Paranormal Academy Book 3: Elemental Blood

by Jody Morse

  “It sounds like you two aren’t as close as you used to be,” he noted.

  “That would be an understatement.” I paused. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate him or anything, but I wouldn’t really call us friends lately, either. We barely talk.” Partly because he was so far up Everly’s ass he no longer seemed to want to be my friend, but I wasn’t about to tell Kaden that. I didn’t want him to think that I was jealous or anything, because the truth was that I wasn’t jealous. Sure, I found him a lot more attractive now than I had before. But that had absolutely nothing to do with this feeling.

  It just made me sad sometimes because I had really believed that Brett was a friend, and my friendship apparently meant so little to him that he couldn’t even be bothered to keep it alive now that Everly was back in the picture. It just sucked.

  “Anyway, I have always personally believed that Headmaster Crane should have just assigned me as your guard,” Kaden said. “I could protect you better than Brett could, anyway.”

  “Well, I actually believe that. You’re better with magic. And you already have a pretty good track record when it comes to saving my life. You did save me once already.” Kaden had saved me from a raven shifter early last year, something that I still sometimes felt like I owed him for.

  “If I could spend the rest of my life protecting you, that’s exactly what I would do. I would make it my goddamn job.” His blue eyes met mine then.

  “You overexaggerate,” I replied with an eye roll, even though I felt a blush rise to my cheeks.

  “I really mean that, Juliana.”

  “Yeah, yeah. That’s what they all say,” I said sarcastically. Technically, that was half-true. Brett had made it clear that he’d wanted to protect me in the past. But I was pretty sure that those feelings had disappeared the moment he had made it clear he no longer wanted me to be his girlfriend.

  “Really? You don’t believe me?” Kaden asked.

  I shrugged. “I guess I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Good, you should take my word for it because I really do mean it.” He glanced down at the ground then as we continued to walk in the direction of the House of Mage. “I know the rumors fly around here, so I’m sure that by now you’ve probably heard that I joined the Dark Coven.”

  “Yeah, I actually did hear that,” I admitted.

  His eyes flicked up to meet mine. “Why didn’t you mention it to me? I’m sure you’re probably curious about the reason I joined.”

  I shrugged. “I didn’t want to question you about it. It’s not like it’s really any of my business. You’re allowed to join whatever you want. It’s not like you need my approval.”

  “Well, I just want you to know that you can always question me about anything you want. I’m sure you’re probably wondering why I joined, aren’t you?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, it’s definitely crossed my mind.”

  “Well, the answer is simple. The reason I joined is because of you. In fact, you’re the entire reason I joined the Dark Coven.” His steel blue eyes met mine. “I joined to protect you, Juliana. I joined to stay in the know about was going on and what they have planned, especially as it pertains to you. I joined because I will do anything and everything in my power to keep you safe.”

  “Really?” I whispered.

  Even though I had always believed, deep down, that Kaden had joined the Dark Coven because of me, hearing him say it out loud… Well, it made me feel so much relief. Knowing that he had joined the Dark Coven for me and not because he actually genuinely aligned with that coven’s beliefs and motives made me feel a million times better.

  “Of course.” He moved in closer to me then, looping his hands around my waist and pulling me in closer to him. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Juliana.”

  And then he pressed me up against a tree and kissed me in a way that told me he’d meant every freaking word.

  Chapter 11

  The next morning, Brett was waiting for me at the exit of the House of Mage, the same way he had been every morning. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he had to escort me to class, he no longer had the common courtesy to come to my dorm room the way he had last year.

  Honestly? I was over this whole arrangement. If it weren’t for the fact that I had already nearly landed myself into trouble this year, I would have taken it up with Headmaster Crane myself. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that, but I could take it out on Brett. And that was exactly what I decided to do that morning.

  “You know, I’m getting really tired of you having to follow me around everywhere I go,” I told him as we headed toward the building where classes were held.

