AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stopped moving, shaking off the draw of the view in front of me. “No. No, I wouldn’t.”
Forcing myself to stand, I turned to face her. “You tried to have me killed.”
“It wasn’t personal,” she said.
“But it is,” I said. “You can’t go around killing people to get the things you want.”
“I beg to differ,” Leanna said, walking up next to Professor Halifax. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I still want to know if your magic tastes the same as your fae father.”
She shoved Professor Halifax aside and charged me, wrapping her arms around me as she knocked me to the ground.
I pushed her off of me, startled by how slowly I was moving. I had nothing left. No energy to fight.
Leanna punched me in the face, hitting my right cheekbone and sending my head whipping to the side. I rolled to the side, trying to avoid getting hit again.
She came at me again and I blocked my face with my arms. The blow didn’t come and I peeked up through my fingers to see that she was standing over me, her foot raised above my ribs, ready to crush my chest.
Desperate but moving slowly, I rolled away just in time. Forcing myself to stand, I turned to her. The room was spinning and even walking was making me feel winded. I had to get away from her.
I backed up till I hit the door, grabbing the handle behind me. It didn’t budge.
“It’s sealed. You’re stuck in here,” she said. “And this is how you’ll die.”
“Look out!” Professor Halifax called.
Leanna turned and I looked up just in time to see something with fur and teeth and claws grab hold of Leanna and drag her down.
I didn’t wait to see what the creature was. I ran toward Professor Halifax. If the monster followed me, maybe it would eat her first.
To my surprise, Professor Halifax grabbed me and pulled me behind her. Odd that she was choosing now to be noble, but I wasn’t in any position to argue. Energy still low, I ducked behind the professor and looked over her shoulder toward the door.
Leanna was on the ground. Well, at least what was left of her was there. The monster, a horrible creature that looked like a lion with the head of an eagle was digging its bloodied beak into Leanna’s torn up corpse.
I retched, turning around to spill my lunch all over the floor. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I turned back to look at the creature. It was staring at me now, its black eyes staring at me. It didn’t blink, it just stared.
I stood frozen as did Professor Halifax. After what felt like minutes, the creature returned to tearing pieces out of Leanna. I wanted to feel bad for her but moments before the monster burst through, she had been trying to kill me.
“Did that thing get in through the portal?” I asked.
“Yes,” Professor Halifax said.
“We have to close it,” I said.
“I’m going through. You can come with me or you can face the griffin on your own,” she said.
Suddenly a screeching roar broke through the silence of the room and the griffin that had been happily eating stood and answered back in the same tone.
The hair on my arms stood on end. It was calling to more of them. More of those beasts on the other side of the portal.
“We have to close it,” I said.
Professor Halifax shook her head. “I’m going. You’re on your own.”
She walked toward the portal, leaving me standing there staring at the griffin. I wasn’t sure where to go. It was on all fours now, facing the portal. I was half expecting it to chase down Professor Halifax.
Another screech.
I turned toward the portal and saw a herd of griffins dotted across the field. They were moving toward the portal. Professor Halifax stopped.
