The Haunted High Series Boxed Set

by Cheree Alsop

  “I’ll give you something you won’t forget,” Vicken said.

  He lifted a fist. Dara set a hand on each of our shoulders.

  “Boys, calm down,” the empath chided.

  When she pulled, I felt all of my anger spill away. At its sudden absence, my heated impulses cleared so that I could think again. I stared at Vicken, amazed that I had been about to fight him. His startled expression said he was just as shocked about what had almost happened. He glanced at his fist, found it still raised in the air, and lowered it with an embarrassed expression.

  “I don’t know what got into me,” the vampire said.

  “Me, either,” I admitted. “I was so mad I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to fight you.”

  “Me, too,” Vicken said. He glanced at Dara. “What was that?”

  “Stress,” she replied. She lifted her hands, glanced at each of us to ensure that we weren’t about to fight again, then stepped away. “When was the last time you guys had a normal day?”

  “What’s normal?” I asked. I was only partially kidding. Since finding out I was a werewolf, life had become anything but normal. I actually missed sitting in a desk studying regular subjects like Math, English, and History that didn’t have to do with mythics, dragon bone structure, or witches being burned alive.

  “Since Amryn was taken,” Vicken said quietly without commenting on my answer.

  Dara crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “When you’re dealing with stress every day, it’s going to have an impact.” She motioned toward the tube. “Things have definitely escalated, so do me a favor, take a moment to breathe before you speak to each other.”

  I knew I deserved the embarrassment I felt. “My step-mom always used to tell me to do the same thing. I guess I forgot.”

  “Or something is triggering your anger,” Dara said. “We’re getting ready to fight demons again. Maybe the thought of it is pushing you toward the limits of your endurance.”

  A thought occurred to me. “Or the presence of something truly evil has tainted us with its proximity.”

  They both stared at me.

  “What are you talking about?” Dara asked.

  I glanced at the tunnel. The sound of Brack and Lyris chanting echoed up it. I figured it was loud enough to drowned out our discussion. Regardless, I crossed to the pair and spoke quietly. “Lark has a demon heart inside of her.”

  “I knew it,” Vicken growled. “She’s evil. You should have let her jump off that bridge alone.”

  I gave him an exasperated look. “She’s not evil, the heart is evil. It’s Chutka’s heart, or a piece of it, at least.”

  Dara’s mouth fell open. “That’s why she has such a split personality. No wonder Lyris and I have been having problems getting a read on her.”

  “We have to kill her.” Vicken took a step toward the tube.

  I grabbed his arm. “No, we don’t,” I said firmly.

  “She has Chutka’s heart, Finn.” He looked back at me like I was crazy. “Our mission is to stop Chutka. To do that, we have to destroy his heart, and it’s in her chest.”

  The simplicity of his words bothered me. I let go of his arm and gave him a searching look. “Could you really kill her, just like that?”

  He looked at the tube for several seconds. When he let out the breath he had been holding, his shoulders lowered and he shook his head in defeat. “No, I couldn’t.” He glanced at me. “I should be heartless; I tell myself I’m like my father.” His voice quieted. “But I’m not even though I pretend to be. You got closer with your fangs on her neck. Maybe I should have let you finish the job.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t,” I replied honestly. “She doesn’t deserve death. She’s the victim in all of this. They took the piece of heart from Briggs, opened her up, and put it next to her own heart.” I corrected myself, “Or at least her mother’s heart that they already gave her.”

  Dara’s face paled. “Finn, that’s horrible.”

  “I know,” I replied. “Lark hasn’t had it easy, and since the surgery she’s been battling Chutka’s voice telling her to do bad things.” I glanced at Vicken. “That’s why she attacked Alden. It wasn’t her. It was Chutka.”

  “So she could be a spy.”

  The direction of the vampire’s thoughts made my blood chill. I nodded. “Yes, I suppose. But we can’t lock her up.”

  “Why not?” Vicken asked at the same time that Dara said, “Of course not!”

