Giselle had only been gone about thirty seconds when he heard, “Nice shoes, weirdo.”
He turned around and saw that Giselle had bumped into four other Fae girls on her way to the kitchen.
The Hate Clique or whatever Evie called them.
One of the girls who looked quite a bit like Giselle squeaked, from the back of the pack. “Giselle, is that the new guy over there? What’s he like? Is he hot?”
“Look for yourself, Marigold,” the leader of the group mocked. “He’s sitting right there.” Even with a sneer on her face, that girl was absolutely gorgeous—definitely Fae. She must have noticed him watching because she wiggled her fingers hello in his direction. The other girls all followed suit. They probably didn’t realize he could hear them with his vampire hearing.
“Right. Sure. Of course. Sorry, Lennon.” Marigold’s giggle was forced.
Turning the key to the kitchen door, Giselle said, “Can I get you guys something to eat or drink?”
She went inside and a moment later the window blind went up between the cafeteria and the kitchen.
“A skinny vanilla latte, please.” Lennon set her designer purse on the ledge and dug out a tube of lipstick.
“Sorry, coffee machines not on. Can I get you something else that comes in a can or a bottle?”
Zephyr smiled. He liked Giselle. It took balls to stand up to someone that pretentious. He’d have to ask Evie if she’d met the fiery redhead. Seemed like she could use a friend.
Meanwhile, Marigold glared at her sister and then scurried over to the fridge and said, “There’s a mango smoothie in here.”
Lennon finished applying her lipstick, inhaled, and said, “No. Thank you.” She turned back to Giselle. “Marigold tells me you have access to the special herb gardens.”
Giselle nodded. “Are you planning a party?”
“My annual bash.” Lennon curled her lip. “As you probably know, my regular hook-up is dead.” Her voice held no sympathy and Zephyr had the urge to rip her throat out.
“I see.” Giselle blanched at the young woman’s patronizing attitude. “So, you’re asking me to risk getting kicked out so that you can get your friends stoned.”
“Giselle!” Marigold yelped, darting over and tugging on Giselle’s hand. “Can I speak to you in private for a moment?”
Zephyr could hear the panic in Marigold’s voice; she really feared this Lennon.
“What?” Giselle said.
“Please, please, please help Lennon.” Marigold’s hands were clasped as if in prayer. “If you do it, she says that we can come to the party. An invitation to one of Lennon’s events is like being given a blank check. We’ll meet all the right people and they’ll be forced to accept us around here. Maybe we’ll even get invited inside the Palace walls next time she goes home.”
Palace walls? So, this Lennon was royalty. That made sense.
“I doubt it will change anything,” Giselle said. Zephyr could tell from the tone of her voice that she was weakening. “But I’ll see what’s in the pantry garden.”
Marigold threw her arms around Giselle and squeezed. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
24
Midnight Witch
A fter lunch, I headed to my afternoon class. It was potions and potables. I wasn’t big on that type of thing, but you never know when any kind of witch knowledge would come in handy. Unfortunately, the clique was in this class. At the threshold, I heard Lennon’s voice.
“I’m glad the hairy outcast is gone, especially since your sister is going to come through for us. Right, Marigold?”
“Oh, of course, Lennon. Giselle will do whatever I tell her.”
“That’s funny. I thought I heard you begging her. Are you sure you’re clique material?”
“Yes, I am.” Marigold cleared her throat.
“Now, if we could just get rid of the Midnight bitch, we’d have a lock on this school like we did on the last one. It would be a shame if something happened to her like it did to that lame-ass werewolf.”
“What the fuck?” Zephyr asked in my ear. I jumped. I had no idea he was behind me. “I’ll tear them apart.”
“No, Zephyr.” I pushed him out into the hall. “We don’t know each other very well, remember?
“Fine,” He grunted “There’s Giselle. Let’s just walk in and sit by her.”
“Zephyr,” I strained, “You didn’t hear the clique’s conversation. The best thing you can do is hang out with them to find out more.”
He blew out a breath. “I get it, Evie.”
