Chapter 31 - Test of Resolution

Mage Academy: Dormitory

Talwin eased the door open and looked to the sides. He saw corridors with evenly spaced doors that stretched into the distance. On the floor was a decorative carpet in patterns of blue and gold while the walls were made out of rock interspersed with veins of azure crystal. The veins of crystal glowed with enough light to illuminate the hallway and hummed within energy within the aether.

Carefully he stepped into the hallway, turned around, and eased the door shut with a click. Emblazoned next to the door was a number: 'A34'.

Looks like some kind of dormitory for the students...

Talwin looked to the left and noticed that the numbers grew, while the numbers to the right descended.

The left ought to be a dead end...

With a deep breath he started walking to the right and within a minute the corridor had opened up to reveal a larger room with numerous passages. He raised his gaze and saw signs above each passage. The one above the corridor he had just left said: 'Dormitory A'

As I thought... But it s __eems awfully quiet around here..._ Where are everyone?_

Talwin turned his attention to the fifth passage, and saw another kind of sign:'Sublevel 12'

I've never been to the Academy, but I never thought it would be this big...

Talwin walked up to the passage that led out of the dormitory and noticed that a large map had been attached to one of the walls. He quickly approached, and saw a cut through image of the Academy itself.

Above ground there were towers, castle walls, and loads of sections described by nothing more than initials. Below ground were levels dedicated to student housing, and workshops that were all connected by what looked like stairs. Near the bottom of the map were several levels marked simply by a notice of warning: 'Restricted Levels - Do not enter without proper authorization'

I need to focus on where the others might be...

But in order to do that I need to figure out what has happened here...

If there's no one here, does that mean they-

Talwin's ear perked and swiveled upon hearing something in the distance.

Footsteps... Where do I go!? Hide in the room I came from?

This is the dormitory... It could be a student on his way back form class...

Talwin gulped, closed his eyes for a moment, and made up his mind.

I need information... This will provide it, one way or another...

Talwin remained in place by the map, but glanced toward the depths of the passage. Within a few seconds saw a figure approaching. To his surprise the figure stopped, and even stepped back in surprise.

He turned his head to focus on the figure and saw a human mage clad in a black uniform. The rather young mage stared with a growing expression of shock that drained the pinkish hue from his face.

Why is he scared? He seems young... Has to be a student...

The young mage eased back, and leaned against the wall while staring in silence.

Say something!? Give me something to work with!

Talwin focused on the human mage, and raised his voice, "What are you doing here?"

The eyes of the mage widened in fright, but within a moment it shifted into a twisted form of anger, "What are you doing here!?"

This could turn bad... Quickly...

Talwin tipped his head a little and raised his brow, "What do you think?"

The mage remained frozen in place, and then gulped while the anger faded, "Let's pretend we didn't see each other, alright?"

Why? What am I missing?

Talwin inched closer and nodded, "How bad are things up there?"

The mage visibly exhaled, glanced back, and approached as if being followed, "Don't even think of heading up there if you've managed to hide this long. They're about to break through."

They?

"It's that bad?" Talwin asked when the mage approached.

The mage nodded with a cautious glance, "Yeah, it is. Have you been hiding down here ever since it started?"

"Pretty much," Talwin answered with a nod of his own.

The mage blinked, looked around, and seemed to realize something, "How, and where are you going?"

Talwin motioned toward passage behind the mage, "I was going to check what was going on."

"And how did you manage to escape detection?" The mage asked and stopped moving.

Talwin flashed him a sheepish grin and scratched his neck, "... Luck?"

The mage nervously glanced back, and stepped within reaching distance, "No matter. Come on, before anyone sees you and we both end up dead."

"Dead?" Talwin asked as the Mage walked past and motioned for him to follow.

The mage frowned, "I'm not kidding. The elders have declared Martial law and breaking it is considered desertion."

Something serious must have happened... Something bad enough that students would risk death...

Talwin followed the mage, "I'm Tipton, and you are?"

"Seriously, you want to exchange names?" The mage asked with an annoyed glance.

"If we're discovered we're dead anyway, hardly matters, right?" Talwin asked.

The mage sighed and looked in front, "Call me Aaron."

