The forest was quiet, the usual chirping of insects replaced by heavy silence. I spotted the familiar faces of my House Anu comrades huddled around a small fire. Relief filled me—they were safe. At two other campfires, members of Houses Enlil and Nin sat recovering from the day. Several were missing, not just Waelid and Marcus. Jiho was absent, along with some from House Enlil.
“Erik! You’re alive!” Silas yelled. His metal arm embraced me, and I shivered, feeling the cold brass against my skin.
I patted his back. “Couldn’t let you have all the fun,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
He smiled and eyed the new sword at my hilt. “Whoa, whoa,” he said. “What’s with the new weaponry? Where’d you get that, boss?”
“Let’s just say a dog gave it to me. And what’s with this boss talk?”
“I nominated you boss because you brought us together last night,” Silas explained. It felt weird to be praised so much. He was about to speak more when Galina pushed him aside.
She held out her hand for me to shake. “Erik, good to have you back,” she said. “House Anu stands strong and our numbers are still the same. Waelid fights for us.” The porcelain girl was bandaged. She had fought again.
I glanced at Luna beside me. Our eyes met, and she nodded at me.
The short, pink-haired house leader Piqah hopped forward.
“Well, hey there, little ones! Can’t believe you survived a flight like that!” Piqah said, looking up at me. Then she glanced at Luna. “Where’s Marcus?” Piqah asked, her tone demanding. “You and the others went out with him and Waelid.”
Luna shook her head slowly.
“Chapter Master Piqah, we need to talk,” I said.
She frowned and led us to my house’s campfire.
The group settled around the fire. Piqah broke the silence. “Just so you know, Waelid and Jiho are out there distracting the Guardian,” she said. “They’ve been fighting it for hours. So make it quick. What is this about?”
I took a deep breath. “It’s about Waelid,” I began.
Galina leaned forward. “What is it, recruit? Spit it out.”
“Luna and I saw him sacrifice Marcus to the Guardian,” I said bluntly.
Gasps echoed around the circle. Sora’s one eye widened. “That’s impossible! Why would he do that?”
Tevin shook his head. “Waelid’s an academy hero. He’d never do something like that.”
Mel spat on the ground. “I knew he was all fake smiles.”
Barrett, Piqah’s coleader, crossed his arms. The big House Nin member raised an eyebrow. “Those are serious accusations, Erik. Do you have any proof?”
“We have two witnesses.” I pointed at Luna and me.
“It’s true. He used Marcus as a distraction while he attacked the Guardian,” Luna said. “I saw him do it to two other House Nin recruits.”
Piqah stood up, her eyes hardening. “Enough,” she said. “Seeking justice isn’t possible right now. We have no evidence, and technically, if what you say is true, Marcus was killed by the Guardian.” She locked eyes with me. I couldn’t believe she was just brushing it off like this.
More whispers went around the group.
“Are you saying that’s justified?” I raised my tone.
Barrett stepped in front of Piqah and placed a hand on the staff at his hip. Piqah placed a hand on his arm and pushed him aside.
“If you think this school is about fun and friendship, you’re dead wrong, little one,” she said with a fake smile. “From the start, the headmaster has been clear. This school reeks of violence. We must do anything it takes to become Cinders. You need to be ruthless here. The Cinders are looking for strong warriors. Do you really think they’d punish one of their strongest?”
“Waelid isn’t strong—he’s a coward,” I retorted.
Voices rose around us, arguments breaking out between different houses. I noticed they had all been listening. Everyone heard my accusation.
“Look, kid,” Piqah said with a grim smile. “I don’t like it either. Trust me! I’m all for honor, loyalty, and justice. But strength is above all here. It may seem like fun and games with the dorms, and classes, and powers, but you’ve seen how hard you train, you’ve taken the classes. We’re learning to kill. We’re learning to take over a country of magic-wielding pricks. Do you think we’ll do so without a little treachery? This is war—well, preparation for it. We’re mercenaries now, soldiers, for what’s coming. Get used to it.” She sighed, and the glade quieted under her rant. “They won’t punish Waelid unless they deem him a threat to more promising students. If you have an issue with that, you’ll need to wait until this is all over.”
Hushed whispers grew into arguments about morality within the academy. Voices rose, and Piqah stood with arms crossed, glaring at me. The once-peppy girl was serious. This was the reality here. Galina sat quietly, eyes closed.
“Please!” Tevin shouted, raising his hands to quiet the arguments that broke out. “We don’t have time to argue.”
