“What the fuck!” Amhir gasped. “Dude you’re worth almost as much as crusher.”

Alex, finally done puking blood, wiped his mouth as he stood. Thor clapped at Amhir’s remark, saying, “Clearly I should’ve chosen you instead.”

Ignoring the slight, Alex glanced at the event point tracker in his phone. After a few moments, he let out a frustrated sigh then said, “You should’ve accepted my team request. Then we could’ve gotten some compensation for saving your sorry ass.”

He gave Thor a glare, but it didn’t seem to bother the spell tome.

I bit my lip. I was glad I hadn’t accepted that request, but still a little unsure if it was the right decision. I would’ve been eliminated if Jyanna, Alex and Amhir hadn’t come to my aid. Still, professor Kaylastal made clear that his word alone wouldn’t get me into the research program, I had to show that I was worth it.

Alex sighed. “Well, whatever. Not like we can do anything now, but you need to be careful Dex. As many points as you’ve racked up, there’s no doubt you’ll be a target now. Especially since you’re going It solo.”

I nodded. “Yeah. If a team comes after me, I might be in trouble, but it’s not like anyone can track me so…”

Alex raised a brow, giving me an unconvinced look, then nodded as he said. “Sure, then we’ll split up here. It wouldn’t do for Amhir and I to finish with less than ten points.”

Valentina personified beside me and I nodded as they left.

With a hundred eighty one points, I was already far ahead of the other magisters. Kailyn Ray was next behind me with seventy points. I was a bit surprised by that given how low profile she’d been since losing to Alex. Jyanna was behind her with forty points and there were a few others in thirty’s, I didn’t recognize most of them.

Alex was right. If I crossed paths with a team, I probably wouldn’t be able to avoid a fight.

Valentina placed a hand on my shoulder, saying, “Let's go, we should move and find a place to rest and lay low.”

I nodded. We walked for a while through the dark wood going away from the mountain. It wasn’t until I saw the tall grass that I realized we’d been heading back to the area where I fought the stalkers.

I winced as I desperately tried to blink away images of their torn and bloodied bodies. My heart sank to my feet. My stomach dropped like lead.

The sun began to peek out over the horizon. As the sky shifted from black to purple and yellow, my vision narrowed so that all I could see was the gentle pink of Valentina’s hair. It swayed back and forth as she walked, leading me forward.

I felt my hands tremble as long grass stalks brushed against my arms, but I kept moving. The hair on the back of my neck stood up straight and I jumped at every breath of wind that moved past me.

“What would you do if you weren’t a magister?” Valentina asked, her question striking me like a mallet.

I thought for a moment then said, as if it were a joke, I said. “Raise magi-beasts probably. Mom and dad used to raise silk haired calves. They were basically harmless, but their smell kept most predators away.”

Valentina turned back, a smile on her face as she said, “You really are gentle at heart, Dex.” Then her smile slipped as she mumbled something I couldn’t make out.

I only shrugged and looked away, feeling like there was more truth to that statement than she probably realized.

I had always fantasized about being a magister, but I was naive then. Even after my parents became magisters I had an idealistic view of what being a magister was. The reality was very different.

Where I saw fame, wealth and power, there was blood, pain and suffering.

Even worse, were the founders, apparently pulling strings behind the scenes.

I felt a knot forming in my gut as I tried not to think about it, but I knew at some point I’d have to become colder, more ruthless, if I wanted to learn what happened to my parents and survive.

“It’s a good thing Dexter. I like that about you,” Valentina added as she turned back forward and quickened her pace.

My cheeks flushed warm.

After a while Valentina found an old ruin where we could rest and watch out for other magisters. It was ancient by the look of things. The stonework was falling apart and plants had grown in most places, sprouting through cracks and breaking off pieces of the structure.

It was dry, stable and thanks to a collapsed wall, had only one narrow entrance. I stepped inside, eager for a moment of peace and some time to gather my thoughts.

The interior of the ruin was sparse but I could still make out where a dresser might have been once and what might have been the remains of a bed. There were a few other things like a broken stool, some crumbling stones, a pile of rotting leaves in the far corner. The rest was covered with dirt and other plant growth.

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The first thing I wanted was to get the blood off and get something in my stomach, but I settled for removing my clothes and resting on the tattered mattress.

Val came in only long enough to help me undress. As I laid down she was already back outside. “I’m not going far. Just shout if anything happens before I get back,” she called, then disappeared beyond a line foliage.

My breath felt as heavy as my thoughts, each came in long, shuddering puffs. I couldn't stop thinking about my parents. About the founders and their supposed war, the world didn’t make sense anymore.