"So what's going on, Aaron. Why aren't we evacuating if they're about to break through?"

"Isn't it obvious? You hold the line or the Academy falls. But they're fools if they think I'm going to throw my life away like this," Aaron answered.

"Same here, so where are we going?" Talwin asked.

Aaron grew silent and glanced back at Talwin, "Did you hit your head or something?"

Talwin nodded and did his best to lie, "I'm not sure. There was a blast, and I stumbled to my room before falling unconscious. I only woke up a few minutes ago."

Aaron slowed to a stop, turned, and looked at Talwin, "You were near the blast when it happened?"

So... There was a blast of some kind? I wonder if we caused it...

"I think so, but my head's still pretty jumbled," Talwin answered and motioned to his head.

Aaron stared, tipped his head and the aether shifted a little as if the mage was gathering energy.

Talwin quickly raised his hands, "What? Do I look like a rotting corpse or something?"

"No, you don't... You're definitely alive, but..." Aaron whispered.

I'm guessing 'they' are undead...

"But?" Talwin asked.

Aaron shook his head, "There were rumors. Undead that can camouflage themselves, but i've felt their aetheric presence, and you're not it."

"Obviously," Talwin said with a short glare and a tone of accusation.

"Sorry... Things have gone to hell since that blast tore through the Academy and weakened the barriers. Never mind the rumors that 'something' slipped inside."

Avery? Clyde? Undead?

"Something?" Talwin asked.

Aaron shook his head and resumed walking, "No one knows, but they were in quite a hurry to lock down the restricted levels."

So... I should aim to get down there...

"Which wing was your room in?" Aaron asked and glanced back.

A test perhaps... The door said A34...

"A, why?" Talwin answered.

Aaron looked ahead but also moved to the side as if trying to gain some distance, "Who's your mentor?"

Talwin let one hand rest near his knife while he focused on Aaron, "If I was a bad guy, wouldn't I know what was going on?"

"Maybe you do, and you're just pretending?" Aaron answered and glanced back.

"At this point we're both deserters, and the name of my mentor will prove nothing. Unless we work together, we'll-"

Aaron interrupted, "Who's your mentor?"

Damn it...

Talwin raised his pace, stared back, and grabbed the knife, "Would you believe that I forgot?"

Aaron's pace slowed and as the seconds passed his face was drained of all color, "Who are you?"

Talwin raised one claw and pointed, "Someone who's trying to survive, just like you. So don't even think of stirring the aether, because I will kill you before you even have a chance to blink."

Aaron slowed, came to a stop, and bit his lip, "You don't have any active spells, we're equally matched."

Talwin inched closer, raised his nose a little, and drew a deep breath while baring his teeth. "Do you think you can cast a spell quick enough to shield yourself, and overcome my attempt to block it in the time I need to plunge a knife into your heart?"

Seconds of silence passed before Aaron whispered, "No."

"Now, do you want to cooperate with someone who only seeks to survive this? Or spend the last moments in your life fighting a battle that can only cost us both?" Talwin asked.

"If the others found out..." Aaron whispered.

"You're already a deserter, aren't you? How much worse could it get?" Talwin asked.

Aaron drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "I won't help you if you try to harm the Academy."

"I thought you didn't care about the Academy?" Talwin asked.

Aaron frowned in an instant, "I do care, this is my home. But I don't want to die in a pointless battle."

"I understand, and that's fine by me. Because I have no intention of harming anyone around here, I just want to get out," Talwin answered.

Aaron pointed down the passage, "We need to get to the other end of this level, sooner or later a patrol is going to move through the area."

Talwin thought back to the map he had studied, "Isn't that a dead end? The stairs are supposed to be the other way."

"Not if you know how to use the portals," Aaron answered with a gentle smile.

"Portals?"

Aaron shook his head, "It's complicated. Think of it as a short range transporter."

"Then lead the way," Talwin said and motioned down the passage.

Aaron resumed walking but kept an eye locked on Talwin, "You're not a student here, yet you carry our clothes and I can sense your magic potential. That means you're a foreigner to Agron."

"Wrong," Talwin said.

"You're from Agron? Yet you're not part of the Academy? That's not possible," Aaron said and blinked in confusion.

