Rich Kids Don't Die | Featured

Chapter Nine

"I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND," Maddie whispered. She was holding a small, glass vase that held the product of her magic – a flower. At first, she didn't really know what to do with it, but as the bell rang for the third lesson after break she could only think to plop it into a vase, and deal with it later.

Now, Maddie and Alex were leaving school, finally. The entirety of the day, she'd endured rumors, rude stares, and had threaded the floors in hopes of not being seen. She wasn't quite sure how, but she'd managed to get through the day without having to face either Camille, Annika, or Lucian. The most she had gotten was a fleeting glance before they'd disappeared from her sight. Strange. Wasn't that what she had wanted to do to them?

Unfortunately, Maddie and Alex were in for a shock. Right as they'd pushed past the exit doors of Oakland Academy and hurriedly made for Alex's car, the very monster Maddie had wanted to avoid stood right in front of her – Lucian.

There he was, leaning against his shining, midnight blue Camaro, his swinging fists and cracked lips almost the very same shade. At the sight of Maddie, his lower lip curled into a wretched smirk. Alex stopped, reaching for Maddie's hands and pulling her beside him.

Lucian glanced at Alex, then laughed. Maddie stood straight, and suddenly, she didn't need protecting. He could not hurt her, not now. Couldn't she just blast him to the moon with her magic?

Maddie grinned, the power surging through her, and brought her hands together. Light shimmered from her fingers, and she imagined it, a cannon of water sending Lucian sprawling back, and then a fire, his face in smithereens, and then– she felt a harsh tug on her arm.

"Stop."

Maddie stiffened. So close. She could have gotten away with it, damn it, Lucian could have finally got what he deserved–

Alex slowly pushed down her fingers, untangling them from each other. "You can't use magic to hurt a mortal, Maddie. You'll kill him." he muttered.

Scowling, Maddie turned to face Alex. "Got a better plan? He'll kill you. Or worse, me,' she whispered harshly.

Lucian eyed the two of them, rapidly from Maddie to Alex. What were they even discussing? This wasn't exactly the reaction he'd wanted. What were they doing? Worse, Maddie didn't even seem... frightened. Was that a smile, he'd seen a moment ago? Why the hell did she start rubbing her fingers together, like some type of lunatic? God.

Minutes later, Maddie and Alex were still arguing in the form of whispers. It was getting sort of old. Other people were starting to notice too, now.

"I swear, I won't kill him,"

"Maddie, you will. You're out of control, just let it go, we'll figure something–"

"Alex, I have to, he's a monster–"

"I'll tell Sonia!"

Maddie stopped arguing. Narrowing her eyes, she gave Alex a look of utter menace. "You wouldn't dare."

Suddenly, Lucian slammed his hand against his car. "Could you two stop arguing? I didn't even get to say anything–"

Alex scoffed. "Keep your mouth shut, you son of a bitch!"

For a fleeting moment, Maddie's sole slipped on the bars of a sewage drain. To her horror, she felt the grimy metal of the drain creak under her foot, shifting slightly in it's place... she grabbed onto Alex's shoulder to steady herself.

Then, the whole goddamn thing unhinged, falling into the depths of the sewage for what seemed like an eternity, before a loud, vile splash sounded from the rock-bottom of said sewer, and in its place came Maddie's heel–

Lucian came charging towards Alex, his features melting into a vile snarl. Like a bull, his feet slapped against the pavement, and with his arms outstretched and his fists clenched he– grappled for balance in the air for a while, before he fell onto the floor with a small Oomph!

Meanwhile, Maddie and Alex had shot through the gaping hole right where the drain should've been... It was a hellish experience. The sky churned for a moment, and Maddie's stomach dropped – before they staggered into another world completely...

They whirled through the air, before almost diving into a swirling, milky pale portal. It glowed and shimmered in the sun, ever so inviting with each and every twirl of its swirling, moon-like magic. After shooting through the portal like a bullet, the pair stumbled into a clearing of trees.

Maddie felt the soft, damp soil of the earth curl around her toes as she sank into it slightly. Slivers of sunlight trickled past the trees, curtains of silky moss hovering overhead. With each shiver of the moss in the crisp, cool breeze, gravity seemed to crack in half.

Alex's hand shot through the blanketed moss, pulling it away only to reveal a sparkling, whole new world, as well as a whole new era...