Grail's Dawn Book Three

By Odette C. Bell

She’s defeated the principal, Harlequin, and anyone who’s gotten in her way. But there’s more to come. Her destiny will never stop.
The school isn’t the same. How could it be? She’s plowed through everyone who’s tried to tear her down, but the battle hasn’t even begun. Arthur Senior now knows how powerful Dawn’s become, and he’ll come for her sooner rather than later. He won’t care who he needs to kill – even if it’s every student at the school. As the stakes are raised, Dawn’s asked to dig deeper than ever before. It thrusts her back into her past – a history she’s never escaped and one she must accept before this Dawn can rise again.
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Grail’s Dawn follows a new witch and her destined king fighting a twisted magical academy and a worse fate. If you love your magical academies with action, punch, and a splash of romance, grab Grail’s Dawn Book Three today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Sep 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005992897

Book preview

Chapter 1

I… it’s over. For now. I defeated Harlequin, but the ministry is still out there.

I almost forgot we’re astral traveling, but when Harlequin’s soul starts to break apart in front of my face, I force myself to my feet.

I watch every last illuminated strand of his soul disappear.

Then I reach down. I pluck up my sword.

The book is still beside me. Take me to the heart, I breathe.

I don’t turn around once.

A set of steps opens up right beneath me. I follow them down.

They lead directly to that door.

I feel… I don’t want to say that I feel empty inside. I’ve finally done it. Harlequin is gone, and he’s not coming back. The most significant threat I have faced yet is over.

But….

I bring up a hand and lock it on my chest.

I slowly stare down at my fingers.

My sword’s still in my other hand. I let my gaze swivel over to it. I close my eyes.

What exactly am I? I hiss.

I go over what Harlequin said. He was planning to kill me. To rip my power out of me so that one day he could produce this sword. So why can I produce it already?

I slowly open my eyes, and I let my gaze trace over the blade. I have no clue what I’m looking for. Do I want to see a glimpse of my soul? Or a glimpse of my future? What exactly is lying in wait for me?

I suddenly realize I don’t have the time for this. I shove forward. I lock a hand on the door. I have no idea what it’s going to take to open it, but my mere presence and touch are enough. I hear some kind of mechanism in the door grating. It swings open.

The room is large, but at the same time, it’s small. I take a step into it. I hear my footsteps echoing, but the walls are right up against me. It’s clear that this room breathes and changes shape just like the corridors beyond.

At first it’s a confusing experience, and I have to close my eyes tightly, only opening them when I’m sure I have a hold of my stomach.

I finally see something right in front of me. It’s this strange glowing, spinning crystal. Despite the lesson Arthur shared with me earlier – that I shouldn’t touch any magical objects I’ve never seen before – I don’t hesitate as I reach a hand out. The crystal falls into my grip. And suddenly, my eyes screw shut of their own accord. I see blasts of light in my mind. They rush forward and gather until they form a shape. The school.

I can… I can actually see it in my mind’s eye. It’s as if I’m having a perfect dream of it. No, a vision. There’s no narrative. It’s like I’ve somehow tapped into a security system.

What… what is this? I hiss.

I honestly don’t expect an answer, but one forms in my mind.

This is the school. I have access to its heart. I can now utilize its every single defense.

Which is exactly what I need to do. Because as I become more accustomed to staring at this vision-like footage, I realize that the farlings are out.

They’re in the corridors. They are at this moment attacking the staff and the students.

I can’t see any deaths. Yet.

I take a stammering breath. I open my eyes again. My heartbeat is thrumming up my throat. I let my lips jerk open. School, I command you to do everything you can to remove the farlings. Now, I add in a scream that echoes around the room.

I assume that it will take more to activate the school’s defenses. Presumably only a strong practitioner can do it. And while I am technically powerful, I have no knowledge. Clearly I don’t need it. My passion is sufficient. The school taps into it as well as my orders.

The floor beneath me changes. Fortunately it does not sweep out from underneath my feet. I’ve had more than enough of that for today. Instead, the cracks between the bricks become illuminated. A perfect image of the blueprint of the school forms underneath me.

I start to see walls moving. I see little dots. I swear they must be the farlings.

The walls shift around and gobble them up.

I don’t understand this display, so I close my eyes.

I can see actual footage of the halls now.

The walls don’t shoot out and squish the farlings. Instead, they produce fields that suck the farlings back in down to the basement.

Maybe one on one, such a display of magic would’ve been insane but understandable. But it’s repeated over the entire school, and all the remaining farlings are gone in a matter of seconds.

That’s right, seconds.

There’s barely a noise. There’s no screaming, and there are no trumpets. There isn’t even an alarm. The school simply silently and swiftly deals with the threat.

When it’s over, I gasp and stagger down to my knees. I quickly lock a hand on my face. As I secure my fingers in, I let my nails drag over my temples. It takes a while until I’m confident enough to push up to my feet.

