Heat rose to my cheeks. “You could say that.”
“We need to stay here until transport arrives to remove the bodies,” Mona said. “You should take your ducklings home, Warden Armitage. They’ll only be in the way.”
“You need to stay until at least midnight,” Gray said. “What if this was intended as a summoning circle? Just because you remove the bodies doesn’t mean the summoning won’t work.”
Mona folded her arms and glared at him. “We know how to do our job, Warden Mappleworth, and part of that job involves evacuating areas deemed unsafe. Now take your casters home.”
A smile tugged at Gray’s lips, revealing his fangs. “Fine, then your wolf comes with us. We’re not leaving Cerys behind in Terrene.”
Callan stepped forward. “I’ll go for now, but the witch is coming to Terrene as soon as arrangements can be made. I can’t be benched when there’s a mass murderer on the loose.”
Mona’s expression hardened. “And if anything happens to Callan on your watch, it’ll be your head, Armitage.”
“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” he replied. “You’d probably mount it on your wall next to your other trophies.”
Gray placed a protective arm around my shoulders. “Come on, Cerys. Let’s get you back where you belong.”
Chapter Five
Being bound to Callan was every bit as challenging and awkward as I expected. There’d been a heated discussion before we left Allegheny as to where we’d sleep, shower, etc. Warden Armitage alleviated my concerns about classes and training. He knew I was worried about Professor Langley in particular, who wouldn’t hesitate to knock me down a grade or two for missing his class.
Much to my relief, Chancellor Tilkin was away so I didn’t need to see the disappointed expression on her ageless face. She did, however, instruct Hazel to make Callan comfortable during his stay at the academy. Once Hazel overcame her shock, she arranged for Callan and I to stay in adjoining rooms at the far end of the dormitory wing. The shared bathroom made me mildly uncomfortable, but Hazel assured me there was an automatic lock when the other occupant was using it. Haggis was thrilled by the change in circumstances. She relished alone time with me, whereas I already missed the close proximity of my friends. Bedtime chatter was one of my favorite parts of the day. It reminded me of life at home with my siblings.
A knock on the bathroom door startled me. I pressed my ear against it. “Yes?”
“It’s Callan.” The werewolf’s voice was muffled by the thickness of the door. “Can we talk?”
Reluctantly, I opened the door and Callan crossed the threshold into my bedroom. He wore a green T-shirt that accentuated his toned upper body and jeans that accentuated…I averted my gaze and focused on a loose floorboard instead.
“I’m not hungry,” I said. It was already clear that Callan’s appetite far exceeded mine. How many trips to the cafeteria could I take in the span of three hours? Hazel should’ve put our rooms within thirty feet of the cafeteria.
“I have information,” Callan said. “I thought you’d like to know.”
I perched on the edge of my bed. “About the real killer?”
“About the victims.” Callan glanced around awkwardly, looking for a place to position himself. It occurred to me that he was likely every bit as anxious as I was about this arrangement. For some reason, that thought put me at ease.
“Oh,” I said. “All human?”
“Yep. The lab is still working on the reason for the condition of the bodies.” He stopped talking when he noticed Haggis. “Has this cat been here the whole time?”
“Yes, she’s my familiar, Haggis. Do werewolves have issues with cats?”
He chuckled. “Not me, though I had a friend with a severe allergy to them.” He reached out to pet Haggis and I was surprised to see that she let him. “We’ve been able to identify most of the victims with DNA samples. So far, they’re all members of the same frat.”
I frowned. “What’s a frat?”
“A fraternity,” Callan said. He moved to stand in front of the window and I noticed the way the moon’s glow highlighted the strands of copper in his dark brown hair. “An organization found on university campuses in Terrene. A group of men that bond over beer and sports.”
“Which university?” I asked.
“Scoggins,” he replied. “They’re different years, though. A couple were graduates.”
“What about the coma victim?” I asked.
Callan nodded. “Same. His name is Ben. He’s in his second year there.”
