Soul Fire (26 page)

We brought him before Iain and Netalia, who were
shocked, though they immediately took him in for
questioning. Out in the hallway, Jett admonished us for
going off on our own.
“You’re there to guard, not investigate,” he told us
furiously.
I wasn’t put off by it though. Raven had earned my
respect, and I told her so.
“Oh please. I never would’ve engaged him on my own.
You’re very brave, Sky.”
“You know, a lot of what people say is bravery is
actually just stupidity,” I told her, and she laughed.
I introduced her to my group, and I noticed something
flicker through Dustin’s eyes as she shook his hand. It was
the same look he used to turn on me. I should’ve been
bothered by it, and I guess I was a little bit. But I was glad
Dustin could move on. I didn’t want him knowing how
fast I had.
Raven spent the rest of the lunch break with us, and
Ispin was absolutely intrigued by her weapon. He almost
got shot by getting her to show him how it worked, and
then getting too close when she demonstrated.
The rest of the day passed by quickly, as though on fast
forward. Everywhere, people were talking in corners, and
the Armoury was full of people sharpening their weapons.
Just when I thought we were going to get another full day
of peace, a horn sounded in the distance, and the Academy
came to a standstill.
“What was that?” Dena asked fearfully.
Ispin and Petre ran to the nearest window with Theresa
and I close on their heels. We all peered out of it.
I blanched at the sight. A small army of mages dressed
in brown and black were advancing, coming from the
west as Iain had predicted. As we watched, they sounded
their horn again.
“What are they doing?” I asked no one in particular,
perplexed. “Do they want us to know they’re coming or
something?”
Theresa gripped my shoulder and peeled Ispin from the
window.
“We’re going downstairs with the others. You and
Phoenix stay here, like Iain said.”
I watched them go, numb to the bone. Phoenix and I
were left alone, standing in the corridor, looking at each
other.
Outside, the Academy’s horn sounded.
The attack had begun.

“Get your back to the wall,” I instructed, drawing my
swords easily after months of practice.
We backed up against the wall and the large window
which allowed light into the corridor. Downstairs we
could hear Iain’s booming voice and the shouts of the
rogues outside.
My heart beat a tattoo in my chest. Behind me, I heard
Phoenix draw his own sword.
“Why did they want us to know they were coming?” I
whispered furiously, not taking my eyes from the top of
the stairs. “Unless-“
The window behind me shattered as the grappling hook
smashed through it, gripping the inside of the window.
Phoenix leant out of the window and then quickly
withdrew when an arrow narrowly missed his head.
“Apparently they want me dead or alive,” he said
wryly.
I sheathed one sword and ran to the window, also
peering out of it. Three rogues were climbing the chain
with murder in their eyes.
“Time for a little bit of magic,” I said to myself, and
then grabbed the grappling hook.
I sent a pulse of magic down the chain like a lightning
strike. The mages howled as the shock jolted them from
the chain and they tumbled to the earth below.
“Get rid of that,” I told Phoenix, pointing at the hook. I
unsheathed my second sword. I could hear the sounds of
fighting downstairs, and my heart seemed to be locked in
an icy vault of worry. All of our friends were down there.
“We have to go to them,” Phoenix said with anguish in
his eyes. “Sky, they could be dying-”
“We were told to stay here,” I replied, though my
resolve shook as a scream echoed up the stairs. “Phoenix,
we can’t move from here.”
We waited out the battle, my nerves humming like a
plucked bowstring. I swung my swords in loops, keeping
my muscles warmed up; ready for anything that might
come up that staircase.
A racket at the bottom of the stairs suddenly snapped
me out of my reverie. My heart broke out of the vault,
pounding louder and harder than ever. Behind me,
Phoenix shifted anxiously.
Six rogues came up the stairs, all clearly wearing the
scars of the battle downstairs. The one in front, a large
fellow with long brown hair tied back, had a large cut that
almost cleaved his face in half. It bled freely, the blood
trickling into his beard.
“Aloysius,” I heard Phoenix whisper behind me and I
realised he was scared.
I was terrified.
“Diego,” Aloysius growled, and I realised that was
Phoenix’s name. “We’re here to bring you home.”
“Over my dead body,” I snarled, repeating my comment
from Iain and Netalia’s office.
Aloysius raised his eyebrow, smiling slightly.
