Nightworld Academy Box Set 1

by L. J. Swallow

  The volume of voices drops as people leave, until only stragglers remain in the room. I sit on the slatted bench with my bag between my legs, stomach filled with apprehension and some fear. If the spell doesn’t work, my face won’t look great in a few minutes.

  Clive keeps an eye on me as we change, his look hard and he mouths threats in my direction. The guy has an attitude problem—worse than most shifters. The stars know what the academy would be like if he were top dog above Ash. Plenty feel the same as me, and this is one reason Ash is held in high esteem. He has equal power to Clive but isn’t an arsehole.

  Ash never uses violence to keep people in check.

  Clive waves off the last of his mates with a shout out they’ll enjoy a few beers later.

  I don’t fight people. I’ve spent my life avoiding confrontation with guys bigger than me, but I’m confident I can easily push Clive’s buttons. He turns away to zip up his bag before slinging it over a shoulder and heading towards the door.

  “I thought we were having a chat about what happened in the sports hall earlier?” I call after him.

  Clive slowly turns and looks down at me with an amused quirk to his lips. “Dude, I’m giving you a second chance. Don’t mess with me.”

  “You hurt Maeve.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. She tripped over my hockey stick.”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it.” I stride over to him and pull myself tall, but he’s still half a foot taller than me.

  “What is it with the witch girl? Has she charmed you and Ash? Katherine’s right, you’re both her puppy dogs." He pats me on the head. "Puppy dogs don’t make good guard dogs.”

  “You dickhead,” I snarl and step back.

  “Watch your mouth.”

  “Why? I’m sick of being pushed around by arseholes like you. You need someone to teach you a lesson.” Perspiration slicks my palms. Please let the spell work.

  Clive’s barked laugh rings round the changing rooms. “You want me to slam your head into this?” He smacks his fist into a locker door, the sound echoing along with his laugh.

  “You’d need to explain my injuries to your house professor,” I retort. “Professor O’Reilly won’t be happy.”

  Clive leans forward, hot breath in my face. “He won’t give a crap.”

  I step back. “Go ahead, you wanker. I’m not scared of you.”

  “Because you have Ash on your side? You know he hates witches, really? Ash only tolerates you in order to win all the houses over to his side.”

  “Think what you like.” I take a deep breath. He has one sore spot I know guarantees me a beating if I scratch hard enough. “At least my girlfriend isn’t a lamia. You really think she saves herself just for you?”

  I cringe internally at talking about a girl in this way. Sorry, Katherine.

  A fist appears in front of my eyes and collides with my nose. As the knuckles touch my skin, I brace myself for the pain, but all I feel is the sensation a pillow hit my face.

  Clive yells out and his hands go to his face. I touch my uninjured nose as he holds a palm over his. A string of expletives spills from his mouth, half-muffled.

  “How the hell did you do that?” he snarls and stares down at the blood streaking his hand. He grabs at my jacket and yanks me forward. “What magic are you using?”

  Triumph floods into me. The spell worked. It fucking worked.

  “I wouldn’t hit me again, if I were you,” I sneer.

  “I don’t intend to. How the fuck did you deflect like that? I never felt you touch me.”

  I shrug, smirking.

  He looks down and delves his fingers inside my shirt to pull out the pendant. “I’m not the dumb fucker you think I am. I read History of Magic and I know what to watch out for on a witch. Talismans. I don’t know what the fuck you did to me, but you’re busted.”

  The door creaks and bangs closed as somebody walks into the change rooms.

  “Clive?” Katherine creeps around the lockers. “Are we alone?” She halts and covers her mouth. “Omigod. What happened?”

  Clive attempts to pull away my pendant but the chain I now wear it on remains intact. As it cuts into my skin, a red mark appears on his neck instead. I’m impressed—it seems that any and all injury to me is deflected.

  Katherine’s eyes widen. “Jamie. Is that Blackwood?” She steps forward and takes the pendant from her boyfriend’s fingers.

  “Let it go,” I snap, irritation with her rising too.

  “Where did you get this?” she whispers.

