by LJ Swallow
NIGHTWORLD ACADEMY: TERM FIVE
L J Swallow
Copyright © 2020 by L J Swallow
All rights reserved.
Cover Design by Najla Qamber Designs
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Blackwood Magic: Sneak Peek
Other Books By LJ Swallow
Books by Lisa Swallow
About the Author
Chapter One
ANDREI
I’ve seen some weird shit in my life, but this is surreal.
The eaves from the farmhouse cast shadows to hide in as I flatten myself against the wall, chest tightening with fear. I can see everything, but struggle to hear the voices muffled by the magic barrier surrounding Maeve, Tobias, and the two other people.
Magic freaking barrier.
I’m bloody glad that I didn’t chase Jamie when he stupidly ran to Maeve—I caught a glimpse of the figures on the edge of the woods moving towards the house just as he stepped into the open. Nobody else saw, so I shrank back around the corner. Tobias separated us for a reason; at least one of us should hold off rushing into whatever the hell is happening.
Maeve ran out when Vince shot at Jamie, and I almost bolted over to grab her but Tobias got to her first. And then everything stopped—their actions paused like a TV show—and I backed off to where I am now. I’ve never witnessed temporal magic, but only one coven can cast spells that alter time. The Blackwoods.
Holy fuck.
I know who Anastasia Blackwood is, and she’s here. I saw her once as a kid when I visited the Blackwoods with my mother, before she left us. At the time, they tried to influence me by talking shit about the Confederacy—they told me their leaders kill anybody deemed a threat. As a blood-born vamp, I’m unusual, but not a dangerous hybrid. No, there’s only one reason the Confederacy targets me. My mother.
Anastasia’s focus remains on Maeve and she pays no attention to the surroundings. Anastasia cast the spell when a bullet was inches from Jamie’s heart—she's bargaining for something. Why else would she pause reality for everybody inside her magic bubble if she didn’t have a reason?
The bullet. At first, I expected blood to pour from the motionless Jamie’s chest, but nothing. There’s little light from the pin-prick stars, so I can’t be a hundred percent clear where the bullet went. Considering the way Vincent waved around the gun, I’m impressed he shot straight.
When the spell hit, I waited for Ash to run from the barn too, but he didn’t. Is he hiding like me or hurt by his brother?
Resting my head on the bricks, I watch in despair, swearing because I can’t hear a bloody thing.
But I see everything. Anastasia’s magic. Maeve bleeding. Tobias’s protection of her. As I scramble to keep up with what I’m witnessing, my whole body jumps as the surroundings light up in an explosion of magic, momentarily as bright as summer daylight. The luminescence drops away as quickly as the magic manifested and the intensity dims my eyesight. I can’t see anything for a few moments, and when my vision clears, the space that held everybody on the edge of time is empty.
Apart from one person.
“What the hell happened?” Jamie stands in the place he was frozen moments ago, turning in a slow circle with a hand in his hair.
I stay where I am, listening. Is Jamie the only one left?
“Maeve? Andrei?” Pausing, Jamie looks down at his chest, palms against the place the bullet aimed for, face filled with confusion.
I’m bloody confused too. He’s unharmed.
Where the fuck are Maeve and Tobias? I step from my hiding place and into the empty space to take a closer look. Jamie steps back as I do and although he relaxes when he sees it's me, his stunned fear remains on his face. “What’s happening, Andrei? Where is everybody?”
The guy’s tone edges on panic—there’s no way I can tell him the truth yet. I start walking across the driveway. “Ash is in the barn.” He must be. I haven’t seen him leave.
“What about Maeve and Tobias?” Jamie asks as he trails after me towards the open barn door.
I don’t answer.
The dark doesn’t pose a problem to me, and I stride in and dart a look around the surroundings. Ash sits on the floor in the dirt, behind wooden boxes, elbows on his knees and head in hands. Crouching down, I place a hand on his shoulder. In a reflex move, he knocks me back, and I sprawl on my backside.
“Oof! Watch it, Ash,” I snap.
Ash looks up, holding the side of his head, then focuses on me and where Jamie stands to my right. “Sorry. Thought you were Vince. Did you see him?”
Blood cakes the right side of Ash’s face, but I can’t tell how serious. I pull myself upright and step back. Shifter blood doesn’t appeal as much as witches, but it’s still blood.
“Vince hit you?” I ask.
“Yeah, like a fucking truck.”
“Did you see him fire the gun?” asks Jamie hoarsely.
“What?” Ash’s dull eyes widen.
