Faerie Marked (Fae Academy for Halflings Book 1)

by Brea Viragh

  His eyes narrowed. “How do you figure?”

  I told him my suspicions, stopping only when he interrupted me with a rude swear word. “I knew it.” His hand curled into a fist and beat once against the top of the study table, jolting the pewter candle holders in the center. “I knew there was something screwy about this case. I knew it.”

  He had good hunches, then, and I had to wonder just how far Headmaster Leaves had gone to stymie the detective in these recent cases.

  “Do you have any idea what to do?” I asked him.

  “I’m still thinking. You’re telling me the shifter is killing off top students and you’re next. You honestly believe what you’re saying?”

  I gestured toward my arm, still in a sling although I sensed the bone had knit itself back together during the night. “He tried to kill me by pushing me off a balcony. He’s going to come back and finish the job very soon. I know it.”

  “Well then.” Wilson paused, leaning far back in his seat and crossing his feet at the ankles on the tabletop as though he owned the place. “I think I might have a plan.”

  “Tell me,” I demanded.

  “I have a feeling you’re right and he’ll strike again. You’re going to help me catch this perp.” He continued through my squawked protest: “We’ll use you as bait.”

  28

  I needed allies.

  After spending the morning bouncing theories and opinions off Detective Wilson, that was the takeaway message.

  We needed people who could be trusted to help with the sting and takedown. I vehemently disagreed with Wilson calling in members of his pack to help but he insisted. He knew who to trust, and made a few phone calls to get those people to the academy property. He assured me he knew a way to get around the headmaster’s involvement. How to keep things under wraps until we caught the guy.

  Yeah, right. Wilson hadn’t been able to so far, right?

  I didn’t have many people I could trust with the truth here. In fact, there were only two I felt safe sharing this secret with. Melia and the shifter nurse, Julie, and I didn’t want to include either one of them in a potentially dangerous plan. I briefly considered Professor Marsh and then decided against her involvement. She was too close to Leaves.

  Detective Wilson insisted he would do everything in his power to keep us safe and I had to let him do his job.

  I knew he meant what he said. I could sense the vehemence in his tone. The conviction in his every move. Still…

  It was a big risk.

  I knocked on the nurse’s door and walked inside without waiting for her to answer me. The woman never slept, apparently, because I found her at her desk scribbling away on a student’s file that she snapped closed the moment she saw me. Large eyes blinked in surprise.

  “Have you reconsidered your ridiculous plan to catch a killer by yourself?” Nurse Julie asked. Then laughed loudly. “No, I can see it in your eyes. There’s no getting you off of this idea even if I tried. What do you want from me, Miss Alderidge?”

  “I want your help.” I closed the door behind me to keep the rest of the world from disturbing us. Then I flipped the lock. Reinforced it with another pulse of magic. At least the magic came easier now than it had before.

  Julie swiveled around on her stool and stared at me, her eyes narrowing until I almost lost them in her blue skin. “Hmm. You’re not wearing your potion spell. Didn’t we just fix you up yesterday? What happened?”

  I shrugged. “I’m out of vials. Apparently, I have terrible luck with them and I’ve broken the spell more times than I’d anticipated. Which means I’m out in the open now because I don’t have an opportunity to go back and get more. I have no choice.”

  “Oh, you foolish child.” Julie clucked her tongue, grabbing the file and standing to return it to its place in a cabinet on the opposite wall. “Seriously foolish child. Give me a moment. Do not leave this room under pain of death.”

  She stalked out through the door, shattering my magic with a thought, and returned a moment later with an eerily similar glass container to the ones I’d had in my wooden case.

  I stared at it without blinking, then swallowed hard. “You…where did you get that?”

  “My own stash I’ve learned to make,” she said haughtily as she shook the vial. “Where do you think I got it? I told you, I’m in a similar situation. Here, take this. I gather all the ingredients myself. When this is over, I’ll teach you how to make your own. And you will never have to deal with another witch in your life. It’s much better, trust me.”

