The Mage’s War (Crescent Moon Academy Book 1)

by CY Jones

  “Let’s just kill her now,” I hear Zion growl. Yeah, that’s my clue to get the fuck out of here.

  “She’s part of our pact,” Kirito argues in my defense.

  “Fuck that, she’s the enemy. She has done nothing to prove herself to us. All that wasted time surveilling and watching her and what has come of it? What has she done that proves she can handle this shit and stay sane? She can snap at any time and run back and do what her family line is best at. Destroying all our hard work and disappearing, sticking their head in the sand and ignoring the chaos they caused. For decades, our family lines have been cleaning up after them, but not this time. I refuse to let her join us.”

  I don’t know why, but Zion’s words piss me off. I’m not weak or a fucking fruitloop. Sure, there’s times my sanity takes a short field trip, but that’s only when I’m fighting to save my life and always after someone attacks me first. I have no clue what happened in the past, but I’m not my ancestors nor do I appreciate being lumped in with them. Also, who said I needed to prove myself to him? If I’m following this conversation correctly, I have what they all want. They should be the ones proving themselves to me.

  “Fuck you, Zion. You don’t know me,” I snap, getting into his face, pushing the angry twin out the way. I can fight my own fucking battles.

  “No thanks, one of my boys has already been there and done that.” Shots fired. He just had to go there. A guilty look covers Kirito’s face and he looks down. I’ll deal with that shit later, but right now, Zion’s ass is mine. He wants crazy? Well, I’ll show him crazy.

  “Every breath you take,” I sing and Zion stills, turning his attention back on me confused. “Every step you take,” I whisper, moving closer until my lips are nearly touching his, then become delighted when his pupils dilate. Interesting, I muse to myself. “Every move you make. I’ll be watching you,” I hum, moving away, twirling in a circle around him.

  He goes to move, but unfortunately for him, he can’t and I smile wickedly that my trap succeeded. “Oh, can’t you see? You belong to me,” I state in a low seductive voice. Checkmate, asshole, you’re trapped. Oh, what to do next? “Every move you make. Every vow you break. Every smile you fake. Every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you. Are you having fun yet, Zion? Is this crazy enough for you or do you want more?” I taunt.

  “Let me out of this trap, you crazy bitch,” he seethes, practically snarling at this point. I doubt he likes being outsmarted by me twice.

  “Oh dear. It doesn’t sound like he’s happy at all, now does it?” I ask the group. I couldn’t care less about their answer. It’s a rhetorical question. Angelica is gone and this harlequin is bored.

  “Death, Death, can you hear? I’m knocking at your door.

  Let me in, let me in, I lost my heart on the shore.

  Away he went, in a boat that sank to the bottom of the sea.

  With tears in his eyes, oh did he cry, begging on his knees.”

  Kirito’s legs buckle and with a grunt, he falls to his knees as my spell weaves around them. I wasn’t expecting him to be affected. I guess he does care about me, more than I thought, but I’m mad at him right now and he needs to be taught a lesson.

  “Now, that’s better. You look good on your knees, Kirito.” The warriors start to move some more and I know I need to wrap this up and soon. I may have succeeded in trapping Zion and friends, but I’m doubtful I’m strong enough to hold back a bunch of ancient warriors.

  I twist around them, pulling two strands of hair from my head and before he can move out the way, I strike at one of the twins, the less observant one with the hot elf in front of him. My hair wraps around his wrist and ties itself in a tight knot then I hum. Just like that day in the field, a blue and purple fog surrounds me and like a marionette playing with my puppet, I move blondie to my own accord. His body moves fluidly with mine as we’re totally in sync. When I raise my hand, he raises his, mimicking my movements. I kick out, pointing my toe, and so does he. Happy, I twirl around them while he joins me in a duel of tornadoes. My audience looks on with horror and fear in their eyes, except for one. No, he’s a man that’s hard to break nor will he bend. I don’t even think the asshole can be broken.

