by Valia Lind
"I see it in you, Maddie," Dad comments, pulling me out of my thoughts, "The more accepting you are, the stronger your magic grows. It will only hurt you if you don't trust it fully."
Just then, a noise comes from the outside. Not quite the boom we heard in Liam's house, but close.
"Now you have to go." He grabs his notebook, scribbling something down and tearing the page.
"What? No! I'm not leaving you."
Dad stands, tugging me toward the door I walked in through. I try to pull him to a stop, but he doesn't budge.
"You have to go. I am safe here, as long as you do what must be done."
"I don't understand."
He places a piece of paper in my hand, before pushing me out the door.
"I thought I had to find the perfect witch, without realizing she's my own daughter. The spell is yours to make your own. When you win, I will be free."
"Dad!"
The door shuts and I grab the handle, trying to pry it open. Screaming his name, I pound on the door but it won't move. Rushing over to the window, I look through it and at him standing on the other side.
"I love you," he mouths, and the tears are once again streaming down my face. Then, I hear my name being called, and I twist toward the doorway to the garden. Aiden is in trouble. I can feel it in my bones.
"I'll make you proud, Daddy," I say, turning back to the window. "I love you."
Then, tucking the paper into the pocket of my jeans, I race for the doorway.
When I burst through on the other side, the garden is in chaos. Fae are in every corner, fighting. Trolls, wing creatures that I've never seen before, along with magic wielders that look like humans have infiltrated the grounds. My eyes scan for Aiden, just as a wing creature attacks. I duck automatically, coming back up with battle magic at my fingertips. Sending a blast at the creature, I push it back, but only barely. Whatever this thing is, it's more powerful than I anticipated. Some have claws for hands, other have tentacles. They're a mesh of different creatures, all rolled into one. The only thing they do have in common are the wings. Which gives them an advantage.
"Maddie!"
Aiden's voice comes from my left and then he's there. He grabs my hand, pulling me out of the way as another creature descends. We roll out of the way, and this time, I call on my water magic, blasting the creature right in the face and keeping the water there. He thrashes around as he tries to get it off, but it's no use. The moment he's down, I let up.
"What are they?" I yell, as a troll jumps at me. I grab my sword, pulling it out of its sheath on my back in one quick motion. The troll attacks again, but this time instead of dodging him, I attack. They're quick, aided by their size, but I've been training with Aiden. He's just ask quick as they are and so I'm prepared.
"We need to get out of here," Aiden calls over his shoulder, as he reaches for me once again. Sweat drips into my face, and I wipe at it with my other hand, surveying the garden in front of me. The queen's guards seem to be holding their own a little better now, so I turn to Aiden.
"Let's go."
Instead of racing to the wall, Aiden leads us to the palace. Trusting him to know what he's doing, I push myself to keep up. Even in human form, he's much faster than I am. Reaching back, he takes my hand, tucking me beside him. We rush through the hallways, and I only have a moment to notice the carnage around me. Many of the rich fae, who've spent their time at the palace are dead. Their playrooms turned into their graves. I glimpse blood and body parties thrown everywhere, before we're moving away. My stomach overturns itself, bile threatening to rise, but I push it away. I don't have time to dwell on what I'm seeing.
When we reach the grand entrance, the queen is there. She's holding her own against the creatures trying to get in through the front doors. When she spots us, she beckons with her hand, and Aiden doesn't hesitate to move us toward her.
"I knew you would come to look for him," she says, as she sends a big blast of magic at the door, before it slams shut. "That will not hold them long. They are much more powerful than I anticipated."
"What are they?"
"Her enhancements. She has given creatures a boost in magic, her own special breed of soldiers."
"What does she want?"
"The ultimate power, of course," the queen gives me a pointed look. "You found him, did you not?"
"I did." Aiden's head whips in my direction, surprised. But I stay focused on the queen. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"The bargain prevented it. Now do what he has instructed. There is a portal in the throne room. It will lead you to Liam's house. Go now."
