Chapter 11
“Levi! Can you throw that spell again?” Glint yelled. The imp was tugging his staff down to twist the knobs faster, and the color of the energy shimmered as his catalyst bubbled and churned. The pink steam burning away from the monster’s carcass changed as it burst into a lime-green flame. The same flames began to burn at the rubbery flesh of the tentacles pushing out from the hole, and Levi realized his friend had done something to turn the barrier destructive. The flashes of Flix’s attacks were slowing down, the dragonet running out of steam. She had backed up until she was clinging to the wall of the cave, her body now covering the hole that Zuzan was hiding within.
Levi took in his companions, Zuzan and Flix, the new trying to protect the old, and his rage began to boil up again. He raised his cane and took a deep breath. “Let’s find out,” he snarled in response. The magic energy began to swell up around his cane once more, filling the engravings in the silver and turning around the knob. Red-and-black destruction waited to be unleashed, and this time Levi reached into it with his will. He grasped that energy and focused on the hole in the wall, feeling the energy burning and surging inside of him. The energy didn’t want to be contained—it wanted to be unleashed. His fist tightened around the cane and the tool bucked. Levi had to grasp his wrist to keep it lined up with the collapsed segment of cave. His eyes flashed once more with the crimson light, and when he thrust his arm forward, a beam of black energy screamed outward. This ebony force produced scarlet flames that snapped around it, burning into the rubbery nightmares—Levi couldn’t help his scream as he kept the power under his direction.
He caught sight of Glint staring at him in the corner of his eyes, but he couldn’t focus on that. His attention was locked on the abominations trying to crawl out of the hole and his need to destroy them. A desire to see the things obliterated swelled to match the rage at something daring to attack his friends. The greater his hate became for the things, the wider the beam expanded, and Levi lost his ability to see the hole past his own torrent of energy.
Then Zuzan landed on his shoulder and bit him on the ear while letting out a loud squeak. He was so shocked he dropped his cane. The energy cut off with the clatter of the tool on the ground and Levi couldn’t help but let out a yelp. “Ow!” He twisted to look at the squirrel before he realized they might still be under attack. “Zuzan, what the hell?” he demanded as the sylvan squirrel chittered and swatted his neck several times.
That was when the silence registered. Levi’s head whipped over to look at the hole, but it was… more of a tunnel now. The walls had been singed to a glassy shine and it went a couple dozen feet into the earth at least. There was no sign of the beasts, and when he looked at Glint his friend was staring at him in awe. “What?” he asked.
“Levi, where did you get… all of that?” the imp asked in a hushed tone. He waved his long-fingered hand toward the tunnel in the wall. “Those were Horrors, multiple Horrors, and you just vaporized them!” The imp had practically shouted the last bit, and Levi just stared at him in confusion. He looked between Glint and the hole and frowned.
Flix let out a trill and flapped as she jumped down from the wall. The dragonet landed on his back and climbed up to his shoulder. Amber eyes stared into his, and a breath later the beast let out a hiss and folded her wings. She seemed to approve of seeing their enemies destroyed and she draped herself over his shoulder like a scarf.
Finally, Levi looked back at Glint. He pointed to the lantern, which was starting to calm down. “Your staff was setting them on fire, man, I just kept them back,” he protested. The imp shook his head and tapped the crystal pane on the front of his lantern.
“This thing didn’t have enough vapor energy to wipe out more than one of those. Sure, the ambient mana in here gave it a big boost, but even then it was just burning the dimensional taint in them. You killed the things—and look what you did to the side of the cave!” Glint’s excitement was clear. He put his uniform jacket and outer coat back on hurriedly, then grasped his staff. “Either way, man, I’d rather walk all night than stay in here any longer.”
Levi nodded—that he could agree with. He kicked the big mana crystal with his foot. “What about this?” he asked, careful not to touch it with his skin. He remembered the way it had burned. Glint looked torn, but after one glance down the tunnel he shook his head again.
