by Logan Jacobs
Then I felt something cold press against my skin like a thousand needles, and my heart quickly sank to the pit of my stomach as my fingers tingled. My mouth went dry, and I cleared my mind as best as I could.
Apertum.
At the next moment, I sensed something massive coming toward us, and whatever it was, it was twice the size of the faun in front of me and five times bigger than Alexander. I couldn’t sense what it was exactly, but it was running toward us at an incredible speed, and even the earth felt as if it were shaking, but neither the faun nor Alexander seemed to notice. This was different from anything else I’d experienced before, and whatever this beast was, I knew the entire forest feared it.
“Stop,” I ordered in a rushed voice.
Alexander immediately came to a halt, but the faun continued to march onward as if he didn’t hear me.
“I said, stop!” I repeated with more urgency in my voice, but the stubborn faun refused to listen. “Hey! Stop!”
“Why the hell should I stop?” he growled, but then he came to a halt and turned around to face me.
Before I could say another word, a colossal shadow sprouted from behind him, and then two large paws grasped onto his leathery neck. The faun’s eyes widened in shock as a mysterious, black, and hairy creature began to twist his throat all the way around like he was an owl, and then the beast slowly started to tear his head from his body. Blood spurted from the opening like a crimson fountain and splattered across my face like raindrops, and then the faun’s headless body fell to the forest floor.
Whatever had killed him still held onto his head, and as I raised my glowing wand into the air, I saw a pair of brilliant, red eyes staring right into my soul.
It felt as if death itself were looking me right in the face.
Chapter 12
The monster was a giant, unwavering creature I’d never seen in any of my books. It had a wolfish pair of eyes, but it also possessed the ears of a bear, and its snout was long and protruding, like a giant boar. Massive, yellow canines protruded from its drooling mouth as it slowly parted its lips wide open to roar, and I watched in horror as it lifted the faun’s head higher into the air and then brought it to its wet mouth. The beast’s red eyes peered into mine as it took a large bite, and my stomach churned as an eye dangled from a nerve out of the corner of the creature’s mouth. He chewed slowly through bone and muscle while staring at me, and I didn’t dare waste another moment.
“Volant!” I cried out.
A blast of light hit the beast, but he only jerked back slightly from the incantation. Then he dropped the faun’s head at his massive paw-like feet and roared again, and the sound of its hoarse and powerful voice made murders of crows caw furiously into the air and fly from their perches.
Whatever this thing was, it was thirsting for blood like a man stranded for weeks in the desert thirsts for water, and I could feel its strength coursing through its blood, like molten iron running through a river.
I still had my wand aimed at the beast, but before I knew what was happening, it raised its arm into the air and slashed its long, razor-sharp nails across my chest.
“Fuck!” I stumbled back and could feel warm blood trickling down my skin, and as I stared into its red eyes, I could have sworn I saw a glint of satisfaction in those soulless orbs.
Cole! Alexander cried out.
He swept through the air and then past my ear, and I watched as he tried to stab the beast over and over again with his bladed wings. He managed to get a few slices in, and as he was distracting the creature, I focused on the massive bear-monster. I set aside my fear and pain and narrowed my eyes at his moving shadow, and I gritted my teeth before I carefully recited the incantation.
Apertum.
At once, all I could see in my mind’s eye were bright, red, and yellow flames, and I knew exactly what this creature’s disadvantage was. The images of a burning blaze hit me like a giant wave, and it felt like the fiery tongues were licking at my skin.
So, it loathed fire.
Without missing a beat, I stared at the flame at the tip of my wand and then used all my energy to spread it all over this motherfucker’s body.
Motus.
The flame from my wand spurted from the tip and spread through the air like a blazing, orange cloud, and the creature yowled as it was engulfed. Its red eyes widened in a feral panic when it realized the blaze was eating away at its fur, but the flames apparently weren’t enough to completely deter the beast, because it tossed back its head and then roared as Alexander continued to try and stab it.
It was clear the fire from my wand wouldn’t be enough to kill this monstrosity, and for a moment, terror crept through every bone in my body until I realized I could use help from the forest. I was the one in control now, and as the warm blood trickled down my chest, I took in a deep breath and acted as quickly as possible.
Apertum.
The forest suddenly came alive in my mind, and I could feel every inch of the earth beneath my feet as if I were standing barefoot on the soil. I could sense the worms in the earth, the birds in the trees, and every last creature hiding in plain sight, but what truly caught my attention was the sense that something was burning. Something was attracted to the smell of smoke and now lurked nearby, and whatever it was, it possessed fire for blood.
Then, as clear as day, a picture crept into my head, and I saw small, fairy-like creatures with orange glowing wings and fiery-red hair. Faye once described little imps with hair as red as hers, which were more lethal than most gave them credit for. They were fiery little creatures, literally, and if I could summon enough of them, then I could burn this fucking beast into a crisp.
My mind connected with the small creatures, and I silently peered into their psyche in order for them to obey my will. According to the ancient texts, it wasn’t unusual for other magical beings to aid witches in times of need. If they could sense my power and respect it, they would obey my orders without question.