  “She’s been in too many cages,” I told the vampire. “We need a way to control her that’s not locking her up somewhere until this is done.”

  “That’s what we’re doing to the demons,” the vampire argued.

  I had to admit that he was right, but before I could agree, Dara said, “Look. As Finn has pointed out, I may not be the most understanding empath in the world, but even I can’t condone locking a girl in a cage. I’ll watch her. If I notice anything off, I’ll sound the alarm. Alright?”

  Surprised at her compassion, I nodded.

  At my look, Vicken gave in. “Fine, but keep her away from me. I don’t like her type.”

  “Vampires?” Dara asked.

  “Werewolves?” I put in helpfully.

  Vicken shook his head and stormed away.

  “They’re all crazy,” he muttered before he left the room.

  Brack, Lyris, and Alden made their way up the tube. Lark followed close behind.

  “We’re done,” Brack announced.

  “Is it strong enough?” I asked them.

  Brack looked to Lyris for confirmation.

  “As strong as we can possibly make it,” the witch said. “It’s the best we can do.”

  Lark followed the pair like a puppy. “You should have seen them. Their spells are amazing! I would definitely call it enchantment because it was enchanting.” She grinned at me. “It’s not your fault you messed up the word. I think you’re right. It made me want to stay in there.”

  Brack huffed a deep laugh. “I suppose you’re right.”

  The smile he gave the girl was a fond one. I looked shot Lyris a surprised look.

  She lifted her shoulders in a shrug with an astonished look of her own. I shifted my gaze to Dara and, with a tip of my head, indicated that she should fill Brack and Lyris in on what I had told her about Lark. She gave a tiny nod.

  “Well, uh, Lark, why don’t we make sure the path to the Mythic Labs are clear. The sun should be setting soon and I’d hate for something to get in our way,” I told her. I unzipped my backpack and pulled out the coat and shoes Alden had brought me. I wished he had grabbed my pants as well, but the shorts I wore would have to do.

  “Sounds like a plan, Captain,” she replied. “Shall we go in wolf form?”

  The suggestion struck me by surprise. I paused in tying my shoes and glanced at Alden. The Grim’s face was pale at the thought.

  “Just kidding,” Lark said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t put you through that again. It’s a little harder to ignore the voices when I’m in animal form, if you didn’t notice.”

  She skipped through the room and I heard her make her way outside.

  “What voices?” Alden asked.

  “Dara will fill you in,” I told him as I shrugged into my coat. “When the sun sets, meet us at the entrance to the Labs.”

  “Will do,” Alden replied.

  “Be careful,” Dara called after me.

  Sparrow stirred as Lark and I made our way through the streets. I paused near an alley.

  “I think Sparrow needs to eat.” A glance at the sky showed it still edged in light gray. “We have time. Let’s stop.”

  Lark followed me into the darkness. She didn’t appear bothered by the shadows. I wondered if she could see in the dark from her werewolf side also.

  At my whisper, Sparrow flapped her wings and flew into the air. I glanced at Lark as the dragon hunted.

  “You doubted fairies, but you didn’t seem at all surprised by a sylph dragon,” I noted.


  She shrugged. “My mom had dragons when I was little. I remember at least a dozen of them. They used to watch over my crib when I was a baby.” A smile crossed her face. “I guess the things that you’ve seen become ordinary while the ones you hear about are harder to believe in.”

  Sparrow darted out of a pile of garbage with a satisfied expression on her face. She landed on my hand and licked her snout with her long, forked tongue.

  “I don’t want to ask what you found in there, but you look full,” I told the little dragon. “Ready to sleep again?”

  Instead of curling up around my wrist again, the dragon walked up my arm to my shoulder. I was worried about someone seeing her. At least around my wrist she was fairly inconspicuous. I pulled up the collar of my coat. The dragon stepped between it and my neck. Her small claws felt cold against my skin when she settled into the crease. I figured the collar could keep her warm and hidden at the same time. When I smoothed it over her, she didn’t seem to mind.

