A howl sounded from inside The Orb quickly followed by a cry of, “Gather the freshmen!” from Max Rigel.
“Oh shit,” I breathed as Darcy snatched my hand and we started running.
We made it to the dark space between Earth Observatory and Mars Labs just as a flood of freshmen ran screaming from The Orb. Older students chased them with the hoods of their black cloaks pulled up and white masks in place.
My eyes widened as a wall of fire flared into existence beyond Jupiter Hall, blocking the escape in that direction just as the ground started to tremor beneath our feet. The earthquake sent the freshmen crashing to their hands and knees where vines grew from the mud to trap them.
“Quick,” I urged, turning away again as the older students started to move closer to us. “Let’s get the hell out of here before they spot us!”
“Good plan!” Darcy raced away between the buildings, heading straight for the cover of The Wailing Wood.
Adrenaline surged through my veins as I hounded after her and the freshmen continued to scream as the Heirs and the other students carried out their Hell Week prank.
“Where did the Vegas go?” Seth yelled and I upped my pace even more.
“Where to?” I begged as we raced up the trail towards Aer House. “If we go back to our rooms they’ll find us.” I wanted to think the Heirs would accept us escaping them but I doubted there was much chance of that. We would be at the top of their hit list and they’d want to humiliate us more than anyone else.
“How about the beach?” Darcy panted as we ran on. “We could go to Air Cove where no one will be able to spot us and we can wait out the chaos.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed.
A cry went up behind us and we both wheeled around in panic at the sound of footsteps racing along the path towards us.
We didn’t dare say another word, simply upped our speed as we sprinted away.
We darted down the steep pathway to Air Cove and I battled the urge to glance over my shoulder, needing to watch my feet in case I fell. With the pace we were moving at, even Tory stumbled more than once, but somehow we managed to remain upright, tearing onto the beach at the base of the path and finally pausing to check if we were still being followed.
“Did they see us?” Tory panted and I shook my head, dragging in a few lungfuls of the cold sea air.
“Don't think so,” I gasped, a laugh tumbling from my throat. “We’d better keep moving just to be sure. There's another path up to Fire Territory at the far end of the beach that way.” I pointed and Tory started in that direction.
The sand crushed beneath our feet, leaving a trail behind us and I paused, frowning at our footprints which led straight back to the path.
“Tory, we’d better cover these somehow.”
She didn't answer and I looked over my shoulder, finding her heading off down the beach at a purposeful stride.
“Tor!” I called after her, but she still didn't look back.
What the hell? The wind wasn't that loud.
I jogged to catch up, having to abandon the footprints and just hope we'd lost the Heirs for good. I raced to my sister's side, catching her arm, “What's up?”
I glanced down at her hands, spotting that strange silver dagger she'd stolen from Darius's room in her grip.
“It's guiding me, I think it wants to show me something,” Tory said, nudging me away and hurrying on down the beach.
My heart beat harder as I followed her. “Do you realise how crazy that sounds?”
“Yeah but…” she trailed off, picking up her pace.
My gut twisted as I jogged after her. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea to follow the urges of some creepy knife.”
She didn't answer, moving to the cliff wall and running her fingers across it. “I think it's going to let us see,” she murmured.
“See what? You're starting to freak me out.” I tried to stop her again but she moved on methodically, seeming to search for something as she traced her hand along the cliff wall.
She halted abruptly and I caught her wrist, planning to pull the blade from her hand.
“Here,” she whispered, lifting the dagger and scoring lines across the rock that were eerily deliberate, like the knife was guiding her hand.
My mouth parted as the wall completely disappeared. We were looking right into a cave with a domed roof; glistening stalactites hung from the ceiling and glinted like diamonds. But that wasn't what shocked me most, it was the two people standing inside who made my heart tumble into my gut. Darius and Orion didn't appear to see us standing there as they spoke with one another, the battering sea air not ruffling their hair one bit.
