Page 60 of Black Onyx
“Good idea. Let’s check some of the other bodies and make sure this wasn’t an isolated incident.”
He nods grimly, and we walk through the nearest buildings and houses, checking bodies. They all have the same wounds that the previous bodies have.
“Did you find any survivors?” I ask the others as they all ride up to Rival and me.
Judging from their desolate faces, they didn’t.
“No,” Loki answers bluntly.
“What about you two?” Storm asks, watching us curiously.
“No survivors, but we don’t think that a Rogue caused this. Look,” I start, and all of them dismount and walk over to the latest body, Rival, and I are checking. “See, all of the claw marks were done after they died to cover up the real cause of death.”
“Which is this,” Rival takes over the explanation showing them the stab wounds in the heart and the blue lines coming out from it.
“So they were poisoned, murdered and not by a Rogue.” Reaper sums up before crouching next to the body and bravely taking a large inhale. “I can’t smell the poison used, which is strange. Most things leave a trace of a scent behind even if they are supposed to be scentless.”
“I’ve seen something similar before, but it was dark magic, and the poison lines were dark purple.” Storm frowns as he talks.
“Well fuck. Dark magic users are as dangerous as the rouges, if not more so, because their minds are still intact. They know perfectly well what they’re doing and can plan accordingly.” Loki curses.
“We can’t do anything else now. Let’s get back to the academy. Hopefully, Kill will be back, and we can fill him in.” Storm suggests.
We all get back on our horses and head off.
“I still don’t understand the motivation behind sending us here,” Reaper says a few miles into the ride.
“Distraction possibly?” I suggest.
“Or to shake us so that we’re not on our game for something else.”
“We’ll stick to the plan and keep a closer eye on the Headmaster when we get back.” Storm says decisively.
“If Poca decides to show back up, I can have him keep an eye on him for us. It’s less risky, and no one knows when Poca is around if he doesn’t want them to.” I suggest.
“Good idea. Until then, though, it’ll have to be Killian and I since we’re the only ones that can adequately mask ourselves.”
After that, we pick up the pace and soon, we reach the gates to the academy and a very pissed off Killian pacing outside, his tail whipping back and forth and his horns blazing with blue fire. As soon as he spots us, he folds his arms over his chest and waits.
“What happened to you?” Loki asks, “I thought you were going to be back sooner?”
“I was, but I got held up. What happened?” he asks, looking over us with concern.
“It was another set-up, but not like last time.” Storm starts, “Come on, I’ll explain while we take the horses back.”
By the time we get to the stables, Killian is filled in and even madder than he was before, especially since he didn’t really manage to find out anything about the assassin that was sent after me as he got caught up in settling a couple of other disputes.
“Alright, I need a shower,” Loki says as we get back to the castle.
We have barely set foot in the academy when the Headmasters magically projected voice sounds through the hallway, and all the surrounding students become quiet as we listen.
“All students are to report to the main hall. An emergency assembly has been called.”
“What now?” Loki groans.
“Maybe we’ll finally get some answers about what’s been happening with the teachers and Zev’s vision.” Mayhem suggests.
We follow the flow of students into the hall and take our seats, staring up at the stage with the Headmaster front and centre, and all the teachers sat behind him, looking apprehensive.
