Page 23 of The First Trial
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t curious why everyone was in such a tizzy.
I placed a dried flower inside my book to mark my page and delicately replaced it on the ledge beside my bed. Then I quickly threw on a shirt, untangling myself when it got caught on my horns before tugging it down to cover my bare torso, and pulled on some pants. Only once I was covered did I crack open my door to peer out into the hallway.
Students were gathered in groups that mingled as they excitedly discussed something. I couldn’t quite catch it over the surplus of sensory information. Too many voices were speaking at once to pick out any words, and I winced at the noise.
That was when Abaddon pushed through the crowd as he headed straight for me. He shoved me back inside my room and slammed the door behind him, but he was too late. The others had already caught sight of him and started bombarding him with questions, the door a thin barrier between us and the ruckus. His back slammed against the door, and he ran a nervous hand through his hair, stroking back to the tip of his right horn.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked, fear beginning to churn my stomach.
‘We looked outside,’ was his vague answer. I waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn’t, I pushed for more.
‘What’s outside, Don? What did you see?’
He pursed his lips and blew out a long, slow breath. His hesitancy only proceeded to increase my fear.
‘We are in a completely new realm.’
‘Yes, you’ve mentioned that,’ I told him, annoyed at his hedging. ‘Just tell me, Don. What’s going on?’
He chewed his lip as if debating whether he even wanted to tell me, then he physically deflated and gestured toward my bed. ‘You might want to sit down for this.’
I scowled at him, losing my patience and ignoring his advice. ‘Just spit it out already, Abaddon. The suspense is making it worse, and you’re making me anxious.’
‘All right, all right. I’m not even really sure what to say. There have been some confessions of a strange sound, but only a few are hearing it. Something, orsomeone,is trying to lure us out.’
I stumbled to my bed on wobbly legs. ‘What kind of music? What does it do? How does this connect to being transported to a different realm?’ I asked in rapid succession, and he raised his hands to stop the bombardment.
‘Let me finish and you’ll know what I know,’ he shot me a pointed look, and I took the hint, sucking my lips into my mouth to keep them closed.
‘Right. Well, when the first student came forth saying they could hear something, they said it felt like they were being summoned. At first, we dismissed it, but then Mistress Bast said she could hear it, too. She also felt the call. When more and more came forward claiming to hear it, to feel a pull tugging them outside, we decided to take a look.’
He paused, taking a breath to steady himself, and I was practically vibrating with the need to push him to spill it already.
‘There’s a courtyard separating the academy from a village of red brick buildings. Buildings that seem to belong to… Humans.’
My breath stalled in my lungs, an image of dark green hair and soft, pink skin flashing through my mind. ‘What?’
‘And that’s not all. We caught a few of them scouting and guarding the perimeter, but we also found they weren’t the only ones. There was a Fae sighting, and a Shifter, too. Someone even claimed to see winged beings soaring in the skies above.’
‘Angels?’ I all but squeaked. If that were true and the stories about their race were more than just cautionary tales, then our greatest enemy had returned. We were all in danger.
‘I’m not finished,’ he said grimly.
‘What else?’ I asked breathlessly.
‘The courtyard gave way to a portal. All the races seem to be drawn to it, including ours. We believe that is where the call is coming from.’ He paused, gathering the courage to say what he needed to say next. ‘Phenex, the ones who could hear it… they were hypnotised by the call. They’re gone.’
I cursed. Loudly. ‘They stepped through the portal?’ I asked, my knees wobbling with the overload of information. I finally took Abaddon’s advice and sat down on my bed, my legs no longer able to hold my weight.
‘Not yet,’ he admitted, his tone fierce and determined. ‘They’re just standing there, surrounding it. The other races, too.’
I jerked my chin towards the door where the students were still milling around noisily. ‘That’s what’s got them so worked up, huh.’ It wasn’t a question.
‘A group of us are preparing to head outside. We need to stop them from stepping through that portal.’
I jumped to my feet, the decision needing no thought. ‘I’m coming with you.’
‘You should stay here where it’s safe. The other…beingsseem just as freaked out as us, and we don’t know how hostile they’ll be.’
