Captured: Academy of the Seraph

by Brandi Elledge

  She shook her head, curls bouncing. “No. Suppose the commander was right, and a powerful wendigo can take down even those carrying the Flaming Sword. In that case, the headmistress needs the commander, and she needs to release the wendigos. It’s the only way to beat you.”

  “Us,” I corrected. “You carry it now, too.”

  She gave me a wink. “But she doesn’t know that.”

  I scanned the empty land. Finn was heading down the mountain. There was no doubt about it.

  “I’m missing something.” I ran a hand over my heart. Finn was moving farther away from the academy, and me, when he should be attacking. Then it hit me.

  “Hannah, the Academy of Seraph is to the west. She isn’t going to release the wendigos from her academy. She is going to make more! Then she will use that army against us.”

  Hannah’s eyes rounded in fear. “All the students there … None of them will be safe.”

  We were running through the field when Remy appeared. “Guys, I have terrible news.”

  “We know,” Hannah said. She took another step forward then suddenly grabbed her waist as her face contorted in pain.

  Both Remy and I grabbed one of her arms to stabilize her.

  Hannah groaned as she took several steps backward. “Shit,” she said as she lifted her shirt, looking at her belly.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Opening the band of her borrowed sweatpants, she let another curse out as she showed us her hip. A tiny feather was engraved there.

  She looked at both of us with remorse in her eyes. “You need to get ahead of them, and I’m marked; I can’t pass this point. You guys go. I’ll go back to the Empowered Academy and warn them about the headmistress’s plans. Not that we can do much to stop an army of wendigos, but we will do our best.” When we both hesitated, she smiled at us. “It’s fine.” She shooed us before she turned and started to jog back to the academy.

  I let my wings out, able to see the fiery red feathers from my peripheral vision. They comforted me but, not for the first time, I felt sorry for Hannah.

  “I’ll beat you there,” Remy said. “So, I’ll go ahead and warn Dan and Richard.”

  I gave her a nod as I took to the sky. Making sure that I didn’t fly over Finn or the headmistress, I circled the long way around. I knew that Finn would be able to tell when I got close, but I was praying that he wouldn’t be able to communicate that to the headmistress in his wendigo form.

  I landed in the woods of a national park. Now that I knew what to look for, I immediately found the sliver of shimmering air. The only way into the Academy of Seraph was through a magical plane. However, before I could decide whether to go in or not, Remy came tumbling out.

  “About time,” she said. “I warned Dan and Richard. They have everyone indoors and feel confident that they can keep a wendigo out for at least a couple of hours.”

  “Good,” I said. “It’s just you and me against the headmistress and probably one of the most powerful wendigos ever to have lived.”

  Remy popped her neck. “Homegirl loves a challenge.”

  “Disappear and keep Finn occupied while I take out the headmistress.”

  She gave me a say-that-again look.

  “That’s your only job.”

  “Only?” she scoffed. “That’s cute.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? Would you prefer to handle the headmistress?”

  “No.” Then she narrowed her blue eyes. “Actually, yes. I don’t have as good of control over this Flaming Sword business yet, so what if I accidentally fry your lover boy? Or turn Pinocchio into a real boy? No, thanks. That is too much pressure for one girl. I can see it now … The commander throws me around like a rag doll, and as I’m taking punches left and right, because I can’t use the Flaming Sword on him, I’ll be thinking of why I can’t use the power that you gave me, and then I’ll accidentally use it! Nope. I’m not doing it. So, that leaves me with the headmistress. Once the headmistress is dead, then she can no longer control the wendigos, right?”

  “Yeah, but—”

  She pointed a finger at me. “No buts. I’m calling dibs on the headmistress. All I have to do is set her aflame with the mighty power.” She frowned at me. “Did you just roll your eyes? Why can’t you just let me have my moment?”

  “Okay.” I threw my hands up. “Have your moment. And what will you do after you strike her with your lightning bolt, Zeus?”

