“I have not. But it has me worried.”
“That’s an understatement,” Demarcus said. “That thing came an inch from cleaving my arm off.”
Sylvia shoved him. “You were all the way across the field from it. With me.”
“Well it felt like it almost did,” Demarcus muttered.
But any more speculation we had was put on pause as Master Scalius came walking out from the stables. He was grumbling under his breath more than usual.
“Baby dragons were actin’ up,” he grumped as he pulled to a stop in front of us. He spat into the sand before wiping his nose with one grizzled hand. “Cheeky buggers wanted more food than usual for some reason.”
I covered my smile with a pretend cough. Master Scalius pushed between us toward the water.
“Now,” he said. “As you probably guessed, we’re gonna be learning about—”
He paused as he turned back, looking at each of our faces. He let out a grumbling groan. “No, no, let me guess what you’re going to ask: ‘Master Scalious, what can you tell us about—’”
“The manticore!” Sylvia blurted out, then slapped a hand over her mouth. Master Scalius glared at her.
“Should have figured. Of course it’d be no good teaching you about things you’ll actually be facing instead of ones you won’t.”
“Except when we’re at an entrance ceremony,” I said.
“No lip, Rivest.” He let out a belabored sigh. “All right, I’ll tell you a little since I know you won’t shut up or listen up ‘till I do. So…manticores…not much to say. You all saw what it looked like and what it can do; mainly, kill every one of you lickety-split, so keep away if you know what’s good for you. It originated in Persia, but, like the basilisk, it’s extremely endangered.”
“Mostly,” Demarcus added.
“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Scalius snapped. “What, did entering the advanced courses give you all a license to mouth off?”
“Where would someone get one?” another girl asked. “Who would have one?”
I leaned in. This was what I wanted to know. The more I’d thought about the attack, the letter, how it all might tie together, the more something wasn’t making sense. Yes, the Academy was no stranger to threats—even an attack or two from a few individuals. Supes that managed to get in just to disrupt things. Parents angry that their kids hadn’t been let into the advanced program. But this…this level seemed more coordinated than most.
Master Scalius looked like he knew it, too. He peered at each of us, something processing behind his eyes.
“Any black-market buyer with deep enough pockets can get one. Person who owned this one was probably some eccentric collector whose pet got away from them.”
“Eccentric collector?” Demarcus said skeptically.
“Watch your tongue, boy!” Scalius barked. “Or you can go take a nice swim with the Kelpies. They’ll peel the skin off your bones faster than a school of piranhas. Now, no more manticores! It was just a freak accident, and that’s it.”
But as he continued teaching, I knew it was a lie. We all did.
I came out of my second to last class, Paranormal Politics, feeling like my head had been blown up three sizes too big. My back felt it, too, thanks to the mountain of textbooks and papers Mia and I had stuffed in our backpacks.
“Day one,” I said. “Day one! And they give us an entire history of the United Coalition of Paranormal Beings to read about.”
“It is advanced,” Mia said sympathetically. She was trying to sound cheery, but I noticed her tiny frame was beginning to buckle under the weight of so much text.
“Stop for a sec.” When she did, I grabbed some of the books from her backpack and stuffed them in mine.
“Oh, you don’t have to…” Mia said, but she gratefully straightened up.
“Maybe Colson could be doing this for you instead,” I said.
Mia pursed her lips.
I sighed. “I’m just joking, Mia. We’d better hurry up or we’ll be late for combat.”
“Yeah…”
I glanced back at her. “You’ll have to face him eventually.”
A heavy sigh. “Yeah…”
That girl, I swear. Why couldn’t she act normal around someone she crushed on? You know, banter with them, seethe quietly at them, want to simultaneously kiss them and punch them in the face…
“Come on!” I said, starting into a jog. Mia might be reluctant, but I really needed combat class. Not only to get me out of this day’s rotten funk, but let off some steam and beat these stupid thoughts from my head.
