Opal parked her scooter in the Winter hall's packing lot. Ignoring the grey, overcast sky, a humid scent filled the fierce winds. Threatening a downpour which started as droplets splashed on the pavement, she covered her dyed hair with her rain jacket hood, before reaching the lobby.
A warm yellow glow invited her, Opal, past the receptionist, who didn't glance up from her computer screen. "Stay out of the back-room, Opal," she remarked. She sighed, the amber potion clinked in her backpack, a constant remainder of Selina's dreadful intentions, an old musty smell welcomed her as she opened the dark oak doors with the golden handles, Winter Hall was the home of Violet Springs, collection of archives dating back to the sixteenth century. Opal embraced the spines of the books with their golden details. They had paired her with Christos for the history assignment. He suggested making something up, considering their arrival two weeks ago, which had gained the attention of the entire town. Amanda had to settle with the directives and Opal got chewed out by her adopted mother.

The collection in its entirety reached from wall to celling filling every space, inside the tail bookcases, the large arch window flooding the room with light, resembled the petals of an opening flower, Opal approached the bronze statues clashing their swords together in a fierce battle, the man resembled Taylor's ancestor, cobwebs and a thick layer of dust, suggested the statues weren't well taken care of, she searched the base, hearing the soft "Click of a button.
She heard the scrubbing of the statue behind her, the second statue moved, leading down into the darkness, stone steps beckoned Opal inside, she inhaled awkwardly, bringing out her phone light, she descended the staircase, the walls were caked with dust and a slime like substance. Turning Opal's fingers green in the bright light, the air was thin, making her breath shallow.
"How long has anyone been down here?" She questioned. Her voice echoed down the narrowing tunnel, the tunnel opened up, into a larger chamber, Opal shined the phone's light around the chamber looking for mirrors.
Finding nothing but an overbearing darkness and an entanglement of spiderwebs, Opal gulped, wondering what was taking Christos so long? She walked, pushing the cobwebs out of the way; they grew thicker and stickier as they approached the entrance to the next chamber. A massive wall of web blocked her path. She sighed, wishing she didn't need to use her reserves of magic, but she could find no way to slip past.
Opal shut her eyes, inhaling and exhaling, summoning the little threads of magic, which existed in the air, the ground, the dripping water and the heat in the room,
Her hands glowed with a flickering orange flame. She sent the fireball lighting up the cobwebs, illuminating the room, the heat coming off the glowing flames burnt the wall.

Opal tensed as she heard the piercing screech, causing her to look up. In an instant, the ceiling burst open, unleashing a swarm of countless smaller spiders that the raging flames had awakened. They descended from above, their long legs splaying out in every direction. "What the fuck? I thought giant spiders only existed in Andreal," she exclaimed, her voice filled with disbelief.

Reacting swiftly, Opal reached into her bag, her fingers fumbling until she grasped the explosion drafts that she and Amanda had painstakingly crafted together. With a determined resolve, she lit the fuse and hurled the volatile red liquid, causing the repulsive creatures to scatter in fear.

As the acrid scent of burnt web filled the air, Opal coughed, her throat irritated by the noxious fumes. Tears welled up in her eyes, stinging from the billowing smoke. Determined to escape the terrifying horde, she hurried into the adjacent chamber, her heart pounding in her chest. Each step she took echoed loudly against the cold stone floor, intensifying her anxiety.

Her breaths grew shallow, her cheeks flushed with a mix of exertion and fear, as she heard the skittering sounds growing closer behind her. She inhaled deeply. The sweat from the magical flames dripped into her, eyes blurring her vision; she tripped over a tree root sticking out; the dust settled into her raven hair; the strains knotted together.

Opal gasped for breath as the stale, dusty air in the chamber offered little clean oxygen. The drafts that should have provided relief instead carried layers of choking dust. As she struggled to regain consciousness, she heard the approaching shuffle of footsteps and a deep, ominous rumble.
Her eyes fluttered open, and to her horror, she hung upside down. Panic surged through her as she desperately tried to free her limbs, causing the cocoon that trapped her to swing and collide with other victims nearby.

