by Demi Dumond
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I was about to answer yes so that he would just keep walking when his scent hit me. Lemongrass, and a very strong musk. I closed my eyes and breathed it in. Whatever that scent was, it just wasn’t fair.
“No,” I said. “I’m not okay.” It was a test. Was he just waiting to kick me when I was down like the rest of them? I was getting tired of fighting it. I stood up, tired of feeling vulnerable.
“What is it?” he asked.
With every breath I watched his abs move and I wanted to run my hands down that chest, run my fingers through his hair, and do all sorts of things to the rest of him. “The Headmaster’s going to throw me in the dungeon if another student attempts to escape.”
Rafe’s eyes flashed in amusement. “When did you become the new head of security?”
“I know, right?” I answered. “It’s way easier to just threaten me than it is to slay the fucking monsters.”
“And when did the academy get a dungeon?” he asked, winking at me. “That doesn’t sound like something our penny-pinching headmaster would pay for.”
“He said it was old. Came with the building, I guess. And how old is that guy?” I asked. “He mentioned it being ‘centuries since the last student tried to escape’ or something.” I did my best to copy the Headmaster’s dramatic, threatening, and yet still monotone voice.
Rafe laughed. It was a full, masculine, wonderful sound, with a hint of a growl. As if his gorgeous body and heady scent weren’t enough to send me into a sexual feeding frenzy, he also had an adorable smile and an infectious laugh. If only he didn’t have a girlfriend, one who happened to be my roommate.
“Hey, I never got a chance to thank you. For that night at the ball.”
“You were right,” he answered, “you had it under control. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
I wanted to ask him about the other thing, the thing about being his mate. I wasn’t sure if it meant what I thought it meant. I was still pretty new to the slang around here and I didn’t want to seem ungrateful for his help.
He stepped forward and gently grabbed my hand in his. The moment we touched I felt a tingling throughout my body.
My eyes shot up to his, and he let go of my hand.
“I have to go,” he said. “Before the other shifters take all the hot water.”
I nodded as I watched him walk down the hall toward the dorms.
28
Rafe
I don’t know what I was thinking, getting that close to Keira. It was dangerous.
Somewhere in my mind I had convinced myself that the first time we touched; I had imagined it. I tried to talk myself out of what I already knew that Keira was my mate. I had protected her at the ball, it was pure instinct.
I guess I thought that if I got close enough to touch her again, I’d realize I was wrong. I’d know that I didn’t have feelings for her. Maybe I’d be able to go on with my life without her.
That was all moot now. I hurried toward the showers, my wolf whimpering with desire. He had spent the entire conversation begging me to throw her against the wall and rip off her skirt and take her right there.
I could barely think straight. I wanted it as badly as he did, but now was not the time.
I calmed my wolf and sprinted toward a cold shower. Now that I knew Keira was my mate, there was no going back.
29
Keira
The next week went by in a haze of hostile looks and magical quizzes as I tried to figure out what I was going to do about the headmaster’s threat.
The quizzes weren’t going great. My grades had dropped since that one horrible day with the dragon incident, the Jack incident, and the Headmaster’s threat. It was impossible for me to concentrate.
Lunchtime came. I didn’t have much of an appetite, but I had thought of an idea, maybe, of how to deal with the whole prophecy thing. The only drawback was that it involved talking to Malachai.
I went to the courtyard and waited. He caught my eye as he came out the door, his golden brooding eyes and hulking frame were easy to spot.
There was something different about him, though. An anger brewing just under the surface. It was more than just his expression, the anger seemed to emanate off of him.
I should have been alarmed, or at least frightened away, but I didn’t have time for any of that bullshit. Not today. I fought my way over to him. “Hey, is Jack going to be okay?”
Malachai gave a sad shrug. “I hope so. The doctors were optimistic, but I don’t think we’ll know anything for a while.”
That’s when he saw the look on my face. “You okay, Keira? You look like hell.”
I swallowed hard. The last thing I wanted to do was think about or talk about what the Headmaster threatened me with, but I had to know. “He said if any more kids tried to escape, he’d throw me in the dungeon.”
The surprise, horror, and then acceptance that flashed across Malachai’s face told me all I needed to know. The Headmaster’s threat was very real.
He stopped walking and pulled me into a quiet area in the species neutral zone against the wall of the academy. “He said what?”
“You heard me,” I said.
The look in his eyes had gone from anger to worry. If anything, that was worse. What had I gotten myself into? I breathed in his scent, sandalwood and ginger.
“What are you going to do?” he asked. He placed a hand on my arm, causing a warmth and a heat to radiate from his touch. I stifled a gasp. Now was not the time for my sex drive to kick in.
“The Headmaster isn’t going to do anything about the attacks,” I whispered. “He knows that people will keep blaming me for the whole prophecy thing. I have to get into the Administration Records Room. You said you’ve been there. I have to prove that whatever this prophecy thing is, it isn’t about me before it’s too late.”
