“Uh, I think I found it,” Ben said. “Come quick!” He stood on the distant side of the graveyard, surrounded by trees with a mound of dirt beside his feet.
Hurrying over with Lia on my heels brought me to a hole as deep as I stood tall, filled with loose soil and a few rotting boards.
“It feels awful. Cold and oily,” Liadan murmured while rubbing her arms.
“Whatever it was, it’s gone now,” Ben said. “Unmarked grave. Even the coffin’s gone, see?” He climbed down inside and tossed out one of the two boards left at the bottom. Old rusted nails protruded from the rotting pieces of blackened oak.
“We should head back,” Liadan said. “This place gives me the creeps.”
“Agreed. This was fun for a little while, but we really need to be moving, Ben.” If something supernatural had been buried here, it was no wonder the place had a haunted reputation. The question was what and who? Going off what Gabriel told me, my bet was vampire, and I had a feeling whoever it was had awakened hungry. “Besides, a hole isn’t going to tell us much.”
“It’s noon. If there’s a vampire nearby, it’ll be weak and practically powerless while in daylight,” he reminded us. “And if it’s a nosferatu, it won’t be able to come out at all.”
Shivering, I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to conserve heat, but the cold had already settled into my bones despite the open, sunny sky overhead. Static buzzed down my arms, like I’d touched an old television screen. He climbed out of the hole and dusted the dirt from his jeans.
“I guess there isn’t much to see,” Ben grumbled. “Some of the other students were boasting about what they can see with the Sight, but the only thing I picked up was—”
A man’s deep voice reverberated throughout the graveyard without a megaphone. “What do you three think you’re doing here?”
Liadan shrieked and stumbled into me, and I barely caught Ben by a handful of his shirt before he toppled into the open grave.
Simon and Sebastian appeared from thin air, which shouldn’t have surprised me. Trained and experienced sentinels had a host of abilities at their command, least of which was cloaking themselves.
“Good going, Ben,” I muttered. Busted by the law and I hadn’t even been at school a month.
Simon shook his head at me and regarded us with a frown. “Skylar Corazzi, why am I not surprised?”
Liadan turned pink beside me. Her face splotched red from her throat to her nose.
“We were only out for a walk,” Ben said quickly.
“A walk in a cemetery currently part of an investigation?” Sebastian asked. The brawny wolf shifter crossed his arms. His eyes dropped to the hole then raised to our faces again. When he sniffed, his nose crinkled, giving him a particularly mean look like a snarling dog. I didn’t want to know what he smelled.
Ben dropped his chin toward his chest. “The police tape was knocked down, honest. We figured they were done here.”
“It’s because they found a dead faerie here,” I said in a low voice. Ben and Liadan both shot me startled looks, mouths agape and eyes huge in their pale faces.
Simon jerked his gaze toward me, while Sebastian groaned into one huge palm.
“What has happened here is no concern to the three of you. Now come along,” Simon ordered. “We’ll take you back to the campus.”
Ben straightened his shoulders. “Actually, I think if someone was killed only a couple miles away from the school, we should all know about it.”
Liadan shot him a dirty look and elbowed him, but I agreed. “He’s right.”
“Who told you this?” Simon asked.
“I hear things, that’s all I’m saying,” I told him. Snitching on my source would be dishonorable.
Simon didn’t look pleased, but he also didn’t argue. Instead he herded us out of the cemetery and down an uneven, beaten path to a waiting car. We piled into the back and endured a short ride back to campus.
“Oh God, is this going to go on our permanent record?” Ben moaned when we turned onto the college drive. He’d gone pasty white.
Sebastian laughed at him without any pretense of sympathy. “Not even two weeks in and looking for a chair in front of the provost, eh, kid?”
Ben turned green. The nauseous shade prompted me to squeeze Liadan against the car door away from him.
When we reached the school minutes later, Simon slowed the car at the first guard station and rolled down his window. “Picked up some stragglers walking down the road. I’ll just leave them here.” Then he looked back at us and nodded at the door. “Go on. Get going. Be more careful in the future about where you’re poking around, or next time I will drop you at the office.”
