Zodiac Academy: The Awakening(23)

As I stepped over the threshold, a strange sensation slipped along my skin and the light from the fire outside disappeared. I glanced over my shoulder, my heart leaping as I realised the entrance was no longer there. In its place was a solid wall which didn’t so much as tremble as I reached out to touch it.

I blinked as I adjusted to the dim light which came from somewhere further along the tunnel around the next corner. The flickering quality of it coupled with the orange glow led me to believe there was a fire down there. Of course there’s a fire, this is the house of fire, if there wasn’t it would be like going to a gingerbread house and finding brick walls.

I stayed still for several more seconds, listening, squinting around at what little I could see. The walls and floor were black and pockmarked with thousands of tiny holes. Memories pricked at me as I recognised it as a lava tube. One of our foster parents had been obsessed with the discovery channel and the six months I’d spent living there had filled my brain with all kinds of random facts about the world.

As lava was like liquid fire, it suddenly made sense for this cave to be a part of the House of Ignis.

The entrance was gone and there was only one way on so I took a deep breath and started walking. I adopted a fast pace knowing that going slow wouldn’t have any effect on what awaited me anyway. I’d heard plenty of stories about frat house hazing and the twisted things they forced their pledges to do but I tried not to let my mind linger on those. Whatever I was about to face couldn’t be that bad...right?

As I rounded the corner, I came across the source of the flickering light.

A pit of burning coals barred the way on, glowing deep red with heat in the centre while burning freely towards the sides of the tunnel. They filled the space ahead of me for at least five meters and I knew there was zero chance of me making that jump.

I glanced down at my favourite boots with a pang of regret. I only had two pairs of shoes and I’d left my battered sneakers back in our apartment. These boots were just the right combination of practical and fashionable. They looked good and I could run, jump and ride in them. They’d been with me for every less-than-legal acquisition I’d made and had helped me keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies...

Before I could get too lost in the misery induced by having to put my boots through the ordeal of the hot coals, a deep growl sounded from the tunnel behind me and I froze.

My breath caught as I looked over my shoulder and my lips parted in horror. There was nothing back there. I’d just come that way. And yet...

A shape burst around the corner and I screamed as I spotted the huge lioness. She roared at me as she charged forward and I scrambled into a sprint.

I pounded the final distance to the pit of coals and didn't slow as I raced onto them. They shifted beneath my feet and my arms cartwheeled as I struggled to maintain my balance while moving as fast as humanly possible. If I fell I had no doubt that the skin would be melted from my flesh just as the soles of my boots were already beginning to.

I sprinted on, the heat of the embers beneath me encasing my feet in an oven of burning leather. A lump of sole fell off and my bare foot hit the coals twice before I launched myself off of the pit and crashed to the cold floor of the cave beyond.

I rolled twice, shielding my face with my hands before jarring to a stop. A bloody graze drew my attention to my forearm as a hiss of pain left me. The lava rock was sharp and skidding across it was more than a little unpleasant.

I quickly looked back across the pit of coals to see the lioness prowling back and forth on the far side beyond the shimmering heat-soaked air.

My lips parted in shock as I stared at the impossible creature before me. First Vampires and now this? What the hell kind of place had we ended up in?

Warmth drew my attention to my left foot and I gasped as I spotted a small flame taking hold of my boot. I ripped the ruined leather off of me followed by the tattered remains of my sock then repeated the process on the right foot. Miraculously, I’d avoided any burns and I silently thanked my poor boots for their sacrifice.

With a twinge of regret, I tossed the destroyed items onto the coals and pushed myself to my feet. The sharp rock pricked at my soles as I headed on but I forced my attention to remain on the task at hand. The sooner I got through this, the better. I just needed to focus on taking one step at a time and I’d manage it. It wasn’t like they’d just let students die down here... was it?

The tunnel started to decline in a twisting formation which didn’t seem natural. Thankfully, the sharp rocks smoothed out and I was able to up my pace again as I stopped hobbling.

The cave was still dimly lit with an orange glow but every time I thought I was closing in on the source of it, it retreated.

Faint laughter called to me from up ahead and I stilled for a moment.

It came again and I began to wonder if the other students could somehow see me. I glanced around, trying to spot any cameras or anything like that but as far as I could tell, the cave was empty.

A chill was creeping up my spine, intuition urging me to up my pace. Those same senses had saved me from the cops more than once and I wasn’t foolish enough to ignore them.

I started jogging then running faster as the light ahead tried to dance away again but I finally felt like I was gaining on it.

I rounded a corner and fell still as I found myself in a wide room. There was no furniture in sight but various weapons lined the wall, urging me to claim them.