  “None of your business.”

  “Really?” She drops the pendant and steps back.

  “Never mind that—look at my face.” Clive moves his hand from where he’s covering his mouth and nose. “The witch used a spell on me.”

  Katherine pulls a disgusted face at the blood smeared across his features, then refocuses on me. “A Blackwood spell, Jamie?”

  “We need to report him.”

  “Pinch the bridge of your nose, honey,” says Katherine as she pulls tissues from her bag. “Let’s clean you up.”

  Clive does as she says but continues to glare at me. “Bloody witches. I bet he’s meddling with the same crap Matt did. Well you can say goodbye to your charity place here!”

  My chest tightens. How many people know about this? Katherine suspects because she pays me to help with assignments, but I’ve never told anybody outright.

  She turns Clive’s face, gentle fingers against his cheek, forcing him to look from me to her. “Clive. Honey. Look at me.” He blinks down at her sultry tones. “We don’t need to report Jamie for anything. He didn’t hit you.”

  “I know, but he—"

  “I mean, telling people would make you look a bit... well...” She scrunches her face up. “Weak. That would be awful.”

  Katherine runs a finger across Clive’s lips, big eyes focused on his, her mouth parted. I expect a retort from Clive, or for him to tell her to back off, but his stance slackens.

  “Did Jamie hit me?” he asks.

  "No, silly. How could he? Look, you clean yourself up and we can meet at—" she glances at me, "—the usual place.”

  Clive’s confused expression is replaced by one of understanding and his hand sneaks around to her backside. If I weren’t shocked by her defending me, I’d back right away.

  Pulling another tissue from her bag, Katherine dabs at his face before examining the tissue. “You have a bad nosebleed.”

  “Huh?” Eyes still fixed on Katherine’s, Clive touches his nose. “Wow, that hurts.”

  “Did someone knock into you hard when you were celebrating your victory? Remi can be over exuberant.” As she speaks, she throws me a pointed look. “It’s a good thing your body heals quickly.”

  I look on, speechless as Katherine uses her mental magic on Clive. How? Few can change other supernaturals’ memories, and those who can are usually pneuma vampires like Tobias. Katherine’s lamia qualities often help others do what she wants, but direct memory changes? Nope.

  Katherine is using mental magic on another student, and that's against the rules.

  I turn my back and pick at the door of a nearby locker, as if I’m not here, while I wait for their now-whispered conversation to finish.

  Clive’s heavy footsteps sound along the tiles before the exit door slams closed.

  “What the hell, Jamie?” exclaims Katherine the moment silence drops.

  I turn to her sour face. “What did you do to Clive?”

  “What did I do? Tell me why you’re wearing that.” She jabs a finger at my neck, where the pendant now warms my skin. “Is that how you injured him?”

  “No, this is for protection. Did you just influence Clive’s mind?”

  “Pfft.” She taps the side of her head with an index finger. “Doesn’t take much to influence his mind.”

  “But you’re not supposed to do that to other students.”

  “And you’re not supposed to sell your
soul to Blackwood magic.”

  “I have not,” I retort. “Why does everybody tell bullshit stories about the Blackwoods?”

  Katherine places a hand on her brow and massages. “If you were anybody else, I’d report you, but after what happened to Matt, I won’t.”

  “Why?”

  She tips her head. “Not for altruistic reasons, Jamie. I need you at the academy. I can’t have you expelled when I rely on you for help.”

  The assignments? Surely someone else would accept money and offer Katherine the same kind of help. Her look says it all: she has a greater hold now. Not only am I helping her cheat her way through her schooling, but she knows a secret that would cost me a lot more than she pays.

  “Right,” I say stiffly.

  “I think my help today is worth a discount for my next paper,” she informs me and pulls out her phone. Lips pursed, she scrolls across the screen. “Ugh. English. I need that assignment back by Thursday. Have you started yet?”

  I clench my jaw. Until now, we were equal—I couldn’t tell anybody I wrote her papers, and she couldn’t tell anybody that she paid me for help. Now Katherine has the upper hand.

