Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae

I SHIVERED IN the Pit surrounded by mud and damp, staring up at the bright sky and listening to the collective laughter and cheers that boomed around the stadium.

We tried to force our way out, throwing as much magic as we could at the forcefield the Heirs had cast over the top of it. But it was no good.

Jackasses! Why had I ever felt sorry for them? They didn’t care how far they took things with us so long as we remained at the bottom of the pecking order. But I was so done taking their shit. When we got out of here, I was going to make it my personal mission to destroy their lives.

“You know what, we should really take the throne,” I said bitterly, throwing a rock so it skittered across the soft earth and bounced off of a Pitball.

“Yeah, that would wipe the smirks off of their faces once and for all,” Tory said, casting fire up at the forcefield. The heat emanated from it and I shielded my eyes, lifting a hand to guide my own fire up to help her. The air became suffocating and we soon had to extinguish the flames and think up another tactic.

Another round of, “The Heirs don’t care!” started out in the stands and I ground my teeth.

Yells and laughter clamoured together and I scowled up at the sky. There was no chance of anyone coming to help us. This was between Darius, Seth and us. Fae against Fae.

I scooped up a Pitball, throwing it at the forcefield with a blast of air so it slammed into the magical barrier. It ricocheted off of it and smashed back into the mud, sinking in an inch.

A fanfare started up and the sounds of thousands of people moving signalled everyone was leaving.

No no no! We’re gonna be left down here like rats in a hole.

“Dickwads.” Tory kicked a Pitball then swore as it happened to be one of the heavy earth balls. She shook out her foot, calling the Heirs every vicious name in her vocabulary – which was a damn lot.

A pitchy scream in the distance made my heart jolt and I frowned, listening hard, but the crowd continued to chatter and the music played on. I blew out a breath, gathering a storm of air in my hands as I prepared to pummel the forcefield once more. Tory was building a fireball and she nodded to signal she was ready to release it.

Screams echoed across the stadium and the air fizzled out of my hands.

“What the hell?” Tory breathed as my heart pounded a frantic tune.

“Back back back!” Nova’s voice sounded close by.

“Hey – hello?! What’s going on out there?!” My voice echoed off the walls and no reply came in response. 

I hurried to the curved edge of the Pit, wondering if I could claw my way up and poke my head out. Tory joined me, but we both froze as chaos broke out above. The rush of footsteps, people shouting orders, hundreds of feet pounding across the pitch. More screams raked against my eardrums and my lungs compressed.

“What’s happening?” I gasped but Tory shook her head, having no answer to offer.

“Give me a boost,” I asked and she nodded quickly, bending down and cupping her hands together. I stepped into her palms and she propelled me up to the top of the Pit with a gust of air. I cast vines along the edge to catch myself, haphazardly grabbing onto them and trying to get a purchase. I lifted my head just enough to see out without getting too close to the dangerous energy of the Heirs’ magic.

A swarm of feet raced past the Pit, obscuring my vision. “Hey!” I shouted, trying to catch someone’s attention, but everyone seemed too frantic to look my way. People were changing into their Order forms left right and centre and those with wings took off toward the sky, seeming desperate to escape.

I couldn’t hold onto the vines any longer so I dropped to the ground with a wet thump. Washer’s warning flashed through my mind and I drew magic to my fingertips as fear danced through my veins.

“What’s going on?” Tory demanded as flames flickered in her hands.

“I don’t know, everyone’s panicking.”

We both flinched as a Griffin leapt overhead then took off toward the sky with several powerful beats of its wings.

“Evacuate! Shift into your Orders – don’t let them get close!” Nova cried.

A fireball bloomed above us and panic wrapped around my heart, making it hard to breathe. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Our magic was stronger together.” Tory snatched my hand and the keen wave of her power swept into mine. “Ready?”

