A deep, ragged croak tore through the warehouse, making every inch of my skin prickle.

  Hopsander grew before my eyes, his once frog-like physique ballooning into something colossal—twenty feet tall at least, with thick, armored skin that pulsed in a neon-red aura. If I’d ever wondered if I’d see a stage beyond anything I’d seen, Hopsander’s monstrous transformation left no doubt. Level four.

  The golden strands coiled around his wrists snapped like flimsy string, and sparks danced across the stone floor. Nearby, the black-hooded man spun around, staff raised, and the elven girl stiffened, bright arcs poised beneath her robe’s sleeves. They stared, momentarily stunned by Hopsander’s towering figure. Even Noah, floating above the circle of professors, paused in mid-speech. Hopsander was now at eye level with him.

  I looked down and saw that black smoke had started to cover the ground.

  Good, they haven’t noticed yet, I thought.

  I was back in my human form; I had to be smaller for the plan to work. Behind me, Jiho was transformed into his living-shadow infusion and had begun to create our cover. Black smoke crept across the chamber’s floor, thick and murky. None of the four magebloods seemed to register it at first, too mesmerized by Hopsander’s impossible power and new size. The smoke spread quickly, already up to my ankles, then my shins, rolling in gentle waves like a tide.

  I glanced over my shoulder. Waelid shot me a look of fierce anticipation, his eyes glowing red as he channeled his phoenix infusion. He kept the phoenix waiting just below the surface.

  I swallowed. “Remember the plan,” I whispered. “We split up, use Jiho’s smoke to stay hidden.”

  Sora, Mel, Tevin, Luna, and I moved low and swiftly down the center of the room, moving fast to the large cluster of professors bound in golden chains. My pulse pounded at the thought of being seen. I was thankful for Hopsander’s great distraction, but I couldn’t count on it lasting forever. Each step was quick, soft, and measured. The smoke advantage wouldn’t last if we broke into a mad sprint.

  Waelid, Galina, Piqah, Jako, and Jiho circled the other way. Even through the haze, I sensed Waelid’s eagerness to clash with Noah head-on. My heartbeat hammered in my throat at the idea of facing my brother. No time for fear; we had to save them.

  A thunderous roar snapped my attention forward. Hopsander took one colossal stride, the floor trembling under his weight. I caught sight of what looked like a red-tinted translucent bubble around him. The black-hooded man barked an alarm and raised his staff. The elven girl ran toward Hopsander, spinning to unleash lightning, but Hopsander’s newly manifested aura absorbed the arcs. The magebloods scrambled to respond to his unstoppable charge.

  I inhaled sharply and made small psst noises to alert my team through the thick smoke to keep moving.

  Hopsander took another thundering step. His colossal frame loomed toward Noah, absorbing every single spell that Lotrick, the man in black, and the elf threw at him. He held every mageblood’s attention.

  Perfect, I thought. The upperclassmen will never get a better opening.

  Then Lotrick noticed the black smoke, now up to his waist, and pointed.

  “Master! Ambush!”

  Shit, it’s go time.

  Sure enough, from the far side of the smoke-shrouded chamber, I saw Waelid and his squad lunge forward out of the black smoke, taking the magebloods’ attention away from the circle. Even through the murky air, I recognized their silhouettes merging into fearsome shapes. They had all transformed, at once, as planned.

  Waelid ignited in a torrent of flame, feathers bursting across his limbs. He launched himself through the air toward Noah.

  Galina shifted into her half-scorpion monstrosity—her torso coated in sleek black chitin, a bulbous tail arching behind her. She charged after Waelid. Piqah slammed two tire-sized fists against her chest. Her towering gorilla-like form let out a bellow loud enough to echo through the rafters. Jako, bristling with porcupine quills, lowered himself in a stance. He was about eight feet tall and had sharp spikes growing around his body. And of course, Jiho, a living wisp of shadowy smoke, fed the swirling fog that blanketed the floor. He darted around, leaving trails of dark haze.

  They descended on the magebloods like a pack of wolves, each choosing a target.

  The elven girl spotted them first, eyes widening. “Noah!” she cried, pivoting away from Hopsander and hurling arcs of pale lightning at Piqah. Piqah snarled, slamming her huge fists into the ground. Stone shards flew up as the elven girl hopped back, weaving bolts of electricity back at the charging spiked gorilla.

