Terror Forty-Nine - Arrival

Terror Forty-Nine - Arrival

Terror Forty-Nine - Arrival

The courtyard is a wide spot, walls along opposite sides, and then two rows of buildings closing off the other two sides. Theres a big fountain in the middle, and a few waist-high hedges around statues of Hroe posing with a sword by his side and a foot on the head of a stone monster.

There are flowers too; obviously someone takes very good care of this place. The far end of the yard is a wide expanse of packed sand where I think students train. The paths through and around the area are all carefully placed cobbles. Its a nice spot, I think.

Too bad its a terrible place for a fight.

Stop running! Lily roars behind us.

Where are we going? Esme asks me.

Just to the middle, I say. Next to that fountain!

Shes going to catch up before that! Felix shouts back.

She will. This Lily girl is nuts.

I cant believe this girl, I grumble. Alright, Im going to kick her butt some more, you two get to the fountain and hunker down.

Hey, wait, Esme says. How are we going to get out of here?

I have a plan, I tell her.

And I want to hear it, she snaps.

I glance back. Lily really will catch up to us soon. I dont have time...

Esme glares at me, but its hard to miss the hurt under all that anger.

I have a dragon, I tell her as I let go of the cart and slow my run down.

You have a what! Esme shouts, hair sparking. She doesnt stop running though. Good, I dont want my friends to be hurt.

Lily slows down too, until she comes to a stop a few metres away. Finally give up on running? she asks.

No. I decided to take you out, since youre so annoying, I say.

Your friends are stuck here, you know. Youll never get to leave this place.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Well make it out just fine, I say. Were not going to be stuck here for long. I reach for the inside of my cloak, then grumble as I realize that Im wearing the disguise robes over my cloak. Gimme a sec, I say.

Lily actually does wait, which is great. I shuck off my stolen robes and toss it to the side where it flops onto a hedge, then I straighten out my cloak. Finally, I can reach within and root around my inner pockets until I find my token.

Thanks for waiting, I say.

No problem, Lily replies. Shes grinning, and I have the impression shes been using this time to strengthen her own magic. Well, fairs fair.

I raise the token before me. A metallic disk, with a line of small holes down its middle. It's covered in little marks and encryptions, and its hard not to feel the magic oozing off of it. Come, Livonas! I call as I snap the token.

Uh, maybe? Im trying really hard to be. Like mom! Dont know who youre comparing me to. So I cant say whether Im like them or not.

I glance up, but the skies above are filled with lots of clouds and no dragons. The token is definitely broken. I toss the remains of it to the side. No point in holding onto that now.

You have no idea what its like, being the one that Hroe chose, and having to deal with all the stupid bigots in this place, Lily spits. She brings her fists up again, a boxers stance. But maybe you can fix that for me. If I kick your butt, maybe theyll finally treat me right.

Thats not how things work in most of the books Ive read, I say. I figure theyll just say that they could have kicked my butt themselves. Not that they could. My butts pretty hard to kick.

I shift, one hand up before me, the other lower by my side, my legs bent a little at the knees and ready to take my weight.

I hear steps behind me, and a quick glance over my shoulder reveals Felix and Esme coming to join me. I dont think either of them know how to fight, but Ill take any help I can get. Use ranged stuff, I tell them. Shes tough close up.

Got it, Felix says. Shes grinning from ear to ear, her blindfold resting around her neck even as her eyes practically glow yellow.

Were not going to kill her, Esme says. Monster or not. And we still need to get out of here. I think some people are starting to wonder whats going on.

Shes not wrong, I can see a small crowd gathering on the edges of the courtyard. Mostly students, but there are a couple of adults who are just standing by and watching for now.

Fine, three against one. Nothing new there, Lily says.

Everyone tenses.

I swallow, and get ready to fight properly, this time. We need to put an end to this before others start to move over. And even then, we might end up having to fight a lot of people.

That wasnt part of my plan.

A whomp fills the air.

Its a strange sound, like a giant tarp caught in the wind snapping full.

Another beat sounds, and I find myself.

The wind picks up, beating down on us in great, heavy gusts.

What the-- Lily begins.

Then a shadow swallows the courtyard, the buildings around it, and the walls on either end. Its cold in that sudden partial darkness.

I see Lily looking up, and the blood drains from her face.

The ground skips out from under us as a massive boom sounds out. Glass bursts in window frames across the academy. People scream.

I wave my arms around to stop myself from falling, and Esme eeps as she fails to keep to her feet and lands on her bum.

Felix starts to laugh.

Livonas has arrived.

***