I breathe hard, my chest punching out against my ripped uniform.

That was… I can’t finish the sentence as I stare down at the floor once more. It still shows the entire school. Right now, from this position, I can do virtually anything.

I can get rid of any single teacher who’s out to get me. From Twitch to Suzanne – it won’t frigging matter.

But I don’t dare do that, of course. Because there is a big, gaping difference between me and Harlequin.

I know it’s time to get out of here. I have to find Arthur.

Wait.

School, show me Arthur Pendragon. Right now. Where is he?

I see him. The footage is somehow being taken right behind him, and I watch him as he blasts through a door. He looks like he’s in some kind of prison. At first, I think it’s in the ministry, but that can’t be right. It has to be in the school if I’m getting footage of it.

I lock a hand on my chest. I’m shaking. Arthur. God, you’re still alive. Thank heavens.

I fall down to my knees.

I continue to watch him. He races up some kind of corridor and reaches a door. He exits out into the tunnel system.

He continues to run, swearing softly under his breath every now and then.

I even think I hear him uttering my name.

Tears trail down my cheeks. I palm them dry. Now I stand. I go to leave. I remember what Harlequin told me before he died. Wait. School, show me Theodore. I don’t know his last name. He’s from the ministry. He—

Footage appears in my mind. I can see an empty, dark room. Judging by the size of it, it has to be down in this tunnel system somewhere. Right in the middle is a crumpled figure. The footage begins just above him, so it has to… it has to be Theodore.

I secure a hand on my mouth harder. I could practically swallow my fingers.

He isn’t moving, as he’s very much dead. I can’t see blood or anything. This is based solely on the feeling of him. I can sense that he’s been completely bled dry of magic.

The footage expands. I hear footsteps.

I see shadowy, hooded figures breaking away from him. They had formed a circle around his body. Now, one by one, they twist their fingers around in the air and cast transport spells.

No, I shriek. School, stop them. Stop them.

It’s too late, and the last figure has already transported away.

I lock a hand over my face. I drag my palm over my eyes. That just makes me cry even more.

Soon, I lash out. I’m thankfully close enough to the wall that I don’t have to stagger over there. I punch it until my knuckles start to sting.

I take a shaking breath. School… did anyone die during the attack? Anyone other than… anyone other than Theodore, Harlequin, and the principal?

The footage doesn’t show me anything, so I can only hope that confirms everyone’s okay.

Tears continue to gush down my cheeks.

I failed Theodore.

If I’d been a little quicker, I could’ve gotten to him too.

I feel sick. But I know I’m not gonna throw up.

I still lock a hand on my middle. I shift around until my head is pressed against the wall. The cool stone can’t do anything to calm my nerves.

This… it’s not frigging fair.

I go to punch the wall again, but I stop.

It’s not frigging fair, but Harlequin is down. The risk is gone. And now… I seemingly have control of the school.

I open one eye. I stare around me. School, when I leave this room, will I… will I still be in control of the heart?

Again, the school doesn’t answer with words. It doesn’t have to. An impression forms in my mind.

It tells me that yes, I’ll be in control. As long as I’m in the four walls of this school, it will be open to me.

I stagger up.

It’s over.

Or has it just begun?

I might’ve dealt with my most powerful enemies, but in the vacuum they have created, more will form.

That is a promise.

Chapter 2

I stagger out of the heart room, leaving the crystal behind.

I grab my chest as I do. Hooking my fingers into my collar, I close my eyes. I get several steps before I bump into the wall. That doesn’t matter. I just keep staggering on.

What is it that the ministry is after that they are willing to put up with so much death? Surely most of the ministry’s employees have kids at the school?

They would know what was going to happen today. What exactly would be worth the lives of their own frigging children?

It’s power, isn’t it? Frigging power. It all has to do with Arthur. He is the key.

I force my eyes open.

I no longer stagger. I run. He’s out there somewhere. I will find him. This time, regardless of whether we’re in public, I will throw my arms around his neck.

I’m done with circumstances keeping us apart.

Not only do I need Arthur to tell me exactly what’s going on, but I need his comfort.

I’ve been denying myself it for so long.

I kept trying to pretend Arthur isn’t the man from my dreams. He is.

Now I have a plan, I rush forward. First things first, however, I have to get back to my real body. It’s so easy to forget that I’m just astral traveling.

I close my eyes.

It takes me no time at all to arrive back in the Grail room.

As soon as I sit up, Lucy shoots toward me. Her eyes open wide. You’re… back. What—

I reach out a trembling hand. I lock it on her shoulder. I use it as purchase to help me push up. I did it. The farlings are gone. So is Harlequin. The threat is dealt with.

She stares at me, gobsmacked. You… did all of that? Did you get to the heart?