I open my mouth to thank you, but stop at the last moment. She seems to understand anyway, a smirk forming on her lips.
"I knew who you were when I saw you, Madison Hawthorne. She has come and you must fight. Now, go!"
Aiden doesn't hesitate. He takes my hand once more, racing to the throne room. The portal is there, already shimmering in the empty space, waiting for us to go through. More shouting comes from behind us, but we don't stop, until we run right through the shimmer.
Landing on the other side, hands still entwined, we come face to face with my friends.
"Maddie!" Jade rushes to me, throwing her arms around me. Immediately, I see that they look out of breath, as if they too have been fighting.
"What's going on?" Aiden asks, as he looks around the room.
"They're almost through the barriers," Ben replies, his voice absent of any humor he usually carries with him. Owen stands beside him, in quiet determination. While Natalie is pacing, looking angry at the world.
"These wards won't let us out either!" She snaps, glaring at Liam.
"The wards are keeping you safe. So a thank you should be in order," he replies, matching his tone. Her death stare doesn't seem to have any affect on him, but she tires anyway. "What happened out there?"
"The Oracle is here," I say, receiving a few gasps from around the room. Noel has been the quietest through all of this, and when I look at him, I can see he's scared. Walking over to him, I don't reach out. Just stand beside him and wait for him to make the move. When he finally meets my eye, I read every emotion there. "We'll get through this."
"Will we?" Noel asks, and I hear it in his voice. The doubt, the uncertainty. I can't really be making these promises and I won't lie to my friends.
"We will try our best," I say, and for a moment Noel looks surprised, but then he nods.
"Thank you for not lying to me."
Jade comes over to stand beside him and takes his hand, and I see him instantly relax. They're good together, I knew that much. But to see it, it makes my heart happy. Now, I just need to make sure I get them out of this. That's when I realize I haven't looked at the paper dad gave me. Pulling it out, I give the words a quick scan. So simple, yet so powerful.
Looking up, I see that my friends are watching me, as if waiting for me to come up with a plan. Meeting Aiden's eyes, I find complete trust there. Somehow, he has given me this position of leadership, even though as an alpha, he could take it. No questions asked. But this is something only I can do, and as he walks to stand beside me, I realize what that is.
"I know you're scared," I begin, as Aiden reaches for my hand and entwines our fingers together. His pack doesn't miss the small movement, because even though he's done it before, there's difference in the way he holds it now. Ben and Owen exchange a glance, before their full attention is on me. The intensity in their gaze speaks volumes. Natalie doesn't look as displeased as I thought she would be either. Jade is beaming at me, which is very unnatural in our current situation. Liam and Noel don't look even remotely surprised. But all of their focus is on me now. So I take a deep breath, and continue.
"I have a spell, but to execute it, I have to be on campus. Which is mostly overrun by these creatures by now. Headmaster Marković is...possessed would be the best word, by the Oracle's magic. That means the academy is not safe. But we have no choice but try and get in anyway. I know it's asking a lot of
you. We've been training for this all year, but none of us actually expected the Ancients to break through the walls and become a personal threat to us. At least, I didn't.
"I know we can't stop all of them. The Ancients are too powerful and there are too many. But we can stop the one here and now. I can't do that alone. Every time I try to fix things on my own, I keep messing them up. Because this isn't just about me. We are all chosen to protect our birthright. We are witches and shifters and fae who have a responsibly to our magic. This is our responsibility. This is what we have to do in order to keep our families safe. I'm not backing down." Aiden gives me a scorching look, pride shining in those gorgeous eyes of his. "If you can't fight, I understand. But I ask you to trust me. With all of us, we can do this. I know it."
"We're here, Maddie. We're with you," Aiden says, and I watch as every single person in the room nods their head. My heart swells with love for these people. For my people.
"What do we do?"
I study the faces in the room, the family I have become part of at the Thunderbird Academy and I know there is only one answer to that question,
"We go to war."
25
The fighting is so loud outside, I'm afraid they'll come through those doors any minute.
"Your barriers are stronger than the queens?" I ask, and the fae gives me a quick smile.