“They can't see us,” Tory confirmed in a whisper and I noticed her pupils were overly dilated. I still wanted to get that dagger from her hands but I also couldn't resist the urge to find out exactly why Orion was here with the Fire Heir.
Sweat was beading on Darius brow and he swiped a hand across it, starting to pace in front of Orion. “I'll get it next time.”
“You need to relax,” Orion said patiently. “You can't control it through sheer rage. You must exert your will.”
“I know, I know,” Darius spat, kicking a stone at his feet and sending it skittering across the floor.
Orion shifted forward, pulling him around to look at him and leaning close to his face. “You want him gone, don't you?”
“Yes,” Darius sighed, the tension in his shoulders running away. “You know I do.”
“Then focus.” Orion pushed him back a step and Darius rolled his neck, setting his feet as he faced him.
Orion moved back a few paces and scooped something off of the floor. It was white and shining and looked suspiciously like a bone, the sight of it making my skin prickle. “You can harness this Fae's strength. I know you can, you've done it before.”
“Only for a minute,” Darius said and I frowned, trying to work out what they were talking about.
“A minute might be all you need to give you an advantage,” Orion muttered and Darius's eyes became hooded with darkness. For a second I couldn't tear my gaze from him. He looked more than angry, he looked vengeful, full of a deep, cold hatred that seemed to tangle with the air itself.
“Show me again,” Darius breathed and Orion nodded.
He looked detached as he traced his hands across the bone and spoke in a whispered language I guessed was latin. “Chiedo al buio di disturbare questo corpo dalla pace e di mettere la sua magia nel mio sangue.”
The air chilled and the shadows seemed to thicken in every corner of the cave. A shudder seized my spine and I instinctively moved closer to Tory as Orion raised the bone in front of him, wielding it like a weapon.
Darius's face was fixed in complete concentration as he watched and I sensed this was some kind of one-on-one tuition. But the way they were hiding down here made me certain this was definitely not part of Zodiac's curriculum.
The bone glowed as if a fire burned within it and flames suddenly burst to life along the length of it. Orion released a hiss of pain, but held it firmly in his grip as the flames licked his skin. They receded along the bone and Orion dropped it, twisting his hand up so the fire continued to ripple in his palm. His jaw set, and his eyes flickered with the shadows that closed in around them. My heart pattered uncontrollably but I couldn't tear my gaze away.
“Do it,” Darius said, seeming excited as he shifted from foot to foot.
Orion closed his hand around the fire and snuffed it out. I waited, glancing between the two of them as they seemed to be preparing for something.
Heat was emanating from Orion in waves but that didn’t make any sense. He didn’t hold the Element of fire. His hands shot up and Darius threw out his palms at the same moment to cast an immense shield of water around himself. Fire exploded from Orion's palms and I stumbled back a step, completely shocked as the raging, twisting Element cascaded over Darius's shield. The flames battered it with a terrifying force then finally fizzled
out, leaving plumes of steam in its wake.
Orion dropped his hands, rubbing his eyes, his shoulders shuddering. My heart twitched and I had the urge to go to him- if it hadn't been completely crazy.
Darius went to him instead, cupping the back of his neck. “Here.” He shut his eyes and I sensed they were sharing magic as Orion cast some spell I could feel but couldn't see. The result was the shadows receding and the darkness in his eyes passed away too.
I shared a look with Tory and we wordlessly decided to stay a bit longer. To find out what the hell we were watching. How had Orion just wielded the Element of fire? Did he take the Element from the bone of some dead Fae? And where the hell did he get that bone?
“Now you.” Orion passed Darius the bone and he nodded, looking determined. “This Fae only had fire but they were strong. It will add a lot of power to your own flames.”
Darius nodded, mimicking what Orion had done as he ran his hand across the bone and muttered the Latin words. The shadows rushed in again and my heart clenched as that same darkness fell over Darius, seeming to seep beneath his skin. Fire flared along the bone and he drew it into his palm, his eyes snapping shut in concentration.
