Ignited: a reverse harem bully romance (Kings of Miskatonic Prep Book 4)

by Steffanie Holmes

  “We’re done pretending,” Ms. West roared at the cowering students. I could practically see smoke coming out her ears. “You have learned the truth about your enrollment here. You were chosen because your parents deem you expendable. But there is one here who truly loves you, who wants the best for you. Your god.”

  A ripple of disbelief echoed through the crowd. Trey glanced at me, silently asking what we should do. I shrugged. We had to let her talk, or it looked as it the top of her head would explode.

  “He has cared for you all these years as if you were his children.” I bit my tongue not to yell the truth, but it wasn’t time for that yet. “Each of you carries him inside you. Over the years I have tried to mold you into something that pleases him, but again and again, you have failed us both. Your god has given you a great gift – immortal blood and endless good health, and powers you haven’t begun to explore, but you feel it is worthless while you are trapped inside these walls. But the god did not trap you here – your parents did. And by your god’s grace, we shall all be free again.”

  Another cheer rose from the students, more subdued, unsure. Eyes turned to us, looking for direction. In the front, the Kings and I cheered loudest of all. My eyes met Ms. West, and I tried to convey through the curl of my lip and the tightness of my fist that I had the students in her thrall.

  “We will be hosting a graduation ball at the end of the quarter, on the anniversary of your imprisonment here. If you wish for your freedom, you will show up at this ball in your finest clothes. You will do your school proud. If you stand with the faculty against your parents, you will walk out of this school as free spirits, with the god’s gifts still intact.”

  Only a smattering of applause greeted her words, and not even Trey’s enthusiastic shout could bring them around. Ms. West stared down at us as though she expected flowers to be thrown at her feet. Instead, all we had were the rotting tomatoes she deserved.

  I stepped forward, my voice ringing clear. “We’ll do what you ask, but the students want something in return, a show of good faith. If we’re all to graduate this year with real diplomas, we want the points table set back to 0. For everyone. It’s about time we all knew what it’s like to start life without advantages. We’re going to be even, and at the end of term, the valedictorian will be chosen based on merit alone.”

  Trey stared at me gape-mouthed, like I’d suddenly sprouted a second head. But I knew what I was doing… I thought so, at least. I needed the students to see me command Ms. West and have her obey. They needed to see who was in control here.

  “Great idea,” Tillie called from the back of the room. Courtney shot her a dirty look, but a number of other students echoed her agreement.

  “You ungrateful brats,” Ms. West hissed, wrapping her shawl around her shoulders like a vampire making a dramatic exit. Above her head, the merit points boards flickered once, then every single total was reset to 0. “This isn’t a holiday. Get to class.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “A key?” Greg squinted at me like he was seeing me for the first time.

  We’d gathered our crew – Greg, Andre, Loretta, Sadie, and Trey and Quinn – in Trey’s room to report on how the first day had gone. Quinn tried to find Ayaz to join us, but he wasn’t in his room or the art studio – I wondered if seeing how afraid everyone was had made him rethink the things he’d said in the infirmary. My stomach twisted up in knots about it, but I tried to ignore it and focus on Greg.

  “I don’t get it either, and we’re not supposed to be talking about it now. We’re supposed to be figuring out how to sneak out to see Deborah, Mr. 20 merit points.” Greg already jumped ahead on the points table for answering a difficult question in physics.

  “Yeah, brainiac.” Quinn thumped Greg on the back. “I need you to tutor me.”

  “I don’t think tutoring is going to help you,” Greg grinned. “Mostly you just need to shut your face.” Quinn was at -13 for talking back to Dr. Atwood.

  Quinn clutched his chest. “I’m wounded. I shall never recover from this slight—”

  Trey rolled his eyes at me. “Maybe we could get back on topic. Hazel, you might as well tell Greg about your key theory, since we can’t focus on anything else.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know how to explain it, but when I was touching the pillar, it’s like I could see right through to the god as he is. The god is sort of… asleep but dreaming – it’s through his dreams that he talks to me and shows me things, and I think that’s how he talks to Ms. West, too. But I saw him as he truly was – like peering through a keyhole.”