"No, she put some of her magic into them before she left."
All this time I thought Queen Amaryllis was the bad guy, and she ended up being the good guy. I guess it's true when they say, not everything is what it seems.
"Can you portal us to the school?" But even before I finish asking the question, Liam is shaking his head.
"The Oracle is feeding off the magic. She'll either prevent the portal or be right on the other side of it. Either way, it doesn't look good for us."
"That means we have to go through," I say, turning to face the front doors. It's not an ideal way of doing this, but we don't have a choice. Aiden walks back over to stand beside me. He was conferring with the pack, since they are so much better at strategy, I'm open to every idea. I told him as much.
"We have to scatter," he says, and it's what I've been afraid of. I'm not exactly excited to send my friends out there by themselves. "Maddie, it's the only way. If we push all together, we won't make it far. We might get stuck, surrounded somewhere."
"You're talking about a diversion," Noel comments.
"I am," Aiden looks down at me, determination fueling his words. "We can do this. It's dangerous, but if we play our cards right, we will get through faster."
"So what's the plan then?" Jade asks, her magic already at her fingertips. I have to admit. My friends are pretty powerful.
"One shifter, one non-shifter. We leave the house at the same time, then separate when we get close to the edge of the barrier. Ben you go with Noel. Owen goes with Liam. Nat, you go with Jade."
The two girls eye each other immediately, and I glance at Aiden as he pairs people up. There's a strategy in that as well, so I'll have to ask him about it later. If we get out of it alive. Surprisingly, I'm not worried about Jade. I know Natalie won't allow her pride to do anything but her best when it comes to protecting Jade. But I can feel Liam's eyes on me.
He doesn't want me out of his sight, of that I am sure. The bond we've created between us makes me want to keep him where I can see him as well. But it's smarter this way and we both know it. I think he's going to protest anyway, but he doesn't. An understanding passes between us, a promise without words that we will do our best to get through this in one piece.
"Okay, then let's do this."
As a group, we move toward the front entrance. Exchanging a few looks, I force my mind to memorize my friends as they are right now. There are no guarantees in life. I remember thinking that when I started this school year. How silly that day seems now. The worries that I experienced back then nothing in comparison to where we are today. But just like my dad said, every experience is a building block to who we are meant to become. There are no goodbye exchanged between us. We know we've been trained for this and now, we get to prove ourselves.
After one last look at my friends, Liam opens the door and we run out. The scene that greets us is much worse than I've anticipated. The creatures are right at the barrier, clawing to get in. There are at least two dozen of them, pure hatred coming off them as they gnash their teeth.
However, we don't pause. We run toward them and then, at the last moment, we separate. There's a loud screech, made by a dozen creatures, and then they give chase. I pull on my water magic, feeling it rush over my body.
Aiden and I burst through the herd, my magic making a tunnel as the water pushes the creatures to the side. It only lasts a moment, but it's long enough for us to get to the woods. I think we're ahead enough, when something yanks me from the back.
I slam into the tree, dropping to all fours, my sword flying out of my hands. Aiden shouts my name, as I shake my head to clear it. When I look up, the winged creatures is upon me. We slam into the ground, the creature's saliva dripping into my skin, as his claws dig into my upper arms. I'm completely pinned down, by the sheer weight of the monster. I hear Aiden yelling, but when I glance to the side, I see him battling two creatures of his own. One of them manages to draw blood and my heart stops at the sight.
The creature above raises one claw to swipe at me, but I use that as momentum, slamming my freed hand, now full of magic into its chest. The impact, and the emotion behind it, sends the creature flying and the next thing I know, he's pierced through the heart on one of the branches. Grabbing my sword, I jump to my feet, racing toward Aiden. He's holding his own against the two, and when I get there, I dispatch of one from the back. Aiden finishes the other, before reaching for my hand.
The sound of more of them coming follows us as we race toward the school. When we finally reach the outskirts of the academy, my heart drops. The place is near unrecognizable. The building itself looks like it's been through a bombing, and there are students and faculty fighting on the lawn.
