Larkspur | ONC 2023

Chapter 17

“What are you doing on the ground?” The voice is so calm amidst the panic that I look up surprised. Skullcrest has appeared from thin air and is towering over me. She looks immaculate, not a hair out of place.

“The Noires have attacked. What are you doing here instead of evacuating the campus?” I hiss through the pain.

“We have guards for that. We need you to go kill the prince, taking advantage of this distraction.”

“I—What? You must be joking.” I scoff. A noire climbs up behind her. She tilts her head slightly, almost bored and snaps her fingers. The creature jumps back down onto the ground again.

“You set them free on the campus?” I can’t believe my ears as I spit the words.

“And I command them.” She smiles proudly.

“There are innocent people on campus! Are you nuts?” I am up on my feet now, seething. I can feel my shoulders shaking.

“So were the people at Shimmervale—your mother.” She looks around cautiously, scanning the surroundings.

“Yes, but another massacre won’t justify the massacre at Shimmervale!” I shout.

“I don’t have time for this drama. We need to capture the Prince. Room number one o eight, A-wing.” Her manner is crisp and businesslike, almost casual.

“You said only one killing. No more casualties.” I hiss. I can feel the dangerously angry magic rising in me like steam inside a pressure cooker.

“These are minor sacrifices for a bigger cause—collateral damage.” She looks at her watch. There’s not a single iota of guilt. The screams of the hapless students ring around us like a death knell. It brings back painful memories of where it all started. I cannot let her kill innocents. 

“I’ll stop you if it’s the last thing I do.” I raise my hands in the air and take a step forward, magic buzzing at my fingertips. I see red in anger. She smirks. “I am the only one who can command them. If you try to stop me, all of you will die.” I pause, my thoughts clearing very quickly.

“Fine. Stop them. Already there have been a lot of distractions. I’ll go find the prince in the chaos.” I try to reason sweetly.

“Until you capture the prince, they won’t stop.” She tilts her head to one side, her dark lips drawing back into a ghastly smile. I wonder what she has been through to make her lose every last bit of compassion left in her. Is the thirst for revenge so blind?

“I’m telling you I will. Please don’t harm the students.” I cry.

“Don’t play games with me Larkspur. I know you care about the students—”

“So you’ll use them as a pawn to bargain with me? Are you insane?” I spit.

She comes forward so quickly that I don’t have time to react. Her hands are at my throat, long nails biting into the tender flesh, squeezing slightly. “Don’t test my patience. Do as you’re told.” 

“No!” I gasp, my survival instincts kicking in. I grab her arms and try to twist myself free, but her bony fingers are like iron.

“I thought so.” The pressure on my neck increases. She is almost cutting off my air. I try to scratch her hand off me but I see in her eyes that she is determined to dispose of me. I feel dizzy, the world is spinning. She pushes me roughly and I feel myself bump against something hard. Wiry arms grab both of mine from the back. The skin is cold as ice. I hurl my elbow backwards and ram into the creature trying to capture me. It feels like hitting a block of steel. It doesn’t even budge. My magic bubbles up on my skin in purple flames. The creature screeches loudly. Its grip breaks and before I can turn, it is razed to the ground.

I whip around to see fear written clearly over Skullcrest’s face. Her lips are shaking and she starts backing away slowly. I don’t even have to look at my arms to understand that I’m on fire, purple flames dancing around me. The pain in my chest is excruciating, almost like someone has grabbed my heart and is squeezing it. 

“You tried to kill me!” I growl.

“I didn’t mean to I—”

“I’ll spare you,” I say quietly. “Just call them all here.”

“No.”

I snap my fingers. She is flung against the wall with a sickening crack. “Now!” I command.

Her face contorts in pain but she manages to wave her hands in the air and the screeching begins. They jump and run from all sides like a bunch of unruly monkeys and arrange themselves around her like well-trained pets.

“For how long have you trained them?” Noires are solo hunters, they never move in a pack and yet here they are, standing before me like obedient children.

“Five years.” There’s uninhibited hatred in her eyes.

“Wow! Making an army of the most dangerous creatures ever known to the fae-kind. You think that’s going to get you the support of the common fae when you dethrone the king?” Magic zaps on my fingertips, ready to fly. “Well, watch as I destroy your precious army.”

“I’m only a pawn in the game too Larkspur! You’re playing with forces beyond your understanding!” A corner of her mouth rises in a sad smile. And in a split second, before I can even blink. She dashes sideways and grabs the railing, swinging herself over it. 

“Stop!” I scream and follow her, almost toppling over but in the dark, I only hear a dull thud and the wet sound of something splattering to the ground. I scrunch my eyes close and let out a guttural scream. My throat is raw, my feet feel like lead and there is that strange ringing in my ear again. And piercing it there is another shrill cry echoing all around me.

I open my eyes slowly, only to realise that twenty pairs of hungry eyes are staring at me and I am surrounded by creatures only existing in my nightmares. And their master just killed herself so they’re now wild and untamed. 

I raise my fingers in an attempt to blast them off but I am rooted, frozen in shock, my fingers numb. The magic that was bubbling is not there at my disposal anymore. It went off like a little candle being blown out, leaving me weaponless in the midst of an army of killers.