  The warriors break from whatever spell was holding them and Zion’s Asian warrior turns on me with fire in her eyes. I’m not exaggerating either. Literal flames dance in her irises and in a movement too quick to track, she pulls her sword, swipes at the lines in my spell, breaking Zion from his hold and dashes forward, striking out at me in a perfected movement meant to kill, not maim. She’s magnificent and I would be in awe if I currently weren’t the one she’s attacking. I duck out the way, but not unscathed when her sword cuts a line across my cheek, deep enough that I can feel the blood drip down my skin. I’m sure if it weren’t for my Indian badass, I would be dead right now when he notches his bow with one of his deadly arrows and aims right for her throat.

  They face off with one another, circling each other with their weapons poised to attack.

  Zion goes on the offensive, hurtling fire balls quicker than I can block, so I use blondie to fend off the worst of them. Kirito is still under my spell, but the rest are free to move at will, but they stay where they are with their warriors beside them, making me wonder why they’re not attacking me. Zion is their comrade and the odds are certainly in their favor as I’m outnumbered. Zion strikes me in the side and I cry out in pain before whirling away. Blondie is keeping him at bay, but the fucker is good. I’m sure the bastard lives and breathes violence. To him, this is nothing. Just the before dinner show.

  Reaching inside my pool and that untapped power, I pull on what I think are strings hidden deep inside me. Strings I use just like my hair, but so much more. If my style of fighting is a song, then these strings are my tools, my baton as I’m the conductor of this musical. Deep in my mind words are whispered and I repeat them back in an eerie tune.

  “I am the keeper of your soul. Your will is mine to take, for I am the blood that runs through your veins and the flesh of all mages.”

  Blondie jerks like he’s having a seizure before suddenly, his body snaps straight and his eyes glow silver and blue, and it’s not just him. My own body feels weird, like I’m having an out of body experience. This is more than me pulling puppet strings of hair. Our minds are linked, our hearts beat as one in it’s own damning beat of destruction. The blood in our bodies combine with one another as our breath releases as one. With a wave of his hand, he sends out a powerful gush of ice at Zion, dousing his flames before entering a duel of the fist. They punch and kick at one another so fast, they’re nothing but a blur. Fire rises around them while ice, it’s equal in this scenario, douses the flames. They’re evenly matched, but I can tell they are both holding back. I’m still connected to Blondie and even though I’m furious at Zion, I will not push him to kill his friend. Just detain him a bit.

  When Zion slams hard into the wall of the cave, invisible hands grab at him and pull him in like they’re trying to swallow him whole. His warrior dodges a blow from mine and strikes the crumbling rock, cutting him free with her mighty sword, but their victory is short-lived when they both scramble to dodge a barrage of arrows before slipping on a sheet of ice under their feet conjured up by blondie. Well, fuck. He must have control over all of the elements, which makes him very fucking deadly.

  “You’ve proven your point, let Ryker go, you psycho,” Zion orders.

  “Have I?” I question, fully amused now. I may be jolly, high off my own insanity, but the look on my face says, ‘I couldn’t care less about his orders’. He must be feeling brave or stupid because when he gets to his feet, he walks straight to me with sure, confident steps, and gets into my space. He’s so close now, I can feel the heat of his skin. Smell his cinnamon and campfire scent. His eyes always so intense blaze as they watch me.

  So close. So fucking close, yet he couldn’t be farther away. Zion is a master at closing himself off and I realize that this is what pis
ses me off the most about him. The fact that even though he’s a major douchebag, I foolishly want to be the one he opens up to.

  “Let them go,” he orders again, more forcefully this time. He won’t back down. The alpha in him doesn’t know the meaning. That’s something they all have in common. They are too high and mighty. Since birth, they have all been placed on a pedestal they have no intention of ever stepping down from. Well, fuck that. I will not yield either.

  “Make me,” I challenge as my eyes spark, searching for his next move. To my surprise, he grins and closes the sparse distance between us before slamming his lips on mine.