"Where do you need to go?" Aiden asks, his eyes scanning the area, looking for his pack.
"The greenhouse," I announce, receiving a quick nod.
"Our best bet is just head straight in." It's what I thought as well. "Ready?"
"Yes."
We take off once again, but this time, we don't get any farther. Suddenly, Headmaster Marković is there, blocking our path. Aiden and I halt, as headmaster smiles.
"It's about time."
"Headmaster Marković," I begin, keeping my voice calm, "I know you're under a spell. But you can fight it."
"Why would I want to?" He chuckles and the laugh is so unnatural it causes goosebumps to break out over my skin. He looks wrong somehow. Maybe like he hasn't eaten or drank anything in days. His clothes is dirtier than I've ever seen it and there's a crazy look in his eyes.
I let go of Aiden's hand and begin moving slowly around the headmaster. There's no way to know how juiced up he is on the Ancient's magic. Technically, he could blow us all out of the water here. Keeping his attention on me, I continue to circle, while Aiden reads my mind and moves behind him.
"This isn't you, Headmaster Marković," I say, trying to keep him focused. "You're our teacher. My mentor. Look at what has happened to your school. You can’t—“
"You can try to distract me all you want," headmaster Marković interrupts me, sick amusement shining in his eyes. "But you are no match for her. No matter how much you pretend to be all perfect and powerful."
"When have I ever pretended to be—“
"Since the moment you came into the school. Little Miss Hawthorne. Has to show off her magic."
His speech is getting more frantic the longer he speaks. It's like it revving him up for something, but what, I can't even begin to guess. I don't think I want to. Suddenly, a sword appears in his hand, taking me by surprise.
"I think we should battle it out the old fashioned way," he
grins, spit dripping down his chin. But Aiden is now directly behind him, and he doesn't hesitate to pounce. At the last moment, headmaster turns, slamming the sword right into Aiden's stomach.
"No!"
The scream rips out of me, and I stumble toward Aiden, as headmaster yanks the sword out. Aiden drops to his knees, holding a hand over the rip in his torso, as blood flows out.
"Aiden, no. No." I'm unable to utter any other words, as I land hard on my knees beside him. The headmaster stands over us, laughing his diabolical laugh.
"You're going to be okay. You are," I mutter over and over, placing my hand over the gaping wound. The blood stains my hands red, my tears blinding me for a moment.
"Tsk, tsk, Miss Hawthorne," headmaster says, twisting his sword around as he looks down at us. "It's not nice to lie."
I ignore him just long enough to meet Aiden's eyes. My magic and my love for him rushes to the surface, the power of it burning in my veins.
"Shift," I command, and something comes over Aiden's eye right then. He jerks in my arms, as his body begins to morph. I feel more than see the headmaster move towards me, and I'm ready for him. Spinning around, I bring my sword up as he swings his down. The impact jerks my body, but I keep hold. Pushing back, I rise to my feet, my magic begging to be set free.
"I have always respected you," I say, keeping my sword firmly against his, "But I will not let you destroy everything I love."
With those words, I push my magic though my arms and into my sword. I'm not even sure how I'm doing it, I just know I'm acting on instinct. Headmaster Marković stumbles back, pushed by my magic. Moving toward him, I swing my sword faster and faster, as the headmaster tries to block me move for move. My body doesn't feel tired for some reason. It feels like it can go for days. I don't slow down and I don't let up. Headmaster is holding his own, but I can see the uncertainty in his eyes the faster I move. Magic pours out of me in waves and I don't hold anything back. I'm not running from this power, not anymore.
Our swords cling together, echoing in the space around us. Others are fighting all over the school, the screams of pain and shouts of triumph molding together. My feet are sure on the grass as we do the dance. Headmaster Marković is knowledgable in combat, but I have a little more determination on my side. Even so, when he swipes at me, I'm a second too late and he makes a clean cut across my upper right arm. The pain is instantaneous and even though the blood sprays everywhere, I don't stop my advance.
