Night Shade Academy

by Kelly Carrero

  He looked toward the fire that was barely staying alight. “Yeah, whoever lit this thing did a shit job.”

  “They should’ve gotten a Witch to do it.”

  “But then that would’ve gone against the whole no-go zone,” he said.

  I frowned. “I thought you guys were all friends with the Darks.”

  “Most of us. But there are still some who prefer the old way, and that’s not just the older generation.” He eyed a group of wolves off to the side, sitting near some overgrown shrubs, hiding most of their features.

  I shivered, not so much because of the cold, but because of the way one of them looked at me.

  Hunter leaned closer to me. “Do you want my jacket?”

  My heart melted. The guy wasn’t just looks, he had charm, as well. Either that or he was afraid of what I might do.

  “I think I need a jacket,” Thomas said. “Tonight is freezing.”

  I ran my hands up and down my arms glad I wasn’t the only one to feel the cold, as I stared at the pathetic fire that was once raging. I glanced around at everyone; no one really made an effort to get to know me, and no one really cared. There was nothing I could do to make them change their minds, so I may as well just be me.

  “I can fix this.” I raised my hands, and the fire pit roared to life, the flames shooting a good eight feet into the air, lighting up the woods. And that’s when I saw it.

  21

  Ten-inch long icicles hung like knives from the trees above, ready to drop any moment.

  “Move out!” I dove into Hunter, pushing him out of the way and falling on top of him in the process. No matter how much I wanted to stay in that position, I jumped up as quickly as I could. “Everyone get on the field—now!”

  Of course no one moved.

  They all just looked at me, as if I’d lost my mind then went back to their conversations.

  “What are you doing?” Hunter asked, getting to his feet.

  I looked up, wondering if I had the ability to melt every single one of the icy daggers before they fell and killed someone.

  Hunter followed my gaze, as did Thomas, their eyes going wide when they saw the icicles moving in the wind.

  “Run!” both Thomas and Hunter said in unison.

  Of course everyone listened to them, not the demonic nut job.

  A moment later, hundreds, if not thousands, of icy daggers fell from the trees, about to pierce the wolves who weren’t quick enough to make it.

  I threw my hands out to my sides, releasing a wave of flames that shot up into the trees, melting the ice before it reached the wolves.

  Flames ripped through the trees tops, spreading like wildfire, uncontrollable and menacing to watch.

  “Pull it back,” Hunter yelled at me.

  I whipped my head around to face him, fear coursing through me. “Don’t you think I already would’ve if I knew how?”

  He curled his hands over my shoulders. “Just breathe. If you can produce it, you can extinguish it.”

  I barely heard what he was saying because the moment he touched me, heat rose within me, and I was terrified what might happen.

  “You’re not helping,” I said, stepping away from him.

  Hunter slipped his hands inside his pockets, almost as if he didn’t trust himself not to touch me.

  Closing my eyes, I tried to ground myself, blocking out all the noises around me and focusing on the magic I’d released into the world. I’d been damn good at spells before I came to Night Shade and nothing had changed. Or so I kept telling myself.

  Ignoring the cynical voice in my head, I once again zeroed in on the magic, feeling my print on it then commanding it to retreat.

  Sensing the shift in the magical fire, I opened my eyes just in time to see a ball of flames hurtle toward me.

  Time seemed to slow, as I watched Hunter race toward me, trying to save me from myself.

  Lifting my hand, I shoved a wall of energy at him, throwing him back as the fire crashed into me, engulfing me in heat.

  But I wasn’t burning.

  In fact I felt a rush of warmth flow through me, power consuming my soul. I could’ve stayed that way forever, engulfed in the flames, if I hadn’t heard Hunter and Thomas yelling out to me, fear reverberating through their voices.

  Releasing a shuddered breath, I drew the flames inside of me, extinguishing them from the earth. The rush that followed was indescribable. And it took me a few moments to realize the ramifications of what I’d just done.

  And I freaked.

  Fire may not have burned me, but it sure as hell burned my clothing.

  I was standing naked, next to two guys I’d only recently met, and a whole crowd of onlooking werewolves.

  I could’ve died from embarrassment.

  Hunter stripped off his jacket and slipped it over my shoulders. Thanks to our height difference, it came to the top of my thighs, covering all the important bits.

  I pulled it tighter against me, as I slowly turned around, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment knowing that every single person there had seen my backside.

  Thomas came up beside me. “Were you always this good with fire?”

  I could’ve hugged him for breaking the ice and not mentioning my inappropriate attire. I smiled and shook my head. “Fire’s a relatively a new thing.”

  A moment later, howls ripped through the air, making my nerves set on edge. “What are they doing?”

  “Thanking you for saving their asses.”

  I screwed up my face in confusion. “By howling?”

  “It’s the highest form of gratitude for the wolves, breaking away from their human form, and thanking you in their supernatural form,” Hunter explained.

  The corner of my lips tipped up, but I couldn’t get the full smile out because I couldn’t help but wonder if I had caused the ice in the first place. Ice didn’t form here in spring. Nor did it any other day of the year.

