Redeemed - Heather Fledderus (accelerated reader books TXT) 📗

debating wizarding ethics that they weren’t supposed to have learned about yet. For fifteen year-olds, it was probably the most boring topic that either of them could have come up with, but they were both laughing, poking holes in the other’s arguments while others flicked food at each other.

                Since the schools were so close, they often had joint classes on particular topics. One of those was battle class. And it was just Candace’s luck to get paired with Sylvia, Fitz’s brother. And somehow, the three of them, plus Sylvia’s boyfriend and Fitz’s best friend Jason, had become a group of rebels; sneaking out past hours, getting caught in various awkward moments by teachers and being stuck in detention together had become a norm. And by some miracle her grades hadn’t dropped.

                Candace smiled. Jamie was not going to believe half the stories that Candace wanted to tell her. It was going to be good to have an ally on the first day of school. Candace had already picked up on the general mood towards her, and it was not friendly. Sylvia, Fitz, and Jason had all been popular while she had just been the nerd. Even last year, there had been nasty stories going around her back about why she was allowed to hang around the Trinity at all. That’s what people had called them. The three had been together since before school had even started, and were by and far the strongest wizardlings at the two schools.

                “Just two more years,” she muttered under her breath.

                August stirred on the floor beside her. “Hmm?”

                “Nothing, you can go back to sleep. I was just thinking out loud.”

                August rolled onto her side, her back towards her sister. “How much longer until we’re there?”

                Candace glanced at her watch, even though she didn’t really need it. “Two hours still. You know there’s a lot of extra seats available.”

                August didn’t bother to make a reply. She yawned loudly in the quiet that had settled over the bus and began to stretch.

                The bus lurched to a stop, causing August to slide several feet forward before friction regained control. Candace’s brow furrowed as she took in the forest that surrounded them on all sides. The bus’ doors opened and she heard the clomp of a boot touch the first step. The driver said something, but she couldn’t hear what the newcomer said by means of a reply.

                The doors closed as the new person made their way up the stairs. She was a girl around Candace’s age, with pale eyes that clashed with her black hair that fell down her back, several braids spaced at random intervals, one of which was white. Her nose had a slight turn to it and her lips were set in a natural frown. The hilt of a sword protruded from her left shoulder, a blue gem set in its hilt. And she was dressed in the school uniform already. Candace had never seen her before.

                The girl’s gaze met hers for the briefest of moments before sliding away as she chose to sit in the second seat from the front on the door-side. Candace swallowed and pulled her sleeves over her hands, suddenly feeling cold. August, beside her, flung the blanket off, stood up and made her way over to the seat across from the new girl, curled up in the window seat, and dozed off again.

                The bus continued to rumble on, bouncing as it crossed potholes that the driver had failed to miss. The sea of green foliage outside whisked by in a blur as the bus picked up speed. Candace had almost dozed off when a black shape whipped past her window, crashing into the side of the bus with a loud crack.

                Startled, she turned to see what it was. The bus lurched as the driver slammed on the brakes, throwing Candace roughly into the seat in front of her. Finally, the bus came to a halt, and Candace braced herself against the seat as she tried to see what had caused the bus to stop.

                Standing in the middle of the empty road was a figure wrapped in a long black cloak, the edges of which were shredded so that they flew about in the wind. Dread filled her as she recognized the cowled figure for what it was: a Grimwore, a creature of the dark. And not just an ordinary Grimwore, which was rare enough, but a Reaver, which maintained a human shape and was incredibly fast.

                She fingered her ring in the habit she had developed before battle class. Except that this time she didn’t have a sword. The driver lurched from his seat, drawing a battle ax from where it had been stashed beside him. The Reaver raised one bony white hand towards them. Time slowed. She could actually see the green of its magic as it summoned a spell.

                The ball of green floated in the air, sailing towards them. When it made contact with the bus, the impact was powerful enough that the bus was tipped back, end over end. Candace screamed as she was flung about the interior of the bus, smashing into the seat and the roof and then the floor. The bus landed on its side, completely blocking the road. With a sick screech of twisted metal, the roof as torn off.

                A scream clawed its way out of her throat as the Reaver strode toward them on invisible legs, drawing a curved sword from the folds of its cloak. The driver charged it with a yell, swinging his ax. The Reaver didn’t even slow as it spun in a circle, cutting clean through the driver’s waist. The force of the blow sent the top half of the driver’s body back to them, the battle ax landing a few feet outside the bus. She was dimly aware of the others screaming, but her own scream stopped. She couldn’t breathe. She could see its red eyes, glowing underneath the hood. She could feel it staring at her.