“How is he?”
Callan’s expression clouded over. “Still unconscious. The healers can’t find a reason for his comatose state. They’re going to work on healing the internal injuries first.”
Poor Ben. At least he was alive. “When will the rest of the lab results be in?”
“Soon. They’ve got everything on a rush. They know we’re under the gun.”
“That’s a Terrene expression.” I’d heard Bryn use it, usually in connection with last minute studying for a test.
He half smiled. “It is. The more time I spend there, the more idioms I pick up.”
“I didn’t see any phones in the clearing,” I said. “Aren’t all humans supposed to be permanently attached to their phones?” Especially young men.
“We noticed,” Callan said. “Once we start speaking to the families, we’ll ask about phones. My guess is they were destroyed by whoever was responsible to hide any evidence.”
“And where would I have hidden twelve phones?” I asked.
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “You have a wand. You could’ve easily done a spell and disposed of them.”
“Do you really think I did that?”
He didn’t hesitate. “No, I don’t. And I would’ve said as much if your friend hadn’t intervened. I only wanted to follow protocol.”
“You had your accusatory hat on,” I said. “Don’t deny it.”
“Only when I first saw you. Put yourself in my position. You know there’s magic at work. You find a clearing with twelve victims and a witch standing guard over them. What’s your reaction?”
He made a good point. “Well, we’re here now. Why not question me?”
Callan grinned. “Making lemonade, huh?”
I gave him a blank look. “I honestly didn’t see anything that you didn’t. Everything was exactly as it was when you got there.”
“The report also says the bodies were there for hours, so you would’ve been cleared quickly even if you had come with us willingly. There’s a record of the time your group crossed the border.”
I buried my face in my hands. I wasn’t one to throttle, but putting my hands around Bryn’s neck seemed like a pretty good idea right now. Then again, her heart had been in the right place.
“What makes you certain the responsible party isn’t one of the twelve?” I asked. “Maybe this was a suicide pact.”
“That involved a camping trip to an energy vortex? Unlikely.”
“They’re humans,” I countered. “To them it’s a regular forest. Maybe they only wanted somewhere remote so no one could stop them.”
Callan rubbed the back of his neck. “Last time I checked, suicide didn’t result in mangled bodies with broken bones and unexplained body hair. There’s also the issue of the magical flare we detected. That’s how we found the clearing in the first place.”
“So you’re waiting to see whether the lab results show some kind of potion in their systems?”
“That’s the leading theory at the moment.” He fiddled with one of my rune rocks that I’d placed on the windowsill. “This is the type of conversations you’ll have as an agent. It’s good practice for you.”
I’d been having the same thought. Maybe this was just the opportunity I needed to prove my abilities to the academy. If I could show them that I wasn’t holding back—that I was living up to my full potential—then my slot as an enforcer would be secure.
I leaned back
and splayed my hands on the bed. “I feel like we need to set some ground rules if we’re going to be spending quality time together.”
“You don’t have to worry, Goldilocks…” He paused. “Scratch that. No nicknames. No terms of endearment. Got it. You don’t have to worry about me. Not only am I a gentleman, but I’m wholly focused on cracking this case. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
“And what reputation is that?”
He fixed me with a look of pure steel. “I get the job done, no matter how tough it is.”
A knot formed in my stomach. We were more similar than I could ever express.
“I shower first thing in the morning,” I said. “You can wait until I’m finished. And don’t leave the toilet seat up. It’s unsanitary.”
Callan crossed his arms, showing off his impressive biceps, and leaned his hip against the windowsill. “Anything else, Mom?”
“As a matter of fact there is. I’m not spending half my life in the cafeteria. If you know you’re going to be hungry, bring extra food back to your room. No midnight feasts at my expense.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “A shifter needs to eat. A lot.”
“I’m not stopping you,” I said. “Just do it around my schedule.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted me. “One more thing.”
