, it kept going. Boom, boom, boom, boom… like approaching footsteps of doom.
“It’s a Colossus!” Trent exclaimed, jabbing his finger across the grounds.
I followed his wild gestures and my heart stopped as I saw what was making all the mini-earthquakes. A giant mass was lumbering towards us, its clubbed fists swinging back and forth.
It had to be over twelve feet tall, its body made up of stitched together clumps of flesh and steel plates. Even from this distance, I could feel the electric charge pulsing through the mass of muscle and sinew. Inside, I knew there was a ball of Darkness powering the lumbering mass and it was being controlled by something more potent.
Its head was fat and distorted with tufts of hair sticking up in all directions. Bulbous eyeballs protruded out of its hashed-up skull, and its mouth was on an unnatural slant. I didn’t want to even get started with its teeth.
So this was the Colossus Aldrich fought solo at the Sanctum? Holy cow…
“Run!” I commanded. “Get to the gym. I’ll hold it off.”
Trent’s eyes were almost falling out of his head with fear. “But—”
“I said run!” I felt the shard of Arondight flare inside me, and for a split-second, the world was tinted violet.
Their eyes widened and they turned, making their way towards the gym. I followed them a short distance, intending to draw the Colossus across the lawn and away from the Academy, but as we rounded the corner, a wall of demons were waiting for us.
Their glassy eyes stared at us, their bent and broken limbs dangling at odd angles. The sound of laboured breathing filled the air and I grasped Trent’s arm, pulling the students behind me.
“What now?” he hissed, his voice breaking.
“Follow my lead,” I replied. “If anything comes at you, push it back with your Light.”
“I really wish we had arondight blades,” Kayla whispered with tears in her eyes. Yeah, so did I.
We moved backwards, inching away form the line of demons. Their beady eyes were glued to us, but they didn’t attack, they just edged creepily after us like a wall of lumbering, disinterested zombies. Something was controlling them.
<
br /> We’d have to cut through the building, risking a breach of the administration wing, but there was no other way around without drawing the ire of the giant lumbering across the lawn.
The ground shook as the Colossus approached, my heartbeat accelerating with every tremor. Aldrich was a master warrior with decades of experience under his belt. I was just a girl with barely a year of training, an unknown power inside of me, and a reckless streak that’d probably get me killed one day. How could I take on a Colossus only own? I couldn’t.
Everything was about to go wrong if I didn’t get us out of here.
I rushed up to the door leading into the hallway that joined the admin building to the classrooms and yelped as rotting hands and faces slammed against the glass.
“They’re inside!” Kayla cried.
Trent spat out an extremely dirty word that would curl even the Darkest of demon’s hair.
With nowhere else to go, we were edged out into the open towards the Colossus. I had to fight it, there was no other way.
We were in so much trouble.
The demons began to circle around our position, trapping us inside the eye of the storm with the lumbering beast. Their jaws snapped as their feet churned up the lawn, their clicking and wailing filled the air with Darkness.
“Trent,” I grasped his arm, my fingers biting into his skin, “you cast a shield over you and Kayla before. Can you do it again?”
“Yeah, but—”
“I need you to do it now. Join together and protect yourselves.” I looked at Kayla, who nodded.
“What about you?” she asked.
“I’ll be fine.” Maybe. “I’ve got an arondight blade and a little of the real thing. The others are coming. I just need to hold it off until they do, okay?”
The wailing reached a fever pitch as the Colossus fixed its gaze on us.
“It’s time to prove to me you’re in this for the long haul,” I told Trent. “This is your moment.”
He swallowed hard and nodded. “Got it. I won’t let you down.”
I flicked my wrist, making sure my arondight blade was well and truly engaged. “Now.”
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