“Nope, I’ll tell my professor about it and we can get the finder’s fee, but I am not sticking around in a cave that spawns Horrors,” the imp decided firmly. He started out and Levi started to follow him.
“Yeah, no, that makes sense. Caves that spew monsters don’t make good sleeping spots. I fully agree with you there, man. Let’s get our asses back to school,” Levi said. He looked at the hole he’d burned in the cavern wall and the charred roots that outlined it. A shiver ran down his spine as he pictured more of those teeth-gnashing bastards coming for them. Nope, I am good with getting the hell out of here, he thought.
Zuzan squeaked indignantly and Levi paused. He rolled his eyes behind his glasses before taking the bag of nuts off the root he had hung it on. Flix seemed fully asleep somehow, but Zuzan required several nuts before she’d calmed enough to settle in. Once her mouth was full, Levi put the snacks away, then left the cave as fast as he could.
The walk turned out to be grueling. His night vision was fine, and Glint could see even better, but the forest was cold and ominous. Levi’s fatigue grew as he walked and his stomach rumbled continuously. He ended up eating almost all of the bacon and ham he’d brought, saving only a few strips for Flix. The food he ate felt like nothing, barely a dent in his appetite and Zuzan looked at him with concern. The squirrel fished a nut out of her cheek pouch and offered it to him, but Levi gently pushed it away. “I appreciate the offer, Zuzan, but… no,” he said quietly. He did dig into the bag of nuts and eat a handful, however. The energy boost they offered helped a little, but the longer they walked, the worse his exhaustion grew.
Glint glanced at him several times in concern as they hiked. “You okay, Levi? You look… off,” the imp asked. Levi nodded, though the movement made his head feel like it had been filled with cement. Before he was fully aware of it, Glint was helping him along, the imp passing over his staff for Levi to lean on. With the staff as a crutch along with his cane, Levi dragged one foot in front of the other. The air just got colder, making both men glad for their leather coats. His fatigue mounted, until he’d lost track of how far they had come.
“Mr. Scrim! Mr. Walker! What are you men doing out here at this time of night?” a sharp voice demanded of them. Levi blinked blearily, and then his eyes focused to find Regina Applebottom and Tawny Goldenrod standing with several other individuals in formal clothing. The one speaking appeared to be a man with skin like dented iron. He wore a pristine gray suit lined with brown. The living statue held a long-handled hammer in one hand, the head clearly made of the engraved silver used by the school foci. “I asked you a question!” the leader of Bear House snapped.
“Vardis, I’d appreciate you not chastising my students without giving them a chance to respond,” snapped Tawny. She had a brace of daggers strapped over her torso and a longer blade belted about her waist. Levi looked at them all wearily and Glint’s ears wilted. Zuzan chittered and squeaked and her fur fluffed up. Levi managed to raise a hand to stroke the back of her head, calming the squirrel down.
“We left this morning to tame a beast for Levi,” Glint said, though he didn’t look eager to talk in front of the various Heads of the Houses. Levi felt his hand tightening around the knob of his cane, the support the only thing keeping him standing. His other hand was scratching Zuzan behind the ear. Unfortunately, that meant that Flix wasn’t getting any reassurance, something she made abundantly clear as she fanned her wings wide and let out a chiming squeal. Levi hadn’t expected the faculty to actually back up, nor to see Regina Applebottom whip a wand out of her coat to aim his way. The tamer stumbled as he raised his cane up like a barrier.
“Leave Flix alone!” he demanded, and a faint red light began to form around the head of his cane. Glint glanced at it and panicked; the imp raised his hands, waving them back and forth to get everyone’s attention.
“Woah, woah! Relax! Flix joined Levi at the dragonet hills, and we wouldn’t have walked all night if we hadn’t been attacked by the Horrors in the mana cave we found!” the imp nearly babbled as he tried to get their story out as rapidly as he could. At that point the faculty exploded into chaos as all of them asked questions and made demands—Levi had had enough. He dropped to sit on the ground and let go of his cane, pulling Flix into his lap to pat her on the top of her little scaled head. Glint was just getting to the part about Levi blasting the Horrors when Levi toppled over backwards and passed out.