A piercing scream tore from Opal's throat, reverberating through the tunnels and the hanging cocoons. Suddenly, the cocoon split open, revealing the remains of a person who spilled out onto the sharp stones below.

As terror consumed her, Opal's scream died in her throat. She felt a presence descending from the ceiling, and she whimpered as she sensed the slow awakening of legs crawling over her cocoon.

Her silky prison trembled violently as she wriggled, throwing the massive black spider off. It vanished into the darkness, leaving her shaken and terrified. The cocoon dropped without warning, the skilly threats tearing on the sharp stones. She holds her weeping arm, the fresh blood coating her fingers. She reached for her phone, trying to dial Christos's number for help, but found her signal knocked out. "Oh, bloody hell, what else can go wrong?" she questioned.
She checked her battery percentage, "I'm running out, below 15, she sighed, hearing scurrying above her.
Eyes glared at her from the consuming darkness. There could be thousands of these things. Opal thought. As the spiders pursued her, trying to trap her into a corner.

Opal ran through the maze of hanging victims. Finding herself surrounded by thick white mists, she placed her hand out in front of her. Opal noticed the eight-legged creatures refused to enter the last chamber beyond. Their domain.
She let out a sigh of relief, her tense shoulders relaxing as the mists swirled and danced, revealing six polished pillars reflecting her image. In the dim light, her eyes locked with her own reflection, and a slow, exhilarating spin made her face come alive. The small crease between her brows transformed into a playful smirk, and finally, a wide, toothy grin stretched across her face. The sudden movement startled Opal, causing her to take a step back and sink into the cold, inky black water. As the water covered her shoes, a shimmering blob glided from pillar to pillar, its form shifting and changing with each pass. Emerging from the mirror, it reached out towards Opal with inky fingers, leaving blotches of ink staining the water, shrouding the mist-filled chamber in darkness. Opal yelped, feeling a warm, actual hand tearing her away from the creature's grasp.

Christos had somehow emerged from the mists, scaring the creature away. The creature slinked away, its dark form blending seamlessly with the inky blackness. Opal breathed in the musty scent of the earth, feeling its coolness on her skin. She found herself enveloped in Christos' protective embrace, his arms offering a sense of safety and warmth.

"Are you alright?" Christos asked, his brows furrowed in concern and confusion. "What are you doing in this desolate place? We should leave, Opal.
Opal's accusatory voice cut through the silence, filled with frustration. "What took you so long? We were supposed to meet up for our history assignment.

Christos sighed, his voice tinged with worry. "I've been waiting in the dimly lit archives for you to show yourself. You've been gone for hours, Opal. And to confront a devourer, knowing they prey on our deepest fears? Are you out of your mind?"
"Hours? Oh shit, I didn't notice how much time had passed.
"No, Christos, I'm not crazy. This is our chance to clam the elusive air rune and activate them both. Please help me before that thing comes back.
"Who are you trying to impress, Opal? Taylor, you know he says stuff he doesn't mean when angered." Opal stared into his ocean blue eyes, a smirk of annoyance creeping across her features.
"You think this is about him?" Her expositive temper threatened to boil over.

"I don't care what Taylor thinks. This is about proving my worth to the pillar of the dark witches and my family."
"Why do you seek their approval?" Christos asked.
She gritted her teeth together, because I'm finally the spellcaster I was born to be." Opal yelled
Christos scoffed in disgust." As usual, this is about obtaining power. If Andreal wasn't in danger and I didn't love you, my friend, I would leave you here in the darkness." Christos said.
Currants of air and water flared up. The devourer appeared; except this time, it chose a slenderer form. Flowing chestnut hair in bountiful curls, black at its roots, a dress filled with dazzling and distracting Dimond dust, in the couloir of lavender and the piercing green eyes held an eerie, yet all-knowing glow.
The creature released a cackle of musical laughter before gesturing a tail sharp finger towards Opal.

