Scholomance 9 by Logan Jacobs (read books for money .TXT) 📕

sense the strength in his words, and that’s when I knew his bond was preventing me from interfering. I can take him on. Just watch me… I know exactly where to nick him. He’ll be dead in no time…

Although it pained me not to help my loyal friend, I let my arm drop to the side, and I didn’t say anything while the two wolverine-like beasts danced one final but gory waltz. My body was shaking with nerves, but before anything else could happen to my beloved Alexander, he tossed back his giant dark head, raised his sharp wings, and then plunged both blades into the sides of the ivory creature.

Samara’s animal wailed while it bled to death, and it tossed its head back and forth, unable to move or fight. Then we all watched as Alex opened his mouth nice and wide and then bit the other beast’s head clean off. A spray of blood spurted upward from the open neck wound, and when Alex released the creature, its massive body fell and splattered on the grass. It exploded when it hit the ground, and gore and blood flew everywhere.

I sighed with relief, and the grip on my wand loosened with ease.

“Well done, Alex.” I grinned, and my shoulders loosened, but my smile slowly died when I saw the wound on his neck. It was wide open and bleeding profusely. “Fuck… are you alright?”

Despite skillfully taking that fucker out, I’m not actually feeling too hot, Alex admitted in my head before he slowly flew down and spat a mouthful of blood on the ground. In fact, I’m actually a little lightheaded.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Faye mumbled before she approached my familiar and began to inspect his ugly gash. “We need to take care of this before it gets infected.”

Faye was right. The mark was very deep, at least a couple of inches, if not more. It was a blackish-red, and a glimmer of bone shone through the gash. Thick layers of greenish-yellow pus were already crusting along the edges of the opening, but Faye didn’t seem disgusted in the slightest.

“Can you help him, Faye?” I asked, and I did my best to hide the concern in my voice.

“Mmmm, well, I think I have some guarigione paste in my pocket,” the redhead said before she stuck her hand into her robes and fiddled around. “Ah! Here we go. This is just what we need.”

Faye pulled her freckled hand out, and there was a small vial in her grasp. Inside was a deep orange powder with bits of black bark speckled in the mixture. It shone like tangerine gold as she twirled it between her slender fingers, and when Faye plopped the cork out, it smelled like rotten oranges and withered sunflowers combined.

Fuck, that smells like shit, Alex grunted in my head. It better work.

“Don’t complain,” I ordered before I nodded in Faye’s direction. “Go ahead, put it on him. He won’t bite.”

Faye chuckled under her breath before she carefully dipped the tip of her finger inside the vial and retrieved a pinch of the mysterious medicinal paste. Alex did his best not to budge as the redhead carefully covered his entire wound with the strange concoction and then wiped her hands along her hem.

“There we go.” Faye smiled as she stared deeply into Alexander’s eyes. “Should be as good as new.”

“Thanks,” I said before I turned my attention back to my familiar. “How are you feeling, Alex?”

Better already, Alex replied, and I could hear the pep back in his voice. Can you thank the hot redhead for me?

“Alex says thank you,” I chuckled. “He’s, um… more than appreciative.”

“No problem,” Faye giggled.

“Cole,” Vanessa said in an urgent voice, and it was clear she was ready to move the conversation along. “The compass… is it still spinning out of control?”

“Let me see,” I answered before I opened the wooden lid and peered down at the ancient relic.

The compass was still spinning, but it was going slower this time. I narrowed my eyes at the erratic little device and patiently waited for it to come to a full stop. Then the needle finally came to a halt, and it was pointing northwest.

“Well?” the professor pouted impatiently. “What do you see, Cole?”

“We need to head in that direction.” I pointed, even though all we could still see were miles and miles of green. “I have no idea how far we have to go, but that’s what the compass is telling me.”

“Ah, fuck,” Vanessa mumbled as she ran her hands through her dark hair. “Well… fine, let’s get moving. Cole, please lead the way. Everyone else, keep close behind.”

“Yes, professor,” the women agreed before they quietly began to follow me.

I took a deep breath and marched onward through the endless sea of grass, and we remained silent for several hours. After what seemed like most of the day trekking through fields, there was still nothing but green grass and clear blue skies stretching for miles. More time passed by, and I was beginning to wonder if these fields would ever end. I grew tired, and I knew the others felt the same until finally, I thought I saw something in the far distance. At first, it looked like some kind of tower, made from marble or perhaps stone. It was difficult to tell from this distance, but something in my heart told me it was important.

“Do you all see that?” I asked before I came to a stop and gestured toward the mysterious pillar. “It’s the only thing we’ve seen for hours.”

“See what?” Vanessa began until her eyes went wide with realization. “Oh, wait a minute… yes, I see it. Unholy Satan… is that what I think it is?”

“Wait, what is it?” I asked, and when a cool breeze swept through my hair, I realized