“Uh, Z, your fangs.” I pointed at his mouth. He took several deep breaths and they retracted.
I breezed in like I’d been rushing to get to class on time with Zephyr on my heels. So much for the low profile.
“Hey, Giselle, how are you?” Zephyr waved at a red-headed girl, sitting at a four-square lab table in the back corner by herself. There were beakers and test tubes and Bunsen burners at each table. Some had various chemicals and some had items from the natural world. No bat wings or eye of newt, thank god. Her larger twin was on the opposite side of the classroom, cozied up with the rest of the Hate Clique. “Meet my new friend, Evie.”
“Hello, Evie. You were friends with Maggie Howl, weren’t you? I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Hi, Giselle. Thank you.”
There were snorts and laughter from the clique.
Giselle’s head snapped up. “I expect that of Lennon and the others, but what’s wrong with you?” Giselle yelled across the room.
Her sister, Marigold, had the grace to look slightly chagrined, until Lennon glared first at her then at Giselle. She opened her mouth, probably to spew profanities.
Before she could, Giselle said, “I believe you need something from me?”
Lennon’s mouth clicked shut. That was a first. I had a feeling Giselle would pay for that later.
I looked at Zephyr but before I could ask for details, a loud booming voice said, “good morning, class.”
Fred, our potions professor was the mad-scientist type with blonde hair that stuck out in every direction like he’d been in an explosion—probably had. His stained lab coat was buttoned crookedly and, of course, it featured an ever-present pocket protector. He was a nice-looking man if you could overlook all of that. A glut of students piled in behind him. As the professor began the lab, leading us through the assigned potion, I let my mind drift back to Lennon’s threat. I would have to be careful.
25
Professor Werewolf
D emas, Bodhi, Eleutian and Grimm spent two nights in a row going through the evidence locker trying to find the missing items. To say this mess was frustrating was putting it mildly.
“Son of a bitch! Here’s the bottle.” Eleutian yelled, fist pumping the air.
“Dammit, it’s empty.” Bodhi said after grabbing the clear bag from him. “Where did you find it?”
“Inside a racketeering case file from 2005.” Eleutian said. “Ironic.”
“Shit, I don’t want to take it to the lab.” Demas said.
“I brought gear with me. We won’t be able to check the prints but we can pull any right here.” Bodhi said, swinging his duffel on top of the small metal rolling cart used for moving boxes. He pulled the small kit and a pair of gloves out. Donning them, he removed the bottle from the evidence bag. He brushed on the powder, moving around the item.
“Damn, there’s nothing.” Bodhi blew out a breath.
“Wait, try the bottom.” Grimm said.
He did so, to no avail.
“So, either the perp used gloves or whoever hid this, wiped it clean first. We at least know what was in the bottle, thanks to you, Bodhi.”
“A fat lot of good that does us, since they can’t determine the cause of death yet, if ever. I know they’re checking for poisons.” Bodhi said.
“All right, you guys keep looking for that hair. We’ve conquered a great deal here. I’m going to meet with Aurora, let her know what’s
been found.” Demas said. He spent a good portion of the afternoon closeted with Aurora trying to work out a plan to unmask the rat before the guys joined them. They discussed the need for the audit as well but couldn’t decide on people they could trust. They knew it would fall to them.
Bodhi clenched his fists. “I’d like to knock some heads around here. How does this happen?”
Demas looked at Aurora in her signature red dress. The color emphasized the dark smudges under her eyes. He hadn’t seen her look this tired since the nightmare with Howl. Shit. This had to be bringing up bad memories for her too. He hadn’t considered that.
“Bodhi,” Demas growled.
“Hell. Aurora, I’m not questioning you. You are not the only person in charge here. There are several layers of management in the society. Everyone is paid well, so it shouldn’t be money related, so that leaves intimidation or blackmail.”
“I understood what you meant, Bodhi. Demas gets protective when I look like hell.” Aurora said, as she patted Demas’ cheek before returning to her desk. “All right. I think Bodhi’s correct. But what about revenge against Razor? I know Razor loved his daughters. He’s a terrible alpha, so who down here would want revenge?”
