We hurried through the Academy, barely stopping as crowds of students and Fae alike scurried from wherever they’d been holed up. It seemed nobody felt like they were particularly safe anymore.
Everyone in the hall froze as another immense boom rattled the walls. Dust rained from the ceiling.
“What did she bring, a ballista?” I said.
“Worse, probably,” Asher said. “The Academy’s defensive charms will hold,” he said louder so that the rest of the students could hear. A few of those around us nodded in agreement as everyone began moving again, taking shelter away from the side of the Academy Kasia was attacking. I wasn’t sure how much reassurance even Asher was giving them right now, but if he could supply even a little to keep them from completely panicking, then I’d take it.
“Orderly lines! I said orderly!” I spotted Master Dorrison trying unsuccessfully to corral some of the students further into the heart of the Academy. “We need to remain calm or else—”
There was another boom. Louder this time. The students’ frantic running increased, and Asher and I found ourselves shoved against the wall. I tried to push back, but the frenzied press of bodies was too much. At this rate, there was no way we’d make it to Mia and Colson in time to do anything.
“Move, mortals!” General Zell roared.
At once, a space cleared around us, some of the younger students casting him terrified looks as they scampered away. General Zell took a moment to glare at them in clear disgust before turning to us. “I will brace my forces. We are more prepared and more equipped. We will be the first line of defense.”
I extracted my arm from the petrified grip of a younger student. “We need to find our friends and headmaster Lucien. He’ll have some idea of what to do.”
General Zell raised his hand, and the few Fae who’d been standing amongst the students, looking unsure at what to do, fell into line beside him. “Yes, you must bolster your own. Engage only if you need to.” He gave me an appraising look. “I do this for the prince. For his dream and the hopes that one day our kinds do not need to fear one another. Do not make me regret it.”
“I won’t,” I said firmly. “I promise I won’t.”
General Zell waved an arm and the Fae jogged after him, students and Masters alike parting for him like the waters of the Red Sea. Asher and I immediately took off in the opposite direction toward Remembrance Hall. We didn’t have a designated meeting point for if, say, a sadistic woman with a vendetta against everything we stood for decided to pound us into dust, but I figured Remembrance Hall was a good place to start.
We sprinted past more Masters directing the younger students to get below to the lower level of the Academy. Most of it was underground, so hopefully, unless Kasia had found a way through that as well, they’d be much safer there.
“You guys going to fight?”
A few of the advanced students had broken free from the crowd and were running over to us. I recognized one of the guys from my Dark Magic class, and two of the girls had been in Paranormal Politics with me last year.
“I’m trying to get as many people together as I can,” the guy said. “I figured being prepared was way better than sitting around and doing nothing.”
“Can you fight?” Asher said.
The guy swelled with indignation, but Asher cut him off, “It’s not an insult, it’s a serious question. If you can’t fight, you’ll just get in the way and endanger others.”
“I got a nearly perfect score on my last sparring exam,” one of the girls said proudly. “With a mace, and with a spear.”
I wanted to point out that sparring in a calm, controlled environment among friends was about the farthest away you could get from the experience of an actual battle, but they were here, and they were willing.
“I don’t think—” Asher said.
“Follow us,” I said. “We can let Lucien decide if they can help,” I said to Asher as the guy gestured for a couple more of his friends to join us.
After what felt like a year of waiting, we’d formed our own little posse and took off again. By now the Academy’s halls had begun to empty again as most of the students headed below. We passed the Conjurings classroom where an enormous clay Golem was being brought to life by a few of the students dashing around at its feet, throwing animation spells across its bulky arms and legs. I didn’t dare stop, but my spirits lifted just a little. If they could get that thing to fight for us, then maybe we’d hold out longer than thirty seconds.
Remembrance Hall was more packed than I’d expected. One end was clustered with more advanced students than I thought even attended the Academy, and on the other, those Masters who hadn’t been helping with crowd control. Most of them were looking at the ceiling nervously, as though Kasia was going to come bursting through at any moment. I really, really hoped that General Zell had kept his word and was trying to fend her off to buy us time.
“Skylar!” Mia yelled.
I spotted her and Colson, along with Sylvia and Demarcus, among the rest of the advanced students.
“Is this everyone?” I said as we came over, still a little breathless from our run.
“For now,” Colson said. “Until the other Masters finally let the students who want to fight actually fight.”
“I told you, it should only be advanced students,” Mia said firmly. “I don’t want to go charging into battle alongside any of the first years, do you?”
Colson gave a rare, wry smirk. “They’d make excellent catapult ammo.”
“He doesn’t mean that,” I said quickly as Sylvia’s eyes widened.
“Mostly,” Colson said.
Demarcus surprised me by giving me a hug, tugging Sylvia in along with him. I took the brief moment of respite from the chaos around us, grateful that they were still okay, that all of them were still okay, for now.
