Ocean of Sapphires (Jewel Academy Book 4) Page 4

  “Oh no,” Andrei said.

  “Do you think there's any possibility that she thinks we’re just a normal bird and bat?”

  “No,” Mrs. Barnes voice thundered inside both of our heads. “Get changed into warm dry clothes and meet in the witches’ common room. You too, Stefan.”

  That was pretty impressive considering I didn't even know where Stefan was. As far as I knew, he was still back in the forest doing his nightly patrol.

  Chapter Six

  I didn’t want to risk Mrs. Barnes’ wrath by taking a long shower. However, I figured we were already busted. At least I could be in trouble and warm. I didn't want to push my luck though. My hot shower lasted all of ten minutes and afterwards, I snapped my fingers so that my hair dried immediately. I got dressed in my flannel pajamas with fleece socks. If I was going to get the riot act, at least I was going to be comfortable.

  Stefan and Andrei were already there and dressed in jeans and sweaters. I felt a little bit ridiculous in my PJs, but then again, I was in my home dorm.

  “I can explain,” I said to Mrs. Barnes.

  She held out her hand. “That doesn't matter right now. We have a situation out by Faulkner's Island. The junior class has gone missing.”

  “Missing?”

  “At first one or two people were unaccounted for. Then whoever was taking our classmates got bold. There is no one left, but the crew on the ship and I haven't been able to reach any the teachers or Headmistress Magee.”

  “It was the blue dragon,” I blurted out.

  Mrs. Barnes head whipped towards me. “What?”

  “Lola,” Andrei said warningly.

  “Be quiet,” Mrs. Barnes told her son.

  “The fish queen told us there has been unrest in that area. I bet the blue dragon woke up. Did he eat our classmates?” I was horrified.

  “Blue dragons are vegetarians, and they have no need of humans.” Mrs. Barnes paced back and forth. “If there is unrest in the area, it’s the merfolk. They do keep slaves and if they’re near a blue dragon, they’re after his treasure horde.” She sighed. “I didn’t want to do this, but you’re going to come with me. Andrei, I need you to get three cloaks of swimming from Mrs. Mackey. Stefan, get three water breathing potions from Mr. Hydinger. Lola, get dressed for battle and then find Mr. Sessa and get three deep sea goggles. Tell the teachers I sent you. I need these items right away.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “We’re going to rescue your classmates. I have a feeling the merfolk in the area have broken treaties with us. I will inform the authorities and take matters into my own hand.”

  “Wait, you want a witch, a shifter and a vampire to rescue thirty kids from merfolk?”

  “You forgot I will be with you. I'll provide the distraction while you go into the merfolk city release your schoolmates and the teachers. The teachers will get you all back to the ship.”

  “We don’t even know where they are being held or if they are being held by merfolk.”

  “You’ll know as soon as you get within mind range.”

  “I don’t speak fish,” I said.

  “You will before we leave. I must make arrangements. Meet me in the courtyard by midnight.”

  “What are you?” I asked. I knew she wasn't a vampire, and I knew she wasn’t a shifter. I did know that she was powerful, but what I didn't know if she was just throwing our lives away.

  “All will be revealed at midnight,” she said mysteriously and then hustled out of the room.

  “I guess we’re fighting merfolk,” I grumbled to Stefan and Andrei I headed up to change. At least we were going to get out of the Jewel Academy.

  ***

  We met back at the courtyard a few minutes before midnight. Andrei’s mom was already there. “Each of you put on a cloak and one of the goggles. Don’t even think about keeping this equipment. The cloak and the equipment will be returned as soon as we come back.” She gave us the evil eye.

  “Fine,” I said.

  “Take this pill with the water breathing potion.”

  “What is it?” I asked. It was enormous.

  “The pill will allow you to understand aquatic languages and speak it. Like the potion, however, it lasts only twenty-four hours.”

  “Will we be done by then?” Stefan asked.

  “We’d better,” she said.

