The bull flew through the air–not because of its wings. It crashed into the floor. Dust and debris scattered around as the bull dug into the ground. It skidded to a stop mere feet from a few of the frightened students.
One of the nuns did not seem to care. She sprinted forward. As she neared the downed bull, white flames spurted from her hands.
Pulling itself to its feet with haste, the bull merely stood there. The flames engulfed the beast as its wings unfurled. Not a drop of the fire got past.
Juliana stared on in shock. She glanced up at Eva’s unperturbed face. “Is it protecting the students?”
The black-haired girl simply shrugged. “Maybe it thinks demon on fire is scarier than demon not on fire.”
If that was the case, Juliana couldn’t argue with its effectiveness. From one tip of its wings to the other, the demon burned. White fire danced across it so hot that Juliana could feel it through her metal armor.
It simply stood there. No bleating or screeching or whining. The glow of its yellow eyes brightened against the flames.
The nun ceased her flamethrowing. They stared for just a moment before the beast begun scratching its hooves against the ground.
It charged.
Rumbling earthquakes shook the ground as it trampled across the dueling arena.
The nun hurled herself out of the path. Her arm met the ground hard enough to make Juliana wince. It might even be broken. She turned and fired more fire as the beast lumbered past her.
She missed.
The demon charged too quickly and the fire flew through empty air.
And landed on one of the cowed students.
Screams filled the air. Not of fright or fear, but out of pain and agony.
Before Juliana could blink, a shield formed around the student. A black-red shield. Eva’s shield.
It was too late. It caught some of the fire, but too much had gotten through.
The nun’s eyes immediately lost their fire. Flames on both the student and the bull rapidly diminished to nothing. The damage was done. The student continued screaming as she held up bright red, raw arms in front of her face.
Gazing in horror, the nun locked up. Her sisters shouted out at her.
The nun did not hear. She took a head-butt from the bull straight on. A red smear appeared on the floor in her place.
She never saw it coming.
It was too much. The scent of charred skin. The nun. Juliana retched as she turned to one side. She tried and managed to hold it down. Her helmet was still covering her head and mouth.
As the remains of the nun settled on the ground, Juliana felt a hand on her shoulder.
“You need to get out of here,” Professor Kines’ voice came from just behind Juliana.
“Don’t worry about us,” Eva said calmly. She raised her hand and pointed past the battle. “She needs far more immediate attention.”
Professor Kines followed her finger. “Susie,” he said softly as his eyes came to rest on the burned student. The shield around her had vanished. His voice hardened as he spoke. “I’ll handle her. You two get out of here before anything else happens.”
The professor ran off, skirting along the edges of the room.
Cold sweat formed on Juliana despite the heat. She could feel her skin turn clammy within her suit.
Slowly, she turned her head back to the fight. A small bit of metal moved to obscure the red stain on the ground.
How could Eva just watch without reacting?
Fury at their sister’s death seemed to engulf the remaining nuns. The fire in their eyes brightened as they launched attack after attack. They also seemed to disregard their surroundings. Every one of their attacks seemed far more reckless than before.
As two lightning bolts came far too close for comfort in a short amount of time, Eva looked down at Juliana. “Well,” she said, “even if they aren’t aimed at me, I think I’m done watching.”
Finally, Juliana thought. She scrambled to her feet and backed away from the fight as fast as she could. Juliana paid careful attention to where the nuns were aiming their fists.
Eva didn’t bother keeping an eye on the battle. She turned her back to it and casually walked towards the door.
The moment they were out, Juliana collapsed to her knees. She barely managed to move the metal away from her mouth in time.
Juliana greedily sucked in oxygen the moment she could. A small, clinical portion of her mind told her that she indeed did not have nearly enough airflow into her helmet.
A wave of lightheadedness passed over Juliana as she tried to stumble her way to her feet.
She almost fell.
Two arms wrapped around her, steadying her.
Barely.
Juliana didn’t know when Shalise had appeared at her side. Possibly the moment she first collapsed to her knees.
At the moment, she didn’t care. Juliana fell into the offered arms as another wave of nausea ran through her system.
“You’re heavy,” the brunette mumbled.
“Don’t call me fat.” Juliana tried to laugh. That was a mistake. Her tongue moved and tasted. She needed to scrub out her mouth. The strong taste of half digested vinaigrette she had for lunch would have sent her to her knees again had it not been for Shalise.
She didn’t seem to be doing so well. Shalise leaned back, almost tipping over before she managed to slowly lower Juliana to the ground.
“What happened in there?” Her voice was soft and very slow.
Juliana managed to shake her head. “Later.”
— — —
Notice: Attack on Brakket Academy
At approximately 7:15 Thursday evening, a magical creature, a winged bull relative to the African lamassu, was attacked by nuns of the Elysium Order. Their engagement spilled over into Brakket Dueling Hall located within the Infinite Courtyard. Students from all years were attending an optional extracurricular activity within the building at the time.
During the engagement, one of the nuns performed a spell commonly known as Holy Fire. Students at the scene reported the magical creature attempting to protect students from the flames which were spread wildly and without regard for innocent bystanders by the Elysium Order nun.
One of the students was severely burned before the flames could be extinguished. She is currently receiving medical treatment at the Fallaner Medical Center under care of the elves.
The staff of Brakket Magical Academy wish to remind all students and citizens of Brakket not to antagonize the Elysium Order nuns occupying our town. They have shown plain disregard for the wellbeing of any but themselves. Approaching may be hazardous to your health.
Despite eyewitnesses stating that the magical creature protected students, Brakket Magical Academy wishes to remind all that approaching the creature could be as dangerous as approaching any wild animal. Even should the creature prove to be docile or even friendly, so long as the Elysium Order remains in our town, we cannot be safe.
It is unknown what other creatures may entice the Elysium Order’s rage. Brakket Magical Academy encourages all residents to stay clear of anything unknown. Anyone wearing the garb of the Elysium Order should be avoided and considered dangerous.
This is a public announcement.
Martina Turner
Dean
Brakket Magical Academy
Catherine turned away from the bulletin board in the Gillet lobby with a sigh. The Rickenbacker had already been done, as had several notice boards in Brakket Academy’s main building.
That left a stack for the rest of the town.
All major businesses were required to have bulletin boards easily visible for announcements to be posted. Normally notices would simply be emailed or faxed. These notices were ‘special’ and needed to be hand delivered. That damnable Martina Turner wouldn’t even give her help.