Zodiac Academy 7: Heartless Sky

Caleb and I were crouched on the branch of a huge pine, gazing over the ridge of the hill to where a black stone pyramid rose from between the trees like a cursed mountain. Endless stairs ran up the closest side of the temple and Nymphs were crowded on them in droves. But as pain-filled shrieks carried through the air from behind us, the Nymphs surged towards them as one.

We remained in the shadow of the tree canopy, not moving a single muscle as the Nymphs charged beneath us through the undergrowth and my grip tightened on the hilt of the Phoenix sword at my hip. Those assholes were heading right towards the girl I loved. But as I thought of Blue, I remembered the monstrous flames of destruction she was capable of casting with her Phoenix fire. That girl could bring about an apocalypse on this world, and I knew in my heart that she could defend herself. She was a force of nature, a fucking hurricane. And between her, Tory, Darius and the others, I knew they could handle this. The Nymphs were running towards some of the most powerful Fae to ever walk this earth, and it was just a shame I wasn’t going to be there to join the fight.

I shared a look with Caleb as the last of the Nymphs scurried beneath us, their heavy footfalls fading into the distance and they left the temple without a single guard on its steps. A competitive smile curled my lips and a challenge flared in his eyes as he nodded in answer to the question in my mind.

We leapt out of the tree we’d been using as a hiding place and shot forward at the same moment, sprinting toward the temple with the full force of our gifts, my feet barely touching the ground with how fast I was moving. The air whipped against my face and the tension of an oncoming war hung everywhere around me.

We made it to the black steps of the temple, my shoulder slamming into Caleb’s as we turned onto them and raced up the stairs at a furious speed. We were both fighting to prove our speed, our rivalry flaring between us as we ran so fast it made my skull rattle and my heart rush to keep up.

The world was a blur of grey as I set my gaze on the ominous opening at the top of the pyramid and pushed myself to my absolute limits. A wild thrill fell through me as we made it to the entrance, speeding into the darkness inside, immediately swallowed whole.

We rushed down a sloping floor and the gravelly voices of Nymphs carried up from within the belly of the pyramid below us. As we hit the bottom of the ramp, I took in the droves of Nymphs before us with my heart jack-hammering.

We didn’t slow, we couldn’t. If we missed a single step, we’d be spotted so we sped towards the open doors at the end dark room with all we had. The Nymphs turned as they felt us pass and realised we were there, but we were too quick to be caught, their rattles crackling in my ears as they battled to lock our magic down.

Their shrieks sounded out as they took chase and I weaved left and right to avoid them while Caleb did the same on my other side. We shot through the door together beyond our enemies and a whoop left my lips. The two of us turned as one, slamming it closed and bracing it with a combination of my ice magic and Caleb’s earth, but I didn’t know how long it would hold once the Nymphs caught up.

We ran on into the dark, sprinting through winding passages where cobwebs hung on the walls and the scent of dust hit the back of my throat.

When we finally arrived in a large chamber, we slowed down and a prickle ran down my spine, our feet skidding on the slick stone as the energy around us shifted.

I cast a Faelight into the air and took in the sight before us as we fell still.

A huge stone altar stood at the heart of the chamber, old bloodstains caked into the stone and the top of it covered with artifacts. Jewels, necklaces, precious stones, all of them humming with some dark power that made it harder to breathe in here.

The altar itself and the walls were covered in ancient-looking carvings depicting stories of the Nymphs, a lot of them featuring a woman who looked suspiciously like Lavinia, but I couldn’t decipher their meaning, especially as I was distracted by the most suffocating thing in this space.

Above the altar was a rift cut into the air, like a doorway into absolute nothingness. Inside were the shadows, swirling and pulsing like they were hungry to be set free and as I took step closer, I felt them calling to me like I’d cut myself with a draining dagger and they were begging me to submit to their power.

Caleb moved forward too, clearly tempted toward them and for a moment I wondered what it would be like to simply walk through that deadly gateway and fall into their complete embrace.

“What is it?” Caleb breathed, sounding in awe as he reached the altar and his fingers grazed against a black-hilted dagger.