  We got on the gear and gulped down the pill and the potion. It tasted like hot honeydew melon juice with strands of seaweed in it. I nearly gagged. “What about you?” I asked.

  “I have no need for magical items.”

  She shifted and the courtyard shook. A black dragon appeared where Mrs. Barnes had once stood.

  “A little warning would have been nice,” Stefan said.

  “It was not my story to tell,” he replied.

  I could not speak. Her head was the size of Magee’s Smart car. Her body was covered in shiny black scales. Her wingspan blotted out the trees and most of the sky. On her back were long spikes that matched the ones circling her neck. Her claws gripped the concrete of the parking lot, crumbling them as if the pavement was sand.

  “Climb up. Sit between the spikes and hold on.”

  “Hold on?” I squeaked. “I can fly.”

  “Not as fast as I can.”

  “It's okay,” Andrei said. “I’ve done this before.”

  Like that was supposed to make everything better. Part of me was terrified and the other part of me thought this was the coolest thing ever. Terrified was winning.

  Stefan scrambled up her flank and got himself settled up front. “We can leave you here, if you’re afraid,” he said.

  I wasn’t sure if he was serious or trying to motivate me. Either way, it worked. I let Andrei fly me up to her back. I sat behind Stefan and then with a gigantic whoosh of her wings, we were off. I grabbed on to her spike and gripped it for dear life. Part of me wanted to hold on to Stefan’s broad shoulders or around his waist. But what if he fell? Then he’d tumble to his death while I shifted into a raven. Better if I didn’t distract him.

  Fast didn’t even begin to cover it. I’ve flown and glided and even raced as a raven in the Sigil games. This was like being shot out of a cannon. I held on for dear life, hoping she wouldn’t bank too sharply or do barrel rolls.

  “Does that mean that you’re part dragon too?” I asked Andrei.

  “No, I became a vampire when I died. Had I lived a few more years… perhaps I would have shifted into a dragon.”

  I caught a wave of sadness from him. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” he said. “I could have really died. Instead I have a second chance at life.”

  “Here’s the plan,” Mrs. Barnes said in all our minds. “Hold on while I dive down and attack the merfolk camp. They will be paying too much attention to the damage I'm doing to notice the three of you. You're going to sneak into where they are keeping the slave pits and free the Headmistress and the teachers first. They’ll tell you what to do next to aid in freeing the students.”

  “Shouldn’t we wait for the FBMI or the CMIA?” I asked.

  “They are en route. As is the Coast Guard. We don’t have the time to wait for them.”

  “How are we going to get everyone back up to the boat?” Stefan asked.

  “Unless the witches can teleport you all, swim. It depends on what condition everyone is in. But yes, the final goal is to get everyone back on board the ship. By that time, we should have Coast Guard protection.”

  “What about you?” Andrei said.

  “Don’t worry about me. They can’t hurt me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Not seriously hurt, anyway. Just get on the boat and stay with your class. I’ll meet you back at the school.”

  “The merfolk have brains, right?”

  “These are no ghouls,” Mrs. Barnes said.

  At least I wouldn’t be totally useless in a fight. The swimming cloaks would help with movement somewhat, but Stefan wouldn’t be as pow
erful as he was used to being.

  Flying by dragon was like flying a commercial airplane without the metal tube around you and without being seat belted in. We were fast and silent. I wondered if people looking up at the sky would even see the enormous black shadow flying overhead. We made what was a forty-five-minute trip car in less than fifteen minutes,

  When she settled her bulk onto the deck of the large ship, the crew cowered in fear, but then they recognized the crest of the Jewel Academy that we wore on our cloaks.

  One of the crewmen even recognized us. “Are you the Sigil cup team?”

  “Yes,” Andrei said.

  “Are you going to save your classmates?”

  “I hope so,” I said.

  “Keep holding on to my spikes. I’m going to dive. Once we hit the deeper depth of the water, grip tight with your thighs otherwise you’ll float off my back.