I nod. Yeah, I did. The threat’s over, I say as I smile widely.

She pulls me into a hug.

It feels nice to be able to touch someone with my real body.

But at the same time, I can’t enjoy this for long. I push away. I have to get to Arthur. You… just stay here for the time being.

Why?

I don’t know what I’m gonna face out there. I’m still in control of the heart. I just… you will be safer here, okay? I need to investigate the rest of the school and confirm everything’s fine and that the ministry hasn’t sent more of their people. Once I have, you can come out.

She looks at me, a sideways smile crumpling her lips. You know, I lucked out the day I met you.

Really?

I didn’t want to be pulled into your troubles, but the reality is, I was already involved. Because your troubles are everybody else’s troubles. Thank you. On behalf of the entire school, thank you.

I become a little red-cheeked.

I turn and reach the door.

I nod at her once. I push out.

I close the door with my shoulder, lean against it for a few seconds, then shove off.

It takes me a few moments to reorient myself. I go to try to remember the way back to the halls above, but I stop. I don’t need to navigate these tunnels. I’m still connected to the school, remember?

With a smile crumpling my lips at my own stupidity, I lock a hand on the wall and command the school to, Lead me straight to the halls.

It does, all right, and a door suddenly forms under my hand.

I twist the handle and walk out.

It’s chaos.

There are blast marks all up the walls, and chunks of the ceiling have fallen down and scattered over the floor.

I see a moaning student to my side, but a staff member is dealing with them.

No one pays that much attention to me. People are running to and fro.

Soon I hear people gasping up ahead. I even think I hear them repeating Arthur’s name.

I shove into a run.

I reach the main atrium. The massive, sweeping central staircase of the school is off to one side.

Students have congregated at the base of the stairs, and coming down them is Arthur.

You saved us, didn’t you? several of them splutter. Thank God. If it weren’t for you, we’d be dead.

Other people express their thanks, too. Mostly people are still too overcome by what happened to utter coherent sentences.

To these students, it will be a complete reversal of their worldview. They would have assumed from birth that they would always be protected. Now they have to face up to the reality that they aren’t.

Someone was planning to use them as fodder.

I do not correct any of the students to say that Arthur had nothing to do with protecting them. I just stand there. I stare up at him.

I’m cold all over, but with every step he gets closer to me, I warm up. This fire kindles in my heart.

I flatten a trembling hand on my chest.

I let a smile spread over my lips.

As I said before, I’m done holding back.

Arthur has a large gash down his brow. Blood trickles down the side of his face. His hair is rumpled. His eyes are still as ablaze as ever.

I’m at the back of the students, so he hasn’t seen me.

He reaches the second last step and stops.

Arthur, someone calls. They’re at the top of the stairs. It’s Genevieve.

I ignore her.

I’ll deal with her once I’ve done this.

I shove forward through the students.

I finally reach Arthur. I grab his arm, but it’s at the same time that Genevieve reaches him. She grabs his other arm.

The students become quiet.

They might have just survived hell, but they can still recognize that this will be big.

Genevieve locks her snarling gaze on me. You—

You will be handed over to the police, Genevieve. I know that your father was working with Harlequin, I spit. And I know that you lured Arthur into a trap.

Her face stiffens. I can see the fear there. What—

Arthur. I melt a little. I… I did it. I—

Suddenly, words aren’t enough. I lock my arms around his neck and pull him closer. Or at least, I try to pull him in. He stiffens. He stops himself just before he can fall against my chest.

Arthur, you must be injured. I dealt with everything. Harlequin is dead. The farlings are gone. I—

He plants a hand on my shoulder, and he pushes me away.

The move is rough.

I look into his eyes. And that’s when I see something that I didn’t notice before.

His gaze is cold. It’s almost… it’s almost as if there’s something missing from it.

Arthur? I splutter.

You killed Harlequin? he says, and there’s nothing in his voice but a sense of injustice.

I splutter. He was trying to murder every single student in the school, I snap. And he kidnapped you. What’s going on? Why are you pretending to be angry?

You killed a member of the ministry? Genevieve snarls, repeating that claim as loudly as she can.

The students clearly don’t know what to think. It’s damn obvious that they’ve just struggled to survive, but it’s also clear that they had no clue what was going on in the first place. Some of them stare at me like I’m a criminal.

I look at Arthur. He’s just playing, right? For whatever reason, he still wants to protect me, but this isn’t protecting me.

Harlequin tried to murder every single student at the school, I say, my voice arcing up even louder. You’re hardly in a position to point fingers. You work for your father, I spit at Genevieve.

She’s still pale, but she stares at Arthur. The police should be called. This is insane. You caused this, didn’t you? she snarls at me.

Caused what? The bigotry, hatred, and violence at the heart of the magical community? The elitism? The disregard for human life? No, Genevieve, you and your family caused that. Every single family at the ministry caused it. I only walked into this mess, I say, closing a hand into a fist. But I will clean it up.

