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Quiet swept in, and her vision darkened at the edges. Just as she began to fade away, Darien’s face entered her mind. She thought of only him as she drifted and drifted…
A dull thud shook the pool. Through her eyelashes, Loren saw a blast of light and a ripple of color that looked like a watered-down rainbow, as if someone had dumped paint into the pool.
Was she hallucinating?
The water kept pushing and pushing. It was heavy. So heavy. She began to drift again under its relentless weight…
Ethan let go. The release was sudden, and she had no idea why it happened, but she didn’t care. She took advantage of the only free moment she had and kicked to the surface, eyes and muscles burning. Gray still flooded her vision, the threat of death a cold breath on her neck, but she fought it. She fought hard, and an eternity later, she burst through the water with a strangled gasp.
Oxygen flooded her lungs, sweet as sugar. Her vision cleared, and her heart regained a strong beat that was soon bursting into a painful sprint.
Dallas and Sabrine were calling her name from the edge of the pool, their voices hysterical. Ethan and his friends were shoving past them, sprinting out the door as if a ghost was on their heels.
“Loren!” Dallas dove into the water, body arcing in the air, wings tucked in tight. She hit the surface with a noisy splash and swam to Loren’s side, moving quickly despite the added weight from the wings. The silver around her pupils shone like mirrors, water lapping against her chin. “Are you okay?” She put an arm under hers, keeping her afloat.
“I’m fine.” Loren’s teeth were chattering, her mouth overwhelmed with the bitter taste of chlorine. “Just get me out of here. Please.”
Dallas swam, pulling her along beside her. Loren did her best to kick her legs, but they were weak from being in here for so long, and from fighting Ethan and his friends. The bones in her hand burned; she hoped nothing was broken.
When they reached the edge of the pool, Sabrine helped them out, Loren first and then Dallas. Loren crawled away from the water, the floor rough and unyielding under her palms. Dallas and Sabrine came up beside her and threw their arms around her.
For minutes, they clung to each other on the wet floor, breathing hard and shivering. All the pool water Loren had swallowed was making her queasy.
Dallas was the first to speak. “What in the gods’ names were you doing in here?”
“My conduit was glowing.” It was hard to speak when her teeth were chattering. Her tongue still hurt from when she’d bitten it. “I felt…drawn to something.”
Sabrine sat back, her eyes going wide. “Please tell me Ethan and his friends did that.” She pointed with a trembling hand.
There was a jagged split in the floor, as if an earthquake had ripped it open. It cut right through the swimming pool and out the other side, where it traveled all the way up to the ceiling. That ceiling was crumbling. Debris floated in the water, no longer filled with color or light.
Loren opened her mouth to speak—
There was no way to describe the sound that came next, other than a roar. It filled the entire academy, guttural and deafening. It was louder than an airplane, louder than an explosion.
No one breathed. They clung to each other, staring unblinkingly in the direction the sound had come from.
The silhouette that fell upon the wall near the doors could only be described as a monster. A massive creature with razor-sharp claws and long sickles rising up from a jagged spine.
That door was the only way out. They were trapped.
Her conduit was glowing again, the invisible thread tugging her toward the demon.
Was it this monster that had been calling out to her? And if so, why?
“Where’s your phone?” Dallas’s voice was hollow as a drum.
Loren patted her pockets. “I don’t have it.”
“Here,” Sabrine hissed. She took her phone out of her hoodie and shoved it at her. “Take mine. Hurry.” Loren took it, fingers barely cooperating.
“You need to call Darien,” Dallas said in a level voice. She grabbed them each by an arm and tugged them to their feet. The shadow was getting bigger. Closer. “You need to call Darien right now.”
Loren fumbled to find the phone icon on Sabrine’s screen as they made for the change room.
As she began to dial Darien’s number, she looked over her shoulder—and regretted it instantly.
A skull-like head covered with gleaming white scales eased out from behind the corner, its fleshy gullet vibrating with a growl. Double rows of teeth that were jagged and rotting lined the creature’s misshapen mouth. Thick, blood-tinged saliva dribbled down its chin and splashed onto the floor, foaming on the tile. There was a stone pushed into its forehead—a stone that looked like an amethyst.
