COBALT: The Red Phantom (Book One)

Chapter 13: Staz (Part 1/5)

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Sooooooooo, look who finally updated! Sorry, I was writing a failure of a dark fantasy horror (Adamina's Circle, read and weep) and decided to rewrite this entire 12k chapter. because fillers are fruitless follies that I MUST DESTROY. I'll try to update more regularly now <3

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          Káel had a pleasant dream. He was back on Earth, eating pancakes, walking to school, and for some inexplicable reason, enthusiastically prancing through the field in front of his house.

          Then Ray came along and it became a nightmare.

          Just before Ray kicked him into a swimming pool full of sharks, Káel sprang awake, disturbing Puff, who in response to the sudden movement dug his claws into Káel's stomach and bristled his fur. He slowly leaned back down, a fissure of searing pain cracking through his skull in tune to his beating heart, and the newfound pricks Puff had provided him with dotting his stomach.

          "Oh you're awake are you?" a familiar voice said. "Don't worry, you're fine, but I wouldn't recommend getting up for a bit."

          He squinted until his eyes adjusted to the light spattering the room, then looked to whoever was talking to him. Mariel smiled as her shadow gave his eyes some relief, casually filling a small glass with water.

          "If you're wondering where you are, this is the nursing quarters, you fainted from a lumience overdose... Can't blame you, I doubt Ray told you anything important when he kidnapped you." Her tone dipped to a grouchy growl at the mention of Ray. "Just as a pointer, try not to use lumience when you're exhausted, the side effects aren't fun."

          Káel drowsily acknowledged Mariel's advice, trying to move his head away from Puff's barbed tongue as it scraped against his face. His hair was still matted and curled into a soggy mess, marinating the white pillow cradling his head and dotting a small puddle on the polished floorboards to his immediate right.

          "When you're feeling better, Lady Samanthra would like to speak with you," she continued, walking over to the door with a pitcher in tow and propping it a crack with her toe. "Your friends are still in class, but I'm sure they'll come along soon."

          Káel waited for the door to click, leaning up to scour the clustered space for Phantom. He was standing in the far corner, an unnervingly creepy rigidness to his squared shoulders as he stared directly at him. The floor didn't catch his steps with a clack as he drifted closer, arms folding across his chest. 

          "Good afternoon sleepy head," he said with a small bow, he'd lost his disguise and now looked as flamboyant as ever. "You should have seen it, your teacher threw you over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried you all the way back here."

          Káel pressed on his temples in attempt to alleviate his headache. "Did we win?"

          "Nope," Phantom replied, his voice piping with a clear lack of consolidation. "but you got second place."

          Disbelief painted Káel's face as he squinted. "Who beat us?"

          "The Molves. Each student counted as a point for them and they snagged over half the class, including the guardians. But the teacher admired your effort," he said, not even trying to be comforting. "Tell me, how nice is it to know all your efforts were in vain?"

          Káel glared at Phantom, slipping down into his covers and cocooned himself in the thin bed sheets.

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