What was The Society really? And what was my dad trying to warn me about?

The thought of never getting answers made my blood run cold and a shudder crept over me.

A thick cloud of gloom hung over my mind until I got up from the bed.

I grabbed my bloody clothes, recalling that we’d passed by a stream on the way here. It was too far. Not wanting to be caught in just my boxers, I shoved my legs back into the pants then walked out of the ruin.

“La la la, hear my voice, let it move your heart…”

The melody rooted my feet in place. Whoever she was, her voice was gorgeous.

“La da da, come to me, let my love lift you up…”

The gentle melody faded. A smile formed on my face as the last note was carried off by a gust of wind.

I dropped my dirty clothes on the ground, then followed my ears to the source of the tune.

She had dark hair, purple-black like a horned raven, it fell in even ringlets over her shoulders and back. Her flowing dark robe seemed to dance around her as if it were caught in an endless breeze. The woman had a heart-shaped face, a button nose, and small, delicate lips that seemed to form the sweetest of smiles as she swayed in the clearing surrounded by five men, each chanting, “We love you Chasity.”

She hummed softly as she wove a flower crown in her hand, not paying me any mind as I approached.

“La da dum, la da da. Come to me, let me love you for all time. La de doo la ti do. Come let me make you mine, I want you by my side, you’ll be all mine, all mine…”

As she continued her melody, the five men continued chanting.

My feet shuffled forward. I couldn’t resist.

“Chasity…” I heard myself say.

The woman stopped, then looked at me, her dark eyes meeting mine. There was something unsettling in her gaze, a glint of insanity and madness that made her eyes seem cold despite the warm glow radiating from them.

She smiled, her perfect lips stretching apart to welcome me. Her hand rose to me, delicate fingers spread out wide. Her gaze became deeper, more inviting. I couldn't turn away. I couldn’t ignore the feeling welling up inside of me.

Just the sight of her beckoning me closer ignited my blood, filling my body with an incredible heat. I had to hold her in my arms, feel her lips against mine, and taste every inch of her flesh. I wanted her and she wanted me. I felt it.

The five men stopped chanting. Then they disappeared entirely. It was just she and I there in the glade.

Her hands caressed my face as she whispered, “I love y—”

“STOP!” Valentina’s voice snapped me from a daze.

She grabbed the woman around her waist, lifting and swinging her away from me.

As Chasity rolled on the ground Val glared at me. Her eyes held the rage and fury of a hellcat and her palm stung like a murder bee as it crashed into my jaw.

I was too stunned to react beyond rubbing the spot.

Chasity let out a childish squeal as Valentina spun to face her. She put her hands up in defense. Then she started laughing.

An earth spear shot up diagonally, piercing through Val’s chest.

“Are you jealous that your man chose me?” Chasity giggled. “They all do honey, and they’ll do anything to protect me too.”

I noticed then that five magisters stood around us with their tomes at the ready, one of them presumably responsible for the spear through Valentina.

My fists clenched.

Glaring back at Chasity I couldn’t understand what I saw in her. Despite her beauty, it was plain to see she was vile as a snake. It could only have been magic that drew me in, blinded and bewitched me. She had a tome of love.

Valentina reverted, floating off the spear and landing, whole, in my hands.

I let out a heavy sigh and a bit of tension in my gut relaxed.

“What the fuck,” Chasity squawked, clearly mystified and confused.

She’d probably never seen a spell tome act independently. I was betting she’d never seen someone break free of her spell either.

“We love you Chasity,” I said, hoping she’d believe I was still under her influence.

The other five repeated after me, as if the phrase was some sort of trigger. They lowered their spell tomes, then turned back to Chasity. She came towards me, scowling as she hissed. “Well then control your tome! How dare you let it assault me. I… I’ll whip you with my love as punishment.”

I nodded. “Yes, Chasit—”

“No, no… I’ll gag you, then peg you, then I’ll let my hunks have their way with you…” she straightened her dress and picked leaves out of her hair. “…it’s your own fault for being a shity magister, so don’t complain.”

She walked toward the edge of the clearing, beckoning to me to follow with the crook of her finger.

I smiled when she turned. “Enfeebled my foes. Sap their strength and fill me with power.” I chanted quickly.

This was the curse Jyanna had used in the fight with the wolves.

And probably the same spell that allowed her to escape on her own with such substantial injuries.

Black mist spread out quickly filling the clearing. Chasity and her five goons fell to their knees as their skin went pale.

I couldn’t imagine what it felt like, and I wasn’t keen to dwell on it either. It didn’t matter. I needed to escape or eliminate all of them before they recovered.