  I swallowed a smile along with the potion. It didn’t taste like burnt garbage and battery acid the way my old potion had. In fact, after I finished the whole of it, an aftertaste of flowers filled my mouth and I licked my lips to clean them.

  Wow, so much better than the sludge from Barbara. Worlds apart.

  My skin wavered, shivering as the potion took effect, then settled along my bones. No dizziness. No stomach pains. It was a far cry from the effects I’d gotten used to with my own potion, where I felt like dying every time I downed a vial. And my wolf…she was still there. Under the surface and suppressed, but not numbed.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. No more debt to that loon. “Oh, my God. Thank you.”

  “There. Are you satisfied now?” Julie asked. “I assume you came for the potion?”

  “I wish it was.”

  She scowled at me.

  After explaining the situation to Julie and extracting her agreement to do whatever she could, I left feeling lighter than I had since before my eighteenth birthday. Even going so far as to smile at whoever I passed in the hall.

  We had a plan in place. A plan to end this ridiculous situation once and for all without anyone else getting hurt. At least I hoped no one would get hurt. In the dorm, I removed my sling, flexing my hand to test my strength. The bone had knit itself back together all right, healing with unnatural speed thanks to the hours I’d spent without the potion. Good. I would need every kind of advantage to get through what was coming.

  Bait. Detective Wilson wanted to use me as bait.

  I pushed any lingering doubts and fears aside. I wasn’t helpless. Not in the least. Thinking back on my last interaction with Kendrick, where he’d had me trapped in the hallway, I’d felt like a victim. One who let the situation overwhelm her instead of standing up for herself and her boundaries. I had felt like I didn’t have any kind of options.

  Weak, my mind supplied.

  But I wasn’t weak. I had power. I had a plan.

  I didn’t see the others until dinner. Melia already knew the setup, as she and I had spoken before lunch, and soon it would be time to put the rest of it into action. Against my better judgment, she had a part to play, although I knew she would have flipped her lid if she found out I had a plan that didn’t include her.

  Not like I could even eat. Nothing wanted to stay down and my stomach churned in anticipation. According to Nurse Julie, I still had to be wary of garlic while taking her potion, so I stared down at my habitual salad in distaste. God, I wanted a burger. A big juicy burger with extra cheese and a side of fries that hadn’t been doused with garlic salt.

  “Where are the boys?” I asked Melia through a mouthful of lettuce, forcing myself to chew and swallow. “Have you seen them?”

  She jerked her head backward, indicating a different table. “They’re over there. I guess Mister Pain in the Butt is too good to sit with us again. Doesn’t matter anyway.”

  I ignored the crack forming in my heart. Mike was still ignoring me. To the point where he didn’t want to sit at the same table. Wow. Talk about taking things too far.

  “However! If you’re going to spread the word,” Melia said in a hushed whisper, leaning forward so I could hear her, “then do it now. Don’t wait any longer. The moon is rising. It’s almost time.”

  The first part of the plan was about to commence and we didn’t have time to waste.

  Good. I was eager to get it over with. At least
I wouldn’t have to finish my salad.

  I agreed with her statement with a sharp nod. “Hey Meli, I’m going for a walk.” I made sure to raise my voice to be overheard.

  She blinked at me, the response exaggerated. “By yourself? Are you sure it’s safe?”

  “I need air, a little breathing room. No worries. It’s a nice night.” I sighed and knocked my tray aside for emphasis. “I’m not hungry anyway.”

  It wasn’t a lie.

  “Fine, whatever you want,” she agreed easily, using her fork to arrange the macaroni and cheese around her plate. “I’m going to hang out here for a while and then try to talk to you know who.”

  “Barry? Good luck, girl,” I told her.

  I felt the invisible tingling caress of her magic from across the table. A goodbye. And good luck to me as well. I pushed away and walked toward the exit, seeing Mike and Roman out of the corner of my eye.