Orion eyed him with his hands raised as if expecting something bad to happen.
Darius convulsed once, his shoulders trembling.
“Hold it in. Let it merge with your power, no matter how unnatural it feels,” Orion instructed.
Darius looked like he might throw up as he clutched his stomach then dropped the bone with a clatter.
“Darius?” Orion stepped closer.
Darius held up a hand and his eyes flew open, revealing a swirling storm of darkness within them. A smirk twisted his features and Orion cast a dome of air around himself just as Darius released a huge blast of fire in the shape of a cobra. It coiled around the edges of the cave, filling it up, its huge body slithering and undulating, its eyes blazing red.
Orion gazed up as it reared its head and true fear found me as it lunged down and crashed against his shield. Orion started laughing and I relaxed as the flaming beast coiled tighter around his shield then flitted away into a thousand embers.
He rushed to Darius's side, laying a hand on his shoulder as they did whatever spell was necessary to end this crazy process.
“You fucking did it.” Orion dragged him into a hug and I could see the strength of their bond shining from them as Darius curled his arms around him too. A Dragon and a Vampire bound together. And I was sure this was deeper than just that Guardian mark linking them.
Darius released a cheer which echoed off the walls, tipping his head back to the roof as Orion released him.
“Let him try and beat me now, huh Lance?” He whooped again and Orion laughed, dropping down to the cave floor and tugging a backpack in front of him.
“You did it once. I want to see that fifty times before I agree you've mastered it,” Orion said with a grin. Darius puffed out his chest as he moved to join him on the floor.
“Easy.”
“Yeah, it only took you three months,” Orion jibed, taking something out of the backpack. He placed a wooden box between them, flipping it open and revealing a display of cards with the Solarian PitBall League printed across the top of them. I frowned as he reached into it, opening a secret compartment at its base. My breathing quickened as he took a slim silver blade and four small bones from it. The blade was exactly the same as the one in Tory's hand and I turned to her with a questioning look.
She offered a shrug in response and my tongue grew heavy as I turned back to watch.
Orion pushed the box aside and placed the four bones down between them in a line. Then he took something from his pocket and I frowned as he placed an emerald dragon ornament between the bones.
He toyed with the blade in his hand, looking to Darius with a terse expression. “Still no luck finding the one I gave you?”
My heart jerked. Orion gave it to him? What was it even for?
“No. Milton must have stashed the rest of my treasure somewhere. But he's still sticking to his lame-ass story that he didn't do it.”
“Maybe he didn't?” Orion suggested and my gut prickled uneasily.
“He did say someone sent him it. His grandma or some bullshit. I figured he was lying but...” A contemplative look crossed his features and Tory shifted nervously beside me. “Maybe someone did send it.”
“Well whoever stole that dagger is gonna pay the price when we find them,” Orion growled and fear laced my gut. Holy shit they can't ever find out.
Darius nodded then gestured to the knife in Orion’s hand. “Come on, let’s find out what my doting father is up to.”
Orion rested the tip of the blade to his wrist then carved a line up the centre of his palm, making me gasp. Blood oozed and he curled his hand into a fist, passing it to Darius who immediately copied the process. They held their hands above the bones, squeezing to make the blood drip onto them. They both dragged in a breath of pleasure then their eyes fell closed and their hands dropped into their laps.
“What’s happening?” I breathed in confusion.
Tory released the same noise of ecstasy beside me and I turned to her in alarm. Panic clutched me with sharp claws as I spotted the long gash on her hand. She was still cutting herself with the blade, her eyes shut and a picture of intoxication on her face as she carved a deep line up her inner arm. I lunged forward, trying to seize the knife as she sliced a second gash along the inside of her forearm, blood spilling to the sand at our feet.
“Tory!” I yelled as she passed out completely, crumpling to the ground. I caught her just before she dashed her head on a rock and clamped my hands over the wound to stem the bleeding. There was so much of it, red coating her skin, her clothes, me.
Fear raced through my veins and drowned me entirely. “WAKE UP!”
