“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked as Valentina pulled herself away from me.
She blinked tears out of her eyes and nodded with a resolute expression. Her body shook as she stood, then she closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
It was clear something still bothered her, but Jyanna cleared her throat, letting me know her patience was waning.
I turned around to find her playing on her phone, or maybe she was texting. An ashen gray heap lay at her feet and the ice that coated the clearing was nearly gone. The field was filled with a steamy haze, though my thoughts were clearer now.
Jyanna put the phone in her pocket, then stepped over the gray lump, kicking it in the process.
She fake gaged as Chasity’s shriveled head rolled over to face me.
“You—you killed her?” I asked, realizing that the safety teleport never activated for Chasity.
Jyanna shrugged. Then she gave me an odd smile and said, “There's more important things to worry about. Don't fuss over a dead woman.” She rolled her shoulders, then continued in a casual tone, “Besides, she would have done the same or worse if I hadn't stopped her.”
My jaw clenched and I grabbed Valentina, pulling her back as Jyanna continued moving towards us.
“Relax, Dexter. I have no intention of hurting you, I just want to ask if you’ll agree to work together.”
She came to a stop with her hands clasped together in front of her. The sweet innocence displayed a stark contrast to the wicked girl from a few moments earlier.
Valentina leaned closer to my ear as she whispered, “I can eliminate her if you distract her.”
I squeezed her hand, pulling a little closer.
Jyanna must’ve suspected something because she said, “If you don’t want to, just say so. I won’t try and force you.” She pulled her phone out, glancing at it briefly before adding, “Wow…I was going to suggest we split the kills since we aren’t an official team, but it looks like you don’t even need to participate anymore.”
“What? Is that a threat?”
Jyanna shook her head and stepped closer.
I backed up.
Tilting her head slightly and offering a concerned smile, Jyanna said, “Stop acting like a dusk mite and look at this.”
She held out her phone and waited for me to take it. I hesitated, then looked to Valentina and back before finally accepting it.
I turned the phone, reading the message that appeared.
My jaw dropped. It was a screenshot from her uncle showing my name and photo at the top of a blank chart. Beside my name there was a five. Another column was only partially visible, showing several characters but not enough to tell what it said.
“What is this?” I asked, handing the phone back.
Jyanna pursed her lips, blinking slowly intentionally, as she said, “You’re a smart boy, Dexter. Don’t play dense.”
She waited, giving me a moment to think before I asked, “I'm ranked first?”
“For now, but not in the official rankings. That hasn’t been decided yet. This is the referral board that only the researchers can see. You already have five referrals, so as long as you don’t get eliminated, nothing else matters. You’ll be a research understudy.”
The words struck like a thunderclap, causing me to blink a few times as my mind processed the information.
“Before you think about sitting out, I still need your help.”
Jyanna was speaking in a more serious tone than I expected, but she did seem genuine in her request.
She continued. “You already have two hundred points, and considering you would’ve lost to Charity—”
“Chasity.”
“Whatever, you would’ve lost if I hadn’t come when I did.” Jyanna raised her voice and glared at me for interrupting.
Valentina spoke before I could, saying, “We’ll help you. I have a few spells that may enhance your curse magic.”
"Val!”
Jyanna’s brow furrowed in confusion as she considered my spell tome, but after a moment her face relaxed and she said. “Then let’s go find Shebaltor.”
Jyanna was psychotic. Val was insane for agreeing to follow her, and I was a fool for giving in and following them out of the clearing.
----------------------------------------
“How many is that?” Jyanna asked as the withered husk of a sand saber hit the rolling dunes.
“You’re at one ten, but we’re running out of beasts to kill.”
“Where the fuck is Shebaltor,” she growled.
I shrugged. Neither of us even knew what we were looking for. All we knew for sure was Shebaltor would be considerably more deadly than five frost wolves.
There was another growl and a gust of air from behind, but before I could turn Valentina pushed me aside. With a small concealed blade, she stabbed the beast through its chin. The tip pierced up through the roof of its mouth and a wet squelch marked the end of its miserable existence.
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Valentina dropped the body to the sand as her chest heaved in exertion.
Eyes narrowed, she turned to face Jyanna. “I think we’ve helped you as much as we can. At this point it doesn’t seem likely you’ll catch up to Dexter’s points. Even if you do, that wouldn’t guarantee you win referrals, right?”
Jyanna’s red eyes twitched as her body stiffened.
She let her stunned gaze linger on Val for several moments. When she spoke, her voice was laced with bitterness and resentment. “Yeah, but actually I was never worried about getting the referrals. I already had my votes secure before we began. What I’ve been curious about is actually you, Valentina. You don’t behave much like a spell tome and I bet that’s why—”
A roar like thunder cut through the air. The rumbling sound carried a wave of sand into the air as the dune before us rose and shifted, becoming the face of a creature with an elongated head.
Jyanna jumped back, cursing loudly as the massive creature emerged, rolling and twisting to reveal two legs with huge, sharp claws. Its flat body and curved tail let the beast swim through the sand like water, but the true danger of wild lurkers was that they never hunt alone.
“Run!” I yelled, taking off for the canyon as a flurry of claws shot up from the sand. The solid ground would slow the creatures and maybe force them into view.
In the haze of sand it was hard to keep track of Jyanna, but Val returned to my hand, allowing me to cast shadow step.