  I looked rough. I knew it, and had fended off more than my fair share of well-wishers asking me if I was okay and telling me to get better. It played right into the plan. News had spread about my fall from the balcony and though I’d healed, I’d amped up the shadows under my eyes, the slight hitch in my gate, and kept the sling in place despite no longer needing it for my arm.

  Let them think I was still weak. It would help with tonight’s mission.

  Mike might have been ignoring me, but he noticed the bruises. And he noticed the arm sling. Out of the corner of my eye I watched him rise from the table, his fingers gripping the tabletop until his knuckles turned white.

  Seconds later, he ran up to me with Roman right behind him. “Tavi, are you okay?” he said immediately. The voice of concern. “What happened to you?”

  “What do you care? I’m sure you already know.” I kept my gaze pointed straight ahead and left the noise of the cafeteria behind me. “Would you be okay if you were pushed off of a balcony?”

  His eyes went full moon wide and he tried to grab me, to force me to stop. I shrugged him off with a sharp hiss, as if he’d caused pain to my injury.

  “What? No, impossible. You weren’t pushed. That’s, ah, that’s not what I heard.”

  “It’s quite possible, let me assure you.” Don’t look at him, don’t look at him. I had to keep the mantra going because all I wanted to do was turn to him and drink my fill. He was touching me again. “I broke my arm, thank you very much. So be careful.”

  “Tell me what really happened,” he demanded, lengthening his stride to keep up with me.

  “Tavi, talk to us,” Roman piped in, a step behind. “We’re worried about you.”

  “Oh, sure you are.” I didn’t have to force the anger into my voice. All I had to do was think about how they’d sat at a different table tonight. It should have been me, Mike had said after the results of the lottery. Yeah, I didn’t have to work at my frustration at all.

  “You look terrible—” Mike cut off when I swiveled to glare at him. “I mean, no, that’s not what I mean. I’m just saying you look a little beat up.”

  “Thank you so much for your observation, Michael.” I brushed him aside, the haunting worry in his gaze following me. “I’m going outside for some air. Please leave me alone.”

  The boys fell away and I continued my walk alone. Alone outside with my not-broken arm and no weapons. But I knew I had allies waiting nearby, my favorite blue-skinned nurse and werewolf detective, plus extras working for the police force, all prepared to help me when the masked killer arrived.

  And he surely would. This was the perfect time to make a move.

  I stopped on the front steps of the castle with my hands cupped in front of my face to warm them against the early winter frost. I fought against the chill crawling along my skin. Turning my face to the moon, I noticed with a jolt I no longer needed to fear the moonlight. Garlic yes, but not moonlight. I could walk outside under the dark night sky without protecting my skin.

  It felt like a homecoming.

  The nurse’s potion was very different from the one I’d received from Barbara. She hadn’t given me any other objects or situations to avoid outside of those I already knew. I wondered if I’d be safe from quartz now or if I’d still have to worry about divination—

  God, when Marsh found out what I’d done to her divination lab, with the broken shards of crystal… Or maybe she already had. I was going to be in for a world of hurt. And stripped of points. A lot of points.

  There went my number one status. Ah well, easy come easy go, right?

  My breath blew out in a white cloud of mist in front of my face. The night was cold, winter setting its claws into the land as December rolled around. The thin school blazer I wore did nothing to protect me from the chill.

  I thought about the moon and how I’d missed her. My lady. Although my shifter senses were still dulled under the effects of the potion, I could feel my wolf beneath my skin. A part of me stretching lazily and relishing the buttery-soft silver rays from overhead.

  I didn’t have the luxury of those kinds of thoughts. Not now. It was showtime.

  I drew on the constant low level of anxiety I’d harbored since arriving at the academy, using it to add an aura of fear to my person. The killer was a shifter. He would be able to smell my terror. It would draw him.

  Yes.

  My sneakers crunched along the partially frozen grass of the front lawn as I stepped away from the relative safety of the castle. Outside of the light cast from the lanterns along the exterior wall.

