Phoenix Academy - Lucy Auburn Page 0,29

I can't let it go. My witch instincts are clawing and scratching at my rib cage. "My mother... Lizzy... they were from the outside. And the Heretic too."

The memory slams into me with the full force of a transport truck. Running through the woods. Making plans. All the training, all the preparation, all of it for nothing. We turned and faced him but he—he just didn't die.

Because he didn't have a soul.

Because something dark, something evil happened to him. And it all led me here, to... this place. This place, which is...

I must be hungry, because I just had the oddest thought.

It slipped from my mind the moment I had it. But I still knew that it was wrong.

"I need to go. To get fresh fruit."

My feet move of their own accord, despite Xavier's protests, David's confusion. Reggie treads water in the lake, his brown eyes on me, curious. I don't know why, but I'm certain I shouldn't just stand still. I have somewhere... somewhere to go.

For the fruit, of course. Just the melons. That's all.

As I walk through the meadow grass, Xavier pushes up from the ground to follow me. David trails behind. There's a splash from the lake. Turning to look over my shoulder, I see Reggie following me as well, shaking water from his hair.

Amused affection threads through me. Of course they would follow me to protect me. Even though I'm not going that far—it's not as if I'm going to leave our home. There's nothing beyond it that could possibly interest me. I'm just going to pull some fruit from one of the outer trees that we haven't reached yet, and fill myself with its sweetness until all my worries and cares are gone.

As I reach the outer edges of the trees, their numbers thin. There's short grass between them, tickling my ankles. The air smells of summer. It reminds me of so many days in the woods with my mother and sister.

My mother and sister...

The thought alarms me. I can see my mother's body covered in blood. Can hear her screams as the Heretic stabbed her over and over again. I tried to distract Lizzy, to comfort her, but in the end she saw my death as well. Nothing could save her from the horror of the last hours of her life.

Suddenly it all slams into me: we're not home. This was never our home. This is just a strange magical island in the middle of Hell.

And it's lulled us into complacency.

"Oh my god. Oh my—fuck." Frantic, I turn to face the guys, trying to figure out what to do next. "We have to get out of here."

They frown at me, looking puzzled. Especially Xavier. "You're not making any sense."

"You guys don't see it because..." I search for a reason why, but can't find one. Maybe it's because I haven't eaten the fruit or drank the water in a while. Or my naturalistic senses and witch power. "I'll show you. I'm sure that I can. I just have to hold on to the truth."

I can already feel it dripping out of my head. My mind wants to believe in everything around me: the peaceful surface of the wide clear lake, the soft surrah of tree branches brushing together, and the silken feel of wild grass brushing my bare legs. Everything here is peaceful. Easy. Calm. There's nothing to worry about, no past to haunt me or future to grind me down.

Seeing a yellow-orange in the low-hanging branches of a tree near me, I'm filled with the temptation to reach up and pluck it. Sink my teeth into its soft flesh and skin. Let it fill my mouth and soothe my broken heart.

There's something else in the trees.

It takes me a moment to focus on its shape. Whatever it is, it moves so quickly that it's practically a blur. The small creature flits back and forth in the upper boughs of the tree, its wings flapping so fast I can barely see them.

"Hey!" I stride forward, pointing up into the trees. "What is that? Have you guys seen something like it before?"

Xavier frowns, awareness entering his expression. "No, I... I haven't seen anything alive in here other than us, before now."

"It's a melon bat," Reggie says. "Or at least that's what I'm naming it now."

The creature flits down to the lower branches of the trees and lands on one of them, staring down into our faces. Now that it's so near, I can see that it's