Piqah nodded. “He’s right. The real threat is the Guardian. We need to focus on stopping it.”
‘This is bullshit,’ Fern said.
Right? This is dangerous, I thought, agreeing with Fern. If we let him off the hook now, it will come back to bite us. We need to be careful; he will hear about how I outed him. I gulped. School politics were not something I expected to deal with so early.
“Waelid isn’t against using others as bait. I’m warning you, we need to be careful. But”—I took a deep breath—“I agree, let us focus on the Guardian.”
“What’s the plan, then? We only have so many bodies left,” Lucius asked, sitting with the House Enlil students. Next to him was Rinka. He was covered in small cuts and looked frustrated. He had just learned that his coleader was killed; I was sure he was on edge.
“Well, thanks to Waelid and Jiho, the beast is sluggish now,” Piqah started. “It’s slower to attack and even slower to recover. We’ve rested, and frankly, we’ve only got one shot at this. There are a few ways we could go about it, but . . .” She stepped forward and put her fists together. “One of the lessons you’ll learn about being a Cinder is that any day could be your last.” She looked at Barrett and showed him two thumbs-up pressed against each other. “I think we go with . . . Combat Tactic Three: Shattered Mirror. Sound good?”
Barrett nodded and copied her hands, placing his knuckles together and his thumbs touching each other. Then he split apart his thumbs at the same time as her.
“Good! We attack in thirty minutes. We can’t risk losing the other two leaders. You three,” she said, pointing at me, Tevin, and Mel, “you’ll be on the front lines with me.
“Barrett,” she ordered, “you and the House Nin recruits set up defensive barriers. Be ready to rush around us when the beast strikes.”
“Got it.” Barrett saluted and ran off to gather the rest of House Nin.
“House Enlil, you will provide flanking attacks,” Piqah added. Rinka, Lucius, and the rest of their housemates nodded and stood up to start stretching.
Galina looked around the fifteen House Anu members, some of whom had serious injuries that would prevent them from helping. I noticed she herself was bandaged, and long cracks ran through her glass skin.
I wondered how her race healed if they became cracked. I began to imagine them having to self-repair before Luna interrupted me.
“Since we can’t do anything about Waelid, we will have to just be careful. Sora and I will back you three up. You know, watch out for Waelid doing anything suspicious,” Luna said.
Her black hair shimmered in the firelight. She leaned close to me and whispered, “That idea you have . . . do it.” Then she walked away with Sora.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
I looked after her, confused.
How did she know I was . . . you know what? Now’s not the time, I thought.
‘Huh? What just happened? What are you talking about? What was SHE talking about?’ Fern asked, confused.
Don’t worry about it, I said to him.
‘Huh?!?’
I turned and shouted before the House Nin leader got too far.
“Hey, Piqah, hold up a minute!” I grabbed Silas by the arm and pulled him along with me.
Piqah turned around and raised her eyebrow.
We ran up to her. “Not sure what you had in mind, but . . .”
30 Minutes Later
We moved out, leaving Galina and several injured recruits behind in the small clearing. We slipped into our assigned positions, with Piqah leading the front.
‘This could be it,’ Fern whispered.
Nonsense. Just believe, Fern, I responded. I tapped my new sword on the hilt. We were the only one out of all the recruits with a proper weapon. It was almost guaranteed that it would come down to my final blow. I gulped and tried to hide my nerves.
We walked quickly along the forest floor, following a dirt path, until my ears twitched. I tapped Piqah on the shoulder, held up a finger, and closed my eyes. I tapped into the small space between my heart and ribs and directed the synergy to my ears.
Piqah froze, and everyone following us stopped. The forest went silent until it wasn’t.
A low growl echoed through the trees.
“Ahead of us. Three hundred yards,” I whispered to the House Nin leader.
Far ahead of us, the Guardian emerged, its massive form long and distorted, weaving through the dense forest. It looked ragged. Its red ceremonial robe was ripped and covered in dirt. The Guardian was tired from fighting Waelid, Jiho, and the other recruits who had kept it busy. It hunched over, and its giant, ripped butterfly wings drooped weakly. It was ignorant of our presence.
“Now!” Piqah shouted.
Barrett and the House Nin recruits raised their heavy wooden branches and ran in a semicircle behind us, forming a protective wall, ready to jump in to replace anyone who fell. The creature heard this and turned its head. It let out a low gurgle and started to trudge toward us, dragging its long blade on the ground. It knocked over trees and rocks as it tumbled toward us in the forest. Luna and Sora grappled up to the trees where Luna could watch out for Waelid.
