Feudlings (24 page)

“A ward. Someone created a ward powerful enough to keep the dorms safe.” Hunter pushed on the invisible wall once before he turned his attention back to the fight below, searching. Shane followed his gaze, and at first, he didn’t see them, the bright red flames he was searching for. But Hunter did. Without a word, he thrust his hand toward the fighting.

A dark robe sliced through the smoke and the burning spells, red sparks flying from hidden fingertips. Brighter and more powerful than anything else on the field below.

“The Prodigy is here.” Charity’s voice was raw, as she brought her shaking fists to her mouth. Even with the light from the colorful spells bouncing off her, she was still white.

“We can’t find Ari. She’s not in her room, and her phone is broken on the ground over there,” Shane said.

Hunter turned bewildered eyes on him. “The nightmare that has been hunting you your entire life is a hundred yards away and you’re worried about some stupid girl’s broken phone?”

Shane just stared at him, eyes wild with panic.

“Charity? Can you see her?” Hunter snapped, turning, searching her wide silver eyes.

She didn’t seem to hear him, staring down at the Prodigy. “He’s so powerful. Look at the way he moves,” she whispered.

Almost unwilling, Hunter and Shane again turned back to the battle. The Edren Prodigy was now surrounded in red-tinged smoke of his own making, but Hunter could see the spells burning into the air, right before they were pushed away with so much force its victims didn’t see them coming. Spells that came so fast and were thrown so quickly Hunter’s eyes burned with the effort of following them. Even Shane watched silently next to him, transfixed, his face as pale as Charity’s in the shifting blue and red firelight. The sound was muted, but Hunter could still hear the screaming anyway as spell after red Edren spell hit the Carules warriors.

And the spells the Prodigy used. They were unlike anything Hunter had ever seen. They could attack several warriors at once, and they were horrifying. Huge, fiery skeletal hands shot out from the Prodigy’s spells, chasing down Carules warriors and wrapping them in a tight grip, squeezing until there was nothing left. No escape.

And the other one, Hunter realized with a start, the gigantic canine monster. He
had
seen that one before, on the footage from the attack at the warehouse in New York. But here, in real life, it was so much more terrifying.

The Prodigy moved too fast. There was no getting out of the way, no escaping the spells he threw. Somehow, he was able to dodge everything the Carules managed to throw back, moving like lightning. One second he was there, and the next… just gone, and standing several feet away, in an even better position to attack. It was a hopeless battle.

It was apparent that they were losing, and Shane wasn’t surprised when the Carules warriors turned and fled. He expected the Prodigy to follow, especially when the other Edren warriors did, howling a horrible battle cry that reverberated even through the wards, pounding on Shane’s ears. The Edren Prodigy was insatiably bloodthirsty. He
should
have gone after them.

Instead, the Prodigy turned slowly, and though his face was hidden in the folds of his robe, Shane could feel his eyes on them. Of course. The Prodigy wouldn’t be here to fight the Carules warriors. He was here, hunting the one thing that stood in his way of ending the war and enslaving the Carules people.

“Shane! Get out of here
now
!” Hunter yelled, leaping toward Shane as Charity screamed, spinning in panic and running into her cousin. Shane didn’t move, his eyes brighter than normal as he stared back at the Prodigy, hands fisted at his sides. He raised his chin, ready to meet the oncoming challenge. “I know what you’re thinking. I want to stay and fight, too.” This
thing
below them had been a nightmare since they were too small to know what war was. If it was gone, if the war was over… “But Shane—” Hunter’s eyes dropped to Charity, trusting him to keep her safe. “Right now, Charity is not safe.”

Shane shook his head, trying to clear the need to fight, the desire that flowed through his brain like a drug.
Keep her safe.
But his blood boiled. It was as if he was drawn to the Prodigy below him. He started forward.

“Now is not the time for this!” Hunter bellowed. It wasn’t clear whether he was yelling at himself or Shane. Hunter tugged Charity to her feet with one hand, digging his phone out of his pocket with the other. Hitting speed dial, he screamed, “Burn a
saldepement
!” and traced the spell into the air.

