Zodiac Academy 7: Heartless Sky

“What do we do now?” I growled, desperate to charge out there and grab my family, and my friends’ families too. And where the hell were the rest of our families? Were they in this house? Because I sure as shit didn’t know where to start looking for them if they were, and the idea that maybe they’d been disposable, that maybe Lionel had gotten rid of them kept swelling in my mind and making me want to charge into battle without thought. But I had to keep my head. I had to force down my emotions into that dark pit inside me and do what I did best. Pretend I was a fucking cold hearted, blood thirsty asshole who could take anything in his stride without flinching. So that was what I was gonna do.

We’d made it downstairs to a lounge where we could see out into the courtyard. I was kneeling behind a couch with Cal pressed up on my right and Max on my left, a whine in my throat as a silencing bubble surrounded us along with a thick concealment spell that blended us right in with the furniture. We’d watched Vard leave, leading a large group of Nymphs with him as they headed towards the front of the manor, muttering about the new arrivals being here soon and we’d quickly figured out that we must have been those new arrivals. Which meant they were off preparing their trap for us far too late. Sucked for them that we’d already made it into the house then. I guessed stealing Vard’s shadow eye had made him the shittest Seer this side of Solaria. But it was a small victory in the face of all this.

“There’s so many of them out there,” Max said in frustration. “We need to draw them away.”

“And we need a binding needle to close that rift,” I replied. “Do you think one of us should stardust back to get one?”

“We don’t have enough stardust for multiple trips,” Max said with a frown.

“Wait, Stella’s house is right next door,” Cal said in realisation.

“And?” I asked.

“And Orion told me all about how there’s a secret basement in there full of all his dad’s old dark magic equipment,” Caleb explained. “It’s hidden behind a secret panel in the hall under the stairs.”

“Of course your bestie told you that,” I muttered, though okay, yeah it was handy.

“What if there’s no needle?” Max said worriedly.

“They’re one of the most commonly used objects in dark magic – Orion has been telling me loads about it. So it’s worth a shot,” Cal pushed.

“But we still need to draw those Nymphs away from the altar before we can even get to that rift,” I said.

“How about I set a fire?” Cal suggested and I considered that.

“They won’t all leave for that, maybe a few but…” I shook my head.

“I could try and manipulate their emotions, get them subdued,” Max said thoughtfully. “Maybe I could even send them all asleep if I had enough time.”

“You’ll send our families asleep too and that could put them in more danger with that fucking altar thing,” Cal hissed.

“I’ve got it,” I announced, sitting back on my heels as the two of them looked to me. “I’ve got voice mimicking perfected. I can cast an illusion, pretend I’m Lionel long enough to call them away from outside to give you guys a chance to go get a binding needle and free everyone.”

“That’s not a totally terrible idea,” Caleb conceded. “But if they figure it out and use their rattles on you, you’re fucked.”

“You think I can’t handle a bunch of Nymphs?” I scoffed, though my heart thudded out of rhythm for a second at the intense look he gave me.

“Just be careful,” he growled, reaching out to squeeze my hand and the point of contact sent an arrow of heat through my chest.

“Always am.” I winked then worked to cast the illusion. It wasn’t perfect considering I couldn’t mimic Lionel exactly. He had spells working to stop me from doing so, but as I cast a large cloak around me and pulled up the hood, I reckoned I’d pass. It was dark out in that courtyard anyway, and my voice mimic would be perfect.

“Ergh, you look freakishly like him,” Cal said with a wrinkled nose.

“I am a tiny-cocked iguana,” I spoke in Lionel’s booming voice. “How’s that?”

“Perfect. Now fucking go.” Max shoved me and I leapt upright, walking with my shoulders pressed back as I headed to the door and threw it open in a dramatic move worthy of the asshole himself.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” I roared, making the Nymphs stiffen in alarm at seeing me.

“Doing what Lavinia asked of us,” one of them answered in a grunting voice.

“And is Lavinia your king?” I barked and a few of them exchanged glances at that. “Well?!”

“No, your majesty.” The nearest one bowed his head and I patted him vaguely on the shoulder, before realising that was probably not a Lionel move, so I wiped my hand off on my cloak with a grimace. “Get inside this instant. We need to talk. All of you!”

I pointed and the Nymphs hurried to obey, bowing their heads obediently as they darted past me, though a couple stayed behind to watch the shitshow which was taking place around the altar, and I guessed I’d have to trust the others to deal with them.

I started to follow the Nymphs inside, glancing over at where Max and Cal were hidden, praying to the stars that they could get our families away from that hellish altar quickly.

I followed the Nymphs into the corridor, continuing to point them along as I swept past them, getting turned around in the endless halls despite how many times I’d been here as a kid. I shoved through a door that I was pretty sure was a dining room, but instead turned out to be a large bathroom.

Balls.

They all filed inside after me and I tugged my hood closer around my face. The bright lights in this room would be a dead giveaway if these assholes looked too closely at my face.

Right. I’m in a bathroom full of monsters. Now what?

I cleared my throat, swiping my finger along a gold tap and tutting as I inspected it, trying to buy myself a moment to think.

The Nymphs exchanged a glance and I knew I was running out of time here. I had to come up with some plausible reason that I’d just led them all into this bathroom.

One of the Nymphs started looking at me a little too closely and I ducked my head, clearing my throat again as I leaned down and pretended to inspect the tap, eye to spout.

“This is no good,” I tutted. “No good at all.”

“Um, forgive me, my king, but what is no good?” one of them asked, and hell he had a good question which I didn’t have an answer to.

“The taps of course,” I growled. “They do not gleam as they should gleam.”

“Perhaps you could take that up with your servants, your highness?” a Nymph suggested.

“INSOLENCE!” I bellowed, grabbing a towel and whipping him with it, but the movement knocked my hood back and my concealment spell was unveiled in all its not-quite-rightness.

“Wait, who the fuck are you?” one of the Nymphs snapped. “You’re not our king!”

“Oh my stars, it’s a Vega!” I roared, pointing behind them and like the idiots they were, they all turned and I fucking ducked and ran, blasting them aside with air magic and shooting myself out the door on a furious breeze.

I slammed the door behind me, welding it shut with earth magic, sealing it tighter and tighter with metal until the whole door glinted with it before releasing the concealment covering my body.

A weight slammed into it followed by another and another, but my door didn’t shift.

“Ha!” I cried in excitement, but then a bang sounded as one of the Nymphs broke through the wall, stepping out into the hall with his buddies spilling after him and I yelped in surprise, turning and running back down the halls. But I didn’t turn towards my friends, I delved deeper into the house, throwing magic back over my shoulder as a sea of Nymphs chased my tail.

I blasted doors apart and threw furniture into their way, tossing vases and priceless heirlooms everywhere as I smashed the place to bits in an attempt to slow down my pursuers and keep ahead of their deathly rattles which would lock away my magic.

“Seize him!” someone shouted from a set of open doors to my right and I spotted Vard striding into the house, pointing right at me with a furious expression on his one-eyed face.

I lifted a vase from a table with a gust of air magic, slamming it into his head and making him curse as he shot a blast of fire after me. I ducked it and kept running, howling loudly in encouragement for them to follow. Because so long as they were chasing me, they were nowhere near my family and friends. And I hoped to the fucking moon that they were in the process of getting the fuck out of here.