by Logan Jacobs
“Mmmm, indeed,” Vesta purred. “Truly, darkly divine.”
“Err… but what now?” Beatrix asked in a tense voice. “I mean… we made the kill like Professor Luna suggested, but now what do we do?”
“That’s actually a good question,” I said as I sucked the blood off my shadowy fingers. “Perhaps we should just fly around until we find Professor Luna again?”
“She didn’t morph into her shadow, did she?” Nyx asked in a lethargic voice. “I can’t even remember.”
“No, I don’t believe so,” Morgana responded as her black eyes wandered around the woods. “We’d better do as Cole suggested and try to find her.”
“Yeah, I think that’s the only option.” I shrugged. “Come on, let’s go!”
In the next second, we all drifted away from the cleaned bones of our meals and soared up into the blue sky, way above the canopy and just below the wispy, white clouds.
“We can search through the gaps of the trees to try and spot them!” Penelope suggested. “It’s easier to fly up here than to keep dodging tree trunks down there!”
“And with our improved vision, I’ll bet we’ll be able to see them!” Morgana added.
“So, let’s gooooo!” Akira screamed with delight as she sped past the trees’ tips and through the clear blue sky. “This is fucking awesome!”
“She’s going too fast,” Morgana sighed in irritation. “How will she be able to see anything at that rate?”
“It’s fine,” I chuckled. “Let her have some fun.”
“Yes, master,” Morgana huffed with impatience. “I suppose you’re right.”
I also wanted to take a moment to enjoy this marvelous sensation, because with a full belly and heightened senses, I felt like a demon flying high above his domain.
Amazing, isn’t it? my shadow’s voice asked. It feels like you hold all the power in the universe, doesn’t it?
“It does,” I whispered.
“Wooooooo!” Circe cried out as she soared up into the clouds and then dove back down. “This is so much fun!”
“We need to find the others, though!” Morgana insisted. “I want to make sure we get a full grade for this assignment.”
“If it’s causing you so much worry,” I said, “then let’s start searching more carefully for them. Everyone keep your eyes peeled as you cover the ground.”
“Yes, master!” my coven yelled back.
As we continued to fly above the trees, I thought I could spot other flying witches with dark mist radiating off their bodies down below. They were weaving in between tree trunks and gliding just a few feet above the forest floor.
“Look!” I called out. “Down there! I think I can see some students.”
“Nice one, Cole!” Akira called back. “I see them, too!”
Then Akira made a quick dive before we could lose them, and I swiftly followed her lead. As we flew downward, I could hear the others whipping through the wind right behind me, hot on my tail.
When we finally reached the forest floor, we spotted the shadowy witches just a few feet ahead of us, and we sped up to meet them.
“Hey!” I called out. “Wait up!”
The group of witches came to an abrupt halt and turned around to face us. There were three of them, and each one had a different hairstyle and color. One was a bright redhead, the other had a black pixie cut, and the third had straight lime-green hair that grazed her shoulders.
“Hi!” The pixie-haired witch grinned. “Did you manage to make a kill? I got a rabbit.”
“That’s it?” Akira snorted until Morgana nudged her in the ribs. “I mean… nice work.”
“Whatever.” The witch rolled her black eyes.
“Anyway, the reason I stopped you is because I wanted to ask you something,” I began.
“Sure.” The green-haired witch shrugged. “Shoot.”
“Did Professor Luna ever mention where we’d have to meet up?” I asked. “I wondered if she might still be back where we started--”
“Nope,” two of them replied as they shook their heads. “She’s not there. We’ve been flying around trying to find her as well--”
“Yoo-hoo!” Luna’s voice suddenly echoed around us, and we all fell silent at once. “Follow the sound of my voice!”
“She must have realized her mistake,” Morgana chuckled. “Or… maybe she did it on purpose to fuck with us.”
“She’s crazy, we’ve already established that.” Akira rolled her black eyes. “Come on, let’s go find her.”
