“Frankie,” I said as I wiped the bar with a cloth that I had just wasted my magic on creating. “Can I trust you?”
There was no way in a million universes, I was using the dirty dish cloth in the sink behind me. It reeked of beer and stale water, not my idea of a good cleaning aid.
“Of course.” His reply was muffled as he pulled a jumper over his head.
The bar was fairly busy with several students celebrating their freedom. Professor Seaton had lifted the ban on outside trips during a special assembly last night. Once Damian had taken the spells off the affected students, they had returned to their previous selves. I had visited them to make sure and each of them had thanked me personally.
Leaning near him on the bar, actually enjoying the lull in orders, I debated letting him in on my secret. He had been struggling with the death of his friend, and it wasn’t something I wanted to watch him go through if I could help in some way.
The door opened and my friends walked in with Dracian and James. They laughed together, the weight of the last few weeks now lifted. My whole body relaxed as they waved at me before heading to an empty booth in the corner. I was glad they were going to wait for my shift to end away from the bar. It was too much of a distraction otherwise. Especially with the handsome Dracian watching my every move, which admittedly, he was doing now, from across the room.
“What is it?” Frankie said, glancing over his shoulder to see what I was staring at.
Before I could move out from behind the bar, he clicked his fingers. A snort escaped me when the hologram of Frankie appeared beside my friends wearing a pair of swimming shorts.
“I haven’t been swimming for ages.” Watching as Frankie’s illusion waiter took their orders, I shook my head. “Maybe I can persuade the others to go after my shift.”
“Was there something you wanted to tell me, or was it just another teenage thought crossing your busy brain?” Frankie sipped on a can of coke, his eyes bright, his energy lighter than it had been in a long while.
Pulling up the stall on the other side of the bar, I sat, leaning my elbows on the counter. “I know a way you can get magic without taking it from another witch.”
“Is there a new craze where you steal it some other way? You teens come up with the weirdest trends. Back in my day, we put a traffic cone on our heads and flew on a broomstick to trick the humans.”
“I’m not a teen,” I retorted, more than a little offended at being compared to someone who would put a traffic cone on their head. Immature was not in my nature. Most of the time, anyway. “It’s not a trend, it’s serious, but if you don’t want to know…”
Going to get up, I fetched my bag as I let the sentence hang in the air. Frankie tutted as he fiddled with the ring of the can.
“Alright, I’ll bite. What’s the big secret?”
Smiling to myself as I put my jacket on, I turned back to him. “You cannot tell a soul my secret. If you do, the institute will kidnap me, and you’ll never see me again. I know how much that would hurt you.”
“Uh huh,” Frankie replied, his eyebrows raised rather unconvincingly. “I know you’ve got some dodgy stuff going on. Do I really want to know?”
“You’ve got three minutes until my shift ends. Either you do or you don’t.”
I was being a little bit of a tease, but at the same time, I needed his reassurance that he wouldn’t go blabbing to anyone about my secret. Maybe I was being a little too blasé.
Going closer to him as a group of students left, I put on my serious face, whatever that looked like. “Okay, I sound like I’m joking, but this is my lifeblood. If I show you, will you promise to not betray me?”
Frankie swallowed as he nodded, finally taking me seriously. “I promise. You’re a pain in the arse, but you’re a good worker. Plus, I can’t help but feel pity for you on account of you being an Illusionist witch, too.”
“Yeah, yeah. Well, watch this.”
Taking his phone, I laid in on the bar between us. Lifting my finger, I pressed the button so he could see the screen. Leaving my finger on it, I started to drain the energy from it. “Watch your battery.”
He leant over, his gaze following the line as the battery quickly ran down, the phone beeping just before it turned off.
“Why are you showing me an illusion of you draining my battery?”
“Is it an illusion?”
