Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

79. Fangs and Claws and Blood

He felt...cold.

And not the dampish, all-encompassing cold he'd get after diving head-first into a huge puddle of mud after a rain cloud had passed, much to the chagrin and disappointment of his parents. No, Jack enjoyed that kind of cold, the feeling of being completely submerged in a swampish crevasse, knowing that nobody and nothing could lecture him or tell him what to do. What self-respecting tutor or refined and upstanding noble would attempt to plunge in to get him out of there? Ha! He'd love to meet the sulmo and give him a muddy slap on the back for his futile efforts.

But this coldness was different, and he hated it. Jack was no stranger to the frigid pressure crushing his body, weighing him down and deep, urging him to accept his circumstances and stay lying in the dirt for the rest of his days. For this coldness was a blizzard that followed defeat. All around him was darkness. However, if he listened closely enough, Jack could faintly make out the shouting of someone's voice-a voice calling his name.

As he honed in on the noise, the darkness splintered with shards of light as if rays of the sun were beaming into a muddy ocean. Above him, he could make out two figures as they stared down at him, one crouched and the other with arms folded across its chest. "Jack! Hey, Jack!" Yes, one of the murky shadows was calling to him, those heavy shouts reverberating throughout the waters. Jack took a blink, and color returned to his gaze. What first he was met by was Mason's relieved smile, the larger student patting the nape of his neck as he chuckled. "Welcome back to the land of the living. Did you enjoy your nap?"

Jack's mouth felt dry like he hadn't drunk anything in hours, and before he even thought to say anything, a throbbing pain erupted like a geyser, and Jack quickly clasped a hand against his head. "Sunder me to the Shadow! Dammit, what happened?"

"We should be asking you that, moron," said someone else. Abby's disapproving eyes settled on him. The girl was harsh on a normal day, if not inconsiderate, but she could be especially heartless when she was frustrated by something. Jack could only pray to Aeris that he hadn't done anything to receive her wrath.

Straining a stare at them both, Jack struggled to sit forward, only to fall back on the trunk of the tree behind him. Violent memories stormed within him, flashy images of fire and reddish light colliding into him with intense heat, and therein, the throbbing in Jack's head was partially nullified by a growing sense of embarrassment. "Damn, I remember everything now," Jack admitted with a sigh, drooping his head ashamedly. "I'd waited until you and Mason had left...then I challenged Dresden to a duel. It was so cool, fighting someone as powerful as him...until the end, that is."

Mason blinked at him with shock. "Wait, you and Kliff dueled?"

"Pretty much..."

"Well? How did that go?"

"Ha! As if that isn't already obvious," Abby laughed. "Kliff kicked your ass good, didn't he? I bet you didn't even stand a chance against him. Goes to show you should never duel someone leagues ahead of you in power. Your magical energy was never that impressive to start with. What made you think you could handle Kliff on your own?" With hands on her waist, Abby tilted her head back as she laughed some more, thoroughly enjoying his defeat, much to Jack's irritation. It was bad enough that he'd been defeated, did she really need to pour more salt into his wound? "If only I'd stuck around a bit longer, I would have throttled you myself. Might not have been the most entertaining duel, but a duel nonetheless. I couldn't find anyone to duel out in that forest before this stick in the mud dragged me back here."

"We're following Adeline's instructions," Mason said firmly. "I won't hear any more nonsense out of you."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Whatever."