  “I’d love to have a dragon like that,” Lark said with a sigh.

  “What happened to your mom’s,” I asked as we made our way back to the street.

  “The bad men killed them,” the girl replied. Sorrow showed in her tone. “The dragons tried to protect us, but they were too little.” She glanced at Sparrow. “Tiny flames aren’t very powerful against electricity. The warlock they keep as a bodyguard killed them.”

  My steps slowed. “Did you say a warlock who uses electricity?”

  A visible shudder ran over her skin. “Yeah, and he’s mean. You don’t want to mess with him. If you see him there, you stop running because he’ll get you no matter how far away you are.”

  Professor Briggs had told me once about a warlock who used electricity. He had been in their group of friends. I remembered his name as Stith. The warlock’s disregard for life had gotten to the professor enough that he used candlelight in his classroom and in the basement training room instead of electricity. Briggs hadn’t known what happened to Stith after the Academy. Maybe the Maes had gotten to him.

  “Is there any way to stop him?” I asked. The thought of running into a warlock under the Maes control while we cleared out the Labs wasn’t a pleasant one.

  Lark shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried.”

  Her words held an undercurrent of meaning. I couldn’t imagine how it must have felt to be helpless in a place so full of fear and pain. I would shut the Labs down if it was the last thing I did.

  Central Park was quiet at dusk. With winter holding everything in its chilly grasp, the tourists and New York residents who usually filled the park with laughter, conversation, and activity had fled indoors to warmer pastimes. I was glad. A mostly empty park would make our job with the demons much easier. The fewer citizens we had to protect, the better.

  We stopped near the tunnel that was the entrance to the Labs.

  “Why doesn’t Vicken like me?”

  I glanced at Lark. It was obvious by her expression that Vicken’s hatred bothered her.

  Given everything the vampire and I had been through together, I had learned not to underestimate him. The fact that we had been in danger since finding Lark didn’t bode well for their relationship. Vicken had a very straightforward way of dealing with things. He wanted to get into the Labs, rescue Briggs, and leave again. Lark’s presence, along with all she had told me of the torture that occurred below, meant that things were much more complicated than he wanted.

  I went with, “He doesn’t like werewolves.”

  Lark studied the brickwork that arched above the tunnel for a moment before she nodded. “That makes sense. I don’t like werewolves, either.”

  I hid any feelings her statement caused. “But you’re a werewolf.”

  She shook her head. “I have a werewolf’s arms. That doesn’t make me one.”

  I decided pointing out the fact that we had just gone running through the forest wouldn’t change her opinion. Instead, I said, “We’re not so bad.”

  She glanced at me. “Do you speak for yourself or your race?”

  Her question hit a sore point. “Considering that there aren’t any other werewolves besides your arms, I guess I speak for myself.” The moment the words left my mouth, the bitterness in them belied the joke I had tried to make.

  Lark’s eyebrows rose. “How could you be the only one? If you were, you wouldn’t be here.”

  I sighed inwardly. “My mom was a werewolf.”

  “The mom you had that’s dead?” she replied.

  I nodded but didn’t feel like expounding. We were talking in circles. As much as I wanted to be patient with Lark, talking about my mom and the lack of other werewolves in my life wasn’t a topic I wanted to go into.

  Lark reached up to trace the mortar between the bricks as she said, “I’ve met other werewolves.”

  Her tone was level and didn’t betray how she felt about it. My heart stuttered just the same.

  “What?”

  She speared me with a look and repeated with carefully spaced words, “I’ve…met…other…werewolves.”

  “I heard you,” I replied. “But if it was in the Labs, they’re probably all dead.”

  She shook her head. “There’s a coven of them, or a community, or a flock, or whatever you call more werewolves than a pack.” A slight smile touched her lips. “I’m going with calling them a congregation.” She gave me a knowing look. “That’s what they call a group of alligators. It seems fitting.”

  I ignored the jab; my thoughts were taken by what she had told me. “There’s a community of werewolves? Where?”