  “You think I actually like this, Juliana?” Brett asked, his dark eyes meeting mine. “I’m constantly late to class, considering you take your sweet little time between classes.”

  “Well, I’m sorry to burden you. But if it’s such an inconvenience for you then, why don’t you ask Headmaster Crane if you can just stop?” I asked. “I’m sure you would much rather be escorting Everly to and from her classes than me. I don’t know why you didn’t just tell me the two of you are back together. I don’t know why she didn’t either, considering she’s one of my best friends now. Did both of you think this would end up hurting me?”

  “Wait, what are you talking about? Everly and I aren’t back together,” Brett said, shaking his head. “Where did you even get that idea from?”

  “You don’t have to lie to me, Brett. I always see the two of you together. I see the way you look at her. If you guys are back together, it wouldn’t be the most surprising thing at this point.”

  “Why would I lie to you, Juliana? You’re one of my best friends. I would never lie to you.” There was a sincere look behind his dark brown eyes—a look that actually made me believe that what he was saying was true.

  “But you’re always hanging out with Everly,” I insisted.

  “Because we’ve known each other since we were kids. She’s one of my best friends. No one else knows me better than her. It’s not because we’re together.”

  “Then why don’t you want me to be your girlfriend anymore?” I found myself asking. Not that being his girlfriend was something I even wanted at this point. Not after the way things were evolving with Kaden. He was the only one who I wanted to be with.

  “I thought I was ready for a relationship, but it turns out that I’m not. I have a lot of work I need to do on myself first before I’ll be ready to be with anyone.” His dark eyes flicked over to meet mine. “Believe me when I say this has absolutely nothing to do with you, Juliana. I think you’re amazing and if you’re still on the market when I’m ready, I would want to be with you.”

  “I get it,” I replied, trying to stay neutral about the whole thing. The last thing I needed was for him to know I’d already moved onto Kaden. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a hard time about all of this.”

  “No, you have no reason to apologize. I owed you an explanation about why things changed, so I’m glad you brought it up,” Brett replied as we approached the Elemental Magic II classroom. His dark eyes met mine. “Have a good day.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled at him.

  I was just about to sit down at my desk when a pixie flitted into the room. She was tiny, with light blonde hair and periwinkle wings.

  “Juliana Montgomery?” She squeaked out as she hovered above me.

  “That’s me,” I replied with a nod.

  “I have a delivery for you.” She dropped an envelope onto my desk and then flitted out of the room.

  The other students in the classroom were staring at me. It was rare for students to get pixie mail deliveries during our actual classes; usually, they just went to our dorm rooms.

  Opening the envelope, I found a letter from Headmaster Crane.

  Miss Montgomery,

  Your Dark Magic Aptitude Test is ready for you to take in Room 101 in the House of Darkness. Please take the test during your homeroom classroom. Let Professo
r Ryan know that I have excused you from class, but do not let her know what you will be testing for.

  Good luck.

  Headmaster Crane

  Just as I rose to my feet, Professor Ryan was walking into the door.

  “Juliana, are you going somewhere?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Headmaster Crane said to let you know that I’m excused from class today.”

  She looked a little bit confused, but she nodded her understanding.

  ***

  As I headed towards the House of Darkness, an eerie feeling began to creep over me. The closer I got, the more intense the feeling got.

  I noticed all of the shadows that just seemed to hang around the House of Darkness. The weirdest part about it all was that there weren’t even any trees around to cause the shadows.

  I reached for the door to the building, and I noticed that it was cold—much colder than any of the doors to any of the other buildings. It wasn’t even cold outside.

  A shiver crept down my spine.

  If I was a warlock—and it seemed like there was a very good chance that I was—then I was going to have to take classes in the House of Darkness at some point. Maybe not this year, but possibly next year. And the idea of having to come into this building every—or any—day sounded completely awful.

  Something about this building felt so much different from all of the other Houses at Paranormal Academy. Something about it sort of felt… haunted.