“And who’s this?” he asked. A few rogues laughed and I
clenched my teeth so hard they creaked. “Your soul mate,
Diego?”
“Yes.” Phoenix replied quietly.
Aloysius tilted my face up towards him before I could
step back. He seemed to be searching for something.
“Ah, the green eyes,” he said after I’d wrenched myself
from his grasp. “Of course.”
“That’s a good way to lose some fingers,” I snapped.
“Try it again, I dare you.”
“Green eyes. But this means... ah,” Aloysius smiled a
secret little smile. “Should I be congratulating you on
finally finding someone you can love, Diego?” The other
rogues laughed along with him.
Suddenly, one of them started yelling in panic. He was
being attacked by a small black bundle of feathers and
talons. One of the other rogues shot an arrow at the bird,
which missed, hitting the stone wall with a clatter.
I whistled to Morri and held out my arm. The bird
shrieked and flew over the rogues to land on my arm.
An explosion from downstairs seemed to rock the
Academy to its very foundations. We all staggered.
“Right, enough chit chat,” Aloysius snapped. “The place
is going to come apart. Diego, time to leave.”
“I’m not going with you,” Phoenix said, and I was
relieved to hear that his old strength seemed to be
returning to his voice. “You know why I came to the
Academy. That reason still stands!”
“Fine,” Aloysius said dangerously, drawing his sword.
“Well, if you won’t come peacefully, we’re taking you by
force!”
I immediately raised my hand, prepared to blast the
skin from his bones. Aloysius saw, and clucked his tongue
in disappointment.
“Uh uh,” he said, waving his finger in a way I found
especially irritating. “Don’t make it too easy for me, love.
Surely they’ve told you all about how our magic will
infect yours?”
They had not. I risked a glance at Phoenix, who nodded
almost imperceptibly.
“Guess we’ll have to do this the old fashioned way
then,” I told Aloysius through gritted teeth.
“My thoughts exactly,” he hissed.
I was attacked by the closest rogue on my right. I
dodged his first attack, moving quickly to the side. He
wasn’t expecting me to move so quickly, and was too slow
to block an opening. I went for it purely out of habit.
As my sword sank into his body, I was mildly surprised
to see blood running down my blade, instead of straw
puffing through the wound, like the practice dummies.
Despite my disbelief, I forced the sword deeper until the
hilt was pressed to where his heart was.
Blood, hot and sticky, stained my hands and face. The
rogue slumped against me, and I looked up. Our eyes met.
I saw his widen and then the life fled them. As though a
light switch had been flicked, anything that made this
person who he was left his body. Shocked by what I’d
done, I pushed him off of me, pulling the blade free from
his body, and I realised I had just killed another human
being.
Before I had time to fully realise this, Aloysius roared
with anger and attacked.
I blocked his first blow with one of my swords, Morri
launching himself into the face of one of the other rogues.
Aloysius disentangled himself, stepping back. I held my
swords in the ‘guard’ position. I could feel my nerves
buzzing, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins
made it obsolete. Aloysius shed his cloak for freedom of
his limbs.
With deadly speed, he swung the sword down, aiming
for my shoulder. I parried the blow with my left sword.
My arm felt like it was going to break off; he was
incredibly strong. Whilst he was focussed on my left
sword, I twisted from beneath him, drawing my right
sword across, trying to gash his side. He darted away
nimbly, and I missed.
I settled into what Jett called ‘the Scorpion’. My left
sword pointing dead out in front of me, the right arched
over my head. From this position, I could swing straight
into one of my deadly Tornado dances. Aloysius gripped
his short sword with both hands.
“Give it up, girl,” he snapped. “You don’t stand a
chance.”
I ignored him.
He came at me with such speed I only just managed to
dodge the sword. I felt it slice the air next to my throat.
Before he could recover, I whipped my right sword down
and back up. I nicked his tunic. My left sword blocked his
as he went to return the blow.
In terms of combat, we were evenly matched. My only
worry was if he started using magic; I knew his powers
would double mine.
As if hearing this thought, he pointed at me and
whispered something. I felt the strength leave my limbs,
and I felt as if I hadn’t slept in years. Fighting to keep my
eyes open, I saw him chop down towards my left side.
Everything was happening in slow motion.
