The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 4

                                                                                           Katherine

I was in the middle of a swordfight with Aaron when the wind began to blow. It was cold and didn't feel right. The dust whipped up, making it hard to see anything in front of you.

"Aaron?" I called out.

"Right here," he answered. I felt him edge closer so we don't lose sight of each other.

"Arghh!" came a scream. I turned towards the noise. Through a lull in the wind, I saw Jason lying in a heap on the blacktop. Immediately, I ran towards him.

"Class! Please remain calm!" shouted Mr. Watts. "Drop your weapons and slowly move towards my voice! Be careful!" Of course I wasn't going to listen to any of that. There's one of my classmate-friends lying on the floor and an abnormal dust storm in the middle of spring. One of the morals I was taught growing up was to never leave a friend in distress. My strong sense of loyalty forbid that I ditch Jason and go to safety.

A howl and a shriek. I shuddered, feeling the chill. Beside me, Aaron sucked in his breath sharply.

"Kath, there's danger ahead. Be careful," he warned.

"Got it. You too, Aaron," I replied. I had learned to trust his instincts.

We reached Jason. While Aaron stood guard, I bent down to look closely at Jason. He was breathing, which was good, but he looked really pale. There was a slash on his arm that was bleeding, but it didn't look like a normal wound. First of all, he was wearing armor, like all of us, and the weapons aren't supposed to puncture the armor. Mr. Watts specifically said they couldn't pierce the armor. So how did Jason get hurt?

"Is Jason okay?" called a voice. I stood up and saw Lucian running over with Indigo right behind him.

"He's alive, but hurt. The wound doesn't look right," I answered as they skidded to a halt. "Indigo, you're more of a medical expert than I am. Can you take a look?"

"I can try, but I'm not good either," replied Indigo, but she crouched down beside Jason. Rachel and Ashley joined us, and we huddled around Jason's fallen figure. As far as I can see, we were the only ones out here, not following the teacher's orders. And we were the good kids, the star students.

"Rachel, look. This wound is not right. You're better than I am at this type of thing," said Indigo, straightening. Rachel frowned and bent down for a closer look.

"It appears to be done from a sort of dark magic," she said after a few seconds. "I've read about it in a book."

"So it is?!" I exclaimed. "I thought it might be, but I wasn't sure. So I asked Indigo to look."

"That was also my suspicion, but I couldn't be sure. Thank goodness you came, Rachel," said Indigo. The six of us looked at each other.

"Dark magic...." mused Aaron. "Didn't the Evils have something to do with dark magic?"

"Yes, they did! The text book said something about it," said Ashley excitedly. "What if---?"

Her hypothesis was cut short by a long howl. The wind picked up suddenly. Dark shapes loomed out of the swirling winds, tall and mysterious. Instinctively, all of us pulled out our swords and stood facing outward in a protective circle around Jason. Someone—or something—stumbled towards us. We peered into the storm, trying to see who or what it is. As it approached, we breathed a sigh of relief. It was Anna, Jason's partner for the day. Not an Evil or monster.