The Legend of the Eight: The Wicked (Book 2)

5: Fight Club

FIVE: FIGHT CLUB
MARCH 16
NICOLE BRADLEY

ON THE DESK IN FRONT of Levi Heart was a reptilian-looking beetle with the scales of an alligator and wings of a dragonfly. It walked around the surface of the desk, making an unsettling clicking sound and every few minutes it snorted out a tiny flame—no more than that of a birthday candle. Nicole sat in front of Drew and watched with careful eyes as the creature moved around papers and textbooks freely. It tried to fly, its wings working harder than those of a hummingbird, but never made it more than a few inches up. Its body must have been too heavy.

"This is a fire clicker," said Levi Heart, who was increasingly more comfortable than last class. Nicole was still working up to taking him seriously as a teacher (considering last week she licked salt off his hand for a tequila shot) but she admired his dedication to Dr. K and the Magical Beings department.

She opened her notebook to a blank page where she then began to jot down notes about the fire clicker. Levi called it more of a pest than a beast and said they liked to burrow which made them a problem for those who lived near wooded areas.

Fire clicker: half-reptile, half-insect, uses fire as a defense mechanism, eats crickets and other smaller insects, can grow to be 10 inches, 20 pounds

Levi said something about a test on the creature and others like it (they'd focus on them next week) and that the test was a requirement by Queen Clarion. Some of the class moaned but Levi laughed it off.

"I know. But maybe I can leave a few answers on the board or something. Just don't rat me out. Deal?"

More laughter.

The tension in Levi's shoulders eased and then something at the center of the room caught his eye. He reached for a pad of paper on Dr. K's desk—the seating chart—and studied it long enough to frown and ask,

"Who are you?"

Sitting at the center desk (Cam Miller's old seat) was a girl with full, dark hair and eyes that looked like two dollops of chocolate. She'd been there all class—it was a wonder how Levi didn't notice her sooner—and when Levi called her out, her porcelain cheeks pinked up with a blush. She was the same girl Nicole met with Kate the night before, a recent transfer to the Academy.

The new girl pushed her hair behind her ears, revealing two milky pearls, and then flashed Levi a sweet smile.

"I'm Chloe Lawson," she introduced of herself. "Queen Clarion said she sent all of my teachers a memo."

Levi folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the desk while smirking at the new girl. "She probably did," he replied casually. "Can't say I've read many of the memos she's sent out, though. She sends quite a bit. So, Chloe Lawson. Where are you from?"

"Purum," she answered after a beat. "But when a spot opened up at the Academy, I wanted to come here. Finish out my senior year, you know?"

Purum Sangeuinem School for the Young and Gifted was a school in the Mortal World and one of the Academy's biggest rivals. Located in Southern California, Purum posed as an exclusive private school with elite standards. But truthfully, the only real standard was an ability to perform magic.

"Purum, huh?"

"Don't hold it against me," Chloe joked and the look on Levi's face suggested there was a long list of things he'd like to hold against her.

"Um, Levi?" Liam said with a cough, causing a few of their classmates to snicker.

"Right," Levi said, like he just remembered. "Fire clickers. So—" A mischievous smirk curled onto his lips. "Who wants to watch one of these guys eat?"