Apris Academy

17. New Year's Night, Part II

From the perspective of Diana.

It feels like we've been dancing for days. I'm drunk on music and flashing lights and Aiko's lips pressed against mine.

We're getting punch from the snack stand when Theo comes bursting through the doors. He runs up to me and whispers in my ear, "Follow me!"

I look to Aiko, then back at Theo. He pulls me through the doors, leading me out into the night air. Aiko is beside me, her black hair blowing in the wind.

We run down to the beach, the moonlight guiding our feet over the ice. Theo stops in front of a body.

I kneel beside it, studying its face. It's a girl. My sister. Christina.

How is she here? How did she get here?

Is she still alive?

These thoughts tear through my brain as I listen for my sister's exhale. She's barely breathing.

"Christina?" I say quietly. Her eyes open, just a little.

"Help... me..." she says, then closes her eyes again. I prop her head on my lap and brush her hair back. It's dripping wet, and her face is bruised and scratched. Blood trickles down her cheeks, coloring the ice beneath me.

"Can't you do something?" Theo's voice is urgent. "Don't you have healing magic?"

I look desperately into my sister's eyes, willing them to open. "I can't heal people with my magic... I can only change their emotions."

"Well, we have to do something!" Theo stands up and looks out at the ocean. I can see Aiko standing behind him, unsure what to do.

"We could take her to the nurse," she suggests, her voice higher than normal.

"No, we can't!" Theo says, turning to face Aiko. "She's literally charged with murder. We need to hide her somewhere!"

I step between him and Aiko, putting my hands out to stop him from getting any closer. "Theo, calm down! I know where to hide her."

Theo walks over to Christina and pulls her into his arms.

"Where?" he asks.

***

I'm walking in the dark, leading Theo and Aiko through the dungeons. It's silent, except for the sound of footsteps on stone. The only lights to guide us are the flames from the torches built into the wall.

Theo is carrying Christina, whispering something into her ear. I have no idea where Aiko is until I feel her hand clasp mine.

We arrive at a cell. I pull one of the torches off the wall, illuminating the small room. There's a shabby cot in one of the corners and a lump of dead mice in the other.

Theo lays Christina down on the cot, gently placing a woolen blanket over her body. Christina is silent, but still breathing.

"What do we do now?" Aiko asks quietly.

Theo shakes his head. "I don't know."

A silence falls over us, fragile yet intense. Theo looks like he could shatter at the lightest touch.

"I could sneak into the nurse's office," I say, blurting the first thing that came to my mind.

Aiko looks at me, her eyes wide with shock. "What if we get caught?"

I look down at my sister. Her lips are almost blue, and she's barely breathing anymore.

"It's worth it," I say. Theo looks up at me, and I can see tears in his eyes. I turn around to leave.

"Wait," Aiko says. I turn around to face her. "I'm coming, too."

From the perspective of Theo.

Aiko and Diana are gone, along with the only light source I have. I sit on the stone floor in total and absolute darkness.

"I'm watching you."

A voice rasps to me in the dark, inches away from my neck. I can feel cold breath on my skin, the presence of something black-hearted and rotting.

My eyes search the darkness, desperate to find a body. A face. Anything to prove this voice has a shape. Because if it did, I have a chance against it.

But there's nothing. All I have right now is complete darkness. I can't even see my own shaking hand.

"I know your name," the formless voice says. The sound crawls through my ear and reverberates down my spine, filling every part of me. "I know her name, too." I reach my arm out to Christina, my only reminder of what's real. But she's not there. All I feel is empty and open space.

A rotting hand slips around my neck, shooting an icy chill through my flesh. I try to breathe, try to grasp the smallest breath, but I'm suffocating.

"You won't be able to heal her. Nothing will work."

"You'll try everything under the sun, and then she'll die. She'll be gone forever."

A quiet sob escapes me, echoing in the darkness.

"But I can stop that. I can save her."

"For you."

The clenched hand around me releases, and I slump to the ground. I can feel cold, hard stone against my cheek.

The voice fades into the distance.

And I'm alone, laying on this slab of rock, floating in the endless void between death and Hell.