I FOLLOWED THE crowd of Fire Elementals away from the Orb and down a curving path which led around to the south of the building before dropping down a steep hill.
Pillars of stone sat either side of the path every few meters with flames burning in plinths on top of them. As the older students began to pass them, the flames took the forms of various creatures and my lips parted as I stared at horses, wolves, birds and men built out of nothing but flame. My mind wanted to cast it off as some kind of illusion but I knew it wasn’t. The power roiling within me responded to the fire and each flare of magic which shaped it and I ached to unleash my own magic upon the blaze despite having no idea how to do such a thing.
Sofia slipped through the crowd until she was walking at my side, offering a friendly smile as I glanced her way. Nice to know I’m not a total pariah then. Most of the other students were giving me a wide berth and I’d gotten the distinct impression that offending the Celestial Heirs had put me firmly on the shit list. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about sending any Christmas cards as I wasn’t likely to be receiving any.
“Well you certainly know how to make an entrance,” Sofia said, the corner of her mouth hooking up in amusement.
I snorted. “Never did learn when to keep my mouth shut,” I admitted. “Where I’m from I found out the hard way that this life will throw all kinds of crap at you, but the one thing you don’t have to accept is other people’s bullshit.”
A few of the other freshmen heard that comment and edged away from me uneasily. I guessed they were concerned my status as persona non grata might be catching. And perhaps it would but Sofia didn’t seem to mind the risk at least.
I kept thinking about Darcy, wondering if she was doing okay with the air Heir. Seth seemed like a bit less of an asshole than the other three on first impressions but it was hard to be sure. Birds of a feather and all that… I just hoped I’d be able to check in with her over breakfast and make sure she was alright. Our lives had never exactly been plain sailing but she’d never developed such a thick skin as me and the idea of those douchebags giving her a hard time without me there to back her up sent a shiver of anger coursing through my blood.
“Well I wish my balls were big enough to allow me to stand against the Heirs like you did and come out unscathed,” Sofia said appreciatively. “Not that I have any reason to stand against them or any intention to find one.”
“I wouldn’t say I came out unscathed,” I muttered, touching a finger to the tender skin on my neck where Caleb had bitten me.
Sofia’s wide eyes followed the movement of my hand and she leaned closer to inspect the wound.
“Oh, I guess you didn’t realise Caleb was of the Vampire Order when you provoked him?”
At the mention of him being a Vampire, a cold trickle of ice danced along my spine. Of course the word had come to mind after what he did to me but the idea of something so… insane existing just didn’t want to line up in my brain. I wasn’t sure why the idea of magical creatures was more difficult for me to accept than the idea of magic itself but it just seemed to go against every law of nature I thought I’d understood.
“I didn’t know anyone was a Vampire before he attacked me,” I muttered. “And he’s bitten me now, so shouldn’t that mean that I’m gonna start getting a thirst for blood or an appetite for toe sandwiches or something?”
Sofia laughed in surprise. “You really don’t know anything about our world do you? All of your ideas about us come right out of a mortal fairytale!”
“So I’m not about to sprout fangs?” I confirmed, ignoring the subtle mockery. I could tell she didn’t mean anything malicious by it. But I wasn’t much of a fan of being the latest science experiment either.
“Nope. Vampires are just an Order of Fae. Each Order replenishes their own magic in different ways. The Vampires can’t create their own so they have to take it from others by overpowering them. As freshmen we’re all going to come under a lot of fire from them – we can’t defend ourselves with our magic yet and trying to overpower them physically is crazy difficult. With your magic being as potent as it is you’ll probably find that you get a lot of attention from the vamps while they’re able to overpower you so you might wanna get used to it.”
“Perfect. I always wanted to be a walking packed lunch,” I said dryly, making a mental note to avoid all Vampires until I was strong enough to fight them off. Which would be a lot easier if I knew how to spot one. I eyed Sofia’s teeth for a moment, wondering if I’d find any fangs.
She flashed me a smile at my joke and I was able to confirm no fangs. “Sometimes the strongest Vampires will lay a claim on a power source-”
“In this scenario am I the power source?” I asked.
“Err, yeah,” Sofia shrugged apologetically. “But if Caleb decides he likes the way your power tastes he might want to keep you for himself and as he’s one of the most powerful Vampires in the school the others would all bow to his dominance.”
“Meaning he’d be the only one biting me?” I confirmed, just about understanding where she was going with this and not sure that I liked it one bit.
