The Young and Gifted

51. fear not

Hope was talking to Landon about a date they were planning when she noticed that they were the only ones in the hall. She narrowed her eyes when she spotted plants crawling around the floor. 

"Where is everyone?" Landon seemed to notice too. 

Hope approached a particular door and tried to open it. It didn't move. She stepped back and swallowed. "I don't know but I have a bad feeling. Let's find the teachers and get you somewhere safe--"

A shadow emerged from the corner of the hall and Clarke emerged with a grin. He had his hands placed at his back and he was looming over the two. "Not to worry, I'm already here."

"Clarke," Hope said. "Where are the others?"

"In the Main Hall. Caroline actually sent me to fetch the two of you. There are monsters on campus. You know, the usual," he smiled. He led them forward and Landon and Hope followed. 

"Monsters?" Landon repeated. "They usually come one at a time."

"And why didn't Dorian sound the alert?" Hope questioned. Something was off about the whole situation. Why were they the only students in the hallway? Where did Clarke from?

He chuckled. "Dorian is a bit...preoccupied right now." 

That tone. Hope could sense the danger from a mile away. She slowly pushed Landon behind her as Clarke continued to lead them from the front. Landon gave Hope a questioning glare but didn't say a thing. She motioned to the hallway on the right and her eyes seem to scream, Run in 3, 2...her fingers began counting down but she froze when Clarke stopped walking. As he began to turn around, Hope shouted, "GO!"

Landon sprang into action, pumping his arms as he sprinted down the left hallway. Clarke sighed. "Now I really wished you didn't do that. You're wasting Master's time."

Hope delivered a kick towards Clarke and to her horror, he sank into the ground. Her eyes widened as she turned back to the hallway Landon had ran down and Clarke emerged in front of the Phoenix. He grabbed Landon by the neck and Hope screamed, "No. Leave him alone."

"Be complicit and I won't snap his neck," he smiled like he was asking if she preferred waffles or pancakes. 

Hope's nose flared. "Landon can't die. Killing him isn't leverage over me."

Clarke applied pressure to his neck and Landon began to choke. "Do you even know the proper legend? The true immortality is in the wings of the Phoenix. It's why they are black from burn and not turned into ash, why its been able to pass through generations. So imagine if I...clip them. Wonder what would happen then."

"You wouldn't," Hope seethed as water began to pool in her eyes. Landon's face was red and he struggled to stay conscious. "Your master needs Landon."

Clarke pulled out the dagger that could kill monsters. Before she could wonder how he got his hands on it, he drawled, "Would you like to test me? A for yes, B for no."

Hope held her ground. "What type of monster are you?"

"I am Henchman, monster from the Legendarium," he declared. "And if you don't want dear Landon to fall into eternal slumber," Clarke said as Landon finally tapped out. "Follow me."

Hope had no choice. So she did just that. 

*

Clarke dragged Landon's body, with one hand supporting his body and the other holding Landon's hand across his shoulder. They walked into the Main Hall and Hope was stunned to see a silver-robed woman--the one from her dreams all those months ago. She seemed to be facing the window and when she heard the commotion, she turned around. 

"What do you want?" Hope spat. "You got us, Landon and I are here."

She chuckled. "Patience, child. I am not the type of villain that would exploit all my plans before I enact them."

"Take off the cloak," Hope ordered. She shrugged and pulled down the hood. But instead of a face revealing, it was only a golden mask. "Take off the mask." The figure didn't move. Hope scoffed. "I already know who you are, Olivia Parker. Why bother?"

"Because it builds suspense," she drawled. "I--"

The doors boomed open and the four witches stepped into the room. Lizzie, Josie, Kaura and Penelope all had menacing glares on their faces and it was Lizzie who snarled, "I cannot believe I'm saying this but when you come for one of us, you come for all of us."

"Patet semita," Josie spelled as the doors just behind them. The lights in the room flickered. The chairs in the Main Hall cleared away, making a path right to the podium the woman was standing on.

The Master only sat back and motioned at Clarke. "Henchman. Get rid of these children. I grant you the Sceptre of Darkness."

Clarke's typical grin seemed to break his face as a long dark staff appeared in his hand. "Corporis strepito." The girls were blasted back. 

Kaura was the first to recover and she hissed, "Exitiale confractus." She snapped his neck but Clarke didn't go down. He slowly snapped his neck back into place and somehow, he was still smiling. Always smiling. 

Lizzie and Penelope recovered as well and they both said in sync, "Praemium retro." This only created a gush of wind and Clarke tapped the foot of the sceptre against the ground once. It blew back the witches once more and Penelope slammed against the wall, going down. And did not get up again. 

Josie tried to run for her but Clarke reacted again, pointing at the witch with two fingers. "Volare ad solem." Josie was thrown out the window.

This only made the blood in Kaura boil and she whispered, "Et furati sunt atque data est mihi." The sceptre immediately flew out of Clarke's hands and into hers. His smile was wiped off. She tapped the foot of the staff on the ground like he had and he was blown back. 

"Enough," the Master ordered and rose up from her seat again. She snapped her right finger and then her left and everyone in the room froze. She sighed at the silence. 

Kaura was frozen mid-air but she could still speak. "You're a real bitch, you know that? I don't even consider you fam--"

"Silence," she boomed and Kaura found herself swallowing her words. The masked figure slowly descended down the stairs. "I did not orchestrate my plots and schemes just to have a couple of amateurs tear them down. I have finally obtained what I have longed for and nothing, nothing shall interfere." She approached Hope's frozen figure and cupped her cheek. Small glass tears were falling down but the Master wiped them away. "Fear not, child. Everything will be all right."

And then she snapped her neck.

~

"We will win or lose this battle together, no matter what comes next."

try to guess who said it and don't forget to vote ;)