“Thank you!” Ben scurried out and held the door open for both Liadan and me.
“And you three keep your mouths shut about today’s little adventure. I’ll know if you don’t.” Sebastian gave us a hard, disapproving look.
The car reversed from the drive and rolled away from the school again, no doubt to complete whatever Simon and Sebastian had planned to do at the cemetery.
“Sooo,” the guard at the shack began in an amused voice. He leaned forward and came into view, revealing Gabriel’s grinning face. “Busted, eh?”
“Like the man said, he gave us a ride,” I said. No way was I going to give Gabriel the satisfaction of knowing the truth. “It’s a long walk when you don’t have a car.”
“Simon never gives anyone a lift unless he’s caught them where they don’t belong.” His brown eyes shone with mirth. “Where’d he catch you? Did you guys form your own Scooby Doo Gang to go check out the cemetery during daylight?”
I sniffed in feigned, haughty disdain as the older fae girls often did. “That’s an expensive question.” I winked playfully as Ben gaped at our exchange.
Gabriel’s brows raised again. I wondered if all raven shifters had the same quirky facial expressions, or if it was only him.
“Indeed it is,” he replied. He propped his elbows against the window of the shack and watched us. “Lemme give y’all a word of advice. If you ever want to do anything, don’t go on foot without some cloaking charms, and don’t do it in the day. Sebastian will sniff you out every time.”
“It’s not like we’re confined to campus,” Ben grumbled. “We can walk wherever we want to.”
“I’m going to study for Monday’s quiz,” Liadan said quietly.
“Lia? Are you—”
“I’m fine,” she said, although her voice trembled. She darted away at a brisk pace.
Ben hurried away after her, feet tearing up the pavement. He called back over one shoulder, “I’m gonna walk with her.”
I watched them go, frowning, but I didn’t chase after. Tonight we’d sit together with some tea and cookies the way we always did, and Liadan would talk about her experience if she was ready.
Which left me with Gabriel.
Alone.
“Anyway, thanks for the advice, but Ben has a point—it’s not against the law for us to leave campus and explore the area. Besides, isn’t daylight supposed to be the safest time to go out?”
“Pfft. Well yeah, if you’re a wuss. Daylight is the safest time to avoid darklings, but the best time to get busted. I’m probably not supposed to tell you that.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Daytime bad, nighttime bad. Got it.”
He didn’t offer anything more, and I mourned the lost opportunity to wiggle another secret out of him.
“You should go check on your friend. She looks like she’s in Empath Shock.”
The unfamiliar term skated at the edge of my subconscious as if I should know it or had skimmed past the vocabulary words in one of our textbooks. Was that what had happened to Liadan? “Empath Shock?”
His expression softened, wiping away the amusement and cocky arrogance of an older boy. “Yeah. The glassy stare and drooped shoulders are hallmarks of empathetic overstimulation. Best cured by relaxation and a little TLC. Coax your friend
into a warm shower, play her some music, and offer her a snack. She’ll come out of it.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, touched by his concern. “Catch you later, Gabriel.”
“See ya.”
Jogging didn’t close the distance when the other two were already down the path winding into the residential area with a substantial lead on me. By the time I caught up, they’d reached the elevator of our dormitory building and were waiting for it to come down. Liadan’s posture—arms wrapped around herself and body close to the wall—made me angry at Ben for suggesting the trip to the cemetery and equally pissed at myself for going along with it.
As much blame belonged with me as it did with him. Taking her by the arm gently, I urged Liadan away from the elevator. “Come on. Let’s take the stairs instead.”
Together, Ben and I guided her toward the stairwell and to the upper level. When we reached the third floor, she trembled and leaned against me. She scored her arms with her fingernails and stared, the vacant expression no better.
“We’ll catch you later, Ben.”
“But—”
“Later, Ben.” I steered Liadan down the hall and let us into our room.
