Curse of the Fae Moon: Allied Kingdoms Academy Book 2 Page 8

  “I’ve seen them fight good magic-born students and kill them.” I watched Tessam walk back toward us. Each step haunting. “Don’t underestimate them.”

  Tessam stepped up onto the platform. “All students except for the contenders, follow Professor Gilfor to find seating.”

  She glided down the steps and gave us a sympathetic smile. “You three are some of our best. Get in there and do what needs to be done. You’ll each need to go in a separate entrance. I suggest you find each other once inside. There are nine trolls.”

  “Nine!” I bellowed.

  Tessam put a finger to her lips. “Yes. And you have a crowd. Nearly the entire academy is in the stands. And some—some possible wealthy benefactors.”

  “Is this entertainment for the rich? To get more donors?” Zyacus growled. “I am not a court jester or a prisoner who fights to entertain.”

  “No, but you’ll earn your place here or you’ll go home.” Tessam pursed her lips. “Besides you seemed plenty happy to entertain during the tournaments last year.”

  “Who set this up?” I demanded.

  “It was an agreement of all kingdoms’ leaders.”

  “My mother?” I asked in disbelief. She hated that seventh-year students fought at the end as a final test. For her to allow sixth years on day one was unbelievable. I’d at least thought she would have told me if she’d been outvoted by the warlords.

  “She’s aware of the tradition of fighting Wargon Trolls,” Tessam said.

  Aric stepped toward the arena. “Fine, let us go and put on a show for your wealthy benefactors.” Aric looked over his shoulder. “I don’t mind killing some trolls. Might be fun.”

  As I walked toward the center door, I wished I had his attitude. Maybe I would if I were practically immortal. Aric could use all the benefits of being a vampire and not get caught because he was magic-born. Any extra strength or speed could be attributed to magic. The only thing he couldn’t hide was his rapid healing ability.

  Before we stepped in, the crowd suddenly roared. Perhaps they’d announced our pending entrance. “I’ll find you,” Zyacus said and then stepped through his door.

  Aric nodded to me and went inside. Tightening my grip on my sword and letting my magic surge beneath my skin, I jogged through the entrance.

  Chapter 9

  It was pure blackness for several long moments, not even an inkling of light as to where I should go. “Illuminate,” I whispered and a white orb floated above my free hand. At the end of this impossibly long, winding hallway was a wooden door.

  When I reached it I lifted the metal latch. As soon as I pushed it open a warm, humid gust of air washed over me. Filled with ferns, shrubs, massive trees and hanging vines, the arena floor was a jungle. Tentatively, I stepped onto the moss-covered ground, eyes darting for danger. Birds called and wings flapped as they scattered to the air. Either my presence scared them or something is nearby…

  Snap. I whipped around at the sound of a breaking branch, magic flaring. A whistle cut through the air, a sound I knew well. I dove to my left. An arrow embedded into the tree that had been behind me. From a crouch, I searched all around me but no enemy presented itself. If I stood to my full height another arrow would come then I could see the direction of the shooter. Magical shield up, I rose, the whistle came slightly from the right. The arrow hit my shield and bounced off. I smiled at the Wargon Troll. There you are.

  I thought about using fire or lightning but both could set the forest on fire and that would be more of a danger than the trolls. I conjured magical bands that wrapped around the beast’s body until it fell over. I appeared at its side, raised my sword to deliver the killing blow, but a crunch made my hairs stand on end. I turned right as a huge fist holding a jagged sword sliced down at me. My shield deflected the blow but the power behind it flung me to the ground. I rolled as I clung to my sword like my life depended on it, which it did.

  The troll loomed toward me with malice in its eyes. Crouched, I swung my weapon at its ankles. The troll hopped back and laughed. The other troll thrashed on the ground, trying to escape the bonds.

  My eyes darted around for others. I couldn’t be caught off guard a second time. Fortunately I didn’t see any more at the moment. I knew I couldn’t clash swords with this thing so when it swung its huge blade again I dove. I plucked a knife from my belt and threw it into the troll’s thigh. He careened toward me, massive footfalls shaking the ground as if the blade hadn’t struck him at all. I vanished, appearing behind it and sliced my sword across its back. It arched and turned.