Fuck, blood magic felt good. Every time I did it, I swear the high got better. It was focusing that was the problem. Using dark magic was deadly. I could bleed out here before I’d even realised what was happening.
I drew my magic into the darkness surrounding me, pushing at the wall of shadow which wanted to take me with it. It tugged and lured and sang promises of pure bliss, but if I went that way, I’d never come back.
I felt Darius follow me through as I broke the barrier and a strange tickling feeling made me think for a moment that there was some other presence with us too.
As the sweet edge of the euphoric feeling in my veins eased off, my vision cleared and we found ourselves standing on a dark cobblestone street beside a tall fence. My heart ticked with recognition. I knew this old road. We were to the east of the Acrux manor, just beyond its walls. Which meant Lionel was expecting a visitor by stardust.
I could sense we were in the recent past, guided here by the connection he had to that tacky dragon ornament and the will of us both to find out what he was up to.
This was nothing but a shadow of time gone by. The edges of the world blurred like a haze and if I focused on one spot too long, it faded from my grasp. We only needed to wait here to find Lionel though. Darius stepped up beside me the moment his father rounded the corner ahead. Lionel marched along, his dark cloak whipping out behind him as he moved, his powerful frame haloed by the moon.
The atmosphere shimmered before him like stars and a tall man stepped out of it, sweeping a hand over his wavey black locks. I committed his face to memory in an instant; everything from his thin moustache to his curling upper lip. He wore a dark green overcoat and a knitted red scarf which spoke of a severe lack of fashion sense. He dipped his head, although the gesture came off slightly mocking. “Mr Acrux.”
“High Lord Acrux,” Lionel snarled. “Have you brought it? I didn’t get you into that school just to waste my time.” He held out his hand expectantly.
“And I didn’t strike up this alliance to waste my time,” the man growled in an equally dangerous tone.
“This is getting rather one-sided, Alejandro. What use are you if
you and your worthless family don’t do as I ask?” Lionel sneered and Alejandro reached into his pocket.
He took out a thick envelope and my eyes narrowed as I recognised the Vega Twins’ personal file. I’d read it back to front before I’d gone to Earth to find them. It even had a coffee mug stain on it that I’d left there myself. Everything about their birthright was in that document. And it certainly didn’t belong in the hands of Lionel Acrux. It had been locked up tight in Nova’s office.
“Here.” Alejandro thrust it at Lionel and I wished I could step into this memory for real and intervene before his hand closed around it. I didn’t know what he could learn from it that would assist him, but my gut said it was nothing good.
I looked to Darius and my heart hit top speed as I spotted Tory goddamn Vega standing behind him.
Her eyes locked with mine, her face as pale as a ghost’s. She stared at me, then looked to Darius and the men beyond, looking totally baffled as to why she was here. That makes two of us!
“WHAT THE FUCK!?” I bellowed, making both her and Darius jump. The memory swirled like mist then something crashed into my cheek, sending a spike of pain blooming through my skull.
Another blow came and I blinked, jerked violently out of the vision, finding Darcy on top of me, her reddened palm raised to slap me again.
“Fucking – what? What is happening?!” I roared, snatching her hand before she could hit me again. Her eyes sparkled with tears and some of them had spilled down her cheeks. A thousand terrifying worries crashed through me as I realised she was straddling me in a cave she had absolutely no way of getting into. Not without-
My mouth parted in complete horror as I saw it on the ground. The dagger. Darius’s dagger. And beside it was Tory, her arm wrapped in Darcy’s jacket surrounded by a huge puddle of blood.
“Help her!” Darcy begged, scrambling off of me and dragging me over to her sister. I threw a glance at Darius, the Leo mark on my arm pulsing strangely as he awoke from the vision.
His eyes snapped to Tory and he swore, diving forward and pulling her into his arms. “Lance!” he demanded.
Zodiac Academy 3: The Reckoning: An Academy Bully Romance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts) Page 30