Malevolence (A School for Good and Evil Fanfic)

Chapter 3

3 hours before...

A hand reaching out, grasping at air. A sharp intake of breath. And then they were gone.

"Anadil! Hester!" Dot yelled frantically. The shadow man forgotten, Dot sprinted down the river, trying to catch sight of either of her friend's heads poking above the river rapids. But she saw nothing, only the cruel, unforgiving sprays of water that had taken them away. How long can humans hold their breath? Dot thought in panic. Will they drown before they can reach dry land?

Dot ran and ran, farther and farther down the riverbank until her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. She still couldn't see them, couldn't hear them, and that meant they had either been swept out of range or—

Dot refused to finish the thought, though tears sprang to her eyes anyways, spilling over down her cheeks. She couldn't believe that less than a day ago, they had been joking and bickering as they trekked through the sunny woods, excited to return to familiar trails, and now, Dot was alone, laying useless at the side of a river while her friends drowned. She curled up in a ball, not thinking or caring at the moment about the creatures that lurked in the woods, and felt the pain, the aching in her muscles. And though she wanted to go on, she knew that another step and she might just fall into the river herself.

What should I do? she thought, her brow furrowing. She was in the middle of nowhere. In fact, she wasn't exactly sure where she was, though she knew she was close to the border between Bloodbrook and Foxwood. And the children? Dot perked up an ear, heart panging when she listened and heard nothing. The children were gone. They'd tried to stop the shadow, and they'd failed at a high cost with no reward. They still knew nothing about the culprit, not even a lead. Dot couldn't go back to the town, not with questions unanswered and her friends missing. Missing, she said to herself. Now that sounds impermanent. She picked up a broken twig off of the ground, turning it to fudge and nibbling it for energy as she pushed herself up to a seated position, a plan coming into place. They'd been planning to go to Camelot anyways, so what was going there a little bit early? If there was anyone who'd be willing to help, it was Agatha, no matter how many dress fittings or board meetings she had in a day. Hester and Anadil had been close friends of hers at school, so much so that they'd once (to her knowledge) threatened to use her as a replacement in their coven. Dot honestly held no grudge against Agatha for that sentiment. She'd helped Dot multiple times when no one else would, and cared more about her friends and family than anything else.

Dot took a few deep breaths, solidifying her plan, then ate a few more pieces of chocolate. Her friends had once rode from Jaunt Jolie to Foxwood on giant rats in less than a day. Why couldn't she travel from Bloodbrook to Camelot before the sun rose?

Dot climbed to her feet, regaining her bearings. Camelot was straight west of Bloodbrook, that she knew, with only Foxwood between the two. If she flew, she could do it, she knew she could, though hopefully Agatha and Tedros had a warm blanket and warm breakfast waiting for her when she got there.

She closed her eyes and spread out her arms, her fear and worry causing her fingerglow to flare brighter than before. She felt as her arms and legs shrunk down, sprouting feathers, and her nose elongated into a sharp beak. After a moment, the transformation was complete, and Dot took to the sky, looking down mournfully at her yellow sundress as she flew away.

There was something peaceful about flying high in the sky during the night. She could hear the howls and rustles from nocturnal creatures below, but she was far above the danger in her dark raven form. She'd gotten a lot better at flying since her first horrendous attempt as a raven, and now she soared through the night, trying to focus only on her destination and not on the worries that plagued her.