Night Shade Academy

by Kelly Carrero

  He cocked his head, urging me to continue down the hall. “She doesn’t hate you.”

  Falling into step with him, I said, “Uh, yeah, she does. She would’ve sent me off to the supernatural prison if she had her way.”

  “I don’t know about that. Bethany might be scared of what you are capable of, but she knows there’s a big difference between what someone is capable of and whether they choose to act on those capabilities.” He stopped and turned to me. “I’m capable of setting this place on fire. But I choose not to.”

  I frowned. “No, you’re not. I’m the…”

  His eyebrows rose, and he looked at me with a devilish grin.

  I whacked his arm, as I continued down the hall. “You need to stop that shit before you get me kicked out of here.”

  Holding onto the glimmer of hope that something hadn’t happened to Leila, we made our way to see Bethany. It was the first time I’d been in her office. It was smaller than Bishop’s, but not by much.

  “What can I help you with, Hunter?” Bethany asked, dragging her wary gaze from her computer to me.

  Gesturing for me to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of Bethany’s desk, he said, “I need the student list for the Dark History class Zalia is in.”

  I gave him a small shake of my head. There was no way I was staying that long in her office. If it was going to take that much time, Hunter could get the list himself while I waited anywhere but under her scrutinizing gaze.

  He cocked his head for me to come closer and to avoid giving Bethany any further reason to dislike me. I moved farther into the room.

  “Can I ask why?” Bethany asked, returning her focus to the computer on her desk.

  “We just need to check a few details of corresponding issues.”

  I wanted to ask him what the hell that meant and by the look of it, so did Bethany. But neither of us said a word.

  Bethany gave him a nod then her fingers thrummed against the keyboard. A moment later, the printer came to life, producing the class list.

  Hunter grabbed it off the printer. “Thanks for this.”

  “Anything else?” Bethany asked.

  “That’s it,” Hunter said, heading toward the door. “Thanks again.”

  I didn’t need to be told twice that we were leaving. Somehow, I even made it into the hall before Hunter did, and he’d had a head start.

  “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Hunter asked, lifting the paper between us, so we could both see the list.

  I scanned the list, desperate to find Leila’s name.

  I looked up at him in disbelief. “She’s gone.”

  “Or was never there to begin with.” Hunter folded the paper and stuck it into the pocket of his jeans. “Either you’re imagining people that don’t exist, or the entire school has forgotten students that used to go here.”

  “I’m telling you Leila was here yesterday. I’m not lying.”

  “And that’s the scary part.”

  “What? That you think I’m crazy?”

  He shook his head. “That someone made the entire school forget.”

  30

  Leila was gone. Every single bit of proof she existed was wiped from the face of the earth. Or at least from Night Shade. For all we knew, her parents still remembered her and so did her friends and every single other person in her life outside the walls of this school. And Reagan was no different.

  “We need to figure out if anyone else is missing,” Hunter said.

  “And where they’ve gone,” I said, sickness rising in my gut.

  “That goes without saying.”

  “I think it needed to be said.” I bit my lip, trying to focus on the pain rather than the panic ensuing. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  “You’re not the only one.” He briefly put his hand on the small of my back, ushering me forward. “We’re going to have to tread carefully with this one—keep it to ourselves until we figure it out.”

  I frowned. “You don’t want to tell Bishop?”

  “I’ll tell Bishop later, but I think we should keep this information between us, so there’s not a mass panic.”

  “Or everyone thinks I’m crazy and making shit up.”

  “That too.”

  “I’m telling Kayla and Nova—no arguments.”

  He held his hands up. “No arguments from me.”

  “Good.” I stopped in my tracks, nerves racking my body.

  Hunter turned to face me, concern marring his features. “What is it?”

  I swallowed hard, afraid of what I was about to say next. Afraid because there was no turning back once the words left my mouth. “I want you to help me get a familiar.”

  His brows shot up in surprise. “Are you serious?”

  I nodded. “I’ve thought about it nonstop over the last few days, and no matter how much having one of those things on me scares the hell out of me, I need one. I need to be grounded.”

  Narrowing his eyes, he stared at me, as if he had mind reading abilities and was sifting through my brain to see if I really was sure. Considering the way I reacted to the beasts living under their skin, I could hardly blame him for thinking I was making a rash decision. But even if I were, it was the right thing to do. I was a loose cannon amidst a raging storm of fire. And if I went off, the aftermath would be catastrophic.

  Eventually, he gave me the slightest nod. “We’ll do it at my place tonight.”

  “Why can’t we do it now?”

  “Because I think you’re going to need a little time to accept it, and you won’t be able to keep up appearances.”

  “Who cares about my appearance?”

  The corner of his lips tipped up in that annoyingly gorgeous way of his. “Not your actual appearance. I was referring to you being present for the rest of your classes, so you can see if there’s anyone else missing.”

  “Oh,” I said. “That makes more sense.”

  The rest of the day went painstakingly slow. I must’ve looked at the clock a million times as I counted down the seconds until I would have a creature living under my skin, crawling over places the sun didn’t shine. I shivered just thinking about it and couldn’t imagine how I’d be once it was actually there.

