Chapter 9 #2
I turned and followed the trail of lights that would take us on the opposite side of Central Hall. We had to take the long way around the spire, but I didn’t mind. It gave me some time to think. “Not nervous,” I admitted. “Just ready to figure out what I am.”
She chuckled and clutched her map to her chest, subtly showing me that she trusted me to guide us in the right direction.
“You and me both. I’ve been here nearly a week and no one will talk to me ever since I was announced as a dud.
” She presented her arms. “I mean, did they tattoo it on us? It’s like everyone knows. ”
I smirked. Little did she know how close to the truth she was in my case.
But in her situation, I knew what gave her away.
She slunk around and kept her head low. Every other supernatural in this place was cocky and knew where they belonged.
Her body language said it all. “Any idea what you might be?” I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.
She shrugged and fell into step closer to me, as if just talking about her potential supernatural powers put her on edge. “Not really, but I do have these really weird dreams that I’m drowning. It’s pretty messed up.”
Poor girl was probably stressed. I squeezed her shoulder. “Well don’t worry. I’m sure those are just dreams. Once you find out what you are then you can show all those douchebags what they’ve been missing out on.”
She grinned. “You mean we can, right? We’re totally going to be our own alliance.”
I laughed. “Dud alliance. I like it.”
The trail of lights eventually led us down Demigod street.
Luckily our classes were closest to the Central Hall and I wouldn’t have to see where Orion was holed up and have that thrown in my face.
I pictured a miniature Olympus with floating cherubs or some shit.
There was no way I was a Demi and I wasn’t interested in being one either.
We met up with some other level one duds in the lobby and were eventually greeted by a panther shifter who’d come to fetch us.
Unlike the wolves, she wore an immaculate fitting of her uniform and clearly didn’t shift unless she absolutely had to.
The only damning evidence of what she was showed by her sliced pupils that cut through emerald irises.
“Level one duds with me,” she said, her words having a low rumble to them as if she wanted to be anywhere else but here.
Olivia and I shared a look and then followed the panther shifter until we arrived at a classroom.
I wasn’t sure what I expected. Maybe some desks and a whiteboard like any other typical classroom, but that’s not what waited for us inside.
This looked more like a gladiator ring. Weapons of all sorts lined the walls and the center had a sandpit with a wide ring around it. The boundary had spiked pins sticking up from the floor, promising anyone thrown out of the ring would pay for that failure.
“The hell is this?” I muttered to Olivia.
The girl hugged herself and looked at her feet. “I’ve heard about the Awakening process. It’s... partly why I pretended I couldn’t find Miss William’s office for so long.”
“Welcome to your Awakening,” the panther shifter said dryly and she rubbed her ear with the back of her hand, then seemed to catch herself in the non-human motion and put her hand firmly at her side. “Professor Payne will be here to walk you through—ah there he is.”
A miniature man I might have mistaken for a dwarf sauntered into the room. I knew there were undocumented supernaturals, but I wasn’t so sure about fairytales come to life.
Professor Payne sure fit the part, though.
He glowered at all of us through beady eyes alight with determination that we were going to leave here “awakened,” or die trying.
“Okay, duds,” he said, his voice booming through the room as he stalked towards what looked like a glorified highchair.
He settled himself onto it and gripped both armrests as he frowned, the gesture making his beard puff out like a spiked animal on full alert.
“You have supernatural heritage or else you wouldn’t have been accepted into Fortune Academy.
” He leaned in, glaring at us. Some of the duds cowered closer to the wall, but Olivia and I stood our ground.
The small defiance awarded us with the professor’s full attention.
“What is not so fortunate is that your minds are suppressing your supernatural gifts.” He leaned back, seeming satisfied with the chastisement.
“This just means we need to retrain your minds to accept who and what you are. All will be revealed in time. It will take pain. It will take effort, and it will take a heavy dose of fear.”
“Fear?” Olivia squeaked.
