Queen of Darkness WATTPAD VERSION [Inter-Universal Protectors: Book 3]

43

"Dex!" Hathor called. "Over here!"

Her friend saw her, running to the beams. "Hath! Troy! What are you guys doing here?"

"We should ask you the same thing!" Troy exclaimed. He pushed against one of the beams. "We came to help. What's your excuse?"

"Same thing," Dex said, pulling the beam Troy was pushing. It shifted but didn't move enough for him to get through. "I was headed back to my Dorm when I saw the explosion. Thought I should check for survivors."

Hathor pulled her knife from it's sheath on her thigh, removing the glamour covering it. She wedged the blade between two beams. The metal was all but unbreakable. Or so she'd been told. With a grunt, Hathor managed to use her makeshift wedge to move the wood. Troy and Dex managed to move it further. It was only a little, but the small hole became large enough. 

"You got it?" Dex asked.

Hathor and Troy grunted their confirmation. 

He dropped his part of the beam, crawling through the small gap Troy and Hathor struggled to keep open. The second he was through, they dropped it. Dex rolled onto his back, laying on the floor. "Well, that happened."

"You okay?" Hathor asked, holding out a hand.

He took it. "Yeah. All good."

"We should get moving," Troy said, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't like the look of those cracks."

Hathor glanced up and cringed. "Yes, those do look nasty. Let's -"

Whack!

Troy crumpled to the ground. 

Dex stood behind him, wielding a broken pipe. He raised it to make the finishing blow-

Hathor tackled him to the side, straight through one of the remaining walls. 

* * * * * * * * 

Jay made it down four flights of stairs before he realised he was cut off. A group of students and teachers were trapped there, searching frantically for a way out. He could get out without a problem, part of his immortal strength, but he refused to leave these people.

"Have you found any way out?" he asked the group.

"No," said one of the male teachers. "We were about to try making a way out."

"Dangerous plan."

"We know." The female teacher joined them. "But there is no other way out that we can find." She tilted her head toward the group of students standing nearby. "We've all searched everywhere."

"Are there others?"

The second male shook his flaming head. "They got out. We were still here when the doorway collapsed. They tried digging through to get us but . . ."

Jay nodded. "I think I know how we can make a way out but it's fucking stupid."

The female gave him a small smile. "I'll take idiotic if it gets our students out."

"Agreed," said the first male as the second nodded.

"Cool." Jay walked over to the group of students, giving them his best smile. "How you lot holding up?"

They all spoke at once.

"Terrified."

"Not good."

"Never been so scared."

"I want to get out of here."

"Can you help us?"

One of the Firebringer girls stepped forward, voicing what was clearly on the minds of the others. "Are we gonna die here?"

"I won't let you," Jay told her. "You have permission to haunt me if you do."

The joke brought out a few small laughs.

"Okay," Jay said. "I have a plan. You guys remember everything your parents and teachers taught you about coming up with well thought out plans that you know will work?" They nodded. "Forget all that bullshit. What we're about to do is the real deal. Do you trust me?"

* * * * * * * * 

Hathor held the struggling Dex down, kicking away the pipe he had been using as a weapon. It spun into the remaining corner of the room they were now in. Unfortunately, this didn't stop him. Dex threw a a punch into her face with enough force that Hathor ended up on the other side of the room. She stumbled to her feet, spitting gilded blood, and attacking. 

Dex ducked to one side. Her fist smashed a hole through another wall, sunlight streaming through. Before Hathor could pull it out, Dex had grabbed her waist from behind, dragging her away from the wall. She threw her elbow into his stomach, winding him. The both of them stumbled to the ground. Hathor recovered first, unsheathing her knife. Dex noticed this, looking around the room for anything that he could use as a weapon. 

Seeing the distraction, she struck. Dex made to avoid the blow but wasn't fast enough. The knife stabbed through his shoulder, being removed just as fast. A crimson light wreathed his hands as he tried to summon his power. Hathor was faster. She swept her leg beneath his feet. He fell to the floor. With a flap of her wings, Hathor was on top of him. She made to stab the knife through his stomach.

He rolled to the side, twisting to his feet. Hathor cursed, bringing herself upright. Dex covered the bleeding would with his other hand, his eyes narrowing. "I really did like you," he said. 

"And Troy you were happy to kill?"

Dex made a show of thinking. "Yeah. Very happy to kill."

Hathor shot forward, slashing Dex's face with her knife. He twisted to the side, right where her fist was waiting. She smashed it into his stomach. Winded, he leaned over. She kneed his face. He stumbled back against one of the remaining lounges, falling straight over it. 

When he didn't get back up, Hathor ran back to the recovering Troy. He was groaning, dazed. She pulled her friend to his feet. He gave her a painful confused look. "What happened?" 

"Dex." She put an arm around Troy's waist to support him. "He hit you over the head with a pipe and I think he was the one to blow up this Dorm." 

"The fuck would he do that for?"

"No idea." Hathor dragged him forward. "Let's get out of here."

* * * * * * * *

Dex watched Hathor and Troy run down what remained of the stairs. He frowned. He hadn't lied to Hathor. He really did like her. More than like her, actually. Feelings getting in the way wasn't something he'd ever considered to happen in his years at the Academy. Dex looked down at his blood-soaked shoulder. At least now he knew she didn't return his feelings. It made things a bit easier.

He leaned against the wall for support, biting his tongue to keep from crying out when his injured shoulder hit the wall. That was going to be a problem if he couldn't have it fixed soon. Dex looked to where he knew Hathor and Troy had escaped. They would have told the others what he did. There wasn't much time left for the next move. Amneris hadn't arrived yet either but he doubted she would not be far behind. Dex sighed, taking one last look at the Academy.

He keyed his throat microphone. "It's Dex. Distraction accomplished. Send in the troops."