“Fine, I take your point.” I aimed my wand and called to the magic inside me. It responded without hesitation, always seeming to lie in wait for a chance to be released. I envisioned a wall crumbling and let the magic flow through me. White light streaked from the tip of my wand. Instead of crumbling the ward, however, it bounced back and zapped me in the chest. I winced from the pain and my wand clattered to the floor.
“Morrow!” Gray kept me from sliding to the floor. He scooped his arm under mine, his expression concerned. “You’re bleeding.”
I glanced down where a few drops of blood dotted my shirt. “It’s not too much. I’ll be fine in a second.” I gently pushed him away to show him that I could stand on my own. “Is the blood an issue for you?”
“No,” he said. “The Sentinel has a whole unit on breaking us free of bloodlust. It’s a must for agents. We tend to see a lot of blood in the field.”
I gulped. Would that be my future—lots of blood in the field? It didn’t sound enticing.
I leaned forward to retrieve my wand and another couple drops of blood dripped from the wound in my chest. The air sizzled and popped.
“The ward,” Gray said, and looked at me with surprise.
“What? What happened?” I stared at the empty air in front of us.
“It’s broken.”
I blinked. “How’d that happen?”
“Your blood,” Gray said quietly.
“Blood can break a ward?” I asked.
“Sometimes,” he said. He gave me a funny look. “Let’s hurry before we run out of time. The meeting may have just started, but that doesn’t mean Thumpkin won’t take frequent breaks.”
We searched everywhere we could access in the office. Every scrap of paper. Every unlocked drawer. I looked for anything to connect Thumpkin to Karl Muldoon or his attempts to acquire land owned by the academy. Although we found copies of letters sent to the academy with purchase offers, nothing seemed out of order. All his efforts appeared to have gone through the proper channels.
“It doesn’t mean he isn’t doing anything shady,” I said. “It just means he covers his tracks well.”
“I’m sure he has experience with that,” Gray agreed. “Still, he’s an arrogant tool. If there were evidence to find, I’m sure we’d find it here.”
“What about his house?” I asked.
“No way,” Gray said. “From what I know about Donald Thumpkin, he keeps his business dealings far from his personal life. His wife was a very wealthy siren when they met, and I know for a fact it was part of the prenuptial agreement.”
I shot him a quizzical look. “You have inside knowledge of their prenup?”
“Different job a few years ago,” he said. “But it’s one reason I’m confident any evidence tying him to the murder would be right here under our noses. Thumpkin’s egotistical. He’d leave evidence right on his desk because he doesn’t think anyone’s good enough to make it in here without his knowledge.”
I scanned the office one last time until I felt like there was no rock left to search under.
The click of heels in the corridor caught us off guard. Gray grabbed my hand and pulled me into the nearby closet, leaving the door open a crack so that we could see. A dark-haired young woman entered the room.
I looked at Gray and mouthed, “Margaret.” This had to be Thumpkin’s assistant. She was shorter than me and wore her hair in a different style, but I could see where someone like Fonthill would’ve mistaken me for her.
Margaret went to the desk and plucked a folder from the pile. She tucked the folder under her arm and paused, surveying the room. Did she detect our presence? If she had clearance to be in here, she wouldn’t have necessarily noticed the broken ward.
My heart began to thump rapidly, and I felt light pressure from Gray’s hand on the small of my back. I knew he was trying to tell me to calm my heartbeat, although I wasn’t entirely sure what the issue was if the Sentinel had trained him to resist bloodlust.
The longer his hand remained on my back, the more my body reacted. Gently, I pushed his hand away and I saw the quizzical expression on his face.
Margaret picked up the phone and hit a button. “Sally, has anyone been to see Donald?” She listened to the reply. “No, no problem. I was just wondering. Thanks.”
She set down the phone and began to walk the perimeter of the room. I wondered which type of paranormal she was. Would she be able to sense our presence? I wanted to ask Gray in the worst way, but I knew I had to stay absolutely silent.
