Undercover Witch Academy Box Set

by Rachel Medhurst

  “What are we hiding from?” Dracian crawled around the altar, making me jump so hard, I gasped loudly. Glancing around the side, he darted back, his eyebrows wiggling. “Be careful, there's... there's... students out there!”

  Trying my hardest not to smile as he pretended that we were under attack, I punched him on the arm. He had no idea that a shadow – which was now gone – had been spying on me. Could it be the snake-napper?

  He smiled back, his eyes dancing in amusement. For a split second, his beauty distracted me so much, I forgot where I was as quiet laughter filtered through me.

  “If you circle the right, I'll circle the left and we'll herd them all together. That way, those nice people looking for you will be hemmed in with the enemy.”

  “Enemy?” I shook my head, my breath rushing in and out as he moved closer. The shadow man was completely forgotten now.

  Pushing my spine into the altar, I was almost lying down.

  He leant over me, bringing his head to hover just above mine. “Everyone's your enemy, right?”

  Swallowing really hard, I opened my mouth to reply. Nothing came out. I must have looked like a young girl, not an eighteen year old woman, just coming into her own as she endeavoured to endure life on campus with other witches. Instead, I hid from adults, unable to reply to the hot guy slash killer, who currently held his plump, far too pretty lips right near mine.

  “I would ask if the cat's got your tongue,” Dracian said, chuckling to himself. “But I know you don't have a familiar.”

  Fury surged through me, my mouth dropping open wide. I was about to thrust up from where I sat, but Mrs Hinley's voice came closer as she led the parents out of the double doors at the side of the ballroom. Instead, I was stuck staring into Dracian Dread's eyes.

  “I didn't mean that the way it came out,” he said, raising his hands in surrender as I violently pushed him away from me.

  Checking around the other end of the altar, I got up as soon as I saw that the room had been cleared.

  Professor Seaton strode in from the entrance hall, just as Dracian came out from behind the altar. Raising his greying eyebrows, he shook his head in dismissal and gestured for us both to go to him.

  “As you're here,” he said to Dracian. “You can help Alishia get the snake down. Work together to find the clues that might have been left.”

  Clicking his tongue, he eyed my attire. “Isn't that a little high?”

  “It's standard issue,” I told him, frowning down at my skirt. Now I really was back in high school.

  The cute black boots came to my ankle, hiding the little socks that kept my feet from sweating buckets. It was so old fashioned to have a uniform in higher education, but apparently, if we wanted to represent the academy, we had to wear some sort of uniform. My leather jacket didn't adhere to the rules, but the professor wore one himself, so he wasn't about to berate me.

  “Hhhmmm... why did I allow Mrs Hinley to take the lead on such things? Aren't you too old to be wearing a uniform anyway?”

  Taking off his blazer, Dracian threw it over his shoulder. He had obviously shoved it on over his jeans and T-shirt in an attempt to look a little like he had conformed.

  “Can we retrieve Toby now, please?” I interrupted, not at all impressed that the men were talking about clothes at such an important time.

  “Ah, yes.” Professor Seaton tapped a drumbeat on his rotund belly. “I've got a ladder just outside, I'll be right back.”

  He shuffled from the room, his strides slow considering we had to get the snake down as quickly as possible. Mrs Hinley had seemed rather harassed that such a thing had happened in the ballroom.

  “Did you hear that two students have lost their magic?” Dracian stared up at the snake, his dark eyes completely focused on the dead familiar. “Do you think it's connected?”

  Two? I had told Isabel and Helissa about what I'd overheard between the professors the morning before, but the day had proceeded without a hitch. We had gone to our classes, keeping our ears open and our eyes peeled, but nothing had shown up. How did Dracian Dread know about the witches?

  “I... who was the second witch?”

  He narrowed his gaze on me. “So, you knew about the first.”

  Shaking my head, I cleared my throat and put my hands on my hips. “I overheard something about a witch losing their magic, but I don’t know how it happened.”