“We heard a little about what happened,” Sylvia said when we parted. “About Prince Zephyr and…some kind of dark magic Kasia cursed you with?” She frowned. “All I’m gonna say is we better survive this so you can give us all the details. And I mean all the details.”
“You worry too much,” Demarcus said, throwing an arm over Sylvia’s shoulders. “Of course we’re going to survive this. All we have to do is run some crazy lady back to whatever hole she crawled from and we’re good!”
“You don’t care who we have to fight, as long as you get to stay out of class,” Sylvia said, shoving his arm off her. Demarcus grinned, but didn’t deny it.
“Logan and Penny are down in the ‘other’ Academy,” Mia said. “Logan wanted to get the Vamps and ghouls together in case Kasia attacked from down there.”
“She won’t,” Asher said. I noticed him glancing worriedly at the crooked oak tree in the center of the Hall. “She’s got something else in mind.”
Before I could ask him what he was talking about, I spied Lucien, flanked by Master Lipstuck and Frigam, stride into the Hall. The air immediately seemed to calm, as though his mere presence had done more reassuring than any amount of preparation ever could.
“Finally,” Demarcus breathed. “What do you figure he has in mind?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “But I’ll go find out.”
Lucien spotted me before I reached him. He broke out into the brightest smile I’d ever seen. Without warning, I was enveloped in a warm hug of obnoxiously colorful robes and lifted off my feet.
“Skylar! It’s so wonderful you’re here! And alive! It’s wonderful you’re both here and alive!”
“I agree,” I gasped out as Lucien finally lowered me to the ground again. He took a step back to look at me, and I saw tears in the corner of his eye. His gaze held mine, probably seeing the same missing part of me behind my eyes that Radell and Anatole had. Eventually his smile widened once again into something almost mischievous. “Not only are you alive, but I get the faintest, teensy-weensy feeling that you have a plan.”
“The inklings of one. I think,” I said.
“We need to distract Kasia long enough for Skylar to get close to her,” Asher said. “Do you think you can manage that?”
“Get close?” Master Lipstuck said disbelievingly. “My dear girl, I’m not sure how much experience you’ve had facing off against a being such as this Kasia woman, but she’s someone you want to stay as not close to as possible!”
“As far away as possible,” Master Frigam clarified unhelpfully.
“Be that as it may,” Lucien said, still looking at me like he was assessing whether to take me up on our idea. “I suspect you know what you’re doing.” He leaned in closer. “Did you find Anatole?”
“Yes,” I said.
“And he was able to help you?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? “In a manner of speaking.”
Lucien pulled in a long breath. “I get the feeling, like all plans of this nature, this one is not without its reservations. Or…” he mused, “cost.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “I trust you know what you’re doing, Skylar. We’ll distract her as long as we can.”
“Headmaster Lucien, I really think drawing Kasia as far away from the Academy is the best course of action…” Master Lipstuck trailed off as Lucien straightened his robes, glowing smile on his face.
“Excellent idea, Master Lipstuck! We’ll distract her so that Skylar can put her plan into action!”
“But that’s not what I suggested at all…” Master Lipstuck seemed to deflate when it was clear Lucien hadn’t listened to a word he’d said. I almost felt sorry for him, but at that moment a solid boom rattled the walls. A few students let out surprised screams as the floor beneath our feet began to crack.
“Steady now, steady!” Master Frigam called, though that did absolutely nothing to steady anyone.
Lucien’s now-serious face was turned toward the northern wall, where the worst of the shaking seemed to be originating. “That felt like the last of the Reflex charm,” he said, his voice soft. “There are still a few more barriers to get through, but give her ten more minutes and I have no doubt she’ll make it inside. You remember this tree?”
I looked up at the gnarled oak tree, totally unsure where he was going with this. “You mean the one that’s stood in the center of this hall forever? Uh, yeah. What about it?”
“She’ll go for it first,” Asher said, clearly understanding what Lucien was implying.
Then I remembered. “The tree’s charmed.”
“Not the tree itself, but it anchors most of the Academy’s defensive charms,” Lucien said. “If she takes it down then there will be no hope of summoning any counter attack to push her out once she’s inside. I’m going to stay here with some of the Masters. In the meantime…”
“In the meantime, we should do our best to hold off her forces while they’re still outside,” Colson rumbled behind me.
I turned to find him, a fierce-looking Mia, and my other friends, along with about a dozen students, clearly ready to stop standing around being scared and actually join the fight.
“Precisely, Colson!” Lucien said. “Students!” he bellowed, his voice magically magnifying. “You will divide into small groups, each one headed by a Master. Split up throughout the Academy and try to keep the invaders on the outside. If they break through you immediately fall back and gather some help. We don’t need heroes here, especially dead ones.”
I could have misread it, but I swear he glanced at our group of four.