"Magic can grow," Talwin whispered.

Aaron drew a deep breath, seemed ready to protest, but paused for a moment. "Did you have something to do with the blast that destabilized the barriers?"

Talwin shook his head, "All I know is this: We were hunting a smuggler in Dracwyn and encountered a mage that used some kind of strange magic. The next thing I know is waking up here."

"This mage, does he have a name?" Aaron asked.

Shall I trust him? Or not? He's a student... It's unlikely that he'd be part of a conspiracy like this...

"Cyrus," Talwin answered.

Aaron's eyes widened, "Feline, a tad short, carries a big crystal?"

"Exactly," Talwin answered with a nod.

Aaron looked away and focused on the wall, "Cyrus invented modern transport techniques... I wouldn't be surprised if he kept some secrets for himself. But whatever he did really screwed us over, and you as well by the look of things."

Talwin motioned to Aaron and caught his attention once more, "Dracwyn is rather cut off from the rest of the nation. What has happened here, and please start from the beginning?"

Aaron nodded, "Alright. You're aware that the capitol has been corrupted, yes?"

"Corrupted?"

"Something has taken control of the king and the undead are spreading like a plague through the lands. What few people know is that the Archmage, that is, the de facto ruler of the Academy has not been seen since the capitol fell."

"Oh, and this caused problems for the Academy?" Talwin asked.

Aaron let out a deep sigh and slowly nodded, "The Academy has been in disarray ever since. Mind you, there has been no violence, but without an Archmage to settle debates we've become paralyzed from within. The loss of the Messenger Stones only made things worse because it isolated us from the rest of the world."

"I see, go on?" Talwin asked.

Aaron touched his forehead with a troubled expression, "The reports from the local lands have grown more grim for each day that passes. Cities being turned, villages ending up empty, wulfkins crippling our attempts to fight back against the undead. Things took a turn for the worse a few weeks ago."

"Oh?" Talwin asked.

Aaron gulped and focused on Talwin, "An army... A hundred thousand consisting of regular people turned into undead approached from every direction. They weren't armed, but such things don't matter when there's enough of them to make the countryside look like an ants nest. We would have been overrun if the council of mages hadn't put their grievances aside and raised a magic barrier to seal the Academy within a bubble. The horde has been outside ever since, waiting... We didn't expect the barrier to last once the wulfkins arrived, but for some reason they stayed back. Perhaps that was their goal all along, not to kill us, but to isolate us."

"But something happened?" Talwin asked.

Aaron nodded, "Something forced its way through the barrier, and it affected the aether itself. It tore wounds in the aether and made it too unstable to support the barrier. The mages have set up choke points at every entrance but they'll fall sooner or later, and then it'll be a slaughter."

"So why hasn't an evacuation been ordered? Are the transporters blocked?" Talwin asked.

Aaron drew a deep breath, sighed, and focused on Talwin's eyes, "The 'Academy' is the heart and home of all mages in Agron. It's our safe place... Home. None of us are keen to abandon it, but the elders are obsessed and would rather die than see it fall. I don't think that will happen though..."

"Oh?" Talwin asked.

They reached the end of the hall and Aaron raised his gaze to look upon a wall decorated by an arch. Aaron reached out, placed his hand on the surface, and whispered something under his breath. A moment later the concrete surface seemed to ripple like disturbed water.

Talwin stepped back in surprise while Aaron smiled and motioned to the rippling surface, "This is one of the ways we travel around the Academy: Localized portals bound to each level."

"Impressive, and where are we heading?" Talwin asked.

Aaron slowly exhaled and whispered, "The transporter system runs along the entire length of the central tower. The upper levels are heavily guarded, but the ones below us that are used for specimen transport and supplies should be empty."

"Then let's go," Talwin said with a nod.

Mage Academy: Specimen and Supply transport

"What the hell is it?" The voice asked.

Clyde lifted his gaze, looked through the bars surrounding him, and locked eyes with the burly canine that was dressed in the clothes of a mage. Part of him wanted to lunge forward and snarl, but the painful reminder of how he ended up here was still fresh in his mind: Transported into the middle of a classroom, people shrieking and screaming in panic. Spells being thrown left and right, the scent of scorched fur, and the crushing pain of being hurled into a wall. He could still feel the headache from it, and the ache in his spine. It made him lower his gaze and he stared at his own bare form.