I watched him sweep towards me, sword raised. With
all of my strength I managed to raise my left sword, in an
attempt to block his attack. I felt the impact break my
wrist, and I cried out in pain. I fell to the ground,
clutching my wrist and dropping both of my swords,
glancing up just in time to see him chop down towards
me. I rolled out of the way, still bracing my wrist. Time
fell back to normal as I clenched my teeth against the
pain.
Holding my injured wrist close to my chest, I rolled out
of the way of his next attack, but not far away enough that
I couldn’t pluck the broadsword from his grip, which I
proceeded to do. He hadn’t been holding onto it properly,
not expecting me to try anything.
Behind us, I heard Phoenix fighting the other mages,
four against one. Out the corner of my eye, I saw my bird
fly at the face of one of the rogues, who was stumbling
further and further back. I almost cried out to warn him as
he stepped back one step too far and went crashing down
the stairwell. The mages Phoenix was fighting turned
towards the stairs just as their comrade’s cries broke off
with an unpleasant crack.
Aloysius lashed out in a savage kick, taking advantage
of my distraction. I rolled out of the way to avoid it and
pushed myself off of the ground in the same movement.
He brought his fist down, trying to hit my broken wrist. I
dodged it, and twisted around his side, kicking the back of
his knee. His leg collapsed, and suddenly he was kneeling
on the ground.
I was just starting to feel like we could handle ourselves
when someone hit me hard in the back. Flames had begun
to crackle downstairs, and smoke was pouring into the
corridor, making it hard to see and breath.
I hit the ground hard, falling onto my wrist. The world
tilted as I fought against the pain, black tinting the edges
of my vision. I would not,
could
not fall into the comfort
of unconsciousness.
Someone, Aloysius, rolled me over, holding the blade of
the broadsword to my throat.
“You fought well,” he said gruffly. “But that isn’t
enough to save you.”
“There’s a fire downstairs,” I heard myself say weakly.
“Yes, there is,” the broadsword glinted menacingly.
“What of it? We will soon be gone.”
“You don’t use your surroundings to your advantage,” I
said, the black beginning to peal itself from my vision. “I
do.”
Scores and scores of fire puppets raced up the stairs,
born from the fire downstairs. Their cousins in the smoke
spiralled towards us, blanketing the eyes of the other
mages, who coughed and clawed at their faces.
“What are they?” Aloysius asked with just a hint of
panic. The blade pressed into my throat.
I wanted to say something witty, but the smoke was
making my throat close over. Fire puppets were crawling
up the legs of the rogues, burning them wherever they
made contact.
Aloysius cried out as one of the puppets gripped his
ankle. In anger and pain, he brought the hilt of the
broadsword down on my head.
My vision swam, my eyelids fluttering. The fire puppets
fell into little heaps of ashes, the smoke puppets dispersing
into the air.
“Stop!” I managed to swim back to consciousness when
I heard Phoenix’s voice. “Stop, just... I’ll come with you if
you leave everyone alone.”
No, Phoenix! I tried to say, but I couldn’t make a sound.
Please don’t go with them!
I managed to open my eyes completely just as Phoenix
leant down to cup my cheek with his hand.
“Phoenix,” I mumbled, the world still swimming in
front of my eyes. “Don’t go, please... you said this wasn’t
the end.”
“It’s not, I promise,” he whispered. “Can you stand?”
I clung to his arm and shakily managed to stand up,
leaning against the wall for support. I saw my swords lying
at Aloysius’ feet.
“Don’t even think about it,” he growled. “Bind her.”
My arms and legs went rigid, and I gasped with pain as
something tightened over my broken wrist. Tears swam in
my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Sky, I really am. Don’t look for me, ok?”
“You said this wasn’t the end,” I repeated, the tears
beginning to overflow.
He kissed me, our lips meeting for only the briefest of
moments. In those moments I felt his longing, regret and a
sadness so deep I couldn’t even begin to fathom how far it
went. Then he was pulling away.
“I lied,” he said, the other rogues preparing to leave.
Just as he climbed out of the window with the rogues, I
caught a glimpse of his captivating orange eyes. Then he
was gone.

I stood against the wall with tears coursing down my
cheeks, listening to the fire and my classmates downstairs.
I stood for what felt like ages, feeling miserable and
helpless. Morri perched at my feet, looking up at me
quizzically.