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I’m stunned. That’s why he fed me false information about the destiny test? He wanted me to fail and move in with the Fabricis so that he had easier access to Kate? I clench my fists with rage and try to summon the door again. We need to get out of here – now!
But Mr. Brian seems to guess my intentions. He shakes his head slowly. “I can’t let you do that. This ends here and now. In fact, you did me a big favor by coming here. The Tempes will never find you here.”
Mr. Brian doesn’t give us a chance to catch our breath. He closes in, making Kate feel worse with every step he takes. She doubles over, hugging herself and struggling to stay upright. She’s breathing heavily, and it’s clear to me that she’s in no condition to fight. She’s an easy target.
Aware of this, Mr. Brian throws up his arms and his bird flies at Kate. It spews out water, which forms into two spiraling columns. They speed toward Kate. She can’t even lift her head anymore. Gray quickly positions himself protectively in front of her, trying to intercept the attack, although I’m sure he’s currently receiving no odeon from her.
I send Yoru forward. My fox turns the water to steam while I kneel beside Kate and try to help her to her feet.
“We need to get out of here,” I say, extending my arm and trying to summon a door.
Meanwhile, Yoru’s fire is still turning Mr. Brian’s barrage of water into steam, which swirls through the sultry air.
“I told you, you’re not leaving here,” he says. There’s a cold smile on his lips. “She needs to be eliminated.”
Suddenly, thunder rolls overhead. Lightning bolts appear, and one of them hisses down at us. I shove Kate aside as I throw myself out of the way.
“You seem to have forgotten that I used to be a hunter,” Mr. Brian snarls.
I hear the menacing thunder above us again, and then countless lightning bolts strike the ground, breaking it up. Stones fly through the air, and I leap frantically back and forth to escape the hexes. Kate tries to save herself too by jumping out of their path, but her pain seems to be increasing because she’s moving more and more slowly.
Mr. Brian strides across the battlefield unfazed, and the lightning bolts land near him but never hit him.
I scream out my rage and fear at him: “Leave Kate alone!” Then I run at him. But I can already hear her agonized screams. I hate seeing her suffer like this, writhing on the ground, her hands pressed against her temples, and her body curled up in a ball.
I command Yoru to run at Mr. Brian and launch one attack after another. But my teacher raises his hand, and his bird intercepts the fireballs with a fountain of water. I clench my fists and try to send Yoru a large amount of odeon all at once. My fox grows bigger; the symbols appear on his head, and his nine tails wag aggressively in the air. Yoru opens his mouth wide, producing a wall of flame so hot and all-consuming that even I can feel it burning my skin.
Mr. Brian has nothing to counter it with at first, and he’s swept up and flung away from me. His whole body is in flames. His hair, clothing, everything burns. The stench of his scorched skin wafts through the air, but I try to ignore it and hurry to my friend.
“Are you okay?” I ask as I help her up. Now that there’s some distance between her and our teacher, her pain seems to abate, and she blinks at me in confusion.
Suddenly, her eyes widen in fright, staring at something behind me. I spin around, and that’s when I sense the crackle in the air and see, to my horror, that Mr. Brian has merged with his spirit. The figure before me looks enormous, like something out of a nightmare. His body shimmers dark blue, sinewy and barely human. His arms are elongated and slightly bowed, and claw-like talons grow out of his fingers and feet. But the worst is his face, which appears to be covered in feathers and now has a large beak growing out from its center. Mr. Brian raises his hand mutely, and we’re suddenly bathed in blue light. It flickers and spreads, and then all at once, a deluge surges over us. There’s nothing to hold on to. The water sweeps us away and twists up in an enormous vortex, which miraculously hovers in space, spinning us relentlessly. Every time I think I’m about to reach the edge and escape this monstrosity, individual tendrils of water reach out like arms, grabbing me, winding around my legs, and pulling me back in. I desperately struggle against them. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mr. Brian raise his arm and draw the water surrounding Kate toward him. Then I see her lying lifelessly on the ground beside him. He bends over her, holding a glinting object in his hand – a knife. His other hand is around Kate’s neck. I can see the pain in her eyes, but she doesn’t have the strength to cry out anymore.