“He shot me. I mean, I think he did but...” Jamie runs a hand down his face and looks at me. “Andrei. What happened? Did you see?”
I watch, chewing on my lip as I wait for him to repeat the question I don’t want to—and can’t—answer.
“Where did the bullet hit?” interrupts Ash, taking a deep breath as he winces with pain.
"That's the thing. I'm not hit." His confusion continues as he pats his chest. “Shit! The pendant.” Jamie peers down, as if looking would make it reappear. “Where did that go?”
"But you said he shot you,” says Ash. "Where are you hurt?"
“Nowhere!” says Jamie.
As their bewilderment continues, I ready my explanation, but before I can, Ash interrupts me. “Maeve and Tobias. Are they with you?”
I shake my head.
Swearing, Ash
struggles to his feet, leaning heavily on the barn wall. “Where are they?”
I don’t know. “They, uh... left.”
“Where?” Ash attempts to walk and stumbles before catching himself on a low beam. Jamie reaches out to help. “Why would they leave?"
“Did you see Tobias and Maeve go, Andrei?” demands Jamie. “Why aren’t you explaining anything?”
“Did they follow Vince?” asks Ash. “Shit.”
The confusion in the barn grows as their questions tangle in my head along with the events I witnessed. If I’d taken Lix, I'd swear I’d hallucinated everything. “No. Come back to the farmhouse. I'll explain.”
But how? I don't understand what I saw. I don’t have any answers.
Ash moves from the wall and knocks into a box. His brow pinches as he points at the ground. “Where did the hunter go? He was there.”
“Hunter? I never saw anybody leave the barn apart from Vince,” I say. “Come on. Farmhouse.”
Jamie supports Ash, who still holds his bloodied head, as we cross back to the house. I repeat events in my head as I push open the door. Everything is insane. Although I never saw anybody walk back into the house, I scout the place quickly as the guys follow me in.
Ash slumps onto the sofa opposite the cold hearth, and I take the same position by the window as earlier. Maybe the blow to the head stops Ash freaking out as much as Jamie, whose constant questions are now replaced by a vacant stare.
“I saw everything,” I say flatly. “Vincent. Maeve and Tobias. The Blackwood witch—"
“The what?” Jamie interrupts and moves towards me until his body almost touches mine. “What witch? You said there wasn’t anybody in the house when we searched.”
“Get out of my face, dude,” I snarl back. I’m freaked out enough that I want more personal space, not less.
Jamie puts a hand to his neck and he drops it when he can’t feel the pendant.
“Yeah, Anastasia Blackwood took her pendant back.” I pause. “And she took Maeve and Tobias.”
I wait for the shout. The call to action. The assault on me as the bringer of bad news.
“Where?” breathes out Jamie as the colour drops from his face.
“I don’t fucking know!” I retort as my anxiety rises into anger. “There was a spell—spells—a fight. They disappeared.”
Ash jumps up from the sofa, sore head forgotten, and is straight into my face too. “Tell us what happened, Andrei. Now.”
“Move back,” I growl. “Out of my face. Both of you.”
Reluctantly, they shuffle backwards.
I’m unsure I have all the facts straight, since I'm half-expecting to wake from the weirdest dream ever. What did I see? The bullet stopping in front of Jamie’s chest as time froze. The man taking the pendant from Jamie. Anastasia attacking Maeve. Maeve slicing her own hand open. And whatever the hell Tobias did that sent waves of energy away from the barrier around them until voices broke through.
I tell Ash and Jamie all this as if I’m reading from a storybook—because the whole situation sounds like a bloody story. Yeah, I expected something tonight. A run-in with shifters. Vince. But not witches.
“And you said the witch is a Blackwood?” asks Jamie hoarsely, dropping onto a seat nearby. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “I recognised her.”
“What did they say—Anastasia and the man? Did they see you?” Ash urges.
“I couldn’t hear what they said. And if the witch saw me, do you think I’d be here now?” I say with snark. "We need to leave."
“Did they take Vince?” asks Jamie.
“I didn’t see where he went.”
Jamie swears and pushes fingers against his temples.
“He’s not Vince,” mutters Ash. “We found evidence of what he’s doing and now the hunter has gone. Along with Maeve and Tobias.” He drags a hand across his head. “Fuck!”
I know the guys are traumatised, but their questions irritate me. They're wasting time. We need to trek back to the car and return to the academy. Explain to Theodora. Find Maeve and Tobias.
“Do you think Tobias is connected to what happened tonight?” asks Jamie.
I gawk at him. “You think he’s working with Blackwood witches?”