I nodded and we raised our free hands. I drew air to my fingertips, a powerful storm swirling around us and sending our hair flying out in tendrils. The fire in Tory’s hand flared blue with the intensity of the heat and as one, we released the blast at the shield. It slammed into the centre, creating a ripple of colour over it, but it didn’t give.

“Shit!” Tory snapped.

“Again,” I encouraged but my breathing faltered as a thick pocket of darkness seeped across the forcefield above, swallowing us up in its shadow. It moved like a living thing, the thickening cloud crackling with a strange energy. Adrenaline pushed through my veins, my muscles tensing, urging me to run. But there was nowhere to go.

A dreadful rasping, sucking noise filled the air and my worst nightmare came true.

“Tory- it’s a Nymph! The Academy must be under attack,” I exclaimed, the smothering feel of its horrible power settling over my insides.

“It’s okay, it can’t get through the Heirs’ barrier,” she breathed, but she didn’t look too confident about that as we backed up to the furthest corner of the Pit.

The shadow spread out against the forcefield and lights flashed where it touched. In a horrifying instant, I realised it could immobilise the magic in the very air.

The shield stuttered out and something hair-raisingly terrifying dropped right out of the darkness. The Nymph landed before us, impossibly tall, its body a twisted, gnarled knot of long limbs, serrated teeth and curling horns. Its probing fingers extended towards us and fear slammed into me full force.

“We have to get out!” I screamed, grabbing Tory’s arm and stumbling as the full strength of its influence sucked at our magic, draining our energy by the second. The moment it locked down our power, we were doomed.

I clawed my way up the far edge of the Pit with Tory at my side, using the last of my strength to cast vines into existence and tug ourselves higher.

Something brushed against my ankle and I kicked sharply, releasing a yell of determination. It curled tighter around my foot and a scream escaped me as I lurched backwards. Tory scrambled over the edge, grabbing my arm and hauling backwards with all her strength.

I clung to her with fear scraping at my ribcage. She shot a spear of ice over my head and a shriek behind me made me wince. 

The Nymph released me and I scrambled away in relief. Tory yanked me upright and we stumbled forward. Before we made it three paces, she slammed to a halt and I staggered away to avoid colliding with her.

Terror strummed every nerve ending in my body as I took in the churned up pitch spreading out ahead of us, the chaotic crowd tearing past us in a mixture of Order and Fae forms. At every exit were Nymphs, standing tall, blocking everyone’s escape paths. Their shadowy creatures were like wraiths as they released their rattling call, immobilising the Fae surrounding them before descending on them in their weakened states. 

A sea of red, white, blue, and silver shirts massed around them as students from Starlight and Zodiac fell prey to their malignant power.

“Oh my god,” I breathed, counting more and more of the monsters around the stadium. Several at the verges of the pitch, one in the Pit and an uncountable amount up in the stands. Thirty…forty? More?

A group of Harpies swarmed across the stands like bees, casting powerful blasts of magic at the Nymphs from a safe distance.

A baying howl cut through the air and I spotted Seth high up on the stairs directly ahead of us, cupping his hands around his mouth. His howl was echoed by hundreds of students and the Werewolves burst into their Order form, the gigantic beasts charging up the aisles to take on the Nymphs. They relied on the brute force of their teeth, diving onto the tree-like creatures and ripping them apart.

I hunted for our friends amongst the masses, for Orion. But I couldn’t spot them in the surging crowd. As a Nymph was brought to its knees before one of the exits, a stampede of students headed that way to get out, soon crushing each other in their bid to escape.

My throat was tight, my lungs even tighter. Shock held me in place but I knew I had to move. And not just move, I had to fight.

The rattling, rasping pull of a Nymph’s magic behind us made me lurch around, raising my hands as power coiled into my veins.

The beast was dragging itself out of the Pit and I propelled a jet of water from my hands, forcing it back down. Tory hurried forward, freezing the water as it cascaded over the vile creature, holding it in place at the bottom of the hole.