I sank into the shadows, moving along the dunes at a speed faster than I could hope to run. The lurkers seemed to lose track of me because they didn’t follow, instead their claws repeatedly tore through the sand near where I last saw Jyanna.
“Break.”
I wasn’t sure if I was helping or sealing her fate, but the ground split apart creating a huge sinkhole. The lurkers scrambled to get free, but they were pulled down in the collapse.
Jyanna shot out above them, her hair billowing behind as purple wings carried her up into the air. She moved with incredible speed, quickly catching and surpassing me.
The lurkers were gone, but I feared only temporarily. The sand would eventually settle, filling the sinkhole. Then the beasts would be free to dig out; although, they could get free sooner if they just dug a bit deeper.
Jyanna circled in the sky above, apparently waiting for me. When I reached the edge of the canyon, she dove down and landed beside me. The wings folded into the raven on her back as she glanced over the edge. “Do you think Shebaltor is down there?”
The canyon was deeper and much more treacherous than I thought. It stretched as far as I could see in both directions, twisting and winding with a turbulent river at the bottom.
Pointing a cave halfway down, Jyanna said, “Come on. We can rest and regroup down there.”
“I don’t have wings,” I said in protest.
Then Valentina added, “And we’re done helping you anyway.”
Jyanna looked irritated. Then her eyes brightened as a mischievous smirk took her face. “Fine, but before you go run off…” She stepped closer to me, too close. Her breast pressed against my chest. Her breath brushed over my cheeks. I felt her arms slip under mine as lips came ever closer.
“What are you—” Val hissed as she pulled away Jyanna’s left arm.
Purple wings spread behind Jyanna and with a mighty flap they carried us up into the air.
Valentina reverted, flying after us, but before she reached us, Jyanna smiled and said, “If you want to survive as a magister, you’d better grow a spine!”
Then she released me.
My body was weightless in that instant before gravity pulled me into its embrace. The wind whistled over me, turning into a piercing scream as I rushed toward the canyon wall.
I reached for Valentina, but Jyanna dove after me and knocked me back. Her body twisted and the wings shifted as she came between Val and I, cutting my tome from my grasp.
With Valentina gone, I had only one recourse.
My hands found purchase on the rock, then my body slammed against the smooth surface. As air rushed out of my lungs, strength left my grip and I slipped down to a narrow ledge.
I nearly tumbled over the edge, but Valentina appeared, personifying as she pushed me back against the wall with her body.
“Poison leach death touch!”
Jyanna’s voice fell from above, then I saw her diving down through a cloud of black smoke.
Her arms stretched out for me as she pulled in her wings and hurtled faster.
Wrapping my arms around Val, I dove off the ledge. Fighting Jyanna assured a certain death, but the river might spare me.
I clung to Valentina as we plummeted, knowing that should we get separated in the water it could be difficult to find each other again.
Jyanna dived past, missing her mark but following after us as we continued to fall.
Valentina turned to look, her face was inches away. I could see the fear in her eyes as they shifted from me to Jyanna, and back.
Biting her lip, Val held my gaze for a moment, then she shifted into a ball of light, slipping from my grasp. As I continued to fall, she solidified in her book form and chased after Jyanna.
The girl’s red eyes went wide when she circled back towards me only to see Val, personified, with her fist drawn back and too close for her to dodge.
Jyanna gasped. Then Val landed her hit, and Jyanna dropped like a rock, her wings disappearing.
I thought maybe Jyanna must be unconscious, but a second before she hit the water her eyes blinked open and a dark, hazy cloud of smoke swallowed her.
I slammed into the river a moment later with a smack that saw me skid across the surface before sinking into the current.
I hit something and felt a searing pain shoot through my body. It was hard to breathe as water filled my nose, and the river turned into a tunnel of blurred, blue and white light as the current carried me faster.
My back hit the bottom of the river and I gasped. The impact brought me to my senses and I twisted to face up as I pushed off. My vision was getting blurry, my chest hurt and it felt like I was getting stabbed by a hundred hot needles.
I coughed the moment my head went above water, then the current grabbed my ankles, pulling me down and lifting my legs above my head. I tumbled along the bottom of the river like a weed tossed in the wind.
Flashes of brightness accompanied gasps and coughs, then a deep blue hue choked away all access to air. I couldn’t tell up from down, left from right, I only knew I was whirling uncontrollably.
I grazed past several large rocks, counting myself lucky not to have slammed into one, then I was yanked around a bend. I slid over a line of sharp rocks, standing up like teeth in the water. I didn’t feel much beyond the sting, but a cloud of blood streaming from my body told me it was more than just a scrape.
With all its fury and might, the river slammed me into a large protrusion jutting out from the wall. The impact forced out what little oxygen remained in my lungs, it also cleared out the water.
Weak and exhausted, I let the river roll me around the huge rock. The flow slowed enough for me to surface and catch my breath.
Stone walls towered high on either side of me, but there were low ledges I could reach if I tried. Taking advantage of the slower waters, I pushed towards the right side of the river. I tried to climb up, but slipped as the current picked up and pulled me back into the water.
The roar of approaching rapids drowned out the sound of my own inner voice screaming at me to get out. I turned around, trying to catch another breath as I rushed to get back to shore.
My strength failed. My limbs wouldn’t move fast enough. It was all I could do to stay above water. I tried to slow my breathing, get control of it, as the rapids drew closer.
I took a deep breath of air, then the current pulled me under.