Can't say I ever wanted to be caged again... At least they left me a loincloth...

There was a tapping noise on the bars and the canine mage spoke once more, "Hey... What are you?"

The sound of approaching footsteps made Clyde look up. A human mage emerged from behind a few stacks of crates, and carefully observed from a distance.

"Most likely something new that the Master cooked up. A new variant of wulfkin," The human mage said.

The canine mage glanced back, "Do you think it could be Red Eye?"

"This? No way. Wulfkins can't normally wield the aether, but Red Eye is supposed to be a mage of some skill," The human mage answered.

Clyde gritted his teeth while the burly canine pushed his head against the bars and stared, "So what are you? An experiment? A failed experiment?"

Clyde's heart made a solid thump, a tingle of warmth flooded his face, and he felt something snap. Anger made him leap up, paws pushing off the ground, hands reaching for the canine mage that taunted him. At first the canine mage seemed to frozen in place, a moment later he flipped his hand, and Clyde felt something grab his legs. With a swipe from the side his paws lost footing while his body turned like a flipped pancake.

Clyde's chest hit the ground first, and pushed the air out of his lungs with a pained groan. His head hit the ground with a solid thud and the headache from earlier bristled pain that made stars glitter in his vision. Wheezing and writhing he held his head and curled up to shield himself.

"You shouldn't do that," The human mage whispered.

The canine by the cage sneered, "The wulfkin needs to learn."

"What I meant was: What happens if Leyland catches wind that you're damaging his property?"

There was silence, followed by a sigh as the canine mage pushed away from the cage, "You're right."

"Did you see what he had on him?" The human mage asked.

"What? You mean the gun? Wouldn't surprise me that Everwinter would use such crude things."

"No... You didn't feel it? Or see the look on Byron's face when he grabbed it and nearly passed out from whatever spell it was charged with?"

The canine's tone of voice shifted to a slow murmur, "Hmm... They did run off with some haste."

"Yeah, and-"

The human mage stopped talking when a gentle but mechanical voice spoke, "Intrusion, two unauthorized signatures detected."

"Well, this is trouble. What do we do?" The canine mage asked.

"Calm down will you? It's just some students that want to use the transporter," The human mage said.

"Well then, why don't you take care of it, and leave me with the beast here?" The canine asked.

The human mage sighed, "Can you watch the beast without killing it?"

Clyde lifted his head a little and looked up at the mages outside his cage. The canine who had played his trick focused on Clyde and grinned, "I'll do my best."

Mage Academy: Specimen and Supply transport

"Tipton... I think we just triggered an alarm," Aaron whispered and looked up.

"An alarm?" Talwin asked and glanced back.

Aaron raised his hand and pointed at a small crystal assembly hidden above the door frame, "A silent one, to us at least. If anyone is around they'll be here in a few minutes."

Talwin felt his heart jump in surprise, "You're sure?"

"No... But-" Aaron's eyes widened and he lifted his gaze to look across the room.

Talwin looked back and focused on the large bay they had entered. It was filled with more crates than one could count and stretched further than one could see. Nothing moved though, so he focused on the aether and listened.

The various crates murmured with energy and made the aether feel like a jumbled mess, despite that there were a few points that stuck out. One of them was somewhere in the center of the room and its presence was both purer and far more powerful than the rest.

It's similar to the Transporter in the tower...

A presence emerged from the cloak cast by the transporter's presence. It didn't bother to hide itself, and unlike the transporter it hummed with the essence of a living entity.

A mage... Heading toward us...

"I doubt we even have minutes," Talwin said and looked back at Aaron.

Aaron nodded, "We have several options."

Talwin stepped closer, "Go on?"

"If we're lucky it's a student that was asked to guard the area."

"If not?"

"If not then we're about to be judged and possibly killed, especially if they discover who you are," Aaron said.

I could trust him... But if he tells the others they'll gang up on me...

If I encounter the mage on my own then I could at least pretend to be a student...

If I run then they'll surely follow... And if I do make it to the transporter... Then what? Do I leave?