The doorway shimmered open in front of him and he shoved Charity through, then whirled on Shane. He hadn’t moved, and Hunter cast a panicked look over his shoulder at the Edren Prodigy. He stood motionless on the lawns below, and then raised an arm. The wards in front of them shimmered and snapped, folding in on themselves until they were gone. “Shane!” Hunter spun around, getting in front of Shane and he dove, tackling him and knocking him through the portal and into the Council chambers beyond.

****

Ari saw that they were safe, but her mind was already racing ahead of her. She had to get rid of the robe first, and then she had to find a phone and call Will. He was probably losing his mind with worry. And Richard. She would have to call him too, since he had to have been the one to order the Edrens here.

She tore the robe off and tucked it under her arm as she ran to the dorms and up the stairs. The halls were empty; everyone was asleep, dreaming through the battle outside that had threatened to blow their whole pleasantly normal lives apart. The only sound was Ari’s pounding feet and ragged breathing.

She burst into her room, but Brittany didn't stir. That girl could sleep through a nuclear attack. It was just as well, since Ari needed to borrow her phone, and asking a sleeping Brittany was way easier than asking an awake Brittany.

She dropped to her knees and stashed the robe in her bag under the bed. She wanted to call Richard and find out who had ordered the Edrens to her school, although she was pretty positive it had been Will. For him to call Richard, he must have been incredibly worried. And to be that worried and not come himself… Ari's heart froze at the thought. If Will hadn't come, that meant something was wrong. He would have done everything in his power to get to her, Ari knew that. Yet he hadn't come.

So what had stopped him?

Chapter Eighteen

Shane sat up, rubbing the back of his head where Hunter had smacked it into the floor when he’d shoved him through the portal. “I wasn’t aware we were playing football tonight, Hunter,” he muttered, glaring.

Hunter pulled himself up with the help of a nearby chair, his eyes already searching for Charity, when another portal shimmered to life across the room. Two Carules warriors struggled through, dragging a furious Edren between them.

“Who is this?” Charles asked, walking up the aisle like he had all the time in the world. His gray suit was crisp and clean. Clearly, he hadn’t been involved in the fighting.

Shane frowned in disgust. Somehow, Charles was never involved in the fighting.

“An Edren we caught at the battle.” One man said. The other gasped, doubling over as his captive jabbed him viciously in the side with his elbow.

“You were there?” Charity asked, climbing to her feet and dusting herself off. She was still white, tremors shaking her slender frame. Her silver eyes were luminous in her pale face. Noticing Hunter’s stare, she hid her shaking hands behind her back and looked away.

“Yeah. We were doing pretty good too, until the Prodigy showed up. He had to have known we were coming before we got there. He was right
there
when it started,” the other warrior answered, jerking the Edren more securely into his grip as he dodged the man’s foot.

Shane jerked in response.
The Prodigy was right there…

But the captive Edren snarled just then, catching Shane’s attention. “We didn’t call our Prodigy. We didn’t need any help.”

“What caused you to show up there in the first place?” Charity asked, her voice soft as she moved across the aisle to stand next to Hunter.

“We were called to protect the Prodigy,” the Edren answered, almost seeming unable to help himself, eyeing Charity warily.

The Carules holding him frowned. “As were we.”

“Well, you were called to protect our Prodigy, but—” Charles started but Shane interrupted.

“Who ordered that?”

“I didn’t. I had no idea there was any trouble,” Charles said, holding up two hands and taking several steps back as if he expected Shane to throw a spell at him right there.

“So someone knew our Prodigy was in trouble. And the Edren Prodigy knew his team was in trouble before they were even
in
trouble. How could that be?” Charity asked. She met Hunter’s gaze with a frown.

“We need to go back,” Shane said, striding toward the portal.

“What? Are you insane?” Hunter snatched Shane’s arm. Charles too, had gasped behind them, and Charity chewed her lip. Shane shook Hunter off, turning on him.

“Yeah, Hunter. I’m insane. I just let you knock me through a portal when the Prodigy is
right there
at our school!”

“Okay, Shane, I know you’re worried about Ari, but—”

“This isn’t about Ari, Hunter,” Shane snapped, cutting him off. “This is about ending the war. And we do it tonight.”

