Academy of Mages and Shifters 1

by Laura Wylde

  “Ireland?” The air flung from my body as I bent double. “But my family is there… what if…?”

  “Don’t worry.” I heard Duncan gulp loudly. “We will get there as soon as we can. Once it’s dark again, we will fly to Ireland and get to him as soon as possible before anything can happen.”

  “Whereabouts?” I demanded in a ragged voice. “Where in Ireland?”

  “Er…” It took him a second to find out. “Near Galway.”

  “No.” I shook my head hard. “That’s where they are. I can’t wait until it’s dark.”

  “But it’s quicker that way. We will get there…”

  “Trevor,” I interjected before he could continue down that line of thinking. I wasn’t waiting no matter what it took. “He can fly in the day. He can blend in with the sky, he can take me.”

  “But we all need to be together.”

  “Duncan. No!” I yelled firmly. “I am not leaving my family vulnerable. I am going right now. I have to.”

  It took him a moment, but he finally seemed to understand, leaving me to go and wake up Trevor who I had to convince to come along on this dangerous mission with me. Otherwise, I was catching a plane and going at it alone. Anything to keep the people who raised me safe.

  Chapter 12

  Artemis

  It was frustrating, all of us felt it, watching Megan soar off into the distance with Trevor, fully knowing that there wasn’t a damn thing that we could do about it. Knowing that we were stuck in Wales until nightfall, understanding that the two of them could be in danger while we waited, but it was all that we could do. Megan wasn’t about to risk her family’s safety because we couldn’t fly, and I understood that. I wouldn’t be able to leave my family in danger either. Luckily, I knew that my parents weren’t at home in Ireland at the moment, they had taken a trip to the US to visit the rest of our relatives. Still, I was a little worried about the house, but that wasn’t anything compared to their lives. Possessions were one thing, but they could always be replaced. Lives couldn’t. They were lost for good.

  “Fuck!” Connor yelled out as he raked his fingers through his hair. Clearly, he wasn’t taking this as easily as I was trying to which came from his hot-headed personality. “This is bull shit. Absolute bullocks. I hate this.”

  “Well, what else can we do?” Duncan threw his hands in the air in despair. “I don’t want to be here as much as you… should we check flights or something? See if we can get over this afternoon? It isn’t ideal, but…”

  “Won’t we be a little suspicious on a flight?” I demanded, needing to be heard. “People will need to know what’s going on. If this escaped demon information gets in the wrong hands, in the magic or non-magic community, then it could cause panic. I don’t know if we can get on a flight in a calm state of mind, to disguise what’s happening.”

  “So, what the fuck do you suggest we do then?” Connor turned his rage around to me. I guess he needed someone to take it out on and I was the only willing victim around. I wasn’t going to fight back though. “Huh?”

  “We need to distract our minds, give us something useful to do while also keeping us occupied. We could look around the caves some more. Sure, the demon isn’t here anymore, but we might find something useful…”

  “And we can continue to read as well,” Duncan piped up, agreeing with me. “Megan says that we won’t be able to destroy this being without knowing it’s motive, so we can try and figure out what it might be…”

  “Fuck that,” Connor scoffed. “It’s motive means nothing. Once we get our God damn hands on it, we can kill it whatever the fuck it wants. I’m sure it’s just after what all demons want. Chaos and destruction…”

  “Only, it hasn’t caused any destruction yet,” Duncan shut him down. “Or chaos. Only for us. Plus, its behavior seems weird, don’t you think? The whole Big Ben thing. Then here.” He extended his arms wide. “There must be a reason for it. Since it’s either that or sit around bitching, what do you think? It’s the lesser of two evils.”

