Bloodwood Academy Shifter: Semester Two (Bloodwood Year One Book 2)

by Rae Foxx

  “You’re late,” Scarlet said as I slid into the seat next to her, my guys filing into the row behind like my entourage, which I guess they were.

  “Demon trouble,” I grumbled, taking a quick glance to make sure no one was paying attention.

  “Figured,” Scarlet said with a shrug. “Well, it was either that or…” she gave some weird shifty-eyed expression while knocking her head behind her. The result was a drunken head wobble that made it appear like she had knocked back a few too many. Or was possessed. Either way, all she was missing was the drool.

  “Technically, it was both,” I sighed, folding my arms in an effort to hide my hands that were heating thanks to the memory of what I had the boys do.

  “Guess I was right either way,” Scarlet said, laughing too loudly and pulling the attention of Nicky, who stood at the podium rambling about rules concerning hallway activity.

  Her fiery gaze was so narrowed I was sure she was trying to prod some lasers into being. Nothing happened, Scarlet blushed and sunk into her seat. Nicky’s laser vision focusing on me, I stared right back, wolf growling.

  I’ll show her laser eyes.

  “Ivy,” Finn whispered from behind me, as though he could tell what I was about to do. He probably could. I quickly lowered my eyes before I caught the curtains on fire.

  Nicky smiled in victory and started right into the spiel that was clearly the purpose of this meeting.

  “As many of you know there has been a shift in the Witches…”

  “Okay, you’ve got to tell me about that Tommy guy,” Scarlet started in the second it was clear this whole thing didn’t revolve around us somehow. I gave her a warning glance, but everyone was focused on Nicky now.

  There hadn’t been much time for me to fill Scarlet in on all the details last night or this morning. I guessed that moment was as good as any.

  “He’s my ex. From the trailer park.” She gave me a look. She knew that much from the rambling tirades of last night. “I’ve got no idea why he’s here.” I tacked on, knowing it was what she wanted to know anyway. It was only a partial lie. I knew why he said he was here, but even I wasn’t dumb enough to trust a demon. I guess it all came down to if he got me any information I could use.

  She slunk back in her chair, clearly disappointed. “I still don’t get how you couldn’t tell your trailer park boyfriend was a demon. How could you not smell that...decay?”

  I sneered at my friend. “Everything smells bad there.”

  Hell, my mom had gravitated there after my dad left for some reason. Momma was something magical. Between her and Tommy, it was clear she wasn’t the only one. Silly me had thought it was just a trashy place to live.

  We paused as exaggerated sobs trickled down from the stage. Nicky was forcing tears with such zeal that there was sweat on her upper lip. She even went so far as to dab her handkerchief at her dry cheeks.

  “What the fuck? What is she doing?” I was too confused as to what was going on to laugh. She looked like a child pouting that someone had stolen their favorite toy.

  “As it has been almost three weeks since anyone has heard from the sister our witch covens have made the heart-wrenching choice to assume the worse.”

  Missing witch.

  I glanced across the auditorium to the witches who sat huddled together crying more realistically than Nicky. I suddenly had the feeling that I should have been paying more attention--if only because I knew what had happened three weeks ago and what happened to the witch that we had encountered in the hidden room in Nicky’s office. I stiffened, sitting up in my chair.

  ‘Did you hear who it was?’ I asked Howl, not daring to turn around and face him.

  ‘The head of the witches in the school, I think. The matriarch of their coven…’ Okay, so he had been talking too. Didn’t matter, though. It fit.

  I doubted Nicky would be partnering up with some nobody witch to perform blood rituals in the basement.

  I squared off my shoulders, trying not to look too interested as Nicky glanced our way.

  “Since our precious witch sister was taken, we have been searching and hoping for her return. With little to no clues as to who has taken her or why, we have reached a dead end. We ask that everyone, especially the witch factions, be extra cautious when leaving campus and stay in groups whenever possible. We cannot be too vigilant.”

  The room instantly broke up into fearful mumbles, which was probably her intent, nothing fuels villains like a little bit of chaos. With a few words, she had caused more than her fair share.

  She didn’t even need Pater or Jackson or any of them really. She had the makings of a villain all on her own.

  “With the loss of the witches’ high priestess, they have elected a new matriarch. Today we would like to introduce her to all of you. If you haven’t met her before, it is my pleasure to present High Priestess Aliah.”

  Nicky stepped back, arms out like Vanna White, as a beautiful woman in dark robes and ruby jewels flowed her way onto the stage as though she was on a conveyor belt.

  The witches clapped, everyone else mumbling and questioning. Not gonna lie, after seeing the haggard old woman in the basement, I was not expecting this.