  “That’s what the rats were trying to show – a key and a lock fitting together,” Trey said. “I’m guessing the pillar unlocks—”

  “The god’s prison,” I finished. “I think so, too. Which means this information cannot leave this room. If any of the senior Eldritch Club find out about this, they’re going to make it their mission to force me to open the lock. I don’t know how to do that yet, but I bet Vincent has delightful ways of finding out.”

  “I’m not likely to tell,” Quinn made a zipping motion. “Greg has taught me the value of shutting my face.”

  Trey snorted. “You have a mouth the size of the Grand Canyon. You’re a security risk.”

  Quinn pouted. “Hazy has no problem with the size of my mouth, or what I do with it—”

  I punched him in the shoulder, hard enough to make him wince. Greg and Andre laughed.

  “Can we get through one conversation without Quinn being gross?” I touched my fingers to the scar on my wrist. I wish Ayaz was here. “I’m serious – this key idea is just a theory, but it can’t get out. I’m not even telling Deborah when we see her tonight—”

  “Who’s Deborah?”

  I whirled around at the familiar voice, deep and exotic.

  “Hey,” Ayaz hovered in the doorway. Apart from the single crutch he leaned on, his body showed no signs of the literal hell I’d put him through. He held up a set of keys, indicating he’d unlocked the door since it had previously been his room.

  “Hey,” I choked out. My throat had dried up. I couldn’t believe he was standing there. It hadn’t been lies. He hadn’t changed his mind. He’s here.

  “Glad to have you back, Ataturk.” Quinn slapped him on the back. Ayaz winced as the force jostled his body. Quinn’s eyes glinted with mischief. “We’re off to do something reckless and dangerous. Want to come?”

  “That depends. I just need to talk to Hazel first.”

  Trey and Quinn exchanged glances. The two of them grabbed the others and backed out of the room, leaving me alone with Ayaz.

  Traitors.

  Ayaz’s dark eyes regarded me, his expression unreadable. Ayaz always held his emotions close, never giving too much away. “I am sorry I missed you after class. Courtney cornered me and asked me to be her date for the graduation dance.”

  A wave of jealousy shot through me. Even now, after everything that happened and our supposed truce, Courtney was still determined to stir shit between us. I guess you couldn’t expect a panther to put away her claws.

  It’s a good thing. Ayaz should go with Courtney. She obviously really likes him, and it’s not like I’ll be able to have him after graduation.

  I couldn’t help the tightness in my voice when I asked, “What did you say?”

  “I said that I didn’t know anything about a dance, or why we’d be having one in the middle of the chaos. I wanted to hear from you first. What’s going on?”

  “What’s going on is a Mexican stand-off between the faculty and the Eldritch Club, with us in the middle,” I said. “And that’s exactly what I need them to continue to believe. The teachers and the parents underestimate the students. They believe you’re beholden to the base instincts of the god’s spirit, that you all want to be immortal and powerful and filled with the god’s wrath. But I’ve mostly figured out a way to reverse what was done to you. All the students and teachers would be free. Truly free.”

 
Ayaz’s eyes fluttered closed. Dark lashes tangled together, and I held my breath. “In your scenario, would we be the age we are now, or will we be the age we should be? I don’t want to suddenly be in my forties with a bald spot and wrinkles, complaining about my knees all the time.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t think even the god knows. You’re refusing his gifts, which apparently has never happened before. I think it’s most likely your physical body will remain the same, but I’m not the expert.”

  “I’ll take the chance.” Ayaz swung the crutch as he hobbled across the room. He half-sat, half-fell into the sofa. I’d never seen him so awkward before, and judging by the scowl on his face, he didn’t like it.

  “So you’re in? You trust me? But you haven’t even asked what the god wants in return.”

  “I don’t care. I’ll help any way I can.” Pain-filled eyes stared up at me, begging me for something I couldn’t give. Ayaz’s brow creased in concentration as he bent his will toward trying to place me inside the gaping hole in his memory.

