Chapter Seventeen

After that incident Chesi kept her peace regarding Vlad. She never openly opposed anything he did, at least not out of distrust. The two of them never really got along, but at least now they weren't openly fighting.

Alid assumed Vlad's role as second in command of the team. Petra began giving him more and more menial tasks. They kept winning, but all of the other teams began to notice that Petra was the only one with any real responsibilities in the battles. She was the captain of the number one ranked team in the school, and she was doing it with marginalized teammates.

She also began studying heavily into necromancy and summoning. She began to correct teachers during class and then demonstrate the subject principles. She stepped into the arena at the begining of her eight year and defeated the giant set before her. Many of the teachers would move out of her way in the halls rather than rsk angering her.
Her mood was as dark as the magic she practiced. The vast amount of time spent indoors, whether in the library studying or in the crypts below the school, paled her skin to a bone white. She never stopped researching new spells or practicing old favorites; even to the point of missing meals or ditching classes. TacSim was the only place she could be consistently expected to show up for. The lack of nutrition began to show; her once round visage grew gaunt. As the days passed she grew more like the nickname she'd bourne since her first week at the academy; The Reaper.

But she was not without her friends. Alid was always nearby; though his grades suffered for it. His dedication to her was something more than the obligations of a guard; though he showed no sign of reciprocating her hidden affections. Chesi too stood by her friend. She worried; the passion with which she had pursued Vlad's downfall faded as she saw Petra descend. She focused on healing and her study of demons was second only to that of her scythe-wielding roommate. And both she and Alid trained to defend their captain against the inevitable.

But Chesi went further than planning a defense. Her scouting of the mountains about the academy had revealed a labrinth beneath the tallest peak of the range. Nine miles south of the school it had an entrance. In the penultimate year of their schooling she brought her to it; in the hopes of distracting her with a new adventure.