Chapter 17 CHAPTER 17: Interrupted Claim.

Chapter 17 CHAPTER 17: Interrupted Claim.
Andy''s POV 

I could feel it before I even woke up. I jerked awake, and my roommate looked over at me, with a concerned look. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, looking over at me. Of course, he was sitting right over his books, reading. 

I couldn't even bring myself to do that anymore. I was supposed to be doing that though. 

I didn't know what Elizabeth might want to challenge me about in class. She was a storm in the back seat. And it didn't matter that I was sitting in the front. I could still feel her heat. 

I watched my roommate as he adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. I couldn't bring myself to answer him. Not yet. Not when there was a ringing sound in my ear. 

And now that I had jerked awake from sleep, I knew that there was something wrong. A kind of disturbance in the school grounds. That wasn't right. 

“I'll be right back,” I told my roommate anyway, and he gave me a small nod, as he got back to his reading. 

I slipped my feet into my shoes, and headed out of the room without a second thought. The doors were open, and I couldn't help but thank the heavens that I was actually living on this side of the dorm. This side was barely ever locked. 

I didn't know if the guards were just lazy, or if they didn't even care. Either way, it was of benefit to me now. So I was willing to let it slide. 

Elizabeth. 

But then, it couldn't be. She was supposed to be at her hostel. All locked up and cozy in bed. But I could still feel her. She wasn't moving, but she was anywhere but safe. I could smell her, but she was slightly far from me. 

By the time I was fully outside, the disturbance became even worse, and I knew that I wasn't imagining it this whole time. 

It couldn't be her, could it?

There was too much power on the grounds. Too much magic. Too much for even her. She was having difficulty controlling hers, but this time, there was something that was different. It was controlled. Directed. 

Like it was meant to call anybody that was out there. That wasn't something that Elizabeth could do just yet. Unless someone had been teaching her how to control her energy. 

She hated Kae, and Lucif would barely ever bring himself to do something like that. So who was it?

It was all wrong. 

I kept my feet moving, as I followed the direction of the magic. 

I was at the edge of the grounds when I could feel Elizabeth. 

My stomach turned. She wasn't supposed to be out there. But she was anyway. How did she manage to find her way out there?

The air suddenly got thinner, and the trees were a thousand times thinner. It was hard not to wonder how they even survived. 

Whatever was in there didn't want anybody coming in. But I had already come that far. There was no way I was backing out again. 

I wasn't going to leave until I got Elizabeth out of there. 

I walked for a few more steps, until she was finally right in front of me. 

There were three figures in the cloaks, and they seemed to be closing in on her. Why wasn't she moving?

I could see the power that was circling around her. It looked like it was more than willing to snap. But there was something suppressing it. Something keeping her in control. 

That was when I noticed the grass entangled around her shoes. They seemed to be holding on a little too tight. 

“Get away from her,” I said, and all heads were turned in my direction. Including Elizabeth. 

I looked back at the three people, and they had too much controlled energy around them. They definitely weren't students. Or anybody from the faculty. They had ancient energy written all over them. 

As they looked at me longer, recognition seemed to flicker in their eyes. 

Good. 

That meant that they recognized me. That seemed like the permission that I needed to walk towards them. 

They still had their eyes on me. The one that was closest to Elizabeth smiled faintly at me. 

“You don't know what she is,” she said, and I shook my head. It didn't matter what she had to say. 

“I know enough. And I understand enough.”

I took another step forward, but I could feel the shift in Elizabeth. 

She was feeling relief. At the same time, she was annoyed. But there was another emotion there. One that I couldn't even state yet. 

“Andy,” she whispered like it was a warning, but that wasn't even enough to stop me. “Please, leave,” she whispered. 

I didn't know her to be the type to care about my safety. But now that she turned to look at me, I could see the tears that were flowing down the streams of her face. 

More reasons why I couldn't leave her there. Her little attempt at getting me to leave was failing drastically. 

These people wanted something from her. I saw it from the way they were looking at her like she was their long long gold. 

They were ancient. And she was new to the school. She didn't even grow you anywhere around her. And now they wanted her? For what exactly? We had barely had any ancient energy in a while. And now, it was just standing in front of us, unprovoked. 

The way those three people were looking at her was enough to keep me moving. It was almost like they had already made their decision about what they actually wanted with her. And there was no way I was just going to let them have her. 

It didn't sit well with me. 

The air seemed to get tighter, and I could feel my lungs struggle for air. They had created some kind of shield. Something to stop me from getting to Elizabeth. 

I could feel my power brush against the shield. I was quickly losing air. 

Before I knew it, magic cut into the shield. I turned just in time to see Lucif. He glanced at me just for a second, before he continued what he was doing. Kae's own power cut in from the other side, and I could feel the balance shift. 

The strangers paused, and I could feel the gush of air, and I inhaled as I continued to cut through from the center. 

The three of them suddenly room a step back, and I could tell that they were calculating. They were backing off. 

Better. 

The woman at the center turned to look at Elizabeth. 

“We'll find you again,” she said, and it sounded like a promise. 

My eyes were fixed on them as they disappeared into the darkness. 

The silence settled, and the shield disappeared. Elizabeth's feet gave away immediately. 

I caught her before she even hit the ground, and could feel her exhale. 

Her body was warm. A little too warm. 

Her head was balanced against my shoulder, and I can feel my own heart beat faster. She hadn't pulled away. 

Not yet.