  I agreed instantly but Connor took a couple more moments to nod and I could tell that it was only because he didn’t have a choice. I really hoped that we found something useful or he was going to be fuming…

  Connor flew ahead of me and Duncan, showing his disdain for us. Unluckily, we hadn’t found a damn thing and he had grown increasingly cranky throughout the day. But to me, that spoke volumes. This demon was either aware that it was being followed and he wanted to keep us running all about the place, or he was hiding his magical tracks well. Much better than I had ever seen before. I could see these tracks better than the others because of my knowledge of the magical side of things and it worried me that there wasn’t a glimmer of a sign of him. Just nothing.

  What was he doing? Why did he need to hide what he was doing? It freaked me out.

  I tried expressing those fears to everyone else, but they shut me down. They didn’t seem to think that it was a problem, which meant I only had one other person who might get what I meant… and I couldn’t wait to see her.

  Connor was worried about Megan, and Trevor too, that much was obvious, but I didn’t feel the same way. There was an instinct inside of me that just knew they were doing okay. Even with the distance, I could sense it. There had been a spike of panic earlier on in the day, but I decided to put that down to Megan getting home and checking in on her family. Of course, that would cause a spike of terror. But it seemed like everything was okay now. I couldn’t wait to see her and hold her in my arms to let her know that I was always with her. Even when she couldn’t see me.

  That connection just proved to me what I already suspected. That we were meant to be. That connection built as we kissed, it intensified and bonded us tighter than ever. Now she had become a part of me, and I couldn’t let her go. Not that I ever wanted to. I just couldn’t wait for her to fully accept us as her harem. She was holding back, she seemed a little nervous about the whole thing, but once she embraced it, I knew she would feel great.

  Luckily, the world flew underneath us quickly, and it wasn’t long before we left the ocean behind us and we were finally above Dublin. I knew then that we would find Galway before we blinked and we would be all back together once more, the way that it was supposed to be. The tight knot in my lungs loosened as I practically felt Megan’s presence next to mine. Any minute now, I would see her, and all would be perfect once more…

  Duncan descended first as he was the one following the tracker, and I followed close behind. The burning ball of tension that was Connor came along with us, and I hoped that he could chill out more when we hit the floor.

  “Where the fuck are they?” he growled, showing me that he wasn’t exactly cool and calm. “Duncan?”

  “Hold on, let me just figure this thing out.” He tapped the tracker, irritation on his face. “I assume that wherever the demon is, they are as well. I just need to… this thing isn’t being as clear as I would like it to…”

  “They are this way.” My instincts were on fire. We didn’t need the tracker. “Come on, follow me.”

  “What are you talking about?” Duncan demanded. “This thing s going wild and I need a moment.”

  “Maybe it’s acting that way because we’re so close to it. We haven’t seen the tracker in those conditions.”

  I didn’t glance behind me to see if they were there or not, but I continued on my journey regardless. I knew what I was doing. They were here. Or at least Megan definitely was because I could feel her.

  “Oh my God, Artemis!” she practically screamed as she spotted me. “Come here, quick, we need you.”

  I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on, but she was in a state of panic, I knew it. Before, I wasn’t bothered if Connor and Duncan were following me, but as they raced passed me, I was glad. Clearly, we were all needed here.

  “We have him!” Megan screamed. “I found him. The demon. We caught him, I have him in a magical net…”

  I was utterly impressed w
hen I spotted her glittery silvery weaves of magic around the shadow holding it in place. After all that I had seen of the demon and the way it had us running around, plus that horrible dark place it put us into the last time, I knew how powerful he was, so Megan was truly showing her powers here.

  She had him captured in her net on the Galway cliff face. I could see him struggling in the dark, but chances were that any passing ships wouldn’t notice a damn thing. If we were going to fight this beast, it was now. This was the time. It was heart-stoppingly sudden, but by this point we didn’t have a choice in the matter. Ready or not…

  “I don’t know how long I can hold on,” she yelled, looking at me desperately. “Trevor is primed to pounce, but I don’t know if he can take it down on his own. We all need to work together to make this work.”

