We faced off at the opposite ends of the long room, and when Alex gave the signal, we charged at each other. I shot off an array of magic. But no matter how strong the intentions or emotions I channeled were, my magic was always weaker in appearance than the vivid sunshine yellow beams, crimson tendrils, and green waves of smoke that my friends produced. It was like my power was less vibrant; watercolors versus acrylics.
Hunter was doing most of the work of advancing our team toward the cup, which meant we were moving slower than our opponents.
Why am I always freaking behind?
Annoyance bubbled in me, and my teeth ground together. Harnessing that emotion, I shot a beam of power straight at Alex.
It hit, but instead of searing his skin like I’d intended, it absorbed, and he kept moving.
I pressed my lips together and threw off another bloom of magic, this one directed at Eva. She deflected it with an easy wave of her hand, yellow energy washing away pink.
Ugh! What the freaking hell is wrong with—crap!I fumbled and caught myself before I hit the ground. When I looked back up, I cringed, as a stream of crimson magic slammed Hunter square in the chest.
“No!” I yelped as he fell to the ground about fifteen feet from the cup, and full-on convulsions began to wrack his body.
He released a long moan, and I rushed over to him.
Surprisingly, Eva and Alex stopped advancing toward the cup. I furrowed my eyebrows. Why wouldn’t they just go for it? Nothing was off limits, and we had an infirmary down the hall skilled in healing injuries that students inflicted on each other. Then again, Hunter’s screams sounded pretty terrible. Or were Alex and Eva waiting until I exposed myself, to incapacitate me too?
Whatever their diabolical plan, I couldn’t help but drop to my knees at Hunter’s side.
“Are you okay?”
Still convulsing, Hunter’s lips quirked up, and he winked. “We’re so close. Get the prize while they still think I’m dying.”
I snorted.Oh my God.He was freaking brilliant—and a good actor too.
“You got it,” I whispered.
I leapt up, twirling as I moved, a victorious grin on my face.
And then I ran straight into a demon.
A shriek ripped up my throat, and I leapt backward, over Hunter. But before I’d gone more than a few feet, Hunter began screaming.
Oh shit! The demon’s going for him!
Twirling around, I saw the demon leaning over Hunter, his teeth exposed. My hands thrust outward. “Nex!” I screamed.
Pink magic trickled from me, but as the demon’s mouth lowered closer to my partner, it transformed as if someone had turned a hose on full blast.
And it shot straight at the monster.
The creature exploded on the spot, and I heaved a massive breath. My heart rate began to slow, and I refocused on Hunter.
It took me only a few seconds to deduce that something was off. Where was the inky blood or the goopy guts that had covered him the last time we’d faced a demon? And how the hell had one gotten inside Spellcasters?
A slow clap began, and realization dawned over me. I whipped around to find Alex and Eva beaming.
“Which one of you assholes conjured that?” I pointed to the spot where the demon had been.
“We did it together,” Eva said, pride in her voice, although her expression of joy had dimmed. “We thought, if we reproduced your Samhain Trial—”
“That you could give me a freaking heart attack!” I threw my arms in the air. “Mission accomplished.”
I stalked to the other side of the room, slid down the wall, and flung my head into my arms.What the actual hell? Did this exercise just prove that I need to face off with an evil demon for my magic to work?
Soft footsteps followed me, and I knew without looking who they belonged to. A few irregular heartbeats later, Alex slid down the wall to sit beside me. Still I didn’t lift my head.
