Atlantis Academy: The First Element

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Good Gods, could you stop being so paranoid? Unless you intend to report me yourself, they aren't going to hear me, now are they? And besides, the ArchGuardians would probably agree with me on this."

These two are so annoying! They're arguing like an old married couple. It's all nonsensical to me. Can't they see me? Don't they know I'm lying here freezing, in pain, in need of help? There's water up my nose!

Help!

Their voices fade in and out, and I'm struggling to even lift my eyelids. I let out a groan, but no sound seems to escape my lips.

"I have a bad feeling," Ethan says. "My call would be to walk away, right now, and let the Cerberus agents handle it."

"Well, good thing it's my call. I checked the attack records," Chloe says. "This Shifter family is a repeat offender, and they were warned to manage their urges seventeen years ago. They know full well that you only get one warning per generation. Cerberus doesn't offer second chances. So, if their kid was out here, luring innocent humans to death, well... Cerberus would have had to cull her anyway. Probably would have culled the whole family. They still might, once they discover what happened."

"Culling's a lot different than murder. It's legal, for one, and never done without good reason."

"Look, it's pretty clear-cut to me," Chloe says. "We haven't found an undocumented Legacy in a hundred years. And it's crazy... She's off the charts. There's zero debate here. She's in. She belongs at the Academy, plain and simple. That means she falls under our jurisdiction, and if that's the case, then Cerberus can't bring any charges against her."

Murder... Charges... Death... Now I'm starting to get a bad feeling. The fog's leaving my brain, slowly but surely. I have to get up! But my stupid aching body won't budge.

Ethan sighs. "I don't—"

"Ethan? Grow a pair. We're doing this."

"But—"

"She's the find of a century, and we found her! Our spell sounded the alarm first. You can't expect to rise through the ranks without taking some risks... Do you want to be a low-ranking Guardian for the rest of your career? Is that the height of your ambition? Do you want to serve another boring term as an Enforcer? I don't know about you, but I'm tired of dealing with rogue students and handing out tickets for minor magic usage violations. This is how we finally get noticed. Because they'll notice us now. Every ArchGuardian will know our names."

Magic... ArchGuardians?

"Well... we need to be careful." I think his accent is Italian or something. "She probably thinks she's Common."

"Hmm..." I hear a light splash and the echoing of soft footsteps. "You might have a point, if this is the first time she's resonated with an Element. Is there anything in the manual... about recruiting undocumented Legacies?"

"Really?" Ethan groans, and it sounds like he's standing right next to me now. "You should have that thing memorized at this late date. And the answer is, surprisingly, no. No guidance whatsoever."

"Well... that's because she's such a rare find. But we've got this," Chloe says. "We'll have her signing the pact and on her way to school in an hour."

"Or we could leave right now..." Ethan shuffles away from me. "The Cerberus agents can handle everything, and when she's cleared of any wrongdoing, they'll send her our way. Maybe we ought to just let them do this. They find recessive Shifters all the time. She could be spooked, and they'll know how to help her adjust—"