We all nodded our shadowy heads in agreement before we followed the sound of Luna’s voice. The witches we just met also trailed after us, and it didn’t take long before we found Luna’s half-wispy form hovering between two trees. She smiled at us with cold black eyes and beckoned us to come closer.
“I guess she did decide to morph with her shadow,” Nyx muttered.
“She probably wanted to wait until everyone else changed to make sure it was safe,” Akira commented quietly. “Is it weird that I’m both impressed and pissed off at the same time?”
“Just let it go,” Vesta sighed. “You know she’s an odd one… come on, let’s just return to our normal selves, shall we?”
“Agreed.” I nodded as we drifted over toward Professor Luna.
“Now, did everyone have a pleasant hunt?” the blonde professor asked.
“Yes, Professor,” we echoed.
“What did you end up killing?” she asked as she gazed at our group with black, soulless eyes.
“We attacked a herd of antelopes, Professor,” Morgana answered with her shadowy chin raised in pride.
“Ah, well done,” Luna said as the other students began to float toward our group. “Full marks for that.”
You did all of this for a good fucking grade? my own shadow’s voice echoed inside my mind. I think we could use our joint power for something else entirely. Imagine my power combined with yours… we could wreak havoc down upon your greatest enemy… I’m sure you have something or someone in mind, don’t you, Cole?
“I do,” I muttered as I thought about the fucking warlocks who still lived in their Mors castle.
I’d been craving to attack them for a long time now, but I never thought about how I’d do it.
Until now.
“Great, well, now after that fruitful lesson,” Professor Luna continued. “I think it would be best if we returned to our former selves--”
“Wait!” I cut in. “Let’s not change just yet.”
“And why not, Mr. Cole?” Luna asked as she placed one hand on her shadowy hip. “We’ve completed the lesson. You and your group have full marks! What else could you possibly want?”
“Well, think about it… we could use these powers for so much more!” I grinned with excitement. “For example, wouldn’t it be useful to take down an enemy? We are twice as strong right now, and when was the last time a witch or warlock bound themselves to their shadow like this?”
“Why do I feel like you have a certain enemy in mind?” Luna asked with a half-smile. “Oh, Cole… always thinking of the bigger picture. I’m not sure if that’s a good or irritating quality.”
“I’m thinking about the Mors Academy,” I answered as I ignored her last remark. “I think we should use our new forms and attack them. They won’t expect it, and we can finish them off once and for all.”
Excited whispers, shocked gasps, and chitter-chatter filled the air as soon as the idea left my lips, and at that moment, I knew everyone else was already on board with the idea. We all loathed the Mors students for their betrayal, and I knew everyone was willing to spill the rest of their traitorous blood.
“Cole, I don’t know,” Professor Luna said slowly. “I mean, I love a good bloodbath as much as the next witch, but Headmistress Theodora never gave us permission--”
“Do you think she’d disagree with the idea?” I pushed. “You know her even better than we do!”
“Well, I can’t speak for her, Cole,” the
blonde witch answered with her hands back on her lips. “You know that!”
“But think about it, Professor,” I continued. “It would be another enemy to wipe off her list completely. I think she would appreciate us taking the initiative… don’t you? She might even reward you for it.”
Professor Luna opened her shadowy mouth to say something, but instead, she placed a finger against her lips, and her black eyes looked up toward the sky.
“I suppose we could pay them a little visit…” she said after a long moment. “We could invade the halls and rip out the throats and hearts of all those who survived and then bring down the entire castle… eat a few warlocks and surprise Theodora.”
“Exactly!” I grinned. “I think it’s a great idea, and trust me, Theodora will think so as well.”
“But I cannot force anyone to come along,” Luna continued with pale furrowed eyebrows. Then she raised a shadowy hand into the air, spun in a smoky circle, and began to count all the students around her. “Oh, Satan… I lost count… I’d say a few hundred are here… now, does anyone object to visiting the Mors Academy? Err… I suppose visit is the wrong word, but you know what I mean. If so, this is your last and only chance to say something!”
