Azure Dragons (Supernatural Shifter Academy Book 2)

by G. Bailey

  We nod in agreement and trail behind her as she straightens up and heads down the path towards where the others are assembled. As we get closer, Hazel notices us and her eyes go wide; I give my head the slightest shake, and she seems to understand, not saying anything. “There you are,” Josie says, really playing it up as the other faculty members turn to her. “I was worried we wouldn’t get here in time.”

  “Josie?” The blonde woman on the left looks surprised. “What are you doing here? I thought you were-”

  “Dead?” Josie shakes her head, giving a dry chuckle. “You’re not the first one.” Turning back to us, she continues, “There’s been a change of plans. Hawthorne wants these students transported to a different facility, ASAP.”

  “Really?” The second woman frowns. “We haven’t heard anything about a transfer.”

  “It’s last minute,” Josie replies. “Something about substandard testing equipment - the facilities at the Academy haven’t been used in years.”

  The two women look at each other. “That’s… odd,” the blonde woman says.

  “Of course it is,” comes a new voice. I whirl around to see the man himself, President Hawthorne, coming over the rise of the hill, his hands in his pockets and a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He’s flanked by two other faculty members I don’t recognise, but they look ready for a fight. “That’s because it’s not true.” He raises his eyebrows at Josie. “Long time no see, Ms. Everhart. You’re looking a little worse for wear.”

  “Hawthorne,” Josie says, her eyes widening. “What are you doing out here?”

  “I came to make sure the transport of these fine students goes smoothly, of course,” Hawthorne replies, “and by the looks of it, it’s not.” He nods to the men flanking him. “If you would be so kind as to restrain Ms. Everhart, here, it would be greatly appreciated. It looks like the students aren’t the only problem that needs to be addressed, here.”

  The men move forward; I tense up, and all of a sudden there’s a great gust of wind; Silas has transformed, shooting up into the sky like a firecracker before letting loose a jet of fire that lights up the night air.

  That one burst of magic is like a starter’s pistol at a race, and in an instant, we’ve descended into chaos.

  Chapter 21

  Hawthorne’s men are on us before I can even react, charging forward and changing in one swift movement. Suddenly they’re both in dragon form, too, their great wings generating a large enough gust of wind to send us all stumbling back. Hawthorne hangs back, letting his henchmen do the dirty work, and I realise with horror that the two faculty fellows are shifting too, and they’re not on our side: the blonde one shifts into a witch, while the other shifts into a wolf, and now all four of them are charging us. Silas lets out another burst of flame, which buys us a little more time as it forces the others back, and I see Landon and Shade shifting out of the corner of my eye. I summon my own power, calling to mind my witch form, and in a few seconds my skin is turning red as my body pulses with magical energy.

  If only I knew more spells, I think, raising my hands, but now isn’t the time to be picky. Trying to emulate the ease with which Josie uses her powers, I unleash a burst of telekinetic energy at the wolf shifter, who is already nearly on top of me. Shade takes advantage of the opening and jumps into action, tackling the other wolf as they tumble away in a blur of claws and fur. Landon, meanwhile, his scales shimmering in the moonlight, lets out a siren scream so powerful that it sends a shock wave up into the air, which collides with the dragons’ most recent gust of wind, preventing it from knocking us over. I watch as Silas shoots across the sky, locking in close combat with one of the two dragons while I launch another blast of magic at the other. His scales are too hard for it to do much, but it does get his attention, which is more than enough for me. Maybe if I could lead him away from the others…

  Quickly I begin to back up, nodding to Josie, who’s doing her best to summon what remains of her magic. The dragon is hot on my tail, and I see that all around me, the other students are transforming, realising that these people aren’t on our side, and they’re out for blood. Hawthorne is watching gleefully from a distance, as if we’re nothing more than a bunch of prized fighting dogs. The air crackles with heat as fire builds up in the mouth of the dragon pursuing me, and I get my hands up just in time to deflect it with a minor force field, nearly getting my hair singed in the process.

  “Millie!” yells Hazel, who has already transformed and is standing shoulder to shoulder with Xander. “Get him to come this way!”

  I don’t bother to ask her why, and do as I’m told, sprinting over to them as fast as my legs will carry me. The dragon follows us, but realises what’s happening an instant too late, as Hazel echoes Landon’s siren song, this time in the form of a command: “Get Hawthorne!”

  The dragon resists for a moment, thrashing in midair as it struggles against her magic, but Hazel is a powerful siren, and her brow is furrowed in concentration; a moment later, the dragon is changing course, turning around and making a beeline for the president. Hawthorne sees what’s happening and dives out of the way just as the dragon sprays at him with fire, setting the grass ablaze under his feet. The other witch notices and summons a force field around him, shielding him just in time from another burst of fire. I curse under my breath, but I guess it was never going to be that easy.