  I didn’t notice any other students missing besides Leila and Reagan, but that wasn’t saying much, considering I hardly knew anyone.

  By the time classes were over and night had fallen, I was a jittering mess, needing to rely on a spell to calm my nerves. I hadn’t seen Kayla or Nova all day, which wasn’t unusual, considering they were mostly in different classes than me, but under the circumstances, it was freaking me out.

  All the more reason I needed a familiar.

  I waited as long as I could for Kayla to come home then left her a note saying where I would be before I headed up to Hunter’s apartment with trepidation in my step.

  Hunter opened the door, letting me inside. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  I nodded, practically bouncing on the spot with nervous energy. “I can’t be like this.”

  He led me over to the couch where a spell book was lying open on the coffee table. He took a seat then picked it up. “Now, I just want to make sure you’re doing this for the right reason.”

  “I am,” I said, sitting close enough to him so I could see the book. “I’ve thought about it nonstop. I can’t be the unhinged girl anymore. It’s too dangerous. I mean, look what happened that night near the woods. I could’ve killed someone. All because you got too close.”

  “Is this about us?”

  I shook my head fiercely. “As much as I like you, I would never invite a familiar into my body for a guy.”

  The corner of his lips curled up. “Glad to hear.”

  And that was when the fire came to life inside of me. All it took was a quick flash of his smile and seeing the longing in his eyes.

  I was pathetic.

  But it wasn’t about him. I needed this for me.

  Trying to calm my nerves
, I released a harsh breath. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Hunter twisted around to face me, momentarily brushing his knee against mine before he shifted back. “Now, you know that you can’t choose the familiar. The familiar will choose you.”

  “Got it.”

  “Right then. This is a fairly easy spell, but it does require a sacrifice to connect you to the familiar.”

  “You mean my blood, right?” Gods, I hoped it wasn’t a crow.

  He nodded then reached over to the table and picked up a pocketknife, handing it to me. “Cut yourself and let it drip onto this page.”

  I frowned. “Won’t it ruin the book?”

  “No. The blood will disappear once the spell has been completed, leaving it ready for the next user.” He placed the spell book down between us.

  I opened the knife and pressed it into the skin on my palm, wincing as it cut into my flesh.

  Hunter’s hand gently closed over mine. “That’s enough.”

  He guided my hand over the book then released his tender grip on me, as my blood dripped onto the page. “Now, repeat the spell and that’s it.”

  It took every ounce of strength I had in me to recite the spell, and I’d be lying if I didn’t consider running out on him halfway through the incantation. Luckily, I got through it without embarrassing myself, because I was sure Hunter wouldn’t have given me a second chance if I chickened out the first time. He’d say something about me not being ready or Familiars weren’t my thing.

  “Now, this isn’t an ordinary spell for a familiar,” he said, handing me a tissue.

  My blood turned cold with fear, as I pressed the tissue against my almost healed wound. “What exactly does that mean?”

  “Don’t stress. It’s just a more advanced spell that’s used for a more powerful Witch who requires a more powerful familiar, unlike what Nova has.”

  Okay, that made sense. I was a Shadow Walker.

  I ended up with one the same size as the mole-like one Hunter had.

  My gaze drifted over my body when I couldn’t feel the beast under my skin. “Where is it?”

  “They don’t always appear straight away. There needs to be a good match, one that will work to ground you, to become part of you.”

  This was not helping my nerves.

  “Go home, get some sleep, and I’m sure it’ll be there in the morning.”

  I raised my brows. “You think I can sleep after all of this?”

  “I would invite you to stay, but…”

  He didn’t need to say it. He and I couldn’t be until this beast appeared on me. And even then, there were no guarantees it would work. Knowing my luck, I would be single for the rest of my life and turn into a cat lady.

  Knowing I needed to get out of there because my nerves and Hunter didn’t go well together, I stood and headed to the door.

  Hunter followed me, grabbing my hand and pulling me back to him, his hungry gaze piercing my soul, desperate to touch, to be touched. “Come and see me in the morning.” His gaze flicked to my lips before returning to my eyes.

  The simmering embers inside me quickly blazed, and I had to pull away and take a step back to put some distance between us. I smiled at him sadly, wishing I didn’t have to leave. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  The whole way back to my apartment I dreamed about being able to touch him, to feel his body against mine, his arms wrapped around me, his lips becoming acquainted with mine.

  Kayla still wasn’t home, but there was a note from her saying she was hanging with Nova in the library and to come join them if I was up to it. As much as books were my thing, I didn’t think I could cope with being around a whole heap of people right now—not that I knew if the library was busy at this time of night.

  Still, I decided to call it an early night and headed into my bedroom to get changed. I realized I hadn’t healed my wound.

  Opening my hand, I stared down at my palm in shock. The wound was gone.

  Guess I had to have at least one perk to my Shadow Walker curse.

  I quickly got changed then crawled into bed and turned the lights off with a flick of my wrist.