  I knew I was probably being paranoid. The vibes I was getting probably had to do with all of the dark magic that the students were probably practicing from inside the House’s walls.

  A thought occurred to me then. If I was actually a warlock, would I have been so sensitive to all of this dark magic? Would it have given me weird vibes, or would I have found myself thriving on it instead?

  I wasn’t sure, but we were about to find out.

  As I headed for Room 101, I heard the sound of someone screeching down the hallway. I wasn’t sure what the noise was; all I knew was that I never heard sounds like that in any of the other buildings.

  When I entered the room, I found a tall man with dark hair sitting at a desk. His dark eyes flicked up to meet mine. “Juliana Montgomery?”

  I nodded.

  “Welcome to the House of Darkness. My name is Professor Briggs, and I am going to be the administrator of your Dark Magic Aptitude Test,” he explained. “The first portion of the test is a written component, and then we’ll move on to the magic portion. Please have a seat, so we can get started.” He motioned to an empty desk.

  As I sat down, he placed a packet in front of me, along with a pencil. “For this portion of the exam, you’re going to look at each of the pictures and then write what word comes to mind when you see them.” He smiled at me. “Good luck.”

  I began to go through the pictures, writing down what word I thought of first:

  Creatures

  Spider - Bite

  Snake - Poison

  Scorpion - Sting

  Dragon - Fly

  Unicorn - Colorful

  Sting-ray - Marine

  Turtle - Shell

  Butterfly - Caterpillar

  Bat - Vampire

  Objects

  Kite - Fly

  Car - Drive

  Bus - Transportation

  Money - Work

  Desk - Learn

  Brooms - Fly

  Hats - Witches

  Book - Spell book

  Elements

  Water - Drown

  Fire - Burn

  Earth - Crumble

  Wind - Blow

  Miscellaneous

  Potions - Magic

  Spells - Magic

  Power - Greed

  Hair - Locks

  Mountain - Fall

  Once I was finished, I gave Professor Briggs the packet. He looked over my answers and then stared me with a stone-cold expression. I couldn’t even begin to make sense of what he was thinking.

  “Okay, we’re going to move into a different room for the magical component of your aptitude test. Follow me, please.”

  Professor Briggs led me down the hallway into a dark room. It didn’t look like a classroom. I wasn’t really sure what type of room it was.

  “I hope you’re not afraid of snakes,” he told me, his dark eyes studying mine.

  Goosebumps erupted on my arms. “Actually, I am afraid of snakes.”

  I knew that probably sounded ridiculous, compared to everything I had encountered since coming to Paranormal Academy. I’d come face-to-face with, and actually spoken to, actual living, breathing dragons. I’d been bit by an evil dog-like Monster Thing in the Blackwood Forest. I had conjured a scary as hell sea monster. But if someone were to put a garden snake in front of me, I would have been running for the freaking hills.

  “Well, my apologies,” Professor Briggs said. “For the first test, I’m going to put you alone in a room with fifty snakes.”

  “Fifty snakes?” My heart pounded against my chest at the thought. Thank god I was an immortal. I was pretty sure that if I was a human, I would have had a heart attack and dropped dead right then and there.

  Professor Briggs nodded. “Your job is going to be to get rid of the snakes using nothing but your magic.” His eyes met mine. “These snakes are spelled. They can only be killed using dark magic.”

  “So, if I’m able to kill the snakes, then that means I’m a warlock?” I asked him.

  “Not necessarily. We have some other tests to run, but it will help point us in the right direction.” He paused. “Any other questions?”

  “Are the snakes poisonous?” I asked.

  Professor Briggs nodded. “Yes. We couldn’t just give you this test with garden snakes. Our students wouldn’t even have the desire to try to kill them if they weren’t scary. Rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and coral snakes have a much bigger fear factor. But don’t worry. You are an immortal, so even though the snakes are poisonous, they can’t actually hurt you. They can bite, and their strike might hurt. But you won’t die.”

