Chapter 17

Eye of the Storm

The following days were calm and relaxing for the recovering group of students. Their bandages were removed and Ressio now proudly wore his first scar collected from battle on his left cheek. He had taken every chance to brag about the bandit who had tried to catch him off guard, each recounting becoming more extravagant as the story developed in the past few days.

“You should have seen him! A good foot taller than me and he came at me with his axe!”

“It was a short sword.” Fashryn idly cut in with a playful smirk. She was using her fork to nudge the food on her plate as she listened to yet another of Ressio’s retellings of their battle in the cave. “And he was like an inch shorter than you.”

“Right! His sword!” Ressio continued unflustered as he told the tale to the other students sitting with them in the lunchroom. “He lunged at me and I was able to dodge it just in time. This scar is all he got on me before I took him out like it was nothing!”

Tasha and Xana were sitting together nearby at the next table, having fun listening to his retelling of the story. The younger of the Gremrick sisters smiled at the wolf girl and whispered.

“He actually was completely caught off guard. Fashryn alerted him just in time and that’s why he was able to fend him off so easily. We don’t want to ruin his good mood though.”

A little laugh escaped Xana’s lips as she shook her head in disbelief. It was amazing that she had been so scared for her team, for Tasha, only a few days ago; and now here they were, sitting safely together and having a good time.

It had taken a bit of a push from Tasha, but she had managed to convince the wolf Infurnal to join her and her sister during their meals. She had used the reasoning that the more time they all spent together, the better they could work together on future missions. Xana was unable to find a good argument, so she quickly found herself spending the first night back eating dinner with the Gremrick sisters. The following morning she joined them for breakfast, and by lunch that same day the tiger Infurnal had joined them.

Since then, the group had shared each of their meals together. Tasha made sure to keep her close by her side and knew the best times to reassure her. Fashryn always greeted her with a smile, whether she was busy playfully flirting with another student or going over some classwork. Ressio’s energetic personality always helped to keep things entertaining and always proved to lighten her mood. With each meal she spent with them, Xana’s initial concerns steadily drifted away.

Just as Ressio was coming to the end of his story, the bell rang and the other students in the dining hall began to leave. The Tiger Infurnal kept a few of the stragglers behind to make sure he had an audience for the last of his story.

“I’m telling you, the others are good but we’re the best this year! We’ll be full fledged Casters in no time!” The larger Infurnal laughed as the rest of his team gave a collective weary sigh. His newfound optimism since the success of the first mission had been nice for a while, but his confidence was starting to build concern with the others.

“Careful Res, it was only one mission. Next time you-”

Tasha’s warning was cut short by a powerful, rumbling earthquake that ran through the castle, causing the remaining students in the dining hall to lose their footing. Tasha and Ressio fell to their knees while Fashryn braced herself against the table. Xana’s body moved instinctively and she was the only one capable of keeping her balance. The stone structure of the castle showed cracking from the strain of withstanding the powerful strike to its body. Chairs and tables had collapsed all around them. Some students were already moving to try and leave the large room, a panic quickly building among them.

“What’s going on? An earthquake?” Xana looked around as the shaking of the earth stopped as suddenly as it started. “When was the last time the Caster school had to worry about anything like this?”

“Never.” Fashryn replied. “The Caster Academy is one of the most heavily fortified buildings in the world. Between the materials used to build it, and the crystals used to strengthen it…Something’s not right.” She continued as she helped the others back to their feet.

“Fire!” A voice from the hall outside could be heard screaming. “We need water!”

“What’s going on?” Another voice chimed in from within the dining hall.

“Someone get the teachers!” A third voice could be heard over the chorus of screams and cries.

“Everyone, we have to calm down!” Fashryn called out over the other students in her commanding tone. There was no teacher immediately available, so she quickly took charge. “Just like in combat training, we can’t let surprises distract us! The first thing is to make sure everyone is okay, and we can’t waste time checking on that fire either. Xana, Tasha, you two go check on the fire and Res, you go help anyone who got hurt. I’m going to go find out what’s going on!”

The team quickly separated without argument, the wolf girl and the younger of the Gremrick sisters rushing out and into the hall. Immediately they were confronted by the heavy smoke already filling the halls, the flames dancing dangerously as though eager to strike anyone who came too close. Another group of students had already begun working on fighting off the fire by creating a line and using buckets of water.

“Where’d this fire come from?” The wolf Infurnal asked the nearest student, a boy with freckles and thick glasses.

“We’re not sure. It looks like something happened with the cables. Some of them must have busted.”

“The cables busted? Are you serious? There’s no way!” Tasha interjected with frustration. “The school’s never had a problem like that before in all its history!”

“Look, I don’t know. I was just walking through here with some others and then the entire

 school started shaking!” The freckled boy responded frantically as he took another bucket of water and passed it forward down the line.