“It’s off limits to students,” Malachai said. He looked at me like I had just suggested riding bareback during recreation hours on the courtyard statue.
“If I don’t, then I’m going to be thrown into a dungeon, Malachai. It’s only my life here. If I don’t figure this out, there will be more students hunted by that dragon in the forest and who knows what else.”
I looked into his eyes. “And there will also be more students like Jack. I have to do something. Will you help me or not?”
Malachai’s eyes flashed down at me. “You don’t know what you’re asking, Keira.”
“I should have known you weren’t going to help me.”
He grabbed me as I tried to walk by and turned me around so that we were facing each other. His touch was too much for me to deal with. I don’t know why I needed it. I wish I didn’t, but I just couldn’t help it. I shook my head and broke free of his hands.
“I can’t keep doing this, Malachai,” I said. “You have to figure out if you’re on my side or not.”
“They just instituted a curfew,” Malachai said. “It’ll be ten times harder to get there than usual.”
“That sounds like exactly my luck,” I answered.
He made up his mind and let me go. “Fine. I’ll help you. Meet me outside of D wing tonight at eight.”
30
Keira
The rest of the day flew by. I knew I had to get into Administrative Records. If I was going to take the blame for everything, at least I could know what was going on.
As to security during the curfew, I wasn’t as worried as Malachai. If the Headmaster was that interested in security, it certainly didn’t show. I had barely seen any security since I got here, and they certainly weren’t around when anything bad happened.
The only problem was the curfew started at seven and there was a lot of time to kill until eight. I sat in my room studying, if you could call it that. I read the same passage in my math book four or five times before finally giving up.
Taking a deep breath, I went to my window and brushed the curtain aside, daring to look into the woods. Something in
those trees terrified me, called to me, and calmed me all at the same time. I couldn’t explain the mixed emotions.
I must have stared into those black woods for longer than I thought, because the next thing I knew, my alarm went off. The sound made me jump out of my skin. It was time to meet Malachai.
Opening the door to my dorm and closing it as quietly as I could, I crept through the halls toward D-wing. So far so good. I wore pink fuzzy slippers to make less noise on the marble tile floor and so far, it was working. I was a ninja with style.
During the day it was noisy in here, every little sound reverberated off of the walls. But at night, especially tonight, you could hear a pin drop.
I held my breath since I was almost there. There was no sign of Malachai, or anybody else so far. I told Malachai that it was all just a bluff. The Headmaster obviously didn’t give a shit about the security of the school or the students.
I made it to D-wing and exhaled. I looked at my watch. McBroody was late. Figures.
I kept my back against the hallway that led back to my dorm so I could keep an eye on things. The D-wing was a major intersection of hallways leading to different parts of the academy.
If I went back the way I came I could go back to my dorm. To the right were the classrooms and to the left was the cafeteria. If I kept going straight it would lead me to the administration offices and probably to the reading room, but I couldn’t be sure.
That’s why I needed Malachai. Where was he? For a moment I wondered if this was all a setup. Maybe I was on my own. Which would suck because I didn’t know where I was going.
That’s when I heard a noise. The sound was rhythmic, but not footsteps. No matter how much I concentrated I couldn’t place it.
Finally, I peeked around the corner to see if it was him. When I saw what was coming, the one thing I knew for sure was that it wasn’t Malachai.
What was coming down the hallway toward me appeared to be a giant bat. It was flapping its wings so slowly as it glided through the air with its beady little eyes that it looked like it was swimming, not flying. What the hell?
A hand grabbed me from behind and pulled me back where I was before, out of sight of the bat. I swallowed my scream when I saw that it was Malachai, but I punched him in his iron bicep all the same as I glared up at him.
He wasn’t mad about the punch. His face was scrunched up in worry and his finger was on his lips, motioning for me to be quiet. I know to be quiet, dumbass. There’s a giant bat.
He pulled me up against the wall so that we were both flat just in time for us to be out of sight when the bat flew by. We stood there for about thirty seconds before I saw Malachai’s frame relax slightly.
“What the hell was that?” I whispered. “Does this academy have a bat problem?”
“They’re not bats. Not really, anyway,” Malachai whispered back. “They’re magic sentinels. If they see us, they’ll raise an alarm. If they do that, we will be well and truly fucked.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “You mean to tell me that the Headmaster had this type of magic technology available to help and protect us, but instead of being outside warning us of monster attacks, they’re inside enforcing curfew?”
Malachai stared down at me. “That’s a good question, but unless you want to go ask him yourself, I suggest we get to Administration Records before another sentinel bat comes by. Nice slippers, by the way.”
“Thank you,” I replied, as if there were no sarcasm in his voice. If that was meant as an insult, then he obviously didn’t know me well enough. These pink slippers rocked. I followed him down the hall.
It probably only took us five minutes to get to the records room, sneaking around the way we were, but it felt like an eternity.
Finally, Malachai stopped in front of a heavy wooden door with a red moon symbol on it. There weren’t any other signs or letters or indications that it was a Records Room.
