The news ran rampant through the College of Advanced Mage Arts: there was a demon in the gymnasium. Students evacuated the area, congesting the halls with a tumult of people, strobing lights, and blaring alarms. Sebastian could hardly think in the cacophony, which was probably how he managed to wade so calmly against the
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Never thought I’d die on a fishing boat. Don’t know why. Then again, never thought I’d be finding m’self fishin’ for Merithian sardines, either. Horrid things, make no mistake. An’ if you get ’em riled enough, their frenzied numbers can sink ships faster than wreckin’ on a reef.
I stare over the bow
Oh, schni—!
An explosion rattled the keep. Smoke slammed into the stone walls and bounced back in scrolling curls, blocking out the daylight peeking through the windows. Coughing, Athelbert heaved open the iron-studded door of the wizard’s study and stumbled into the corridor.
The smoke poured out after him, filling the air
The carriage arrived late in the afternoon, but Sebastian didn’t get out right away. He peered through the frosted glass at the house, its cobblestone siding glowing in the sunset. Candles flickered in the snow laden windows like watchful eyes.
Sebastian glanced at the paper on the bench beside him. The dreaded “yellow slip”
Vermont sunshine lights up the blooming forsythia like neon as I pull into the driveway. Back when I was a kid, I thought those bushes were magical—fairy torches or some such nonsense. Now they remind me of something else.
“…last known location.” Agent Vex’s voice fizzles over the intercom, but I haven’t
“Why do I always get myself dragged into these things?” Skeer picked another cricket out of his hair. “What were you, cable-knit cardigan or itchy turtleneck?”
The cricket didn’t answer, of course. It jumped out of his hand to join the scores of others crawling about in the dandelions.
Kurt fastened the Valor in Combat medal to the lapel of Sebastian’s uniform, its gold reflecting afternoon sunlight from the dorm window. “Good grief. Don’t you look all posh now?”
“Whatever,” Sebastian scoffed. “You should’ve gotten one, too.”
Kurt laughed and pointed out the ebon horns sprouting from his mop of pale hair.
The earth trembled against the pressure of the Abyssal Rift. Writhing arms of darkness spewed from the gaping hole in the pavement, blackening the sky and blending with the smoke billowing up from the burning town. The Voidborne prowled the desecrated streets, ripping apart buildings and choking the air with fear and visceral hatred.
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