  “You fast,” it grumbled.

  I vanished again; this time I appeared on the creature’s back. I drove my sword into its neck until it pushed through the front. Gurgling, it swayed briefly then teetered forward. I flipped backward onto my feet and quickly finished off the other still bound by my magic. The crowd boomed in applause and cheers. Looking around the only thing I could see was jungle for miles. The arena must be bewitched from the inside. No crowd to distract except when they allowed us to hear the applause. As soon as I moved on I couldn’t hear any cheering. The sounds of the jungle became the only melody.

  Stalking through the trees I moved as quickly as I could. Every breaking branch, every rustle of a bush had me on edge. Several minutes passed before I heard the roar of a troll. Peering around a tree trunk as wide as three men, Aric wildly stabbed at three trolls surrounding him.

  “Over here you ugly bastards!” I shouted, conjuring an icicle with a point that would pierce flesh. I sent it flying. The weapon went through one side of a troll’s head and out the other. It fell with an earth-shaking crash. Aric took advantage of the surprise and hacked and cut through the other two.

  In a flash Aric stood before me. “Thanks,” he said with a huff of air. “They came at me all at once. I got one earlier.”

  “That means there could be four left. I killed two others.” I wiped the sweat from my brow. “No Zyacus?”

  Aric’s mouth twisted. “Not yet.”

  We moved through the underbrush that seemed to be growing as we went. My arm tired just from chopping the grass that reached shoulder height.

  “Save your energy,” Aric said, grabbing my arm as I pulled back to chop. “Some of these vines and bushes are so thick we can’t get through. Let’s go back the other way.” He took three steps then stumbled back as if he’d run into a wall. “Never mind. We can’t go that way.”

  I sighed and we kept trudging. Crawling through openings in thick roots that grew above ground and tangled vines that wound together making them impossible to chop through. Magic could slice through but like Aric said, we needed to save our energy.

  Then after what felt like days, silver glinted in the sunlight. I froze when I saw a—cage. It was shadowed inside. Aric stepped in front of me then his head whipped around. “Zyacus is in there.”

  “You can see that far?” I asked in disbelief.

  He nodded. “Come on, let’s get him out.”

  We dashed into the clearing when Zyacus pushed his hand through the bars. “No, it’s a trap!”

  I skidded to a halt but not before a rope caught my foot. Holy phoenix! I lifted my sword to cut the rope but it went taut and I was suddenly hanging upside down, swinging from a tree at least ten feet from the ground.

  When I tried to teleport to the ground I—couldn’t. Panic trickled into my gut as my magic waned like vapors lost on a breeze. I inspected the rope and cursed at the black metal strands woven into it. “The rope is interlaced with kirune!” I shouted. Which also meant I wouldn’t be able to cut through it easily.

  Aric had been quick enough to not get snagged. He worked on the cage door. “This entire cage is made of kirune,” Aric said, stepping back. “How did they get you in there?”

  “This is where my door led, straight into this cage,” Zyacus said angrily. “I’ve been sitting here on my ass for at least an hour listening to these trolls fart and make fun of my hair.” He raised his voice, “Ap
parently clean, well-kept hair is frowned upon by these beasts!”

  I sawed at the rope, shaking my head. “You would be worried about your hair right now.”

  “Well, get me out of this cage and I’ll kill them all with my great hair. There’s a key. I saw one of the trolls with it on his belt.”

  “Why would they put you in a cage if we’re here to kill trolls?” I asked, grunting at the effort of sawing and getting nowhere. “And you have to get me down first, Aric. Zyacus is at least safe in there.”

  Aric pulled the bow from his back and knocked an arrow. When it loosed, it grazed the rope slicing through half. “You almost got it!” I exclaimed. All the blood rushing to my head made me dizzy at this point.

  “You cut that thing and she’s going to fall on her head and break her neck,” Zyacus said, standing with his hands wrapped around the bars.