Professor Payne nodded. “That’s right. Survival instincts are what will trigger your defense mechanisms, so we need to bring those out.
We could poke and pry using magic, but the simplest and most effective way is to force you to defend yourself.
” He pointed at the arena. “You two. Fight to the death.”
Olivia and I froze and a gasp swept out behind us as the other duds pressed even harder against the wall.
Death? What kind of academy was this?
“Forgive me for asking,” I began, taking a step closer to the professor in his mighty highchair, “but if we fight to the death then doesn’t that sort of defeat the purpose? Not much “Awakening” to be done if we’re dead.”
He chuckled, sending his beard puffing in new directions like a happy dog that hadn’t had a haircut all his life.
“This is a magic room. You can’t actually die here, but it’ll feel like it.
” He waved a hand at the weapons and they began to glow.
“Each of these are imbued with powerful spells. The Dark Mages fuel the Awakening trials with their gifts. It’s part of the contribution of blood duty given as demerits to other students. ”
I hadn’t had a chance to read my welcome packet yet, but I made a mental note to scour it for information. Blood duty... Dante had mentioned that before to Hendrik. By chopping off his hand, Hendrik would have enough power to be exempt from blood duty for a week, whatever that meant.
The cat shifter clapped her hands. “Enough wasting time. We need to kill at least half of you before lunch, so chop-chop.” She smirked at her terrible pun.
Rolling my eyes, I walked into the center of the arena. Olivia trailed after me with her feet dragging lines in the sand.
“Weapon of choice?” Professor Payne asked me.
If I chose my weapon first, it might give Olivia a chance to choose something that would properly defend against it. I didn’t want to kill her, even if it was fake. I was sure no matter how powerful the spell, death would feel real enough.
As I looked over the crossbows, spears, and swords, a wave of dread swept over me. This just felt... wrong.
“And if we refuse?” I countered, propping my hands on my hips to glare at the dwarf.
He leaned back and regarded me with a smug look while he settled into his highchair, which might as well have been a throne that said we were in his domain now.
“You’re free to leave the Academy, if that’s what you wish, however we can’t have untapped and undocumented supernaturals running around humanity.
There are certain... binds that’ll make you more or less human, if that’s what you really want. ”
“No,” Olivia said, her voice firm. “I want to do this.” I turned to regard her and a pang of sympathy hit my chest. I recognized the look on her face.
She was just as lost as I was. She was here to discover who and what she was after losing her memory of any history, family, or sense of homecoming.
The panic in her eyes said that if she didn’t get that chance, she’d never be able to live with herself.
I could relate.
“Dagger,” I said instinctively. I hadn’t yet decided if I was going to let Olivia win, but there were plenty of weapon choices that could give her an advantage.
She looked through her options, her gaze scanning over the spear that would give her better reach, but perhaps be clumsy. The sword would also allow her to keep her distance, but might be too heavy. Finally, her attention rested on the crossbow.
“That one,” she said, pointing to the ranged weapon. It was a risky choice, but I approved. I was good with a dagger and if Olivia could take me out before I had a chance to get in up close, she might win on her own accord.
The panther shifter collected the weapons and tossed them into the arena. They glowed with power and the sands reacted, resonating with the spell that would hopefully keep us alive when one emerged the victor.
I took up my dagger and tested its weight, then raised both my eyebrows at Olivia as if to say, you sure about this?
She slung the bolt quiver over her shoulder and nocked one bolt into her crossbow, then gave me a jerky nod. “I’m ready.”
Professor Payne raised up one hand. “Everyone pay attention. If we’re lucky, one of these ladies will Awaken.
” He regarded us with a stern stare. “If either of you hesitates or gives up, the magic will take hold and force a winner. Don’t let it come to that.
” He balled his fingers into a fist and jerked down. “Begin!”
Magic popped me in the legs and startled me into a slow, stalking circle around the perimeter of the arena.
Olivia’s knees buckled, but then she straightened them and aimed the crossbow at me.