I'm in deep shit no matter what I do... I guess this is as good as time as any to split up...

Talwin drew a deep breath, "Let's split up, no matter what happens one of us will have the chance of escaping this place."

Aaron nodded, and seemed to realize something, "Wait. Do you know how to work our transporters?"

"No, not really," Talwin answered with a shake of his head.

Aaron stepped closer, "You said you were chasing that mage in Dracwyn, right?"

Talwin nodded, "That's right."

Aaron opened his palm, focused for a moment, and watched as five runic letters appeared in sequence, "This is the aetheric code we use for Dracwyn. Feed it into the machine and it will handle the rest."

I don't recognize a single one of them...

Talwin stared at the runic symbols, "I don't recognize these runes."

"What?" Aaron whispered in wonder.

Can't exactly tell him I only know the necromancers aetheric language...

"We don't have much time, just tell me how to enter it into the transporter?" Talwin asked.

Aaron blinked, swallowed, and took a deep breath, "Just... Sense the symbols and replicate them. As far as I know the machine works by recognizing the 'tone' of magic, not the visual representation."

Talwin reached out, let his hand hover above the runic symbols, and did his best to memorize the way each one hummed within the aether, "Alright. Thank you, Aaron."

"You're not from Agron. That was a lie, wasn't it? " Aaron asked and stepped back.

"I grew up here actually, but I learned my magic from a foreigner."

"A foreigner?" Aaron asked.

Talwin's ears perked as the hunter came ever closer, "We'll need to split up now. Good luck, Aaron."

"You too, try not to cause any trouble... All right?" Aaron whispered with a surprisingly pleading tone.

Talwin started walking to the side, glanced back, and smiled, "I'll do my best."

Within seconds Talwin was rushing along tall rows of stacked crates. His eyes darted side to side while his ears listened and his mind focused on the aether. In moments the presence that hunted them shifted direction, and started heading toward Talwin.

Damn it!

Talwin picked up his pace, turned, and began to sprint toward the transporter. To his surprise the hunter's presence diverged once more, and headed toward Aaron instead.

Why did he do that? Are there more guards at the transporter?

Talwin slowed down a little and focused on the aether. He could sense that Aaron picked up pace in order to escape his pursuer, but the area around the transporter was too muddled to make sense of anything else.

He's a real student here... I'm sure he'll be alright...

Talwin turned his attention to the transporter, sprinted ahead, and kept his focus until the aether grew clearer.

There's another presence by the transporter... No... Two of them...

One mage and a... What is that? It's weak, but familiar...

With little choice he drew a deep breath and walked closer. Magic surged through his body as he called upon it, and his mind spun spells to protect him. He whispered them in silence, a physical reminder to keep the shields and defensive spells going.

It's the first time I'll fight on my own... No... I shouldn't assume... Talking can still work...

The long rows of stacked crates began to disperse, and further ahead was a large construct that hummed with the power of a transporter. It looked like a giant cupola of shaped crystal with supports that reached down from the roof to hold it in place.

"This is desertion, you know!" The dark and booming voice of a canine fur called out.

Desertion... At least they think of me as a student...

Talwin walked up to a stack of crates, moved along its side, and angled his head around the corner. He found himself looking at an open space with a large cage. Inside the cage was a huddled creature with white fur. Standing guard outside of it was a burly canine with a mean grin.

The canine held out his hand, pointed a black claw at the ground, and spoke, "Come here, boy."

Talwin glanced around in wonder while the big canine frowned and tipped his head in anger, "Now!"

Let's see if we can use this to our advantage...

Talwin let go of the crate, let his tail grow slack to show submission, and approached while willing his ears to fold back. It seemed to please the burly canine as the anger drained and was replaced by a pleased grin.

"You're in deep trouble, kid," The canine leered.

Talwin stopped outside of reaching distance and turned his attention to the cage. It took little more than a deep breath to recognize the scent drifting from it: A wulfkin... Clyde to be specific.

Clyde's here... Now I need to get him out and find out where Avery is...

"Well?" The burly canine asked and let loose a menacing growl.

Talwin lowered his head a little, softened his voice to that of a pleading pup, and met the canine's gaze, "Things are bad upstairs... The undead are breaking through. We need to evacuate... Please?"

