by Demi Dumond
“Oh no,” Kiln snapped. “There will be plenty of time for that later if we survive. And if we want that to happen, we have a lot of work to do and we’d better move quickly.”
Ian and Ivy came running out of the building. Ian and Keira embraced. Ivy hugged Keira and even me, as Professor Kiln rolled her eyes. If it weren’t such a serious moment it would have been funny.
A handful of students were up and milling in the courtyard now, no doubt curious about the destruction of a part of the building. Luckily it was nowhere near the dorms or the classes. Even still, it was a curiosity.
Then I remembered the spell book I used to transform Tor. I ran to get it and returned to the group.
Keira looked around nervously. “We’re attracting attention, and we need to move. The Headmaster knows where we are.”
Professor Kiln nodded at us. “Keira’s right, let’s move.”
18
Keira
We headed toward the building and got almost to the fountain in the middle of the courtyard in front of the double doors before Professor Kiln stopped walking. She was staring upward. That’s when I saw the Headmaster and Professor Smythe staring down at us. And they weren’t alone.
Oh, shit. A wave of fear swept over me seeing the Headmaster staring down at me through the window of the double door. I may have gotten out of the kill room, but this wasn’t over.
And Professor Smythe was there with him. Asshole. And they weren’t alone, they were accompanied by what looked like the usual guards, only now the guards were glowing. What the actual hell?
At least now I wasn’t alone.
I stood there gaping at them. Right up until they burst out of the doors and started shooting at us.
Our group scattered with Rafe and I running to the left toward the academy building that had been caved in, and Malachai, Ian, and Professor Kiln darting in the opposite direction.
Then a thought hit me, why was I running? I turned to face my attackers. Prepare for an onslaught of purple fireballs, assholes.
I got into my magic stance, but the weird glowing guard guys started shooting in my direction. One of the blasts hit a stone bench and sliced it in half. I heard the stone slabs crack and hit the grass.
Rafe and I looked at each other. Whatever those guards were shooting, they weren’t normal bullets. Without a word spoken between us, we darted toward the trees, looking for cover.
I ducked down once we got to the tree line. Rafe was right beside me. He kept staring at me. “What?”
He shook his head and then smiled. “It’s just that I thought I’d never see you again.”
A shout in the distance caused me to turn my attention back to the courtyard.
It looked like the glowing guards, Headmaster, and old Professor Smythe had lost track of me and Malachai and were chasing Ian, Rafe, Ivy, and Professor Kiln.
The shout came from Ivy, who had caught an ass full of magical fireballs from Professor Smythe and fallen into the grass.
“We have to do something,” I said, jumping up.
Professor Smythe pursued Ivy even though she had fallen. He got closer to her and assumed his magic stance.
Oh no you don’t. I grabbed a nearby rock and sprinted out toward them.
I could see Professor Smythe call his magic and I knew that I was out of time. I stopped running for a moment, just long enough to judge how far to throw the rock. It took concentration to throw a spell. I didn’t have to hit him, although that would be amazing, I just had to get close enough to surprise him.
I let the rock fly. It was off to the left and a little too far to hit the professor. In fact, it was so far off that it almost hit Ian.
“Sorry, Ian,” I called. But it was close enough to break Professor Smythe’s concentration, thank goodness. Ivy got up and ran away.
I scanned the courtyard looking for Rafe and found him just as he took out one of the glowing guards. In one swift movement, his wolf ripped the guard’s arm off. The screaming started and ended when Rafe ripped his throat out as well and left the body lying in the grass.
Rafe in wolf form stared at me. Blood covered his mouth, chest, and fur. It was terrifying and also kind of hot. I was glad he was on my side. That’s my wolf.
Malachai caught up to me and drew his flaming sword. “Nice throw, Keira. Only next time aim for that asshole’s head.”
“Where do you think I was aiming?”
I looked around the courtyard and found Ian holding his own against another glowing guard. The stray students milling around when this started seemed to be gone.
For now, with my mates and Professor Kiln on our side, we seemed to be winning. Maybe we could end this here? There was only one thing that was really bothering me now. Where was the Headmaster?
He was the only one that I didn’t see. That’s when a blast of magic hit me from behind and knocked me to the ground face first. I felt it sear my body and yet it felt cold. It dissolved some of the cloth left on my jeans.
Malachai shouted. I saw him assume his magic stance and I tried to warn him, but it was too late. The Headmaster did the thing with his hand and sent him flying through the air.
Luckily, he landed well. A burst of anger swept through me. Without waiting to assume my stance, I let my rage take over. I pointed and used whatever spell the dark magic churning inside of me wanted unleashed.
The purplish-black magic that flew out of my hands was thick and powerful and left me light-headed. It nearly hit its mark too.
I saw the Headmaster’s face when the magic just missed him and took out the fountain in the middle of the courtyard with an explosion. Then I heard the thudding of heavy concrete falling to the earth followed by splashing sounds as the water spilled out of the hole in the ground.
As I kept my eye on the Headmaster, I heard footsteps approaching. Ian and Rafe and the rest had joined me.
