Novel Square
Chapter-81. The first lecture
[Xanthea]
It took me about five minutes to reach Azum's library.
As I jogged closer to the library, I heard the crackling noises of the lightning coming from within.
Oh no!
"Zosha-"
I was about to open the double door of the library, but I stopped, panting slowly.
The pressure of the power that came from beyond the door was enough to root me where I stood.
Zosha was having a power outburst. If I entered now, I'd be killed in seconds.
I can't be reckless this time.
Something must have triggered her again.
I clenched my fists and took a deep breath.
"Zosha..." I called out in a calm tone. She might not respond, but I knew she could hear me. "I know you are trying to control your powers. I know you are trying to fight. Keep fighting!"
The air crackled with static electricity and the door rattled violently, as if a hurricane raged just beyond it.
"Don't give up! I'm right here!" I cried, placing my hand on the door.
The door stopped shaking, and I felt a push from the other side, as if Zosha had placed her hand against it. "Please..." came Zosha's faint voice.
"Zosha..."
"Please... just go away!" she screamed.
"No, Zosha, I-"
I gasped as the bolts of lightning dendritically cracked the door and burst out through it, crackling and sparking.
I stepped back, and suddenly everything slowed down.
I could clearly see the lightning threads zap through the air as they shot toward me.
Bracing myself, I clenched my jaw.
There wasn't enough time to dodge.
Damn it!
Raven-
Something struck my body, hurling me backward. Lana had leaped between me and the lightning, her wings expanding to twice their size, absorbing every spark.
"No! Lana! Uh-ugh!" I stretched out my hand toward her before my back slammed into the wall, knocking air right off my lungs as I crumpled to the floor.
Everything happened so fast that by the time I got a hold of myself and looked at Lana again, she was lying on the floor, her body completely disfigured, her wings perforated and partially detached from her body. The door of the library was wide open, filled with the fading flickers of light bursting out from gaps between the overgrown vines that had coiled itself around Zosha's body like bandages around a mummy. "Lana! Zosha!"
I scrambled closer to Lana. By then, even the last ounce of Zosha's power had dispersed. Gathering Lana's body into my arms, I pulled her onto my lap and struggled to my feet. "Lana! Hold on, I'll take you to the hospita-"
Suddenly, Lana's body convulsed and slipped from my arms, hitting the floor. I gaped at her in dread.
"Alpha warned me about the cat's power, but..."
Lana's body glowed green, waves rippling beneath her skin. Her face returned to normal, and green scintillas swirled around her like fireflies, restoring most of her body. However, red patches lingered on her arms and neck, and her wings remained perforated and partially broken.
"But she's way more malignant and fun!" Lana smirked, jerking her wrists firmly together before her face.
Thorns sharper than blades erupted from the vines coiled around Zosha, followed by her muffled screams.
Lana broke into a mocking laughter.
"You are older than me, but you can't heal even a fly. Shame on you," Lana humphed at Zosha. "Double shame for all the wasted potential you hold by not controlling the healing powers that could have been on par with a dragon's. Triple shame on you for being so stupid. When Alpha said I might have found a competition, I got excited. But a power as destructive as yours is not suitable for healing."
More thorns sprung out of the vines, followed by even more muffled shrieks.
My eyes widened as I realized Lana could control and manipulate the plants and their growth. In some intricately complex way, her powers complemented Zosha's, almost as if...
I placed my hand over my thundering heart.
It was as if Raven foresaw this event and he chose Lana as my healing partner because he knew something like this might happen. He considered all possibilities and thought everything through.
In a way, he helped me help Zosha through Lana. Or was it a coincidence, and I was just overthinking things?
Conflicting emotions surged in my chest, but the dilemmas in my mind cleared away as soon as Lana continued.
"Like the alpha said, you aren't completely useless. After all, you protected that kid," Lana said, glancing toward the extreme corner of the library. Behind the fluttering curtains was a giant bud of leaves that bloomed, revealing Azum protectively hugging the unconscious child.
"Azum..." I rushed into the library towards them. Squatting near them, I said. "Kieth. He might have informed the authorities-"
"He did that before Zosha made a move," Azum said, breathing heavily as he looked into my eyes. "They were there, waiting for her. It was a trap. Kieth wants her gone not just from Helxton, but from this pack as well. He planned all this. He knew Zosha would try to help this kid like she helped the ones before him. Zosha panicked, and she attacked the authority."
