AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They engulf Bailey’s writhing form while humanity still remains in his eyes, and an otherworldly scream rips through the woods.
The stench of burnt hair and charred flesh fills my nostrils. Then the screams cut off into deafening silence, and his body turns to ash.
Bailey has left Clearhelm as promised, just not how any of us could have predicted.
the ring of fire
- Flint -
“Focus, Star,” I coax, watching the wavering ball of light between her hands. “You’ve got this.”
The Conservatory hums with activity as Savannah and I teach our students the finer points of battle magic.
Star wanted to sit in on the class to get a feel for it. Her powers aren’t geared toward offense but that doesn’t mean she can’t pick up a few tricks. When Savannah started the other kids on practice, though, we moved off to the side.
Right now, she can fill her body bright enough to illuminate the entire room, but the ball of light she produces is still weak.
I’m having her work on making it bigger and brighter, as well as working on visualizing hiding those glowing purple eyes of hers. I’m not sure if my ability to create illusions will be the same for her, but we won’t know until we try.
“Like this?” The ball of light in her hands incrementally brightens.
“Yes.” I give her an encouraging smile. “Exactly like that.”
“Faster, Charity!” Savannah’s voice booms through the room. “Make those sparkles your bitch!”
I wince while the kids giggle, and the sparkles growing between Charity’s palms explode, the loud pops startling a chain reaction in the other students.
Orianna races in circles, barking up a storm of reprimand.
“Hear that?” Savannah points at the fox. “Ms. Orianna says to remember control is key! Even if someone is exploding next to you, you can’t let it distract you!”
“Sorry, Ms. Savannah!” her students chorus.
As the group regains their focus, the door crashes open, startling a few more explosions from those who had already started again.
Orianna lets out an excited yip and runs over to Reese as he comes into the room, and a sharp beep pierces the air. My pulse leaps as I glance down at the black dog tracker clutched in Reese’s hands, the green light on the front flashing.
I rise to my feet. “Reese, what’s going on?”
The panic in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine as he stumbles over to me. “The black dog...” He gasps, struggling to catch his breath. “It’s coming... right toward us.”
My gut twists with fear. Why would the black dog come here? We identified all of the sacrifices. Did we get the number wrong?
“Flint?” Star’s voice shakes. “Is everything okay? What’s a black dog?”
“Nothing for you to worry about.” I force a smile onto my face. “Go join the others and keep practicing your light.”
“All right.” Biting her lip, she tucks strands of magenta and black hair behind her ear as she hurries over to the bleachers where those who have already tired themselves out now rest.
The beeping quickens, making my pulse spike, and Orianna runs over, shoving her head under my hand to offer reassurance.
“Flint, it’s getting close,” Reese whispers, glancing at the students.
“Right. This is why we have a plan for this.” I pull out my phone to send an emergency alert to the teachers.
A moment later, an alarm blares over the speaker system. “This is a mandatory drill. Please make your way calmly and quickly to the meditation tree.”
Groans go through the room, while Savannah’s worried eyes flash toward us, and she claps her hands. “You heard the all-knowing voice from the box! Form a line!”