  “I’ll catch her,” Aric said with a confident grin.

  “You better hurry,” Zyacus said and pointed to the left. “They’re here.”

  The next arrow he shot missed entirely. “Shit,” he cursed and reloaded the arrow.

  One of the trolls, the biggest of the four began to laugh. “This be fun. We cut girl’s head off as she swing?”

  “Aric, hurry!” I nearly squealed as the trolls closed in. Before I knew it I was falling and screaming then crashed into Aric’s arms. He set me on my feet and I quickly pushed the rope off my leg. Slowly my magic returned, and we stood back to back. “The big one has the key.”

  “I’ll hold them off,” Aric said, swinging his sword around his hand. “You get it.”

  My magic lightly hummed under my skin as it returned. The big troll ran at me with a bellow. I snapped my fingers, the key appeared in my hand and then I vanished just as his massive club came at me. Appearing at the side of the cage, I shoved the key in and turned.

  Zyacus grinned and stepped out. “You got to have all the fun.”

  “There’s still a few left.”

  Aric blasted one into a statue of ice, then dove when the others attacked. He moved so fast, it became difficult to see him, like hummingbird wings while in flight.

  Zyacus ran to the big one; they fought for a few moments before he killed the thing and then it was over.

  “That was nine,” I said, wiping my dirty blade on the moss to clean it. Although it had been hard, it wasn’t as frightening as I thought. We three stood in the silence for a moment. Expecting an announcement or a professor to show but neither happened.

  Zyacus sheathed his sword. “Maybe there’s more.”

  “She said nine,” Aric mumbled. “We killed nine.”

  A low grumble drew all our attention to a creature stepping out of the shadows. The huge horns on his head held my eyes for a moment. The face and upper body looked mostly like a man with bulging teeth but warped—unhuman. From the waist down he had the furry legs of an animal and hooved feet. Impossibly muscular and as tall as the trolls I couldn’t stop staring. I’d never seen anything so grotesque.

  “Is it a troll?” Zyacus asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Aric replied.

  In one hand he carried a massive ax and with a roar, fire spewed from his mouth. All three of us threw up our shields. “Definitely not a troll,” I said, grunting against the inferno pelting me.

  When it relented we split up to surround it. With one step and a swing the ax soared at Zyacus; he barely ducked under it. A tail I didn’t see until the last second lashed out to hit me in the gut. I launched through the air and crashed into the ground. I desperately tried to suck air into my lungs as I groaned in pain. Aric leaped onto its back and stabbed it several times but the thing wouldn’t go down.

  I got to my feet when Zyacus sliced its ax hand off. It grew angrier, spewing fire again that threw him several feet back. Winded, tired and magic running low, I charged. Just as it swung its good arm at me, I dropped to my knees and slid. I drug my sword across its shin and with a push of magic, my blade severed the leg. With a cry, it went down and as it did, its giant cloven hoof kicked me in the head. Before my world went dark, the crowd burst into cheers.

  Chapter 10

  With a jarring rocking motion waking me, I slowly opened my eyes blinking several times before I realized Zyacus carried me in his arms. “She’s waking up,” he said.

  Looking up into the canopy of trees I knew I was still in the arena. “Is it dead?”

  “Yes,” he tilted his head toward me. “We’re almost to the exit.”

  “Did we pass? What happened?”

  My grandmother Madison, who I hadn’t noticed, leaned over. “You passed. Good job.”

  “What was that thing?”

  “We don’t know.” Her even tone gave away nothing but her scowl did. Was that creature not supposed to be here?

  “The beast seemed to have been put here without my or the other professor’s knowledge.”

  “Someone had to have put it in here,” I mumbled.

  “Yes,” Madison said. “Someone did and I’ll find out who.”

  My eyes slid over to Aric, who’d been silently walking. I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed it before but he looked different. His pale skin had not a single flaw, his hair seemed shiner, his face more mature. Indigo eyes fell to mine, flicked up to my ear region, then he looked away and clenched his jaw as if angry.