"What?"
"Yes. Four of them are severely injured. The back up will be here any time. I can't let them catch her. They'll crush her. They'll end her. They'll imprison her in the Novem pack. Once she's in that accursed place, there will be no escape for her. She's young and already so broken. I can't let her go through any more traumas."
I took in a dry gulp, licking my lips as I turned back and looked at the overgrown vines slowly dying away.
The vines fell apart, revealing Zosha lying unconscious amidst the withered tendrils. Her body was covered in wounds from the thorny stabs. Blood trickled from her injuries, but the electricity coursing through her hair now flowed within her, focusing its energy on healing her.
I unzipped my bag and pulled out a fit-it-all, searching for a potion that could help them.
"If Zosha had a power outburst, then the kid must be-"
"No. The kid's fine. Zosha was able to protect the kid and me from her powers, thanks to you."
"Me?" I tensed my brows, confused.
"Yes. She has been practicing ever since she last met you in the forest. Her outbursts are still out of her control, but like you saw, she's able to control who she protects when that happens. Although it's limited to one or two people for now. But that's still something..." Azum said.
He got up, still cradling the kid against his chest, and trudged to Zosha.
Squatting near Zosha, he gently placed the kid on the cushiony grass.
Pulling a worn-out mouth organ from his overcoat, he wrapped his palms around it and started playing a soothing melody. The tune was so relaxing it pacified even the heavy restlessness in the air.
Within seconds of hearing that relaxing music, my body felt lighter, as if floating in the air. Mesmerized, I trudged closer to him.
The melody didn't just feel like it was healing; it was actually healing. And not just me, but everyone present there.
The kid seemed to be in a deeper, more peaceful sleep than before. The red patches on Lana's skin had faded, and the ache in my back from hitting the wall was gone.
Azum stopped playing the organ and got to his feet.
"Hey! Who do you think you are to cure a faerie princess without her permission?" Lana glared at Azum.
He squatted near Lana. His expressions grew bluer as he examined her wings.
"I'm sorry, princess. I wish I had time to get your permission, but they'll be here any time," Azum nervously glanced towards the door and then gave Lana an apologetic smile. "But your wings. They'll need special care to heal-" "I am very much capable of healing them myself. I don't need your healing melodies..." Lana said obnoxiously.
"Of course," Azum smiled wearily and then took out a vial of potion from his coat. "But just in case, keep this and apply it on your wings twice a day for a week. I am sorry you had to go through this, but thank you." Lana's cheek turned pink. She pouted angrily and looked away with a scoff.
"Azum, I think you should take Zosha and leave-" I said.
He looked at me, got to his feet, and shook his head.
"No, you should do that," he said.
"M-me?"
"You gave her a hope she had stopped looking for. I know I am asking for too much..." he clenched his jaws. "But... can you please protect her?"
"I-I..." I clenched the fit-it-all in my fist and lowered my gaze.
How can I protect someone when I myself am at the mercy of the demon lords?
"The fact you are here today of all times means something. Tabun, unmei kamoshirenai (Perhaps, it might be fate)..." Azum looked at Zosha.
"Huh?" I tilted my head.
He looked at me again.
"Anata. Anata no tamashii no uta (You. Your soul song). The harmony your soul song creates with hers creates a mysterious melody that even I can't define or replicate."
"My soul song?"
Both our heads snapped toward the distant sound of footsteps echoing through the corridor.
"They are here," Azum mumbled, his voice dominated by the determination to protect.
My breaths turned shallow, my fingers growing cold with fear.
I knelt between Zosha and the unconscious child, clutching the fit-it-all before placing it beside me.
There was nothing to decide or choose. I had to help them. But how?
Don't panic. Think, Xanthea. Think.
My mind raced, grasping for any solution when my eyes fell on the fit-it-all.
"Right! The fit-it-all. I can hide them here for now. Azum-"
Azum stood near the door, his overcoat fluttering as he partially shut the doors, obscuring us from the approaching authority figures.