  “I will smite her where she stands. She will turn to nothing but ashes—”

  “Fully blessed just die. No oil. No ashes.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me again. “Why do you have to ruin a good story?”

  “Sorry, continue on, Zeus.”

  “As I was saying, she’ll turn to ashes while you lovingly shoo your wendigo away from the magical plane. I’ll be doing all the heavy lifting, but I’ll be sure to give you credit when we return to the Empowered Academy.”

  “Aw … That’s so sweet of you, psycho. Really appreciate it.”

  She gave me a wink. “I love it when you call me terms of endearment. So, we know which one we’re tackling. This is going to be amaze-balls.”

  This was a horrible idea, but I felt Finn getting closer, and there was no time to argue.

  “Go into ghost form.”

  She gave me a nod then disappeared right before the headmistress came up a slight incline with a massive wendigo behind her. Finn snarled when he saw me.

  The headmistress was still in her cargo pants, but she no longer looked ready for battle. She looked tired and desperate. I was hoping her desperation caused her to make a mistake.

  “I’m not letting you into the Academy of Seraph,” I said.

  “I don’t remember asking for your permission,” the headmistress snapped. She ran an arm down Finn’s new form, causing my belly to tighten. “You see, I have the commander’s permission, and that’s what counts.”

  I balled my fists beside me.

  “Do not let her close to me and get us in that academy,” she commanded Finn.

  As I guarded the entrance that would take the headmistress into the Academy of Seraph, I silently sent up a prayer that Remy would take care of our problem quickly. As soon as the headmistress no longer had a hold of Finn, ninety percent of our problems would disappear.

  The wendigo took slow steps toward me, as if his feet were sludging through mud, and I knew that was Finn’s way of fighting the headmistress’s commands.

  I shook my head. “Finn, stop.”

  The wendigo balled his fists as he continued toward me. He made a move to grab my arm, but I dodged his talons.

  I couldn’t kill him, couldn’t change him back, and I couldn’t let them into the academy. I was in a lousy position. And if Remy didn’t hurry the hell up, I would demote her to backseat best friend. No longer would she ride shotgun.

  “Remy!” I hissed as Finn swiped his talons at me again, leaving a trail of blood this time.

  I stalked closer to the headmistress and away from the magical opening, knowing that Finn would be forced to follow me, thanks to the headmistress’s command. That was when I felt long fingers wrap around my hair, pulling me back. I grabbed ahold of the wendigo’s hand, but before I could do anything, he jerked me back by my hair then lightly tossed me to the side.

  Finn was battling the wendigo for power, and he was winning. A little hair pulling and scratches were nothing to what a wendigo could do to me if they really meant harm.

  The headmistress, who just stood there, gloating, all of a sudden let out a gasp. Her eyes widened as she stumbled backward. Then grayish-black wings, that weren’t as massive as Finn’s but still larger than mine, sprung out as she twirled in a circle. Bending her knees, she shot to the sky, hovering above us about fifteen feet.

  I shook my head as I heard Remy say, “Well, shit.”

  I stood up and ran for the headmistress. I had to end this.

  Strong, pale arms tackled me to the ground as the we
ndigo slid on top of me, pinning me to the ground. He placed his knees on either side of me.

  “Kill her!” the headmistress shouted from above us.

  The wendigo slowly inched his hands toward my throat.

  “I swear to you, Finn, I’ll turn you back to your blessed form right now, even if that means my death. So, if you want to stay like this, you better fight her commands.”

  The wendigo stilled upon me. Ceasing that moment, I grabbed the long, skinny fingers and peeled one back until I heard it crack. The wendigo tilted its head back and roared in pain.

  The trees around me began to sway. The largest oak tree, to the right of us, rocked back and forth. When it uprooted, the wind gently blew.

  The wendigo registered the incoming tree and jumped up. However, I swiped my leg out and tripped him, causing him to sprawl out in the dirt. I barely had time to roll away before the tree crashed to the ground and pinned the wendigo right where I wanted him. Unfortunately, I didn’t miss the tree entirely. A branch from the massive oak struck me in the back with a sickening crunch sound. My spine was broken.