The argument was cut short when there was a loud clap of thunder and the castle was struck again by another powerful force. Stronger than the first as the students fell to the floor, the bucket hitting the ground and the water spilling out.

“What the hell is going on? A storm?” Tasha tried to make sense of the onslaught of events happening so abruptly.

“No. Worse.” Xana winced a little as she and the others stood back up with the aid of the walls, one hand reaching up and messing with her ear. The other students looked at her in united confusion. “That was an explosion. A big one. I think it came from the direction of Dr. Flaire’s classroom. We have to hurry!”

“Shit. Okay, we can’t waste anymore time. Step back!” Taking a deep breath, Tasha focused her mind to the best of her ability. Xana watched closely, concerned as she could see what the muscular girl was planning to do. 

Tasha stood there for a moment, concentrating deeply. She brought her fists to her chest, her left arm crossing over her right in an X shape. Opening her eyes she extended both arms in a wide arc, causing a quick and powerful gush of water to splash against the flames blocking their path and creating an opening. The surge of magic was short lived as the black girl dropped to her knees to catch her breath.

“Tasha! We haven’t trained to use our magic without-” Xana started in a worried tone but her friend wouldn’t let her finish, using her for support to stand back up.

“No time for that. I’ll be fine. Hurry and I’ll catch up to you once we clear all this out!!” 

Xana looked between the girl and the students helping her and the flames that were already beginning to regroup. Knowing the other girl was right and that time was limited, she turned away from her as she lifted her jacket higher over her head for further protection and sprinted down the hall. Even with Tasha’s water having weakened the blaze, she still felt the flames lick at her legs and arms, trying to catch her. She was thankful the teacher’s had been right about the Caster’s uniforms. The clothes were far from impenetrable, but it was doing a good job of protecting her right now.

Blinking away the tears as her eyes burned, the young Caster-in-training continued on her path towards the teacher’s classroom. The rubble scattered along the ground was impossible for her to make out, tripping and stumbling here and there and causing her to take even longer. Another loud rumble in the distance and a more faint shaking of the Caster Academy and she knew it was another explosion at the other end of the building. 

She forced herself to keep focused even as the smoke in the halls attacked her lungs; she continued to remind herself that Casters protect everyone as she could hear the voices of other students and teachers shouting out a mix of commands and screaming for help further down the winding hallways. She had to protect anyone she was able to while everyone else was busy doing the same all over the school.

Just as Dr. Flaire’s classroom came into view, there was another tremor that shook the school. Xana was barely able to keep her footing as she saw the door to the room had been blown off its hinges and had crashed into the opposite wall. As she cautiously moved closer to the room, she could see scorch marks on the ground and all around the door.

Through the haze of destruction she could make out two figures. One on the ground and the other standing over the first. Xana took another step closer, waving her hand through the smoke that was reluctant to dissipate.

“Hey, are you two okay? Is that you Dr. Flaire? It’s okay sir. It’s me, Xana. Everyone’s trying to get a handle on whatever’s going on.”

There was no answer as the standing figure turned to face her and they raised their right arm. They were making an odd motion the wolf girl couldn’t figure out through her tear filled eyes and the hazy smoke. She blinked a few times and squinted to try and get a better look when she heard the familiar sound of a Wand being activated. She couldn’t react fast enough as the magic shot through the fog, clearing the smoke around it as it hurtled towards her.

There was a sudden pain in her side as she was knocked roughly to the ground. Her ribs hurt, but not like she had expected. The pain was much more manageable and she quickly looked up and saw a large body standing over her. The spell had missed her because someone had knocked her down.

“Rock?” She looked up at her bald classmate who was standing over her in a fighting stance, fists clenched tightly. She noticed the impact the spell had on the wall behind where she had been standing and her eyes widened when she saw the large nearly invisible yellow globe wedged into the stones.

“What’re you thinking Grant?” Rock yelled, not daring to drop his defensive pose.

Xana couldn’t believe her eyes as the full scene of the room came into view. The smoke was finally gone thanks to the magic that had been launched, and now she could see the destruction. All the computers that had been used for Dr. Flaire’s research and for the creation of the Caster bullets had been completely destroyed, sparks surging out of their remains. The largest machine in the center of the room had been completely wrecked, each crystal that had once powered it now laid scattered in a million little shards, casting an eerie rainbow glow illuminated more strongly by the brief sparks from the loose wiring. In front of the destroyed marvel of magic and technology was Grant Huston, holding his Wand ready in his right hand and his hammer in a tight grip in his left hand. He stood over an unconscious Dr. Flaire lying in a puddle of growing blood.

“What am I thinking?” An eerie chuckle escaped from Grant’s lips as they curved into a proud smile. “Come on Rock, I know you don’t exactly hold the best grades among us, but isn’t it obvious? I’ve come to terms with the idea that this school just isn’t the right fit for me. I already have my Wand and I took down the mighty Dr Flaire without breaking a sweat! Some of the other students noticed me walking the halls with my gear and will you just look at me? Not a single scratch. Don’t you think that’s a tad disappointing of the one and only Caster Academy?”

