Night Shade Academy
Page 21
She opened his mouth, releasing a deafening roar and sending all who were left scurrying to the exit.
Bishop’s hand shook, as he stared at the snarling beast before him, stalking toward him and Hunter.
Snapping out of my daze, I released the ball of energy from my hand, sending it into the Demon that was covered in blood. The light pierced his skin. A second later he began to glow until he exploded, sending chunks of the Demon splattering around the room, the portal snapping closed with the Demon’s destruction.
“Call the beast back,” Bishop said, his voice shaking with fear.
I let go of the ceiling and flipped onto my feet.
“Do it or your boyfriend gets it.”
Boyfriend? I wouldn’t have gone that far.
But I wanted to. And Bishop was not going to steal that opportunity away from me.
“I mean—” Bishop vanished in a blink of an eye, the knife falling to the ground, leaving Hunter, me, and my Hellhound dazed and confused.
“Take that motherfucker,” Kayla said, slipping into the room from another door.
She stalked toward Hunter then kneeled down behind him, scooping something into her hands. “Told you I wasn’t completely useless.” She opened her hand, revealing a red and blue frog.
Thomas strode toward us. “What the what?”
Kayla giggled. “After a lifetime of threats from Zalia about turning me into a toad, a girl is going to learn how to arm herself.”
Thomas pointed at the frog. “That’s Bishop?”
She grinned. “And no one had to kill him.”
Leaving them to talk about her amazing hidden abilities she’d kept secret from me for so long, I strode toward Hunter, threw my arms around him, and melted against his chest.
He winced as he wrapped his arms around me, his head nestling into the crook of my neck, as he released a breath, warming my skin.
Pulling back, I inspected his wounds. “We should get you to the infirmary.”
He nodded. “We should get everyone into the infirmary.”
Feeling like the biggest ass in history for forgetting the fallen—especially my friend—I made sure Hunter was okay to stand on his own then rushed over to Nova and kneeled beside her, scooping her head into my lap.
I could still see her Dark soul surrounding her, but it was fading. She needed help. They all did.
Her eyes fluttered open, her gaze locking with mine, and I could sense the relief within her. Nova knew she’d been saved; she would live another day.
All the fallen would.
Monstrous footsteps padded beside me, and Karma nudged her head against my shoulder. Her skin no longer cracked with lava; instead, it was the darkest of black, swallowing all the light around her.
Tentatively, I reached my hand toward her, a jolt of electricity flowing through my body as my fingers brushed over her face. I smiled as she looked into my eyes then disappeared into a puff of smoke, returning to the skin on my neck where she had freed herself.
43
The aftermath was to be expected. No one still remembered those that had gone missing—except for Kayla and me. The others who had been taken remembered in varying degrees, depending on when they were taken, which meant Reagan was the only one to remember everyone, then it was Leila, then Hunter.
Nova was pretty much last on the list, and we still weren’t sure why Kayla regained all her memories.
And then there was Bethany. Her memories were a mess. Some she remembered and others she’d forgotten, depending on what Bishop wanted her to. We’d found her and Leila in another room not too far away from where the ritual went down, along with a few others who had been taken. All of them were bound, ready to be used—or disposed of.
Hunter sat on the edge of the hospital bed, with Nova and Leila beside him, while Thomas, Kayla, and I stood in front of them, watching them with concern.
“Are you sure they’re okay to leave?” I asked. They looked a thousand times better than they had been when we rescued them, but I couldn’t help but feel overprotective. If it weren’t for me being a Shadow Walker, they never would’ve been taken in the first place.
Bethany scribbled something on her clipboard. “Their stats are good, their wounds are healed, so they’re good to go.” She looked up and smiled at me, an unusual concept for her. “I know you’re worried, but I can assure you they’re fine.”
“And Bishop?” I asked, clenching my fists together.
Bethany held the clipboard against her chest. “Bishop won’t be a problem anymore. He’s been taken to the council where he will remain in custody until we can determine if he acted on his own, or he was a merely a pawn.”
Kayla’s eyes lit up. “Is he still a frog?”
Bethany bit down on a smile. “No. He’s no longer a frog.”
Kayla’s face slumped. “Pity.”
“I have to agree with you on that one.” Bethany cleared her throat then turned her attention to me. “Now that Bishop has stood down, I will be stepping into his position, and Hunter will remain at Night Shade as your trainer for the foreseeable future. I’m also going to take on another role as your advisor. I will teach you how to use your inherited abilities, because as it turns out, if I hadn’t held that information from you in the first place, you would’ve known about your Demon eyes.”
I frowned. “Wait. Was that you who wrote the message?”
She grinned. “Getting that message to you almost depleted me. Not to mention how pissed off Bishop was when he realized what I’d done. I’m just grateful that Thomas was able to help you figure out how to access your other side.”
“Wow.” I stared at her in awe. That was some next level shit to be able to bend time and space to be in two places at once. No wonder she was in the state she was when we found her.
“Wow yourself,” Nova said, pointing to my neck. “Releasing a familiar in its solid form into this world is…” She held her hands up to her head then made an explosion sound, as if her mind had just been blown.
I furrowed my brow. “They’re not supposed to do that, are they?”
“For us, no,” Hunter said. “But rules don’t apply to you.”
Remembering the poop on my chest, I pulled down my shirt just enough to expose the poop. “Speaking of. Do either of you know what this is?”
Hunter and Bethany’s gaze shot to my chest, they’re eyes widening a moment later. “Is that?” Hunter asked.
Bethany moved closer to get a better look. “Impossible.”
Hunter slipped off the bed, his gaze still trained on my chest. “Is that an… egg?”
My eyes practically shot out. “A what?”
He brushed his finger across my skin. “It’s an egg.”
Kayla scrunched up her nose. “I didn’t know Hellhounds lay eggs.”
“They don’t,” Thomas said.
“Then what is it?” Leila asked, her superior vampire gaze honing onto the beast.
When she looked up at Bethany for answers, I covered my chest with my shirt. “That’s what I want to know.”
Bethany shook her head. “I have no idea.”
I shuddered at the thought of an unknown creature growing under my skin. I’d only just gotten used to Karma and now this?
I couldn’t deal with it. Not now.
Bethany gently curled her fingers around my arm. “This does not leave the room, do you understand?” When I nodded, she looked each and every one of my friends in their eyes, seeking their sworn word.
Satisfied by their promises, she released her grip on me. “We’ll figure this out. Don’t worry.”
I nodded as Hunter slipped his hand into mine, lacing our fingers, his touch no longer evoking the raging fire inside of me. “We’ll all figure this out together.”
Bethany nodded. “And in the meantime, be on the lookout for whatever was let out of the portal before you managed to close it. This isn’t over.”
Didn’t I know it.
Amidst all the chaos
and uncertainties coming our way, I was grateful to have my friends by my side, and thanks to Karma, I was free to love.
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