The air surrounded the canine shifted with a flair of energy while the growl turned into an amused huff, "And you thought you'd escape through the cargo transport down here? Smart, but unfortunately you've stumbled upon something you weren't meant to see."

The energy within the canine kept surging and Talwin's gut tightened with the fear of fighting what seemed to be a high level mage.

He seems easily amused...

Talwin glanced toward the cage, and raised his voice, "What is that?"

The burly canine glanced back while Clyde stirred within the cage and looked up. While the canine mage looked away Talwin mouthed the words, 'It's me, Talwin'. Clyde's eyes shot wide in an instant and he sat up like a prowling beast.

" That is some kind of wulfkin... A weak wulfkin at that, no magic inhibitor, no aetheric aptitude to speak of, just an overgrown mutt," The burly canine answered and slowly looked back.

As the energy of the canine kept soaring it made the aether tremble with noise. It gave Talwin a plan as he discretely willed a thread of energy to sneak out behind him. It made its way past the crates, and rounded back upon Clyde's cage. Within moments the thread was curling around the bars that kept Clyde contained.

"What are you going to do to me?" Talwin whispered.

The burly canine put one knit fist against the other, squeezed, and made the joints pop, "My pussy of a companion would have turned you around and sent you upstairs. Me? I'm merciful... I'll kill you where you stand."

Talwin let the energy flare inside him, and he gathered every shred of energy he could muster. He then fattened the single thread he had sent out into a major conduit. It surged with energy and curled around the bars, while another poked on Clyde's shoulder. Clyde ears perked while he stepped up to the bars, grabbed hold of one, and nodded.

"I'm begging you? Please... I'll do anything?" Talwin pleaded.

The burly canine's smile grew into a devious grin that made his heavy tail sway in the air, "Do you call that begging? Show me tears, and I promise I'll make it quick."

Let's throw him off balance...

"Your friend is about to betray you," Talwin said with a sudden and toothy grin.

The aether shuddered and the canine's eyes widened in surprise, "What?"

In a split second the threads around the bars tightened with a flare of energy, it made the iron hiss and with a moment the bars were cut. They floated into the air while Clyde stepped out and grabbed one in his hand. Clyde picked up his pace, and took up a sprint buffeted by the soft pads on his paws. With a grin he lifted the bar like a sledgehammer.

Clyde might be strong, but he won't have a chance of getting through the shields of that mage...

Unless we use that thing Avery put inside him...

Talwin raised his hand, pointed at the still confused mage, and grinned, "Got'cha!"

With a surge Talwin dumped his energy through the aetheric conduit running along the ground. It made the once invisible conduit flare with enough light to make the mage cover his eyes.

Meanwhile the energy kept flowing, arced around crates, doubled back toward the cage, and surged into Clyde. The aether thumped when the energy was absorbed by the crystalline parasite, and the spell flared within. Jagged tendrils took shape in the air surrounding Clyde, and like a pouncing spider it struck the canine mage.

Clyde tensed his arms, and swung the iron bar like a sword. The aetheric tendrils of the spell latched onto the mage's shield, and with a crackle of energy they were ripped apart at their weakest point.

Dread dawned on the burly canine as his eyes widened in surprise.

CRACK!

Talwin was still pointing at the mage as a shiver ran through his spine. His eyes focused on the iron bar being swung, and the path it took. Instinct made him want to shout out, but things happened too quickly. The canine mage began to turn his head to face the enemy which had just torn his shields apart. Upon the moment of seeing the iron bar, it hit his head.

A loud crack was heard, the iron bar rang like a bell. Flesh, and blood spattered out as bone gave way. Like a lifeless sack the canine leaned backward while the legs slumped. A heavy thump followed when he hit the ground like a fattened seal. Blood poured from the open wound, and trickled along the natural cracks of the floor. The aether shuddered, energy turned into flux, and the presence of the once powerful mage began to flicker. With a whimper of confusion and a puff, the essence faded.

Clyde loomed over the body, his chest heaved with exertion, and his hand trembled while still holding onto the iron bar. He glared with hatred while baring his teeth.

Was it really necessary to aim for the head?

Clyde looked up with the focus of a feral beast, "Where's Avery?"

