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“You can’t even take a shortcut around here without running into some kind of scum,” Max exclaims loudly.
Lucia pulls her head in sheepishly and looks at the floor. But she says nothing and follows her friend, who’s striding toward us.
“Ignore her,” Kate warns me.
That’s easier said than done. I take a deep breath and try not to pay them any attention. I turn to Kate and say in a casual tone, “We should probably take another look at the English homework. I won’t have time later. We have training, and then I …
At that moment, I feel a hard blow to my left side that knocks me off my feet. I sprawl on the floor and slide until I crash into the wall. There’s a crunching sound, which I register only vaguely.
Stunned, I look up at Max standing a few yards away, her hummingbird Flit hovering in the air above her. He’s bigger than usual and only slowly returns to his ordinary form.
“You just attacked me in school?!” I can’t believe it. “Are you out of your mind? What the hell?!”
“I get the feeling your new home and all the attention you’ve been getting have gone to your head. Someone needs to put you in your place.”
“Oh, really?” I slowly get to my feet. “You’re …”
I don’t get any further before I hear a cracking, crunching sound. And suddenly I realize where it’s coming from.
“Damn it,” I hiss, taking off my backpack and unzipping it. “The music box!”
I always carry with me all the objects I found in my search for the library, to keep them safe, but now that’s backfired. A glance in my bag is enough to confirm my fears. The music box is broken. The ballerina is loose among my books. One of her legs and an arm have snapped off. The box itself is in several pieces, and the inner workings are totally destroyed. I reach in and touch a couple of the pieces, and a noise makes my skin prickle. The melody rings out, off-key and scratchy – it’s definitely the same one. How … is that possible?
I look at Kate in dismay, but she’s frozen stiff. Her face is ashen, and her hands hang limply at her sides. She’s staring wide-eyed past Max and Lucia, who look confused. Not a sound escapes Kate’s lips, not even when a creature slithers out of a dimly lit corridor right in front of her.
Even before it fully materializes, I know I’ve encountered it before. I have that same feeling – the terrifying chilling eating into my bones. It all started when I went through the crescent moon door in the Odyss. To the place where I found the music box. This thing started pursuing me back then when I found the box. And it’s been with me ever since. It followed me here. That’s the only logical explanation.
Max and Lucia recoil in horror from the snake-like creature. It has deathly pale skin and milky eyes, as if it’s never seen the sunlight. A number of small legs along its sides end in clawed feet. And it’s huge – maybe twenty feet long.
Max and Lucia retreat fearfully, trying to put some distance between them and the hideous creature. They don’t take their eyes off it, and the fear is written all over their faces. They slowly edge back, then they turn abruptly and run. The creature rears its head and lets out a hideous cry. The music ceases, and Max sends odeon to Flit. He gets bigger and turns to face the creature, sending out a powerful gust of wind with his rapidly fluttering wings. It hits its target, but the creature digs its claws into the floor, closes its eyes, and lets the attack pass over it. As soon as the wind dies down, it screams again and races at Max and Flit with surprising agility. It’s tongue flicks out of its mouth and wraps around Flit’s body at lightning speed. Flit lets out a choked squawk, which stops abruptly when a hideous crack rends the air. Flit transforms back, and the creature flings him aside like trash. The little bird lies on the floor, motionless and misshapen. Max stares at him. Her expression is one of utter disbelief, and then it sinks in: her key spirit is dead.
A scream erupts from deep inside her, and she runs at the creature. Beside herself with grief, she lunges at her spirit’s murderer with her fists out and tries to throw herself at it. But the creature’s tongue shoots out of its mouth again, coils around Max, and swings her around like a toy.
“No!” I yell as it slams Max against the floor and then flings her up in the air again. I extend my arm, send odeon to Yoru, and command him to launch an attack.
The flames hit the pale snake in the back. It turns briefly and makes an angry sound. It’s still holding Max down. She’s bleeding from a head wound. Lucia’s panicked screams echo through the corridor.
Max looks at me in a daze. I see fear and resignation in her eyes. We hold each other’s gaze, and I can sense exactly what she’s going through. Her lips quiver, trying to open and say something, but she’s hurled against the ceiling with full force and then crashes to the floor where she lies motionless.
It’s so fast that I barely have time to grasp what’s happening. I stare at Max and see a pool of blood slowly forming under her, but I don’t want to believe it. Max is lying there with her limbs twisted hideously and her eyes wide with panic. I know she’s dead, but I can’t accept it.
I keep muttering the word “No” as I slowly back away from the creature. It scuttles past Kate, who’s staring at Max, paralyzed with shock. The creature closes in. Its milky eyes are fixed on me, merciless and determined. I know it’s going to be hard to win this fight.
I send more odeon to Yoru and start to merge with him. The prickling sensation on my skin intensifies and drives out the chill. I raise my hand and see flames coming off it. Without hesitation, I hurl them at the creature. But it dodges them with lightning-fast agility.
The snake speeds toward me and tries to sink its razor-sharp teeth into me. I leap aside and watch as Yoru pounces on the creature and sinks his claws and teeth into its neck. The snake screams and throws Yoru off. While he’s still in the air, he summons a fireball and sends it down on our opponent’s neck. Luckily, he manages to control his fall and lands on his feet.
I feel the prickling flames on my skin and rage that gives me a new lease of energy. One glance at Max is enough to spur me on. Lucia is still standing a few yards away from her, screaming in horror.
“Go get help!” I yell. “Go! Now!”
My words seem to filter through slowly, and then she finally starts moving. The creature chases her, but Yoru bounds after it and hurls several fireballs at it. It snaps back around, dodges his attacks, and raises the tip of its tail to strike. It hits Yoru and slams him against the wall. The snake moves with a hissing sound toward my fox, who’s dazed and struggling to get back on his feet.
“No,” I whisper, running to him. A fireball appears in my hand.
The creature anticipates my attack, leaves Yoru alone, and turns toward me. It opens its mouth and bares its four sharp fangs. I throw my flame and hit the monster in the neck. It shrieks but doesn’t relent. Directly in front of me now, it rears up and swings its head down at me. I run as fast as I can, but I can’t outrun this beast. Its skull strikes the floor to my right, cracking it and sending chunks of concrete flying at me. It doesn’t let up. I know I can’t escape it, so I summon all my strength, turn around, and hurl a fireball – so hot that the walls on either side of me are scorched.
I hit my mark, and the creature writhes and screams in pain. Smoke rises from the charred spot on its belly but even that doesn’t stop it. I gasp when I realize I’ve made a mistake. I’m too close to it; it’s impossible for me to dodge it now. I channeled everything into that attack and failed. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Yoru scramble to his feet and try to summon a hex, but his odeon is spent, and I’m too drained to send him more.
