by Demi Dumond
“Shouldn’t we help Kiln if she’s willing to help us take him down?” Malachai asked.
“Absolutely. But we’re not going to hang around being sitting ducks in the meantime. Touch base with her before we leave and figure out a way to communicate.”
That seemed to make everyone feel better. “Great. Okay, let’s get one more night’s sleep in our beds. We could be living in the wild for a while. Let’s meet back here at five am. We’ll sneak around, grab some food, and then head out.” It was a good plan.
I hugged Malachai. And then Rafe. And then Ian. We shared a special bond. We didn’t need words. I could feel them, and Tor, like I could feel my own heartbeat. Like I could feel the magic flowing through my body. And Ivy felt like an old friend. I was lucky to have them all.
And for the first time since I had come to the academy, it felt like I had a choice in my future, even if it wasn’t what I expected. Maybe we could wait out the headmaster or think of a plan. Especially with Kiln on our side.
Maybe there was reason to hope.
“Until five, then,” Ian said with his signature sinful smirk.
And then they left. All except for Tor, Ivy, and I who went into our dorm room.
“I’ll sleep on the couch tonight, no arguments,” Tor said. “You looked really depleted after that last spell. I have to say, it was so cool the way the fire shot out of your hands, though. When all this is over, I want you to teach me that spell.”
“You got it,” I said. I wouldn’t have objected to him in my bed, but I was too tired to argue. I went to the fridge and grabbed an energy drink. Then I went into my room, closed the door, and threw myself onto the bed.
My body was exhausted but there was no way my brain was going to slow down. How was I supposed to sleep when this was going to be my last night of normal? Maybe forever.
I closed my eyes for a moment, just to rest them.
39
Keira
The next thing I knew there was a bang at the door. I sat up wondering what the hell was going on. Was it five already?
Anyway, I thought the plan was to sneak around, not loudly bang on everybody’s door.
Then I heard a shout. It was Ivy. I ran out into the sitting area to find Ivy and Tor doing hand-to-hand combat with headmaster Crowe.
With a wave of his hand, the headmaster sent Ivy flying backward into the wall. She hit it with a slam and then sunk to the ground.
Tor rejoined the fight with a snarl. I ran over to check on Ivy. She was breathing and had a pulse but was unconscious.
I stood up and squared off with the headmaster. I assumed my magic stance, hoping he would go down as easy as the monsters did. Even if I didn’t survive, it would be worth it to take him out.
Instead, he pointed at me before I could get set. The next thing I knew, an invisible force hit me and knocked me across the room.
It must have been the same thing he had done to Ivy, only I was at a better angle to tumble onto the floor and not a wall.
“Run, Keira!” Tor said as he punched and kicked the headmaster, drawing blood.
I appreciated the sentiment, but there was nowhere to go.
The headmaster wiped his face and saw the blood. Then it sounded like he cursed in a language I didn’t understand. “Fool,” he said. “You’re no match for me, boy.”
With a wave of his hand, he threw Tor against the wall as well. I heard a crack as his leg landed awkwardly. I knew it was broken.
“Tor!” I screamed, but he wasn’t moving. Like Ivy, he was unconscious. That only left me and the headmaster. I stared at him.
“What do you want from us?” I screamed at him.
His face curled up into a hideous smile. One that was too large for his face. I squinted at him, because for a moment there seemed to be two of him. A larger, greenish creature with tiny eyes and a green horn, and also the headmaster I was used to seeing.
For a second, I wondered if any of this was real. Was this a concussed dream from my battle with the monsters earlier? I turned to look at Tor and Ivy. If this was a dream, then it wasn’t working out well for them.
The headmaster stepped forward, said a spell, and grabbed me by the arm. I instantly went limp. I could see and hear everything going on around me, but I couldn’t move, talk, or scream.
In my head I was screaming, but all I heard were the padded footsteps of the headmaster’s dockers as he dragged me by the arm out of the room and down the hall like I was a rag doll.
“Oh Keira. You’re a hard girl to kill.”
He picked up the pace as he turned down hallway after hallway, dragging me behind, like there wasn’t anything fucking terrifying about it at all.
He even whistled an eerie tune as he walked. Why was he bothering to drag me anywhere? Why not just kill me in my room?
“It’s a compliment, really,” he continued. “My subordinates couldn’t get it done. One simple demand. To kill you. Well, that’s why they’re subordinate. If you need something done correctly, you have to do it yourself as they say.”
I tried again to scream. Nothing came out. I still couldn’t move. What kind of spell was this? What had he done to me?
“It’s actually wonderful news, Keira. You’re going to be delicious. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this months ago. Sure, I would have liked for you to get even stronger first. That would have been more fun. But this way, I get you out of the way and I get stronger.”
As he said the last sentence, he turned down another hallway. A hallway I had never seen before. It was bright orange. So bright that I wished I could blink.
And then something else caught my eye. A splash of red. The headmaster stopped in front of a door. He paused.
“Did I forget to clean up after my last appointment?” He asked himself out loud. “Oh well, no matter. The inside’s clean.”
I could see now that the red was a trail that led out of the door we were in front of, then down the hall, and then into another room.
The trail was sticky and glistened in the light. Oh god, it was blood. There was a blood trail leading out of this room.
And I couldn’t move or even scream. I couldn’t put up any kind of fight at all.
The door opened with a creak, and the headmaster pulled me inside.
“Welcome to advising, Keira” the headmaster said.
About the Author
Demi Dumond writes steamy adorable happily ever afters. She lives with her real life Prince Charming in the Rocky Mountains. Her stories are good for heating things up on cold winter nights. Connect with Demi below.