As Margaret made her way around the room, the vampire snaked an arm around my middle and pulled me tight against him. His breath was warm on my neck and I involuntarily shivered. There were a good twenty things I pictured doing with Gray right now in this closet. Waiting for Margaret to walk past wasn’t one of them.
She was out of view now, but I knew she had to be close to the closet door by now. Gray must’ve had the same thought because, before I could react, his arm shot out and thrust open the door, slamming Margaret in the face with it. I barely had time to blink before he had Margaret in his grip. Her nose was bloody and she seemed shocked to see us.
“You’re not going to scream or alert anyone to our presence,” Gray said.
Margaret gazed into his penetrating eyes. “No.”
“Do you know the name Karl Muldoon?” he asked.
“No,” Margaret replied without blinking.
“Do you know whether Donald had anything to do with the death of a human male on the Spellslingers campus?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “A warden came to speak with us and asked the same question.”
“Were you truthful with him?” Gray asked.
“No,” she said.
I shot Gray a quick look.
“What did you lie about?” Gray asked.
“We told him we were in Terrene that night for a business event,” she said. “But we were in a hotel room together. That’s where we conduct our affair—in Terrene. His wife never steps foot across the border.”
Gray glanced at me. “Anything else?”
“No, but that’s a nice piece of intel for you,” I said.
He returned his focus to Margaret. “We’re going to leave now. You won’t remember us. You hurt your nose when you walked into the wall. You were distracted by your phone.”
“I am always on my phone,” Margaret said.
“Stand here for five minutes before cleaning yourself up and returning to the meeting,” he told her. Then he released his grip and grabbed my hand. “Let’s roll, Morrow.”
As we hustled out of the office and down the back staircase, I asked my burning question. “What kind of paranormal was she? I couldn’t tell.”
He ran down the steps ahead of me. “A banshee. Mark my words, if she wanted to sound the alarm on us, we’d hear her screams all the way back to campus. Compelling her was the only option.”
“You see it as a last resort?” I asked, huffing and puffing to keep up with him. Forget my knowledge gap, there was a real fitness gap I needed to tackle as well.
He hastened a glance at me. “I don’t like to compel anyone, if I can help it. I’m a big proponent of free will. Vampires with the power of compulsion tend to abuse it before long. It’s a seductive power.”
Like my father’s magic. I understood completely.
We slowed our pace through the lobby, so as not to raise any suspicions there. The receptionist gave us a friendly parting wave.
“Come see us again soon,” she called.
I flashed a smile. “Absolutely.”
Only when we were on the motorcycle and headed back toward Spellslingers did I allow myself to relax. With my arms wrapped around Gray’s waist and my body close to his, I felt like there was nowhere safer in the world. The sensation both soothed me and concerned me at the same time. It wasn’t smart to develop an attachment to the vampire, or anyone else for that matter. Not with my history. Not with my secret.
If the
re was a chance I could become like my father, I owed it to Gray to keep an emotional distance.
Easier said than done.
12
The best thing about herbology class today was that it took place in the great outdoors. Like other instructors at Spellslingers, Professor Abelia Mayweather advised us that, as AMF agents, we’d occasionally need to make split decisions. Out in the field, sometimes those decisions involved choosing the right herb over the wrong one—a decision that could mean the difference between life and death.
I trailed after Dani and Cerys in the forest, as they were the two most knowledgeable witches when it came to plant life. Cerys’s specialty was earth magic, and Dani grew up with a family that took great pride in their magical herb garden. Although Dani’s specialty was fire magic, her family tree seemed to include every type of magic known to paranormals—one of the reasons the Degraff name was so well known in magic circles.
“Don't touch that," Dani warned, as I reached for an orange berry.
“I thought that was the safe one," I said.
