“How did you get the antidote to Annika’s transformation potion?” I asked Camelia. “Were you working with Geneva?”
Geneva was the witch who had been helping Annika back then, and who had created the potion that erased and replaced my memories. I was finally accepting that I might never get those memories back. But if Camelia knew where any of Geneva’s antidotes were, I wanted to know about it. Maybe I’d be able to get my memories back, after all.
“I wasn’t working with Geneva.” Camelia smiled smugly. “And I didn’t have an antidote pill.”
“That’s not possible,” I said. “Spells and potions can only be reversed with an antidote pill created by the same witch that cast the spell or brewed the potion.”
At least, that’s what everyone had been telling me for the past few months.
“Thanks for the lesson in witchcraft.” Camelia rolled her eyes. “I’m one of the most powerful witches in the world. I clearly needed it.”
“There’s only one thing that could reverse a spell without an antidote pill,” Darra chimed in, ignoring Camelia’s sarcasm. “Fae magic.” My mentor studied Camelia, like she was searching for an answer she wasn’t sure she’d get. “But the fae don’t give anything away without receiving a twisted form of payment in return. So what did you trade for such powerful magic, Camelia?”
Camelia lowered her hand to her belly and looked out toward the horizon, not saying a word. She didn’t look like she was going to budge.
That was fine by me. I didn’t want to chitchat with her, anyway. None of us did.
So if it was silence she wanted for the rest of the journey to the satellite island, then that was exactly what she was going to get.
16
Raven
There was no need to worry about manning the boat, thanks to the mages’ magic keeping us on course. So we used the time on the sailboat to rest, since we’d need to be at full energy once we landed on the island. That was the first rule Noah had taught me about hunting, after all.
Whenever there’s a chance to get some sleep, take it.
The three of them were sleeping in shifts, allowing me to sleep as much as I needed. It was one of the perks of being the one who would be doing the actual hunting. It was also probably because since I still hadn’t ignited my Nephilim powers, I remained the weakest of the four of us.
I felt like I’d just fallen asleep, when suddenly Noah was gently shaking me awake. I glanced at my watch. Three hours had passed.
“Are we there?” I rolled over, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I’d been having a hard time sleeping recently, but the rocking boat had practically lulled me unconscious.
“Almost,” he said, gazing ahead of us. “Look.”
I sat up and looked ahead. Sure enough, the satellite island had come into view.
It was one giant, lush mountain coming out of the sea. While stunning, it was much smaller than Avalon. It must have only been a few miles around the entire thing. There was a beach around the outside, which was nice. But right behind the beach was a dense jungle. The trees were thick right up until the top of the mountain, where there was a big crater that looked like it belonged on the top of a volcano.
“Why does the island look like a volcano?” I asked.
“Because it is a volcano.” Camelia smirked and stared at it in awe.
“It’s dormant,” I said. “Right?”
“Complete your task quickly and you won’t need to find out.”
Of course. Darra had prepared me about how the final Trial would work. The faster I hunted and killed the supernatural placed on the island, the fewer snares would be thrown my way. The longer I took, the more punishments I’d encounter. The Trial was designed that way to incentivize me to hurry up and complete my task.
Soon, the sailboat landed on the beach. We all hopped off and pulled it onto shore. But we couldn’t leave it there, sitting in plain sight for anyone to take.
“We need to hide the sailboat,” I said, since I’d instantly lose the Trial if Dr. Foster found it and escaped. Plus, we needed it to return to Avalon. Yes, the witches could teleport us back in case of an emergency, but returning by sailboat was a part of the ceremony. “Noah and Darra, can you drag it into the jungle? We can cover it with leaves to camouflage it. Camelia, we’ll hide the boat’s tracks in the sand.”
While the others weren’t allowed to help me actually hunt and kill Dr. Foster, they were allowed to help me with tasks like this. And despite how much I didn’t like Camelia, I couldn’t ask a pregnant person to lug a sailboat across the beach and into the jungle.
Luckily, Noah and Darra were more than up for the task. They didn’t even have to drag the sailboat. They simply picked it up and carried it into the jungle. It was situated and hidden amongst the trees in no time.
I inspected their work. It was flawless. No one would know the sailboat was there if they didn’t know to look for it.
“Come on,” I said loudly once they were finished. “Let’s walk around the island and get our bearings.”
They followed me away from the hidden boat. They had to follow me, since interfering with my decisions was against the rules of the Trial.
Camelia rolled her eyes as we walked away. She obviously thought I was being stupid.
I smiled inwardly at the knowledge that I was about to one up her.
Once we reached a place where we could still see the location where we’d stashed the boat, but wouldn’t be overheard from there if we whispered, I ducked behind a nearby rock. I motioned for the others to do the same, and they did. We all had our cloaking rings on, which masked our scents. So from this spot, we’d be hidden.
“We can keep a lookout from here,” I whispered. “Make sure Dr. Foster wasn’t nearby and doesn’t try taking the boat.”
“Smart.” Noah nodded in approval.
Darra also looked pleased. Camelia said nothing.