Help me, I thought, sweep down and penetrate this being with your dark grace. I command you.
I could hear the imps’ little heartbeats pounding in their chests, and I knew they were watching us. They were listening, and they were curious.
Now, I thought once more, lend me your strength… by the power of the ancient hand… help me bring this creature down. Let us work together to burn the beast to the ground and make it one with the earth. If not, you shall suffer my wrath. You are mine to command.
Yes, oh, great one, countless voices replied at once.
In the next moment, a tree trunk burst open, and thousands of glittering fairies filled the black sky and swarmed around the monster. The beast swatted and batted at them with its massive paws, and as they dodged its attacks, they bit into its hairy flesh. The creature cried out each time it was bitten, and I saw little bursts of flame each time they sunk their teeth into its fur. Each bite must have possessed fire, and smoke and the stench of charred fur filled the air as the monster slowly caught on fire and stumbled backward.
Then more and more fairies seeped out from the tree, and they covered the monster from head to toe. The beast howled and snarled as it tried to ward off the burning pests, but it was burning from the inside out as they pierced its flesh with their small, burning teeth.
I watched as the monster turned into a flaming shadow, and it uselessly swung its scorching arms into the air as if it could wave away the fire.
As the inferno continued to eat away at the creature’s flesh, it finally accepted defeat and fell to the ground with one last screeching howl. Then the fire consumed its fur, fat, and bones, and when the flames died down, all that laid there was a pile of black ashes.
“Shit,” I muttered as I glanced at a panting Alexander. “That was close.”
You’re telling me, he sighed.
“At least I know it worked,” I answered. “Now, I know I’ll be able to teach tomorrow’s lesson.”
And it nearly cost us our lives, Alexander snort
ed. Nothing too valuable.
“Don’t be so cynical,” I chuckled. “Come on, let’s head back. I think I need a few hours of sleep, at least.”
Same here, Alexander responded.
As soon as I returned to the castle, I parted ways with Alexander in the common room and then headed to my bedroom, and when I stepped through the door, I wasn’t surprised to see Faye, Penelope, and Akira asleep in my bed. I chuckled to myself as I tore off my bloody, ripped shirt and tossed it onto the floor. I was too exhausted to take a bath right now, so instead, I went into the dark bathroom and quietly wiped away the dry blood on my chest. My skin stung as I pressed the towel against my sore, raw flesh, but I just sucked in a sharp breath of air and closed my eyes.
“Fuck,” I hissed to myself.
When I was done cleaning up, I tossed the bloody towel aside and headed back into the bedroom. Then I slowly crawled into bed and laid in between Faye and Penelope, while Akira lingered on the edge. They were all deeply and sound asleep and didn’t even stir as I laid my body gently down onto the soft mattress, so I slowly closed my eyes and quickly fell into a peaceful and dreamless sleep.
When I woke up, the room was softly glowing with warm, pale morning light, and I could hear soft breathing all around me. My entire body ached, and as I gently stirred myself awake, the others began to mumble in mild protest.
“Hey… wake up,” I said as I sat up, “come on, daylight is wasting.”
As the women stirred awake, their eyes focused on my chest all at once, and I followed their gaze and realized they were staring at the three, elongated scratches across my raw, pink skin.
“Cole!” Penelope was the first to gasp, and her brown eyes nearly popped out of her head. “What the hell happened to you?”
“It’s nothing,” I insisted.
“What do you mean, it’s nothing?” Akira pushed. “Cole, what happened to you? We thought you were just studying.”
I sighed and then ran my fingers through my hair. I knew they weren’t going to like what I had to say, but I wanted to be truthful with them.
“After I spent hours and hours inside Theodora’s office studying ancient premonition magic, I decided to do some… practical work,” I explained as gently as possible.
“What do you mean by practical?” Akira asked with a raised black eyebrow.
“I wanted to find a creature I knew almost nothing about, and then try to learn everything I could about them on sight,” I answered. “I finally came across a faun, and I’m sure you would have known all about his species, Faye, but I didn’t. So, when I recited the ancient spell, I learned everything about him within seconds… it was an incredible feeling, and not only that, but I could feel the earth and everything around me as it was growing. I could hear the smallest crickets between the blades of grass, and newts hiding beneath rocks, and so much more. I can’t wait to show you.”
“Wait, back up,” Akira snapped as she threw her hands dramatically up into the air. “Are you saying a faun fucked you up?”
“No,” I chuckled. “Actually, after I met him, I was going to trick him into coming inside the castle. I figured a faun would be an excellent addition to our collection--”
“Great call.” Faye nodded in agreement.
“I fucking hate fauns,” Penelope growled before her chocolate-brown eyes focused on me. “They are ugly perverts. So, then what happened?”
“I felt a chill creep up on me and suddenly, something grabbed the faun by the neck and twisted his head right off,” I said. “It was a giant fucking asshole of a beast, but then, when I recited the ancient incantation, I was able to learn what its weakness was. Then it gets even better.”
“What?” they all asked with wide eyes and excited smiles.
