Before coming to the Empowered Academy to try to negotiate with the headmistress, she had sent a letter to be delivered to Camaella, sort of as a backup plan. The letter hadn’t saved Mrs. Fields, but it had created a hell of a problem for us. Camaella wanted these wendigos.
Supposed she had these beasts along with the demons, Camaella could go up against the commander at the Academy of Seraph. She would have the Flaming Sword. I watched as she marched with her army here, to this academy.
Letting go of Kota, I stumbled back. “Go get the others, Ezra.”
He gave me a worried glance but did as I asked.
Kota was looking at me in awe. “Did you see what I saw? How did you do that?”
“Kota, coming to me was the right thing to do, even if it was incredibly stupid. Go find your family. Spend time with them and don’t say a word about this to anyone.” Before he could leave, I snagged his arm again. “I mean it, Kota. You will only cause a kind of panic that I don’t have time to deal with at the moment. Can I count on you?”
He swallowed nervously before he said, “Of course.” Then he ran out of the golden doors, letting them bang closed behind him.
“How screwed are we?” Luna asked.
“The kind of screwed where I would tell a freshman to go spend some time with his family screwed.”
She winced. “That’s what I thought.”
A young girl was lying on the floor with a towel thrown over her. Guessed we were running out of blankets. Luna went over to her and started explaining what had just happened.
I searched out the tall wendigo in the corner and rubbed a hand over my chest. Anger and frustration were coming through. I wasn’t sure if I was picking up on Finn’s emotions or if it was me who was emitting those feelings. My guess was both. I was pretty angry that we couldn’t seem to catch a break, and I was frustrated that yet another psycho had thwarted our plans.
I waited until all five of the people I had chosen to carry the Flaming Sword had come in. Then, without letting them talk, I said, “Guys, we have a problem.” I explained that a young but apparently up-and-coming kid had picked up on a vision of Camaella. I told them exactly what I saw, and then I waited … waited for one of them to say something.
Hannah said, “Do we have a timeframe on when she will arrive?”
“From the vision that I saw, she will be passing over a town. The day that she goes through, it was decorated with hearts.”
“Valentine’s Day,” Remy said.
“Yeah.”
Trev swore. “That’s in two days. You have got to be kidding me.”
None of us spoke. We all let the magnitude of what was about to happen hit us like a ton of bricks.
Luna ran a hand through her pink hair. “Break down our options for us.”
Before I could say anything, Trev said, “The three of you will have to leave us—Remy, Hannah, and Gabriella. Make a run for it, and we will try to fend her off from as long as we can.”
My two best friends stood there beside me, giving Trev the same look as I was.
“Um … we don’t run,” Remy said.
Hannah shook her head. “I’m marked, too, remember? That wouldn’t matter, though. Even without my wings, I am more powerful than my family ever thought I’d be, and my power is growing. I can feel it. If archangels chose Gabriella, and she chose us, what would it make us to turn our backs on the people who are trapped here and can’t leave?”
“Cowards,” I said. “And I can assure you that we aren’t weak.”
“Hell no,” Remy said.
Ezra gave Remy a wink. “Are you sure you want to call the wedding off?”
She rolled her eyes. “That ship has sailed, lover boy.”
“Now that we know that the two of us aren’t planning on deserting all of you here,” I said, “we only have one option.”
“To fight?” Luna asked.
“No,” I said. “We can’t take the chance of going up against them. What if they get past us and allow the wendigos out? Think of the damage they could do to the ones here who are held prisoner. Plus, with Camaella working hand-in-hand with the Prince of Darkness, I don’t know if they know how to control the wendigos. Our only option is to get everyone out of here.”
“How will we remove their marks?” Remy asked.
“We won’t,” I said. “I will. This is what is going to happen. I have a day to get to the original wendigo.”
Trev scoffed. “You are going into the plane to find the original? Are you crazy?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “If I don’t do this, who will you lose, Trev? Think of the twins. They are sitting ducks here. This is the only way.”
The wendigo had stopped pacing. I noticed that Finn was now staring at me.
Giving my attention to my friends, I said, “I’m going down there. Hopefully, Finn will agree to go with me. I need him to block as many wendigos from me as possible. I’ll find the original—the one with black wings. If I can free her, it will release the mark and the remainder of the wendigos. This is the only chance we have of beating the clock.”
Remy nodded. “We will all go with you.”
I shook my head. “No. I need you guys to stay here just in case I don’t make it back. The five of you will be the only hope all of these people have against Camaella.”
Tears ran down Remy’s face while Hannah gave me a terse nod. It was incredible how much Hannah had grown in strength. A few weeks ago, she would have been the one standing in front of me, crying.
Remy said, “This is suicide. You will be going against roughly eight hundred or so wendigos. Remember what the archangel said when she visited you in that dream? You will combust. No one can take on that many wendigos. We should go with you.”
“All of us stand to lose something if I don’t make it back,” I said. “I’m hoping that Finn will keep the majority away from me. Of course I want you to go, but you can’t. Not this time. You are needed here.”