  “I’ll finish by tomorrow,” I say flatly.

  Katherine scrunches up the bloodied tissues and drops them into the nearby bin. “Good to hear.”

  Tucking her phone away, Katherine fastens her bag. “I need to see Clive. We have a little tête-à-tête organised.”

  “I can imagine.”

  Katherine chews her lip and lifts her startling blue eyes to mine. “Be careful, Jamie.”

  Her earnest tone almost makes me believe she’s genuinely concerned. “I intend to be.”

  She gives me one of her falsely sweet smiles before her heels click away across the floor. But with that sweet smile, I see the concern.

  If Katherine is worried about my safety, life has changed.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  MAEVE

  I sit curled up on the large blue sofa beside Amelia, and Jamie and Ash sit on the sofa opposite. Half-drunk cups of coffee and a packet of chocolate biscuits were left behind on the table between us. Ash helps himself without asking, and I exchange an eye roll with Amelia.

  Another group sit on a set of chairs and sofas in a different corner, a third in the seats Ash favoured at the party. Closest to the TV and the newest, these seats are the most sought after—apart from the quiet ones in the corner.

  On Friday night, the Gilgamesh common room becomes an unofficial meeting place. Partly because they have the biggest and best furnished space, and partly because there’s a weird tradition that Fridays are Gilgamesh days.

  With everything happening, it feels like days since we spent time together as a group, apart from chatting after class.

  “Did Tobias say anything else about the hunters?” Ash asks her. “Did they return to my town?”

  I take a biscuit, guilty that I never asked. I’d intended to at the end of the tuition session, but because our meeting ended abruptly, I never had a chance. “No. He never mentioned anything.”

  He huffs. “I’ve warned my parents to watch out. If they’ve moved on, how are we supposed to catch them?”

  I feel guiltier still that I’ve been lost in my own issues with my aunt and the incident in town. “Perhaps Tobias has everything under control?”

  “Yeah.” Ash sounds doubtful as he sinks back and places his feet on the table, ankles crossed. “I hope so since he’s never spoken about the situation again.”

  “That means everything must be sorted,” I suggest. Ash doesn’t look convinced.

  “How are you, Jamie?” asks Amelia pointedly.

  “Fine. Why?”

  She narrows her eyes. “Don’t give me that innocent look. I heard about Clive’s accident with a locker door after hockey.”

  “Really? I thought Remi accidentally elbowed him in the face.” He mirrors Ash in placing his feet on the table.

  “You’re stupider than I thought if you’re using the magic on campus. I don’t know how you persuaded Clive to keep quiet, but if this happens again, somebody will know you’ve used a spell. No student is allowed to use magic that hurt others.”

  “Save the lecture, Amelia,” says Jamie with a sigh. “How did your lesson with Tobias go, Maeve?”

  Nice deflection, Jamie. “Not brilliantly, but a start.” I clamp my mouth shut. Amelia asked the same question after I returned, flustered. I didn’t say a word about my suspicions. Tobias never behaved inappropriately to me, so there’s no secret to keep. “I’ve more tuition with Sofia on Monday, I’ll take things from there.”

  “Stop changing the subject, Jamie. We’re talking about you, not Maeve,” puts in Amelia. “I need to know how you’re feeling.”

  “Fine,” he snaps. “You took the book, so how can Blackwood magic corrupt me? Leave me alone.”

  I frown at Jamie’s new attitude. What’s with him? We’ve agreed to watch him closely, and this new aggressive manner isn’t right.

  “Where is the book?” Ash asks her.

  “Safe.” She pauses. “I snuck into Theodora’s office and left the grimoire on her desk.”

  “What?” exclaims Jamie. “What if somebody else took the book?”

  “You mean another stupid witch who wants a one-way trip to Ravenhold?”

  “Hell, Amelia, you’re a broken record. One spell. One time. I am not Matt!”

  People close by pause their conversation and pay attention to ours.

  “Shush,” I say. “Look, the grimoire is gone. Jamie did what he did, we move on.”

