“Anyone know of a spell to knock out a troll?” I hoped unconsciousness would be sufficient. As gross as the creature was, the idea of killing it for sport made my stomach roll.
“Coming up blank,” Sam said, her teeth chattering.
“Same,” Andre agreed.
Oh my God, what’s the use of having third-years with us if they don’t know everything?!
I turned to Diana, who had remained oddly silent, and saw she was gritting her teeth so hard that the blood vessels in the side of her face were popping. My eyes shot to her arm, and I gasped. The gash there had widened and become puffy. Now her arm was the size of her thigh.
“Everyone circle up around Diana,” I said. “Diana, if you get a good shot, take it. Otherwise, do what you can to protect us.”
She jerked a nod, and we formed a ring of protection around her.
Since no one knew what they were doing, I prepared to take the first shot. Using techniques I’d learned in Battle Magic, I harnessed the prodigious fear and anger I was experiencing, and aimed it at the troll. Fuchsia magic burst from my hands, and slammed into his chest. The creature stopped dead in his tracks. He glanced down, and my gaze followed.
There was nothing there—not so much as a tiny cut. Apparently coming to the same conclusion, the troll released another roar and continued his charge.
“Crap,” I muttered. “We can keep pummeling him with Battle Magic, but unless you guys have some serious pent-up issues, I don’t know if that will work.”
“I don’t think it would, anyway,” Sam said. For the first time since we started this stupid event, her voice sounded strong and sure. “But I actually might have an idea. Andre, conjure me a blade.”
My eyebrows furrowed. As a Crucible student, she should be able to conjure a blade.
“I can do it,” Sam assured me, reading my expression. “But I’ll need every ounce of energy I possess to enact my plan.”
“What do you need us to do?” Andre asked, handing her a dagger.
“A troll’s skin is notoriously thick, which is why Odette’s magic wasn’t effective. I need you to distract him so I can latch on to his leg.”
My heart began to thunder. The freaking ground was shaking with the troll’s steps, and Sam wanted to ride its leg?
“Why?” I squeaked as I shot off another blast of magic, hoping to hold the beast off.
It slammed into his cheek, but didn’t do jack.
“So I can carve a rune into his skin,” Sam said. “It’s the only way.”
I decided to take her word for it, because the next moment, the troll was upon us, his stinky breath bearing down as he released a hair-raising roar. Andre and I flanked him and hurled beams of power one after the other to distract the beast. Diana remained just behind Sam, shooting magic at the creature when she could get a clear shot.
Sam, the crazy-ass girl, continued to inch closer to the troll. At one point, the troll lashed out at her, swinging his hand. By some miracle, she leapt out of the way and twirled to land behind his calf.
He noticed, but I spewed a blaze of fuchsia magic at him to distract him. It worked and the troll focused on me once again. He swiped at me. I darted backward just in time.
“Hurry, Sam!” Andre shouted, attacking the troll from the other side.
“I’m going! It’s got to be just right, and he keeps moving!”
A massive hand swung by me again, reminding me that I should be paying attention to the grunting beast and not Sam. Retreating faster this time, I came up against the body of the dead troll before spinning and slamming the living troll’s kneecap with another stream of magic. The troll roared and lurched at me.
My heart raced, and I turned to run, but like an idiot, I forgot where I was and tripped over the dead troll. My arm landed in its mouth, and when I tried to yank it back, it wouldn’t budge.
Crap, crap, crap!
I twisted and caught a flash of our opponent flying toward me. But before I could figure out a way to save myself, he slammed into my body, and my world went black.
Chapter Twenty-Six
My eyelids fluttered open.