  “Great,” I said. I wished I'd taken the horseback riding lessons that my father had wanted me to when I was a little girl. I’m not sure that would've equated to dragon riding lessons, but maybe I would fill a little bit more comfortable in the seat.

  “Have you always been a dragon?” I asked in her mind, as we dove under the water.

  “Yes.”

  “Did my dad know you were a dragon.”

  “Yes he did.”

  “Is that why things never worked out between the two of you?”

  “There are many things that stopped us from continuing our relationship and most of them are none of your business.” But she said it kindly, and I wondered what would've been like growing up with a dragon for a mother instead of a hedge witch, whose best spell could only ripen tomatoes on the vine.

  I wondered if Mrs. Barnes would've been afraid of me, or if she had powerful shield magic that she could've stopped me from making the mistakes that I made to get placed into the Jewel Academy. I sighed. There wasn’t any sense thinking about how my life could have been different. It wasn't. This was my life now.

  My ears popped as we went deeper and deeper into the waters of the Long Island Sound. The deeper we got, the harder it was to see. The goggles tried to keep up with the increasing depth and darkness and I saw up ahead in the distance there was a slight glow coming off of fluorescent anemones. I could only see large shapes and I was frightened, wondering how were going to find my own hand. But as we leveled out, the goggles pitched in. Things started to normalize. There was a whole new world in the deep ocean.

  Chapter Seven

  It took longer than I thought for my eyes to adjust to the goggles. I saw the beginnings of what looked to be a city. It was protected by a dome. The good thing about being a witch shifter hybrid is that my body was stronger than normal humans and witches, but even still, sliding down into the deeper depths the pressure weighted heavily on my ears. The cloak helped somewhat.

  “What is the dome keeping out?” I asked. “Sharks?”

  “No. Larger predators, like me,” Mrs. Barnes said. “Sharks are an average everyday occurrence down here, most of them seek easier prey at the higher depths. The merfolk have prodding weapons to force away aggressive sharks.”

  We watched the city below us as Mrs. Barnes glided over the top of the dome. I could see mermen scrambling as the darkness passed over them.

  “What about the element of surprise?” Stefan asked.

  “I don't want them surprised,” Mrs. Barnes said. “I want them terrified. I want them panicked. I want them to make terrible mistakes, and in that chaos, you're going to go in and see if you can find where they're keeping their slaves.” She hit the barrier with the claws that had crushed concrete.

  The dome cracked, but didn't fall apart. She pulled up and hit another place with her strong tail, again cracking but not shattering. It was chaos inside the dome. I could see that there were buildings made out of shipwrecks. Metal, wood and coral buildings were sprouted up in neighborhoods, but I didn't see a place where prisoners would've been kept.

  All I saw were merfolk swimming with trident weapons, armored sharks on leashes, and other creatures that looked to be part of a militia. They were forming up into battalions.

  “Are you going to be all right, Mom?” Andrei asked.

  Mrs. Barnes pointed to an opening in the dome, where a rush of soldiers came out. “If I can’t take the dome down, destroy that door mechanism and come out there. If the dome is down, though, jut swim straight up and I’ll guard your retreat.”

  “How will the others swim without magic gear?”

  “The Headmistress and the instructors will know what to do. Your job is to free them from their cages. Let the teachers figure out how to get everyone safely back to the boat.”

  The merfolk strike force was coming at us fast, but she was faster. They had to split up the detail and she managed to hit them with her tail, teeth and claws while they were separated. We hung on as best as we could, but finally she struck the dome with a mighty blow from her tail and punched a hole through the dome.

  “Go,” she said. “I'll cover your entrance.”

  Stefan immediately jumped off and began to swim towards the hole. Andrei grabbed my hand and we jumped together. Mrs. Barnes whipped her tail, causing a wave to obscure our descent. I looked up to see more merfolk swimming towards her. We slipped through the dome and landed on the roof of someone’s house.

  “Invisibility would help right now,” Stefan said.

  I cast it on him first. Then Andrei and then myself. “You need to stay in my line of sight for me to keep this up. It’s going to last as long as I concentrate. Let’s join hands, so we don’t lose each other.”