The gym was at the far end of the Academy—a massive room full of squat racks, dumbbells, an indoor track, even a pole-vaulting pit. And let me tell you, you haven’t seen anything impressive until you’ve watched an ogre try to pole vault.
Our group was on the sparring mat in the center. Mia and I dumped our bags with the others against the wall. Advanced students were—finally—allowed to use their own weapons, so I pulled out my baby, Valkyrie. It’d been a gift from my mom the year before, a glittering silver sword hilt that molded perfectly to my grip. It had no blade…until I channeled my magic through it. That’s when things got serious.
“I don’t think I can do this!” Mia whispered beside me. “What if I screw up? What if he doesn’t think I’m any good? What if—”
I grabbed her usual spear off the weapons rack and pushed it into her hands. “Go stick him with that a couple times and we’ll see how good he thinks you are.”
Me? I was psyched. I was ready. I was…
We stepped onto the sparring mat and I nearly groaned aloud.
“You planning on joining us anytime today?” Asher said.
I looked around at the rest of my classmates. I was an idiot. Of course we wouldn’t just be sparring with anyone. We’d be with our chosen partners to learn their styles and weaknesses. To learn how to work together.
Troll piss.
Asher nodded to Valkyrie. “That’s cute. Are you going to throw it at me?”
I bit back a retort. It didn’t matter if he was my partner, or number one in our year. I wasn’t going to let him ruin the one class I was excited about. I forced myself to smile back. I was going to wipe the floor with him and then brush up the pieces.
“All right, all right let’s bring it in, champs.” Coach Newman gestured us all over. He was a bear shifter in his late fifties and had the ultimate gym coach look going on. You know the one: buzz-cut, pepper colored hair, V-neck shirt showing way too much chest hair, short shorts that flashed too much thigh.
The guy was awesome.
“As you’ve probably already noticed, we’re ratcheting things up a notch for you special advanced people,” Coach Newman said. “Live weapons—safely charmed, of course—paired up with your actual partners. When you’re out in the field getting practical hours, the partner you have by your side is just as important as the one in your hand. Learn how they’re balanced, how they move. Learn what makes them tick, their strengths and weaknesses, and you’ll both come home in one piece.”
Mia’s spear was shaking. She stared at the ground like an anchor had been tied to her neck, a curtain of hair covering her face. Colson was watching at her, confused, like he couldn’t figure out if she was psyching herself up or about to have a heart attack.
Coach Newman clapped. “Today we’ll stick with some sequence seven movements and light sparring, just to get a feel for your weapons and partners. Let’s break it up and get to work, champs!”
“She looks like Colson’s going to eat her,” Asher said, taking his place across from me. Mia had leveled her spear at Colson, but it was trembling so much it was like she was trying to stab a swarm of pixies.
“Cut her some slack. She’s just nervous,” I said.
“About what?”
I huffed. “She wants him to like her, of course. Not all of us think the world loves them just because they flash a nice smile.”
Asher looked
sharply at me. “Is that what you think I do?”
“You haven’t given me a reason to think otherwise.”
Asher continued staring at me as I dropped into my first position. I channeled the flow of magic from my core up through my arms, through Valkyrie’s hilt, until a three-foot, blazing white-blue blade extended from it.
“Well? Are you going to practice or not?” I said.
After a moment, Asher finally took his own position. He’d grabbed one of the metal Academy swords. I wondered if Lucien had ever given him his own weapon.
We both began our sequence seven movements, going through slow, fluid strikes, parries, and thrusts, dancing around each other as though we were in combat, but not actually connecting.
“You’re wrong about me,” Asher said when we came together again. I dropped my foot back and swept the sword low, the blade blazing by his leg. He jerked back.
“Am I?” I said sweetly.
“I do care what people think. Maybe not compared to you. But you don’t care about anything except being the biggest showoff in the room.”
I felt the feather brush of air as his downward swing just barely missed my left shoulder. Asher moved on as though nothing had happened.
