Page 46 of Immortal Consequences (The Souls of Blackwood Academy #1)

And, more importantly, he refused to leave Olivier alone.

They approached the commotion and looked up toward thesky.

“There,” Emilio muttered. “I see it.”

The creature appeared to be made from shadows, an undulating darkness that ebbed and flowed, as if every particle were alive and breathing.

It had no discernible features—no face or eyes or mouth.

But it had long, pointed claws and dragon-like wings that appeared to go on endlessly, feathering up toward the sky in thick black waves.

Irene and Masika had wounded the creature, though not nearly enough to incapacitate it completely. As if hearing Emilio’s thoughts, the creature dove again, straight toward the wooden shed where Emilio knew Irene and Masika were hiding.

Before it could reach them, a shard of light erupted from the ground and the creature shrieked, swooping back up toward thesky.

“Cover me,” Olivier instructed, crouching closer to the ground. He pressed his palms together and closed his eyes, brows furrowing in concentration. As he pulled his hands apart, silver shards of magic vibrated in the space between his palms, growing with intensity.

He didn’t miss. The spell went straight through the creature, right through its center.

It let out another resounding shriek, whirling toward them.

Emilio shuddered. “Now what?”

“Now”—Olivier let out a nervous chuckle, swaying slightly—“we run.”

They darted to the left, beckoning the creature toward them in an effort to give Irene and Masika enough time to counter with another attack.

Emilio glanced over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the shadowy creature as it bent its neck backward and let out a furious shriek.

He prepared himself, allowing the familiar essence of magic to flow through him, the particles drifting through his veins and toward his fingertips.

But the creature was faster than they anticipated.

“Emilio! Behind you!”

An overwhelming pressure dug into his temples and filled his skull with a disorienting wave of darkness that caused him to stagger forward, dropping to his knees.

Olivier was shouting something, his name maybe, though Emilio could barely hear over the ringing in his ears. He squinted, trying to make out the words on Olivier’s lips, but his vision began to fade, the world around him growing more blurred by the second.

He could hear a voice calling out to him, but it wasn’t Olivier.

It was his mother. The tender, soft-spoken murmur of her words washed over him like a weighted blanket, pulling him under, beckoning him closer.

But it couldn’t really be her, could it?

Emilio tried to fight it, to shut himself off, but her voice only grew louder, more inviting.

Emilio…come home.

His hands slammed against the ground beneath him. Fingers digging into the cold dirt.

In front of him, Olivier gritted his teeth, extending his hands toward the ground.

The earth rumbled. Shards of green light ran through his veins, shooting out of his fingers.

And then in one sudden swoop, the ground beneath Emilio shifted and he shot forward, straight toward Olivier, and the suffocating pressure vanished in an instant. His mother’s voice gone.

Olivier locked his arm tightly around Emilio’s waist, dragging him backward.

“Are—are you hurt?” he breathed out, voice shaking. Olivier’s skin was dotted with sweat, his body clearly exhausted from using so much magic.

Emilio steadied himself on his feet. “I don’t think so.”

The creature crouched in front of them, circling, letting out a horrible high-pitched shriek. And then the most peculiar thing happened—the shadow began to spread, multiplying, until the singular shadow had transformed into at least a dozen of the same creature.

They were surrounded.

Olivier pressed his back against Emilio, silver light sprouting from his fingertips. Emilio created a tornado of air in his own hands. They moved in slow circles, back to back, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Seems like we’re in a bit of a bind, my love.” Olivier chuckled. “Though I suppose I’ve been in far worse predicaments. At least you’re here with me this time.”

He reached down with one hand, pressing his palm against Emilio’s forearm, and gave it an affirming squeeze.

Something twisted in Emilio’s throat, an immovable knot, and he stretched his own hand down, motivated by a swell of bravery.

Olivier’s palm pressed against his and they threaded their fingers together.

Warmth spread through Emilio, traveling up his chest and coiling around his throat.

Olivier had a point.

There were far, far worse ways to go.

Emilio shut his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable shock of pain…but it never came.

When he opened his eyes, he realized why.

Masika and Irene had come sprinting from the shed, throwing themselves right into the middle of the fight, the two of them a blur of vicious magic.

Masika stretched her hand out, releasing a gust of wind that sent a cluster of the creatures soaring in the air.

Next to her, Irene summoned a surge of fire, scorching the creature closest to her with a whip made entirely of flames.

Not half a second later, she shifted her stance and faced another creature, flicking her wrist and ripping it in half.

“You came back,” Emilio gasped, still a bit stunned to find that he was, in fact, conscious and breathing.

Masika looked up at him and winked, a coy smile on her lips.

“Well”—she shrugged, slightly out of breath—“ someone had to get the two of you out of this mess.”

Olivier sighed. “I could absolutely kiss you right now.”

“Hey!” Irene shouted, motioning toward Olivier and Emilio. “If you really want to thank us, how about you make yourselves useful!”

“Right.” Olivier cleared his throat, facing the creature in front of him with a nervous chuckle.