She glanced at Cerys and they both shook their heads. “You’ll end up itching all night if you make contact with that one,” Dani told me. “You’re awake enough at night as it is.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t realize you heard me.”
“I usually don’t,” Dani said, “but Clementine always fills me in on your nocturnal wanderings. She’s more active at night.”
Mia stared at the berries and sighed in exasperation. “I hope Bryn and I are never alone in a situation where we need to decide which berry is the right one. We’ll both end up dead.”
“It’s like trying to decide whether to cut the red wire or the blue one,” I said. “I can’t take the stress.”
They all looked at me blankly.
“Terrene reference,” I said.
“Oh, I should have guessed,” Mia said.
“Ten more minutes," Professor Mayweather called.
I glanced at my half empty basket of berries. “I’ll never finish in time.”
“We’ll help you,” Cerys offered. “The trick is…”
“Demon,” someone shouted. “Demon on the loose!”
Screams pierced the air and berries went flying as students ran in all directions. Dani grasped my arm and pulled me into the bushes with her.
“Stay down,” she hissed.
“What kind of demon is it?” I asked, scanning the woods for any sign of the creature.
“Not sure. I didn’t see it,” she whispered.
Just then, a figure came into the clearing in full view of us. I stifled a gasp. There was no mistaking it for anything other than a demon. Gnarled horns. More legs than physically necessary. Yuck.
“Is it some kind of spider demon?” I asked. I counted six legs.
Dani shushed me. The demon scampered through the clearing, puffs of black smoke emanating from its nostrils.
“We need to catch it before it hurts someone,” she said, her jaw set. “Are you with me? It’ll be easier with two of us.”
“Um…” I wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to fight a demon, especially when I had no clue what it was or what it could do. “I guess so?”
“Come on, Bryn,” she urged. “This is our chance to shine.”
“I’d rather be dull in this situation,” I replied. Before I could stop her, she grabbed my hand and yanked us both from our hiding spot.
“Over here, buddy!” she yelled, waving her arms.
The demon shifted toward us. It had to be at least six feet tall and its eyes glowed like dying embers.
“Dani, I don’t think this is worth a good grade,” I said.
“Use your magic, Bryn,” Dani said, almost gleeful. “How often do we get the chance to take down a demon?”
She whipped out her wand and aimed it at the foul creature. Flames streaked from the tip of her wand and devoured the demon. My heart stopped when the demon simply stepped forward, leaving the circle of fire behind it.
Uh oh.
“I think you made him angry,” I said, as sparks flew from his mouth, along with another large puff of black smoke.
The demon bolted for us, its six legs moving at a rapid clip. I didn’t have time to think; I simply reacted. I threw out my hands and let the magic take charge. Icicles shot from my fingertips and skewered the demon’s body in multiple places. It shrieked in response, whether from anger or pain, I wasn’t sure.
“Keep it up,” Dani said.
I focused on the energy pouring from my body. An icicle landed right between its beady eyes and tore through its head.
“Ouch. That one had to hurt,” Dani said. She lobbed a snowball at the demon’s head.
“What was that?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Best I could do. Water’s not my specialty.”
More wands appeared in my peripheral vision. Others with water magic began to pelt the demon with a variety of snow and ice-related weapons. They were all smaller than mine, but seemed to be effective in large numbers.
“He looks like Swiss cheese,” I said, yet the demon continued to stand. Six legs probably helped with its balance.
I shaped an icicle like a lance and shot it straight through the demon’s chest. Finally, it collapsed in a heap.
“Don’t approach it,” Professor Mayweather ordered. “We need to be certain it’s dead. I’ve alerted the warden. He was in a meeting with the chancellor, but he’ll be along any moment.”
“Thank the gods,” Dani breathed. “That thing stinks.”
“Miss Morrow, from where did you pull so much water to make icicles of that size?” Professor Mayweather asked.
“The air,” I said. “The river is close by.”
She seemed intrigued. “And that’s enough for you to draw from?”