Listen to her, Genevieve splutters. There’s still fear in her voice – don’t get me wrong – but she is a consummate actor. Did you hear what she said? She threatened the entire ministry. Most of our parents work there. She’s a monster. You did this, she screams.

I’m nowhere near her, but she acts as if I’ve just hit her.

Arthur’s still standing between us. But make no mistake, that’s not because he wants to protect me.

He locks his angry gaze on me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look colder. Even when I first came here, he didn’t look at me like that.

Arthur, I try again, my voice becoming tender. I reach toward him, but he steps back.

The ministry will be called, he says stiffly.

My lips freeze.

What the hell is happening here?

Yeah, I missed a few things when I was down there fighting Harlequin, but it feels like I’ve missed several hundreds of years.

Arthur has changed completely.

Students begin to mutter. They’re no longer talking about me and my power in awe. They’re acting like I’m a criminal.

I busted a gut to save every single one of their lives, and now they’re acting as if I’m a monster?

Worse than that? I start to hear Suzanne’s officious voice.

What’s going on here? she snarls.

Genevieve’s eyes open with pure delight. We captured a criminal. The one who caused all of this. It’s Dawn Cooper. She reaches toward me.

I don’t have my soul blade on me, but you know what? I don’t need it when it comes to Genevieve.

She goes to grab hold of my hand, but I just shove her shoulder.

I only send a single spark of magic blasting into her, but it still propels her into the wall.

It does not have the desired effect, however. The students just scream and act as if I was the one to attack her first and not the other way around.

Suzanne reaches me. Her cheeks are frozen stiff with cold anger. Clearly information of the fact that I dealt with Harlequin has spread to her.

Miss Cooper, you have crossed the final line. You will be taken to the ministry prison. You will—

You and whose army, Suzanne? I say.

Are you forgetting—

No, I’m not forgetting anything. Though I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Harlequin, I snap, brought 125 so-called modified farlings into this school. And he let them loose. You know that. I face her, and boy do I let my fury out. I don’t care if your lapdog over there, I shrug toward Genevieve, is good at weaving lies. I don’t care if you desperately want to get rid of me. You can’t. It’s a bit of an underwhelming way to finish my statement. I don’t even scream it with a bang. I just point it out with the same dispassionate force of someone stating the fact the sun will rise every morning.

Enough. She goes to shove toward me.

I pretty much know exactly what she’s going to do.

Magic starts to charge up her body.

It’s a devastating attack. If I’d encountered it the first time I encountered her, I would have been in trouble.

But so much has changed since then.

I don’t bother to defend. I don’t have to. I don’t even have to half close my eyes. I am still fundamentally connected to the school.

Just as she goes to reach toward me, the floor underneath her and only underneath her shakes.

What? she stammers.

The floor becomes insubstantial. She sinks right through down to her middle.

She shrieks. How?

I take a step toward her, looming above her. I did what you couldn’t – what you didn’t want to do. I went to the heart of this school, and I connected to it. I saved these students when all you were going to do was condemn them. You think I’m gonna be the one ending up in jail? You are, I snarl right in her face.

Fear flickers in her eyes. It turns to anger. You will be stopped. You might have found a way to control this school, but the principal—

Is dead. You were always going to kill him, anyway.

You defeated the principal? she hisses. Another murder to add to your already deplorable record. You will—

Before any of the students can get involved, or before Arthurs’ angry gaze can drill right through my head, I hear someone clearing their throat. I know who it is long before I turn and see Revas.

He comes marching right up to us.

He glances down at Suzanne in the floor, but he does nothing. He looks at me. Please come with me, Miss Cooper.

I—

Please come with me, he repeats.

Suzanne’s still there, shrieking, but he ignores her.

It is clear the students have absolutely no idea what’s going on at all. They stare at me as if I’m the second coming or a murderer. Their conflict is palpable. The whole room has this edgy, uncertain feeling.

My father will hear of this, Genevieve splutters. You will go to jail for everything you’ve done, she shrieks at me.

I turn over my shoulder as I start to follow Revas. I just stare at her coldly.

I know there are more than daggers in my eyes. Because now I am not in a position to be screwed with.

She stops shrieking abruptly. It practically looks like I slapped her.

Arthur suddenly steps in front of her protectively.

He looks at me… he looks at me like he doesn’t know me anymore. He looks at me like I’m nothing more than a murderer.

I cast my gaze over my shoulder one last time and stare at him before I walk away with Revas.

He doesn’t say a word to me. We continue down the empty, broken corridors.

There are other students who are picking themselves up – staff members, too.

None of them stare at me like I’m behind all this mess. Clearly news hasn’t spread. Yet. But even now, I can hear their phones pinging, and they draw them out