Page 36 of Darkness and Deceit (Obsidian Academy #2)

Thirty-Three

VAUGHN

Screaming erupts like a warning bell through the academy.

One second Bennett is droning on, the next… chaos. It happens instantly, like a fist punching through the walls of reality, leaving an open wound in its wake.

I leap from my seat and dash for the door, my heart pounding in my chest.

Kai is ahead of me, as always. He moves like he’s been waiting for this exact disaster, hand curled white-knuckled around the door’s brass handle. He wrenches it open so hard the entire frame shudders, and the hollow bang as the door slams back against the wall echoes down the hallway.

Simon is two steps behind him, muttering curses that have less to do with magic and more to do with how the universe has once again decided to fuck us over.

Between the three of us, there’s an instinctive pull to move, to act, to find her.

Because if I know anything by now, it’s that when shit goes down, it probably has something to do with Lilith.

But when the door opens, the hallway is gone.

Not empty— gone.

In its place is something darker than dark. A living void. A tide of black that pulses as if infused with a heartbeat of its own.

This darkness doesn’t swirl or billow like smoke caught in a gentle breeze. It doesn’t drift lazily or dissipate. Instead, it flows with purpose. It’s thick like ink pouring from a shattered bottle, swallowing everything in its path.

Kai doesn’t hesitate. “Hello, darkness,” he whispers, almost reverent, and the fucking thing parts for him. Just a ripple, as if the inky blackness recognizes something in him and allows it through.

Crazy fucking bastard.

Simon follows with a curse, and despite every instinct in me howling, I’m right behind.

Because Lilith is out there somewhere. Alone. We have to get to her.

But the corridor isn’t a corridor; it’s the idea of a corridor, blurred and shifting. One second I feel stone under my boots, the next it’s slippery and frictionless, the next it’s sticky and sucking at my feet like half-set glue.

The darkness is thicker upstairs. It clings to us, tugging at our limbs, slowing our stride.

Twice, Simon nearly goes down, barely catching himself.

The second time, a strand of the void wraps around his arm, and when he yanks free, there’s a slather of black residue left behind, glimmering like tar.

The wards should’ve held. Everyone keeps saying that.

But they weren’t just broken—they were rewritten. The sigils on the walls melt like wax, curling into runes I’ve never seen.

Whatever this thing is, it’s not just getting through the defenses.

It’s replacing them.

“Lilith!” I shout her name, but the sound dies as soon as it leaves my lips. Like the air smothered my yell. I try again, but it’s like I’m underwater. The sound doesn't go anywhere. It just dies.

All the while, my brain’s spiraling—where would she go, what would she do, is she fighting or?—

No.

I shut that thought down hard.

I can’t go there. Can’t picture her scared, alone, broken. If I do, that’s it—I’m done. I’ll fall to my knees and won’t get back up.

So I don’t think. I run.

I’m the first to see the flicker of violet, barely more than a blink of light. It’s so brief that I can’t be sure it’s not a trick of the eyes.

It flashes again. Then it’s gone.

I sprint harder. Doesn’t matter if the path beneath me feels like it’s shifting—stone, glass, glue. I don’t stop. I don’t look back. If Simon or Kai are keeping up, great. If they’re not, they’ll catch up. I have one goal, and it’s to get to her.

The light flashes, closer this time.

Adrenaline hits me like a gut punch. I don’t care if it’s a trap, don’t care if it’s a lie. I need it to be her.

I reach for it, fingers outstretched.

And then it vanishes.

The darkness pulls back without warning. No bang, no crash—just… gone. Like it was never here. The hallway snaps back into place, bright and too sharp, like someone flipped the lights on in a nightmare.

But it’s not over.

Because now, everything’s too normal.

The floor is clean. No cracks. No scorch marks or blood. There’s no signs that anything ever came through here at all.

Except us.

The other students look shell shocked. A Prey near the stairwell is crying so hard she can’t breathe. Someone else is picking up books with shaking hands. No one’s saying a word.

And Lilith still isn’t here.

I tear down the corridor, heart hammering, boots pounding against stone. My chest is tight. My legs are screaming. I don’t give a shit.

I hit the next hallway and cut right—east wing. Old. Barely used. But it’s near the outer edge. If she was trying to get away, or trying to get a better look at what was coming, she’d go this way.

It’s what I’d do.

“Lilith!” I yell, voice cracking. “Fox! Where are you?”

At the far end of the dimly lit hall, my eyes catch sight of an old window. Its glass is warped and rippled with age, distorting everything beyond it like a wavering mirage. The sill is thick with dust, a testament to years of neglect.

I slam my hands against the cold, unyielding stone frame and lean forward to peer through the glass.

And that’s when I see them.

Rogues.

Thousands of them, stretching as far as the eye can see. They stand eerily still, like statues frozen in time, lined up in perfect, unnatural rows.

Their eyes—glowing, unblinking—dot the landscape like stars in a dead sky, watching. Waiting.

As if they’ve already marked their prey.

And that prey… is us.

They don’t lunge.

They don’t growl, snarl, or screech like they usually do.

They just wait.

And somehow, that’s worse.

If they’ve already taken her?—

Then I’ll make sure they regret crawling out of the dark.