“No. But they must work with Dominion and— “
I stride over and stare down at him. “From what I saw, he didn’t want Maeve hurt. He held her and protected her.” I swallow. Mostly. “I think that’s the reason Anastasia took them both.”
“Yeah? Bit of a coincidence he brings us here and a Blackwood witch appears,” retorts Jamie.
“Why won’t you trust the man who gave you the Blackwood pendant to save your life?”
“Because I’m bonded to Maeve and I can sense there’s something strange about Tobias. She told me they have a connection that I don’t think is healthy. What if he’s influencing her?”
“You know what, Jamie? Fuck you.”
Jamie’s mouth parts and he stands. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
“The man helped you! Us. He helped free me from Ravenhold. Why won’t you trust him?”
“Because he shouldn’t be with Maeve,” he blurts. “She’s blinded by him. You’ve seen how she is around him. How they look at each other. It’s wrong.”
“If he’s about to save her life from the Blackwoods, I think it’s very right.”
“Well I hope you’re right,” he replies, and my hackles rise at his scorn.
“Stop fighting,” says Ash weakly. “Someone could come back here. We don't know where Vince is. Move.”
I blink. “Agreed. Are you physically up to walking back to the car?” I ask Ash.
“Yeah. My head doesn’t hurt badly. The blood makes things look worse." He wipes and stares at his hand. "Jamie won’t be able to move as fast as us, though.”
Jamie is back to blank staring and shaking with the fear we all feel.
“We’ll keep to the woods and side-roads, Jamie,” I say more gently. “Be on alert. Keep away from the main roads.”
There's tightness in my chest and the world grows distant. I want to throw up as I struggle to keep my focus on staying present and getting through this shit.
“What do we do to help Maeve?” asks Jamie in despair. “Where the hell is she?”
“We go back to the academy and tell Theodora what the fuck happened.” I drag open the door and peer out. The night is as black and still as the time we arrived, but the reality couldn’t be more different.
Maeve’s terrified face crosses my mind again, and a pain I’ve never felt before gouges through my ribs and eviscerates my heart.
Where the fuck is she?
Is she alive?
Chapter Two
JAMIE
We debate who should drive the car back and my suspicion rises further when Andrei tells me Tobias gave him a spare set of keys. I attempt to rationalise why—Tobias split us into two groups; handing out a second set of keys makes sense.
I’m too shell-shocked and we don’t trust Ash's skills due to the knock on his head.
Andrei isn’t the best driver and I won’t sit in his passenger seat again any time soon.
“You need to wake Theodora,” says Andrei as we climb from Tobias’s car. “You’re the one who has connections to her.”
I want to protest, horrified at the idea I'd wake up the academy head, but this isn’t a normal situation. Every minute could count, and she needs to know that Tobias and Maeve have disappeared.
I’m too stunned to accept what’s happening, fuelled by panic and adrenaline.
“Do you think Vince came back?” I ask Ash.
Andrei huffs. “Only if he's bloody stupid.”
“I don’t see his car,” says Ash. "But it wasn't at the farmhouse. Are you sure you didn't see him drive away?”
"No!" I snap back. "Maybe they took him too. Obviously, they're all connected."
I hesitate as we make our way over to the staff quarters. Nobody else roam
s the campus at this hour, even though this is the hemia vamps' favourite time of day. I'm buzzing as if I'd drank six coffees. How the hell did that bullet miss me?
Coach lights illuminate the arched doorway to the staff building and we push our way inside. Ash and Andrei wait at the bottom steps as I slowly walk up the spiral staircase, gripping the wrought black stair rail as I do. Theodora could be awake, but she’s unused to students knocking on her door at one a.m.
I visited her quarters before, a few weeks before I began studying here, with my family. Their closeness to her means my role as the academy ‘favourite’ is inevitable. I'm the student who's allowed the cottage key whenever he asks; a quiet space for him to study undisturbed if the library isn't enough. But still, I hesitate before I knock on the head professor's door.
Theodora answers within a minute and her brow pinches with confusion. Music comes from inside, a piano concerto, and a strong and heady perfume wafts towards me through the open door.
“Jamie.” She says my name evenly and runs a calculating gaze along me. “Why are you here?”
Theodora rarely dresses down and even now, she’s in a simple black dress, although appears shorter without her heels. Her auburn hair is loose and shining across her shoulders, the make-up accentuating her beautiful features. The day I arrived at the academy, I already knew the lamia head professor Theodora oozed sensuality. Clearly, some of the other students didn’t, but their nudges and quiet comments were silenced by her commanding presence. Even now, she intimidates me.