  “Oh. Good point.” I breathed the slightest sigh of relief.

  Professor Briggs laughed. “We may be the House of Darkness, but we would never do anything to intentionally harm or kill our students, Juliana. This test is really just to analyze your skills.” He paused. “Now, if you have no other questions, let’s begin.”

  I nodded. I knew that the sooner I began this test, the sooner it would all be over with.

  “Okay. I’m going to go release the snakes. I’m supposed to turn the lights off for an added fear effect. I’m not allowed to let you know when I’ve released them, either.” He shot me an apologetic glance as he headed towards the front of the room.

  A moment later, the lights flicked off.

  I took a deep breath as I waited.

  And waited.

  I secretly began to panic, knowing that the snakes were about to be released and then I was going to have to try to figure out a way to magically kill them. It was also strange to think that there were fifty poisonous snakes in here just waiting to be released at any given moment.

  And that was when I heard the sounds of them: slithering, hissing, and rattling.

  Even through the darkness, I could see as a snake came into view. It had to be at least three feet long, and just the sight of it made my heart thump like a snare drum.

  They all began to appear then, snakes slithering their way across the floor

  I racked my mind for a way to kill it… and then I had a thought.

  Electricity.

  I had never actually performed an electricity spell. We had talked about them in class at the end of last year, but we’d never actually been taught how to do them. The reason, obviously, was because it was something that they only taught in Dark Magic classes. So, I was going to be completely winging this.

  At that moment, one of the snakes slithered forward even further and I took a step back.

  Pointing m
y finger at the snake closest to me, I thought about how I wanted to zap it away. A bluish electrical wave, which looked like lightning zapped the snake, causing it to fall to the ground, completely lifeless. And then something happened… something completely terrifying.

  The electrical jolt bounced off the snake and onto the next—and onto the one beside that one, until all fifty snakes had been completely zapped away.

  A huge sense of relief washed over me at the realization that I had just blasted every single one of the snakes away. They were gone. Dead.

  Even though I wasn’t a big fan of the idea of killing anything, I was relieved that the poisonous snakes could no longer hurt me or anyone else.

  When lights flicked back on, and Professor Briggs just at me from across the room. “Wow, that was incredible.”

  “It was?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

  “No one who has ever entered this room has more effectively mastered this. This is exactly what we want to happen—this level of dark magic mastery. But we’ve only had one student who’s ever come close to this.”

  “So, what does that mean, exactly?” I asked. “Am I warlock?”

  “We have to analyze your magic, actually.” Professor Briggs pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and then scooped up a handful of snakes and tossed them into a brown paper bag. “Once we take a better look at how the snakes died, we’ll have a better idea of whether or not you were Dark Magic Born.”

  “Dark Magic Born?” I questioned.

  “Born of Dark Magic,” he explained. “There are magic users who are born warlocks, but there are also those who naturally learn to perform dark magic, too. Some witches even go on to convert to warlocks.”

  “They do?”

  Professor Briggs nodded.

  “Wow.” For some reason, I had never heard this before. The only thing that had ever come close was Kaden, who had joined the Dark Coven. Except, I didn’t really consider him to be a true dark magic convert for two reasons: 1). He had done it to protect me, and 2). He was half-warlock, so technically, he was already Dark Magic Born. Or at least partly Dark Magic Born.

  “I’m not supposed to tell you what I think, but between you and me? Based on everything that I just saw, I think it’s safe to say that you are a warlock. I was able to collect enough dark magic from you, so it’s not necessary to follow through with the rest of the aptitude tests. So, your results will be confirmed within the next couple of days. You’ll receive a letter from the Headmaster. But off the record? I look forward to seeing you in my classes. I have a feeling we’re going to do some really cool things together, and I can’t wait to help you get a handle on your abilities so you can use them for the greater good. You’re free to leave.”