The Headmaster saw that the moment was lost and ran for the double doors.
If I could just get up and assume a proper magic stance in time, I had a chance to take him out. My last spell was powerful. It could have hurt him. I could see the alarm on his face as he saw it roar past.
All I needed was to get a little bit closer. I ran toward him.
I heard Ivy screaming. “Keira, no! The fountain water!”
The fountain water. My mind remembered back to my first night in the academy when Ivy warned me not to touch the fountain water. Of course, she also said I had to stay away from vampires, and I know how that turned out.
I was almost close enough. I slowed down and assumed my stance. I was in time, too, he was only now huffing and puffing and bounding up the steps to the double doors.
That’s when I felt the wet moisture squish up over my shoes and touch my foot. And that’s when everything changed.
19
Malachai
Keira heard Ivy’s warning, but she ran ahead anyway. The Headmaster was trying to get away and she was trying to stop him.
When she did stop and assume her magic stance, I thought she was still far enough away from the fountain water pooling up out of the rubble, but I was wrong.
She looked down at her foot, then at me, and then she disappeared.
I shouted in alarm and sprinted forward but then I stopped as I saw the clear liquid oozing outward through the grass. I had to help her, but what good would it do if we all disappeared?
“Keira!” I screamed, circling the ever-expanding ripple of fountain water like a caged animal.
Everybody else ran up behind me. They screamed and circled and searched the same as I did.
All except for Professor Kiln. She wasn’t running or yelling or searching. Her eyes were fixed on the last place Keira had been standing. She closed her eyes and concentrated. What was she doing?
I concentrated on the spot as well, and even though I couldn’t see her, for a moment I thought I could feel her.
“I’ve got you now, Keira.” It was the Headmaster’s voice.
; I turned. I was sure he would have gone through the double doors and escaped by now. Why was he talking to Keira when Keira wasn’t even there?
As I watched, he assumed his magic stance and it looked like he was still aiming at Keira. I didn’t understand what was going on, I just knew that she was in trouble.
“Get him before he gets Keira!” I shouted to the others. I knew there was no time, so I pulled out my flaming sword and threw it at him.
The blade flew right past his face, breaking his concentration. I saw his eyes grow wide with surprise when he saw how close it came to slicing him across the face and I felt bad that I missed.
Then I saw the others running toward him, cutting a very wide berth around the bubbling water. The wolves leaped easily over the last part that was wet, but it was too late.
The Headmaster got into the building.
20
Keira
As soon as I felt the gushing liquid from the broken fountain hit my toes, the world around me got dark. Everything looked and felt and sounded like it was muted. I could see the others, but they couldn’t see me.
I saw the shock and panic in their faces as they looked in my direction, only it wasn’t focused. They were looking where I used to be.
As I walked around, their eyes didn’t follow me. Here on the inside, the liquid I had stepped in was a bright pink color. I was standing in it and I could see the clearly defined edges of the pool that the others were working hard now to avoid while still shouting and trying to help me.
Everything was quiet here and I felt at peace. Though they were near, the others felt far away. Except for Tor. Tor was looking at me from the far edge of the clearing in the woods. He smiled at me. I smiled back.
Then I heard a noise, which surprised me. The noise was in this place, not outside. I turned and it was the Headmaster. He could clearly see me even though the others couldn’t.
That was bad. His face turned up into a cruel smirk as he made eye contact. “It’s over now, Keira.”
He assumed his magic stance and though he was across the courtyard, I could feel his magic building. It bubbled and seethed with hatred for me like mine did for him. And like mine, it came nearly unbidden, ready to strike.
I stood frozen. My plan was to try to jump out of the way at the last moment, but I suspected somehow that I wasn’t allowed to step out of the pink pool of liquid. That meant I could only jump to the right.
The Headmaster’s dark magic built to a crescendo. Then a glowing sword flew through the air past my head and at the Headmaster, breaking his focus.
My friends rushed around the edges of the pool at the Headmaster. Rafe and Ian, all fangs and snarling rage went around to the left while Malachai and Ivy went to the right. I watched it all unfold from the calm and quiet of this new place.
Then I wondered where Professor Kiln had gone. A hand grabbed my shirt from behind and yanked. The next thing I knew I was lying on the grass outside in the courtyard again.
I could hear everybody running and shouting. It felt like going from underwater back up to the surface, and everything went back to normal. Except I had a splitting headache.
I cradled my head in my hands for a moment and then looked up at Professor Kiln, who was scowling down at me like I had done something wrong.
“You’re lucky I was able to pull you out, Keira. If you do it again, I won’t have enough magic to bring you back. Now I’m depleted, and we have work to do if we’re going to survive. Julius knows full well that’s it’s us or him.”
“What happened to me? Where was I?”
“The fountain water acts as a portal between realms. It takes very powerful magic to get out once you enter.”
I stood and managed a weak smile.
Ivy ran over to me. “Shit, Keira, you disappeared.”