  On the opposite side of the room, the black-robed man attempted to burn away some of the smoke with a wave of flame. Jiho retaliated by intensifying it, thickening the rolling dark that clung to everyone’s ankles. Jiho jumped up with his black dagger and aimed at the man’s midsection. But the staff wielder jumped back and conjured more bursts of flame.

  Lotrick, meanwhile, levitated a yard above the floor to avoid the worst of Jiho’s fog. He launched balls of fire and shards of ice by the dozens downward at Jako. Jako snarled in pain, rolling aside, growing more quills in fury. Lotrick’s face squeezed in a flicker of conflict—but he stayed loyal to his master and continued to fight. He rained down more fire and ice. Jako’s quills broke as he tried to block the spells. I watched as he changed back into his human form and dove into the thick black smoke to hide.

  Waelid was another story. Fire trailing from his limbs, he soared up behind Noah, trying to hem him in. Galina scuttled forward from the opposite angle, her scorpion tail whipping ominously. Between them and Hopsander’s towering advance, they nearly penned Noah into a three-way assault. Hopsander hurled a thick strand of mucus-like substance that splatted across Noah’s protective barrier; cracks formed, but Noah’s cold smirk remained. My chest knotted in both hope and anxiety.

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  With the magebloods fiercely engaged by the upperclassmen, my group continued to use the swirling fog to our advantage. We stayed low to the ground and crawled quickly and quietly. The acrid smell of Jiho’s smoke coated my tongue, but it hid our presence well enough.

  Occasionally, I glimpsed a savage blow from Piqah slamming near the elven girl or a wild slash from Galina’s pincers as she and Waelid hammered Noah’s shield. But it was all to no avail. No matter how hard they hit him, he looked unfazed. He raised his hands, and blades of golden energy manifested into the air. They aimed at Waelid and Galina before rocketing off toward them. Luckily, they dodged them, but every time they tried to attack, they would be met with more blades courtesy of Noah’s counters. Even from across the room, I felt the magnitude of that fight and prayed none of those blades of light hit me.

  ‘Stay focused,’ Fern reminded me. ‘Focus on the real mission!’

  Shit, sorry. I shook my head from the fight and crawled faster toward the teachers.

  We were to free them. In my plan, I had a theory about these chains. Seeing Hopsander break them confirmed one thing for me. They could break.

  So each of us coated a small knife with pillardust. If my theory was right, these watery, dust-laced blades would sever the golden threads binding each captive.

  We had to be fast and quiet. The swirling chaos near the runic circle was growing wilder by the second, as if it was a ticking time bomb.

  As we neared the captives, I realized the moment was here. Time to cut their chains, time to see if a small spark of freedom could tip this entire invasion on its head. My breath shook with anticipation, but I steeled my nerves. One slip, and we’d blow our cover—leading to certain disaster.

  I exhaled slowly, edging closer to the trembling professors. Hopsander roared again, the thunder of his fury rattling my bones.

  “It’s now or never,” I whispered, gripping the blade.

  A thunderous crash shattered the haze of smoke as Hopsander clashed head?on with Noah, forcing the magelord’s shining shield to fracture under raw, devastating force. From my vantage near the professors, I caught glimpses of their struggle through the black smoke. Hopsander’s neon-red aura pulsated around his massive form, and for the first time, Noah seemed—if not worried—then at least less amused.

  I crouched behind the first adult I saw, Al. With the knife in hand, I reached out and prayed this would work.

  The string vibrated when Lightcutter, covered in pillardust, touched the golden threads. But when I pushed up, the threads cut like they were decaying. Al turned around and smiled at me.

  “Boy am I glad to see you, lad,” he said with a weak smile. Al’s face was cut up, bad. I looked at his hands as he rubbed them; he was missing several fingers. “Did you go to House Anu?” he whispered.

  ‘We have to go, Erik!’ Fern yelled.

  I nodded. “Yes, we stopped the magebloods out there, now I need to keep moving. Wait for our signal. We will give a last stand.”

