I shivered at his words. Damien was definitely up to something, and I was quite sure I was not going to like whatever it was that was surely coming my way.
Damien
The next few days were passed shopping and spending time with Aunt Serena. Vivienne came over a few times, and we went for walks in the little wooded park behind Everdale House. Soon we had to return to the academy, and I was not looking forward to that at all. I would have to see Damien, and I was quite sure the Blackwaters were planning something nasty for me.
I thanked Aunt Serena and climbed into the Everdale coach that was to take me back to school. Erien got in with me, and we waved goodbye to my aunt, who stood at the door to see us off.
Classes were interesting as usual, and I didn’t see Damien the whole first day I was back. He wasn’t even in warrior skills that day, which was a relief, but I wondered where he was.
I fiddled with my amulet while I walked back from my evening history class through the gardens to my dorm. I looked at it again, as I had done countless times before. It seemed so delicate and harmless, just a flat, round, gold disc with strange etchings embossed into the gold. Quite extraordinary that it held so much power. I slipped it back into my shirt.
It was getting dark, the sun had set, and the early hint of twilight filled the gardens with shadows. I quickened my step, pulled my mottled green cloak closer, and hurried on. It was getting cold. I could hear faint footsteps behind me. I looked back, but no one was there.
Out of nowhere, a dark shape appeared, moving steadily out of the shadows. I recognized who it was instantly.
“Damien!” I tried not to let the panic in my voice show.
I had been grateful to have avoided him all day. Now he was here in a dark, deserted corner of the grounds with seven or eight of his minions, and I was alone. Even if I shouted, everyone was too far away.
Calisto appeared out of the shadows. Damien and his friends encircled me. I looked for a way to run, but they had surrounded me on all sides.
My hands started to go clammy as a pit of fear opened up inside me. If Rafe had taught me to use knives, like I had asked, I might have had a better chance of defending myself. But who was I kidding? Even with knives, one against eight was not exactly a fair fight.
“What do you want?” I hated that my voice was a little shaky. Whatever Damien had planned for me tonight was not going to be pleasant.
“I want to see if you are as brave as all the other disgusting Silverthornes,” he sneered. “Stay where you are and you may get a chance to defend yourself.” His tone was cruel, mocking, and his dark gaze bore into me. “You are nothing, a commoner from a distant kingdom, yet you think you are better than me, Damien, son of the Duke of Blackwater, one of the noblest and most magically powerful families in the kingdom. You don’t deserve to be in this school. I told you I’d teach you a lesson. Let us see what you’re made of.”
While I was distracted, one of Damien’s minions surprised me with a stun strike. It was weak, but it hurt, and I was dazed for a few seconds. I called on my magic and quickly put up my defensive shield, although it was shaky at best.
I tried to calm my racing heart and slowly shook off the stun. I strengthened my shield just in time, as five more stun strikes hit my shield and bounced off. It held, but only just. I drew more power and infused it into my defensive barrier. Damien and his friends didn’t stop their barrage of magical strikes. Attack after attack, stun strike after stun strike hit my shield and were thankfully deflected. I tried to think, but the attacks were coming at me so fast, I had no time to react except to shield myself. If I channeled my power into striking, my shield could drop. I had not yet mastered keeping it intact as I fought.
The attacks were becoming fiercer. At first, they were one at a time, but soon they began combining their strikes against me. I was getting tired; I’d never had to hold out against a magical attack for so long before, and even then, it had been against one person with Professor Tanko looking on.
One fire strike managed to get partly through my shield and scorched my leg before I could seal the breach. The pain was agonizing, but I held my ground.
I tried to remember everything Professor Tanko had taught me. “Keep your shield in place at all times. Don’t forget to seal the top and bottom as well.” I concentrated on the area and closed the break in the shield. My legs had gone weak from exhaustion, and I fell to my knees, but still I drew more power into maintaining my shield. I didn’t know how long I could hold out. My leg hurt where the fire strike had hit me. It throbbed, and my skin was red and burning.
“Come on, get up, Rory,” sneered Calisto. “You think you are so important because you are a ward of the Silverthornes. Well, let me tell you, your peasant blood is nothing compared to ours. We are Blackwaters, our magical bloodline spans generations, and no one even cares where Andrysia is.”
She hit me with a strong fire strike.
My shield was weakening again. I felt fear rush in, and her strike hit my shoulder. Pain shot through my arm, and I cried out in alarm. I put my palm over the area and reinforced my shield, drawing more power into it. I
