Eleven.

Cole's POV.

The alarm rang and I groaned.

" What kind do you think it will be this time?" Rose asked as we stood up from our seats and picked our weapons at the back of the class.

" I don't know but I am not looking forward to fighting it." I replied.

For 4 months we hadn't heard from Iris.

For 4 months we had been getting attacked by all sorts of weird creatures that disappeared into thin air after they had been defeated.

Mr T said it had something to do with the protective shield around the school. Although it was impossible for evil supernaturals to locate the school, it's still a mystery how these things were able to find us.

" Can't they just fix the shield already?!, I'm getting tired of these attacks." Bryan said joining us.

As the top shifters in the school, it was our responsibility to fight the creatures alongside the teachers.

" The shield is magic." Rose stated.

" And all magicians hate us and the only other person who can help us is missing." I added.

We walked into the courtyard at the entrance of the school to see the freaky looking creature. And it was huge!

" How are we supposed to fight that?!" Rose asked in disbelieve.

" I have no idea."

The creature had already wrecked the statue of Crest Hill High's founder and it was moving towards the group of students that had gathered to watch it.

Idiots!

We were about to change into our armours when we heard a voice.

" Hey ugly!, Why don't you pick on someone your own strength?"

I know that voice from anywhere!

We ( including the creature) turned towards the direction of the voice to see Iris sitting on a throne made of rocks. She wore a plain white tee with faded jeans and black combat boots.

Iris!

She jumped down and landed on her feet with a smirk on her face.

She looked different. Her usually long blonde hair was now cut short and stopped right below her shoulders. She looked leaner. Like she had spent hours every day training and she sounded even more confident.

The creature let out a strange sound that I'm assuming was laughter.

" What?, You think I can't take you?"

It let out another strange sound that I'm also assuming was a confirmation.

" Okay, we'll see about that."

Her eyes flashed and she was instantly clothed with her amour.

Her armour was gold like any other shifter armour but her under armour was black and not the colour of a floor. She wore a half mask on the right side of her face with a black orb where her right eye was. The orb glowed different colours whenever she used her powers.

Iris blasted the creature with fire and the smell of burning hair filled the air.

It seemed like everyone, including the creature was shocked.

She had mastered the elements!

The creature ran towards her extending it's claws but she managed to move away right in time.

She slammed her foot onto the floor and spikes came up from the floor injuring the creature.

The creature let out a howl of pain and Iris smiled.

It tried to strike her again and this time, it managed to cut her cheek. She stared at the blood on her fingers when she touched the cut and growled.

She shifted really quickly as into a cheetah and ran towards it. She leapt but shifted back mid air landing on the creature's back. She summoned her dagger and cut into the creature.

It let out a groan and collapsed onto the floor.

She jumped down and cracked her knuckles. She drew some water from the fountain and used it to cut of it's head like a guillotine blade.

And the body of the creature disappeared like they usually did.

" Enchantment." I heard her say.

She changed back into her normal clothes and waved at the crowd that had gathered.

" Hi!"

" Everyone get back to class!" Mr T yelled  and the students filed away leaving Rose, Bryan, Chris, Savannah and I as the only students left.

" Hey Mr T!, It's been a while." Iris greeted while grinning.

" Yeah!, Since you decided to turn a week long break into a 4 month vacation." He stated and Iris smiled sheepishly.

" You have a lot of explaining to do Iris." He said.

***

We sat in silence in Mr T's office staring at Iris.

" So..... Emily, is that a baby bump I see?" Iris asked trying to break the silence but Emily just raised an eyebrow.

" Where were you?" Mr T asked.

" Before you get mad at me I have a-"

" Oh we're already mad." Rose said cutting her off.

Iris smiled at her but Rose gave her a cold glare.

" I was training with the elders."

The Elders!, Of course.

Why didn't we think of going there?!?

" And you didn't think it was right to inform us?!, Or even your parents?!"

" Well I didn't think it was important."

" The Iris I know would have at least sent a message." Savannah said crossing her arms.

" Hey Sav!"

" Savannah's right. Something's not right." Chris said and Iris froze for a minute then smiled."

" I don't know what you're talking about."

" Iris something happened. You were supposed to be home for a week but you disappeared after 4 days!, Your parents wouldn't let anyone come see them and Austin didn't even come out!" Savannah exclaimed.

" I don't wanna talk about it." Iris said calmly clenching her fist.

" What happened?" Emily questioned.

" Why did you leave?!"

" I said I don't want to talk about it!" Iris yelled. The aura around her glowed red and radiated heat.

Savannah tried to touch her in a bid to calm her down but she got burnt.

" Iris, calm down." I said gently and she turned towards at me with her eyes red and glowing. She took a deep breath and gradually calmed down.

" Let me see your hand." She said and Savannah showed her.

Iris drew some water from the aquarium in Mr T's office and brought it towards her. She split it in half then sent the first one flying onto Savannah's palm causing Savannah to hiss.

" Sorry, saltwater."

She gently controlled the second one onto Savannah's palm and this time, it healed. The burn was gone without a trace.

" Thank you."

" No, it was my fault."

" So...what did you learn from the Elders?" I asked trying to break the tension in the room.

" A lot." She replied curtly.

" How long have you been getting attacked?"

" For 4 months now." Bryan replied.

" It's because the shield is weak." Iris stated and Mr T nodded.

" But how were they able to find the school?" Rose asked.

" Well they don't need to find the school if they're already in the school." Iris said then she rolled her eyes when she saw the looks of confusion on our faces.

" Enchantments. From an enchanted object. They were probably brought into the school by a student. And since the shield is weak, it can't break the enchantment."

" So the same object has been producing different creatures?" I asked and she shrugged.

" Possibly but it could also be the same creature attacking you in different forms."

" So how do we find the object?"

" We don't. All we have to do is fix the shield."

" But how do we do that?" Chris asked and Iris smiled.

" Follow me."

We followed her to the courtyard and she stopped at the middle.

" You might want to move back a bit." She said and we did.

" Azmatra Krino timate Frima Zinton." She said and she started levitating. Her hair floated around her and the aura around her glowed a deep purple.

The shield appeared around the school. It looked like sparks of electricity.

Then she fell.

" Are you okay?" I asked helping her up.

" Yeah, I'm fine. It always happens when I cast big spells."

" Iris how were you able to do that?!, That spell is really complex. Where did you learn magic?" Mr T asked.

" I'll explain once we're inside. I have to sit down."

" Okay. Let's go."

I supported her as we walked back to the office.

" Here." I said handing her a bottle of water.

" Thanks."

" So who taught you magic?"

***

Nnọọ!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

I'll be dropping another one later today.

Stay safe 😷.

Bye!!