  She rolled her eyes as if I was the stupidest person she had ever met. “You think they’d tell me? I have their arms. They’re not going to tell me anything.” She tipped her head to listen and then turned. “Your friends are coming.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Am I the only one pointing out how stupid this is?” Dara asked.

  I repeated what I had already said at least a dozen times. “It’s the only way I can think of. I’m the fastest one here if I’m in wolf form.”

  “Technically, I’m the fastest,” Lark pointed out again. “But Finn doesn’t trust me, and I’m with him. I wouldn’t trust me, either.”

  “I trust you,” I told her. “I just think you’ve been in enough danger. It’s my turn.”

  “Yes, but running with a horde of demons behind you?” Dara said.

  “I’d call them a congregation,” Lark replied helpfully. “They’re like werewolves or a mess of alligators.”

  “What is she talking about?” Vicken asked. The vampire looked as on-edge as I had ever seen him. I couldn’t blame my friend, given the plan I had outlined.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I told him. “Just keep with the plan. It’s the one thing that might get us out of danger.”

  He nodded, but his expression said he wasn’t thrilled about it.

  “What plan?” Lark asked interestedly.

  I gave Brack a pleading look. We had decided on keeping Lark in the dark. Fortunately, Brack had proven very good at distracting her. The huge student cleared his throat and said, “The plan of eating at the Academy when we’re done. Do you know what you’d like for breakfast?”

  “Everything!” Lark said. “And blood. Haunted High has the freshest blood.” She nudged Vicken in the ribs. “You know what I’m talking about, huh, Fangs? Between the two of us, blood’s lost on these mythics.”

  “Don’t do that,” Vicken grumbled. He moved out of arm’s reach.

  “If we’re going through with this, we’d better get started,” Dara said. “But I want to point out that I don’t like it at all.”

  “If you think of a better idea, let me know,” I replied.

  Everyone hated my plan, but since I appeared to be the only person with anything remotely close to one, they were forced to go with it. I held out my hand. Lyris set the bottle in it. My lips pulled back in disgust at the scent that wafted from the container. />
  “I’ll pour it on you,” Dara said quietly. “You’re not going to have a way to do it when you’re a wolf.”

  I hoped the lamplight that penetrated beneath the tunnel didn’t show how my cheeks heated at the comment. I hoped me forgetting something important like that wouldn’t make them lose what little faith they had in the plan I had outlined.

  “Thanks,” I said quietly.

  She nodded as if she read my thoughts.

  “Alright, everyone, places,” Vicken said. “We’re only going to get one shot at this. I know nobody needs a reminder of what will happen if demons run rampant on the city.”

  The thought sent a shudder down my spine. Dara and I watched the others leave.

  “Don’t hold it against me if I throw you harder than you’re expecting,” Vicken called over his shoulder at the edge of the walkway.

  “I won’t care as long as you get me out of there before it’s too late,” I replied.

  He grinned, but I could see the apprehension on his face. “I’ll hold you to that.”

  The sound of their footsteps faded away. When Dara and I were the only two in the tunnel, the tension I had kept at bay filled me. I could be brave in the face of my friends and tell them I was the one running because I was the fastest, but the truth was that I refused to let anyone else face the danger I would be in if something went wrong.

  I had given my team the option of leaving like Headmistress Wrengold had asked. I wasn’t surprised when none of them took me up on the offer, yet I was asking them to go far beyond the team that had been created to protect the Academy. We were defending all of mythic-kind against a threat far more corrupt and sinister than the monsters we were made out to be. I didn’t know what we would find when we went to the Labs, but from the stories Lark had told us, it wasn’t going to be pretty.

  “We’d better get started if we plan on coming back while it’s still dark,” Dara said, breaking into my worried thoughts.

  I nodded. “Let’s do this.” I held out my hand. “Will you take Sparrow? I don’t think she’ll like the smell.”

  At my words, the dragon climbed from her perch on my shoulder and down my arm. She crossed to Dara’s hand and sat watching me with a disapproving expression.