"How charming you think you're a true spellcaster, one with the power of darkness itself. Tick, tick, getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we? It minced Selina's voice perfectly.
"Ignore the thing Opal, lets grab the air rune and run," Christos suggested.

"Typical of the mist fairies, always cowering and hiding." The creature chattered in a mocking tone."

Opal held her head high in defiance until she wasn't running. She glanced around her. She summoned a whirlwind of air. "wisps of breath, currants of life, slice those who oppose me." Opal chanted.

The whirlwind twisted in her hands, sliver shards sliced at the devours inky skin, the creature bellowed into howls of laughter, the sliver shards chipped the mirror. The creature fed off Opal, absorbing her panicked fear, sucking in the red aura with its wide mouth.

Opal fell doubled over in agony, the creature leaving inky teeth marks on her arm. The marks sizzled and burned like acid. A dry scream erupted from her throat. The devourer let out a sinister chuckle, its shadowy form engulfing Opal's frozen body. The torment persisted, the creature's head swaying in the abyss of inky water where Opal floated. In the eerie silence, she held her breath, feeling the weight of dread pressing against her chest. Tiny air bubbles escaped her mouth, as the creature's saliva coated tongue lashed out, licking the Opal's cheek.

Her reaction was one of disgust. She slashed it with a solid air current; the tongue wiggled in the water before being still. The devourer screeched in a mass of bubbles, sending her claws into Opal's arm, leaving ghastly green marks.
Opal's weeping and bleeding arm turned the water a dark crimson red. The void resembled a spere. Her vision swarmed; the devourer gagged, trying to form words, but without her tongue, it came out as a series of groans. In that sickening mocking tone, but Opal had silenced the devourer.

*****

Outside, Christos watched helpless waves of inky water submerged the floating sphere.
Christos submerged. The rune of water, feeling the icy waves wash over his wrist, as the rune activated, growing a shimmering light blue, his eyes gleaming in the same power.

Christos push and pulled his hands. The water flowed between them; he threw the grey inky water. At the creature, Opal's hand burst out, marking a swift sealing hole before turning the stream of water into ice.

The devourer screeched when the pillar of ice collided with its head; it slinked away, keeping to the darkness, its green gleaming eyes stared menacingly towards the teenagers.

The false Selina underwent a morphing transformation, reverting to her previous form. However, her new appearance possessed an uncanny, animalistic quality. As if a bizarre metamorphosis took place, emerald green scales emerged, replacing patches of skin. The elongated fingers transformed into menacing, claw-like appendages. An audible swish filled the air as a powerful tail abruptly emerged from behind her.

*****

Warmth returned to Opal's body. She inhaled deeply a few times. Before releasing a scream of fury, before using the sliver air currents and Christos icy orbs to destroy the pillars, creating a vacuum pulling. The devourer into the pieces of shattered clear glass.

"Good riddance, you hideous thing." Opal scoffed; the golden topaz shimmered against the shattered shards of glass. Unlike Christos rune, the Celtic Trinity knot already glowed with a mysterious golden light. She grasped the small pebble as a light source, driving back the massive nest of spiders. She and Christos emerged once again to their relief inside Winter Hall.

"Since our runes are here, the rest must be in Andreal. Returning home might be in the cards, "Opal said, shutting the opening with a flick of her wrist. Dread and deceit ached inside her heart, finally deciding whose side she was on.

She clutched the air rune tightly, slipping it on the sliver charm bracelet she carried around. Christos touched her burning arm, his hands soaked with fresh water. The water rune glowed blue before the wound sealed itself, leaving behind a scar.
"Thank you for the rescue, Christos. You're a good friend," Opal said.
He sighed, taking a much needed drink. "I don't always understand your motivations, but elemental magic links us. Be careful of your family, Opal, I don't want my best friend hurt because of Selina's actions.
Opal smiled, fidgeting with the glowing topaz. "Thank you for your concern."
She walked to her scooter and prepared herself for the task Selina had set for her.