“Students? I didn’t see anyone on my way here. I was the first one! You’re lying!” Xana was back on her feet, her small form standing by Rock’s gigantic side as she bares her fangs.

“Silly wolfy. Are you really certain about that? What could you even see running around blind in all that smoke?”

Grant’s smirk sent a shiver through Xana’s spine, followed by a wave of dread. What she had been tripping over hadn’t been rubble.

“You didn’t!” She yelled in denial.

“Oh, but I did little Infurnal girl. I’m afraid I have to inform you both that you may be missing about five or six classmates after today. Then again, you probably won’t even notice they’re gone if this was the best they could do.”

“You bastard!” Rock roared and charged forward in anger, only to be stopped by another shot from Grant’s Wand. The see-through orb warped everything seen through it as it flew through the air in a straight line and impacted Rock sharply in the chest, sending him slamming into the ground with a loud thud. He coughed heavily as he grabbed at his chest, gasping desperately for air.

Grant let out a small, annoyed sigh as he shook his head. “Now, now, Rock, be careful. My magical proficiency may be based around defense, but shields still hurt when they slam into you at a fast enough speed, don’t they? For a change of pace, how about you do something smart for once and stay down? You’re really not worth another magic bullet.” 

Rock had been a distraction long enough for Xana to get closer to the traitor, catching him off guard as she grabbed for his Wand. 

“I won’t let you hurt anyone else!” She growled, her nails digging into Grant’s arm painfully and causing his blood to run as he cried out in pain and anger. He reacted quickly though, pressing something into the girl’s stomach with his other hand. Xana only had a brief moment to look down and see a small purple crystal now adorning the head of the hammer pressing against her stomach through her uniform.

“What?”

Her question was interrupted by her scream as electricity suddenly surged out of the hammer and through her body. Her eyes watered and her body twitched and convulsed at the pain that coursed through her before she lost the strength in her body and fell against Grant’s body where he caught her. She was able to cling to her consciousness as she heard the footsteps of others entering the room and she heard familiar voices.

“What the hell?” Vyrion questioned the moment he stepped into the room along with the Gremrick sisters.

“Xana!” Tasha yelled when she saw the state of the white haired Infurnal girl was in. An intense rage immediately fueled her at the sight in front of her.

Grant kept the wolf Infurnal steady with one arm wrapped around her, the other still holding his Wand towards the rest of the students that had filed into the room, his eyes darting between each of them.

“I’d rather not waste my time explaining myself again. So, say goodbye to Dr. Flaire and your little Infurnal girlfriend.” The traitor lowered his Wand, pointing it to a clear crystal that laid on the floor at his feet.

“Tasha! Now!” Xana reached up with a hand and she could feel his skin ripping and tearing as she quickly brought her claws across Grant’s face with her remaining strength. Four long, deep scratches cut into his face as he cried out from the unexpected attack from his captive. 

Vyrion and the twin sisters all three charged towards the black haired boy with the opening given to them. Grant tried to keep them in his view, but the mix of pain and blood running along his face was too much for him. He pulled the trigger of his Wand in response to the sound of their movements. 

The crystal had a powerful reaction to the magic shot into it. The shrill sound of nails on glass echoed throughout the room as the white energy began to escape from the crystal through the cracks blooming within the magical item. With a final loud crack, the energy exploded out of the crystal; shrouding the room with a blinding white light and the resulting wave of magic sent the three students flying backwards mid charge. 

After a full minute, the bright light finally faded away and Vyrion slowly moved to get back to his feet, his balance unsteady as the ringing after effects lingered in his ears. He looked around the room and saw Rock, sitting with his back against a wall as he held his chest where he had been hit. He was starting to take normal breaths again. 

Tasha was standing, but staring in disbelief at what had just happened and Fashryn was already back on her feet and had moved towards where Grant had been. The other voices were loud enough to be heard over the constant noise in the teenager’s ears.

“They’re all gone.” Fashryn stated clearly, standing where Grant had been, just over the pool of blood that had been left by the professor. “There were bodies in the hall too.”

“Grant betrayed us. I tried to stop him.” Rock spoke through gritted teeth as he rubbed his chest.

“He used that crystal to escape, and he took Xana and Dr. Flaire too.” Tasha added as she fought back her tears.

Vyrion was quiet for a long moment, struggling to process everything. They had been betrayed by a fellow student. The damage to the school was impossible to put into words as he could still hear others running around to try and make sense of the chaos. Many of the students and teachers had been harmed, and there were others who hadn’t survived. Only one thought came to mind. 

“We’re going to save Xana and Dr Flaire and we’ll bring Grant to justice.”