“Well, yeah. But look at it this way; if he does then you’ll only have one Vampire to worry about instead of a whole Order of them. Besides, Vampires aren’t even the most dangerous Order in this school; some of the creatures here could straight-up kill you if you caught them at the wrong moment. At least a Vampire needs you alive. And if I had to choose one Vampire to be pinning me up against a wall and putting his mouth all over me then Caleb Altair would be top of the list.”
I let out a surprised laugh, wondering how I managed such a thing after the ordeal I’d just been through but I had to admit Sofia had a point. I didn’t exactly relish the idea of any Vampire biting me but if I had to pick one then Caleb with his head of messy blonde curls, eyes as dark blue as the depths of the ocean and body cut straight from an Abercrombie and Fitch commercial would probably top the list. Or at least he would if he wasn’t such a jackass.
Before I could voice my opinion on Caleb Altair’s lack of personal boundaries and general aura of entitled douchebag, the crowd of students came to a halt and I gave my attention to what had stopped us.
As the hill was still sloping down, I was offered a view of the building that we’d reached although the term ‘building’ didn’t seem to cut it.
An arching doorway was cut into what looked like a hulking rock but the clouds had drawn in over the stars and I couldn’t see anything outside of the huge fire which blazed above the opening.
Most of the older students had headed on in and only the freshmen and ten of the older fire Celestials remained. Darius moved to stand before the doorway and the huge fire on the platform above it moulded itself into a giant dragon. The detail of the beast was insane; its body was darkest red with glimmering gold outlining individual scales and teeth which looked sharp enough to bite. The fire beast unfurled huge wings which spread out widely on either side of it as it opened its jaws.
My heart was pounding as I watched the display of magic and the dragon turned straight towards me. I knew the creature wasn’t real but something about it felt like so much more than a mirage.
With a roar created from the crackling rumble of burning embers, the dragon blew a torrent of fire over our heads, low enough to make a lot of the freshmen shriek and duck aside.
I held my ground, tipping my head back as the heat of the fire warmed my skin and the power within me purred with appreciation. I already felt like some of what Caleb had stolen from me was returning and my magic seemed to rise to meet with the dragon’s flames as if it were greeting an old friend.
“Fire is the most potent Element of all,” Darius announced. “It brings light to the dark, warmth in the cold and can destroy everything placed in its way. Only those born with veins filled with the heat of the sun and hearts blazing with the true power of the flames can enter our House and claim their place amongst us.”
I glanced at Sofia, wanting to ask her what this was all about but the hush that had fallen over the crowd of freshmen held me silent.
“So who wants to be the first to try and gain access to the greatest House in Zodiac Academy?” Darius called, holding his arms wide as he stood before the entrance like a monster guarding its keep.
The other students were all casting glances at each other, none of them seeming to want to volunteer to go first. More than a few sets of eyes drifted to me and I wondered if my title as the lost Vega Heir meant I was expected to go first.
As the idea occurred to me, Darius’s eyes met mine through the crowd and the dare in his gaze was clear. My blood simmered with the urge to rise to the challenge and my feet began to carry me forward before I’d fully made the decision to face him.
The rest of the freshmen parted like a tide and I prowled forward with my best don’t-screw-with-me look slapped on my face. A few years of hanging around Joey’s bar had given me enough practice at dealing with dangerous men and rule number one in my book of survival was ringing in my ears.
Don’t back down. Don’t show weakness.
So despite my thundering heart and slick palms, I held Darius’s eye and gave off an aura of mildly underwhelmed as I approached him.
“First one in always gets the toughest run of it,” Darius warned. “Feel free to back down if your mortal upbringing has left you unprepared to face the gauntlet.”
“We’re all going in one way or another. I’d sooner get this over with quickly,” I replied dismissively.
Darius’s eyes flared with irritation at my tone and for a moment I thought I saw something shift within them. If Vampires weren’t the most dangerous creatures in this school then what was exactly? Because I had the distinct impression that I was currently looking one in the eye and poking it. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I held his gaze and he took a step towards me.
“Maybe you should have picked an easier House to join,” he warned. “I don’t get the feeling you’re cut out for the trials of this one.”
“Well you made it in,” I pointed out. “So it can’t be that hard.”
Before he could respond, I sidestepped him and headed into the mouth of the cave. My heart was racing so fast that I was almost convinced he would be able to hear it. But through some combination of rock hard willpower and sheer dumb luck, my bravado held out and I managed to enter the cave without descending into a trembling wreck.
