Scholomance 9 by Logan Jacobs (inspirational books to read txt) 📗

“You b-bastard,” he grunted as blood spilled from his pale lips.

I quickly got to my feet before he could charge at me again, and with the power of the unholy lord by my side, I uttered the final part of the incantation to finish these bastards once and for all.

“Ut interficias eos, qui in virtute dei seniorem magicae!” I shouted with all my willpower, and my voice came out like an echo before the entire mountain began to fall apart.

As everything crumbled, the elders’ eyes went wide with disbelief. Soon, they began to glow from the inside out, and when they opened their mouths to scream, sunlight spurted from their lips and burned them from the inside out. The light punctured multiple holes in their bodies, and their screams rang through the air before they disintegrated into a thousand shimmering particles.

“Now what do we do?” Vanessa screamed as they struggled to hold onto the crumbling stones. “In case you’ve forgotten, Cole, if the entire mountain comes down, I’ll die, and so will you!”

“I’ve got it under control,” I hissed before I closed my eyes and took a deep, steady breath. “Ego in vtero producite!”

The mountain continued to violently tremble, and the only sound we could hear was the crumbling of the stones as they began to fall into the abyss. This entire realm was disappearing, and we only had a few seconds to escape.

Then a deep chorus of growls suddenly echoed against the chaos, and when I turned my head, I saw our dragons hovering next to the cliff, ready to obey our will.

“Help Marina, Faye, and Penelope onto their dragons,” I commanded. “Get Penelope’s panda on there, too!”

“Yes, master,” the women responded.

Akira hoisted a drowsy Marina onto the back of her dragon and then sat behind her to make sure she wouldn’t fall off. Vanessa did the same with Faye, and Circe protected Penelope and her panda. When each woman and familiar were safely on the backs of their bonded creatures, I hopped on my dragon’s hide, and we flew off as the entire mountain came crashing down and disappeared into the nothingness below us.

As the compass beat against my chest, I knew Samara was fuming with rage somewhere. Not only had we escaped from her disintegrating beach, but we also managed to kill her beloved scouts. The thought of her rage and disappointment made me smile, and soon, we would meet in person.

Then I would make her mine.

Chapter 13

We flew across acres of clouds while diligently following the compass’ directions. We were traveling fast, but no matter how hard the dragons beat their massive, jade-hued wings, the evening sky was growing darker by the second. Specks of glittering stars were spreading across the navy-blue skies, and they contrasted against the blood-orange horizon. Dusk quickly approached, and I knew we’d have to find somewhere to stop for the night.

“Fly lower,” I commanded into my dragon’s ear. “We need to scope the area before we land and make camp.”

My bonded beast nodded in agreement before he swiftly dove beneath the clouds and finally came to a steady stop several feet above the ground. Beneath my dragon, there were expansive emerald-green fields covered with flowers and various forest creatures. The setting sun made everything glow bright orange, and the air smelled like spring. Despite its beauty, I knew this realm was poisoned by holy and pure magic, and it left a sour taste in my mouth. I missed the melancholy lands and forests of our domain, and for a moment, I yearned for the steel-gray stone walls of Scholomance and the darkly lit hallways. I missed the way Cordelia’s voice would emerge from out of nowhere in the morning. I missed so many other things as well, like how our professors would greet us at the beginning of class or taking the time to learn a new spell or potion.

If I were being honest with myself, I missed every inch of the academy with all my heart, and I couldn’t wait to take Samara there once I made her a part of my unholy coven.

The unexpected thought of the elder goddess sent a tense shiver down my spine, and when I closed my eyes, I saw her. She sat in a dark room in an empty corner alone and dressed in a long sheer white gown, and she rubbed the corners of her temples and took a long deep breath. The goddess looked defeated, and her eyes were swollen like she’d been crying.

“Get out,” she muttered without looking at me. “I can feel you watching me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I replied in a stern voice. “You know we’re coming for you, Samara. Why don’t you just save yourself the trouble and give up now? Then I’ll be gentler with you when the time comes to claim your body and soul.”

“Never,” the fierce goddess spat, and then her ocean eyes fixated on me. “If you want me as your servant or slave to the darkness, you’re going to have to defeat me yourself.”

“And I will.” I shrugged. “It’s only a matter of time.”

“For heaven’s sake, get out!” the elder goddess screamed.

“Very well,” I responded after a long moment, “but I’ll be seeing you soon, Samara. Goodbye, for now.”

The last thing I heard before I released Samara was her voice cackling like a madwoman in the distance. I couldn’t tell what possessed her to laugh at the last second, but it didn’t matter.

She’d be mine soon enough.

I returned to reality and found the sky was even darker, and when I turned around to look at the other women, they were all seated upright and staring off into the distance. Even Penelope, Marina, and Faye seemed to be in better spirits after their poisonous injuries, and vibrant color had finally