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“You will receive more visions as more beings join the attack. They are coming for you now. You must heed my warnings. Farrah, your life is in jeopardy. You never know who will be your adversary.”
“What other beings?” I asked, not liking the foreboding nature of her words. I was growing exhausted from the news that kept slapping me in the face. My emotions reacted to the severity of the news being shared and I feared I may succumb to the fear and tiredness soon.
Cecilia stood and slowly made her way to the cherry wood built-in bookshelves that lined her hearth. Her long, boney fingers trailed along the spines of old and weathered books that lined the shelves. After a moment, she grabbed a hardback book with a tattered brown cover. She flipped through the yellow pages until she landed on what she was looking for.
“Here,” she spoke, stretching her arms out and showing us a photo on the page.
We all leaned forward to get a better look. The image was an all black figure with tendrils that flowed out from every fiber of the form, snaking around like tentacles.
“Shadow Demon,” she said, her words trembling from her mouth.
“What is a Shadow Demon?” I asked, uncertain if I had heard her correctly.
“A Shadow Demon is one of the worst evils you can find. They are drawn from evil Supernaturals and hail from the depths of darkness. They will steal your souls and destroy everything that gets in their way.” She shuddered before snapping the book closed tightly.
“Wow, this is worse than we originally thought,” Violet sighed. Once again, Violet provided no help but managed to make me feel worse.
Jolting forward, Anson refused to accept the news lightly. “How do we stop them?” Anson barked out. “We know that we are all under attack, but we need your guidance on how to stop them. I have heard of Shadow Demons, but I’ve never battled one before.”
“We can ask Jax, he has to know something about them,” Violet interjected, referring to Jax who had traveled through evil depths many times as a Reaper.
Cecilia stood and returned the book to the shelf. Pursing her lips, she began inspecting the items again as she was clearly searching for something else to show us. Her wrinkly fingers ran along the cherry wood shelves until she stopped on a small, silver box. Lifting the object, she carried it over and stood before me. Opening the lid, she revealed a ruby red gemstone. “This is the blood moon stone. Used with the correct spell, this can create a ward that will prevent any creatures from stealing your powers. This is very rare and only five exist in the world that we know of. It has been passed down in my family for centuries. I’ve never had to give it away until now.” She handed me the box and all I could do was stare down at the gem. “It can only be activated at the strike of midnight and in the enchanted Thorn Forest. If you are unable to create the spell in time, our world will meet its demise for that I am sure.”
A sickening chill ran through me when she uttered the fearful warning. My stomach lurched at the thought of so many innocent lives relying on me, and I felt a surge of dread as the enormity of the responsibility settled in. Panic coursed through every inch of my body, threatening to overwhelm me. I felt Anson’s grip on my hand tighten and Candi grew stiff next to me. She was reading my emotions and she must be freaking out. My heart raced as I realized that an entire race's fate depended on me. Cold sweat trickled down my spine, knowing that failure was not an option.
Suddenly growing still, Cecilia gasped and rushed over to her chair where she grabbed a bottle of what looked like a potion. “I feel evil among us now. You all must hurry and return to the academy."
Standing, Violet turned and faced all of us at once. “I don’t know about you all, but I have heard enough. Let’s get back to the academy and find a way to end this before it’s too late.”
For once, I finally agreed with Violet. Too bad that notion only sent more shocks of terror through me.
Chapter 19
Themoonhungoverhead,a silver gleam barely lighting the dirt road as we traveled.
We all sat in silence, unsure of what to say next.
My heart was racing as we turned onto a main road.
“I can’t wait to tell the Headmaster what we learned,” Candi intoned, her arms hugging her middle tightly.
“Well, I just hope the teams are prepared because this is going to get ugly,” Anson declared from the driver’s seat.
As we drove, my stomach began to growl loudly. It had been hours since I had eaten anything and the fatigue and hunger were starting to wear on me.
“Hungry?” Volet asked, offering a smirk.
“Yes. I haven’t eaten,” I snapped, but I didn’t feel bad about my attitude.
“I think there is a small cafe that stays open late,” Candi said, staring out the back window.
“Absolutely not,” Anson stated, shaking his head wildly. “We are going straight to the academy. It’s too dangerous and we are on a curfew.”
Normally, I would agree with Anson, but right now, my stomach was trumping logic. My head was starting to ache and the thought of food was making me lightheaded.
Placing my hand on his which was resting on the gear stick, I said, “I know we promised to return straight to the academy, but I really am hungry,” I whined. “I promise, we will just stop for a minute. We can get our food to go and just eat in the car.”
Anson took his eyes off the road for only a second, but I could see that he felt bad.
