Chapter 44 Bechora
My friends and mates all survived and passed the first trial, but the air around us remained somber for the rest of the night.
Fifty-seven students had died, another half dozen failed.
And everyone had seen something that left them utterly terrified, even Gabriel, who usually didn’t seem to care about much beyond our little group.
The only measure of comfort to be found was when I was finally able to crawl into bed beside my mates, after scrubbing away the lingering stench and grime of that terrible swamp.
But even their presence wasn’t enough to soothe the growing dread, deep in my gut.
I slept fitfully, my dreams filled with the twisted swamp creature and visions of my mates being consumed by some unseen beast. When morning came, I felt as if I’d never slept.
The walk to the dining hall for the second trial felt more like a death march than anything else.
No one spoke. Not just us. The entire student body moved in strained silence, the usual hum of conversation gone.
The number of deaths from the day before pushed into my head with each step.
I felt Zypher’s fingers brush mine before he fully laced our hands together, grounding me just enough to keep moving.
On my other side, Gabriel walked close enough that our shoulders brushed with each step.
Archer was beside him, his usual cockiness nowhere to be found.
Professor Pelarian stood in the same place she had the day before, watching us file in with a look of serenity on her face.
I wanted to light her on fire, on principle.
“Good morning, students, and congratulations on making it to the second trial.” Her voice called out, far too cheery for the somber mood.
I really wanted to set her on fire, maybe just the bottom of the long, black robe she wore, to see what would happen.
I stuffed the angry thought aside as she continued to speak.
“Today is the first team trial. Each team will face an unknown number of increasingly deadly beasts in what is known as The Endless Onslaught. You must work together to survive, though it is not uncommon for teams to thin before the end of the trial.”
I scowled at her. She was definitely too upbeat for someone about to send all of us to face something that brutal. If I survived these trials and the prophecy hanging over my head, I was definitely going to consider coming back to torch her ass.
“As you know, the relics you retrieved yesterday have already determined your groupings. You will find yourself amongst your team when the trial begins. As always, good luck!” She beamed so brightly I wanted to stomp to the raised platform and slap the smile off her face, but before I could even finish the thought, she clapped her hands together, and I felt that same twisting pull as the day before, while the world around me slipped away.
This time, I landed on firmly packed dirt.
I let my eyes roam across my surroundings and noted the fifteen or so other students who would make up my teammates for the trial.
I strode toward where they were gathering, hoping to see at least one of my mates or friends among them, but I didn’t.
Instead, I spotted Meara. She noticed me at the same time, and her lips curved into a wicked smile.
“Well, well, well,” she cooed. “Looks like we might finally be able to rid the Academy of the stain of your presence, after all.”
“Fuck off, Meara,” I snapped, just as a deep male voice rang out.
“Gather up everyone. Looks like I’m your Fourth Year commander,” a male said, drawing all our attention to him.
The male was nearly as tall as Zypher, with broad shoulders, and forearms the size of a fucking tree trunk. I was pretty sure he could crush a monster's head between his giant hands without even breaking a sweat. I wasn’t sure if the thought impressed or terrified me.
“I’m Lark, an elephant shifter,” he continued.
My brows raised at his words; that explained his size.
“We have maybe ten minutes to get organized before the first wave hits. I want all the casters to the back. Anyone with physical abilities will be on the front to attack head-on, while the casters cover us.”
“What about weapons?” someone in the group asked.
“We are the weapons,” Lark replied. “We don’t have time to go around and figure out who can do what, so just listen to what I say for now, and I’ll adjust on the fly as needed.”
A ripple of unease went through the group at that.
“Move!” Lark barked when no one else spoke. “Front lines with me, everyone else behind.”
There was a moment of hesitation before people started shifting into place.
Fear, survival, they warred in the air around us thick enough to choke on.
I moved to the back line, flexing my fingers as I tried to steady my nerves.
I didn’t have my friends or mates here to have my back.
Just strangers. And Meara. She lingered closer than I liked slipping into position a few feet to my left.
I didn’t look at her, but I could feel her gaze burning a hole in the side of my face.
Lark’s head snapped toward the horizon just as the ground started to tremble. “Ready! Here comes the first wave!”
Wave one hit like a storm breaking. They came low and fast, wolf-like creatures with elongated limbs and too many joints.
Their bodies twisted unnaturally as they sprinted toward us.
The front line clashed with them violently, a number of students shifting into beasts to tear into the monsters with tooth and claw.
Lark shifted into an elephant, trumpeting as he trampled the creatures beneath his feet.
I didn’t hesitate. Fire surged through me as I threw my hands forward, flames arcing over the students in front of me and crashing into one of the large creatures.
The creature shrieked as the flames engulfed it, the stench of burning fur and flesh filling the air.
It thrashed wildly, knocking into two others and spreading the fire between them before collapsing into a heap of charred bone and ash.
One of the others, it had spread the fire to, veered toward the front line of our team, and someone to my right sent a wave of water crashing into them before the beast set them alight.
More surged forward, snapping and clawing, but our group seemed to work well together, like we’d trained for this moment. The first wave didn’t last long under the combined force of our abilities, and Lark shifted back to human form just as the last monster was torn in two by another shifter.
“Good work!” he called. “Keep it up, and we might all just make it through this trial!”
The words had barely left his mouth before the ground trembled again. This time, it split open, and massive, scaled bodies burst from the earth in a shower of dirt and stone. Serpentine creatures as thick as tree trunks, their massive jaws unhinging to reveal rows of jagged teeth.
“Spread out!” someone yelled.
Too late, one erupted directly beneath the front line, sending bodies flying.
Another lunged forward, jaws opening before snapping shut around a jaguar shifter.
I reacted on instinct, fire slamming into the side of its narrow head.
The blast forced it back as it recoiled further from the heat of my continued onslaught.
The casters around me seemed to come to their senses, and magic flew through the air around me while we worked to give the front line time to regroup.
The second wave lasted longer; by the time the last serpent fell, I was panting from exertion.
By some miracle, we’d only lost one team member.
I bent forward, resting my hands on my knees and letting my head hang toward the ground, while I fought to catch my breath.
Ice cold dread slid through me as a shadow eclipsed my own, and I jolted upright, my head tilting toward the sky.
Winged creatures, skeletal and shrieking, dived for us from above.
I dropped to the ground as claws sank into the caster beside me, before a hard flap of wings lifted them off their feet.
I rolled onto my back, drawing flame into my hand again while three more of my teammates were ripped from the ground and taken to the sky before the beasts worked together to tear them to shreds.
The flame in my hand sputtered out as horror washed through me.
Another creature dove toward the ground, and movement to my left tore my attention from the sky.
Meara moved toward me, deadly intent in her gaze and a blade in her hand.
Rage flared hot under my skin. This bitch was trying to attack me while our team was being torn to bits.
My shield slammed into place around me just as her hand arced down with the blade.
The impact jarred through me, but the barrier held.
“You don’t belong here, dud,” she snarled. “Why won’t you just die already!”
She pulled the blade back, swinging it down toward me as hard as she could.
And then everything went to hell. The fourth wave hit, no warning, no waiting for the third to be defeated.
A massive creature crashed into the clearing from behind our team, the ground cracking beneath its weight.
It was wrong. Too big, too fast, and too many limbs moving in ways they shouldn’t.
Meara turned toward the threat too late.
Her eyes went wide, and then she was ripped away by a claw-like hand, large enough to wrap around her entire body.
For half a second, I was frozen there behind my shield as the creature opened its jaws and ended her.
Just like that. Blood rained down in a sickening spray, causing my stomach to twist and revolt.
“Move!” Lark roared.