Juliana was one of those in the latter group. She languished behind alongside Shalise. Zoe and the other professor led the students while Professor Carr kept up the rear.
The moment they turned a corner, Juliana gripped Shalise’s arm and mouth before she pulled her companion into a classroom. It had already been evacuated. Holding her breath, and hoping Shalise was doing the same, Juliana waited for the last few students to walk past.
She let out a light sigh when no one called her out.
“What are we doing?” Shalise shout-whispered the moment Juliana took her hand off her face.
“Ylva is just one person,” Juliana whispered as she shut the door. “She can be attacked from behind, she can be hurt. Eva’s out there somewhere, she has to be. And Irene too. We can’t just not help them!”
“That thing almost crushed that poor elf. I don’t know how he kept standing. All the ribs in his chest had to have been crushed. We can’t go out there.”
“I never said
Shalise went silent as Juliana got to work. She waited until Juliana finished clearing the floor, finished the circle, and started the far more complex diagrams that went within the circle before speaking. “What do you mean by that?”
Juliana froze her hand where it was. “Exactly what it sounds like. They’re outnumbered. We are going to help even that number.”
She started moving her hand again, trying to remember exactly where each mark went.
But this was different. There were pressures. Juliana wasn’t in her safe room. She didn’t have the book to double-check everything. A teacher could walk in at any time.
And a giant army.
Juliana had to stop and take a few calming breaths. Her hand was shaking. Shaking enough that she worried the shackles or the summoning circle itself would fail completely.
“We shouldn’t do this. I’m sure they have it under control. They would have said something if they didn’t.”
“Did you see the same thing I saw? There were like a hundred of them. And you said it yourself, one of those defenders is already all but out of the fight. How long will it take for the others to fall. There’s only four of them, including Eva if she’s out there. All it would take is a lucky strike and there goes another.”
“Why don’t we get Arachne and your mother? The two of them could probably take them all on at once.”
That gave her pause. Juliana had just started marking out more of the shackles. She pulled back and put her hands in her lap as she thought.
“That may be,” Juliana eventually said, “but I’m not so deluded into thinking my mom is immortal. All her scars are testament to that. I’d rather throw away things I don’t care about than put my mother in the middle of all that.” She leaned forwards to continue drawing lines. “Besides, I don’t have a good way to get to the prison.”
“I’m sure Zoe would take us.”
Juliana paused once again before shaking her head. “No. They’re after our rings. What if the prison is under attack and we teleport right in the middle of the enemy? It isn’t like we can teleport directly into Ylva’s domain. They could be waiting for us.”
Shalise frowned, but Juliana paid her no mind. The circle and shackles were nearing completion.
“Just keep an eye on my back for a minute and we can get back to everyone else.”
“Fine,” Shalise muttered.
Juliana watched as she moved between the summoning circle and the door. She had half a mind to send the other girl out of the room, but that might draw attention if another class passed by on their way to the gym. Watching out the window in the door would have to suffice.
After making the last few marks, Juliana reached into her bag and started searching. At the very bottom, in a small pouch that Juliana had sewn herself, she found the object she was looking for.
A small eye made of glass.
He said he wouldn’t come unless Zagan was gone, but surely they’d be working together.
Juliana set the blue eye down in the center of the summoning circle and took a few steps back, almost bumping into Shalise in the process.
“And what do we have here?”
Juliana felt her heart lurch out of her chest as she jumped to her feet. Her grip tightened, crushing the bit of chalk between her metal-lined fingers.
Shalise fared no better. She let out a soft squeak before stuttering out, “P-Professor Zagan.”
“I thought you were watching,” Juliana hissed as she looked at the intruder. Both golden eyes danced with a sort of amusement that put her nerves into shock.