As reality began to return to Levi, he heard voices arguing nearby. One was cold and imperious, the other fiery and pissed. He tried to open his eyes, yet he felt like lead weights were holding his eyelids shut.
“You don’t know a thing about me! Just because I don’t throw myself all over Levi doesn’t mean I don’t care!” the cold voice announced with a hiss of irritation.
“You claim to care when I know you are part of the group that was bullying his friend? If that asshole Darren hadn’t pushed Glint around, they’d never have left to tame a new companion!” the more emotional one retorted.
“I didn’t have any part of that! I was the one who got Darren to leave the cafeteria!” the other protested.
“But you did nothing to defend Glint nor to stand up to Darren did you?” came the angrier voice, one Levi was starting to recognize.
“That’s different, there are… rules, things you don’t understand!” came the feeble defense; Levi managed to scrunch his face in confusion.
“Oh bullshit. You think you’re the only one with a demanding family, princess?” spat Nox. Levi finally recognized her voice. Realizing Nox was there made him feel happy. The joy couldn’t quite cut through his exhaustion, but it tried.
“Ugh! You’ll regret this you, you, elf bitch!” came the snobbish response, then Levi faintly heard slippers on stone.
He became aware he was lying on his back on a soft mattress, and when he tried to shift, a groan escaped him. Every joint in his body hurt, and he just realized he had a dense weight resting on the center of his torso. The movement hurt, but Levi managed to reach up and touch the weight. Flix’s scales were warm and smooth beneath his fingers, and he scratched her behind the head as he struggled to get upright. The groan must have alerted Nox, because the busty redhead burst through the door with a bang.
“Levi! You’re okay!” she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders. Her heavenly chest squished into his face—he tried to talk, but all he got was a mouthful of her knit vest. She squeezed him tightly, and claws scrabbled over his belly as Flix woke and tried to drag herself out from between the pair of them. The dragonet trilled and hissed as she escaped, and then she flapped enough to fly to his desk. The black-and-silver reptile curled up on his desk and let out chiming chirps, getting comfortable once more.
Nox didn’t seem to notice, and Levi began to worry she was going to smother him back into unconsciousness when she pulled away enough for him to get a look at her face. Her large purple eyes stared at him. He registered the tears in the corners of her eyes and the look of concern on her face—then she kissed him hard as she tackled him back onto his mattress. The upperclassman climbed onto his bed and straddled him as she desperately cupped his face and continued the tongue war she’d begun.
His pain was starting to fade, since other sensations rose in him, and his hands found her hips as he stared at her. He took a deep breath and was surprised when a growl emanated from the depths of his chest. “Nox—” he began.
“Yes, Levi?” she murmured quickly, her eyes glazed and happy.
“Take off your shirt,” he continued, and her eyes flashed as she stared down at him. The passionate elf straightened up as she straddled him, then reached down with both hands to clasp the bottom of her button-down shirt. She drew her arms up and tossed the clothing back against the wall, leaving her large breasts to bounce in the purple lace bra—which he noticed brought out the color of her eyes.
Levi stared at her with desire in his gaze; his eyes flicked to the door and Nox looked up. The woman blushed furiously and waved a hand. The door shut with a thump and a magical lock formed around the doorknob. Then she was leaning over him again and he couldn’t help marveling at the view of her breasts swaying over his chest. “Levi,” she whispered, “I know you’re in pain. Mana drain sucks… but I know how to make you feel better.” Her purple eyes promised him that she was going to treat him well, and he felt a broad smile cross his lips as she tilted closer.
Then she was kissing him fiercely once more and he felt her warm skin pressing against his when she curled down onto his torso. A soft moan of joy escaped her and he echoed it, full of his own desires as he got his hands around her to stroke along her back.
Levi had just gotten the clasp of her bra undone when a knocking sounded on his door.
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