Miss Popularity occupied a spot on the couch, television remote on her thigh. Her gray eyes grew large as circles when she saw us stumble inside. “I’ll run a bath.”
“Thanks, Pilar.”
Unlike Pilar and me, Liadan had a special gift.
Empaths felt things more deeply, and sometimes arcane and psychic echoes could overwhelm them. The graveyard had creeped me out in general, so I could only imagine the dark, unsettling feelings Liadan had picked up on. I should have known better.
“Hey, you go relax in the tub, and I’ll make tea, okay? I’ll even convince Pilar to offer up some of her chocolate stash. Sound good?”
“Okay,” she said in a quiet, strained voice. She shuffled into the bathroom as Pilar returned from her task.
“What the hell happened while the three of you were gone?”
“Not much, really. The graveyard was empty, but we did find an unmarked grave that, uh, looked like it had been broken out of. Or into. Then Simon and Sebastian busted us.”
“Who?”
She must have had a different examiner over in Spain. I explained who the pair were for her benefit and suffered a twinge of apprehension when her eyes narrowed and her mouth pressed into a thin line.
“You’re going to get us all in trouble.”
Both shoulders drooped as I moved into our kitchen and filled the electric kettle with water. “I don’t think he’s going to say anything. They just dumped us back at the school with a terse warning about staying on the grounds.”
“I told you.”
“Look, it’s done and over with now. I didn’t realize it would affect her like this. Okay? So be nice. You don’t have to be a know-it-all bitch when you’re not too busy to snub us.” It never failed that when we invited Pilar to join us for any activity, she had an excuse to meet with her preferred friends.
And that was cool, really. But she didn’t get to talk down to me when the only two words either of us ever heard from her were “good night” or “no thanks.”
The choked sound in her throat accompanied a dark sweep of color mottling her cheeks. “Well some of us have certain expectations we aspire to meet.”
I snorted. Whenever I visited Dad’s family in Italy, I couldn’t escape the story of the real Cinderella and how it was our sworn duty to protect the legacy of Tenanye, my ancient pureblooded faerie ancestor.
“Look, I get it. I do. Your folks are important people. You make sure to tell us that every couple days. But it doesn’t give you the right to act like you’re better than us. I have a legacy to live up to as well, but you don’t see me rubbing people’s faces in it. I’m not a child. Don’t talk to me like one.”
Pilar abruptly turned around and left the room, moving like a mechanical soldier. I sighed and mentally prepared for a long, awkward semester.
She returned while I was pouring boiling water over an herbal blend and offered out a leather, gold-embossed encyclopedia—at least it looked like one until she raised the lid to reveal rows of decadent truffles pricier than my Kit Kat stash. “This will help. Chocolate and tea are the perfect cure for Empath Shock.”
“Thank you, Pilar. Hey… I’m sorry for calling you a bitch. I was out of line.”
A sad, fleeting smile came over her. “You were right.” When I thought there was nothing else to be said, she continued in a subdued voice. “Mamá and Papá expect certain things from me. Certain grades, certain friends… I don’t want to disappoint them.”
“You should do things for your happiness and success. Not theirs. Let them be proud of the woman you really are and not a fake.”
“What if they are not proud of that me?”
“Then that’s their problem, girl.”
I had the tea ready when Liadan wandered back out in her pj’s with her stuffed kitten under her arm. We settled on the couch with Pilar’s chocolates, peppermint chamomile tea, and a superhero movie.
A couple hours of sexy dudes in spandex should have been enough for anyone to come around, but halfway through the second movie, Liadan broke into another violent series of trembles. Tears rolled down her cheeks, preceding a low keening wail of grief. As Pilar wrapped an afghan around Lia’s shoulders, I hugged her from the other side.
“We are right here. Right here beside you,” Pilar assured her.
“They tortured him,” she sobbed.
I rubbed her back and pressed my cheek against her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Lia.”
“Something came out of the grave and drank the black dog of the cemetery until he was only dry veins and fur.”