  Connor and Duncan spit from their human skins and exploded into their dragon forms in a heartbeat before soaring into the air top join Trevor, but I didn’t. Megan was desperate for help and I knew that I could do that. My magic wouldn’t be anywhere near as strong as Megan’s, but I could offer her a little hand. It might have been all that she needed to tighten it up in her trap so the other guys could do whatever the hell they needed to finish it off.

  Or weaken it. It would take Megan’s magic to finish it off I assumed. That was what I had read anyway.

  “Tell me what you’re doing,” I gasped desperately. “I can add on if you want. I can assist you…”

  “It’s too late.” She shook her head hard. “It’s breaking free. I don’t think there is anything that you can do.”

  She ducked down and hit the floor with a thump as the shadow exploded and spread out like a cloud. Hot-headed Connor dived with his head down towards it and blew a massive ball of fire its way. The demon made a screaming sound, but it didn’t seem to be bothered. It was going to take Duncan and Trevor to assist as well, which thankfully, they seemed to understand. They joined Connor in the fight, while I dived over Megan to protect her.

  “I’m okay,” she declared breathlessly at me. “Don’t worry. You go and fight. I need that beast weakened.”

  “No, I need to know that you are okay first. I can’t leave you like this. You’re freaked out.”

  She twisted around and clutched her hand to her chest. “I’m just getting my breath back, I will be fine.” She stared right into my eyes, trying to let me know how serious she was. “They need you. I just have to sort myself out.”

  “Are you sure?” I hated myself for even considering this. “I’m worried about leaving you…”

  Before I could even finish that sentence, a powerful howl burst through the skies, one that practically sounded like thunder only it wasn’t followed by lightning. Both of us stared upwards to see Duncan’s wing pouring out with a dark red liquid that cascaded down into the ocean. It took me a moment to realize what it was.

  “Blood.” Shit, my heart stopped pounding as I watched it continue to happen. Even blinking didn’t stop the bleeding which was a nightmare. “Duncan is bleeding. His wing… his arm… oh my God.”

  Now, it was my turn to transform. Megan wasn’t the one who needed me the most now. The dragons were struggling to suppress the demon, so it seemed like they really did need all of us. I zoomed upwards and joined in with the fight, battling as hard as I could… but like last time, fighting a shadow was a real nightmare. Especially when Duncan wasn’t on his top form, so the rest of us had to make up for his injury.

  Shit, are we going to lose here? I wondered as it started to feel a bit hopeless. Are we screwed?

  This was our best chance to take this demon down, and if we didn’t do it here then I wasn’t sure we would ever be able to make up for our mistakes. That would put all of our futures in jeopardy because the academy wouldn’t want us to return until we’d stopped whatever was going on here which would be hopeless…

  A gold jet exploded into the air, and as I looked at the floor, I could see it coming from Megan. She had finally regained her strength and was able to help us in the fight. That gave me a renewed sense that we could do this, and apparently the other guys felt the same way because their fighting picked up as well. We could do this, there was no point in getting down heartened by it all when we hadn’t yet finished our fight.

  It’s happening. Hope bloomed in my chest as I realized that Megan was really helping. The demon seemed to be losing his fire, he was slowly descending downwards. His energy was depleting as well, I could feel it, which was amazing. I didn’t have much left in me, but I dragged out every bit I had and fought until it was down.

  “Artemis!” Megan screamed out my name. “Artemis, now I need you. I need your magic.”

  My feet hit the floor and I transformed into my human form, before running to her and doing what I could. She was a million times better than me, of course but she had asked for my assistance and that was what I would give her. I felt our powers combine and Megan said the magical words needed to shut the demon down. I watched in awe, even as I was helping her, as the shadow grew smaller and smaller until it finally vanished into nothingness.

  “Is it done?” I panted breathlessly. “Is he finished? Do we need to carry one?”

  Megan didn’t answer for a moment, and she didn’t stop either, so I carried on as well, following her lead. Eventually, she petered out and bent forward to grab her knees. There was dizziness around her, and I grabbed her quickly to stop her from falling to the floor. I held her as her heart pounded and her knees jellified.