  The howling stopped, as if someone had pressed mute. A few moments later, I saw Bishop rushing across the oval, coming toward us. By the time he reached us, everyone except Hunter, Thomas, and me had taken off, afraid they’d get in trouble for the party that Bishop already knew about.

  “What the hell happened here?” he asked, a little out of breath.

  “I think we should talk inside.” Hunter gestured to me. “After she gets dressed.”

  Bishop looked me over then nodded. “Ten minutes.” He took off, back to the building.

  Pulling the jacket tighter again, I waited until Bishop was far enough away before I said, “I’m going to be in so much trouble.”

  “He doesn’t expect me to come as well, does he?” Thomas asked. “Because you’re my friend and all, but…”

  He was my friend? I wanted to squeal but kept what little dignity I had. I was on a role.

  “Relax,” Hunter said. “He just wants to talk to Zali and me. You’re free to go back to your room and not worry about the consequences of tonight.”

  Thomas gave me a tight-lipped smile. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks.” I was going to need it.

  He broke into a jog, heading back into the building, leaving Hunter and me alone in the burned out woods.

  The long walk to my apartment gave me plenty of time to think about what had happened. But the reality was no matter how many theories I tried to come up with, I kept coming back to the fact that I couldn’t control myself.

  Walking down the hall toward my room, Hunter gripped my elbow, stopping me. “We’re going to figure this out, okay?”

  Not really believing him, I nodded anyway, trying to ease his conscious because I was his responsibility, and I didn’t want him to know I was beyond help. I liked having him around, and he did his best to make me feel normal in an otherwise completely insane situation. “Are you going to come inside and wait?”

  “You’re not one of those girls who takes a gazillion years to put on a pair of jeans and top, are you?”

  I chuckled. “Nop
e. I’ll be even quicker once I figure out the true glamour spell.” I’d only heard rumors of the spell’s existence, but I wasn’t giving up hope that a spell to actually dress myself by a click of the fingers was out there, and not just giving off the appearance of altered clothing or changes to my body.

  He looked at me with amusement. “And take away the tedious task of having to dress yourself?”

  “Not having to wash my clothes or go shopping, as well.”

  “Okay, you give a convincing argument,” he joked. “Let me know if you ever figure it out.”

  Smiling, I opened the door to my apartment and went inside with Hunter a close step behind. “I’ll just be a sec,” I whispered, hoping I wouldn’t wake Kayla, who’d fallen asleep on the couch.

  Five minutes later, we were sitting in Bishop’s office. Me in my usual seat, and Hunter sitting in the seat beside me.

  Bishop sat behind his desk, elbows resting on the arms of his leather chair, hands clasped together. “Tell me exactly what happened, and don’t leave out any details.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t really know. I was giving the fire a little heat then the next thing I saw was hundreds of icicles hanging from the trees. And before you ask, I have absolutely no idea how to make ice—and if it was me, I have no idea how to stop myself from doing it again.”

  “These parts of the country don’t experience such extreme temperature drops, and it appears that it was isolated to the far south of the estate, so we can only assume it was something you did. Some emotion you may have experienced that may have caused this phenomenon.”

  Rolling my eyes to my right, I glared at Hunter, knowing just how Bishop had found out that my emotions controlled my magic.

  He gave me a slight shake of the head, as if he wasn’t guilty. But how else could Bishop know?

  Bishop appeared lost in thought then a moment later, he said, “We have a bit of a dilemma. On one hand, you being here is causing a greater risk to the other students. And on the other, you leaving will cause a greater risk to the world.”

  Hating where this conversation seemed to be going, I sunk back into my seat.

  “I don’t think we need to go to such drastic lengths right now,” Hunter said, sticking up for me and probably trying to redeem himself. “I’ll keep working with Zalia. And maybe we can look into finding something that could help bind her magic while she’s here.”

  “The only thing strong enough would be a spell created and cast by someone just as powerful as Zalia. And I don’t know about you, but I’m fresh out of Shadow Walker friends I can call in a favor with.”

  Snarky. Bishop must’ve been really pissed off with me, and was only just holding it together.

  “No. But there might be something she could use. Something we haven’t thought of…”

  Hunter was obviously dropping hints about something they didn’t want me to know.

  Bishop held his gaze, as if they were having a private, telepathic conversation that so wasn’t possible for Witches—let alone any other supernatural creatures. Wolves had an intuition, Vampires could take on snippets of information about the lives of those they drank from, and we Witches were all out of luck. Then again, we also had the ability of forcing others to tell us what we wanted to know. It wasn’t as easy as it was for a vampire, but it still worked if we could be bothered creating the elixir.

  Eventually, Bishop broke his silence. “I’ll see what we can find.”

  Hunter nodded. “Until then, I will keep a closer eye on her, and maybe we should think about holding off from classes with other students and—”

  “Do not say my sister,” I said, nervous energy quickly building inside of me.

  Hunter twisted slightly to face me. “I would never recommend separating you two until you’ve mastered your control. I’ve seen first hand the way you two are with each other… There’s something about a bond between twins that not even magic can replicate.”

  I sighed, relieved they weren’t going to try and tear us apart again.