Of the numerous breeds of faerie to inhabit Tir na Nog, the cu sith had to be the most capable in battle, but also the rarest. Dad had told us there was only one born per generation. If a vampire could take down one of those enormous hounds, he or she had to be ancient. Like biblical old. Methuselah old. Or at the very least, the first-generation progeny of one of them.
After an involuntary shudder, Liadan drew her knees to her chest and hugged her doll. “And there were others there. They lured him close and caught him.”
I should have been upfront about what happened and protected my friend. If I’d shared the truth earlier, Lia would have stayed back while Ben and I investigated alone.
“I’m so sorry, girl. So, so sorry,” I murmured again.
Liadan didn’t utter another word about the incident, and we didn’t ask. Her crying fit peaked and came to an abrupt end, and by the time the credits rolled, she’d become our animated and social Irish girl again.
I didn’t sleep well that night, and contrary to Pilar’s claims, no one from the disciplinary board or sentinel office visited to lay down punishment for trespassing.
What we’d done to Lia was punishment enough.
5
Insomnia is a Bitch, Like My Mentor
Sunday night, I tucked myself into bed early after watching rom coms with Liadan. She’d finally regained the color lost from her cheeks Saturday, her recovery easing the chest-crushing guilt I’d felt for letting her come along with us.
After what felt like only moments after I shut my eyes, Pilar shook me awake.
I’d incorrectly set my alarm, and with less than twenty minutes to spare before my appointment across the campus, I rushed through my morning routine. Skipping breakfast at the table, I grabbed a banana to eat on the go and dashed away to meet my academic counselor.
Today, I’d meet my mentor for the rest of the year. And Gabriel with his warm, brandy-colored eyes, scruffy face, and the mystery tattoo I wanted to see that peeked beneath his shirt sleeves. I’d have to convince him to let me see it. You know, for science.
I skidded into the hall outside Mrs. Hanford’s office with thirty seconds to spare for the 8:00 a.m. appointment. As one of the faerie freshmen approved to begin mentorship this fa
ll, I had been permitted to miss the first half of English Composition to meet with my assigned fae and her junior sentinel. All fae with godparent duties had to have a sentinel to protect them while on the job because we were just too damned delicious to vampires and all other hazards out in the world.
Mrs. Hanford’s nose wrinkled. “Miss Corazzi, so glad you could make it.”
I took an empty chair and dropped both hands on my lap. “Sorry. Good morning, Mrs. Hansford. Hi,” I said to the girl in the next seat. She was an older student I didn’t recognize, a junior with black and bright blue hair, pouty lips painted dark plum, and eyes lined with kohl.
Gabriel leaned against the wall beside her with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked disinterested. No, not bored. Angry. Something had happened prior to my arrival.
Since no one else paid him any attention, I flashed him a sunny, welcoming smile. “Good morning, Gabriel.”
He blinked at me, apparently taken aback by the manners my advisor and mentor lacked. “Morning.”
“Now that we are all present, Monica Cunningham will be your mentor for the remainder of the school term. You will shadow her, remain silent, and allow her to teach by example. Is that understood?”
“Uh…” My brow jumped up and an instant shot of dislike coursed through my veins. Shadow but stay back, watch but not speak. “Of course. I look forward to seeing what she and Gabriel can teach me.”
“Fujimoto’s duty is to maintain your security and nothing more. He has little, if anything at all, to teach you. It would be to your benefit to observe Monica closely and to allow him to quietly perform his responsibility to university standards.”
“Well that’s just a big mistake, isn’t it?” Because I didn’t know when to shut up, my mouth kept moving. “If I’m going to work with a sentinel, I need to know how they operate and what they expect of me during an encounter so we both make it through without issue. I’m sure I’ll learn as much from him as I will from Monica because they’re both two halves of a team.”
Mrs. Hansford turned purple, and Monica jerked her attention up from her cell phone to stare at me. After a fishlike opening and shutting of her mouth, the counselor jabbed a button on her keyboard and printed out a series of papers.
The Hidden Court: The Paranormal University Files: Skylar, Year 1 Page 6