Charles stepped between them, glancing from one to the other. “Shane, that isn’t a good idea. You aren’t trained to—”

Again Shane jumped in, waving Charles out of the way and facing Hunter again. Charles’ opinion had ceased to matter to him. All he needed was Hunter, and he knew it. “I know I’m not trained enough to go up against the Edren Prodigy. I just watched him slaughter ten of our warriors with one spell. I can’t do that, and I’m not stupid enough to think I can.”

“Okay, so what are you thinking?” Hunter asked, also ignoring Charles’ attempts to argue with Shane.

“We’ll set a trap. No one escapes my traps. I have the most powerful wards in the world,” Shane said.

Understanding dawned, and Hunter’s face lit up in an uncharacteristically cruel smile. “If you set a trap you’re going to need bait.” Both boys looked at the Edren across the room.

“Shane, I don’t like this,” Charity said. She had given up chewing on her lip and was now nibbling on her thumb nail.

“Sabine!” Charles called, and Hunter spun toward the back of the room, where the Council’s favorite Seer sat in the shadows. He could just see her glowing eyes. “What do you see?” Charles asked.

“Nothing, Charles. Where the Prodigy is involved, I see nothing.”

“But I…” Charity started, but Charles stopped her with a raised hand.

“I know you want to help, Ms. Delyle, but if Sabine can’t see anything, I don’t expect you to.” His tone was mocking, as if the idea was ridiculous. Charity looked down at the floor, knotting her hands, her fair cheeks coloring.

“You don’t expect much of anyone who has the ability to end this war,” Shane said coldly.

Hunter curled his fists and took a menacing step toward Charles. “You forget it was Charity that saved us in Adlington, not Sabine.”

Charles stumbled back, his eyebrows raised in shock. Charity grabbed Hunter’s arm and shook her head. Jaw clenched, he sent Charity an apologetic look and turned to the Edren across the room. “Edren, what’s your name?” he called. The captive answered him with a savage glare.

“His name is Antonio,” Sabine said, her voice lilting from the shadows.

“We’ll need him.” Hunter jerked his chin toward Antonio, who resumed struggling.

“Don’t worry. We’re going to give you a fighting chance,” Shane said coldly.

****

Ari scrambled to her feet and, with another hasty glance at Brittany, she hurried to the desk and started searching the drawers for the phone. It wasn't there. She cast a desperate look around the room when something out the window caught her eye.

Blue.

And red.

Spell smoke was wafting through the halls of the school. She could see it through all the windows. She squinted, trying to see through the dirty school windows, and stumbled backward as she realized the blue smoke wasn't any normal Carules magic. It was bright blue, metallic, like Shane's eyes.

He was being attacked. Shane was in trouble, and if he was in trouble, Charity and Hunter were there with him.

Ari tried to reason with herself as she bolted out the door and toward the school. Shane was a Prodigy just like her, and he could handle himself. But she had fought him; she knew he was untrained, and she knew he wasn’t as powerful as she was. He might not be killed, but he
could
be hurt, and she couldn't let that happen. Swallowing her panic, she lengthened her stride and sped across the lawns.

****

"Trap ready?" Hunter’s voice, cold and detached, snaked through the darkness. He was scared. Shane couldn't hear it, but he could feel it emanating from him. They had fought the Prodigy before and lost.

This time, there would be no fight. He would trap the Prodigy and then kill him, before the Prodigy even had a chance to fight back. It would all end tonight.

They stood at the bottom of the stairs. The plan was brilliantly simple. The traps sat on the second floor, above Shane and Charity, who both waited on the first floor. Hunter stood in the shadows of the third floor stairwell. The Prodigy wouldn't have a clear shot at any of them from the second floor hallway.

Shane's most powerful Carules wards shimmered as he created them, appearing as a box with the back side missing, and then fading into an invisible wall. As soon as the Prodigy got to the edge of the stairs, Shane would create another ward and trap him in the wards.

They had fought with the captive Edren from the second floor of the school and ended here, leaving a perfect magical trail for Prodigy to follow. "The wards are ready. Come on, Edren.
Antonio.
Aren't you going to protect yourself?" Shane taunted Antonio, who was staring him down from across the room, his arms folded across his chest.