  I looked up to the sky to see the headmistress in a battle with a ghost, one that she couldn’t see, but I clearly could.

  Remy was on the headmistress’s back. She had one leg thrown over the headmistress’s shoulder, and it looked like she was trying to rip a wing from her back. What the hell was she doing?

  The headmistress was spiraling, and Remy looked like she was riding a bull. Here I lay, with my spine broken, couldn’t even move my damn fingers, and Remy looked like she was at a bachelorette party, waiting to be thrown off a mechanical bull. At least my healing powers would come into effect way before Finn was able to move the tree.

  As if he could read my damn mind, the tree began to move.

  I wiggled my toes as the damn tree went rolling inch by inch until it was entirely off the wendigo. I could now move my legs and arms. I wheezed out a breath as pain radiated from my spine, as the bones fused back together.

  I precisely knew now the strength of the wendigo now. I had gotten struck by a branch from a tree, which had left me paralyzed, while Finn, in his wendigo form, had the whole damn tree flatten him out yet was already back on his feet.

  Sitting up slowly, I watched as the headmistress hissed in pain before she started crashing. However, her injured wings flapped viciously, stopping her four inches above the ground. Then her head was jerked back as she twirled like a fidget spinner. It would have been comical if we were in a different situation. Her black hair was flying all over the place, and she was wrestling with someone who was invisible to her.

  The headmistress started throwing punches left and right, and when one finally connected, there was a thud as Remy hit the ground. It was then that the headmistress put two and two together. She realized her battle was with a ghost who could not be killed.

  “Retreat, Commander.”

  Actually wanting to obey that command, the wendigo became a storm that I could barely trace as he fled from the woods. The headmistress flew like a broken bird above him. She was wounded but not enough.

  I slowly climbed to my feet as Remy appeared in front of me.

  “So, I know how this looks.”

  “It looks like you failed.”

  “Yeah, again, I know how it looks, but here’s the thing. I haven’t mastered how to take a life. Killing a fully blessed is a lot different than killing the wendigos. Hindsight, I should have put more juice behind it, but this was a learning experience.”

  “We’re not working on a curve, Remy!”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t get mad at me. You should have taken on the headmistress.”

  I was going to choke her out. “You think?” I was fuming mad. “And when she figured out that something was trying to take her life force and took to the sky, how did you get to her? A ley line?”

  “No. I’m a ghost, baby. I shimmed up that big oak tree, climbed out on a limb, and jumped. I thought my weight would have her wings tiring out. The problem was that I had to hold onto her pretty hard so I didn’t fall, and then I had no hands free to turn her to ash.”

  “Again, for the people in the cheap seats, she won’t turn to ash, Remy. She’s not a vampire.”

  “Okay, stealer of joy. Anything else you want to add to this conversation?”

  I rubbed my temples. “Let me think. She might have heard me talking to Finn. Let’s assume that she now knows I can turn him back, and if forced, that’s exactly what I’ll do. She knows that I’m working with a ghost. She won’t come back here. She isn’t stupid enough to go back to the Empowered Academy, but she needs an army of wendigos.”

  “Where do you think she’ll go now?”

  “To be certain, I need to talk with Finn. But if I had to guess, I’d say the headmistress needs to sleep so she can heal. You might not have done what you were supposed to do, but you did hurt her.”

  Remy buffed her nails on her shirt. “Thanks.”

  “Finn’s wendigo form is way too big for her to carry, so he must travel by foot. I think they are going to get far enough away and hole up somewhere.”

  Remy worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “Wendigo or not, that tree hurt him. I need to sleep and wait for Finn to rest and heal. Then I can dream walk to him. He can tell me exactly where he is, and we can go from there.”

  Remy picked up a fallen branch that was as big as her arm. “We don’t have time for bedtime stories, sugar. The clock is ticking.”