Every single one of them gave me an emotional hug goodbye. When Trev wrapped me up in a hug, there was a snarl before his feet left the floor and he went flying through the air. The wendigo towering above me made an inhuman sound while his nostrils flared in displeasure.
“Dude, kind of had that coming,” Remy said.
Trev made his way back to his feet. “I was just telling her good luck and goodbye.”
When the wendigo took another step toward Trev, I put myself between the both of them. Commandeering the wendigo’s attention, I said, “I need to get in that plane. Do you think you can help me find the original?”
In answer, he turned and strolled toward the glass doors.
Before my friends could wrap me in another tearful goodbye, I followed my wendigo, wiping the sweat from my palms as Trev and Ezra opened the doors. As soon as they hit the button, we would jump into the unknown without hesitation.
It seemed like time dragged by when, finally, a tiny space on the floor opened up. Without thinking, I jumped. If I was honest, I could have sworn, with certainty, that Finn had enough control over the wendigo to make him jump into a place where the wendigos obviously detested.
When I felt my wendigo’s body next to mine as we fell down a set of steps that were in the pitch black, I sagged with relief. There was no way I could do this independently, but with Finn, I stood a chance. There was no doubt that we were about to go through hell, but there was no one else in the world that I would rather travel the shadows of darkness with. I just prayed we would both make it out of the valley.
I tried my hardest to control my breathing but being submerged in the dark with wendigos lurking in the shadows wasn’t the best feeling in the world. I felt clammy hands brush by my arm and jumped a little before I realized that Finn was telling me that I needed to keep moving.
At first, none of the wendigos came close to us, but the farther we went through what looked like a subway tunnel, the less shy they became. I would try my hardest not to use my power, needing to save
it.
Every wendigo that got too close was thrown by my wendigo. He was doing a great job of not letting them near, but the farther we went, the more obvious it was that he couldn’t keep that up forever. We were sorely outnumbered.
A pack of wendigos rushed us, and Finn became a sandstorm as he threw them this way and that. One of the wendigos grabbed a fistful of my hair and started dragging me away from Finn and the battle he was in. If he did that, I was done for. Without Finn’s protection, I had to use the power inside of me.
Palm out, I ignited the wendigo and watched as it fell to the ground. Strong arms wrapped around me. I didn’t fight or resist as the wendigo shielded me from the onslaught of other wendigos crowding around us. Pushing me forward, he blocked the hands reaching out for me.
Luckily, the passageway was narrowing as we went farther through the plane. Finn slashed his claws at all that were before us and took the brunt of the ones that were behind us.
Once the tunnel branched off and became more expansive at the elbow of the tunnel, we took the right path, which led to a dead-end filled only with wendigos. Backtracking was exhausting, and when we came back to the crossroads, we went left this time. Unfortunately, a small group was waiting for us, and I had to use my powers for the second time.
There was a steady rhythm of dripping with every step we took. Looking down, I saw blood splatter the thick concrete floors. My wendigo’s back was in some serious bad shape.
Hurrying down the tunnel, I asked, “Are you okay?”
Of course, he didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure if Finn was struggling more for control now that he was wounded. I silently wondered how much pain a wendigo felt and how fast they healed. If we both made it out of this alive, I would be sure to ask Finn.
Dodging the grasps of wendigos, we trudged forward through the dark tunnel. Every once in a while, the tunnel would widen, and we would pick up the pace through the sections, careful not to drain too much power.
Eventually, I thought we had come up to yet another dead end, but when I went to turn around, Finn blocked me and forced me to take steps backward in the narrow tunnel. My feet almost tripped over a hinge. Looking down, I saw a grate in the ground.
Wendigos were crowding in behind him. At this point, we couldn’t go back the way we had come. There were too many of them.
I lifted the grate and stared into the black abyss. It was either drop into a hole and pray it led somewhere or die trying to return back through the tunnel. So, I plunged into the darkness with Finn coming in right behind me, having closed the grate as he fell. I honestly didn’t think that would deter the other wendigos for too long.
The drop was nine feet into a pit. The rock walls almost had a bluish glow to them. The rock and dirt floor had a similar sheen, like magical glow worms had left a trail going every which way. I cringed as I heard the grate clang. There would be a horde of wendigos on us in no time.
My gut told me that we were in grave danger, and my heartbeat sped up as I ignored the warning signs, because there, against the wall, was a chained wendigo.
Unlike all the other wendigos, its skin wasn’t pale but dark, like its eyes. This was the original?
I walked forward, ready to end this all when, with one tug, the wendigo broke through the chains that must have been there for show. Well, that wasn’t good. I knew I couldn’t get near the original. It would kill me before I could touch it.
Wendigos began flooding the room as I watched the original stretch its wings out. They were black and shiny. Magnificent.
Finn was a sandstorm of motion as he whirled around the onslaught of incoming wendigos
Calling my power to me, I braced myself, but before I could send my light toward it, a wendigo sideswiped me, knocking me to the ground. Placing my palm on the wendigo, I used my power again.
Getting to my feet, I saw hundreds of wendigos packed into the room but not the original. Shit.