                August tumbled out of the bus and grabbed the battle ax. Candace tried to scream at her, but the air wouldn’t come. Her lungs burning, Candace watched in horror as her kid sister charged an immortal monster. She could feel its glee as another pulse of green energy bloomed from its hand. The ball knocked the ax from August’s grip, making it fall too far away from her. The Reaver raised its empty hand, not even looking at August anymore and now turning its attention back to Candace.

                August yelled and tried to tackle it with her bare hands. She yanked on its sword arm, spinning it back towards her. The Reaver snarled, shaking her off. It raised its sword, and Candace could feel its killing intent as it glared down at her kid sister.

                “NO!” she screamed, raising her hands uselessly. Magic didn’t work on Reavers.

              

Saviour

  August screamed as she stared up at the monster. The world seemed to slow down as the monster began the killing stroke. She couldn’t move, couldn’t dodge it. She was going to die.

                The monster shrieked, and August stared at the sword that protruded from the monster’s chest. The sword withdrew from the folds of the monster’s clothes and the monster keeled to the side, writhing in agony as it shrieked again. Behind it stood the strange girl, her sword unsheathed and covered in black blood. Some had sprayed onto the girl’s blazer, and August watched as the blood chewed a larger hole into it.

                “I just missed your heart.” The accented voice was quiet, and August became acutely aware that she had her eyes closed. She raised the sword with two hands and slammed it home into the monster’s chest. It gave one final, long shrill shriek before it collapsed, its body dissipating into the air, funneled away by the wind. The clothes stayed behind, as a reminder of what had just happened.

                The girl opened her eyes and stared down at August, her head cocked to one side. “Hey, you okay?” August could only nod, her heart racing. “You didn’t get any of that thing’s blood on you, did you? That stuff is toxic like you wouldn’t believe. Can eat holes through-“ She glanced down at herself as she spoke. She spotted the growing hole. “Graemons!” she released her hold on the sword and ripped the blazer off, tossing it on top of the monster’s clothes. They both watched as both the blazer and the clothes crumbled into dust.

                “That was my only blazer too. The school’s gonna kill me when they find out that I managed to lose it already.” She took her sword from where it was stabbed in the dirt and returned it to its sheath. She offered a hand to August. “What’s your name?”

                August managed to find her voice. “August Julian. I’m a-a first year.”

                Her rescuer tipped her head to one side as she studied her. August shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny. At last, she seemed to come to herself and gave August a smile.

                “Get back inside the bus,” she said. “There should be someone by to pick us up. Until then, stay inside, just in case this one wasn’t alone.”

                There were more of them? The girl helped her to the bus. Candace raced out and snatched August up in a big hug. “Oh my god, are you okay August?”

                “You’re squishing me,” August managed to gasp out.

                Candace didn’t let go. “Get inside the bus,” the girl repeated, “There could be more of them. These ones don’t normally travel alone.”

                Candace helped her back into the bus, still on its side. They sat on the arm rests of two chairs that faced each other. August studied the seemingly empty forest with new eyes, watching every shadow for signs of movement.

                “What was that?” she asked.

                “A Reaver. It’s a strong Grimwore that normally doesn’t leave northern Canada.”

                “What was it doing out here?”

                Candace, beside her, shook her head. “I don’t know.” she stared out into the forest too. The new girl clambered up onto the top of the bus. She could hear her walk along the roof, the dull thump of her boots a steady beat.

                “Who is she?” Candace asked.

                August shook her head, rubbing her arms as she tried to stay warm. Candace retrieved her blanket from where it had fallen during the chaos and draped it around her sister. “I don’t know. Isn’t she from school?”

                The boots stopped above them, and both heard the quiet slither of steel on leather as the girl drew her sword. Then they heard the more comforting thawk-thawk of a helicopter as it neared them. Slowly, the five students emerged from the bus as the girl hopped down from the roof to greet the carrier that had arrived. Candace studied the girl again. She was dressed immaculately in the school uniform, following it to a T except for the knee-high boots and the sheath strapped to her back. Odd, it looked like it was meant for two swords, but the right loop hung limply, empty. The sword on the girl’s left side