I didn’t think Camelia wanted me to fail, since she needed the Nephilim army just as much as every other supernatural in the world. But she definitely didn’t want this to be easy for me.
“And if he does try taking the boat?” she asked.
“Then it’s the perfect opportunity for me to corner him and ignite my powers.”
I almost said it was my perfect opportunity to kill him, but I couldn’t. Because I’d be taking a life I didn’t think deserved should be taken.
I didn’t want to face that fact until I had to.
Hopefully Dr. Foster would do something heinous before that point. Something that would remove my doubts and prove that killing him was the right move.
We waited quietly behind the rock for about an hour. If Dr. Foster was going to take the boat, he would have already made his move by the time the hour was up. It seemed like we were in the clear.
I stood up and stretched. It had been pretty uncomfortable staying in the same spot for so long without moving. The others did the same.
“Now we’ll walk around the island,” I said. “We’ll look for any signs of Dr. Foster and try to track him.”
Well, I’d look for any signs of him. The others weren’t allowed to help me. Their supernatural senses of smell would have made it too easy for me.
The rules were frustrating, but they were there so I could prove I deserved to be a Nephilim. And as much as I wished I could break the rules, I wanted respect from the supernatural community. Which meant I had to do this their way.
We started along the beach, walking slightly in the ocean to hide our tracks. The sun shined directly above us, and despite our feet being in the water, it was hot.
I’d grown unused to dealing with extreme temperatures, because Avalon always had perfect weather. Now, I was wiping sweat from my brow, and feeling dehydrated before I should have. I imagined my cheeks were flushed red from the heat.
We were going to have to find fresh water, and eventually, food. Especially for Camelia. Walking in this heat while pregnant couldn’t be easy for her. A glance at
the others showed me they were okay so far—probably because they were supernaturals and didn’t tire out as quickly as I did. But they weren’t invincible. And surviving was an important part of the hunt. I had to keep myself strong so I’d be ready for the eventual fight.
But I didn’t want to pause on searching for Dr. Foster yet. The more time he had on the island by himself, the harder he was going to be to find. I had to push through for as long as I could before taking a break to locate fresh water.
We continued around the island for another forty-five minutes, when finally I spotted footprints on the beach. They went from the ocean into the jungle.
“Look.” I pointed to the footprints going into the dense foliage. “I think we’ve found the start of our trail.”
“Good job.” Noah nodded and motioned toward the forest. “Lead the way.”
Noah was a leader—I could tell it was taking effort for him not to be the first one to follow the trail. But he wanted me to succeed in the final Trial as much as I did. He wouldn’t risk that by breaking the rules.
I led the way into the jungle, and using the techniques Darra taught me during our classroom sessions, I started tracking Dr. Foster’s trail.
Tracking in an unknown environment was hard. The best trackers knew the environment inside and out. Since this was the first time I’d seen this island, I had a massive disadvantage here.
But I scanned the area like a canvas, looking out for any clues of his whereabouts, like I was taught. Heel marks first, since the heel was the part of the body that bore the most weight. Look out for any broken branches or other disturbances in the natural environment. I could do this.
And I did do it… until the trail grew cold two hours later.
I climbed a tall tree and looked around the jungle, frustrated at Dr. Foster for finally realizing he needed to cover his trail. Maybe he’d even purposefully left a trail taking us in one direction, and then bolted the other way, covering his tracks. The possibilities were endless.
All I knew was that right now, the trail was cold and we needed food and water to continue on. I’d been hoping we’d stumble across fresh water while following Dr. Foster’s trail, since he’d eventually need water, too. But that hadn’t happened.
Luckily, shifters had the unique ability to smell water. And while Noah couldn’t use his supernatural abilities to help me track Dr. Foster, he could use them to help me stay alive.
“Noah,” I said, turning to him. His wet shirt was sticking to his chest in all the right places. I wanted to run my hands all over his slick, chiseled body. But I forced my lustful thoughts away—especially since Darra and Camelia were looking on. “Can you take us to fresh water?”
I hadn’t wanted to ask earlier, because I hadn’t wanted to get off track from Dr. Foster’s trail. But since we’d already lost the trail, we might as well take the break we needed.
“Of course I can.” Noah took a deep breath and turned to face the opposite direction. “This way,” he said, motioning for us to follow him.
An hour later, we were sitting around a freshwater pool with a beautiful waterfall cascading down into it. Behind the waterfall was a cave that could make excellent shelter if we needed it. And since this island was a satellite of Avalon, the water wasn’t regular water—it was Holy Water.
Once we’d drank as much Holy Water as possible and filled the empty water bladders we’d brought with us, I scanned the area for mana. Where there was Holy Water, there should be mana. Right?
But there was none in sight.
My stomach rumbled. Yes, the Holy Water quenched my thirst, but the hunger was starting to make me feel lightheaded and weak. I needed food if I wanted to perform on my A-game.
Unfortunately, all I’d seen in the jungle so far in terms of wildlife were bugs, tarantulas, and the occasional frog. There were also snakes, but their bright neon colors made them look poisonous.
Best to stay away from the snakes.
“So.” I looked around at the others, already feeling disgusted about what I was about to say. “Who here knows how to cook a tarantula?”