Swiping his hand over the phone, obviously to get rid of my supposed spell, he frowned when he pressed the button and it didn’t come on. I had to be careful. It was a far stretch to ask someone to believe me. Yes, he was an illusionist witch too, but that made it worse. He knew how clever we could be. How we could weave lies out of magic that wasn’t ours. It would take a lot for him to believe that I had just taken the electricity from his phone to use as my own magic.
“Okay, good one.” His frown made me sigh.
Shaking my head, I put my hand on his arm, allowing him to feel that I had magic. He still looked baffled. Huh, for some reason, I thought showing him would be easier, but maybe not.
“I can take electricity and turn it into magic,” I said, pulling away and tapping my jacket to make sure my little gadget was safe and sound in its pocket. “I want to eventually help other Illusionist witches do the same.”
His forehead creased as he tried to turn his phone on again. It didn’t work, the screen staying completely blank. Grabbing his phone before I could do anything, he came around the bar and plugged it into the charger, frowning when it eventually came on.
“There was no magic on that,” he muttered.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you.” Retreating around the bar, I held up my hands. “It was a trick, a new illusion I’ve been working on.”
He watched me as I walked backwards, towards my friends. His frown didn’t leave his face, but he didn’t call me back either. People were obviously not ready for my awesomeness. Well, my father’s awesomeness, anyway.
“I’ll see you tomorrow!”
He dismissed me with a wave before he turned back to his phone. My heart actually sank to my stomach as I moved to join my friends. They were getting up from the booth, ready to walk me home. They had pretty much forced me to be accompanied all day. It was kind, but a tiny bit annoying. I wasn’t a kid. Plus, I had managed to talk to some of the students who had been drained. They had said that they were working on forgiving Damian, although it would be a while until that was achieved.
“Everything okay?” Dracian asked, touching my wrist briefly.
Shaking off my disappointment, I plastered a smile to my face. Even though Frankie hadn’t taken me seriously, it wasn’t such a surprise. One day, I would slowly be able to help Illusionist witches who were ready to try a new way to obtain magic. Until then, I would concentrate on learning new skills.
“I’m good, I just had a crazy idea.”
They watched me, curiosity written across their faces.
Isabel broke the silence first, coming forward and grabbing my arm. “What crazy idea? Please don’t say you want to go hunting for a serial witch killer so we can build credit.” Her gorgeous eyes narrowed on me as she tried to fight a smile.
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. “No, silly, I think we’ve built enough academy credit for a whole lifetime. Let’s go swimming!”
“Swimming?” James said, his eyes darting to Helissa. “I like the sound of that.”
Dracian shared a smile with me as Helissa’s cheeks turned bright red. The girl had no chance when it came to James and his flirtatious expressions. Isabel was the only one without a love interest in the group. Wait, did I just include myself in that? Surely not. Dracian was gorgeous and all that, but we weren’t very compatible. I had to keep my mind focused on my goal of becoming as kickass as Devon Jinx.
“Where do you suggest we go at this time of night?” Dracian asked as Isabel indicated that we should go outside.
Frankie frowned at us from the bar, his hands on his hips. He was ready to lo
ck up, it seemed. Maybe I had given him something to think about, even if he didn’t quite believe me.
Waving, we left, chatting amongst ourselves about possible places to gate-crash.
“I reckon we should go to the lake,” I piped up, speaking over everyone. “No one will be there now.”
It was just past midnight and the alley was empty. The lights in the academy were dimmed with most windows blacked out. Sensible students got enough sleep to survive on. Apparently, we weren’t the sensible ones.
“You don’t think there’ll be a guard out tonight?” Helissa asked quietly.
James went to stand by her, his tall frame almost engulfing her small one. “We’ll be fine, we’ll cast a noise reducing spell just in case.”
The lake was behind the academy. We would have to walk through tons of grounds to get there, which wasn’t my idea of fun.
“Have any of you mastered the transportation spell yet?”
My question was met with mostly blank faces.
Dracian smirked as he reached out a hand. Why didn’t it surprise me that it was him who had mastered one of the hardest spells already?