Olivia had seemed sheepish and weak this whole time, but the promise that she might find out what she was seemed to drive her into a deeper personality hidden underneath the mortal exterior. Deep down, she was supernatural, just like me and everyone else here.
I couldn’t help but smile. As barbaric as the arena might be, it looked like the process of Awakening was already working on her.
I, on the other hand, didn’t feel anything different other than the razor edge of fear that ran up my spine at having a weapon pointed at me.
I angled my feet and bent my knees. When Olivia let her first bolt loose, I twisted out of the way and the breeze of the deadly weapon whizzed inches away from my face.
Too close for comfort.
Professor Payne was right about one thing.
Survival instinct kicked in and I launched closer to Olivia, hoping to catch her off-guard before she nocked another bolt that she was already trying to saddle into the weapon.
Her eyes glowed with determination and very real magic.
Whatever she was underneath the surface was trying to come out.
“That’s it,” Professor Payne said with approval. “Keep going. It’s working.”
I thrust with my dagger, but Olivia twisted and shot a fresh bolt. Pain laced through my shoulder and I cried out as I went launching back. As if being impaled by a bolt wasn’t bad enough, I fell at the edge of the arena’s border and my hand landed on the spiked boundary, impaling me to the bone.
Pain made my vision haze red.
Then panic set in.
Would the others see my blood? Did it run black?
I glanced at my mangled hand, growing queasy at the sight of spikes running through flesh, but I didn’t bleed.
The magic of the Arena hummed through my wounds.
Kaito and Dante wouldn’t have let me come here if my cover would have been blown.
Bile rose in my throat that they might have known I’d come here…
and accepted I might die for the sake of “Awakening.”
How kind of them…
Olivia grimaced at my whimper as I unlatched my hand from the spikes and she lowered her crossbow, but the magic of the arena wasn’t going to allow mercy. Her arms shot up as she aimed again, this time her eyes filled with panic. “Lily,” she cried out, “move!”
Damn it.
I rolled out of the way as she let another bolt fly.
It sank into the sands and I used the only supernatural ability to have manifested in myself so far to propel myself halfway across the arena.
My supernatural strength could be from any of the magical manifestations I’d seen in the Academy and didn’t give me a clue as to what I was, but right now, I didn’t care.
My emotions and logic filtered out a small window in my mind and only instinct remained.
Kill or be killed.
Survive.
My dagger found its mark and Olivia shrieked, grabbing at the hilt of the blade now buried in her abdomen. Her eyes flashed with purple magic and the hairs over my entire body stood on end as she reached out and gripped my arm. “Lily,” she said, repeating my name.
Foam pooled at her mouth and sanity came flooding back to me. “Oh gods, Olivia. I’m so sorry,” I whimpered as guilt and dread made my hands shake.
She didn’t react how I expected. She smiled and her glowing eyes drooped with satisfaction. “I know... what I am.”
Olivia fell over onto the sands with a final thud.
Silence.
I stared at her, waiting for the magic to bring her back to life, but she didn’t move. I shot up a panicked glance at the dwarf. “Professor Payne?” I pressed.
He narrowed his eyes and waited, then after what felt like an eternity, he lifted one hand. The panther shifter took an orb from her pocket and broke it in her fist, sending a whoosh to sweep through the room.
Olivia drew in a desperate gasp and I let go of the breath I’d been holding. “Oh gods, Olivia,” I cried, crawling to her and rolling her onto my thighs. I ran my fingers through her sweat-dampened hair. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Does it... hurt?”
Her eyes still aglow, she glanced up at me and smiled. “Am I okay?” She lifted herself up and giggled, showing me the runes that flashed all over her body in vibrant swirls. “Lily! I’m a fucking Dark Mage!”
My hands fell to the sands and I tried to be happy for her. “Wow, Olivia. That’s really great.”
I didn’t feel any differently, and even though Olivia was the one who’d died, I felt like the one who’d been stabbed straight in the heart.
When would I ever find out what the hell I was?