As hands grabbed me, I realized they were trying to turn me, and once that didn’t happen, they became more agitated. I stayed on my feet as long as I could, but the moment they took me to the ground, I knew I was in trouble.
My power was flowing out of me. I had used it nine times before I could finally get to my feet. Wendigos were hitting the rock walls as the sandstorm flew by them. More wendigos were upon me, but I knew I couldn’t call for Finn. He was doing his part. I had to stay on my feet. It was the only way that I would survive.
I caught a glimpse of black wings and ran toward where we had first dropped into this shithole. More wendigos were falling in at an alarming rate. We were so screwed.
My palms heated as I had to use my power again and again. The sandstorm came and blocked for me. I had used my power twenty-two times now. My legs were shaking, and I felt like I would vomit at any second, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I had to get to the original.
Right before it started to fly upward through the grate, my wendigo tackled the original to the ground.
Breaking out of a wendigos’ hold, I stumbled forward and threw my body half on top of the original and half on top of Finn, who was wrestling with the original. A calmness entered my soul as a light burst through me to the original.
I chanted silently, “Don’t kill. Please turn back. Please release these people,” as black dots swam in my vision and blood started to pour out of my nose. I knew I was in danger, but I had to turn the wendigo back. I had made a promise to Sandalphon, one I intended to keep.
Pushing more light at the original, I prayed that we both would make it.
My ears began to ring as my wendigo grabbed my arm. Finn was snarling at me. I was dying.
All of a sudden, everything quieted. There was no noise as a warm feeling coated my whole body. A warm liquid fell all over me before there was nothing more.
Jophiel stood before me. Her light brown skin glistened in the sunlight as she grabbed her white dress and twirled around in circles. Her laughter was so beautiful that it became contagious. I laughed as I walked toward her.
She bent down and picked a handful of daisies. Bringing them to her beautiful face, she inhaled like she wanted to remember that smell for the rest of her life. Then she stood up and tilted her head at me before she ran to me and pulled me in her arms, hugging me so tightly I could barely breathe. Like a kid on Christmas, she released me and bounced on her feet with anticipation and joy.
“Gabriella, look,” she said as she waved her arms around her. “Miles and miles of my favorite flowers. Do you feel the warmth of the sun?”
I nodded. “Yes, it’s beautiful here. But … where is here?”
She giggled. “When you die, your brain carries you away to a place that comforts you.”
My mouth dropped open. “We’re dead?”
“Almost, love, almost.”
I looked around at the beautiful scenery. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the warm sun beat down on the daisy fields. Butterflies landed on flowers, and birds sang a beautiful tune nearby. I didn’t want to be here.
I shook my head. “I can’t die.”
She smiled. “I know. You have a man waiting for you back at home.” She gave me a wink. “Do you know, I’ve seen lots of different types of love while on earth, but never one as pure as the one that you and Finn share? He would move heaven and hell for you.”
I swallowed back tears. “Jophiel, there is so much that I haven’t said to him. This can’t be it.”
She grabbed my hand. “Walk with me through the field. I’m fading, and there is something that I want to explain to you.”
Begrudgingly, I walked beside her.
“Going into the plane with the wendigos was very brave. Some might chastise you and say that it was foolhardy, but the truth is that you were out of options. That dreadful soul, Camaella, will be at the Empowered Academy in twenty-four hours. It doesn’t take Haniel or her powers that reside in you to know it would have been a bloodbath. She would have mascaraed everyone there—women, chil
dren, even the animals in the woods wouldn’t have been safe. This bought you time. Time to gather the troops and prepare for the battle that I believe was always meant to rest on your shoulders.”
“Prepare for a battle? I thought I was dying.”
She nodded. “Oh, you are.” She tilted her head back and took a deep breath. “I’m fading, love. May I give you a gift before I go?”
“Um … sure?”
She laid her hand at the center of my breasts, her palm warming as the light faded from her eyes. I watched as Jophiel then turned into thousands of colorful butterflies that scattered on the wind, and then I was left alone in the field.
I looked down at my feet and saw a puddle of black oil before I grew incredibly woozy. I hit the grass with a thud, and the last thing I noticed was the daisies reaching to me as if they were trying to shade me from the warm sun.
I blinked my eyes open. I was in the small cabin that belonged to Finn back at the Academy of Seraph. I could hear the hum of voices nearby and the sound of a crackling fire.
Had I died? Or was this my happy place to go to before dying?
I tried to lift my limbs, but I couldn’t. I was so tired.
A warm head touched my fingers, and I smiled at the wolf that Finn had given me. “Hi, Champ,” I squeaked out.
I closed my eyes as the strings around my heart tightened. Emotions that didn’t belong to me flooded me. Fear was replaced with happiness, and it all had a huge undercurrent of love. I knew who had just sat on the bed without opening my eyes.
“Finn, am I dead?”
A chuckle. “No, Maka, but you almost died … again. What have I told you about leaving me?” He traced circles over my hand with his thumb.
I opened my eyes. Finn hovered over me, his green eyes full of tenderness. He looked so tired. Still handsome but tired. Stubble coated his lower face, and his hair was disheveled like he had spent the night pulling at it.
Captured: Academy of the Seraph Page 19
