Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,203

Orion fell into step with him as they led the way through the first line of graves.

I walked beside Tory behind them and felt the prickling of dark magic in the air, charging the particles around me. The second we reached the inner circle, the hairs rose along my flesh and my breathing stalled at the power in this place.

“Do you feel that?” Caleb growled behind me and we all nodded.

The ground started to tremble beneath our feet and I gazed around at the graves surrounding us uneasily. Geraldine screamed as a skeletal hand burst through the earth to her right and fire exploded from me on instinct, blasting it to pieces. But more and more of them were fighting their way from their graves, hundreds of dead bodies scrambling out of the dirt. Fear and horror wound through me as the undead rose and I planted my feet as I prepared to fight.

Darius swung his axe as a bony figure lunged at him and he smashed it to bits with one heavy blow. The moment the bones hit the ground, they started drawing back together and the corpse pushed to its feet once more.

“What the fuck?” Tory’s nose wrinkled and the two of us moved closer together, readying to blast them all back to hell.

“Find the tomb!” Darius barked at Orion.

Everyone started wielding their weapons against the skeletons as more and more of them crawled out of the ground. Some of them looked fresher than others, their bodies sinewy and rotting. And as one of them raised their arms, fire magic burst from them and sent a flaming ball towards Seth.

He shifted fast, landing on all four paws as a Wolf, ducking the fireball and slashing the skeleton to pieces with his Phoenix fire claws.

“Go!” Darius commanded and Orion looked to me, a decision in his eyes.

“Wai-” I started but he shot forward, throwing me over his shoulder and tearing away deeper into the graveyard, leaving the others behind.

A corpse clawed its way out of the ground before me and I raced at it, swiping my twin blades as I moved with the speed of my Order and cutting it apart so it fell into a heap of bones at my feet.

I blasted the remains with my fire magic to finish it off, but as the flames burned out, I found the bones still intact, the magic in them pulling them back together already as it reformed itself.

I cursed as I bent down, ripping an arm free from it and throwing it away from me with the full strength of my Order before tossing a leg in another direction. I tore the skull from the neck and its teeth sank into my finger, causing me to yell out before I hurled it like a Pitball destined for the Pit.

But it didn't land in the Pit. It hit a white Werewolf in the ass and bit down, causing him to yelp in pain as it clung on tight.

Seth twisted around, snapping his jaws as he tried to rip the thing off of him, but it was impossible with the position of it.

I made a move to race over and help him, but another corpse lurched into my path, this one with more skin on its bones and some intelligence lingering in its soulless eyes. I swung at it with my dagger and severed an arm, but it had lifted its other arm already and a blast of water magic hit me in the chest.

I was hurled off of my feet and thrown across the graveyard, crashing to the ground on my back and skidding through the mud until I smashed into a huge gravestone which knocked the air from my lungs.

I coughed out a breath as I rolled over, but before I could get to my feet, hands burst from the soil beneath me and I yelled as I was dragged down into the dirt.

I kicked and flailed as sharp teeth bit into my arm, ripping a chunk of flesh free as I slammed into a coffin and soil cascaded down all around me, pressing in on every side, drowning me in the dark.

I lost my grip on one of my daggers while I was unable to swing my arm to use the other and I yelled in pain as more teeth sank into my leg.

I thrust my hand into the soil, conjuring earth magic to bind to my will as I filled the space around me with razor sharp