The Otherworlders Academy - An Original Teen Fantasy

Ep. 4.16 (R) - Beauty and the Beast

A/N - Hey All! Remember, if you don't see my brief Author's Note (A/N) at the end of this chapter, then the app or site has cut the page in half. Just refresh and you'll get the whole thing!

Previously on "The Otherworlders": Inez, Ava, and Fiona must face the daunting task of scaling the tower at the back of Enchanted Chancellor's residence to try and find the tablet fragment for their mission. 

Ava's attempt fails, but then Fiona gives it a go. She successfully scales the tower, and inside, amidst an ocean of expensive religious artifacts, she finds the tablet fragment they're looking for. She takes a few pictures and sends them off to Master Achebe.

With their mission now done, the girls are headed back to the ball when they encounter Gabriel, the Chancellor's son, possessed with sharp his fangs and red eyes, blocking their path. Backed into a corner, Gabriel uses his animotronic magic to bring the stone Manticore at the center of the fountain to life. 

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The creature at the center of the fountain descends from its perch, its landing causing the earth to quake beneath its massive weight.

It spreads its wings wide — twelve feet, tip-to-tip — and beats them down into the fountain, splashing up a wave of water, six feet high, that douses Fiona and Inez.

The Manticore roars, and Inez sucks in a breath.

How on earth are they going to defeat this thing?!

Ava, still on fire, dives in and hurls flames at the Manticore's face.

The beast rears onto its hind legs in response then swipes its formidable claws at them, catching Ava by her tail and hurling her into the tower wall.

"Ava!!" Fiona screams as she rushes over and slides down onto her knees next to Ava's crumpled body. She gasps at the sight of her friend's long, elegant neck bent at an unnatural angle and reaches out to gently cradle her in her arms, whispering softly, "I've got you. I've got you now."

Meanwhile, Inez is torn between going to help Ava too and fighting off the Manticore alone.

She steps up to the challenge.

And while she's not a Mage which means her general magic isn't terribly strong, she's still got a few tricks up her sleeve.

Lifting her arms from her sides, Inez begins to murmur a spell in Latin.

Ego voco aestus maximos ad me.

She repeats the phrase three times and within seconds, all the water from the fountain begins to rise, creating a liquid screen, cutting them off from Gabriel and the Manticore.

Fiona looks down and notices Ava stirring back to consciousness, slowly reverting from her avian form back into her corporeal form. She carefully covers Ava with the dress she lost when she shifted and then stands. She turns around to face Gabriel and the monster he's summoned.

Glancing over at Inez, Fiona says, "So, here's what we're gonna do. Why don't you let the wall of water down, slowly and carefully," she emphasizes. "And then once it's about halfway to the ground, you go after Gabriel, I'll go after the beast."

"Okay, but..." Inez starts, "How am I supposed to go after Gabriel?!" she asks as her arms begin to quiver underneath the strain. She can't hold the wall up for much longer.

"I don't know, 'Nezzie!" Fiona retorts. "Distract him! Mesmerize him! Knock him out somehow!"

"All right! All right!" Inez huffs out a breath. She begins to lower her arms slowly, and as they come down, so does the wall.