Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae

I BOUNCED FROM foot to foot as Prestos lifted the whistle to her lips and the second round was about to begin. I eyed the other team’s Waterguard as I prepared to block her moves. She was big for a girl but I still had at least sixty pounds on her and I’d be using that advantage to tackle her if the ball shot out of the Water Hole in our Quarter.

The whistle blasted and the ball shot from the Air Hole instead, racing up towards the silver dome overhead as Seth leapt after it, propelling himself higher with air magic.

I started running as fast as I could, the Starlight Waterback keeping pace for a while until I threw an elbow into her face and sent her rolling through the mud behind me.

I had my sights on the ball but as I ran, the material of my shorts was bunching between my legs and I suddenly doubled over as the burning raced over my balls.

“What the fuck are you doing Rigel?!” Orion yelled from the side of the pitch but I was near blinded from the burning pain in my left testicle.

I howled like a newborn baby for a moment before regaining the clarity of mind to draw on my water magic and flood my shorts to wash the burn away. It looked like I’d just pissed myself but it helped. As a moment of relief came for me, I swept the water over my entire body and sighed in satisfaction. It hadn’t completely doused the flames across my skin but it had definitely taken the edge off.

I looked up to see Caleb sprinting down the midfield with the lightweight Airball beneath his arm and a determined snarl on his face. The Starlight players were racing to intercept him but even without his Vampire speed, which he couldn’t use in the game, the boy was born fast.

“Take it home Cal!” I bellowed, throwing my arms out as I shot a jet of water at the Starlight Pit Keeper closest to him as she made the mistake of stepping out of the no-magic zone around the Pit.

Heavy footsteps announced the arrival of the Starlight Waterback three seconds before she tackled me and I grunted as she threw her shoulder into my stomach, driving the air from my lungs.

I stepped back to brace myself but my foot slid in the mud of my own damn puddle which I’d created while trying to stifle the burn.

My boot twisted beneath me, her weight dislodging me instantly and I went down hard beneath her.

I had every intention to throw her off of me with a blast of air but as my back was pressed firmly to the ground, the burning erupted across my flesh once more and I yelled out as stars burst before my eyes. I couldn’t concentrate on my magic and for an achingly long moment she held me pinned to the mud.

A whistle blew and then the most horrifying words sounded. “Rigel! You’re Out!”

The Waterback was gone before I even made it back to my feet and I cursed loudly as I clawed my way upright, flooding my skin with water again in an attempt to stop the fire which was licking across my skin.

I looked back just in time to see Caleb slam the ball home but with the point we’d lost for me getting knocked out, it still left us in a draw with no points scored.

My ass hit the bench as I was forced to sit out a second round before I could return to the game but I yelped the moment it did, lurching upright again as the pressure caused my ass cheeks to burn with hell fire.

A dark shadow shot towards me from my left and before I could blink, Orion was in my face.

“What the hell are you playing at out there?” he snarled, snatching hold of the front of my shirt and pulling me nose to nose with him.

“Ah, shit!” I cried as his grip increased the burning along my back. “Someone’s done something to my goddamn kit!”

I lifted my shirt to show him the purple welts which lined my skin and his eyes narrowed as he looked me over before reaching out to heal me.

Green light slid from his palm as he pressed it to my stomach but it was no good, the burning persisted.

Orion hissed between his teeth as he pulled his hand back and quickly washed it off with a blast of his own water magic.

“You stink,” he said as he shook his hand out. “That’s Griffin shit.”

“What?!” I cried. No wonder I was burning up, that stuff was practically toxic. “Those Starlight assholes must have sabotaged me!”

“Well unless you can prove that you can’t start throwing around accusations. The only cure for that rash is bathing in a potion which you’ll need to get from Uranus Infirmary. I’m pulling you from the game-”

“No,” I snarled before he could make the call official. “My father came to watch me play.” My gaze slid to the stands where my dad’s eyes were on me, filled with concern. Behind him, my step mother watched too and though she hid it from the world, I could see the pleasure she was taking in seeing me fail. I couldn’t let that stand.

“If you’re going to keep playing then you need to suck it up,” Orion demanded. “Head in the game, work through the pain.” His favourite catch phrase had never seemed so literal.

“I’m in,” I growled, forcing my thoughts away from the constant burn.

I looked back at the pitch just in time to see an inflatable Pegasus sex toy floating over the Starlight crowd with Caleb’s name scrawled along its side and an arrow pointing at its open ass.

Cal noticed it too and he fumbled his throw, his aim way off as he passed the ball to Darius who dove forward to try and save it. His fingertips brushed it but the Starlight Airsentry threw a gust of wind at the ball and it fell to the ground with a wet thump.

My lips parted with horror as the scoreboard lit up with a -5 score to Zodiac and the Starlight crowd went wild.

Darius snatched the ball back up and managed to hook it to Seth who slammed it into the Pit but that only brought us up to -4.

“What the fuck is happening?” Orion murmured in disbelief.

My time out of the game was up so I raced back onto the pitch to await the next ball without another word. I moved from foot to foot, trying to ignore the burning agony which had now firmly found its way between my ass cheeks.

The whistle sounded, a flaming ball burst from the Fire Hole and once again the game was on. I just had to force my way through it until the end.