He sighed, picking it up and twisting it between his fingers, his eyes growing hooded as he immediately turned it against his own arm and a twisted smile spread across his face.

The lull of the shadows was so strong that I nearly let him do it, but then I felt the echo of my father’s hand on my shoulder, his warnings about dark magic. I had to find the good to hold onto, had to keep the light in my mind so no darkness could creep in.

I thought of the moment I’d pulled Darcy beneath the water in the Acrux swimming pool and stolen the kiss I’d been craving for so fucking long I’d almost been driven mad with want. And then of her showing up at my door in a storm, her hair freshly dyed, every piece of her soaking wet and the word ‘blue’ on her lips. She was my ruin and my making at once. She had offered herself to me in that moment, though I had staked a secret claim on her long before then. But that had been the night it become a reality.

With her at the forefront of my mind, I dragged myself out of the pressing stupor, shooting forward and knocking the blade from Caleb’s hand.

He blinked, looking up at me with rage in his eyes, but as he met my gaze, his shoulders dropped a little and he blinked out of the trance.

“Fuck, did I nearly slit my star damned wrists?” he cursed, pushing a hand into his blonde curls as he stared at the dagger on the floor in disgust. “I’m too pretty to die in some ugly shadow cave.”

“You must not cut yourself in this place,” I said urgently, eyeing the rift with concern as I felt the certainty of those words passing my lips. “That fucking thing will rip the soul clean out of your body to be devoured within it if you do. Focus your mind and resist it – you need to think of something good.”

“Like what?” he snapped, the shadows clearly still affecting him as he gazed longingly at the rift again, moving toward it with intent.

I grabbed his arm, forcing him back a step and keeping a firm hold of him.

“Caleb,” I snarled. “Think of the best memory you have and hold onto it with everything you’ve got.”

“What are you talking about?” he muttered, trying to pull free again, his eyes falling back to the blade, but I clung on, getting up in his face so he had to look at me instead of that portal or the weapon it wanted him to wield against himself. Though I wasn’t much use to him considering he hated me.

“Think of the Heirs,” I tried. “Of Darius, Max, Seth.”

His eyes softened as I said that last name and the tension rolled out of his posture.

“Think of Seth,” I latched onto the change in him and he nodded, slowly relaxing and taking a step away from the rift.

“Have you got a good memory to hold onto?” I asked, not wanting to let go of him in case he decided to use his speed to dive into that portal headfirst.

“Yeah, yeah, Tinkerbell,” he muttered. “I’ve got my happy fucking memory. You can let go of me now.” He shoved me away and I bared my fangs at him in irritation, only causing him to bare his back at me, the rivalry between us flaring up. But we didn’t have time for that shit, we needed to close the portal and get the hell out of here.

“This place is tainted by the Shadow Princess,” I said thickly, looking to the rift which must have been cut directly into the Shadow Realm.

A Nymph shriek made us both whip around in the direction of the exit and we shot forward, working together to shut the doors and Caleb picked up a huge wooden pole beside it, slotting it into place through a latch to lock it. The door shuddered as a weight of Nymphs collided against it and Caleb used his earth magic to seal the door more thoroughly, hissing a curse.

“Hurry up then, asshole,” he said. “I’ll keep this door shut, you close that fucking shadow portal.”

“On it,” I growled, striding towards the swirling rift in the air and taking the enchanted binding needle from my pocket which would help me seal it up. But the immensity of the power in this place said it was going to take a lot from me.

I’d manage it somehow though. Because this felt like striking right at the heart of Lavinia herself, the bitch who’d killed my sister, who’d tried to curse Blue. And though I didn’t understand exactly what this place was used for, it was clear some sort of offerings had been placed here for the Shadow Princess over the years. The dark power in those artifacts on the altar were no doubt feeding power into the Shadow Realm and on to the shadow bitch herself.

“Hi Lavinia.” I smirked at the dark portal, raising my hands as I prepared to start the spell which would cut her off from this pool of power. “I just came here to say fuck you.”