GLASS || The Catalysts Series, #1

XII || Lucifer

Four shadows descend from their position above. They are, Lena realises, the very source of the explosion. If it weren't for Casper grinning and stating this might turn the tables for them, she might be worried that they'll add on to their piling troubles. They don't seem like people to cross, especially from the explosion alone.

Should Lena be glad for for the fact that her heart doesn't exactly pound three times faster than a bullet train now when things suddenly appear over the horizon? She'll have to put that answer on hold.

Lena makes out the silhouettes that are drawing closer into view: a boy with dark blue hair and what seems like a permanent scowl on his face, a really short girl with long, curly blonde hair shouldering a rectangular box too large for her frame, a boy with slightly gelled, slicked back dark hair and attractive stormy grey eyes. And, finally, a familiar handsome face she recognises as Roen.

"Roen?"

"The one and only." He flashes his all-too-perfect smile. "What did we miss?"

"Nice of you four to finally drop in," Casper says. For once, Lena finds him happy — he isn't at all complaining. "Where were you?"

Roen shrugs. "Knocked out cold, no idea how. Woke up and found ourselves trapped in some invisible box."

"What the heck is this!" The boy with dark blue hair yells, looking around. "It's annoying!"

"Well, until Nova got us out."

Reyes laughs, running around poking the four, who just seem to be so used to it that they ignore him. "Well, you can't keep the four cards in the box forever."

"Lena," Neesha says gently, noting her confusion, "they are the top four students of our grade."

"Top four... Oh," she says stupidly, clearly fascinated.

"Well, besides Caelus, of course," Roen clarifies. "Nobody can beat that guy — he's unrivalled."

"I CAN! UNRIVALLED?! THEN WHAT AM I? I AM HIS RIVAL!" the blue haired guy — his name is Nova? How ironic — yells yet again, so loud that Lena drops something she's been clutching in her hands. Something she hasn't even realised was out from her pocket in her time of nervousness and anxiety. Before anyone can see, she picks up the two pieces of glass shard that has broken from the impact, and hides them behind her back.

Stupid. It's broken. Well, now'a not the best time to be thinking about a pitiful 'weapon' that serves to be Lena's comfort — maybe because her abilities have to do with glass, she foolishly thinks she can be safer with a shard of glass with her all the time.

Thankfully, no one notices her little gestures.

The yelling boy strides over. He glares at Roen. "YOU! Can't deliver a proper introduction? Everyone knows I'm his rival!"

The girl and the dark-haired boy behind exchange a look, then sigh. Roen, too, stares unblinking back at the crazy boy before him. "Uh, also, he wouldn't stop yelling," he clarifies.

"What the heck is happening here?!"

"Um, we're stuck with a makeshift Grand Canyon, built using Arcane Academy," Lena points out, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

Why does he keep shouting? She makes a note to stay away from guys like him. Nova is the top of the list now. This is surprising, the fact that Lena has hardly met anyone whom she will want to avoid... Well, other than Azalea, of course. For now.

"What?! What are you taking about? Wait, who are you?" He is pointing directly at Lena, and before she can answer, he points to each of the others — Neesha, Fai, Reyes, Casper, Bellona — except the other three he appeared with. It seems like his big shouting head doesn't recognise anyone at all, not only Lena, the new girl.

Lena rolls her eyes, but states it anyway, "I'm new."

He quirks an eyebrow, not quite joking. "Really?"

The short girl slaps his arm, hard. "Stupid! Nova, you've got to start noticing things other than power. And, oh, my God. Shut up for once, will you?!"

Nova frowns and rubs his hand over his dark blue hair and messes it up, agitated. "Whatever."

The girl pushes him aside, beaming at Lena. Her eyes are amber, bright like her golden blonde hair cascading around her small, seemingly fragile body. Uneven freckles splatter her sun-touched, cute face. "Hi. We don't get new students very often this time around. First day?"

"Tell me about it." Lena sighs, gesturing around.

She giggles, shaking Lena's hand too quickly and too much. "I'm Kestrel, you'll love it here! Um, this is Nova, that shouting guy. And that handsome one there is Everett. I believe you've met Roen."

Lena has thought by "that handsome one" Kestrel means Roen. But as she beckons for the half messy, half perfectly combed dark-haired boy with stormy grey eyes to come forth, she realises he is, too, attractive. Everett's eyes carry a million storms.

He nods at her briefly, then looks to the others. "So what's going on?"

"Wait, this is weird," Fai mutters suddenly.

Everyone looks over to him. Lena speaks for the rest of them, "What's weird?"

He seems to be hesitating, but decides against hiding his own uncertainty. "Well, I would think this is sorted quickly, considering the academy's own technology. I mean, you're new, but things like this, they're usually fixed quickly as if nothing's happened."

Lena nods, remembering the few fights that she passed by when she's first introduced into the academy. The walls are so all the fixing themselves. "But this is is a different kind of situation, right? I mean, that's what Neesha said." She looks over to Neesha, who nods in confirmation.

"Sure it is. Lucifer is never capable of this scale of power, and abilities do not grow overnight. Even Stormbringer has had his abilities for years before he's really harnessed it. He just happens to be the youngest who has ever made it to S rank, but you get the idea: even S ranked Catalysts have gone through their own time to perfect their utility."

"Okay, point taken," Casper says. "So what's your concern?"

"I haven't seen any older students. Not in the pit where we clashed with the students of the other class, not even now as the four of them show up. You'd think this is a mere coincidence, but that's exactly what the entire situation makes you think. The students older than us have far more experience. In this case, they should've shown themselves long before," Fai explains.

"I agree," Roen says. "Arcana could've handled this alone."

Wait. If Arcana isn't stepping in... Lena hits herself internally. Perhaps this is the test after all. Arcana might be standing by watching away as she makes a fool of herself.

"But why, then? Why aren't they doing anything if they can?" Lena whines, not willing to accept the fact that this may very well be her own test.

"It's our problem!" Neesha gasps. "That Azalea... She —"

Roen has to hold her to keep her from shaking. "Neesha, calm down."

"Yeah, thanks." Neesha takes a few deep breaths. She looks to the others. "'That's your problem, isn't it?' That's exactly what Azalea has said. I don't think they're doing anything at all but watch as we suffer from this Lucifer mess."

"Ugh." Everett slaps his forehead. "Why is it that our grade just so happen to have so many weird students?"

A trembling quake shakes the canyon yet again, surprising everyone.

"Uh, does that happen often?" Kestrel asks, one hand on her bent knee, and the other clutching the rectangular box she has on her back. She looks ready to strike.

"He's here," Fai says, gritting his teeth.

As if on cue, the ground trembles yet again, and before them, over a crack in the great canyon, the dirt ground ripples. Just when Lena thinks more demons are going to show up, a boy appears — a student, just like them.