Zodiac Academy: The Awakening(10)

Tory sucked in a breath and I moved nearer to her, goosebumps lining my skin as I promptly stepped away from Orion. I was tempted to reach out to my sister in a gesture of comfort, but my hand balled into a fist instead, knowing she probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

I glanced back at Orion in alarm. “What's going on?” I asked, panicked.

“Did you just drug us?” Tory rounded on him.

“What is it with you and drugs?” he muttered. “Remember to keep calm,” he commanded a second later and that wishy washy feeling stole away my fear again.

A female voice rang through the air but I couldn't see who it belonged to beyond the circle of teenagers.

“Get in the ring.” Orion pointed and we reluctantly moved forward to join the masses.

Two girls parted to allow us to stand between them, their eyes roaming over us curiously. They took our hands and Orion caught hold of mine and Tory's wrists, pushing our fingers together to link the circle. Then he stepped back into the night and disappeared into the darkness.

At the centre of the ring was a tall woman in flowing blue robes. She had her arms raised in the air as she gazed up at the heavens and everyone else in the ring was watching her attentively. I had no idea what was about to happen and I shared a quick look with Tory to confirm she felt as lost as I did.

The long meadow grass tickled my knees and a cool wind pushed at my back. The woman dropped her arms and the wind fell deathly still, the whole world seeming to hold its breath.

“Welcome to Zodiac Academy. I am Professor Zenith of the Astrology department and it's my greatest pleasure to Awaken your Elements this very night. Please lift your faces to the sky, students. It's time for the stars to rouse your inner power.” Her tone was slow and dramatic and even though this whole thing sounded ludicrous I couldn't help but hang on her every word.

She pushed the hood back from her head and midnight locks tumbled down around her. She was middle-aged, her skin pale and glimmering and her lips painted in a dark red lipstick. Her eyes fell on Tory and I and she jerked her finger toward the sky in an order. I realised everyone in the circle had looked up and we promptly followed suit.

The navy quilt above was aglow with stars and the milky way weaved through the centre of it all like a shimmering band of pink and purple dust. My mouth parted at the beautiful sight. In Chicago, you were lucky if you saw one star at night, let alone this spectacle. It was as if every other light in the world had been extinguished to allow the sky to dominate. There was no sign of the moon but even without it the stars were bright enough to cast a hazy silver glow over the meadow.

“Virtus aquae invocabo!” called Zenith in what sounded like Latin.

Okay this is going from weird to mental asylum real fast.

Silence stretched out and I almost dropped my head to figure out what was going on when rain dotted my cheeks. Several others in the circle gasped and I looked to Tory, finding droplets peppering her cheeks too. But how was that possible? There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

A deep whirlpool of power seemed to open up inside me and my breathing stalled as I felt its strength coil around my veins.

This can’t be happening.

But it is. And I can actually feel it.

“If you feel rain, please raise your right arm,” Zenith called.

Tory and I lifted our arms and I spotted around fifty others in the circle doing the same.

“Good!” Zenith said excitedly. “You hold the Element of water inside you, just like myself.”

Some of the others who'd raised their hands started muttering keenly and a few without their hands raised grumbled and sighed.

“Quiet,” Zenith hushed them. “Eyes to the sky once more. You will be tested for all Elements, though you are unlikely to have more than one my dears.”

I raised my eyes, my heart hammering as I thought over what she'd said. The Element of water? Did Tory and I really hold that gift? Even as I thought it, I was sure it was true. Like an innate part of me had awoken and it embodied water itself.

Holy crap we really do belong here.

“Rogo vim aeris!” Professor Zenith called out and a strong wind gusted through my hair. I looked to Tory, finding her hair moving in the same powerful breeze. Another fifty or so of the group seemed to be in the depths of the maelstrom but everyone else in the circle were clearly unaffected. My gut swirled and a fluttering feeling filled my stomach and sailed through my veins. It felt so natural, like my body had a whole other channel inside me alongside my veins and now it was flowing with the magic of two Elements.

“Raise your right arm if you feel the power of the wind!” Zenith commanded.

Tory and I raised our arms along with another random selection of the circle. A couple of which had raised their arms for water.

Eyes fell on us and a few words were exchanged which I didn't catch. Zenith faced us, her brows lifting with delight. “You are of air and water girls. Your powers will be great indeed just like your parents’.”

I nodded but Tory gazed down at her hands, turning them over as if expecting to find something more tangible there.

“Is this really happening?” she asked me under her breath.

“I think so,” I whispered. “Either that or that dodgy Professor slipped us something in his fairy dust.”

Tory snorted a laugh and Zenith fixed us with a glare. “Quiet! Eyes to the sky. You may be done here, but everyone else is not.”