I nodded. I didn’t tell her I could use water from a teardrop if I was desperate enough—not that I could’ve made a lance from a teardrop.
Theo Armitage swaggered onto the scene. “A runaway demon, huh?” He stood over the mangled body. “Yep. Doesn’t get any deader than that.”
“What kind of demon is it?” Dani asked.
Armitage zeroed in on us. “Looks like a bukavac to me. Don’t know how it managed to get here, though.” He surveyed the area. “Good thing it didn’t manage to get its hands on any of you. They tend to jump on your back, secure you with all those legs, and then strangle the life out of you. Nasty suckers.”
I swallowed hard.
“You can thank Miss Degraff and Miss Morrow for their quick thinking,” Professor Mayweather said. “I admit to being taken off guard.” Plump and pleasant Abelia Mayweather was more suited to fighting weeds than fighting demons, that much was clear.
Armitage kept his gaze fixed on us. “Degraff and Morrow, huh?”
“It was a group effort,” I said.
Armitage glanced back at the demon’s lifeless body. “Congratulations on slaying it. Now you get to bury it.”
Dani and I exchanged confused looks.
“We have to bury it?” I queried.
“A bukavac needs to be buried on hallowed ground,” he said. “It’ll be a good lesson for you.”
It would also take time away from my investigation. How convenient for him.
“Hallowed ground like a cemetery?” Dani asked.
“Not in this case,” he said. “This is a Slavic demon. You need to find the right kind of hallowed ground.” He grinned. “I’ll let you two novices figure it out.” He winked at me as he sauntered away.
Ugh. I couldn’t stand his conceit. I had just enough magic left in me to teach him a lesson.
Everyone laughed as a snowball smacked the back of his head. He whipped around, brushing the bits of snow from his hair, and eyed the group. “Who did that?”
No one answered.
He looked at Professor Mayweather. “See that you deal with the responsible party.”
The professor shrugged her shoulders in a helpless gest
ure. “I would, Warden Armitage, but I’m afraid I didn’t see a thing.”
He scowled before turning around and stomping off. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the hint of a smile touch the older witch’s lips. Apparently, the students weren’t the only ones that wanted to put Armitage in his place.
“Class dismissed,” she said.
“Cato?”
The gryphon’s eyes popped open. “What’s that? I wasn’t asleep. Honest.”
I smiled. “You’re allowed to rest, Cato. There’s no rule against it.”
“I know, but I’ve been exhausted lately from the constant chatter in the library. Between the discovery of the poor boy’s body and AMF exams, there seems to be so much drama happening right now.”
“Well, I have a question that is unrelated to either of those, if you can believe it.”
“I’m listening.” Cato motioned like he was leaning forward, which was impossible because his head was mounted on the wall.
“We killed a bukavac during herbology class,” I began.
“Stop right there,” the gryphon said. “What in spell’s bells was a bukavac doing in your herbology class?”
“If I said collecting berries in the woods, you wouldn’t believe me, right?”
Cato snorted. “The only thing a bukavac collects are dead bodies.”
“We don’t know where it came from,” I said. “My classmates and I managed to slay it, and now Theo Armitage assigned Dani and I to bury its body.”
“Why the two of you?”
“Because he hates me,” I replied. “And because I may have been the one to kill it. Mostly.” I paused. “My other roommates offered to help, though, so Mia and Cerys are coming, too.”
“Where’s the body now?” Cato asked. “I hope you’ve kept it chilled.”
“We had the groundskeeper store it in an ice chest until we’re ready to go. The body smells awful. We didn’t want decomposition to start any sooner than necessary.”
“Good thing you chilled it,” the gryphon said. “Otherwise, the demon could rise again.”
“Really? It looked pretty dead to me.”
“Oh, it’s dead. The key thing is to make sure it stays dead.”
Outclassed: Spellslingers Academy of Magic (Warden of the West Book 2) Page 10