When no one said a word, I rubbed my hands together and licked my lips with bloodthirsty anticipation.
“Well, then…” I said as a smirk spread across my face. “What are we waiting for? Let’s kill some Mors bastards!”
Chapter 15
“Well, it’s settled, then, isn’t it?” Professor Luna called out. “Everyone, come together and brace yourselves… we’re about to shadow port to the Mors Academy!”
As everyone formed a shadowy group, cheers rang through the air, and I knew everyone was eager to kick some fucking ass. I wasn’t sure if it was because of our new powerful forms, or because every witch had been secretly yearning to do this for quite some time.
Either way, I was fucking ready to kill every last Mors warlock.
In seconds, a cloud of purple smoke wrapped around us while the forest faded away from view. Then I could feel my shadowy figure tossing and turning through realms, and in mere moments, we were all hovering just outside of the Mors castle.
I’d never seen it from the outside before, since the last time we visited, we’d been transported straight into their dungeons. The academy’s entire exterior was made from ebony stone, and each one was a distinct size and shape. The architecture was not as grandiose or as elegant as Scholomance, but it was still a reasonably massive fortress. Black gargoyles were perched along the front doors, and each window was made out of muted stained glass. The sky was the color of steel, and charcoal clouds hovered over the pointed towers. We could hear a trace of thunder off in the distance, and the promise of rain hung in the air.
“What’s the plan, Cole?” Akira asked as we all hovered near the towers and away from the windows. “Should we just burst in and attack?”
Yes, my shadow’s voice echoed inside my head. That’s precisely what you should do.
“What if we burst one of these windows open and attack the hell out of them?” I suggested as Professor Luna looked all around her.
“Hmmm,” the blonde professor pondered with wide black eyes. “I do like a spontaneous attack… by Satan… this is all happening rather quickly, isn’t it?”
“Just to be on the safe side, though, I’ll use my premonition to sense any possible dangers lurking behind this window,” I said as I pointed to the nearest stained-glass window. “If the coast is clear, I’ll break the glass using motus, and then we devour those bastards using our teeth, claws, and feral strength.”
“Excellent idea, Cole,” Professor Luna agreed. “Go on, then… do what you must.”
I nodded before I closed my eyes and forced myself to turn my mind into a completely blank slate. As I focused on what laid beyond the window, I freed my mind from any sense of doubt or fear and then recited the incantation inside my head.
Periculum.
Suddenly, my mind wandered past the stained-glass window and through the corridors. There were only a few warlocks dressed in those hideous white suits walking down the bare hallways. No paintings hung against the walls, and the place was unbearably dreary and depressing, but the good news was I couldn’t sense any impending danger.
We were in the clear.
My mind pulled away from the corridors, and when I returned to my shadowy form, a smile broke across my face.
“They have no barriers I can sense, nor do they possess any sort of defenses.” I grinned. “They must still be in the process of rebuilding their student body.”
“And failing miserably, it would seem,” Akira snickered with bloodthirsty glee. “Ooooh, I can’t wait to eat some Mors flesh.”
“Now, remember, in our shadowy forms, we are nearly invincible… however, the bond won’t last forever,” Professor Luna explained.
“Wait,” Morgana said with wide black eyes. “When does it fade?”
“It can fade at any moment,” Professor Luna answered with a small shrug. “It all depends on how well you can control your shadow and force it to share power.”
“Professor, with all due respect,” Penelope said in a tight voice. “Don’t you think you should have warned us about that little detail before we decided to kill off an entire academy?”
“I was so excited by Cole’s prospect that it must have slipped my mind!” Professor Luna responded in a defensive tone. “Besides, no one bothered to ask, so you’re all to blame as well.”
“That’s some messed up logic,” Akira mumbled.
“Miss Akira!” Professor Luna snapped. “I’m still your professor, so you would do well to remember your respect.”
