The Nightmare Dilemma (Arkwell Academy) by Arnett Mindee

Author:Arnett, Mindee [Arnett, Mindee]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2014-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

19

The Target

It wasn’t a normal scream, but the fierce, terrible sound of a mermaid in pain, the kind of thing that was dangerous to hear without the high density of water to attenuate the frequency. The handheld mirror sitting on the end table beside the bed cracked. I covered my ears and hunched over, that noise like a hatchet to my skull. On the foot of the bed, Selene was doing the same, both of us paralyzed by the screams.

I forced my eyes on Britney, trying to make sense of her terror. She’d fallen back against the headboard and was thrashing around like a horror movie demon. Struggling against some unseen force, she raised both hands to her neck and started pulling at the collar of the robe against her throat.

A second later I realized what was wrong—the robe was getting smaller. Already I could see where the fabric pressed into her skin, making it bulge around the seam. Britney’s shrieks lessened as the pressure increased around her chest, cutting off her air supply.

The pain in my head eased, and I jumped forward, able to move again. Selene ripped the bedclothes off. The robe was shrinking everywhere, cutting into Britney’s wrists and ankles. It no longer looked like a gown but like a bodysuit, the fabric pressed against every inch of her body, crushing the life out of her.

I tried to grab the edge of the fabric and pull it off, but it was like trying to slide my fingers beneath two pieces of metal welded together. I searched my mind for some spell to use, but I’d never learned anything to combat this.

“Mom!” I screamed over my shoulder. Where was she? Neither she nor the deputy was visible in the doorway. I searched the room for some way to call for help, but there wasn’t a phone or any other recognizable device in the room. Abandoning the attempt to pull off the robe, I spun around and dashed to the door. There had to be someone nearby.

The hallway was empty. I raced down to the nurses’ station in the distance, but it was deserted. I searched behind the desk for a way to page a nurse, but again there wasn’t any recognizable device. My mom hadn’t been kidding when she said this place was run completely on magic. Mom, I thought, trying to focus my mind the way we did in psionics, where are you? I need you.

My chest bursting with panic and frustration, I raced back to Britney’s room.

Selene was singing at the top of her lungs, trying some kind of siren magic to free Britney from the robe, but it only seemed to be slowing down the pace of the robe’s shrinking. Britney’s face had gone a sickening shade of blue-gray, her lips like slate.

I pointed at her. “Alexo.” The magic left my fingertips, but when the shield spell hit Britney it dissipated uselessly.

“Aphairein,” I said, but the correction spell bounced off.

Britney’s thrashing started to slow, and for a moment I thought Selene’s magic might finally be reversing the curse.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.