As I stepped over the threshold, a strange sensation slipped along my skin and the light from the fire outside disappeared. I glanced over my shoulder, my heart leaping as I realised the entrance was no longer there. In its place was a solid wall which didn’t so much as tremble as I reached out to touch it.
I blinked as I adjusted to the dim light which came from somewhere further along the tunnel around the next corner. The flickering quality of it coupled with the orange glow led me to believe there was a fire down there. Of course there’s a fire, this is the house of fire, if there wasn’t it would be like going to a gingerbread house and finding brick walls.
I stayed still for several more seconds, listening, squinting around at what little I could see. The walls and floor were black and pockmarked with thousands of tiny holes. Memories pricked at me as I recognised it as a lava tube. One of our foster parents had been obsessed with the discovery channel and the six months I’d spent living there had filled my brain with all kinds of random facts about the world.
As lava was like liquid fire, it suddenly made sense for this cave to be a part of the House of Ignis.
The entrance was gone and there was only one way on so I took a deep breath and started walking. I adopted a fast pace knowing that going slow wouldn’t have any effect on what awaited me anyway. I’d heard plenty of stories about frat house hazing and the twisted things they forced their pledges to do but I tried not to let my mind linger on those. Whatever I was about to face couldn’t be that bad…right?
As I rounded the corner, I came across the source of the flickering light.
A pit of burning coals barred the way on, glowing deep red with heat in the centre while burning freely towards the sides of the tunnel. They filled the space ahead of me for at least five meters and I knew there was zero chance of me making that jump.
I glanced down at my favourite boots with a pang of regret. I only had two pairs of shoes and I’d left my battered sneakers back in our apartment. These boots were just the right combination of practical and fashionable. They looked good and I could run, jump and ride in them. They’d been with me for every less-than-legal acquisition I’d made and had helped me keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies…
Before I could get too lost in the misery induced by having to put my boots through the ordeal of the hot coals, a deep growl sounded from the tunnel behind me and I froze.
My breath caught as I looked over my shoulder and my lips parted in horror. There was nothing back there. I’d just come that way. And yet…
A shape burst around the corner and I screamed as I spotted the huge lioness. She roared at me as she charged forward and I scrambled into a sprint.
I pounded the final distance to the pit of coals and didn’t slow as I raced onto them. They shifted beneath my feet and my arms cartwheeled as I struggled to maintain my balance while moving as fast as humanly possible. If I fell I had no doubt that the skin would be melted from my flesh just as the soles of my boots were already beginning to.
I sprinted on, the heat of the embers beneath me encasing my feet in an oven of burning leather. A lump of sole fell off and my bare foot hit the coals twice before I launched myself off of the pit and crashed to the cold floor of the cave beyond.
I rolled twice, shielding my face with my hands before jarring to a stop. A bloody graze drew my attention to my forearm as a hiss of pain left me. The lava rock was sharp and skidding across it was more than a little unpleasant.
I quickly looked back across the pit of coals to see the lioness prowling back and forth on the far side beyond the shimmering heat-soaked air.
My lips parted in shock as I stared at the impossible creature before me. First Vampires and now this? What the hell kind of place had we ended up in?
Warmth drew my attention to my left foot and I gasped as I spotted a small flame taking hold of my boot. I ripped the ruined leather off of me followed by the tattered remains of my sock then repeated the process on the right foot. Miraculously, I’d avoided any burns and I silently thanked my poor boots for their sacrifice.
With a twinge of regret, I tossed the destroyed items onto the coals and pushed myself to my feet. The sharp rock pricked at my soles as I headed on but I forced my attention to remain on the task at hand. The sooner I got through this, the better. I just needed to focus on taking one step at a time and I’d manage it. It wasn’t like they’d just let students die down here… was it?
The tunnel started to decline in a twisting formation which didn’t seem natural. Thankfully, the sharp rocks smoothed out and I was able to up my pace again as I stopped hobbling.
The cave was still dimly lit with an orange glow but every time I thought I was closing in on the source of it, it retreated.
Faint laughter called to me from up ahead and I stilled for a moment.
It came again and I began to wonder if the other students could somehow see me. I glanced around, trying to spot any cameras or anything like that but as far as I could tell, the cave was empty.
A chill was creeping up my spine, intuition urging me to up my pace. Those same senses had saved me from the cops more than once and I wasn’t foolish enough to ignore them.
I started jogging then running faster as the light ahead tried to dance away again but I finally felt like I was gaining on it.
