'Get to a safe spot and come see me in your Mind Space, lets have a chat'
'A safe spot. Sure. Let me just check my list of safe spots.'
Alex looked around. The Academy was a black skeleton against the sunset. Half the roof was gone. The courtyard where the first fireball landed was a hole.
'Yeah. Nothing on the list.'
'Lexie.'
'I'm going, I'm going. But I'm not leaving without my rocks.'
He jogged through what used to be the front doors.
The main hall smelled of wet ash. Somewhere above him water was still dripping, slow and steady, like a clock nobody had told to stop. The big staircase was standing, but the banister had melted into a long black drip down one side.
He passed the noticeboard by the stairs. Half of it had burned away. The other half still had the week's timetable pinned to it, with Combat Basics circled in red by somebody who had been looking forward to it.
Alex didn't read the rest. He went down the corridor toward the kitchens and kept his eyes on his feet.