  It didn’t take long for our guy to make his move.

  Footsteps sounded behind me, muffled to try and keep me from sensing him. They drew closer. I heard them and turned slowly to see a man approaching me, tall and thick across the shoulders with suitable menace in each step. A one on one shakedown. I knew what he wanted, I knew he was stronger, and I knew he wouldn’t stop until I was gone for good.

  “I knew you would show up,” I told him. Turning fully to face him and seeing the same mask, the same build as the one who’d knocked me around last night.

  The last of my fear disappeared. This ended now. I wasn’t sure and I couldn’t see through the thick material of the mask, but I could have sworn I caught the hint of a smile, like an animal before a fight. This was about to get ugly.

  He didn’t speak. Just continued to stare at me.

  “Are you going to try to hurt me again?” I asked. “I say try because you obviously didn’t get the job done last time.”

  The taunt bounced off of him without eliciting a response. How long would it take for Detective Wilson to come out? Where was the rest of his team?

  Seconds ticked by and nothing happened.

  “You have a lot of nerve, coming after me where people could see you. Aren’t you worried someone will come outside and catch you?” I tried again, raising my voice to make sure my backup could hear.

  Wilson, come on!

  I glanced around toward the side of the castle where the team was supposed to be waiting. They were. I noticed three figures standing directly in front of the stone foundation, facing away from me with a blue nimbus around each of their heads. I tuned in to the stench of magic around us.

  Glamoured.

  My backup had been glamoured, an unbreakable spell until the caster decided to end it.

  “Oh, no.” My stomach dropped.

  Yeah, I had no backup. I rubbed my hands on the sides of my hips, trying to wipe away the fatigue and anxiety of knowing I was alone. Trying and failing.

  “Who are you?” I burst out. “What do you want?”

  I’d never been more shocked in my life than watching the killer remove his mask.

  Especially when I saw Roman’s shining eyes staring back at me.

  29

  I couldn’t breathe. The air caught in my throat and I clawed at it. Oh, God.

  Bile rose to burn my insides. It wasn’t possible.

  Mike’s best friend…had been killing people? Roman was my friend too. He’d been there since day one,
laughing with us, studying with us, eating every meal across the table from me with a smile on his face.

  How had I not known he was a shifter?

  He caught the look of shock and horror on my face and chuckled.

  “Oh, come on, Tavi, you have to understand,” he began, taking a step forward. “Being here is a big deal for me. I need to protect my interests. There are certain things you don’t know about me and the life I’ve lived. You think you’re the only one who has to take a potion to hide their true nature? Like you’re something special?”

  Roman was much larger than me. He had eight inches of height and more than one hundred pounds of muscle on me on a good day, when I was in fighting shape. Now I’d lost weight with my inability to eat anything other than salad and fruit.

  I’d felt the snap of his teeth break my skin. Oh boy. Memories slammed into me about the pain from those bites. What would he do if he got his hands on me this time?

  “You’re not special,” he stated. “I know a dozen half-shifters who have tried to escape using the Fae Academy. Dozens more who tried to fight their way into Faerie.”

  Me? Special? Nope, not at all.

  “If you’re a shifter, then how did you and Mike even meet each other?” I asked to stall him.

  Roman shook his head and took a step closer. “Ah, now that is a question you should have asked earlier on. It might have given you an edge for tonight. I knew there was something about you I’d need to watch for. Knew it the second Mike told me he’d helped a girl with her broken-down car.”

  “I must be special enough to leave a lasting impression on the prince.” I summoned a smug smile I knew would irk Roman, no matter how Mike and I weren’t on speaking terms.

  “Sometimes, when you are powerless, you fall for things that are bad for you just to feel like you have a little bit of control,” Roman taunted. “It’s a classic move. You have a pretty face and a decent disposition. You aren’t one of those simpering tarts falling all over themselves to win his favor. Of course he’d be drawn to you. Like a drug addict.”