  “Wha—”

  I didn’t finish my sentence as the limb came swinging at my face. Remy knocked my ass out.

  It took me forever to find Finn, and when I did, my heart clenched. He looked so forlorn and beaten as he sat on an old stump. His black hair stood up every which way, as if he had been tugging on it, there were shadows under his green eyes, and it looked like he was warring a battle that only he was a part of.

  He slowly lifted his face to mine. “I figured you’d come.”

  I walked toward him slowly then knelt at his feet. Grabbing his face in my hands, I said, “Just hang on. This is almost all over.”

  “I hurt you,” he whispered.

  “Please. Don’t give yourself too much credit. I hurt myself with that tree more than you hurt me with some hair pulling.”

  “I still don’t like being controlled.”

  “I know.”

  He grabbed my wrist and kissed my palm. “The headmistress is healing right now.” A smile came upon his face. “Remy damaged one of her wings and did some internal damage. Unfortunately, one of her powers is healing, so she’ll be up soon.”

  “When you are a wendigo, can you see Remy?” I asked.

  A handsome smile lit his face. “That was a grade-A shitshow.”

  I laughed. “Truth. Where are you right now?”

  “In a cave on the north side of the mountain.”

  I nodded.

  He squeezed my hand that he still held. “By the time you find us, she’ll have moved on. There is a small town at the end of the parkway. She won’t be able to hide my form from humans. She’ll need to act quickly. My guess is she’ll take us somewhere that is still open and try to change as many humans as possible before moving on.”

  My mouth dropped open. The headmistress was resorting to turning humans. All those innocent people.

  “Human wendigos won’t be as powerful.”

  “It won’t matter if she has a million in her army, or if you are busy trying to stop the spread, she’ll then be able to get into one of the two academies. She just needs to keep you busy.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead on mine. “She could use me to infect the entire human population. I would say kill me now, but I’m worried about you facing the original wendigo alone. Then again, what have we accomplished if we are the only two standing at the end of this?”

  I jerked back. “Don’t talk like that. The whole world could burn before I wou
ld even think about ending you.”

  “You might have to.”

  “No.”

  “Gabriella …” He pulled me to my feet then walked around me to pace the length of a well-worn path that was littered with fallen leaves. “Within ten minutes, I could infect thirty humans. Then they could turn around and infect others. We won’t be able to stop the spread until every human has turned into a wendigo. You might have found a way to bring the blessed back from a wendigo form, but can you honestly say that you can return a human back to theirs? And you are one person working alone. What you are asking is impossible.”

  I ignored him. There was no use in arguing with him when I knew I had no intention of ever hurting him. “There is something that I need to tell you. It’s about the Flaming Sword.”

  He stopped pacing. “Everything okay?”

  “Better than okay. I got a visit from Uriel. He told me to share the power of the Flaming Sword with six others.”

  “Were you able to?”

  I smiled. “Yes.”

  “That is amazing! Have the ones you have chosen meet you in the town tonight. There is no way she’ll be able to escape all of you. I’ll try to withstand her commands for as long as I can.”

  I winced. “There’s a small hiccup in that plan.”

  He scanned my face. “Define hiccup.”

  “The ones who now carry part of the power from the Flaming Sword carry a mark that won’t allow them to leave the academy.”

  “So, what is the point of giving them this power?” He stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, arms crossed over his chest, looking every inch the fierce commander he was.

  I held his stare that commanded obedience, a gaze that probably would work on anyone other than me. It was laced with hidden depths of immeasurable power. It promised violence to those who didn’t comply with his every order. Just the way he carried himself would have a normal person in fight or flight mode, but it created a very different feeling for me—lust.

  He shook his head with a smile. “Maka, concentrate.”

  “Sorry. Once I find the original wendigo that marked the blessed, demis, and prisoners, I’ll return him, or her, back to their blessed state. All the people imprisoned at the academy will be free to go, including the ones who now carry the Flaming Sword.”