“Shall I escort you to the lake?” he asked in his deep, deep, dark voice.
Curtsying, I went to take his hand. Before my skin made contact with his, my phone started to ring. I was about to pull back when Dracian grabbed me and we puffed away from the others.
My feet stumbled as we landed beside the lake. The moon was high in the sky, the glare of it lighting the smooth water that spread out before us.
“I better answer that,” I told Dracian.
He held fast to my hand, tugging me closer. The darkness mixed with the rays of the moon cast shadows around us.
“Alishia, you know how I feel about you,” he whispered into the silence when my phone stopped ringing.
Biting my bottom lip, I swallowed hard. “I don’t really know.”
Why was my heart literally pounding in my ears? It was Dracian Dread, the boy who I loved to hate. Didn’t I?
Quirking one eyebrow, Dracian leant forward until his lips where right in front of mine. “Let me show you.”
Without even a beat, his lips were on mine, pressing hard. I went stiff at first, resisting until he parted his lips to bring them back to mine. My traitorous mouth responded, my lips opening slightly to press against his. Our breath mingled loudly as my arms ran up his arms and around his neck.
“Thanks for leaving us!” Isabel barked.
Pulling away, we both panted as the others joined us. All three of them stared. James grinned as Isabel tugged on his arm, a slushy happy look on her face. Helissa was the only one who looked embarrassed, glancing away quickly when our gaze met.
“You didn’t bank on me knowing that spell too, did you?” James muttered to Dracian as he moved past us.
Approaching the lake, James whipped off his T-shirt and trousers. Standing in his boxers, he turned and gestured at Helissa to join him. She shook her head as she dropped to the ground, planting her butt firmly on the grass.
“This is going to be so much fun!” Isabel laughed as she took off her leggings and ran to the edge of the water.
Dracian slowly stripped, making a song and dance about it, if I was honest. His eyes watched me as he grabbed the back of his T-shirt and tugged it over his head, messing up his dark hair in the process. His gaze met mine as he licked his lip, in blatant invitation.
My phone burst into noise again. Ah, that was a good excuse to not get almost naked with the man who had just basically burst blood vessels in my brain with a kiss.
“I’m just going to get that,” I said. “Then, I’ll join you.”
The corner of his lip lifted into his cheek in a half sexy smirk. Who cares if he could see right through me? Maybe my idea of swimming hadn’t been such a good one.
Sitting next to Helissa, I dug my phone out and answered it. She smiled at me when James came over and basically dragged her away.
“Alishia?” a breathy voice spoke into my ear.
“Who is this?”
The others started to splash into the water, their high pitched squeals making it almost impossible for me to hear who was on the other end. It was stupidly late for me to be getting phone calls from strangers.
“It’s too cold!” Helissa moaned as James tried to pull her in.
“You better be careful,” the voice said. “You’re playing with fire.”
Shuddering as their words sunk in, I sat up straight and looked around.
“If you think you’re safe from us, you better think again. We need you, and we’ll stop at nothing to make sure we have you.”
Dracian watched me closely, coming out of the water when I gestured for him to join me. My hands were shaking as I got to my feet, still checking around the parkland.
“What do you want from me? Is this the institute?”
“We’re watching you.”
The phone went dead when Dracian reached me. Taking his hand, I clasped it tightly, just to give myself comfort. He frowned as I stared at my phone, not quite understanding what was going on.
“That was the institute, I’m sure. They said they were watching me.” My whole body shivered as I looked around us.
Dracian tugged me nearer to him, checking that no one lurked nearby as he did. The shadows could conceal anyone who wanted to be hidden. Not only that, their magic would far outweigh any of ours.
My phone beeped, so I quickly read the text that came through. It was Frankie, asking if I wouldn’t mind talking a bit more. I shot him back a quick reply, saying that I was currently busy, dodging the institute. It wasn’t a lie, but he knew my humour so I gathered he would put it down to me being funny. I didn’t have time to explain that I had been telling the truth.