I had more questions for Professor Kiln. “Why is it that the only people who could see into that realm were Tor and the Headmaster? And you too.”
“I told you, girl. I told all of you. Forbidden Magic changes who you are. Whether you are the one who cast the spell or the one who the spell was cast upon. Although the spell casters bear the brunt of the impact. Now let’s get inside the academy before Julius has a chance to regroup.”
21
Keira
We all filed back inside the academy behind Professor Kiln, careful to jump over the growing puddle of fountain water in the grass.
“What are we going to do about that portal water?” Ivy asked. “Students are going to come out here and walk right into it and then disappear, right?”
Professor Kiln huffed at that, but as soon as we were all inside, she shooed us away from the door and then sent a bright green blast of magic at it. From the looks of it, her magic sealed the doors shut. “That ought to hold it for now.”
I watched Professor Kiln magic the doors shut with a new sense of dread. Now we were all trapped inside here with the Headmaster, Professor Smythe, his goons, and anything else they might throw at us.
“Now what?” I asked Professor Kiln.
“Go to class. I have a plan to pop the time bubble, but I’m depleted now,” she gave me a dirty look as she said that part, “and it’ll take me time to prepare. After dinner, meet me at my room, number 406.”
I looked at Professor Kiln incredulously. She had to be kidding. “You think that after all this, after I was nearly killed and Tor was turned back into a dragon that we’re going to forget about it all and go back to class?”
Professor Kiln shook her head at me before fixing her sternest stare at the others. “You’d better, if you know what’s good for you. Whatever Julius is or isn’t, this academy is everything to him. He will not see it disrupted. That’s why he attacked you in the middle of the night and why this morning’s festivities ended before breakfast. A fight is coming, make no mistake. But it will not be now. He’s going to let things calm down first.”
I heard her words, but they sounded like a fairy tale. How were we supposed to concentrate on spells and quizzes when all of our lives were on the line? I wanted to ask questions, but I trusted Professor Kiln. She had risked a lot to help us.
And after all, a deal was a deal.
If there was any danger of me forgetting the events of the last few hours, the looks that the other students as we made our way back into the academy were giving me were a stark reminder.
Looking down, I could see what a mess I was. My jeans were torn all the way up to my thigh revealing as much skin as a miniskirt, and the top I wore no longer even covered my bra. I hugged myself, covering what little I could. And that wasn’t even taking all of the blood into consideration.
The one thing I knew for sure was that I couldn’t go straight to class like this. I’d have to head to my dorm first. Checking my watch, I figured I had just enough time for a shower.
Only half an hour. I’d have to be fast. And I’d have to skip breakfast. I said goodbye to the others and headed to shower and change.
Throwing open my dorm room door, I felt a flood of emotions hit me. By all accounts I should be dead. I could still see the events of the last few hours in my mind. The Headmaster barging in, seeing him hurt Tor and Ivy, dragging me off.
I swallowed, happy to be alive, and darted into my room where I grabbed another outfit and a fresh towel and turned on the hot water.
I had to admit that I felt bad letting Professor Kiln talk about breaking the time bubble that we were stuck in without mentioning to the others that part of the Headmaster’s plan right now was to make them all forget about me.
Imagining the academy and my mates going on with their lives without me had me choking back sobs. I tried to concentrate on washing the blood and soot off of my filthy body, wincing at the pain from the open wounds.
What kind of an asshole does this to people? Anger rose in my belly, and I could feel my dark magic churn. But then I felt nausea wash over me. I had been through an awful lot. I couldn’t believe that I was going to have to put all of t
his aside and go to class. What I wanted to do was find a way to kill the Headmaster, time bubble or no.
Professor Kiln had everybody’s best interest in wanting us all to be free, but I knew the truth. That this thing between me and the Headmaster was personal.
And now I wanted to kill him as much as he wanted to kill me. I turned the water off and grabbed the towel. That’s when the thought hit me. Now that I had seen his true form, everything had changed. Now I knew what he was. If I knew what he was, maybe I could find a weakness.
The stack of forbidden magic textbooks in my closet were suddenly calling my name.
I ran, still in my towel, to the closet and knelt down skimming the titles as I ran a finger down the old, leather spines.
The scent of musty books filled the air. And then my eyes landed on a promising title. Forbidden, Mutated, and Cursed. Really. That was the title. I wondered how I even missed it before. Who could resist picking up a title like that?
The only reason I had probably overlooked it was because I had been specifically searching for a way to turn Tor back into Tor. Which I had to do again.
That’s when I heard the bell ring. Oh shit. I’m late. I grabbed the book I wanted out of the stack and then threw it in my backpack.
Then I put my clothes on so fast I had to stop and look in the mirror to make sure I hadn’t put something on backward. Because then it would look like I was late because I was having sex. I snickered at that thought, and then a dozen different scenarios went through my head which would all have been a much better evening last night than spending it almost getting killed by the Headmaster.
I was late and the Headmaster was gunning for me, but right now I was alive, and if I had anything to say about it then I was going to try to at least live a little when I got the chance. If I got the chance.
