Elemental Eclipse

🌻Chapter Six: Ill Omens🌻

Rachael was walking through the dormitory, as Shreya came bounding down the hallway towards her almost running full force into her.

"Hey, careful!" Rachael calls out, as she grabs her by the waist to stop her, her momentum knocking them both backwards.

"Look at you, sweeping me off my feet while I was on my way to lunch." Shreya laughs.

"You were sprinting to lunch?" Rachael asks.

"Do not judge. Rumor has it that Chef Gillespe Saint Montraire is catering today! He has three Michelin stars and five D'Uvrey goblets. He made the menu for my Sweet Sixteen gala, but we had to get on the wait list two years in advance!" Shreya explains stepping back from her.

"Shreya, Listen. Something seriously weird is going on..." Rachael explained a short story about her seeing her reflection and another weird shadow monster in the lake outside the school earlier after class. "I think I need to look for answers about what's going on with me. Enough of this 'I'm just gonna try to blend in' bullshit. Keeping my head down hasn't done anything for me so far. More and more bad things have been happening. If I don't take action, I won't stand a chance against whatever's coming for me."

"Spoken like a true fighter. So, what's the plan?" Shreya asks.

"I don't know..." Rachael sighs. "How am I supposed to know how to handle this? It's not like I took 'Fighting Mysterious Evil Forces 101'. "

"No, but I'm here. With me at your side, some wispy shadow and a reflection that so doesn't do your gorgeous face justice won't be a problem!" Shreya says. "I don't want you to lose all your wonder for the magickal world yet. I'll make sure this place stays special for you, and that means helping you stay safe. And if there's one person you can count on, it's a Mistry. The magickal community's most trusted helping hand since 1202."

"Shreya, I sure hope you're right." Rachael sighs.

"Aw, come on don't doubt me. You were the first friend I made at Penderghast, my closest friend here. I'm serious about helping you." Shreya says.

"I'm being serious, too. You've made me feel like I belong here from the moment we met. You believed my crazy story without batting an eyelash. And I thank you for that, but I don't know how we'll be able to do this." Rachael sighs.

"We'll be fine, Rachael. I promise." Shreya smiles softly at her. "You know what? The dining hall just won't cut it for lunch today. A Gillespe Saint Montaire meal needs more ambiance. Let's have a picnic."

"That sound great. But maybe some other time, I'm not feeling too great right now and probably could use a nap. After almost getting drowned earlier and everything." Rachael sighs.

"Oh alright, I'll sneak an eclair out of the dining hall for you." Shreya smiles sadly at her.

"Thanks. You're the best." Rachael smiles a bit in return.

"Don't I know it. You go relax and unwind. You look like you need it." Shreya says, before waving goodbye and starting to run to the dining hall again. Rachael headed up to their dorm room.

She let herself get distracted by her thoughts of earlier, and when she came back to reality she sighs herself in an unfamiliar part of the school.

"What the fuck is up with me today? Have I racked up some bad karma without realizing it?" Rachael sighs at herself.

A loud screeching noise came from behind her and she spun around to find a shadowy figure lunging at her. It's the same as the first monster that attacked her only much, much larger with claws. The hallway started to drain of color and everything became a dark black as the shadows over took it.

"Holy shit!" Rachael gasps barely able to throw herself out of the way as it jumped at her. "I'm not gonna be able to put run this..."

She tried to focus on using the one spell she had learned in the week since she had arrived, but couldn't gather her thoughts enough to conjure anything.

"Uh...Tim...I uh, think I'm gonna need a little help here." Rachael says quickly.

The little frog-like creature materialized on her shoulder and felt immediate comfort as his magick channelled through her. The spell she was trying to cast going off with out a hitch only to pass straight through its body. It was unfazed and jumped towards her again, knocking her back into the ground as she tried to get away. All she could do was put her arms up in defense. Tim jumped out in front of her protectively.

Before the monster could do anything else, Professor Swan appeared out of nowhere and jumped in front of them both casting a bright white light against the monster.

The entire hallway filled with light, taking almost a full minute to disappear. Tim ran to her side, shaking with fright. He disappeared in the ether, before Rachael noticed the shadow monster lying on the ground weakly in front of her. Professor Swan monotones her to follow after her.

"Rachael, follow me! There's no time to lose!" Swan says, starting to walk down the hall.

Rachael jumped up, but noticed something glowing inside the monsters see-through form. She bent down to look at it, before picking it up and pocketing it. The monster disappeared without a trace and she ran after Professor Swan to catch up.

"Rachael, please! You're in grace danger, and you must follow me of you want my help." Swan says, as the young girl sprints up beside her.