I stretched out the mouth of the fit-it-all. Just then, with a pop and whizz, Boredbones shot out of the pouch, grabbed Zosha and the kid by their hands, and dove back into the pouch with them.
I stared at the pouch, wide-eyed, struggling to process what had just happened. Lana gave me a sharp shake, yanking me back to the urgency of reality. I fumbled with the fit-it-all, held Lana's hand, and we scuttled behind a bookshelf. "Officers, what a pleasure. What brings you here today?" I heard Azum say.
"We're looking for a were-cat. We know she's here, and that you've been helping her. We need to search this place and take you into custody for questioning. You have all the right to resist, attack, or try to run away," an officer said. "Nah. That's too much work. I'll cooperate," Azum said.
"Thanks for saving us the trouble."
"Of course, officer. Nothing illegal here. I helped that cat with injured squirrels. I didn't know healing was a crime." Azum chuckled faintly.
s.org for the full experience
"Healing isn't, but attacking on-duty officers and abducting a VIP patient is. If you know anything about that were-cat, it's better you tell us. This is your last year in college. You wouldn't want to risk your license for a nuisance, would you?" The officer placed a hand on Azum's shoulder, towering over him.
I hugged the pouch closer to my chest, trying to not breathe at all.
"Certainly not, officer. The cat was here," Azum said calmly, gesturing to the destruction around them. "She had a power outburst, then vanished. I don't know where she is now, but I'll inform you if she returns."
I couldn't understand how Azum was so calm, when I was literally trembling just thinking about all the consequences we might face if we were caught.
The other five officers dressed in black and gray uniforms entered the library, and I pressed my back hard against the bookshelf, hiding behind it. Lana created a cover of vines and leaves to conceal us.
They could have easily spotted me because of my scent, but Raven had used some kind of scent mask to hide my heat scent and Lana's scent effortlessly mingled with nature's scent. Even so, I could hear the officers get closer to us as their shoes crushed the grass.
"This vine growth here looks odd. Is this the cat's doing as well?" An officer said, prodding our vine cover with his baton, and a chill ran down my spine.
They are going to catch us!
I am fucked! Raven's gonna kill me!This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
I even put Lana in a tight spot.
Oh god!
I need to come up with a believable excuse, a reason, an alibi-
I froze at the sudden sensation of something coiling and tightening around my ankle, and it didn't feel like Lana's vines. I pressed my hand over my mouth.
One second I was staring at the darkness within Lana's cover and the next second my eyes were adjusting to the light that brightened the corridors near the lecture hall.
I gathered enough courage to look down and found the tail of a python slithering away from my and Lana's ankles onto the marble floor.
"Ssssorry for teleporting you so abruptly, without warning. You see, I can ssslither into tight spots easily, so Azum mindlinked with me and told me Zosha and the kid are with you." I heard a whisper against my neck.
I spun around to face Vish as she returned to her human form and only then did I breathe again in relief.
"The authority has ssstrictly regulated the college campus. You can't leave now. You'll have to hide sssomewhere-"
"This is our lecture hall!" Lana said excitedly and peeped inside. "The professor's late. The lecture hasn't begun yet. We made it!"
I nodded, licking my dry lips as the tension eased on my shoulders. But we weren't safe yet.
Vish looked at Lana and then at me with a mix of confusion and concern.
"Thank you s-saving us..." my voice trembled slightly. "I am a new student here. This is my first lecture. M-my name is Xanthea Plath. Thanks again."
"No problem," Vish smiled warmly. "We appreciate your help, too. Azzzum briefly told me what happened," she said, looking at the fit-it-all in my hand. There was an awkward silence of a few seconds between us, the gravity of the recent events still heavy in the air.
"Uh... do you have a lecture here too?" I asked Vish, trying to break the tension.
"Yeah!" she said, her voice shaky.
"Wanna go together?" I shrugged slightly, offering a small smile.
"Yeah!" she said.
As we made our way into the lecture hall and the world that I had always dreamt of being a part of opened before me, all I felt was a strong sense of responsibility. And it wasn't just towards the two kids who were unconscious in my pouch, but also towards Lana, myself and, most importantly... towards my mother.
The authorities were still out there, and Zosha's safety was still at risk. But for now, blending in with the other students was my best bet.