  “It’s okay,” I reassured her. “It’s okay, it’s done. We’re okay now. We’re finished.”

  But she was weak and struggling, I could tell that she had no energy left and she needed to lie down. I rested her on the floor, and rubbed her forehead, wishing that there was more I could do for her.

  “Duncan,” she reminded me quietly, putting her own needs to one side. “Duncan is hurt.”

  I glanced around to see the other guys with him. In his human form, that injury looked even worse. It was sickening to see his bones sticking out… but I didn’t want to worry Megan more. “Connor and Trevor have him.”

  “Take us to number eighteen on Deru Lane,” she insisted. “My family is there. My grandmother is a healer.”

  Oh God, this definitely wasn’t the way I wanted to meet Megan’s family, but I didn’t think that we had any choice. Megan was in a state, and Duncan needed someone to see him right away, so I guess the time had come…

  Me, Connor, and Trevor looked at one another in fear and bemusement as we stared at the house where Megan had sent us. She had passed out in my arms and I would have much preferred her to be awake, but the fact that she still hadn’t, forced my feet to knock on the door. We had to put fears aside to heal everyone.

  It was with a shaking hand that I banged on the wood, restless feet while I waited for someone to open it. When it eventually did fly apart it was immediately obvious that the red-haired woman was Megan’s mother.

  “Oh no.” She clapped her hands to her mouth. “Megan. What happened to her? I need my mother.”

  She turned and raced inside, and as I looked back at Connor, he nodded at me to follow her inside, so I did. We all did. Walking through the cute house that contained the childhood of Megan, with pictures and possessions that I couldn’t help staring at as we walked through the building. I liked getting to see a different side of her, knowing her better. Seeing her as a sweet little child made my heart ache with the idea that we could maybe one day share an adorable red-haired shifter with the same smattering of freckles across his or her little button nose.

  “Máthair, ní mór dúinn mo pháiste a leigheas,” Megan’s mother said to who I assumed was her grandmother. I didn’t know a lot of Irish Gaelic, but it sounded like she was explaining the situation, which was when I added more.

  “I don’t mean to interrupt.” I felt bad as soon as I said those words. “But Duncan has been badly hurt as well.”

  “A demon,” she hissed back. “You were
battling a demon. How did this happen? Why is a demon here?”

  But she didn’t seem to require an answer, so I didn’t offer one. Instead, I lay Megan on the floor and watched as the two powerful druidesses spoke more Gaelic, practically under their breaths, and shot out beams of magic into their precious relative. I felt us all suck in a collective breath while we waited for her to reappear.

  “Duncan…” was the first word, spluttered out of Megan’s mouth, proving that mentally she was still on the battlefield. “The blood… his wing… is Duncan okay?” She sat up and blinked a few times. “Mom? Grandma?”

  But of course, this wasn’t the time for a family reunion and it seemed like they all understood that. I was sure that they had a lot they wanted to discuss, but Duncan needed their focus. Megan might have been much weaker than she was magically when she was fighting the demon, but alongside her other and grandmother it didn’t seem to matter.

  None of us relaxed. Drawing Megan out of exhaustion was one thing but healing such sickening injuries in Duncan’s body was going to be something else. I wanted to have full confidence in these wonderful Irish druidesses, but I was scared for my friend. I feared that he wouldn’t ever recover fully from what had happened to him. Physically or mentally. It would be destruction to know that when his clan needed him the most, he struggled. That was something I knew for sure that I would find hard. Then again, maybe it was my fault because I was trying to look after Megan. Perhaps if I had been fighting alongside the other guys then this wouldn’t have happened.

  Oh God, I wanted to groan and cry out as agony tore through me. If Duncan really did find this hard then it would be my fault entirely. I wouldn’t ever be able to forgive myself; I wouldn’t ever be able to face the rest of them again.