Page 1 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

Prologue

Her breasts were on fire.Why in the hell are my breasts on fire?Slowly, Shelly’s faculties came back online. She tried to take a breath, but then her lungs caught fire as well. She must be sleeping while her house burned down around her.Why isn’t the smoke detector going off? Why can’t I wake up? Wake up!But no matter how hard she willed herself to open her eyes, her body wouldn’t move. She was going to burn alive, completely aware of it, and unable to do anything to save herself.

As the thought threatened to drive her mad, she felt flames licking at her feet. They took hold and traveled up her body. The flames sped over her calves, her thighs, and then up her hips and stomach. The burning reached her chest but didn’t slow. It moved right on to her neck, her face, and finally, it covered the top of her head.This isn’t fair. I should be stopping, dropping, and rolling, but I can’t even move.All those drills in kindergarten were for nothing.

Damn furry, gluteus maximus, son of a teet. Shelly mentally cursed Smokey the Bear and his “prevent forest fire” mantra only because she needed someone to curse, and he seemed the most logical culprit. At least in her panic-driven, pain-filled mind.

The pain increased, and she wondered why she was still alive.Shouldn’t I have burned up by now?How long does it take the human body to burn to death?Thatwould have been helpful information to know. At least she would know how long her torture would last. And if burning alive didn’t kill her quickly enough—and it obviously wasn’t—then maybe they should have taught how long it took to die from smoke inhalation. Then, at least she could breathe deeper to hopefully hasten her demise.Just die already. If she couldn’t force herself to wake up, then maybe she could end her life faster by willing it so.

Good grief. You know things are bad when you are trying to will yourself to die.

She wished she could move, even if it were just to flail about like an idiot. Anything would be better than being frozen in her burning flesh. As the frustration built inside of her, Shelly found herself screaming every profanity she could think of, though it was only in her mind, since she had no control over her body. She let the pain overtake her, and rage followed on anger’s heels. When she was exhausted from screaming, she cried. And when she didn’t have the energy left to cry, she just burned.

1

Ra entered his room and moved quickly. He’d traveled straight from Terra Academy’s grounds to Crimson Academy in a lightning-fast whirlwind of smoke and fire. Desperate to leave as soon as possible, the elementalist sent word with a fire imp to the headmaster and headmistress to expect him in a few moments.

He made quick work of changing into his fighting clothes. Unlike most of his other classmates, Ra didn’t train in typical military-style clothing. Instead, he wore clothing modeled after the royal warriors of his Egyptian ancestors. On his chest, he donned thick leather straps that crisscrossed him, protecting both his back and front. The bracers of his ancestors might have been made from bronze or copper, but Ra’s were leather interwoven with a nearly indestructible modern metal alloy. Instead of pants, he wore a wrap of the same leather and metal construction that hung to his lower thigh. It bore slits every three inches that ran up to the waist, allowing free movement of each of his legs. Instead of leather sandals on his feet, he wore boots that perfectly fit his feet and wrapped protectively up his calf to the top of his knee.

Once dressed, Ra slipped a quiver of arrows over his shoulder. He buckled the belt holding his short sword around his waist and adjusted the blade to rest on his right side. Finally, he buckled on the sheath that held his dagger to his left thigh. The slits in his wrap made it easy to get to the dagger should he need it. He slipped a necklace on that bore his royal name. A cartouche, it was called in modern day. To him and his people, it was a way to add protection.

Noticing his phone lying on his desk, he remembered that his friends from the other academies had wanted to see him off. He imagined they may not have realized he wasn’t going to sleep that night. Yet he’d been unable to rest for a moment since the enchanting green-eyed girl had been flung from the grounds of Terra Academy through a portal to the underworld. Now, Ra felt an urgency he didn’t understand, but he knew he would not be able to wait until morning to journey after Tara’s friend. So, he texted Elias to let him know he was leaving and not to worry about seeing him off.That done, Ra walked to the door, picked up his bow and shield, and headed out.

Ra jogged through the corridors of the academy until he reached the large doors leading to the offices of HeadmasterJeremiah and his mate, Headmistress Talia. Ra knocked and waited. His mind kept picturing the blonde female that the acolyte Tucker had handled so roughly. Ra’s jaw clenched as he remembered how she’d been carelessly thrown through the portal, like a bag of garbage into a dumpster. At that point, something inside of him had snapped. He’d wanted nothing more than to drive his blade through Tucker’s chest and watch the life drain from his eyes. Apparently, Ra’s rage had been even greater than he’d realized because he’d ended up beheading the man.

The door in front of Ra opened, revealing Professor Bernhardt. The man taught several subjects related to human warfare, including the use of martial weapons. “Ra,” the professor said with a slight bow of his head. Professor Bernhardt was old—very old—and he understood Ra’s ancestry. Because of that, the man often acknowledged Ra’s royalty with a bow, even if it was just his head.

“Professor,” Ra said in greeting. “I need to speak with the headmaster and headmistress.”

“They’ve been expecting you.” The professor motioned for Ra to enter, and he stepped through the doorway and into the office.

Professor Jeremiah, the headmaster of Crimson Academy, stood at the front of the room. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stood tall and regal. His eyes took in Ra’s appearance. If the professor was surprised the student was dressed as if he were ready to go to war, his eyes didn’t show it.

“The headmaster from Terra Academy has been in touch,” he said. “Terrick explained what happened with the human female.”

“She is in the underworld. She was alive when they threw her into the portal,” Ra said. He kept his voice even, but inside, his blood was boiling.

“And you want to go after her?” Jeremiah asked.

“How is this our problem?” asked Professor Bernhardt. “The girl was taken on the steps of Terra Academy. Shouldn’t they be responsible?”

Ra started to growl but choked it back. “I am the ideal person to go after the human female,” he said, ignoring Professor Bernhardt and staring straight at Headmaster Jeremiah. “You know it.”

“You are a very skilled warrior, Ra,” continued the professor. “In fact, you’re the best we’ve had at this academy in a very long time. But you are a student, nonetheless. We have more experienced warriors to send should Terra Academy require aid.”

Ra didn’t acknowledge the professor’s statement. He simply continued to stare directly at the headmaster, who held the student’s gaze.

After several moments of silence, Professor Bernhardt spoke again. “Why do I feel that I do not have the whole story here?”

“May I?” Headmaster Jeremiah asked.

Ra wanted to tell him no. They were wasting time. He had no idea how long it would take him to find the female once he got to the underworld. But he gave the headmaster a nod.

“You are aware that Ra is a direct descendant of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs,” Headmaster Jeremiah said.

“Of course,” Bernhardt answered.

“Because of his bloodline,” Jeremiah continued, “he has certain connections. The ancient Egyptians worshipped the lord of the underworld and are paying for that loyalty with an eternity in his realm.”

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