I have to do something – that’s the last thing I think. Then I close my eyes, and I know there’s only one thing left to try. Very slowly, I let all my odeon flow out of me. I seek out Yoru and feel it gradually transfer to him. As my skin begins to heat up, the water penetrates my lungs and causes me to sink deeper and deeper into the torrent. It’s over, I think. But then I suddenly feel this power, this voice inside me. I picture Ayden’s face and know that I can’t lose him. I think of my mother, my friends… I can’t give up!
I feel for Yoru, sense exactly where he is, and without my body actually moving at all, part of me goes to him. This piece of me moves closer and closer to my fox, reaches him, and ruffles his fur. I kneel down in front of him, press my forehead against his, and know that I’m doing the right thing. We merge. Heat envelops me. And suddenly, the water around me evaporates. I’m sitting on the ground, looking at my hands, my arms. I’m engulfed in flames, and I know without seeing myself that I’ve transformed into the fire being.
I stride toward Mr. Brian. He seems to sense the danger and turns around. There’s a look of horror in his face, but it’s too late. I don’t hesitate to throw myself at him, pressing my flaming hands against his body, and he starts screaming in agony. He writhes and tries to escape it, but I show no mercy. Suddenly, I notice an object shimmering blue against his skin – a small pendant on a chain. Sensing the magic radiating from this object, I tear it from Mr. Brian’s neck and throw it on the ground. I silently command Yoru to destroy the amulet with a fireball. Mr. Brian cries out in horror and lunges at me. But now Kate’s here with her key spirit. She’s no longer in pain and doesn’t hesitate to utilize her new-found freedom. She tries to pull the teacher off me while Gray opens his mouth and launches an attack. And that’s exactly when it happens: The scene blurs before our eyes, dissolves, and reconfigures into a place that I recognize.
Chapter 32
I’m back in the park. Kate’s beside me, looking around in disbelief. Frida’s standing before us, watching Charles slowly disappear from view. I know what’s about to happen. Frida will go to Patty and find that she’s still alive. Before that happens, the image before us begins to blur again. But when I look in Charles’ direction, it stays sharp. That can only mean one thing. And Kate seems to come to the same conclusion.
We follow Charles, who’s striding briskly along a path. There’s a mortified expression on his face, and he seems to be becoming increasingly panicked about what he’s just done. He walks faster and faster, but then a figure suddenly steps out from behind a tree and grips him so tightly that he almost falls.
Startled, he turns and sees Mr. Brian. The confusion in Charles’ face turns to fear.
“What… what are you doing here?” he asks, freeing himself from his friend’s grasp.
“You really don’t know? Oh, Charles. You always were so simple-minded. You figure I didn’t notice the way you and Frida have been behaving around each other lately? The constant tension in the air when you meet, your sudden aversion to her, the fearful but determined way she looks at you. Something happened between you two, and I have to say, as your friend, I was disappointed that you didn’t confide in me. When you both stormed out of the building earlier, I figured it couldn’t hurt to follow you.”
Mr. Brian cocks his head and looks almost smug as he watches Charles’ face blanch.
“I never expected to witness that! So your girlfriend was a goddess of destiny.” He really seems to be enjoying this. “A highly trained hunter like you falling for a creature like that. I hate to think what kinds of things you told her when you were together; what secrets she extracted from you. And I’m sure that’s exactly what the Council will want to know too.”
“It… it wasn’t like that. I… I didn’t tell her anything important; you have to believe me.”
“Oh really? A goddess, who only has one purpose in life, fakes feelings for a hunter and doesn’t coax any secrets out of him? You weren’t duped by this creature, so skilled at disguising herself and manipulating people? You don’t even believe that yourself. And even if you do, the Council will have serious doubts. There’s really only one resolution they can reach. And you know that. Which is why you killed her.”