  Al looked at me for a moment and then bowed his head. “I will be ready, just tell me, lad, did you see my babies out there? Goro? Gora?” Al’s eyes looked like they could tear up. I felt bad, but I had to keep moving. He had to see that time was not something we had.

  “No, I didn’t, but I’m sure they are safe,” I said before I kept moving.

  One by one, we cut each professor’s golden binding, telling them the same thing: to stay put, act like they were still chained, and wait for our signal. Mel, Sora, and I worked one side of the circle while Tevin and Luna continued on the other. It was slow, delicate work. One wrong move, and we might cut flesh or alert the magebloods.

  A roar of fury made me look up. Hopsander had cornered Noah on one of the room’s walls. Waelid’s flames and Galina’s pincers hammered from each side, fracturing the shield that shimmered around Noah’s body. Sparks of golden energy scattered with each strike. The black?hooded man, Lotrick, and the elven girl were caught up in their fights against Piqah and Jako. None seemed free to rush to Noah’s aid.

  “Have you had enough, boy?” Hopsander bellowed, voice echoing around the vast chamber. He raised his massive, webbed hands, and long ropes of hardened skin grew out of them. Noah raised his hands lazily and grinned as he reapplied his shield.

  “You voidbloods are so disgusting,” he said. But Hopsander didn’t reply. He struck again with the thick ropes he conjured from his body.

  WOOOM.

  Noah’s shield groaned from the attacks. The barrier flickered dangerously, and cracks shot across its surface. I forced my attention back to the chain I was cutting—fingertips trembling with hope. Maybe, just maybe, we were about to witness Noah’s defeat.

  I had cut through two more when I heard Noah’s shield break.

  PSHH.

  Light exploded and shards from his spell fell to the ground before disappearing into dust.

  Hopsander lunged in, wrapping both hands around Noah and pinning him in midair. For a heartbeat, I let myself believe that was it, that they had done the impossible.

  The teachers around me stirred in excitement, some whispering prayers. Even Waelid and Galina sounded triumphant, standing on either side of Hopsander’s massive form. He clutched Noah like a doll, and the sudden capture of their leader made Lotrick, the elf girl, and the man in black robes stop their fighting and fly themselves close together back-to-back.

  Noah tilted his head upward in Hopsander’s grip, unimpressed. “You know, you talked as big as you look. But unfortunately, even with your greater form, you still are nothing more than a play toy. I mean, for god’s sake, you barely broke my level-one barrier spell.”

  If Hopsander was worried, he didn’t look like it. But I felt it. And my hands started to tremble.

  “I’m bored now,” Noah said quietly. Then, without warning, thousands of bladelike strands exploded from his body, shredding Hopsander’s arms and piercing his torso.

  Just like the car crash with my parents, everything slowed.

  “Professor!” Galina shrieked, lunging forward, but more blades lashed out to keep her at bay.

  “Captain!” Laska screamed out from where she sat in the circle.

  My stomach lurched at the horrible, wet sounds filling the air. The giant amphibian, our teacher, let out a gargled roar, eyes wide in agony.

  Waelid cursed, wings faltering mid?flame. Hopsander’s aura blinked in and out like a dying ember. Slowly, he collapsed to his knees, blood streaming from countless wounds. A hush of horror rippled through the warehouse.

  Noah twisted his wrist, retracting the long black blades into his body. Hopsander’s massive form slumped to the ground in a pool of thick crimson blood. My heart pounded so violently that I thought it might break my ribs. A heavy silence filled the room as the neon glow of Hopsander’s aura vanished. He was . . . gone.

  ‘NO!!!’ Fern screamed in my head. My heart sank twice as hard, my body shook, and my throat constricted.

  The professors gasped, some weeping openly. I glanced down at the half-sliced chain in my hands. The last chain to cut.

  Slow. I was too slow.

  My eyes began to burn, and my throat felt like a rock was inside it.

  Hopsander’s final stand had lasted mere moments, undone by Noah’s boredom. I wanted to scream, to lunge at the magelord, at my brother. But the sudden hush told me we had seconds—maybe less—before Noah retaliated on anyone else.

  I swallowed hard. The smoke was almost gone now. Sora, Mel, and Tevin all had the same face. The man who had led us here, who saved us from a life of slavery, had saved us again.