  My scathing glare did nothing to smooth his cocky grin. He knew more than me, but that was okay, because he was sharing the information. I would use that to my advantage.

  “Are you going to tell me about the other witch?”

  The scraping of metal on the ground came to us from the hallway. It seemed Professor Seaton was taking his time getting the ladder.

  Folding his arms across his chest, Dracian watched me with his dark eyes. “A lad was eating in the cafeteria last night when he collapsed. He had complained about feeling weak all day. When they took him to the infirmary, they could barely trace his magic. He was depleted.”

  Professor Seaton came into the ballroom, dragging the ladder with him.

  Dracian rushed to help him, all smiles. It was almost sickening that the boy had almost charmed me too. I had to keep my guard if I wanted to keep my distance enough to expose him. It had been tricky to investigate him, having been too wrapped up in finding Toby.

  That pang of guilt flushed through me, making me shudder as I glanced up at the dead snake. It had been my fault that he was currently hung over the chandelier. I had to come clean to Helissa.

  “Alishia,” the professor said as Dracian set up the step ladder right next to me. “Make sure to tell Dracian everything you see up there. Once the snake is down, I can go up and do a magic trace to see if our database has a match.”

  “Database?”

  Starting up the ladder, I kept my feet firmly on the steps, not able to look up. As bad as I felt, picking up the dead snake wasn't exactly a thrilling idea. Yes, I wanted to be an agent and learn everything I needed to learn to become successful, but dead animals... eww.

  “The academy and most agencies have their own magic database as well as blood and fingerprints. We are able to swab magic and check the imprint through our database. All students would've sent a swab when they applied to the academy.” Professor Seaton raised his eyebrows when I glanced down at him.

  “Except me, I suppose,” I said, pausing on the steps.

  Inclining his head, he brushed a hand through his straggly greying hair. “It took us a long time to determine whether you were right for our academy.”

  Yeah, it really had. They had literally left it to the last minute, which had been kinda cruel, considering I wanted to escape the hellish home of foster care, a place I had come to detest. Who wanted to live with a man who drank heavily and kept the door open while on the toilet? Not me, that's for sure.

  “Go on, say it,” I said to Dracian, my fingers tightening around the metal rung of the ladder. “They made a mistake in thinking that I was.”

  Shrugging, Dracian pointed at the snake. “Can we get on with it? I'm missing out on my favourite class.”

  “Favourite class?” I snorted. “You have witch literature with me, how can that…? You know what,” I muttered, returning to my climb. “...never mind.”

  The floor got further and further away, the stone tiles growing smaller as I reached the high-vaulted chandelier.

  Dracian held the ladder firmly for me, especially when it wobbled slightly. Bloody thing, if I fell off and snapped my neck, I hoped my ghost would come back and haunt the pair of them. I wanted my death to be more glamorous. Maybe in a gun fight with a rogue vampire who snapped my neck or something.

  “What do you see?” Professor Seaton called when I came in line with the hanging snake.

  Considering the school was full of magic people, it went beyond reason that it was me who was perched on top of a crazy tall stepladder, surveying a dead snake. Ah, it was because I was disposable. That had to be
it.

  Steadying myself, I stared at Toby. “A dead snake.”

  The professor sighed loudly, rubbing his hand over his beard. “Anything else? Don't look with normal eyes, question everything.”

  Licking my lips, I concentrated, looking at everything around the snake. “He has a slit across his throat.”

  “Is there anything on the arm of the chandelier?” Dracian called.

  Glancing down, I raised my eyebrows at the boy. He held a tablet in his hand, typing something on it as I stared at him. He was such a hypocrite. A part of me believed that it had been him who arranged it, especially as he had run after the snake-napper. The boy we had chased hadn't shown up again, but we had planned to sneak into the secretary's office to check out student files to try and find him. Was he the one who had threatened me with the note?

  “There's a smudge of blood, maybe a finger print could be lifted off it. There's nothing else that I can see.”