I rounded a corner and fell still as I found myself in a wide room. There was no furniture in sight but various weapons lined the wall, urging me to claim them.
On the far side of the room, three figures stood, hidden beneath deep red robes, their faces in shadow within their hoods.
Their attention was clearly on me and as I watched, three beings built from flame leapt to life in front of them. The figures were humanoid in shape though their arms hung down past their knees and their fingers curved with burning claws. In place of eyes they had black pits which stared at me hungrily.
I only had a moment to stare in fascination before the fire manikins sprang at me.
I cried out in alarm, launching myself at the collection of weapons. I ripped an axe from the wall and swung it before me as the first manikin reached me. The heavy weapon carved straight through the creature’s chest but the flames quickly reformed around the hole.
I stumbled back, swinging again in a vain effort to keep the things away from me but they barely flinched beneath the might of my attacks.
I launched the axe at them and ducked aside, making it to the wall again and claiming a dagger. I threw it at the closest manikin but it sailed through it harmlessly.
Before I could claim a third weapon, the creatures moved too close and I cried out as a hot hand brushed against my thigh, singeing the fabric of my yoga pants.
I threw myself at the inch of space between two of them, clasping my hands over my face as the brush of flames caressed my bare arms.
I could feel my magic welling up inside of me, filling me to the brim and aching to be set free but I had no idea how to harness it.
I rolled across the smooth floor and jumped to my feet as I backed away. The three fire manikins came at me again as I eyed the wall of weapons behind them. There were swords, spears, bows, even a mace. None of them would do a damn thing against a creature made of fire.
They rushed at me and I backed up as fast as I could. My gaze fell on the three students who were controlling them and I was struck with the certainty that they should be my real targets. Behind them, a wide doorway stood open which must have been the way forward and I fixed its position in my mind as my escape route.
I tried to run for it but the manikins leapt into my path, forcing me to halt before the wall created by their flaming bodies.
I backed up quickly, my mind whirling with ideas as I tried to figure this out but they wouldn’t let me think before coming for me again.
I threw myself aside, rolling across the cold floor then trying to regain my feet once more. A manikin was there to stop me, its flaming claws reaching for my face.
I screamed, slamming back down onto the ground and hitting my head.
I can’t fight against fire! What I need is a bucket of goddamn water!
As the thought left my mind so did a flood of the liquid I desired. A torrent of water shot from my hands and slammed into the nearest manikin before drenching the students behind it too. The creatures were extinguished and I grabbed my chance without wasting time marvelling over what I’d just done.
“Hey!” one of the students moaned as I sped between them.
“She’s only gotta get past,” another replied. “There’s no rules about how.”
I grinned to myself as I ran through the door and found a spiralling flight of stairs. I took them two at a time, sparing only a little attention for the burning sconces along the walls which pulsed in colours from blood red to orange, yellow and even blue.
At the top of the stairs was an arching doorway and beyond it sat a wide room filled with comfortable chairs and soft furnishings.
Darius looked up from the centre of a group of preening admirers as he heard me approaching and for a moment I could have sworn his eyes flickered with surprise.
He got to his feet before I could make it inside and the doorway suddenly filled with fire.
I fell still as I looked at it. There was no way around. The only option was to go through.
“Final challenge,” Darius called from somewhere beyond the flames. “If you really want to be one of us, you’re going to have to leave everything from your time with the mortals behind.”
I frowned, wondering what he meant by that. Darcy was here with me and there had really been very little else in my life that I cared about enough to bring anyway. Did he imagine I’d left behind some great group of friends and family who I held some desperate urge to return to? Perhaps he thought that challenging me to release those bonds would be endlessly difficult for me but I had no such concerns.
His attempt at cruelty was falling flat and he didn’t even realise it.
“You can step through the flames once you’re ready to leave your mortal trappings behind. The fire will burn them all away but your flesh will remain unscathed,” Darius sounded amused though I couldn’t see his face and I couldn’t help a small smile of my own. Leaving the mortal world behind was just fine by me. It had never seemed to care for me much anyway. And the feeling was mutual.
I blinked at the wall of fire, fearing that more than any separation to the mortals I knew. My adopted parents had died in a fire. And though I had no memory of the event, I knew Darcy and I were lucky to have survived it. That knowledge had always made me a little wary of open flames. But I wasn’t going to let a little fear stop me.
I took a deep breath and stepped through the fire.
Heat enveloped me but instead of burning, I felt only the gentle embrace of it against my skin like a thousand tiny kisses.