  Sleep didn’t come soon. I tossed and turned most of the night, but when I finally succumbed to the land of the zzz’s, it was one of the best sleeps of my life.

  I woke feeling content for the first time since I’d arrived at Night Shade, ready to start my day.

  Then I remembered about the familiar.

  31

  In a panic, I ripped the sheets off my bed and jumped to my feet, searching my body for any sign of the little monster. Not seeing it anywhere, I took off my shirt and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Turning around, my breath caught in my throat when I spotted the creature nestled under the skin on my lower left shoulder blade.

  My eyes widened in a mixture of fear and shock as I stared at the monstrous beast that resembled a dog. But it wasn’t just any dog. It was a hound.

  A Hellhound.

  And it was the size of my fist.

  As if sensing I was awake, it moved across my back then curled up at the top of my shoulder.

  With eyes wide open, I choked on a scream, as I slapped my hand over my mouth, afraid of what the beast might do.

  I grabbed my shirt and slipped it back on then raced out the door and up to Hunter’s apartment, not bothering to get changed out of my unicorn pajamas or bed socks.

  I was a unicorn loving, Dark Witch Shadow Walker, with a freaking Hellhound living under my skin. I didn’t have time to care about what I was wearing.

  Thumping my fist against his door, I waited impatiently for him to answer.

  He didn’t.

  I thumped again and again, but my knocks went unanswered.

  My patience was wearing thin. With a flick of the wrist, the door unlocked, and I pushed it open then barged inside. “Hunter I—”

  I froze as my gaze swept over the room, my heart in my throat, and sickness swelling in my stomach, as I stared at the empty apartment.

  And I mean, it was completely empty.

  There was no couch, no table, no anything.

  I raced into his bedroom, hoping that he was just getting his place refurnished after something drastically went wrong from our little familiar spell last night. But the room was completely empty, as was the bathroom.

  Maybe he had to change rooms. Maybe the spell had done so much damage that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye.

  I left his apartment and headed down to Bishop’s office. He had to know where Hunter was. When I arrived, the door was open and Bishop wasn’t there.

  Two people were missing, and I realized I hadn’t bothered to check if Kayla had come home last night.

  What kind of a sister was I?

  My stomach twisted into knots, as I feared Leila and Reagan weren’t the only ones gone, disappearing without a trace and all memories of them wiped.

  Just as I turned to leave, Bethany came into the office, carrying a couple of files in her hands. Her wary gaze met mine, as her brows pinched together. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m looking for Bishop.” Wasn’t it obvious?

  “He’s in a meeting,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Uh, yeah,” I said. “Have you seen Hunter? His apartment is empty.”

  She nodded and continued around to Bishop’s desk, placing the files on top. “His assignment here is complete, so he’s gone home.”

  “What do you mean, his assignment is complete? I’m his assignment.” And I needed him.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. He just came and said goodbye to me this morning.”

  I felt as if I’d been sucker-punched. He said goodbye to her and not me. Everything I thought we had between us was gone. And the real blow was that it was all one sided. I’d been played like a fool, made to believe there was something between us. That we had something.

  It was all a lie.

  And it
wasn’t as if he’d disappeared like Reagan, because Bethany remembered him.

  In a daze, I left the office and headed back to my apartment, ignoring the taunts about my pajamas along the way from all the students heading off to class.

  But none of that mattered.

  I’d been played for a fool. And now I had this hound on my back and no one to help me.

  No. That was wrong. I still had Nova—and my sister.

  Feeling absolutely gutted, I slipped back into my apartment, relief flooding through me when I heard Kayla singing in the shower, completely unaware of what had happened. What I’d done.

  Resigned to hiding away for the rest of the year, I closed my bedroom door behind me and crawled into bed, not having the nerve to tell Kayla about Hunter or what I had done.

  She’d understand, but I couldn’t bear to see the sorrow in her eyes, or the vengeful planning she was known for.

  I just wanted to forget about him and the humiliation I felt.

  I wanted to be numb.

  But of course, Kayla wasn’t going to let me get off that easy. She barged into my room, still singing the same song she’d been singing in the shower.

  I groaned as she ripped the sheets off my bed. “Get your ass up. You are not going to let a guy do this to you.”

  She already knew. It appeared I was the last person to know.

  Ignoring her, I grabbed the sheets and pulled them over me as I lay back down, trying to bury my sorrows under the blankets.

  “Zalia Moore.” She tugged on the sheets. “You get up before I drag your unicorn-loving ass out of here by… Is that…” She ripped the sheets off me. “You’ve got a Hellhound on your skin? When were you planning on telling me you were getting a familiar?”

  Groaning, I chastised myself. I shouldn’t have worn a tank top, exposing way too much skin to hide the monster.

  Kayla stood with her hands on her hips. “Well?”

  I jerked into a sitting position, as the hound moved from the top of my shoulder over to the front, nestling just below my collarbone. “He helped me perform the spell last night.”

  Her eyes flared with anger then she stormed out of the room, and the front door opened and closed a moment later.