“Tory!” I gasped as a Nymph burst through the crowd beyond her, its blazing red eyes seeming to lock onto her as it knocked students aside to get closer. Its arms raised and its twisted, pronged fingers were ready to strike as its rattling cry paralysed the Fae surrounding it.

Terror threatened to overwhelm me as my limbs weakened and my insides hollowed out. They just had to get near and we were finished. No more Academy, no more Heirs, or dreams, or thrones. No more Lance Orion.

I ran toward Tory, snatching her hand and urging that powerful energy to roam between us. It flickered at the edges of my skin and I lifted a hand barely in time as it exploded from my body. Tory’s magic combined with mine, twisting into a tight coil of fire and water. It slammed into the Nymph, holding it off. But it wasn’t enough. 

I shouted out in effort as we continued the onslaught, desperate to keep it at bay. But the Nymph’s power fell over me and my knees quickly weakened. It tugged at my insides, halting my magic and as we turned to run, I found it impossible. My legs nearly gave out and Tory groaned in fury as she fell under the same spell. 

The students close by had scattered, leaving us alone with the terrifying monster. I felt its hold on my magic right down to the marrow of my bones. 

Fear drilled through to my core and panic threatened to overwhelm me.

We can’t die here like this!

A bellowing roar shook the foundations of the stadium and a huge beast swooped down from above, casting a thick shadow over us. Hellfire rained out of the Dragon’s mouth and with a jolt of recognition I realised the magnificent golden beast was Darius. A surge of hope filled me as he swooped low to the ground, releasing a furious blaze over three Nymphs on the pitch. 

As he banked hard, careering our way, Orion leapt from his back and fell onto the Nymph before us, slamming a shining dagger into its spine.

Black shadows burst from the wound and the creature wailed a horrible moan as it shuddered and died beneath him.

Darius landed on all fours with an almighty crash, drawing back his wings and releasing a spiral of fire which circled around one of the Nymphs at the nearest exit, consuming its body in the blaze. The heat of it rolled over my cheeks and smoke tingled my senses.

Students ran for the exit while a group of Pegasuses shifted beyond them. I spotted Sofia amongst them with a wave of relief just before a glittering sparkle washed over her and she took off into the sky as a beautiful flying horse. Instead of racing for freedom as I expected, she and the other Pegasuses turned in perfect formation, targeting a Nymph in the stands and blinding it in a cloud of thick glitter. One by one they each took it in turns to smash and kick their back hooves into its head before circling around to do it again.

Three more Nymphs stepped out onto the pitch and Orion cast a wall of air at them to hold them back. His muscles strained as he dug in his heels and Tory and I threw up a huge wall of energy to join his. I immediately felt the creatures’ power fighting to stifle our magic and knew this couldn’t go on for long.

“Hold the wall!” Orion commanded, dropping the power of his shield and racing toward them with his Vampire speed. My heart stumbled as he used the propulsion of our air power and dove toward the Nymph on the far left, driving his blade deep into its heart. It released a horrible shriek that raked at my eardrums, tumbling to the ground and bursting into nothing but smoke and dust.

Darius roared furiously and I turned to watch as a deep shudder rolled down his spine and his tail flicked out in a deadly swipe. Seats in the stands were shredded as the lethal appendage cut a path through them and several Nymphs. He released a swirling ring of fire which engulfed the two Nymphs still held back by mine and Tory’s power then snapped his teeth together in satisfaction.

Four more descended onto the pitch to take their place, one of them knocking the blade from Orion’s hand and sending it skittering across the mud.

“Lance!” I yelled in panic as he fell to his knees under the powerful onslaught of two Nymphs at once. He extended one hand our way as he cast a swirling shield of wind around us in a final effort to protect us.

“No,” I gasped in complete, desperate panic as a Nymph moved toward Orion, reaching down, aiming its probing fingers for his chest. I was moving before I could stop myself, charging toward him in a desperate act to help. I managed to hold onto the very last inch of magic I had in my grip and that would have to be enough.