Talwin swallowed and forced himself to look away while the scent of blood spread through the air. Normally the scent would have been enticing, but having seen what it belonged to made it seem nauseating.

"We just murdered an Academy Mage..." Talwin said.

Clyde crouched, reached under the burly canine, and unceremoniously started pulling the clothes off.

"Your people claim to be morally superior to everyone else, but when it comes down to it they're just as bad as any wulfkin!" Clyde snarled.

Talwin watched Clyde ease off the corpse's pants off while taking care not to get too much blood on it.

"We're murderers now, enemies of the state..."

Clyde's hackles bristled as he snapped to attention, "Snap out of it, you whiny little shit! These people dragged Avery off, and locked me in a fucking cage to be experimented on!"

Talwin gritted his teeth, glanced back, and sensed the aether: Aaron and the other guard were now heading this way.

"There's more coming, a student named Aaron and the second guard that was here."

Clyde tore the sandals off the burly canine's paws, "If they stand in our way, then we'll kill them as well."

"And soon you'll have the entire Academy on top of you," Talwin said and looked back with a stare.

Clyde stood up, eased the canine's pants on, and latched it in place above his tail, "I heard them talking about Leyland getting his hands on something precious. That's where Avery has to be, so either make up your mind or stay here as a distraction. Because I'm going to get him before that freak kills him."

"I just saved your ass, Clyde. Stop acting as if I'm your enemy," Talwin said and started walking toward the transporter.

A low growl was heard as Clyde dropped the canine into a pool of his own blood, "Avery is in danger and you keep plodding about your precious innocence!"

"It's not about innocence!" Talwin snapped.

"You don't deserve him," Clyde murmured under his breath.

Talwin tightened his fists, turned around, and marched up to Clyde who was busy dressing himself, "You have no idea what we've been through, or the things I've sacrificed!"

Clyde bared his teeth but averted Talwin's gaze while buttoning his shirt, "You've weakened him, turned him into someone who doubts himself. A person without focus or the will to do what's necessary, just like yourself."

Something snapped inside Talwin, a burst of adrenaline that made his head swoon with a sudden thump of anger. It made him lunge forward and he snatched hold of Clyde's mane. Clyde's maw opened with a snarl while one hand gripped Talwin's arm in an iron grip.

Still fueled by anger Talwin felt his mind beckon the aether. Threads surged from his hands, coiled around Clyde's every limb, and snapped his muzzle shut with a clap. In little more than a second Clyde found himself held in place like a statue while Talwin glared with the anger belonging to a wild beast.

Talwin's hand clutched, and pulled until strands of fur ripped from Clyde's neck, "You think of yourself as the big bad wolf, capable of getting everything done by killing everything in your way. Well guess what? It doesn't always work, and the rest of us force ourselves to be civilized, even if we want nothing more than to tear others apart. You and Everwinter are the ones that broke Avery. I helped him find balance, WE helped each other."

Talwin pulled to the side, tipped Clyde's balance, and then let go of the aetheric threads holding him in place. It made Clyde stumble to the side while tufts of fur drifted to the ground. Clyde's chest heaved with deep breaths and the wulfkin turned to glare at Talwin with a sharp stare.

"Where is Avery? Where do we go?" Talwin asked.

Clyde's nose wiggled in annoyance while he lifted on hand and pointed toward the other end of the bay, "Through the elevator, one floor below, into that crazy feline's lab."

Talwin turned around, faced the giant transporter, and lifted his hands, "Let's first deal with the ones following us."

Without the burly canine to interfere it was easy to siphon energy from the transporter. Talwin sapped it with aetheric threads, gathered the flow of energy in a giant cloud, and weaved a spell through it. As the cloud energized he directed it toward the massive stacks of crates, and unleashed it. The spell surged out like lightning through a dark cloud, and pushed like the arms of a giant. The tall stacks of crates began to topple, crashed into each other with a loud thumps, and created a cascade that made the entire room rumble.

Within moments he could sense that Aaron and the other guard had turned around and started running.

Clouds of dust and debris rose in the rumbling chaos while Talwin turned around to face Clyde, "I'll do what's necessary. I can promise you that, Clyde."