I met his gaze. His brown eyes were even darker than mine. Almost black. “What’s that?”
“At some point over the next two weeks, chances are I’m going to shift.”
“And?”
His arms drifted to his sides in a surprisingly vulnerable gesture. “How good is your magic?”
My brow creased. “Why?” Callan’s wolf form wasn’t feral. He’d know it was me—wouldn’t he?
“My wild side tends to get the better of me. The League doesn’t mind because it’s one reason I’m good at my job.”
I tried to disguise my unease. “What do you mean it gets the better of you?”
“I’m a beast, Cerys,” he said. “That’s my nature. If I shift, do yourself a favor and put a protective barrier between us. Whatever it takes to keep yourself safe. I wouldn’t want my primal side to mistake you for something else.”
“Something else like what?”
A moment skipped past us. “Prey.”
I shuddered. “And yet you’re patrolling the streets of Terrene?”
“With two partners,” Callan said. “I’ve worked with Mona and Kendall a long time. They keep me in check.” He pushed away from the windowsill. “I wasn’t counting on earning myself an extra appendage.”
“Believe me, it wasn’t my preference either.”
Callan grinned. “Nice to know we can agree on something. Good night, blood buddy.” He paused. “Ha! If we do one of those combined names, it’s ‘bloody.’”
I wrinkled my nose. “We agreed no nicknames, remember?”
“I know, but nicknames can be a lot of fun,” he said. “You don’t want to know what I call you in my head.” He winked and breezed out of the room.
I shut the bathroom door behind him and leaned against it for support.
It’s only for two weeks, Haggis reminded me.
“Two weeks of torture,” I said.
Hey, it could be worse, Haggis said. The werewolf could be ugly.
“Haggis!” I scolded my familiar. “The last thing on my mind is what Callan looks like.”
I think you’ve forgotten that I can read your mind. The cat stretched her back and curled up between the rune rocks on the windowsill, just like at home.
“He’s a werewolf,” I said. “Shouldn’t you get all hissy and spitty about him?”
Haggis blinked her blue eyes before lowering her head. I’m your familiar. I want what you want.
“But I don’t…” I didn’t get a chance to finish. The cat was fast asleep.
At breakfast the next morning, Callan and I sat at opposite ends of the table in the cafeteria. The werewolf said he didn’t want to interfere with my normal activities. I hated to tell him but that ship sailed the moment Bryn worked her blood magic.
“So how’s it going with Mr. Fur Face?” Bryn asked in a hushed tone.
“He’s all the way down there,” I said. “He can’t hear you.”
“Right. Werewolf.” Bryn nibbled on a piece of toast slathered with butter and honey. “I keep forgetting not everyone has Gray’s hearing.” Vampire hearing was unrivaled in the paranormal world.
“It’s fine,” I said. I didn’t want to talk about it. Yesterday’s events were still fresh in my mind. It was a wonder I could even eat. Images of the twelve mangled bodies continued to flash in my mind at inopportune moments.
“He seems nice,” Mia said.
“Yeah, it could be worse,” Dani added. “You could’ve been bound to the werebear.”
“Would have made snuggling easy,” Bryn said matter-of-factly.
I cringed at the thought of snuggling with Kendall.
“How are you holding up, Quad Squad?” Warden Armitage loomed over us. He looked unusually casual in running gear. For whatever reason, it didn’t occur to me that the busy warden would need to exercise to keep in shape.
Dani flicked her fingers in a dismissive gesture. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that name will never stick.”
“Practically everybody here lives in a quad,” Mia said. “Adding ‘squad’ after it does nothing to distinguish us.”
Warden Armitage held up a finger. “Don’t you go getting sassy on me, too, Holmes. I get enough of that from your friends.”
Bryn popped a grape into her mouth. “What’s the deal with you and Wonder Woman? There’s a story there and we want to hear all the juicy details.”
His mouth twitched. “Wonder Woman?”