  Professor Seaton went over to the corner of the room. Picking up a blanket, he slowly came back over. “Okay,” he muttered. “Well done for trying.”

  Was that a half-arsed attempt at telling me that I'd done a crap job? Yep, it seemed like it.

  Dracian frowned up at me, tapping the edge of the ladder. “Let me go up,” he said to the professor.

  Shaking his head, the professor lifted the blanket towards me, encouraging me to take it. “If there's nothing else, you’d better fetch him down. You don't have magic that will interfere with the imprint. I'll be checking it out. Dracian, you can stay and watch.”

  Heat exploded through me. How dare he just dismiss me as if I were useless? I had never tried to investigate anything before. I would prove the bastard wrong.

  “Give me a moment,” I said quietly, going back to inspecting the snake. “Wait, he has a... I wonder if that was there before. He has an A scratched onto his head. That's so cruel. How could someone-?”

  “Concentrate.” The professor's stern tone snapped me out of my tirade.

  Swallowing, I reached towards the chandelier. “Can I touch it?”

  “Only if you're extremely careful. You should have gloves on, but we didn't have time to get you any.”

  Swallowing, I froze when a dark shadow shot past the doors that led to the entrance hallway. Was someone out there, listening in? Maybe it was the snake-napper? Shuddering as the hairs on the back of my neck rose, I couldn’t help but feel like someone had been watching me.

  “Hello?” Dracian called, snapping me out of my fear-induced stupor.

  Returning my attention to the task at hand, I tried to shake off my suspicion. Sliding the snake over, I clenched my teeth when two small words were revealed. Etched into the scaly skin, they glared at me, obviously cast from a spell. Tell Me.

  The words were tiny, and as I watched, they faded from sight. That meant the message had been for me. I had seen spells that disappeared once the receiver had got the message. Great, how did I tell the professor? Could I tell him? Not with Dracian around.

  “Toby has been looped over, maybe that means something?”

  My heart beat loudly in my ears. I knew what the clue led to. It was the person who wanted to know how I had managed to create magic from sources other than people. How could I tell the professor that when Dracian stood there? I was sure that he had something to do with it.

  “We've got that noted down,” Dracian said. “Anything else? Are his eyes open or closed? Does the chandelier have any debris on it?”

  Trying my hardest not to squirm, I concentrated again. “His eyes are shut, although I don't know why that would make a difference considering he's dead.”

  The professor chuckled before he spoke. “These are all viable questions that should be asked. Good job, Mr Dread.”

  Oh course, Mr Dread gets the credit. The son of a bitch had well and truly wormed his way into the professor’s affections. Not for long, Mr Dracian Dread. As soon as I had proof that it was you that killed my parents, I would tell the whole academy before getting you arrested. It would be a joy to see teacher’s pet sent to prison.

  “Sir,” Dracian said quietly. “I'm concerned about the rumours that are circulating. Apparently, two people have lost their magic in the space of a few days. Do you know what could've caused it?”

  My gaze shot down, straight at the professor, who instantly glanced up at me. His cheeks turned pink as he coughed and shook his head. “No, we have no clues yet. Please, let’s get on with this.”

  Why had he looked at me? Were he and Mrs Hinley still suspicious of me? Surely not. I had an alibi... didn't I? I had no idea when the students had actually lost their magic, which didn't look good for me. However, I did know that it wasn’t me who had taken their magic, so there was some other explanation for it. I just didn't know what.

  “There's nothing else here,” I said, agitated by the conversation. “Shall I bring him down?”

  Nodding, the professor wiped the sweat from his brow. “Yes, the parents will be filtering back through soon, make haste.”

  Moving down the ladder, I snatched the blanket from him and went back up to retrieve Toby. It wasn't easy picking up my roommate’s dead familiar and placing him in the blanket, but once I did, I cradled it to me, willing him to somehow be alive. If he was truly dead, which he was, worse could happen if I kept ignoring the person trying to find out my secret. I would write them a note, but it would be worded very differently to how they expected it.

