The Tracker Hive Academy Year One - Avery Song Page 0,42
to have to look down at someone; I had already gotten used to staring up when I spoke to the Maxwell brothers. “I’m fine," I declared.
"Why don't you go ahead and save us our seats, Calvin," Zackery suggested, his voice a little sterner than usual.
"Sure!" Calvin cheered. "I'll get the best front row seats!" With his declaration, he was gripping his backpack and running away. It wasn't until he was completely gone that I made a comment.
"I hate sitting in the front," I mumbled to myself. Glancing at Zackery, I noticed his frown as his eyes darted around us suddenly. I wasn’t the only one who had spotted trouble.
"Guess you noticed." I slid my hands out of my blazer pockets.
"You caught onto it?"
"The moment we stopped, I did. I knew someone had passed by, but maybe that was on purpose. An illusion to make this trap."
Initially, the trap we were now in had been invisible, but now the mini-threads of magic had taken on physical form. Still, they were mostly hidden by the swift movement of wind. Someone was deliberately cloaking them.
"Wind at this speed is costly," I muttered. "The person is nearby."
"I'm on it," Zackery declared. "Don't move."
"I wasn't planning to," I commented, trying to remember any other deals from the person I'd seen with the silver-red hair.
A trap like this on the first week of school? Why?
It definitely wasn't those fat brothers. They had learned their lesson and none of them were in any of my classes.
Whoever set this trap knew Zackery and I had class together and took this specific route.
An observant stalker who wants us injured. Intriguing.
"Can you cut the threads?" Zackery asked.
"Didn't you say I shouldn't move?'
"Yes, but I need you to cut that junction of threads," he declared, staring forward. I followed his gaze, narrowing my eyes and tugging at my own wind element to locate the web of strings that connected in the center.
"I could, but wouldn't that set it off and slice our body parts off? Or are you fast enough to freeze our frames without actually freezing us? When I say that out loud, it doesn't make much sense," I said, realizing that my explanation wasn't coming out the way I wanted it to.
"It makes sense. It's exactly what I'm picturing, and to answer your question, that's my plan. It would be a bonus if you can warm the environment around us real quick."
"Like a scorching hot day in summer? Easy," I announced with a devilish grin, the burning fire within me lighting up at the mere thought.
Closing my eyes, I summoned a flaming sword in my right hand, knowing it would aid the rapid increase in temperature. Droplets of sweat ran down the side of my forehead, and I was already growing uncomfortable as the heat waves were swarming us.
"Now," Zackery ordered, and I followed through, lifting my sword upward and cutting the connected threads. Bracing myself for some type of pain, I was instead treated with a mixture of hot and cold, arms holding me tightly against a solid, cold figure.
With a blink, I looked up to see the Zackery was holding me protectively while a solid wall of ice an inch thick wrapped around us.
I thought the quick trap was sprung and done, but then I noticed the scratches appearing on the outside surface of the transparent ice wall.
"It's still going," I announced.
"This is going to be annoying if it's a continuous flow," Zackery admitted. "I can do this for some time, but we'll be trapped here. If we call for help..."
"Whoever arrives will be at risk," I concluded. "Or killed."
"From your tone of voice, I feel as though you've already got a plan." Zackery sounded amused. "Tell me, Junior Tracker."
"I'm stronger than you," I pointed out. "And I'm eighteen."
He looked down at me, a wide grin on his lips. "I know, Jade. You can defend your honor after we get out of this. I'm struggling here."
Pouting my lips, I could tell the ice was becoming thinner and thinner. I focused on his concentrated facial expression.
"This may be totally random, but you're really hot when you're all concentrating and shit," I praised.
"Completely random," he groaned. "Does it at least earn me a kiss?"
"It depends. Maybe I should wait until you're at your wits’ end?"
"That's just cruel."
"But exciting. I think it’s a total turn-on."
"If seeing me on the brink of losing turns you on, I really don't want to be in the same bed as you," he groaned. "And