With her father's memory failing and her mother gone, Soraya Thenayu enrolls in distant Darkwood Academy and immediately becomes enemies with the richest kid at school. Between hiding her father's gift of illegally harvested magic, befriending socia...
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There's too many of them.
Rhys swung his unsheathed claws at another slave trader's legs and tore through his flesh. The man howled in pain, clutching his bleeding wound while falling onto the wooden planks beneath their feet, his club slipping from his blood soaked fingers and clattering onto the wooden floor.
The Shadelkin swiftly plucked the weapon from the ground and knocked the whimpering man out with it.
Can't have him attacking me from behind.
Rhys' head and limbs were growing heavy with sleep, yet he gritted his fangs together and fought on, pushing hard to resist the drugs Mrs. Demarko had slipped into his water. He glanced over his shoulder and saw both Moiya and Ujuu were staggering in their steps while helping Zaruna fight off another kidnapper.
The Rosinkin girl fought fiercely, valor fueling her jabs and swings with the club she had stolen. Although Zaruna hadn't had any of the drugged water, her movements were slowing due to fighting nonstop for so long. She narrowly dodged the net a man had tried throwing over her and shot the last bit of Fire Magic at him from her palm. The man screamed and writhed on the floor as his skin roasted instantly from the intense impact of heat.
"Rhys? Can you hear me?"
The Casmerahn boy heard the gentle voice creeping up in the back of his head and smiled. "Soraya, are you alright?" he whispered, keeping his voice down.
"Yes! Alizon turned into a demon, but Jon and I stopped him," Soraya's tone was concerned. "What's going on? Is something wrong with Jacquelle?"
Rhys' vision spun with each step forward he took. He was careful to avoid the bodies and puddles of blood lying around on the wooden floor.
"Jacquelle's mom poisoned her water bottle with something that knocked her out at the concert, while the rest of us were given drugs that kicked in later, so we'd have time to follow."
The boy stumbled slightly and cursed to himself. "Mrs. Demarko didn't need to kidnap all of us, she just needed to grab her own daughter. She knew we'd try to save her."
The Shadelkin glanced down the ship's hallway at a slave trader on the ground who had been skewered in the chest. "My father joined us and is scouting out ahead. He and Zaruna aren't drugged, thankfully, but the rest of us are feeling the effects kick in as we speak."
The boy knew that if it weren't for Mr. Leyo accompanying them in their rescue mission, they all would've been captured already. Rhys could hardly believe how amazing his father was in fighting off the crew with just his claws.
However, despite Myrl aiding them, everything had gone horribly wrong in a matter of minutes. Rhys filled Soraya in on how Mrs. Demarko had entered into a secluded area of Matumi Beach that was hidden behind tall wooden walls. She had been escorted by men with clubs, nets and magic while carrying her unconscious daughter.
That shady activity alone told Rhys they would be ambushed if they weren't careful, but he hadn't realized their drinks had also been spiked at the time.
Rhys glanced down at the ghost-like outlines of Water and Fire Magic on his wrist, so Soraya could see. "We all harvested magic from the crew, which helped keep us alive, but they didn't have a lot. My Dad and Zaruna can't win by themselves. Ujuu, Moiya and I are doing our best to stay awake, so we can save Jacquelle, but it won't be long before we pass out."
"Jon knows where that place is, we're on our way! Just hold on!" Soraya's pleading voice faded from Rhys' mind.
The Casmerahn boy prayed silently to the Gods for her and Jon to arrive quickly and for them all to escape together.
I hope Mom got a hold of the police.
Rhys knew it was a long shot to rely on them since they were probably still dealing with whatever catastrophe was going down at Darkwood Academy, but he had asked Ayla to call and inform them on the child abduction occurring in Matumi Beach.
The Casmerahn boy's thoughts were interrupted when his father, who was just a few steps ahead of him, ripped his sharp nails through another slave trader's chest.
"Son," Myrl tilted his head, indicating towards a locked door as he untangled himself from the dead man hanging from his claws. "I think Jacquelle is in there."
The group surrounded the door, waiting with bated breath as Rhys blasted it with his remaining Fire Magic. The wooden entrance burned to a crisp, and the boy showered it with the rest of his Water Magic, dousing the flames, so they could enter.
"Stop or I'll shoot!"
Everyone halted as Mrs. Demarko's shrill voice pierced through the air. The crazed, bloodthirsty woman stood in one corner, pointing a pistol at Jacquelle, who lay unconscious in her arm. A huge cage took up the other half of the room.
The group glared at the evil woman as she pointed at Rhys and Ujuu with a slender finger and pointed towards the open cell door. "The cat freak twins must go in there. Do it or she dies!"
Mryl stood stone faced, while Zaruna and Moiya's eyes filled with terror. Rhys and Ujuu shared a silent glance, then slowly walked towards the open cage.
"Don't hurt Jacquelle," Rhys growled while standing before the entrance. "She's your own daughter, what's wrong with you?"
Mrs. Demarko dug the pistol into the back of the blond's skull. "Just get in there or else!"
Zaruna took a step forward, but Mr. Leyo gently clasped onto her hand and shook his head. Ujuu glanced over his shoulder and mouthed, "I love you," to both of them before entering into the cell with his twin.
"It'll be okay," Rhys reassured his father, Moiya and Zaruna as Mrs. Demarko, still with her gun pointing at Jacquelle, swung the door shut and locked the cell door. "The police are on their way right now."
Jacquelle's mother blinked in surprise at the boy's words. "All of you, head towards the top of the ship," she switched from pointing the gun at her unconscious daughter to Moiya.
Rhys' blood ran cold. Come on, Soraya and Jon, please hurry!
The Shadelkin twins watched Myrl, Zaruna, and Moiya walk out the door with Mrs. Demarko in tow, keeping her pistol pointed at the Calgreneze-Azakuin girl's back. At the last second, she dropped Jacquelle to the floor and locked the cabin door behind her.
"Poor Jacquelle..." Rhys shook his spinning head and groaned in pain.
Ujuu leaned against one of the thick metal bars and slid down until he was sitting on the floor. "Soraya and Marlot will save us," he said, then flashed a weak smile at his brother while his body swayed back and forth. "I'm sure of it."
Rhys sighed, then bowed his head into his chest. "True, but we can't count on that. We have to make our own plan to escape..." He closed his drooping eyelids and finally surrendered to sleep.
