Fallen University: Year Three

An ear-splitting alarm drowned out any response I might have had. The medieval torches on the walls became flashing red lights.

Shit. So much for my distraction buying us some time.

They knew we were here.

Chapter Six

“Run!”

I didn’t bother being quiet. The blaring sirens would drown me out anyway. I darted down the hall toward the pull in my gut, keeping an eye out for any monsters but no longer trying for stealth. The guys were right on my heels this time.

As we careened down the corridor, the floor began to shake.

“Earthquake?” Kingston called, his gaze darting around.

“You wish. One side!” Kai barked.

We flattened ourselves against the wall just as a thundering platoon of vicious-looking centaurs stampeded past. The ones in the lead glared ahead as if they could see their adversaries. But a smaller one near the rear was taking full advantage of his wide-set eyes, scanning this way and that as he stayed in step with his people.

Shit. He was going to see us, I knew it.

I shoved at Kai, who took the hint and began to run. The centaur screamed a battle cry and peeled off from his platoon to chase us. The others went on as if they hadn’t heard him, chasing some unknown threat.

“Use your weapons!” I screamed.

Leading by example, I lobbed an orb at the monster, not even checking to see what it was before I threw it. It exploded on the thing’s chest, unleashing ropey vines which wrapped around each of its six limbs.

The centaur fell to the floor, still screaming.

A choral war cry echoed in the hall behind me. I turned around just as a wave of little black fiends filled the space ahead of us.

“Don’t stand still! Keep going!”

With one hand in the sack where I kept my weapons and the other slashing and hacking with a long knife, I charged ahead toward Xero. The only upside of this shitshow was that the adrenaline of the fight was overpowering my empathetic senses, making my headache fade to a dull pulse. I barely even registered it as I raced into battle.

Jayce used his crossbow to clear a path ahead of me while Kai ran by my side, slashing to the left while I slashed to the right. Our bombs and orbs made one hell of a racket. As another wave of fiends arrived, I wondered if we were just drawing more monsters to us with all this fucking noise.

I almost shouted an order to keep it quiet, but I realized that it would only cripple us. For as little and weak as these fiends were, they outnumbered us fifty to one. If I took the bombs away, we’d be slaughtered. I charged on ahead, blowing fiends to smithereens and slicing whatever body parts came close enough.

We rounded a corner—and ran headlong into a net covered in bits of glass. Fiends cackled as they rushed to wrap us up in it.

“Fuck this,” Kinston growled.

He turned and morphed, spreading his wings to push the net away and protect the three of us from the heat of his blast as he breathed a plume of fire. He must have killed three hundred of the little fuckers in a single blow. Blood trickled down my arms from where the glass had pierced me, but I ignored it. Just a few scratches.

Besides, we were almost there. I could feel it.

The feeling in my gut grew so strong that it overpowered everything else. It washed over me in a wave, leaving me feeling nauseated and shaky, like smelling a food truck nearby when you haven’t eaten for days. I didn’t know if I could make it through another wave of monsters. The ups and downs of my succubus senses were knocking me for a loop.

“He’s this way,” I called, gesturing toward the pull.

Squeaking cries of discovery rose up far behind us as more fiends came upon the remains of their fellows.

We had to hurry.

I tried, I really did, but I could barely force my muscles to work at all. Jayce grabbed my elbow and ran with me, half-dragging me through corridors, which were growing darker and dingier with every turn. I stumbled as my head exploded in pain again, and he caught me around the waist.

“Left,” I gasped. My eyes were squeezed shut, and I navigated on my gut alone. “Right.”