Running a hand through his hair, Dracian cleared his throat as he blinked water out of his eyes. I was suddenly very aware that he stood right next to me, soaking wet, in just a pair of boxers.
“Maybe we should get out of here,” I stuttered, glancing at the others as they giggled and threw water over each other.
A cool breeze brushed my hair, making it move against my jacket. If I was chilly, the others must be freezing cold.
Nodding, Dracian muttered a spell, smiling when his previous outfit appeared on him, bone dry and probably warm.
“Guys!” he shouted, leaving me to go over and explain.
The wind blew harder suddenly, pushing against me. I spun as a moving silhouette caught my eye. It darted behind the trees nearby, disappearing as I blinked hard.
“Dracian?” I called, backing towards the lake.
Ice gripped my whole body as several other silhouettes appeared from the small cluster of trees, advancing towards me. My friends were still talking amongst themselves, the ones in the water protesting against leaving.
The shadows darted forward, their movements spasmodic. Screaming, I turned and ran for my friends. They all clambered out of the lake, their own movements laboured.
“What is it?” Dracian shouted, running to meet me.
When his arms came around my back, trying to calm me, an arrow thudded into his shoulder. Grunting, he managed to stay upright as I held him firmly. My heart hammered in my chest, making it hard for me to breathe when I spun back to the park.
“What do you want?” I shouted as the witches came into view.
They released their shadow spells and appeared in black suits. There were three of them. The bloody institute. One of them carried a bow, aiming it in my direction.
“Come with us, Alishia Jones,” a female called.
Slipping my hand into my jacket pocket, I pressed the inducer and allowed the electricity to filter into me. I kept as still and quiet as I could as the sharp jolt made my muscles tense. I couldn’t let them know what I had just done. A part of me wondered how much they knew about me. The other part didn’t doubt that they were smart enough to know everything.
“My friend isn’t coming with you!” Isabel
shouted.
An arrow flew past me, landing in the water beside my best friend. How dare they threaten those I loved?
Shoving away from Dracian as he yanked the embedded arrow out of his arm, I stepped forward. “You leave them alone. You’ve come here for me, you’ll have to take me by force.”
“Alishia, no!” Dracian barked, coming up behind me.
Throwing up a protection barrier, I glanced over my shoulder and mouthed an apology. There was no way I was going to allow them to get hurt. This was my fight.
All four of them tried to get past the barrier, pushing against the invisible wall. I couldn’t play for long, my magic would run out soon enough.
The three witches came forward, the one with the bow lowering his weapon. He obviously didn’t want to hurt me, otherwise he would’ve shot me straight away.
“Come quietly now, we don’t want any trouble.”
“Any trouble?” I spat, holding my hands in the air. “You want to kidnap me, I think that means there’ll be trouble.”
Shouting a charm, I used all my strength to reach towards the trees to the right of them. Pulling down, I dragged the roots out of the ground with my magic, sending one of the trees tumbling towards my enemies.
Two of them managed to jump out of the way in time, but the last one screamed as he was flattened beneath the thick heavy trunk.
“Alishia,” Dracian said from behind my wall. “Please, let us help you.”
Not daring to look over my shoulder, I forged ahead as the woman charged for me. If I had seen Dracian’s handsome face, I would have been tempted to let him hold my hand. However, he was already wounded, I wouldn’t risk him getting hurt again.
Summoning an illusion gun to my hand, I pointed it directly at the woman, who slowed when she saw it. A flash of doubt crossed her features before she shook her head.
“It’s an illusion,” the one with the bow said as he came nearer.
He still hadn’t shot, which meant they had to take me alive. That was a bonus, considering I had no qualms about killing them. Not that I relished the thought, but the bastards had gone too far already.
“Shit,” the woman muttered as she sped up again.
Undercover Witch Academy Box Set Page 24