  In an instant, all the fight drains out of me. My hold on Blondie snaps like a cut string as I surrender my mind, body, and soul to Zion. His arms wrap around me and he holds me close, almost tenderly as he literally steals my every breath with his soft lips. Maybe he was right all along. I am unstable and so is he. Because how can one go from fighting to this? I’m stupid. A stupid girl with stupid girly feelings, which he uses against me expertly. It’s too late to stop now. I’m already under his thrall. Driving my conclusion home, he steps back, releasing me from his spell and gives me a wicked grin. I’ve had this happen to me once before. When I foolishly gave someone all I had for them to turn around and show me how unworthy they were to have such a precious gift. They may be two different people, but the grin is just the same.

  “Just a girl after all,” he whispers sinisterly for only my ears to hear. I hold my hand out to slap him, but he grabs a hold and squeeze my fingers painfully, then spins us until my back is held firm, molded against his hard body with his arm around my throat. His hold is tight, but for now, I can still breathe.

  In the background, our warriors fight and all you can see is the sparks of their weapons clashing against one another.

  “You’ve proven your point, let her go, Zion,” Kirito snarls.

  “Why? Look at all the trouble she has caused. We should just kill her now and be done with it. She’s dead anyway when the council learns what she is.” Say what now? What am I?

  Studying my reaction, Milo says, “You look surprised. Did you not know you’re a manipulator? Isn’t that the reason why you have been hiding your abilities?”

  “I never knew what I was. I came here to find out. I don’t even know what a manipulator is,” I cry as Zion’s hold around my neck tightens.

  “Liar,” he whispers in my ear and despite our precarious position or how he just made a fool out of me to subdue me, a shiver of arousal buzzes a pathway down my body to my clit.

  “I’m not lying,” I protest.

  “Just let her go,” Blondie orders.

  “You’re shitting me, right? Did you forget she just hijacked your body?”

  “Killing her is not right and you know it. I was in her mind, just like she was in mine. I could tell she had no clue what she’s doing. Obviously, her family is keeping a shit ton of secrets from her as well as everyone else. We shouldn’t punish her for the misdoings of others.”

  “Let her go before her Champion kills yours and we lose them both,” Milo advises him. His words are rational. At least, I think they are. I don’t exactly have the greatest judgement. As of now, I’m trying really hard not to sniff my captor.

  “Fine,” he growls, pushing me away and I land in another set of powerful arms as my Champion catches me before I hit the ground. “Leave and take Archer with you.”

  He doesn’t need to tell me twice. Daddy raised no fool. As quick as I can muster, I backtrack out the cave and through the falls. It isn’t until we’re well into the forest when I fall to my knees and cry.

  Zion

  “Now what?” Milo questions in a taut voice. He’s clearly angry with me, but because he’s good at being closed off and hiding his emotions, it’s hard to tell. “Because of you, we no longer have an Archer. Going after the other three academies will be suicide now, especially if they have all their Champions intact. Do you really think we’re the only ones who came up with the bright idea to team up? They can take us out from impossible distances and there wouldn’t be shit we can do about it. We’re fucked and it’s all your stupid pride’s fault.”

  I get that he’s mad, but I don’t need a fucking lecture. I know I fucked up. That fucking girl. I haven’t been thinking straight since she got here. Half the time, I don’t know if I want to fuck her or kill her. Probably both at the same time. Earlier, I didn’t mean to kiss her, but I couldn’t help taking a sip from the cup of ambrosia laid at my feet. It was irresponsible of me and clearly a stupid move that’s already starting to backfire on me. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of her, I want more. That tight body of hers, pliant, pressed against me. Her intoxicating scent. Now I know she tastes like honey and she’s so fucking responsive. I mostly sent her packing because I was this close to snapping and saying ‘fuck it’ before taking her against the wall, and with the way her body responded to me, I knew she’d let me.

  “What’s that? Our fearless leader has nothing to say,” Milo taunts, holding his hand exaggeratedly to his ear.

  “Lay off him, Milo, mocking is beneath you. Besides, he knows he fucked up,” Ryker steps in, coming to my defense.

  “Yeah, what’s important now is what he plans to do to fix it,” Oliver injects.