The House Enlil students rushed to the bushes on either side of us, ready to flank the creature when it got close.
Tevin, Mel, and I charged forward, following Piqah. The short, pink-haired girl sprinted forward and roared into her transformation. Her eyes glowed silver and her body grew. As her body changed, her feet thudded into the ground with a heavy weight. The spikes on her back shot out three feet long, and she charged toward the Guardian. I ran alongside her, drawing my sword and channeling the twin soul power for speed. I blazed across the ground and passed Piqah’s gorilla form. The world blurred, but my vision was focused on the Guardian. I raised my sword and sliced through the Guardian’s arm with ease. Black mist and dark purple blood spilled out from its severed stump. I turned, sliding in the dirt behind the tall beast, feeling victorious. But then, its arm bubbled, and a new arm shot out from where I cut through.
Damn, I should have cut its sword arm, I thought.
‘The sword we got,’ Fern noted. ‘It’s affecting it more than any other weapon before.’
Good, I thought, pressing the attack.
I charged back toward the Guardian as it turned toward me.
“Don’t forget about me!” Piqah bellowed as she slammed into the Guardian. It stumbled forward and twisted around to swipe back. Piqah was faster though and able to block the attack. I took the opportunity to run back in.
I landed another blow, this time across its chest. I was sprayed with hot purple blood before I kicked backward, jumping into the air toward safety. The Guardian shrieked and faced me. I gave Tevin a thumbs-up; he smiled as he and Mel slammed their sticks into the Guardian’s left leg.
The Guardian seemed unprepared for our continued assault after another scream. It buckled from Tevin’s blow and twisted to swipe at him. Before it could move its arm, Piqah jumped high into the air and slammed her giant arm into its shoulder. A softened thud shook the ground as it buckled to the ground. Mel jumped to the side and yelled as she swung her staff, shattering the wood into the Guardian’s face.
Oh! Damn! I thought.
We were doing it. This was our chance. I had to deliver the fatal cut.
I jumped high toward the beast and cleaved my sword down, the runes pulsing black light as it cut the beast down the middle. A shallow gap opened in the monster’s wide chest. I was hit with hot purple blood again, and for a brief second, I saw a boy inside the Guardian. He had clean black hair, and his eyes were closed. The boy wore red ceremonial robes, a smaller version of what the Guardian had on. The boy’s eyes opened quickly, and the Guardian’s body repaired instantly, closing the gap that showed the boy inside. The Guardian’s distorted face twisted violently, and its arms flailed, swinging its sword in chaotic directions. Its thrash threw off our assault.
I stumbled back, shocked. “There’s someone inside!”
“What?” Tevin shouted, dodging a swing from the Guardian.
Did you see that? I asked Fern.
‘I did,’ he replied. ‘This isn’t just a mindless beast.’
From above, movement caught my attention. Waelid stood on a tree branch, watching the battle with a smirk.
Our eyes met. His expression was cold, devoid of warmth.
“He’s waiting for something,” I muttered.
“Erik, focus!” Piqah shouted, narrowly avoiding a swipe from the Guardian.
Just then, a rumbling noise filled the air. Trees snapped as a massive reptile burst through the clearing.
A scrollguard, led by Silas, who was grappling forward, slid into the battlefield.
“This is what you were looking for, right, Erik?!” Silas yelled. I gave him a bright smile and a thumbs up.
“That’s what I’m talking about!”
The scrollguard looked confused before looking at the menacing Guardian. Then its primal senses kicked in, and the scrollguard realized it had a new challenger for its territory. The Guardian.
The two massive creatures clashed, shaking the ground. Shadows and thick green scales intertwined in a chaotic dance.
“Attack now!” I commanded.
We surged forward, targeting the Guardian while it was distracted by the giant lizard.
Jiho appeared on the battlefield, face tense.
“Can you transform?” Piqah shouted to Jiho in a distorted voice. Her gorilla form looked tired, and I could see her physically restrain herself from attacking any of the recruits.
“Nope, I’m spent!” Jiho shouted as he crept near Piqah.
“Yeah, I’m spent too,” Piqah said, and in a flash of steam, she transformed back to her human form. Sweat dripped off her forehead. “Guess we’re finishing this old school!” she said, charging back in with her staff.