“Wanting to be the best—” I swung, and Asher ducked beneath my overhead strike I “accidentally” put a little too close to him. “—is not showing off.”
“Until you hurt others. And look like an idiot in the process.”
An idiot?
My next swing was a little harder, but Asher easily sidestepped it.
Besides…” He flashed me a blazing grin. “Somebody else is already the best.”
He thrust and I stumbled to get out of the way in time. Okay, that strike had been too close to be unintentional. I gritted my teeth, but inside I was grinning like a fool. So he wanted to rumble, did he? Sign me up.
Our blades met in the center, sparks crackling.
“You want to see the best?” I said, voice low. “Let’s go, pretty boy.”
Asher grinned. “You think I’m pretty?”
“Light sparring only, champs!” Coach Newman called as Asher and I spun away, but I was only half listening. The thrill of the fight was humming in my veins. And I wasn’t scared this time.
Asher went first, blade sweeping low, testing my defenses. I easily knocked it aside and countered, the point of my blade driving at his chest. It wouldn’t have killed him if it’d connected. Just hurt. A lot.
But he leaned out of range before lunging in, now on the attack.
Our blades were blurs as we went back and forth, my training kicking in as I fell into a rhythm. My magic connected me to Valkyrie’s blade, giving me an unparalleled sense of control; I was the blade. I could feel every blow as it connected with his, I could almost anticipate every strike.
The only problem was, Asher was good.
Like, really good.
Like, I was losing kind of good.
The edge of his sword nicked my shoulder and I gasped. It hadn’t cut anything, but sharp pain still raced down my arm.
Asher pulled back and smirked. “Oops.”
No. No way was he better than me at this too. This was my talent. He could act unfazed with the Masters, cool and collected in front of our classmates, but no way was I letting him best me in this. I would wipe that smirk right off his face blade-first.
I dropped to a crouch and lunged low, my sword nearly piercing his leg. He danced back but I kept up the assault, my frustration building as he managed to parry each attack. I knew I was making a big mistake by letting my anger get the best of me, but I couldn’t help it. It almost felt like something inside had latched onto any reason I had and was dragging it down.
Asher planted his back foot and squared up his sword with his body. It was too late for me to stop. I hit his defensive position hard and bounced back, sword rattling in my fist. I faintly heard Mia yelling at me to stop, but already Asher was stepping forward, preparing to bring his sword down for the win.
The thing inside dragging me down suddenly pulled me under.
I couldn’t really describe it. It was as though one second I was in my body, and the next I was…sinking, like slipping into a cool, dark pool. I was still aware of everything, but my senses were subdued, my consciousness ripped from my body and now free-floating in a weird between-space. My skin prickled. I became aware of the strange sensation of eyes on me. Someone watching from the darkness.
“Need a little help?”
I spun. “Who’s there?”
“Here. I’ll give you a taste.”
I jerked. It felt as though someone had stuck a live wire in my spine, all my cells flooding with power and strength the likes of which I’d never felt before. It was magic beyond my magic. Power beyond my power. Uncontrollable. Untameable. Wretched. Wondrous.
From somewhere outside whatever dark place I was in I heard faint noise, like metal screeching. A shudder passed through my actual body, followed by the sudden surge of power flowing out, leaving me weak.
“You’re welcome, Skylar,” the voice said. “We’ll meet each other soon.”
“Wait! What’d you do to me? What’d you—”
My consciousness rocketed back into my body. My eyes fluttered open. I was crouched on the gym floor. My lungs were seizing like rubber bands had been strapped around them. My heart beat way too fast. Around me, the sounds and smells of the gym were coming back sharper than before, as though to make up for what I’d missed.
“Skylar?” Mia’s voice was soft. It sounded…afraid.
I looked up. My bare hand had caught Asher’s sword as it fell, stopping it an inch from my face.
The blade was bent completely in half.