  “I was going to say you should stay out of the common areas while other students are around,” Hunter continued. “At least until we know they’ll be safe.”

  I cringed, hating that I was a danger to so many people. I wasn’t a bad person—was I?

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Bishop said. “I’ll have Bethany draw up a new schedule that will still include time with those you’ve recently befriended. We want to maintain what relationships you’ve built so far.”

  “Does that mean I can still see Nova?”

  “Of course,” he replied. “As well as those of the other Houses you’ve made progress with.” He shoved a pen and paper toward me. “Give me their names, and we’ll make accommodations for your continued interactions.”

  I picked up the pen and began scribbling down the few names of those I thought I’d connected with: Nova, Leila, and Thomas. They all had a few friends I was sure weren’t hating on me, but I didn’t feel right putting their names down when I’d barely said two words to them. Pushing the pen and paper back to him, I had to remind myself that I’d rather have a few trusted friends than a hundred acquaintances.

  He briefly scanned the paper. “I want you to go straight back to your room and don’t leave unless Hunter, Bethany, or myself comes to see you.”

  “Okay,” I promised. I was happy to stay confined in the safety of my room for the remainder of my time at Night Shade if it meant everyone else would be safe.

  See? I wasn’t a bad person.

  Hunter walked me back to my apartment, making sure I didn’t deviate from Bishop’s request.

  “’Night.” I opened the door and was about to close it when Hunter put his hand on the door, stopping it.

  “I didn’t tell Bishop about… us.”

  “Yeah, right,” I said, trying to shut the door again.

  He shoved the door, forcing it open. “I promised I wouldn’t, and I don’t break my promises.”

  “So you say.”

  “Fair point. You don’t really know me. I could be lying but I’m not. But how do you know that Bishop was actually referring to us when he talked about your emotions? All Witches are swayed by their emotions. It’s not a new concept. It’s just that your emotions can cause greater consequences because of your power.”

  I just stared at him, not sure what to say or what to believe. “Goodnight.”

  He stepped closer to me. “I’m serious, Zali. I would never betray your trust.”

  “Why? Because that’s your job?”

  “And because I care about you.” He reached his hand toward my face, stopping when his fingers were just shy of connecting with my cheek, then he recoiled.

  My heart hammered against my chest, wishing he hadn’t stopped, but knowing he didn’t have a choice. I wanted nothing more than to drag him inside and find out where this thing between us would go. But I couldn’t.

  I forced a smile. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  He nodded. “’Night.”

  I closed the door behind me and sank against it, wishing that my life weren’t so screwed up, and I could have a normal relationship like any other girl.

  But I had to get it through my thick head: I wasn’t any other girl. I was a Shadow Walker. And the sooner I accepted it, the sooner I could hold my own.

  Or at least I hoped.

  It took forever to fall asleep that night. I kept thinking about what happened at the party, what Bishop said, and the way my stomach turned to mush whenever Hunter got too close to me. Eventually, I fell asleep in the early hours of the morning after dissecting everything without getting any clear idea of what to do.

  “Zalia!” Bishop yelled, his voice seeping into my unconsciousness, waking me from my sleep. “What the hell have you done?”

  22

  Jolting awake, I snapped my eyes open and found Bishop kneeling beside me, gingerly picking up an open antique bronze canister, leaving the lid lying amongst the ashes on the floor.


  Icy tendrils spread through my veins, as it became painfully obvious that whatever the canister had contained wasn’t meant to be released.

  Pulling myself into a sitting position, I looked around at my unfamiliar surroundings, trying to work out where I was. There were no windows, only a long hallway and a gigantic metal door the size of two normal ones put together. It stood ajar, carved into the stone wall of the hallway.

  “Where am I?” I asked, unsure if I were dreaming or if this was real.

  Bethany came rushing up the hall toward us, her heels clapping against the industrial tiles. “No, no, no. Please tell me she didn’t…”

  “Didn’t what?” I asked, wishing someone would answer me.

  Bishop held up the canister, the intricate carvings stirring a primitive part inside of me. “Any idea what this one was?”

  Bethany’s hand shook as she reached for the canister, the smell of fear lingering in the air. Taking it, she turned it over, a gasp escaping her mouth and her pupils dilating as she stared at the base.

  Her gaze shot up to Bishop’s, a knowing look passing between them.

  Those icy tendrils wrapped around my heart, squeezing it as I stood. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, as I waited with baited breath for someone to speak. To say the words I’d feared ever since I’d found out I was a Shadow Walker.

  I was a living, breathing monster who couldn’t be trusted.

  My nails dug into my palms, as I clenched my hands by my sides. “Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” When no one answered me, I strode toward the open door.

  Bishop moved so fast I almost didn’t see him coming. He shoved his arm in front of me, positioning himself between me and the partially open door. “This room is not for students.”

  “For students? Or for me?”

  The glance in Bethany’s direction told me everything I needed to know. A surge of adrenaline flowed through me, begging to be released, and I wished he would just tell me what I’d supposedly done, so I could deal with the facts.

  The unknown was killing me.

  “What is this place?” I asked, trying to get a better look, about two seconds away from throwing his ass to the side and storming through.