  Amelia tips her chin. “But no more fighting with people, Jamie.”

  “I don’t pick fights, do I? That was a test to see if the spell works.”

  Her hard look doesn’t drop. “If I see one sign that the Blackwood magic has hold of you, I’m headed straight to Sofia.”

  “Fine,” he snaps.

  Amelia pouts and pulls out her phone. The tension rises but Amelia knows that division would make things worse. Jamie could hide from us the way Matt hid from her, and lead to a disaster.

  I crane my neck to look over Amelia's shoulder. She’s intent on images—rooms decorated in different styles and colours. School formals. “When are we making a final decision on the Winter Ball theme?”

  She flicks onto a different image. “I’m narrowing down to three and Katherine chooses.”

  “Of course, she does.” I backed away from the important decisions, and we’re both aware if I suggested something, Katherine would choose the opposite. This already happened when we tried to make the decision between a DJ and a live band.

  “Katherine wants real snow,” says Amelia.

  Ash chuckles. “Next she’ll want us all on ice skates.”

  “And she thinks I should conjure snow and ice.” Amelia focuses back on her screen, her voice hesitant. “Create ice sculptures.”

  “Oh, wow. That would be amazing. Do you think you could?” I ask.

  Amelia screws her face up. “Maybe. There’s another elemental witch—Jade—she said we could work together.”

  “Wow,” I repeat. “I wish I could do something like that.”

  “Your skills are more important,” says Jamie, and Amelia whacks him on the arm. “You know what I mean. Controlling the elements is useful too.”

  Loud voices join the quieter ones in the room. I look over to the door. A group I recognise as Petrescu kids loiter in the doorway. Ash mutters something about how Petrescu should keep the hell away from Gilgamesh, and then stands. “Does anybody want a beer?”

  “Sure.” Jamie eagerly accepts but me and Amelia decline. She refocuses on her phone and Jamie reaches out to touch my hand where it rests on the sofa arm. “Has your aunt contacted you again?”

  “No, and I don’t think there’s a lot of point talking to her. Have you found anything in your research?”

  “A little, but because future-sighted witches are rare, especially those who mind control, there isn’
t much information available.”

  “Did all the other future-sighted witches go mad?”

  “Maeve, don’t say that,” puts in Amelia.

  Jamie blows air into his cheeks. “Madness is a subjective term.”

  A raucous laugh comes from behind, and I turn. A group of three Petrescu guys stand head to head with Ash, Remi, and a third Gilgamesh kid.

  “Oh, great,” mutters Amelia. “I knew he wasn’t getting a beer.”

  I’ve seen the guys around. They’re not troublemakers, but they’re not friendly either. They belong to the side of Petrescu who believe they deserve more privilege in the school and that the other races are inferior.

  They’re watched for signs they’re Dominion sympathisers, and Tobias has a challenge on his hands keeping them under control since they enjoy picking fights with the other houses. If trouble starts, they’re smart and carefully twist things so there’s no proof the group were to blame.

  They’re wealthy too—at Katherine’s level—but don’t have the ambition to take charge the way she does. The trio rarely come to lessons and are waiting out the time until they can leave. They’ll walk into wealthy jobs; school is a distraction.

  They’re a distraction—a pneuma and two lamias with the accompanying magnetism and looks. The tallest, Oliver, looks as though he could be Katherine’s brother, but isn't. This guy with the cherubic blond curly hair and blue eyes already has his lamia powers turned on full, and he has a different girl with him every day.

  Katherine may be a bully, but at least she’s powerful enough to keep these guys in check. The academy would be a different place if they took over. They tried once, and Katherine ended their attempt. Originally, I was surprised Andrei isn’t part of their gang. I can’t figure out if they don’t like him or vice versa.

  “What’s happening?” I whisper as my stomach knots at Ash’s agitation.

  “There’s an unspoken ban on Petrescu coming up here, and sometimes a few of them decide to try their luck,” Jamie explains. “They want trouble.”

  Judging by the laconic smiles on the Petrescu faces and the way Gilgamesh square up to them, they might succeed.