  “You might not thank me when you find out what we have to do. The god needs to give his gifts to others to make more children. That means others will have to become his children in your place. The only people Trey and Quinn are willing to sacrifice are the Eldritch Club.”

  Ayaz pursed his lips. “Vincent has been good to me.”

  “He used you – you told me that yourself. You’re a political pawn, a way for him to show his buddies that he has powerful connections all over the world. Just because he was kinder to you than to Trey doesn’t change that fact, or any of the things he’s done since. Do you believe he’s responsible for sacrificing the entire class so he could gain power?”

  The forehead crease appeared again as Ayaz considered this. Finally, he nodded.

  “And knowing what the god’s gifts mean, are you willing to give them to Vincent? After all, power is what he craves – it’s not cruel to give someone what they want.”

  “But once he has this power, we can’t stop him using it against vulnerable people. We’ve seen what he’s capable of when he controls this school. What if he controlled the world?”

  “That’s the major snag.” I shuddered. “The others are all for this justice by revenge – the punishment fits the crime. They don’t want to ruin the lives of more innocents, but I think that will happen anyway if the Eldritch Club become children of the god. I was wondering if you could help? You know more about this occult stuff than anyone else. I’ve heard you talk before about binding spells. Can you find something that will enable us to bind the power of the Eldritch Club so they can’t destroy the world?”

  “I can try.” Ayaz leaned over, wincing as the movement tugged at his new skin. As he grabbed the corner of Parris’ skin book, his arm brushed mine.

  Sitting this close to him and breathing in his scent made all the memories rise to the surface. His kiss last night burned on my lips. I couldn’t kiss him again. I couldn’t risk it. I need a distraction…

  “I got you something,” I whispered.

  As I reached across the table, my finger brushed his hand once more. A flare of heat jumped from my skin to his. Ayaz jerked away, but a moment later his hand returned.

  He’s still afraid of me. I squeezed my eyes shut. I can’t blame him.

  I pulled the tiny box across the table. Ayaz sucked in a breath as he recognized it. It was the lockbox the Kings used to keep things in the cave that they didn’t want the teachers or parents to discover. The last thing I’d hidden in it was the imprints of the keys for Ms. West’s laboratory, but we didn’t need them now. Now the box held something more precious.

  “I was hoping to find a chance to give this to you all day.” I lifted the lid and slid the box in front of him. “She gave this to me, but I think it’s really meant for you.”

  Inside was a small pendant on a leather thong – a glass bead with concentric circles of dark blue, white, and light blue with a black dot in the center. It looked a little like an eye. Ayaz touched the object, the look on his face rapturous.

  “Zehra,” he whispered.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s a nazar – an amulet worn to ward off the evil eye.” Ayaz rolled up the corner of his shirt to show me a tattoo of the same design under his ribcage. “Zehra made one for each of us when she was eight. She mailed mine to me so I’d always have something to remember her. I wore mine every day until my first year at Miskatonic Prep. The others bullied me about it so much that I threw it into the ocean. I regretted it ever since – that is why I have it tattooed. She must have seen I wasn’t wearing it…” A shudder racked his body. “That’s Zehra; even though she’s the one in danger, she’s still thinking about me. We have to help her.”

  “I’m trying. Ms. West still has her locked up.” I curled his fingers around the nazar. “This is my promise to you that I will get her back. Ms. West is supposed to return her as part of our deal, but I was a fucking idiot again and didn’t specify a timetable. She’s going to try to hold Zehra for as long as possible to ensure we cooperate. I think she might keep Zehra as a bargaining chip with Vincent, in case her plan with Gloria fails.”

  I didn’t tell him I overheard Ms. West trying to sacrifice her to the god. It was just as well, because Ayaz was already on his feet. “We have to get Zehra out. Now.”

  I shook my head. “Greg’s told us that the weight room is heavily guarded – that’s why there are so few teachers. The Deadmistress knows I might try something. I could send the shadows or a couple of you Edimmu to get her out – the teachers couldn’t hurt you, but I worry they might hurt Zehra instead.”