  “I need my hands free to fight,” Stefan said.

  “We’re not fighting yet.”

  Grumbling, Stefan grabbed my hand. Andrei slid his fingers through mine.

  “I guess we do this methodically, house by house until I can find someone’s mind who knows where our class is being kept.”

  The first couple buildings we passed by didn't provide us with any information. Whether they were residential homes or some type of business, I couldn't be sure. Everybody’s mind was frightened and in chaos.

  I opened myself up to it and nearly lost concentration on the invisibility spells. The language was mostly high squeaks and bubbles. I got more images than I did words, but the communication was clear. Their city was under attack. They were afraid for their lives and their children’s lives.

  Andrei pulled us further down the road. “This is going to take forever. Maybe we should let ourselves be captured.”

  “No,” Stefan and I said at the same time.

  “They’re going to overwhelm her with numbers,” he said.

  “Your mother is going to be fine.”

  As if to prove it, great chunks of the dome rained down near us. We ducked under the cover of a roof to escape being hit by it.

  “She’s making a hole for us. We’ve got to find a guard, and you need to get into his mind and tell him to take you to where the prisoners are,” Stefan said.

  “Okay, that’s got to be easier than hoping I catch a random thought.”

  We travelled deeper into the city, patrols passed by us, but they were thinking of shoring up the defenses and how to kill the monster. I didn’t let Andrei in on the last bit of information. There were no humans around, just merfolk and different types of aquatic beasts. There were octopi clinging to walls, and I got the feeling that they were guards rather than pets. At one point I thought one was looking right at me, but that was probably just me being paranoid. As we made our way through the city, though, I thought one was following us, but when I turned to look, I didn’t see anything.

  We had to flatten ourselves against buildings to stop from being run over by troops who were trying to keep the peace. I sifted through one guard’s mind. He had been shouting orders and looked to be in charge. More patrols were being sent to guard the dome’s weak areas, and that was leaving a bunch of other areas unprotected. Nothing about the prisoners.
/>   “We should split up,” Stefan said.

  Andrei nodded his head in agreement.

  "Are you kidding me?" I said. "We are not splitting up. We'll get lost. I'm not risking losing the two of you."

  "Well, you need to find out where they’re keeping the Jewel Academy people," Andrei said.

  "I'm trying," I said, exasperated. "It's not as easy as reading a human mind. Even though I can sort of speak and understand the language. They don't think like we do. I'm searching for any mention of jail prisoners or…" My head swiveled to a passing guard who had a stray thought that caught my attention.

  “What?" Stefan asked.

  "Slaves."

  "I think that's worth following up on." Andrei said.

  "This way," I said, tugging them closer to the merfolk guard.

  Invisible, I led them to where the guard had stopped, waiting for his Captain so he could ask him about going home to make sure his wife and kids were all right.

  “Should we send the slaves up to fight or send them deep into the mines?”

  “You want us to arm the slaves?” The Captain said. “They’ll as soon turn on us. Leave the useless ones in the feeding pens and send another patrol of guards to the mines.”

  “Where are the slaves?” I thought slowly into his mind, so he wouldn't see it as an intrusion, but rather as a little bit of a nudge for him to think about the pens and mines.

  It didn’t work and he looked around for the person talking to him. “What do you mean where are they?”

  “Sir?”

  I did get a flash of a paddock where men, women, and other things I didn’t recognize were chained to tethers inside the paddock. The fencing was made of coral and steel and there were two merfolk guarding the pen.

  “This way,” I said, yanking on Andrei and Stefan's hands. Walking while holding each other's hands was awkward, especially since I was the middle and the one leading us. Stefan and Andrei twisted and turned me several ways when we had to go single file. We had to jump into an alleyway to avoid a few armed mermen with tridents, swords, and some type of water cannon. They were gearing up to take on Andrei's mother, who was still battering the dome. There were several holes in the dome. It looked like a spider’s web.