Malachai pulled several small hooked tools out of his pocket. “Shhhh,” he said. “I’m trying to listen. And you keep an eye out for more sentinels.”
I went into surveillance mode with my head on a swivel, watching both ends of our small hallway while Malachai grunted and struggled with the door lock.
“You know I could have gotten us into the room by now,” I mentioned quietly as I got into a cycle of turning my head in both directions to make sure it was clear.
“You know how to pick locks?” he asked dubiously.
“Yes. And I’m a lot faster than you. Next time you keep watch and I’ll get us inside.” I smiled to myself. I guess this academy was just a bunch of hooligans after all. It made me sad, because without the fucking prophecy I’d have fit in here just fine.
This time when I turned my head to the right, I saw something. It was far in the distance, but it was gliding in our direction.
“Time’s up, Malachai, we’re about to get company.” I hissed.
“Almost got it,” he said.
I watched the bat nervously as it made its approach. “Maybe we should duck into another room until it passes,” I said, getting nervous.
Just when I was about to grab him and pull him with me down the hallway, I heard a click and a whoosh as the heavy door opened silently inward.
Malachai, who had been leaning on it, whooshed inside. I quickly joined him and shut the door.
Then we both held our breath and listened, hoping we hadn’t been noticed. A minute went by and then two. We looked at each other and relaxed.
I breathed again. I had probably held my breath more since I got to this academy than I had in my entire life prior.
The immediate danger over, we turned our attention to what we were here for, the prophecy. I had come prepared and pulled a couple of flashlights out of my pocket. I switched mine on and handed the other one to Malachai.
The records room itself was large, the size of four or five offices, and it was crammed from floor to ceiling with bookshelves. In the back were several desks overflowing with papers and books.
Intrigued, I headed toward the desks. It looked like they hadn’t been used in years. They were covered in dust. The open pages of notebooks and textbooks were yellow and decaying. There was an actual fountain pen with an open bottle of ink on one of them. It looked similar to the one the Headmaster was always using.
I rifled through a few pages, feeling like I was desecrating a tomb. I wanted to know when the last time these desks were used. Finally, one of the letters had a date on the top: August 22, 1867.
“Um, Malachai?” I asked, frowning. “If this is a magical research university or whatever, why hasn’t this records room been used since the 1800’s?”
“What?” he asked, turning from where he was examining one of the bookshelves and shining his flashlight in my face.
“Stop,” I said, shielding my eyes.
“Oh sorry. What was that about the 1800’s?” Malachai asked. “That doesn’t make any sense. Kiln is one of the top research Professors in the nation.”
“Well, she obviously isn’t doing any research in here.” It was starting to bother me how much he stood up for Professor Kiln. One of these days when things calmed down, I was going to ask him about it. “Hey, what am I looking for, exactly?”
“The rumor is there’s a book, a very old edition, much older than the 1800’s with that same red moon symbol on it. That’s the one with information about the prophecy.”
I scrunched up my face, but nobody could see it in the dark. “Why the hell would everybody think I’m the one person written about in an ancient prophecy book from the 1800’s? A book that’s locked in an ancient records room that nobody even uses. And how does everybody know the details? Are you people so bored?”
“It started out as rumors before I even got here and it picked up steam I guess, like an urban legend.”
“An urban legend?” I asked. “That people are willing to throw me in a dungeon for?”
I shined my light at him, but he wasn’t paying attent
ion to me anymore, he was picking his way through the bookshelves. “None of this makes any sense. Hey, have you ever been in here before?” I asked him.
“No.” He answered.
“Then how do you know what the book looks like?” I asked.
“Do you want to find that prophecy, prove your innocence and get out of here or not?” His non-answer was noted by me, along with the icy tone, but unfortunately, he was right. We were probably only going to get one shot at this with the curfew and everything.
“Any suggestions on where to look since you suddenly know so much?” I asked.
“I’ll take these bookshelves on the right and you take the left,” he suggested, pointing with his flashlight. “That way we’ll cover more ground.”
I couldn’t argue with that. I shined my flashlight on the floor in order to not trip on stray books, coats, or in this case, artifacts. The place was a museum. I wondered why they didn’t they use it anymore.
31
Malachai
I felt bad lying to Keira about never being here. I don’t even know why I did it. I had been in here a dozen times before, trying to figure out why my senses were off. Why I was nearly powerless here, relatively speaking.
I had started coming in here at Kiln’s urging. She was as suspicious as I was. But I knew that Keira wouldn’t trust me if she knew the truth.
I also knew I was close to finding out what I needed. Last time I had identified some volumes that might shed some light on what the hell was going on here.
And the stuff about the Blood Moon Prophecy book was true. I ran across it once when it wasn’t what I was looking for.
That’s all she wanted to know anyway. I paused for a moment to shine my light on her. Even here in the dark, surrounded by dusty ancient books, she was still hot. Her face was adorably scrunched up in concentration, and even the dim light accentuated her curves.