  Ayaz’s head fell into his hands. “What do we do?”

  “We watch. We pretend that everything is okay, that we’re merrily playing along with West’s game. We wait for our chance to strike.”

  His lip twisted. It wasn’t quite a smile, but for Ayaz, it was quite something. He looped the nazar around his neck. “What’s this dangerous mission Quinn was talking about? I’m intrigued.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Are you sure you’re okay to do this again?” I asked.

  In response, Trey pulled on a tailored blazer that definitely didn’t say ‘I’m about to hike through a forest.’ He did look damn fine, though.

  I tossed him Dante’s old hoodie. Trey wrinkled his nose like it would give him a disease, but when I pointed out that it would be a better disguise if he didn’t look like the son of an arrogant billionaire, he pulled it on.

  Quinn pouted. “No fair. I want to go for a walk with a pet stone and take Hazy out for ice cream.”

  “I agree. Ice cream sounds nice,” Ayaz piped up.

  “That’s not what we’re doing,” Trey snapped, adjusting the hood over his perfectly-styled hair. “We’re sneaking into a hotel where at least some of our parents are probably still holed up to visit a woman who may or may not have the answers we need. If we get caught it will ruin the whole plan, so forgive me if I don’t want Mr. Everything’s-a-joke and Mr. Betrayed-Hazy-and-can’t-put-weight-on-my-legs on the case.”

  “Besides, Ayaz has a binding spell to start on, and someone has to stay behind and watch out for the other scholarship students,” I added.

  Quinn waved a hand. “Pssssh. Andre has more than proven he doesn’t need help from the likes of me.”

  Ayaz didn’t look happy about it either, but instead of arguing, he swept me into his arms and planted a smoldering kiss on my lips. “Be careful,” he whispered.

  Quinn’s eyes raked over my body. He didn’t offer any goodbyes, and I pretended I didn’t care.

  I pulled on my leather jacket and followed Trey through the dorms and down to the atrium. We didn’t bother with the secret passage this time. My Docs squeaked on the marble floors. Even though it was past the official curfew, no one stopped us. The teachers barely had a presence at all after dark – they were preoccupied with other things, like guarding the gym while West finished whatever she was
doing to Zehra.

  Please be strong, Zehra. We’re coming for you as soon as we figure out a way. I just hope we’re not too late.

  Hand in hand, Trey and I strolled out the front door, descended the stone steps, crossed the lawn, and entered the forest.

  Even though I’d made my way through this forest several times already, I still couldn’t distinguish the different routes. Trey led the way with ease, picking the easiest path around fallen trees and over the craggy rocks jutting from the earth.

  “For a pretty rich boy, you seem comfortable here in the wild,” I said.

  “Twenty years living in hell with this forest as a boundary, you learn the land as well as I once knew our Martha’s Vineyard holiday home.” Trey turned to help me over a fallen log. His hands rested on my arms, steadying me. That was Trey – a rock, a solid force. When he was my bully, standing up to him had felt like pushing back against a stone statue – cold and immovable. But now that he was on my side, now that he had my heart and I his, it was like he’d build a wall up around both of us. Nothing could penetrate it.

  It was such a strange feeling, this protection.

  Trey picked up the rock he’d chiseled from its hiding place and placed it with reverence into his backpack. We continued down the peninsula into the town of Arkham, sticking to the bushes as much as possible. I hoped Trey’s hoodie would be enough to keep his identity secret. After all, it wasn’t as if people in the town regularly saw the students.

  After a time, we reached the base of the peninsula. Here, the gravel road gave way to asphalt. We kept to the trees as we entered the village, ears pricked for sounds. We emerged from the forest opposite the Arkham Grand Hotel, crouching behind the bushes and peering up at the grand facade. As promised, Deborah waited out front, her three dogs fighting their leads and her eyes scanning the horizon. Leopold sat up, his ears pricked. He barked three times.