All their concern was now replaced with pure curiosity, and it made me smile as I continued with my story.
“And then, when I discovered fire was the only thing that could kill it, I summoned these fire fairies, and they helped me bring down the creature,” I answered.
“Wow,” they all breathed.
“Satan, I’m so horny right now,” Akira grunted as she rocked her hips against a pillow. “Only you would be able to wander into the black forest in the middle of the night, come face to face with death, and live to tell about it the next morning.”
“What did the beast look like?” Faye asked as she ignored Akira and inched closer to me. “Be specific.”
“It was a strange-looking animal,” I replied. “Something I’d never seen before or even read about…. it had the body of a wolfish man, covered entirely in thick, black fur, but its face was something that resembled a bear, a wolf, and a boar, all at once.”
“Ah.” Faye whistled. “Sounds like a rare form of lycan… only fire can kill it. Or silver.”
“And the only reason I knew that was because of the ancient magic,” I said with a broad smile. Then I looked at Penelope and Akira and leaned in closer, as if I were about to tell them a secret. “Did either of you know that? Did you have any idea what a lycan was or how to kill it?”
“No,” they both responded hesitantly.
“I would have been torn to pieces,” Akira said with wide, black eyes.
“Same here,” Penelope added as she twirled an orange strand of hair through her fingers.
“Which is why I’m planning on teaching the class this spell before anything else,” I answered. “It will be incredibly useful when we’re faced with unknown elder magic creatures.”
They all nodded in agreement, but then Penelope’s brown eyes fell onto my cuts.
“That will probably scar,” the bright-haired witch said.
“I should find some potions for it, then--” I started
“No!” the women all shouted and all held their hands up into the air, and it caught me off guard.
“Err, why not?” I chuckled.
“Scars are hot,” Akira said with a shrug, as if it were obvious.
“For sure,” Penelope added with sparkling mahogany brown eyes.
“Don’t do a damn thing, master,” Faye said as she seductively bit down on her rosy bottom lip. “We like you like this.”
“Well, at least let me disinfect it,” I laughed.
“Oh, I have just the thing,” Penelope remarked before she tossed the sheets off her body and then planted her feet on the floor. “Tell you what… you take a bath, get dressed, and then meet us down in the common room. I’ll have a potion waiting for you. I made it myself.”
“Sounds great.” I grinned. “I’ll see you down there.”
The women all nodded in agreement and giggled as they ran off in their undergarments and slipped through the door, and as soon as they were gone, I flipped the covers off and then headed into the bathroom.
“I’m drawing you a bath now, sir,” Cordelia’s voice rang through the air. “Perhaps, I’ll add a little something to help soothe your muscles as well?”
“That would be amazing,” I replied with a smile. “Thank you, Cordelia.”
“Of course, sir,” she responded.
The moment I stepped into the marble bathroom, the tub began to fill up with pale purple water that smelled of cinnamon and lavender. I sighed and breathed in the intoxicating scent before stripping completely naked. I then sunk into the water, and while it burned my fresh cuts, I still allowed my body to relax and melt into the stimulating concoction.
When I started to feel lightheaded, I knew it was time to get out of the water. I needed to be as alert and capable as possible this morning. Not only was Theodora counting on me, but so was the entire class.
So, I quickly wrapped myself up in a towel and headed back into the bedroom. Cordelia had a fresh uniform waiting for me, so without wasting a moment, I slipped into clean clothing, pushed back my damp hair, and glanced at my reflection in the mirror. I looked slightly paler than usual, and there were faded, bruise colored shadows underneath my light blue eyes. I chalked it up to not enough sleep, and then I swiftly
made my way out the door and down to the common room.
When I reached the last step, I saw my coven already digging into a simple but sufficient breakfast. I spotted plates of buttered pumpkin toast and griffin eggs and a pot of spiced coffee, which I desperately needed.
“Oh, dear, Cole,” Vesta purred as her silver eyes raked over me, “I’m sorry to say this, but you look slightly ill this morning… perhaps you didn’t get enough sleep last night?”
“He barely got a wink in,” Akira said before taking a large bite of toast. “In fact, he spent the night trying to test out all the material he learned in a matter of hours.”
“I never said I tested out all the material, Akira,” I grunted before I took a seat between Morgana and Vesta, “but I definitely read enough to carry out a successful lesson.”
“You’ll do wonderfully.” Morgana softly smiled as she tossed back her luscious chocolate-brown locks.
“Yes, Morgana is right,” Vesta agreed before taking a small and delicate sip of her coffee. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Well, we’ll see,” I said before I took a bite of eggs and then swallowed. “This whole thing is new to me.”
“We know, master,” Faye added softly. “We all have faith in you.”
“Thanks,” I said with a small, grateful smile.
I finished the rest of my plate, and when I couldn’t eat another bite, I stood up and brushed the crumbs off my shirt.
“I’m going to head into the classroom early--” I began, but then the bright-haired Penelope cut in.
“Ah, but not before you put some of this on,” she ordered before she pulled out a small vial of thick, lavender-colored liquid from her skirt pocket. “Let me just put a little on before you rush off.”