  Was he angry I lost consciousness? It’s not as if I wanted it to happen. I wiggled out of Zyacus’s arms and hopped to the ground. I touched the side of my face and my fingers came away bloody. Oh, that’s why. The thought of him wanting my blood sent a shiver down my back.

  “The wound is healed,” Zyacus said, staring at my hand. “We didn’t have anything to wipe away the blood.” His gaze darted to the back of Aric who had kept walking alongside my grandmother.

  “Thank you.” Since the last thing I remembered was getting kicked in the head I didn’t know what happened after. “How did you two kill it?”

  “After you cut off its leg, it hit the ground and I lopped off its head.”

  “Your favorite move.”

  “It gets the job done.”

  I ran my fingertips over a blossoming pink flower with barbs in its center, growing from one of the hanging vines. It was beautiful and foreign and deadly. It reminded me of the Fae prince I’d seen. He too could be described that way. “Do you think that beast could have been a part of the blood moon thing?”

  Zyacus plucked a smaller pink bloom and put the stem over the ear where I had been injured. “I don’t know.”

  ∞∞∞

  Our walk back to the academy consisted of students and adults alike clamoring to congratulate all of us on such a spectacular performance. I also learned that fighting trolls in the arena would now be once a month, where the tradition would return to seventh-years only. I couldn’t help but feel that we fought only for money.

  After we’d all cleaned up and I’d changed into a clean uniform, Bindy knocked on my door. When I pulled it open she waited with her hands behind her back. “Well done today,” she said, half her mouth pulling up. “You are requested to wear something formal as well as your crown.”

  “Why?” I’d never been asked to do this unless it was a royal event.

  “The new Headmaster.”

  I grunted but turned around to change. I pulled out black, soft leather pants and a crimson top decorated with black jewels. The back trailed behind me, barely touching the floor, the front hit my hips. I took my second crown out of the box in my closet. This one was dark silver with black jewels flowing in floral designs.

  “I like that crown more than your gold one,” Bindy said and bit into a roll.

  I liked them both but this one glittered and my other was simpler. “Is this all to appease these new benefactors? Do we not have enough funding for this academy?”

  “It would seem we lost some benefactors after the attack last year. If you hadn’t noticed, we have about two hundred fewer students now. Many chose to attend the
ir closest academy.”

  “And the new Headmaster?”

  “King Enden released Jace from the duty and a few others were put up for a vote and Elvbane was the chosen candidate.”

  I stood in front of the mirror and adjusted my crown. “Do you know him?”

  Bindy shook her head. “No. He is from Filda and you know I don’t like the cold.”

  My guardian always said she’d follow me anywhere except the north. Though I knew she’d follow me there too even if reluctant.

  When the two of us walked into the dining hall the tables had been removed and everyone stood in small groups. I smiled as the different kingdoms all mixed together rather than separated. The mural painted on the wall showed three dragons in our kingdom’s colors: one red, one blue and finally green. They flew together in a beautiful sunset sky, among puffy clouds. It made me long for the wind whipping in my hair on a smooth dragon ride.

  Cats sauntered about. Several sat on stools among groups of people, no doubt trying to get some good gossip. Even the pixies had been recruited for this gathering. They flew above us carrying full glasses of the patron’s preferred drink. Most often students did the serving at parties but since it was the first day and many of the people here were wealthy benefactors, the pixies had apparently been bribed.

  “Greetings Princess Visteal,” a smooth male voice said. When I turned to see who’d spoken, a tall, slender, blond man with soft brown eyes stood before me. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but he looked so familiar. Something ominous clawed at the back of my mind.

  When my silence had apparently gone on too long, Bindy cleared her throat. “Hello, I’m her highness’s attendant and guardian.”

  “Hello,” I said, still inspecting the man. I didn’t care if he thought I was rude. It took me a moment but I realized he looked like the Fae man who’d taken the scepter. That or I was just paranoid now. With the way I acted toward Zyacus earlier and him reminding me of Senica, I leaned more toward paranoid.