“The Bayou Loup-Garous.” Eleutian answered.
“Yes, I think we should check personnel records for employees from that pack that would have access to evidence,” Demas said, pacing the office. “It’s a place to start anyway. I’ll help with that and interrogations.”
“We’ll all help,” Grimm said.
“Grimm, have you remembered anything regarding the magic you felt on Maggie’s body?”
“No, Aurora. It almost feels like I’ve been blocked with regard to the body anyway. The voodoo doll smells of anise and had old faded magic on it like someone had taken the doll from somewhere and added the clothes to look like Evie. Nothing I can trace. I’m still working on the body magic. Evie might be able to help.”
“No fucking way!” Bodhi charged across the room. “It was bad enough she wanted to help with her friend’s body at the scene. There is no way she will see Maggie now. Over my dead body. Which is now immortal.”
“Asshole. I didn’t mean that. I feel the exact same way. I meant she might help me with a sigil to help me get past this block.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Aurora’s phone rang.
Demas’ phone dinged with a text. “Son of a bitch. Grimm that might work and will give you a reason to go back. Zephyr overheard Lennon threaten Evie. I want you to go back within the hour to help watch over her. Oh, and starting tonight, Evie and Zephyr both go home to our house every night. I don’t care if it blows his cover. I’ll call the headmistress and inform her.”
Aurora closed her eyes and missed trying to hang-up the phone. Eleutian helped her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Magnolia Howl’s body is missing.”
26
The Vampire
Y ou could tell the Fae apart from the rest of the Academy girls not just by their attitude but by their outfits. While the average girl was dressed in some version of a cropped top and shredded jeans, the Hate Clique were all in iridescent body con dresses. With fishnet stockings, and long, jewel-encrusted false lashes. At least, Zephyr assumed the lashes were fake. He didn’t really know. Maybe the Fae’s lashes grew like that?
“I said, get on the ground, freshie! You deaf?” Lennon shouted.
One of the wide-eyed shifter girls stood in front of Lennon for a few moments before following the mean girl’s order. Zephyr saw Lennon lean to her left and whisper something in a boy’s ear. Moments later, he yanked the shifter girl up by the arm and dragged her away.
Zephyr took a step forward ready to go intervene and save the girl when he noticed, she’d only been dragged as far as the refreshments table. Good. He wouldn’t have to blow his cover.
One after another, every single guest approached Lennon to pay their respects. All of them were drinking from red solo cup filled with the party’s signature punch. It was almost like a church communion only sluttier. The young men and women did everything including kneel before their hostess.
Meanwhile, Lennon had grown bored. She was now barely acknowledging them, instead chatting with boys high on testosterone and whatever questionable substance was in that cup—the drug Lennon had coerced Giselle into getting for her. The consequences of mixing fairies with impaired kids—even supernatural ones—was the main reason Zephyr had felt obliged to attend Lennon’s party. Headmistress Barnabus claimed to have a zero-tolerance assault policy but Zephyr doubted she enforced much when it came to the Fae, and especially when it came to Lennon. That girl was a manipulative wolf in sparkly sheep’s clothing.
Giselle, the tiny redhead with the dusting of cute freckles across her nose, manned the refreshments table but she seemed upset. Her sister’s boyfriend, Donny Bean, an angry-looking dragon shifter who also happened to be one of the academy’s starting football players was arguing with her. He’d been knocking back punch as if he owned stock in the company and was now swaying on his feet.
Zephyr tilted his head as he observed Donny clumsily attempt to push Giselle out of the way. Was she really attempting to block him from the refreshments table?
Next thing Zephyr knew the tablecloth had burst into flames.
Zephyr’s instincts kicked in and before too much damage could be done, he’d run out into the hall where he’d busted the emergency glass and ran with the firehose, extinguishing the table in a matter of moments.
Shakily, he dropped the hose and turned to the shifter who’d started the problem.