The stench of burning filled my nostrils and my heart stuttered in panic as I clutched at my long hair but thankfully it was completely fine.
The warm carpet was a relief to my bare feet as I stepped into the room and I looked up at Darius, prepared to tell him just how little his last challenge had meant to me but everyone in the room started laughing before I could.
Darius was smirking at me, his eyes dripping over my body in a way that made me look down.
I gasped as I realised what he’d done; my clothes were gone, burned away by the fire he’d created so that I was left standing before them butt-naked.
I’d always liked my body and I’d had a few boyfriends and flings over the years so it wasn’t like no one had seen it before but this was something else. Heat raced to my cheeks as I realised he hadn’t been talking about leaving emotional ties to the mortal world behind – he’d been talking much more literally. He’d meant everything physical I’d brought, which meant my clothes and-
“Motherfucker!” I cursed as I took a step towards him angrily then stopped myself as I remembered I was as naked as the dawn. “I had nearly three grand in my pocket! Do you know how hard my sister and I worked for that money?”
Darius only smiled wider in response to my anger as he held out a key.
“Your room is on the third floor, end of the corridor,” he said, completely ignoring everything I’d just said. “If you wanna go and find something to wear?”
I moved forward to snatch the key from him, refusing to try and cover my body. It was too late now anyway and the heat crawling down my spine wasn’t going to lessen if I made a pathetic attempt to hide. My only defence against what he’d done to me at this point was in trying to pretend I didn’t care. Though the blood which filled my cheeks must have been clear for everyone to see if they could tear their eyes away from my ass and breasts for long enough to notice it. Tears prickled the backs of my eyes but I bitch-slapped them down hard. I would not cry in front of this goddamn bastard.
As my fingers curled around the brass key, Darius used his hold on it to tug me a step closer.
“Of course, if you’d rather just come on up to my room, I can give you a real welcome to the House of Fire,” he suggested as his gaze slid over every exposed inch of my flesh and embarrassment prickled up my spine.
A flutter grew in my stomach as I noted the heat in his gaze and I mentally cursed myself for giving even a moment’s consideration to his offer.
I squared my shoulders, looking him over just as he had me. I took in everything from the way his jeans hung low on his hips to the swell of his muscles beneath his tightly fitting shirt. I eyed the tattoos which curved out of sight beneath his short sleeves and the biceps which cried out to be touched. His broad shoulders and towering height built a type of carnal need in me as I tilted my head back to look up at him.
A cocky smile pulled at the kind of lips that I could definitely make use of given half a chance and his dark hair fell forward just enough to make me think about fisting my hands in it.
Why did I always have to want the bad guys?
I shifted an inch closer as if I was going to share a secret with him but kept my voice loud enough to carry.
“I wouldn’t come near you even if someone held a knife to my heart and told me that the world would end if I didn’t,” I snarled, snatching the key out of his hand. “So why don’t you take a long, hard look while you can. Because I can promise you, you won’t be seeing this again.”
Darius’s face dropped a fraction as the rest of the students in the room started laughing at him instead of me and I slammed my shoulder against his as I moved past him. It was kinda like walking into a brick wall but I managed to force him to move a little, mostly because I took him by surprise.
I stalked across the room to the stairs which led to the promised dorm, forcing myself to maintain a steady pace instead of sprinting.
Eyes followed my progress and whispers broke out around me but I kept my gaze fixed on my destination, refusing to look anywhere else. The tears were coming and I knew I was fighting a losing battle against time as I fought to hold them off.
Just a few seconds longer…
“You should be more careful about the kinds of enemies you make around here, Roxy,” Darius called after me, a beat too late for him to pull it off as smoothly as he must have wanted. A sense of satisfaction filled me with the knowledge that I’d rattled him for a moment too.
I didn’t bother to respond. Getting into a pissing contest with an asshole really wasn’t my style and if I didn’t get behind a closed door soon then I was pretty sure I was going to start bawling in front of everyone. If I could keep my chin high and my face blank then maybe I’d be able to leave this room with my dignity intact even if I had had to scrape it up off of the floor.
I made it up three flights of stairs and to the end of the corridor where my key thankfully opened the door.
I spilled inside and pushed it closed behind me a second before the floodgates burst and the tears fell.
I sank to the floor and buried my head in my arms as I drew my knees to my chest. Anger and humiliation washed through me and I gave them five minutes to have their way before I was going to lock them down again.
Tears never did anyone any favours, but sometimes they just needed to fall.