“You know, the Amazon,” Bryn replied. “Tall lady in the clearing. Stood lopsided thanks to that ginormous chip on her shoulder.”
Dani nearly spit out her water.
“Mona,” Warden Armitage said.
I pointed my fork at him. “Yes, that’s her. She was ready to cuff me and send me away for life just for being there and breathing.”
“She has a reputation for rushing to judgment,” the warden admitted. “I’m glad you managed to walk away freely.”
“Freely?” I jerked my thumb in the direction of Callan. “Does that look like I walked away freely to you?”
Warden Armitage’s laugh rumbled. “He doesn’t look thrilled about the situation either.”
“You owe me,” I said. “Tell us about Mona. That’s the price you pay.”
The warden inhaled sharply and took a seat next to Dani at the end of the table. “This information stays between me and the Quad Squad, got it?”
“If you tell us, I’ll even let you keep calling us that,” Bryn said, ever the diplomat.
“Sounds like a deal.” He laced his fingers together and rested them on the table. “Mona and I used to date.”
“Aha! I knew it!” Bryn jabbed me with the end of her spoon and I inched away.
“What happened?” I asked. “Why did you break up?”
“Because, like I told you, Mona has a habit of rushing into things,” the warden said. “Including relationships. She wanted us to move much faster than I was comfortable with.”
“You mean she wanted to marry you?” Dani asked.
The warden cast a sidelong glance at her. “Is that so incredible that someone would want to marry me, Degraff?”
We suddenly became deeply interested in the contents of our plates.
“She wanted to move in together, which meant one of us giving up our job,” he continued. “I wasn’t willing and neither was she, only she became unreasonably angry over the fact that I refused to budge. Didn’t bother to consider that she was being equally stubborn.”
“You don’t want to live in Terrene?” I asked.
“No thanks,” Warden Armitage said. “I like my life here.”
“If you really loved her, wouldn’t you be
willing to make that sacrifice?” Mia asked.
“If she really loved me, wouldn’t she?” he replied. “If you work for the League, you have to live in Terrene. It’s a requirement. And, if you’re a warden, you have to live in our world.”
“Makes sense,” Dani said. “If you get called to a job, you have to act quickly.”
“Exactly.” Warden Armitage reached for a slice of toast on Bryn’s plate and she smacked his hand away. “What’s on your agenda today with your new partner, Davies?”
“We’re going to see Ben—that’s the name of the coma patient.”
“He’s awake?” the warden asked, surprised.
“Not yet, but I asked if we could check on him,” I said. “Like we mentioned in the clearing, it’s important that he gets treatment for his injuries. Callan said their healers worked on him, but I’d rather see for myself.”
Warden Armitage nodded approvingly. “You’re our agent on the inside, Davies. You make sure the League isn’t sacrificing this poor kid for the sake of the investigation.”
“I’ll report back,” I promised.
He seemed to sense my apprehension. “I told you not to stress about your lessons. The chancellor and I will handle anything that comes up here.”
“Thank you,” I said. With Warden Armitage and Chancellor Tilkin’s support, I knew the other professors would tread carefully. “These young men deserve all the help they can get.” And if the League office was as short-staffed as Callan suggested, then a powerful earth witch was just what this investigation needed.
Chapter Six
“Any signs of improvement?” I hovered over Ben like a worried mother, despite our close proximity in age.
Callan and I had crossed the border and arrived at the League’s healing facility in a black sedan, complete with a chauffeur. Apparently, Mona had sent the car for us. I was still fascinated by Warden Armitage’s romantic history with her. I wondered whether she’d interrogate me about him now that she no longer needed to ask me about the crime scene.
“No signs to speak of, I’m afraid,” the druid said. His name was Michael and he was the shortest druid I’d ever seen. His hair was thinning on top and his cheeks were rosy. More importantly, he shared Alana’s calming demeanor. I liked him immediately.
Outwit: Spellslingers Academy of Magic (Enforcer of the East Book 1) Page 6