We used the scrollguard as a distraction, just like Waelid used the students. The Guardian was the superior fighter as its blade pierced the green scales of the scrollguard with ease. But that was all we needed. The scrollguard threw itself on top of the Guardian as its last breath was driven out of it, and House Enlil took the opportunity they were given. They dove out of the forest and unleashed strikes against the back of the Guardian before running back out of range. It screeched and tried to strike them, but the scrollguard’s dying body was too heavy and held the Guardian down.
I looked up at Waelid, who stared down at us, but he didn’t move. Piqah dove in again to land a blow. Black mist and blood sprayed, but the body repaired. Tevin, Mel, and Jiho ran in next, crushed its elongated spine with their staffs, but its body repaired yet again.
This isn’t working. I need to end this. That person in there . . . they might be the key, I thought.
I ran in last, my sword’s black runes pulsing, and I thrust the blade into the Guardian’s heart. I felt my blade vibrate inside the Guardian’s body.
‘Die!’ Fern yelled.
I yelled as I ripped the blade up and cut the Guardian’s chest open. Inside like before, I saw the body of a young man. He glared at me and pointed.
“You, green hair, of course it’s . . . you. Cursed fates.”
I furrowed my eyebrows and didn’t hesitate. I pulled my blade back and lunged forward, piercing the young man’s heart. The Guardian fell limp. The young man disappeared in a mist, and the body did not repair again.
“We did it!” Silas yelled, now standing on top of the scrollguard. He held up the two scrolls. We had won the trial and killed a Guardian. We did the impossible. The recruits let out cheers. Piqah hopped up and jumped into Barrett’s arms and kissed him on the cheek. Mel stood on top of one of the Guardian’s massive legs and let out a howl like a wolf. Tevin laughed and howled too, mimicking her. The rest of our house joined in amid the cheers of the other houses. I was about to join them when I saw a shadow pass in front of me.
Waelid landed on top of the Guardian’s body, a satisfied grin on his face.
He held out a vial where the Guardian’s heart would be, and drops of black-and-purple blood fell into it.
I stepped forward. “What are you doing?”
He tucked the vial away. “Finishing the job,” he replied.
“You used us as bait earlier. You did nothing during the fight. Now you’re claiming its blood as your own trophy?” I accused.
He met my gaze. “I’d be careful who you accuse of what, Erik. Only the strong prevail. This vial isn’t for me; it’s for the academy. Guardian blood has never been acquired. I messed up the opportunity last time. I wouldn’t mess up again.”
Without another word, he stepped back into the forest. “I’ll go get the others. Get to the Mouth.”
I stood there, anger and confusion swirling inside me.
Luna approached. “Did you see it?” she asked. “The person inside?”
I nodded. “What exactly are the Guardians? And . . . who are you? How did you know about my plan with the scrollguard?”
She looked around at everyone gathering, celebrating our victory, then back at me and gave a small smile. “Not now. Maybe later. When you’re ready.” Then she walked back toward Sora.
There are so many red flags around that girl. What is her real goal? I wondered.
‘I don’t know, but I’m liking the more proactive side of her,’ Fern said. A warm flush came over my face, not from me, but from Fern.
Don’t get any ideas, Fern, no funny business while I’m in charge of this body.
Fern didn’t say anything, but I could practically feel his eyes rolling in my head.
As dawn’s first light peeked through the trees, I looked at my friends.
“Guys, let’s go. The rules say we need to be the first to get back down to win the trial,” Silas called out, urging the House Anu recruits to hurry.
“Hey now, hold it there, metal hand,” Piqah said with a smile. “You guys win this one, there’s no need to rush. We just took down a Guardian. This is huge news that will bring the Cinders back from their expeditions. You can have the early blood transfusion.” She looked back toward her house recruits. “My kids need a rest anyway.”
“What do you mean it will bring the Cinders back?” I asked.
“With the Summer Guardian killed and the Fall Guardian patrolling outside, that means the gate to the fifth floor is guarded by only two Guardians this time. Not three,” Piqah said. “This has never happened before in the history of the Cinders. This is the chance of a lifetime to breach beyond the fourth floor and into the fifth. The headmaster will need all Cinders to come back to Ash. It’s time we broke through the gate.”
‘What do we do about Waelid? What about that kid inside the Guardian? And what about our twin soul stuff?’ Fern murmured.
We have to do what Dog suggested. Do some research in the library. We’ll figure out the rest as it comes. But for now, we get a power-up. I clenched the blade in my hands. With this sword, and now the blood infusion as a reward, I was one step closer to reuniting with Noah and maybe getting my body back.
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