Atlantis Academy: The First Element

CHAPTER EIGHT

What you do want?" I finally croak out.

I blink, and he's gone.

Gone.

Unless...

Unless he was never there to begin with.

My pulse thrums in my ears as I whirl around, looking for any sign I'm not crazy.

Was he really there? Or am I hallucinating?

Am I losing my mind? My grip on reality was never that great to begin with, and all this "magick is real" crap has loosened it even more.

What if this has something to do with the Aether? The doctor did say it could have long-term side effects, although she wasn't very specific...

I swallow hard and turn back to the gaping hole in the Redwood tree, eager to get the hell out of here.

The disc is still blinking green, so I quickly step into the darkness beyond.

Too bad there's nothing on the other side.

My scream gets stuck in my throat as fall through the pitch black, flailing my arms and legs, trying to find something to grab on to.

A few lights flash past my watery eyes as I twist, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever's below me. There's a dimly lit rock floor down there. It should be rushing toward me, but everything's happening in slow motion.

This is gonna hurt.

I start windmilling my arms, spinning through the air, desperate to claw at anything to save me. My scream finally makes it past my lips right before I'm about to slam into the ground.

Instead, I'm deposited gently on the floor.

I'm on my hands and knees, panting with fear, my dress hiked up around my waist, and my left shoe is missing.

My silver flat and wristlet drop down softly a few feet away.

"Holy. Shit," I say breathlessly.

A little giggle erupts to my left. It's Vivian, standing a few feet away against the rock wall, her hand over her mouth.

"I'm sorry! I should've warned you." She suppresses her smile. "You've never used a gravity well, have you? And that was a long one. Three hundred feet, at least. One of the longest ones I've been in. If you'd have kept still, you, uh, wouldn't be missing stuff."

My cheeks are burning as I ungracefully stagger to my feet and pull my dress down. I lurch over to my shoe and slip it back on, then stoop to grab my purse.

"It's okay," she says soothingly. "You'll get the hang of it. You gotta step through, keep your feet apart, knees slightly bent, and you'll land perfectly."

I dab at the perspiration on my forehead and look back up the well. It looks like a never-ending dark tunnel with a few dots of light here and there.

I shake my head. "Jesus Christ."

"Nope. Just Magick." Vivian smiles and links her arm through mine. Then she drags me into the passageway outside the landing area.

I shake her loose and pretend to fix my hair. But my hair's exactly how I left it. There was no wind in that gravity well. It's my pride that needs fixing.

At least I only flashed Vivian and not that group of guys that arrived before us. Could've been worse.

The passageway she's taken me to is a long, wide tunnel that slopes gently downward to an exit. Yellow globe lights magickally hover near the ceiling, illuminating the glittering walls and floor. I peer more closely at the walls. They're filled with tiny clusters of small iridescent gemstones. Beautiful. I've never seen anything like it.