“Yes, Professor,” the short-haired witch answered in a small voice. “My apologies.”
“Hey!” I said as I waved a shadowy hand in their faces. “If what you’re saying is accurate, Professor Luna, then shouldn’t we move with a little more haste?”
“Oh, right,” the pale-haired witch responded as she shook her head. “Let’s proceed.”
“Excellent,” I said before I rubbed my hands together.
Without wasting any more time, I swiftly turned around and focused on the stained-glass window, and I used all my mental strength to picture shards of colored glass breaking apart and flying into the hallways. Once I opened my mind to the power of Satan and felt no ounce of fear or doubt, I narrowed my eyes at the glass and raised my shadowy hand.
Motus.
The window immediately shattered, and shards of pointed glass went soaring backward into the halls. A few students were passing by, and as soon as the window broke, the bits and pieces of dagger-sharp glass penetrated their bodies and cut clean through their skin.
I grinned in murderous satisfaction as I watched one fragment of glass soar right through one warlock’s eye and killed him instantly.
“Attack!” Professor Luna screamed.
The Mors students who hadn’t been killed by the flying, broken glass gaped in horror when they saw an army of fleshed filled shadows soaring through the hallways like a horde of hungry, bloodthirsty ghosts. As we flew down the corridors, cries of terror instantly filled the air, and it sounded like music to my fucking ears.
“Attack!” I called out before I hovered over the head of a green-haired warlock and then snapped his head clean off with my mighty claws. “Don’t leave anyone behind!”
Shall we destroy them all? my shadow’s voice echoed inside my mind. I vow not to leave your side until we kill every single one of them.
“Then let’s do it,” I growled as I spotted another crowd of students sprinting down the hallway.
Before I followed them, I turned around to see where my coven, Beatrix, and Circe were. They were just behind me, though, and they all had sunk their teeth into warlock necks and ripped their tendons out from their bodies.
“Delicious meat!” I heard Akira growl through a mouthful of raw flesh.
; “Hey!” I called out. “Follow me! There’s a crowd trying to escape!”
“I’m right behind you!” Nyx said as she flew in my direction.
The others stopped what they were doing and joined us as we flew after the fleeing Mors students. It didn’t take long for us to reach the sprinting crowd of warlocks and swiftly take them down, and they cried out in fear and pain as we sunk our teeth into their sweet and salty flesh.
“Who knew such shitty warlocks would turn out to be so delicious!” Akira growled like a ravenous wolf. “I need more!”
We laughed as our Scholomance sisters roamed the hallways taking down every warlock they could find. As my group followed closely, we tore through the tuxedo-wearing students, ripped their heads from their bodies, or sank our teeth into their pulsating necks. Each bastard we killed felt like a victory, and I relished in the taste of their traitorous blood.
“Should we go upstairs?” Penelope purred once we came across a stairwell. “There could be more hiding up there.”
“Good idea,” I remarked before I turned to look at the others. “Come on, let’s go!”
We flew up the stairs, and within seconds, we were on the second floor.
“Wow,” Morgana breathed in fascination. “It would have taken us at least ten minutes to climb up those stairs by foot, huh?”
“Yeah, probably.” Vesta nodded in agreement. “I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of the black eyes, but I do love flying.”
“Me, too!” Nyx squealed with joy. “It’s so much fucking fun.”
“You’d know what would be even more fun, though?” Akira grinned, and her black eyes flashed with bloodlust. “Finding more Mors students to drain dry.”
“Oh, I’m inclined to agree,” Circe added with a pointy smile.
“So, let’s go,” I agreed. “I can smell them… they’re close.”
We only came across one or two students as we wandered through the corridors, and it didn’t take us long to rip their heads from their bodies. Most students tried to use their magic against us, but we were either too quick, or they were too slow.
“Hey, wait a minute…” Morgana said as we quickly floated down the hall. “Isn’t this the second floor with the study hall? Do you think warlocks could be hiding in there?”
