Killer Magic Academy

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Did you know she was going to do this?" I asked Dylan.

Dylan shook his head. "She told me she had a plan. She explained to me everything except how she would get rid of her own power. Emma said Hayden had a plan."

"And you didn't ask what it was?"

"You didn't even know, Nile!" he shouted. "You couldn't save her. You couldn't save Alyssa. Or Loch. Or Sasha. Or Nicole. You act like if you knew her plan you could've saved her life, but you already proved that you can't. Multiple times."

My jaw dropped. "Dylan, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you think you're better than everyone but you aren't! Go ahead and save the world. You will never be a hero to a lot of people, including me."

"I never set out to be a hero!" I shouted back. "I didn't want this!"

"Yeah, I know. That's why you pulled Alyssa so far into this that she died. People protected you. People were willing to die for you. Nile, you could never do anything like that for anyone," Dylan said. He started to walk out.

"Dylan, look." He paused, but didn't turn back around. "I'm sorry. I really am. I know I can't save everyone, but I thought I could at least save some people."

He turned around. "Yeah, well next time save the people I care about."

"I know this is hard for you. I can't imagine."

"No, you can't. You can't imagine what it's like hearing that your sister isn't coming home from school. You don't know what it's like to have two friends, and having one taken away to be trained for an impossible mission, and then the other one being pulled along. You don't know what it's like for your friend to be brutally murdered, and then finding out you were the one that did it. You don't know what it's like to go along with your only friend's plan just to find out that there's a plot twist that kills her. You don't know what I've been through. And you never will."

Then Dylan turned and walked away, bringing Emma's body with him.

I sat down and took a deep breath. I had to stop the dragon, especially now. I stood up and walked down to the arena.

Things had changed since Alyssa's fight. The arena looked normal. The dragon was on the wall, and there was no black smoke. But as soon as I stepped inside the arena floor there was a growl.

"Cut the act," I said. "Let's just get this over with."

"You're dreading something. Feeling guilty," a voice said. "I have someone very close to me who has been going through the same thing."

I summoned a wave of water and hit the dragon. The voice stopped for a second. "You don't know anything about me."

The voice laughed. "Fine. You're not here for small talk. That's fine." Then the dragon's eyes glowed red and the black smoke began pouring out. The dragon peeled itself off the carving on the wall. Then I filled the entire arena with water. The smoke fizzled out. Filling the arena with water seemed like the simplest self-protection plan.

"You can't defeat me," the voice said through the water. "You cannot overpower me."

I focused on the stone the dragon was composed of. Then I began focusing on the individual particles of stone. I could feel the water and from a distance, the rock. The dragon charged at me, but I became one with the water and it passed right through me.

I turned my attention back to the stone. Then I began pulling each sediment apart, turning the rock to sand.

"You can't defeat me," the voice said again as I dissolved half of its body. "Not as long as I have her."

My focus waivered for a second. "Who?"

"The hero of her time. The one who gave herself up so her friends could escape and live. The one who death wrongly seized."

He couldn't be talking about Emma. She was dead, and there was no way for her to come back. This was an attempted distraction. I regained focus.

"You don't have her. She's dead."

I began working on the second half of the body.

"She is not dead. She was never dead. Did you really think she could die? She was too powerful. While she is here, I cannot be killed."

"You're lying!" I shouted.

"Give up your mission and I will show her to you."

I closed my eyes and channeled all of my power. This was a trick. This was a distraction. Emma was dead. Alyssa was dead. Loch and Nicole and Sasha were all dead. Dylan was right. I could never be a hero. But I could stop the dragon.

"You're lying!" I shouted again and pulled every fiber of the dragon apart. The sand settled to the bottom of the water and remained still.

The dragon was gone.

I drained the water from the arena, and once it was all dried up, I gathered the dirt from the dragon and placed it in a special air storage area.

I sighed as I closed it. I was hoping there was a chance to bring Emma or Alyssa, or any of the people who had helped me and protected me, back to life. But there wasn't.

Suddenly, the arena started to fill with water again. I looked around, but there was nothing. I tried to stop the water, but it kept rising. Once it rose to a level where I couldn't stand, I tried to have it support me, but the water wasn't responding to my powers. I stuck my head under to check something, and my fear was confirmed. I couldn't breathe under this water.

I swam towards the door, but the water kept it shut. I was trapped, and I didn't know what was happening.