Before Donnie the dumb dragon could say anything, Lennon grabbed him by the arm and frog-marched him out the door, “Go, sleep it off.” Next she turned her eyes on Zephyr, and her demeanor completely changed. Batting her lashes, she stroked Zephyr’s arm and then signaled to one of her minions who bestowed him with a red cup. “Cheers!” She said and tilted back her own. Zephyr was momentarily torn between taking the cup of liquid to be analyzed and infiltrating the possible circle of killers. He decided to play along, raised the cup in salute, and then tipped it to his lips.
Energy crackled as soon as the elixir mingled with his saliva. There was a faint lingering taste of bourbon, but as the liquid swirled and sizzled across his tongue his ability to perceive even that was overwhelmed. Then the electricity surged through his body, causing the muscles of his extremities to twitch uncontrollably. He felt the pins and needles of increased circulation in his arms and legs. He had taken only a small sip, but the effect was tremendous. His body was alive with energy, his nerves quivering with excitement.
“So, you’re a hero, huh?” Lennon asked. She’d stopped her petting and was now leaning back seductively against the singed table.
Zephyr blinked. Was he drunk or did Lennon now seem a thousand times more attractive? He suddenly felt grateful for her attention, “I beg your pardon?”
“You’re the hero type. You like to save people and stuff. Does it make you feel important?”
“No.”
“Don’t be offended!” Lennon laughed. “The world needs heroes just as it needs villains.” She waved her hands in the air as if she were signaling a jet to land. “I just prefer to be the villain.”
One of her minions burst into the room, “Oh my God, I just heard Donnie got lit because Giselle the buzz kill cut him off. Are you okay, Lennon?”
Lennon instantly changed from flirty seductress to raging mean girl. Her eyes moved past Zephyr, and he turned to see just who had earned her evil stare.
“Of course, I’m okay, you idiot. I wasn’t involved in the fire,” Lennon said to her minion then she pushed her way through the others until she stood before Giselle and Marigold. “This is all your fault, outcasts. I should have known one of you would start trouble with one of my guests.”
Giselle frowned, “He was trying to get more punch and he was clearly messed up enough.”
Lennon sneered.
“You’re such a goodie-two-shoes. Go away, both of you. You’re certainly not one of us.”
“But…” Tears pooled in Marigold’s eyes. “I didn’t do anything. I thought we were friends.”
“You thought wrong. Now, take your loser sister and make sure she doesn’t narc or else you’re out of the clique.”
Marigold swallowed a sob and ran for the exit, followed quickly by her sister who had simply flipped Lennon the bird.
Zephyr paused for a minute, torn between wanting to continue his conversation with Lennon or check on his new friend, Giselle. Lennon’s back was to him so he decided he’d come back in a minute.
“Are you all right?” Giselle asked Zephyr as he met them in the hall. He wanted to reach out to her, but he felt charged with electricity. Would a single touch from him knock her on her ass…or stop her heart?
He looked at her and opened his mouth tentatively, unsure whether any sound would emerge. “I will be,” he croaked. “What was in that cup she gave me?”
He abruptly felt a profound, gnawing hunger in his belly. The spasms nearly caused him to double over in agony.
She gripped his shoulders. “You drank that?”
The hunger subsided to a dull throb, but a sense of fatigue quickly replaced it. Zephyr felt as if vital energy was being sucked out of every pore of his body, drawn out of his core; his muscles felt like jelly.
“Yeah. Was it poison?”
“No,” Giselle whispered. “Not poison. At least not in the way you’re thinking. Come on, let’s get you to Evie’s room and I’ll explain.”
They made their way up to the women’s dorm and along the hall to Evie’s door. As Zephyr reached for the handle, the door opened, and he stumbled into Evie and Grimm. Grimm caught him and helped him inside.
“Zephyr! What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Zephyr tried to focus on Evie but he felt like he was on a merry-go-round of psychedelic colors. He reached a hand out for the wall, attempting to regain his balance.
Sticks & Stones Spell Werewolf Bones: A Why Choose Academy Romance Page 14