  “Careful now,” the professor said as they both held the ladder. “We don't want any injuries, and we need that snake intact so we can-”

  “I know, I know.” Taking each step, I tried to ignore the flush of anger that heated my skin. “So you can use proper magic to carry out the investigation.”

  “Don't underestimate yourself.” Taking my arm without flinching, he helped me down. “You were invited here because we think you'd make an exceptional agent if taught the right skills.”

  Snorting, I held onto Toby as I reached solid ground. “If you say so. He's gone mad, Dracian,” I said to my enemy, forgetting myself.

  Dracian stayed quiet, watching me as if I was a fascinating television show.

  The professor smiled at me, a small sad smile. As if he pitied the life out of me, when really... who was I kidding? Most witches pitied me and my missing magic. It was no wonder I had a chip on my shoulder.

  “Can I take him to see Helissa before you start your investigation?”

  The professor went to protest but stopped when Dracian piped up. “I think that might be kind, sir. It might help Helissa to say goodbye.”

  Running a hand over his face, the professor blinked as if he hadn't slept at all. Maybe he hadn't. With a missing familiar and two students who had lost their magic, the academic year hadn't got off to a good start.

  “Very well, but don’t let anyone else touch him, do you hear me? I won’t be able to tell what's happened to him if you do.”

  Agreeing, I thanked him before rushing from the ballroom.

  Footsteps behind me made me look over my shoulder. Dracian followed me, tablet in hand.

  “What are you doing?” I asked as I sped up, heading towards the stairs in the right wing.

  His footsteps were loud as we almost ran, me trying to get away from him, him trying to catch up. His breath came close to my neck as he eventually reached me at the bottom of the stairs.

  “What do you want?” Spinning, I faced him, Toby still cradled to me.

  “You act so cold, and yet, you hold that snake as if it were a live baby.” His dark brooding presence was starting to get on my nerves. My body shook as the grainy image of him crossing in front of my home’s CCTV camera made me clench my hands in the blanket.

  Frowning, I shrugged, raising my eyebrows. “And...?”

  ”You've got a real problem with me, even though you don't know me.”

  “Oh, I know you.” My voice was tense, but I quickly cleared my throat, turning back towards the stairs. “Leav
e me alone, I need to get Toby back to Helissa.”

  His footsteps still sounded behind me as I ran up the stone steps. He wasn't going to give up that easily. My stupid mouth would get me in trouble before I had the chance to do anything. My revenge had kept me going for years, although, I had read a few self-help books recommended to me by my therapist. I mostly took on board that I had to forgive people. Who the hell was I kidding? I was a witch without magic and a grudge that might get me killed. As if I was going to allow a young boy to get away with murder. Literally.

  “I heard about what happened to you.”

  Snarling, I kept going, refusing to be dragged into a conversation that I didn't want to have. He would play ignorant, pretending to not know who my parents were. If he dared to try and pity me, he would probably get his balls ripped off. Some would say that was harsh, but he deserved it.

  “I'm sorry about your parents,” he called as I came to the top of the stairs.

  Spinning, I glared down at him. All the fury of the past five years bubbled in my chest, making it hard for me to breathe. “Leave me alone, Dracian Dread, you hideous person!”

  Okay, so the insult was a little lame, but storming away was satisfying. The past few days had been extremely tough. And to top it off, the teachers suspected it was me who was taking the students magic. When would my life get better?

  My feet rushed down the hallway, my fist pounding on our door as soon as I reached it. I had to try and channel some of my fury before I went back to class. I also had to calm myself enough to give Toby to Helissa.

  “Who is it?” Isabel called.

  When I replied, the door opened quickly.

  My gaze landed on Helissa, who sat huddled on the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees and a puff of curly brown hair tied in a bun on her head.

  “I have him,” I whispered, the anger that had filled me moments before flowing straight out of me.

  Jumping from the bed, she came over. The blanket hid most of her familiar, but her eyes screwed up as she cried out, reaching forward to stroke him.