  I’m surprised they are coming to my defense at all with how they both feel about the girl. Kirito won’t even look at me, which I don’t blame him. I did throw him under the bus. He never told me he fucked the little harlequin, I just made her think he did. I saw it for myself firsthand when I was doing my own surveillance on the girl. I was furious at him for falling for her spell and maybe a little jealous… a lot jealous. She gave in so willingly to him. Throwing away all her suspicions and doubts I’m sure she still felt. That body of hers was made for a Goddess and the beautiful look on her face when she climaxed… Was fucking magnificent. I stayed out there the whole time, watching them, wishing it was me in between her thighs.

  “I have an idea, but you’re not going to like it,” I say, vanishing her body from my thoughts. A hard on will only make this situation worse.

  “Do tell,” Milo quips.

  “We don’t have to change our plans if we get her Archer to take out our competition for us.”

  “I’m not following. How the hell are we going to do that? You sent her packing, remember?” Kirito snaps, finally deeming me worthy to look at just so he can stare angrily at me.

  “Look, I know you’re mad at me and I don’t blame you. What I did was really shitty and I’m sorry.”

  “Wow,” he murmurs, “an apology. I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t look for it to happen again, and to answer your previous question, Archer will kill anyone that comes after her. It’s his duty to protect her. If we want to take our enemies out, we’ll have to...”

  “Lead them to her,” Milo finishes my sentence. “Dude, that’s cold, even for you.”

  “What the hell? You expect us to be okay with sending a bunch of blood thirsty mages armed with Champions after her?... Alone?” Kirito shouts incredulously.

  “How is that fair? They’ll fucking slaughter her. Not even you can take on that kind of an assault. None of us can,” Ryker states.

  “She won’t be alone. We’ll be in the shadows, watching. I fucked up, I know, but what’s done is done. She’s not going to come back and help us just because we ask her nicely. The only way we’re going to get her back is if she thinks she needs us. I have a plan and if we work together, she’ll come back to us on her knees, begging for help.” Hopefully with her snarky mouth wrapped around my cock, but I keep that thought to myself. I’m already on their shit list. “We won’t tell all the other academies that she’s a Master, just one. Clawhaven Academy only has four mages left since Milo took out the other three with potential to draw a Champion.”

  “You don’t know if they have all their numbers for sure. What if a Champion chose three others?” Oliver asks.

&
nbsp; “I highly doubt that. Their academy has always been weak,” I rationalize.

  “I don’t know. This plan is risky as hell. It has too many unknowns. What if she finds out we sent them after her?” Ryker questions.

  “We’re already fucked with her as it is, but despite how she feels about us, she’s not stupid. She’ll realize going at it alone is suicide and she’ll need us to survive. Plus, we know her little secret. After today, she’ll want answers and because of what she is, she can’t just ask them outright. If she still wants to be stubborn, then we can exchange our services to help her find out the truth about herself for her help in this war.”

  “Why can’t we lead with that then? Why do we have to sell her out and send the Clawhaven mages after her?” Kirito asks.

  “Because,” I sigh frustrated. “We need to see that she can handle this. The Mage War is a lot to put on someone, which is why I never wanted her included in the first place. Her family bailed long ago and it fell on our families to uphold tradition. We’ve known what’s expected of us since birth, have trained for it. It’s obvious she’s clueless about every fucking thing. I don’t know what the deal with her parents are, if they are even her parents at all, but it’s clear they didn’t teach her shit. Maybe they knew all along what she is and thought it was best to keep her in the dark or maybe they thought the Mage Wars would never touch her, but in her case, ignorance isn’t bliss; it’s deadly. They sent her here for a reason and she needs to be strong enough to survive why.”

  They’re all quiet, thinking over my words. She didn’t grow up like we did. We know firsthand the brutality of our world and how it’s the weak that suffer the most, doomed to die young since our creation. This is an extreme test. When I suggested it, for once, I wasn’t being cruel. I have this feeling that whatever secrets involving her are going to descend on all of us in one strike. It’ll shock her, crush all she knows, and kill her if she doesn’t have the tools to fight back.