“The Paranormal Coalition has been notified of our predicament,” Lucien went on.
“Then why aren’t they here?” a girl in the back demanded.
“Yeah, aren’t they supposed to, you know, protect us from things like this?” a guy asked.
Lucien held up his hands as the worried murmurs grew. “They are supposed to help us, and they will! We just need to give them time. I want each and every one of you to know that you are not required to take part in the fighting. This was not what you were expected to do upon joining the Academy. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and nobody would think any lesser of you if you chose to bow out. Those who do not wish to take part, please go with Master Briggs downstairs to the ‘other’ Academy.”
I looked out over the scared, determined, wary, excited faces of my fellow classmates. Even the ones who’d voiced concern about the lack of Coalition’s help hadn’t so much as inched from their spot. A swell of pride rose within me. All of us, expected or not, were here to defend our Academy, come what may.
Lucien, too, seemed briefly overwhelmed with emotion. He wiped a wayward tear from the corner of his eye. “Excellent. Most excellent. Those who need weapons, go speak to Coach Newman about using some of the sparring weapons. Then break up into your groups and head to your assigned part of the Academy.” He fixed us all with a blazing white smile, one that, as scared as I was, made me immediately feel better. “May you all stay safe.”
Master Lipstuck’s labored breathing was becoming a bit much, even to someone like me who felt like an asthmatic running through a series of fog machines.
“Did we—wheeze—have to pick the farthest classroom?” Master Lipstuck called.
I was too winded myself, to answer, but Asher (teacher’s pet; I’d tease him about it later) paused to let Lipstuck catch up.
“We’re taking one of the most exposed sides where we’ll have a clear view of the Lincoln Center.” He gave Master Lipstuck a charming smile. “We didn’t want to put anyone less experienced in such a dangerous position. You understand, Lucien only wanted the best here.”
Master Lipstuck posted his hands on his knees, his round belly heaving, gray mustache twitching with every strenuous breath. “Headmaster Lucien, your father—heave—he—wheeze—said that?”
“Of course,” Asher said. “Without a doubt.”
With another strenuous breath, Lipstuck straightened up, his eyes alight with new fervor. “Very well, students. Let us carry on!”
“Wow,” Demarcus said in a low voice, clearly impressed as we started running again. “Remind me to talk to Asher before I ask a girl out. You could convince a troll he was Albert Einstein.”
“Don’t encourage him,” I said as Asher beamed wider. “His head is already too big as it is.”
The five of us and Master Lipstick, with his temporary burst of energy, continued running until we finally reached the last classroom at the end of the long southern hall. We’d left a couple of the groups a few classrooms back, each of them with the same goal: stop Kasia and her forces from getting inside for as long as possible. And if they broke through…well…we’d fall back and hope for the best.
“Colson! Skylar!”
“Miranda, I said come back here!”
I spotted a flurry of white right before a small shape lunged at Colson, grasped onto his arm with her tiny hands and clambered up to throw herself around his neck. “Colson!”
“Miranda!” Mrs. Rochester, the druid nurse, came hurrying up, face red and flustered. “Miranda, I said stop! And when I tell you to do something…Who am I kidding?” She sagged against the nearest wall, spent. “You never listen to me anyway.”
Miranda, AKA the Cursed One, hugged Colson tighter. Her curly blond hair fell in waves around her face as Colson gently detached her, cradling her small body in the crook of his elbow. “Are you listening to Mrs. Rochester, Miranda?”
Miranda scrunched her face in displeasure. “Mostly…”
“Not in the least!” Mrs. Rochester said.
Miranda saw me and let out a squeal of delight, leaping across to hug me tight. “Everyone’s been so scared, and they all want to go underground, but I don’t want to! I want to stay up here!”
“I told you, it’s only temporary,” Mrs. Rochester said, exasperated. “Once we’re safe, we’ll come back up here.”
Miranda’s face scrunched even tighter. I heard Colson telling the others to carry on to the classroom without us while I knelt to put Miranda down. “You think the underground’s scary?”
Miranda nodded furiously. I could understand that. As old and ancient as she was, Miranda looked, acted, and for all intents and purposes, pretty much was just a little kid. Spooky things like damp tunnels, darkness, and ghoul students who had never learned proper dental hygiene were all terrifying.
“It’s safer down there for you,” Colson rumbled. He too knelt beside her. “Don’t you want to stay safe?”
Miranda twisted the hem of her dress, looking at the floor. “Yes…but I…down there, it reminds me…it’s a lot like…”
“Ah, I understand.” Colson brushed back the strands of her hair with one enormous finger. “It reminds you of the house you had to live in for so long, doesn’t it?”
Miranda wordlessly nodded. Now I understood too. For years, centuries, maybe eons, she’d lived inside a house the Fae had trapped her in, keeping her there in case she got out and someone used her power for their own sinister purposes. I imagined going down to the lower level felt much like entering that lonely, dark place once more.