Orion was on the verge of death and I simply couldn’t see it happen. Every fibre of my being was begging me to save him.

Darius released a powerful blast of fire which billowed overhead, unable to attack the Nymphs without also catching Orion in the blast.

Orion buckled forward, his hands braced against the ground and something shifted within me. A burning energy filled me up with the heat of a million stars, burrowing into my core. My body felt as though it was about to lift off of the ground with the sheer power of it as a rippling sensation raced across my shoulder blades.

The Nymph lunged forward, ready to slice its razor sharp claws into Orion’s heart and I knew that mere seconds parted him from death. 

I threw out my hands with a yell of pure rage, letting that fiery energy burn right out of me. A line of fire exploded from my body like a writhing, winged creature of sharpest blue and darkest red. It hit the Nymph square in the chest and its wails echoed around the entire stadium before the beast exploded into a coil of black smoke right before my eyes.

I didn’t know what it meant, all I knew was that I couldn’t stop unleashing it. Not until every one of these monstrous creatures were dead at my feet. 

I let the fiery behemoth within me take over, willing it to wrap the Nymphs near Orion in a swirling inferno of death. They disintegrated as the fire fizzled out and black smoke twirled up toward the sky in their wake.

I sprinted to Orion and pulled him to his feet, pawing at his arms as if to reassure myself he was alright.

“What the hell was that fire?” he asked in disbelief, his eyes trailing over me in awe.

I shook my head. “I was hoping you could tell me.”

I searched for Tory but I couldn’t see her. More of the crowd had spilled onto the pitch and I realised why as a wall of Nymphs marched down the stairways, their arms extended in a bid to immobilise their magic. 

Max was high up at the peak of the stands with Caleb at his side, the two of them battling a group of Fae as magic collided between them. Horror tangled with my blood as I realised they weren’t Fae. They were Nymphs disguised in Fae form, their stolen magic rogue but powerful, blasting huge holes in the stadium as they tried to hit Max and Caleb. They were one wrong move away from death, but I couldn’t focus on them any longer as I turned and started running across the uneven ground with Orion at my side.

An errant blast of magic shot up toward the sky, slamming into the edge of the open roof. A groaning, tearing noise wracked my ears as a huge plate of metal tumbled from the structure. 

A scream burst from my throat as it plummeted right toward us. On instinct, I forced air out from me in the way Perseus had taught me and Orion grabbed my hand, his energy flooding into my veins in an instant. It pushed the shield out around us, feeling like a solid, unbreakable wall. But was it?!

I flinched, snatching onto Orion’s shirt and wincing sharply as the huge panel crashed into the top of my shield with an ear-cracking boom. It split into two before falling on either side of us and I looked up at Orion in shock.

He stared at me for half a second, his mouth parting. “Lucky you trust me,” he growled and my eyebrows shot up. Do I?

Orion dragged me on towards the exit with a spurt of his Vampire speed. He slammed his shoulders into the crowd to forge a path through, but I pulled back, snatching my hand from his grip. “I’m not leaving without Tory.”

He tried to grab hold of me again, but I ducked away, refusing to let him take me from this fight.

Horror sizzled in my blood as a huge Nymph towered at the back of the crowd and immobilised its nearest prey, making the students around me fall into a panic.

Orion caught my hand and I dragged his magic into my own on instinct, the rush of his added power filling me up like jet fuel. I unleashed the burning giant inside me and it erupted from my body in the shape of wings, speeding toward the Nymph and folding around it. The creature stumbled back as it burst into flame, its body burning up from the inside out before tumbling into a shower of black dust.

The students stared at me in complete shock as they got to their feet and ran for the exit.

Orion pulled me around to face him and my heart faltered as he clutched onto me.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I demanded and he nodded, a strange smile pulling at his mouth despite the absolute madness descending around us.

“Go on then.” He gestured to the raging battle. “Show me what you’ve got, Blue.”