Adam gave Cassie's hand a squeeze and then took off. Deborah and Suzan followed him toward the hallway that led to Mr. Boylan's office. Cassie allowed herself a moment to breathe, to remind herself that though everything was suddenly happening so fast, it was all under control. Her control. Then Nick materialized from the crowd with another glass of punch for Cassie.
"I'm pretty sure it's not spiked," he said. "But at this rate I think we can both at least count on a sugar high." Then he noticed the expression on Cassie's face. "What's going on?" His dark brown eyes darted back and forth. "Where is everyone?"
"Chris, Doug, and Sean are tailing Boylan. Adam, Deborah, and Suzan are searching his office."
"I thought we were here to take it easy," Nick said.
"Change of plan." Cassie scoped the gymnasium for Diana's blond hair and Max's broad shoulders, but they'd gotten lost in the swarm of students. "Do you see Diana anywhere?"
Nick inspected every couple on the dance floor then shook his head. "It's too crowded. But I have an idea." He ran to the punch table and, to the dismay of the servers, climbed up on top of it for a better view. He scanned the room back and forth and then he froze in place. His sharp features turned deathly serious.
"Cassie," he whispered, and jumped down. But before he could utter another word, Cassie caught sight of a wild mane of dyed-red hair. It was no hallucination this time. No paranoia. Right in the center of the crowd was Scarlett.
Nick looked ready to pounce, but he didn't move a muscle. "She's casting a spell," he said.
Scarlett's arms were rigid at her sides and her eyes were as black as marbles. She was muttering something under her breath, obviously some kind of dark magic.
"We have to get you out of here," Nick said. "Right now!"
Cassie was smart enough not to argue. She and Nick rushed toward the nearest exit, but suddenly everyone around them started to act odd. Their necks went soft and their heads drooped down. Their classmates had all fallen into a stupor.
Nick shot a look at Cassie. "What the heck is going on?" He positioned himself between Cassie and the nearest group blocking the exit.
Whatever Scarlett was doing seemed to be affecting everyone but Cassie and Nick. But it soon became clear that their classmates were simply collateral damage. With them out of the way, Scarlett now had a clear shot at her intended target. She redirected all her wicked mumbling straight at Cassie:
Spirant ultimus spiritus
Ultimus spiritus vitae
Suddenly all the air rushed out of Cassie's lungs and she couldn't inhale any more in. It was like a clamp had fastened around her throat, blocking her breath. She brought her hands to her neck and turned to Nick. There was no breath to enable a scream.
Nick ran to her as if it were a simple piece of food lodged in her throat, as if the Heimlich maneuver could save her - but there was nothing he could do. And with their stupefied classmates crowding every exit, there was no way to escape.
Cassie's head spun from the lack of oxygen. She reached out for Nick as she fell to the gymnasium floor.
Chapter 8
Nick screamed Cassie's name. He was bent over her, trying to get her to breathe, but Cassie could feel herself losing consciousness with each second that passed. The yellow gymnasium light, their comatose classmates, and even Scarlett's wicked voice had blended into a soft, shadowy haze. Then Nick stood up and raised his arms with outstretched hands.
No! Cassie tried to cry out - the worst thing Nick could do right now was perform magic out in the open - but no sound escaped her gaping mouth.
Nick centered his energy, closed his eyes, and made his voice deep:
I call on the Power of Air, the element from the East, I call you from the atmosphere to Cassie's lungs.
He repeated the spell three times, louder each moment, but Cassie continued to fade out of consciousness. The whole world diffused; sound ceased. There was nothing. And then all at once she gasped like a drowned woman resuscitated, reclaiming her life with one greedy breath after another.
Her vision sharpened with each inhalation, and she climbed to her feet just as Nick raised his hands to call out another spell - this time not at Cassie, but up at the ceiling:
Motion of heart, current of soul, spark to my hands, at the speed of light.
His face took on a lustrous glow and electricity seemed to pass through him, up from his feet and out of his fingertips.
The overhead bulbs flashed and then burst, raining down spectacular long-tailed sparks like fireworks. Then the gym went black as night.
"Run," Nick said, grabbing Cassie's hand.
Their stupefied classmates panicked in the sudden darkness. Cassie could no longer see them, but she could hear them grunting and groaning. Their elbows and knees knocked against the gym floor as they tumbled over one another in a massive stampede.