“I know it’s scary, Miranda,” I said. “But you can handle it.”
“I can?”
“Of course you can. You lived alone in that house for so long, and still you were brave enough to leave and face this big, wide world. I’d say that’s super brave.” I smiled at her, hugging her to me. “So I think you can handle being in some dirty old hallways for a little bit, don’t you?”
After a moment, Miranda nodded into my shoulder. “I…sure I can! That’s nothing!”
“As if I hadn’t said that exact same thing a hundred times before,” Mrs. Rochester griped. “It’s only for a short time.”
Miranda wiped at her eyes, but she was smiling again. She pointed up at Colson. “Okay! But when I’m back, you have to take me for ice dream!”
“It’s ice cream. But sure,” Colson said, smiling.
“Come on, dear.”
Mrs. Rochester held out a hand for Miranda to take. Miranda threw her arms around each of us one last time before taking Mrs. Rochester’s hand. Then promptly scrambling up it to sit on her shoulder.
“No! Miranda, I told you, you need to walk like everyone else! Down!”
I felt my heart twist as the two of them disappeared around the corner.
“They’ll be okay,” Colson said. “Let’s make sure they stay that way.”
The others had already taken up positions in the classroom, creating a barricade of desks around the windows. I wasn’t sure how much good the barricade would do; besides the sparring weapons Coach Newman kept in the gym, we weren’t exactly prepared to repel invasions.
“Have they made it up to the walls yet?” I asked Asher as I slipped between the desks and joined him and Demarcus beside one of the windows.
Demarcus used his sleeve to wipe away the condensation that kept coating the glass. “We’d have a better idea if we could see anything.”
“I’m not sure,” Asher said. “We might have to open the windows.”
“We can’t do that!” Sylvia said. “Don’t you think that’d compromise the whole point of an impenetrable magical barrier?”
All of us looked over at Master Lipstuck, who’d flopped into one of the desks like he’d never stand again. “What? Open a window?” he said. “If you must, it is rather stuffy in here.”
“It won’t break the barrier?” I said.
“The defensive charms? Of course not! If our safety hinged on whether a cleaning imp accidently left one open to air out a room, then we’d be in a lot more trouble than we are now.”
“Back up,” Asher said. He braced his hands beneath the window and shoved up. I poked my head out. The fog was so thick it immediately coated my face in a fine layer of moisture. Even with the window open it wasn’t much easier to see distinct shapes through the roiling mist, and yet I began to pick out the dark shadows I’d run into on my way to the Academy’s entrance. They weren’t drifting aimlessly anymore, but were pressed up against the Academy wall below, like dark leeches sucking at the outer charms.
I held out an open hand behind me, conjuring a small pilot light of flame. “Help me out here.”
Asher and Demarcus added their own flame magic to mine, until I had a decent-sized fireball blazing. I stuck my head out again, took aim, and hurled it, winging the shadow of a griffon that detached from the wall, screeching, before vanishing in the mist.
“Rats. Clipped it,” I said.
“My turn,” Asher said, taking my place. He conjured a fireball, zeroed in on one, and threw. I heard a satisfying screech and he pulled his head back in, smirking.
“Let me guess,” I said. “Perfect shot.”
“Would you expect any less?”
I heard Sylvia snort. Demarcus pushed us both aside, saying, “If Asher can do it, then it can’t be that hard!”
Sylvia let out an even louder snort.
“Now, just a minute,” Master Lipstuck said, pushing himself to standing. “Let’s keep ourselves inside. If those…things get a whiff that we’re up here, they might decide to come after us next—”
I saw a light growing brighter in the far mist, gradually turning into the color of the sun. I had a bad feeling about it, even before an enormous ball of fiery magic seared through the fog and collided with the Academy wall only a little ways down from us. I was thrown off my feet as the entire Academy shook. I heard crackling, like the sound of breaking glass.
“Everyone okay?” Mia said, bracing herself against a desk.
“Oh dear,” Master Lipstuck said.
“What the heck was that?” Sylvia said.
The sound of shattering glass continued, but now I recognized it for what it actually was: the sound of a magical barrier being slowly destroyed.
I threw myself to my feet and stuck my head out the window. Kasia’s shadows had swarmed the bottom of the wall, growing in number. Now they weren’t just eating away at the defensive spells: They were eating away at the wall itself.
“One of the charms went down!” I said. “Everybody get ready for—”
I didn’t even have time to finish before the shadows attacked. The one just below me lurched up, followed by half a dozen more. I hurled a bolt of light at the front of the charging mass, dissipating the first, but three more immediately replaced it.
“Get back!”
I felt myself yanked away from the window. I had a moment to steady myself on the nearest desk and pull Valkyrie, right before the first shadow slithered through the window and we were under attack.