I leapt up and backed away, letting his sword clatter to the ground. Everyone was staring at me. Asher slowly picked up his weapon and turned it over, glancing between it and me. His expression was wary, but not scared. Even still, I could feel panic rising in me again. What had happened?
What had I done?
Without another word, I grabbed my bag and rushed out.
Chapter Five
“Hey…”
I looked up from where I’d curled in the corner of my bed, knees to my chest. Mia was in the doorway, though she was a little blurry between my tears.
“Hey.” I hurriedly wiped my eyes. I hadn’t been crying. Okay, maybe sniffling. Possibly having a bit of a pity party hosted by me, myself, and I.
Mia came and sat on the edge of the bed, handing me a steaming mug of hot chocolate. It was her specialty. I couldn’t remember how many cups we’d had during late night exam week cram sessions, or when boys were being dumb(er) than usual and we just needed to talk.
I took a sip and my senses flooded with glorious chocolate. All my earlier dark thoughts and swirling questions seemed to melt away.
“Oh! It’s done.” Mia stood to examine what our room had created while we were gone. I hadn’t noticed before, but sure enough, my side had turned into something of a rainforest—maybe one from South America. I currently sat beneath some drooping leaves as big as my head while vines snaked around the bed’s feet. Mia’s side was completely decorated with wrought iron bars, softly glowing lantern light glimmering off her various mechanical trinkets. The surroundings helped a little to settle my nerves, but I was still on edge.
“So…” I said, not sure how to begin. “Class…”
“I finally sparred with Colson,” she said. There was a touch of pride in her voice.
“That’s great, Mia!” I said, grateful for the brief distraction. “And…?”
A faint blush colored her cheeks. “It was good. Fun, I mean.”
“Did you win?”
“It was just sparring…”
I grinned. “So you won.”
Mia just smiled back.
I took another sip, but this time the taste didn’t make me feel as good. My dark mood wasn’t just from what happened during sparring. The entire lousy day had been
off. I felt like I’d been pushed on all sides, like a boxer shoved off the ropes one too many times.
“Mia, did the others…?”
“They’re worried about you,” Mia said. “Demarcus thought you had some kind of meltdown.”
“They didn’t think…they’re not scared of me?”
Mia gave me a puzzled look. “Why would they be? You just got frustrated and used an advanced spell, didn’t you?”
Whatever it’d been, it hadn’t been a spell.
“Honestly,” I said softly. “I’m not sure. I felt…so angry.”
“At Asher?”
I nodded. But angry at myself, too, I realized. At what Asher had said about me, and how, deep down, I kind of knew he was right. “I just got really mad, and…”
I let the sentence hang. The dark place I’d slipped into was still fresh in my mind, as was the voice I hadn’t recognized. Other than that, the fight was kind of a mashed-up blur. The one constant was Asher’s confused, wary face lingering in my mind.
The bed squeaked as Mia moved to put an arm around my shoulders.
“I’m sure it’s just some latent magic. That happens to some of the advanced students every year, remember? With all this new training, they get pushed so much that last bit of ability just comes out.”
“Yeah…yeah, that was probably it.”
“What I do know is you spooked Asher.” She smiled roguishly in a very un-Mia-like way. “Colson, too. You should have seen his face.”
“Before or after you beat him?”
Her blush was back. Mia stood and pulled me off the bed. “Come on. Everyone’s going to the Smoking Lamp. They’re beat after today, too. They expect you to be there.”
I slowly let myself smile. “Then what are we waiting for?”
The Smoking Lamp is hands down the coolest coffee shop in New York. Probably the world. I’m definitely not biased.
It was off 57th near Columbus Circle, tucked between two Norm shops and run by a hip old djinn named Cid who kept it open pretty much all hours and didn’t care if we were loud as long as we paid before we left and didn’t disrupt things too much. It was a staple hangout for a lot of the Academy students since the coffee was semi-drinkable and the shop unknown to Norms except the few who accidentally wandered in, did a turnabout, and quickly left.
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