  It’s pandemonium on the grounds, fire lighting up the night sky, as students and faculty clash in an impromptu battle. It’s clear who the experienced ones are here, though, and in spite of our superior numbers, the adults have the upper hand when it comes to their power levels, and they’re gaining on us. Hazel’s command has already worn off, and the dragons are now flying in formation as they swoop down to claw at us with their sharp talons. Ruby collides with one of them in midair, knocking him off course, while Silas grapples with the other, more fire flying every which way as they let out grating screeches and roars.

  Realising my witch form is too vulnerable, I scramble to shift into my vampire form, the sturdiest of the five shifter species, and feel a surge of renewed strength as I lunge for the witch shifter protecting Hawthorne. She fends me off with a pulse of magic of her own, but I manage to hold my ground, my heels digging in as I throw my new strength into my effort.

  “Need a hand with that?” comes a familiar voice, and I turn to see Hunter moving to stand beside me. He’s still in vampire form, and although I can see him fighting to keep his concentration, he seems to be holding steady so far.

  “What about Lyle?” I ask as he leans in against the magical barrier with me.

  “He started wearing me down,” Hunter admits, his face set with determination. “I threw him off and made a break for it. He’ll be here soon, though, and he’ll have reinforcements.”

  “Then we need to get out of here,” Shade growls from a few feet away. “They’ve got us on the ropes already.”

  “Go,” Josie yells, her voice barely audible above the noise of the battle. “Get out of here before more show up!”

  “What about you?” Silas demands, still suspended in the air.

  “A couple more shifters won’t stop me,” she growls, sounding determined. “Besides,” she adds with a grim smile, “I’ve had worse.”

  “Are you sure?” I ask, eyes wide. “What will they do to you?”

  “Don’t worry about me!” Josie unleashes another burst of magic, which forces the attacking wolf shifter to retreat a few steps. “Get as far away from here as possible. Tell the shifter leaders what’s happening here. Make them put a stop to it.” She grunts with the effort as one of the dragons descends on her again, narrowly dodging its fire breath. “Go!” she yells. “Now!”

  We don’t need telling twice. Shifting back into our human forms, Hunter and I make a beeline away from the battle, Hazel and Landon hot on our heels. Silas swoops down and picks up Shade with one claw and Hazel with the other, while Ruby grabs Xander and Landon. A blast of magic soars over my head,
narrowly missing me, although it’s not clear whether it came from someone on our side or theirs. It doesn’t matter, though. Josie was right - the Academy has been compromised, and there’s no going back now.

  My heart races in my chest, my breathing coming in short gasps, as our ragtag group makes a mad dash away from the fight. In the distance, I can see lights in the school buildings coming on, and a group of more Academy faculty is charging out of the administration building, clearly having been tipped off by Lyle. I feel bad leaving the other students behind, but I have to believe that Josie will protect them, and we’re no use to any of them dead. Everything is falling apart around us, and if Hawthorne has his way, none of us will make it out in time to spread the truth about the Academy. I’m not under any illusions that he’s going to leave us alone after this; people will be after us—powerful people—and the time for talk is over. The time for action is now.

  The sounds of fighting still in our ears, the eight of us make our escape, cresting the hill and disappearing into the night.

  Epilogue

  The underground is surprisingly crowded, even late at night, although maybe that’s a good thing; at least this gives us a way of blending in, even if we are still dressed in our Academy uniforms. Quite a few people shoot us weird glances as we pile onto the train, and I can understand why - we look a mess, all covered in blood, dirt, and sweat… but we’re alive. And we’re still together.

  It’s not until I’ve taken a seat, Hunter on one side of me and Shade on the other, that I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. My arm feels heavy and lethargic as I pull it out, almost afraid to see who’s contacted me this time.

  On the screen is a single text message from an unknown sender.

  Come to London if you want to survive this, or he will make you watch them all die.

  Continuing reading Millie’s story in Demonic Vampires by clicking here.

  About G. Bailey

  G. Bailey is a USA Today and International Bestselling Author of fantasy and paranormal romance.

  She lives in England with her cheeky children, her gorgeous (and slightly mad) golden retrievers and her teenage sweetheart turned husband.

  She loves cups of tea.

  Chocolate and Harry Potter marathons are her jam and she owns way too many notebooks and random pens.

  About Regan Rosewood

  Regan Rosewood is a new author from England, where she lives just down the road from G. Bailey.

  She has a cute cat and an addiction to reading.