Despite his palpable exhaustion, he lowered his hand to the ground, his attention focusing on a nearby tree root until it lifted itself from the dirt.

It twisted left and right under Olivier’s control before he sent it flying toward one of the creatures, attempting to wrap the root around its torso.

Olivier gritted his teeth as the creature dodged his attack at the last second. “ Dammit. These ugly bastards are faster than theylook.”

“Where the hell is August?” Masika shouted, hands crafting a defensive barrier around them.

“Maybe he got caught,” Emilio suggested. “He did say he was going to take Wren back to Pettyworth.”

“Or he could have run out of his spacial reserve,” added Olivier, who was still struggling to latch onto one of the creatures. “If he had to walk all the way from Pettyworth, it could take him a while to get here.”

“ Or …he left us,” Irene sneered. “Just like I knew he would.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Olivier snapped back. When no one else chimed in, he glanced around with a helpless look in his eyes. “Right?”

The four of them went silent.

“I have a potential theory that might help,” Emilio said, looking among the group warily. “But I could be wrong.”

“Well,” Masika said, “considering the horde of shadow creatures currently circling us, I’m all ears.”

“The original creature was much larger than this, right? It looked different. Felt more alive.” Emilio’s voice wavered as the others listened.

“What if these smaller versions aren’t real?

Just an illusion the real creature is projecting to distract us while it went looking for August and Wren.

” He sighed when he clocked the confusion on their faces.

“Think about it. We’re totally outnumbered, yet we’re the only ones attacking. They’re just circling us. Look. ”

He was right. The creatures continued to surround them, but they didn’t move closer.

“Because if they’re surface illusions, they can’t actually hurt us,” Olivier whispered, letting his control on the tree root drop. “It’s how we confused the creature in the maze. By replicating Irene.”

Emilio nodded. “Exactly.”

“And how do you suggest we test this theory?” Masika asked.

“Well…” Emilio scratched the back of his neck. “I guess we try to make a run for it. If we run right through them, then I was right. They’re illusions. Nothing but smoke and magic.”

Irene stepped forward. “And if they’re not?”

He shrugged. “Then we cross that bridge when we get there.”

It wasn’t a plan. Not even half a plan. But it was all they had.

Masika let out a shaky breath. “I say we go for it.”

The four of them exchanged nods. A moment of hesitation stretched before them.

And then they started running.

Emilio braced himself as he approached the first shadow creature, holding his breath.

To his immense relief, he ran straight through the creature, the edges disintegrating before his very eyes. He was on the other side of it now, running through shadow after shadow as if they were nothing but vapor and air.

He had been right.

Emilio watched the realization wash over the faces of the others as they ran beside him.

“You brilliant idiot!” Irene screamed, a smile on her face.

Olivier let out a joyous cackle of laughter, wrapping his arm over Emilio’s shoulders, nearly toppling him to the ground.

Masika seemed relieved, the corners of her lips lifting into the hint of a smirk.

They were almost at the main grounds that led toward the first set of dorms when something shrieked above them.

The shadow creature.

The real one.

“Shit.” Irene produced shards of silver light from her fingertips. “It found us!”

Olivier glanced up, the smile on his lips vanishing. The four of them came to a sudden halt, frozen in place. The shadow began to descend upon them, its wings spreading far enough to envelop them completely.

“Get down!” Masika bellowed.

They flung themselves onto the ground. Emilio shielded the back of his head with his hands, pressing his cheek against the cold grass as he shut his eyes and braced himself.

He waited. He waited for the suffocating darkness, for the smothering pressure, but it never came.

When he opened his eyes, it was to the image of a blinding white light shooting toward the creature, shielding them from its pointed claws.

It wasn’t until he gathered himself up onto his elbows that he noticed August standing a few yards away, hands extended, the particles of magic enveloping him in a brilliant halo.

August let out a hoarse scream and stretched the light out farther.

The creature howled, pushing against the protective barrier.

Terror unfurled in Emilio’s chest. It won’t hold.

August was exhausted, nearly depleted from his trip into the Ether.

He would never be able to stop this creature on his own.

But then a secondary burst of magic exploded from behind August—a swirling wave of shadows that crashed against the creature and caused it to implode, dissolving into nothing but ash.

The particles rained down upon them, coating Emilio’s skin in soot. The others looked up, their faces riddled with confusion. August seemed equally startled as he reached out his hand, catching the flakes of ash in his palm.

Emilio was about to speak when something behind August’s shoulder caught his eye.

Not something… someone.

A collective gasp sprang from the group when the realization dawned on them. Because standing right behind August, surrounded by the residual cloud of shadow magic, was Louise, white-faced and shaken.

Her lips quivered as she looked down at her palms and realized what she had done.

Her knees buckled. Her eyes rolled back into her head.

August reached out and caught her just in time, her body slumping in his arms.

It was in that same moment that a swirling cloud of smoke appeared, along with a dizzying swell of power, and then Headmaster Silas was standing before them. He looked around the group with wide eyes, his face a clouded mask of unreadable emotions.

“Well…” He cleared his throat. “I suppose it’s best if you all follow me.”