17
Raven
Strangely enough, Darra knew how to cook tarantulas. She’d learned during a trip to Cambodia she’d taken in the 1990s. Apparently tarantula was a delicacy of that region. As were frogs.
The supernaturals set out to catch the creatures, since they were faster than I was. I was in charge of starting the fire. Starting a fire was another skill Darra had taught me in our survival classroom sessions. We’d brought pieces of flint with us. So all I needed to do was gather sticks, create a tinder nest, and get the flames going.
Soon after I got the fire going, the others returned with an assortment of tarantulas and frogs. I couldn’t believe we were about to eat those things.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Darra had us skewer the spiders and frogs with sticks and cook them over the open flame. The sun set while we were cooking, and for the first time since we’d arrived at the island, I felt at peace as we chatted around the fire.
About twenty minutes later, the food was cooked and ready to eat.
“With the tarantula, eat the abdomen first,” Darra advised. “It’s the tastiest part. I’d demonstrate, but since vampires don’t need food to survive, I don’t want to waste anything we have here on me.”
I held the tarantula in front of me, unable to believe we were doing this. Even my rumbling stomach couldn’t make the spider look appetizing.
“Scared?” Noah teased, breaking a leg off the tarantula he was holding and popping it in his mouth.
“You should talk.” I rolled my eyes. “Starting with a leg instead of the abdomen.”
“I like saving the best part for last.” He smirked and popped another leg into his mouth.
I held onto the leg of my spider, dangling it in front of myself. Gross. But staring at the tarantula wasn’t going to make this easier. It was probably best to just go for it.
So I did as Darra said and took a huge bite of the abdomen, getting it all in one go.
It was weirdly squishy. And hairy. And bland. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected the spider to taste like, but it certainly hadn’t been that. I made a face as I chewed. The meat left a strange texture in my mouth, and I had to drink water to flush it out.
“It’s that bad?” Noah asked.
“Tastes like chicken,” I said brightly, smiling and going in for another bite.
It took all of my efforts not to gag. But somehow, I forced down the rest of the spider. The first bite had been the hardest. After that, my body had been so happy to finally be getting food that I continued on, trying not to think too much about the fact that I was eating a spider. Because yuck. It was gross no matter how I tried to think about it.
I wished we had our phones on us so we could record this. No one would believe me without video evidence.
We finished off the tarantulas and frogs, not letting any go to waste. Camelia ate more than Noah—I supposed her pregnancy was increasing her appetite. If she was disgusted by the food, she didn’t show it.
She was one tough woman. I would have admired her if she’d ever shown a bit of warmth or compassion in that icy heart of hers.
Just as we were finishing the meal, the sky lit up with lightning, and thunder sounded from down near the ocean. The air felt like it was thickening. It smelled like rain.
I looked up at the sky in dread.
“Sounds like a storm’s brewing,” I said.
“The first sign that you’re losing time,” Camelia said.
Thunder rumbled from above again, louder this time. I frowned and held out a hand as a large drop of rain splattered onto it. If this was a sign I was losing time, it meant Camelia and the witches had planned this storm when they’d prepared the island for my Trial.
It was going to be a nasty one.
“There’s a cave around the side of the waterfall,” I said, glad I’d scouted the area whe
n we’d arrived. Darra’s teachings were coming in handy. “We should go there for shelter until the storm passes.”
We gathered what was left of the food, refilled out water bladders up to the tops, and hurried toward the cave. On our way there, the sky opened up above, dumping buckets of rain onto us. We were soaked by the time we got inside.
Our Avalon Academy jumpsuits dried once we were in the cave, thanks to the magic the mages had put on them. Our hair wasn’t as lucky.
But when I glanced up, I was no longer thinking about my wet hair.
Because the top of the cave was magically lit up like the Northern Lights. The greens, pinks, and purples swirled on the ceiling, creating light in what would have otherwise been darkness. It was so beautiful that it took my breath away.
The storm gathered strength outside the cave, blowing wind and rain inside. I wrapped my arms around myself to try to stop shivering. We could go deeper inside the cave, but we had no idea how bad this storm would get. We needed more protection from the outside. Especially because the wind was gathering strength so quickly. It sounded like a hurricane out there.
“Camelia,” I said, looking toward the witch. She was staring pensively out of the cave, and her face brightened as a bolt of lightning struck down close to the entrance.
She didn’t jump like the rest of us did.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Is there a spell to keep the wind and rain from entering the cave?”
“A light magic boundary spell will keep anything from entering,” she said simply.
“Great,” I said. “Please cast one for us. Make it last for the rest of the time we’re on this island. Who knows when else we’ll need it.”
“As you wish.” She turned to the cave entrance, rose up her hands, and started mumbling in Latin. Bright yellow light glowed from her palms, expanding all the way to the cave entrance as she cast the spell that would keep us dry and safe.
After about a minute, the light from her palms died down and disappeared. Rain and wind was visible outside, but it was like a shield had been placed at the cave entrance, stopping it from coming in. It was quiet for the first time since the storm had started. Eerily so, given the storm beating down outside like a hurricane.
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