  Aliah was young. Beautiful.

  And clearly powerful.

  “Is she seriously playing that off as a missing person?” Scarlet asked, clearly affronted. I gave her a look.

  “It’s not like we can advertise your first kill on the side of a cereal box. But don’t worry, I remember.” She was full-on pouting now. What can I say? Truth hurts.

  “Goddess’ blessings on you all,” Aliah began in a voice as airy and beautiful as she was. Well, if I had plans to continue my conversation with Scarlet, that was gone now. I wanted nothing more than to hear this woman speak all day, every day. “It is with sorrow that I come to you today…”

  “Fine, no witch announcement,” Scarlet hissed in my ear, thankfully pulling me from whatever spell Aliah was casting over the room. Even my guys were staring at her with their mouths open. I ground my teeth together, letting my magic spark and forcing them all to smack themselves.

  Everyone around them broke out into quickly concealed laughter until our side of the auditorium sounded like we had sprung a leak.

  They all dropped-jaw stared at me, but I blew them a kiss and turned back around.

  Hopefully, they had learned their lesson, or I was going to have to teach them later.

  ‘Yes, please.’ Howl’s voice alone made me shift and cross my legs, never mind what he had said, or what I could clearly hear him thinking.

  “How are those guys going to act with a demon joining their midst?” Scarlet asked, pulling me from a quickly growing fantasy as we turned away from the three. I nearly fell out of my chair with what she had asked.

  “He’s not joining anything.” I protested a little too fiercely, forcing myself to focus on the still rambling Aliah.

  “Whatever. Why else would he be here? You attract the sexy ones like candy. Even for a demon, that guy was lickable.” I gave her a look. She was starting to sound like Saxon. It was making me uncomfortable. She ignored me and plowed on.

  “Besides, haven’t you already slept with him?” I think she might have slapped me with that. “Damn, how is a demon in bed? Or...didn't he say something about a van?”

  Not the best. Not the worst.

  No. No. No.

  Why was I even answering that?

  “I’m not talking to you about this.” If I stared at Aliah any harder I was going to light her on fire instead of the curtains.

  “Oh yes you are. So what are you going to do...Alpha?”

  I chose to ignore that, instead stubbornly staring at the stage as another witch entered and bowed toward Aliah, who gestured sweepingly in introduction.

  “This is Priestess Levia, she has served the witch community well and serves as one of the four pillars of our coven. Four pillars, for the four families that birthed our society from the mud a millennium bef
ore.” She paused as though everyone should understand.

  Looks like everyone did. They were all nodding in understanding. I was the only one who looked forward like a loon.

  “Levia Silverthorne represents the house of Junius,” Aliah finished as she stepped away, giving space for Levia to take the microphone.

  Me? I had frozen, my ears ringing and everything about me began to swim.

  I would be concerned that a demon was bleeding me dry, except that I knew why the world was cracking and falling apart.

  I knew where I had heard that name before.

  Junius.

  Ivory Junius.

  It was on my birth certificate.

  My mother was a witch.

  Chapter 20

  “Try this one,” Finn said, handing me yet another leather-bound book that smelled of dust and rot.

  I blew on the cover, dust flying everywhere and revealing an intricate gold inlay of both title and an image of a woman being burned at the stake. The picture was horrifying, but somehow the swirling gold cleansed them. She almost looked like she was singing to the flames, rather than being burned alive by them.

  “A History of Ancient Covens. The Life and Death of the Original Magic.” I read the title aloud before opening the book, the damn thing creaking when I cracked the spine.

  With each book Finn gave me, I was beginning to feel more and more like I was on a fool's errand.

  These books were massive, with tightly inked words that were often penned in languages I didn’t understand. I sat, cross-legged, in the dark secluded corner of the library, surrounded by piles of the books I had already gone through. Or tried to.

  Finding the word ‘Junius’ in these miles of text was a lot like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Or worse, a needle in a pile of needles.

  “I would see if you can find anything about the original houses,” Finn said, pulling out book after book, scanning title and front page before he placed them back on the shelf. Thankfully, he wasn’t adding to my pile. “She said it was an original family, an original pillar. So barring a name change, it should be mentioned in the first few chapters.”

  I nodded and dropped my eyes to the book, to the pages of tiny writing and pictures of death and spells and what looked hauntingly familiar to what we had encountered in the blood-filled cave.

  “What if there is a name change?” I asked with a sigh, flipping the page and scanning letters. This was far too difficult in the dim corner of the library, but there didn’t seem to be any other lights to turn on. Finn brought an old lantern over from the next table and lit it with a flick of his fingers.

  “We will figure it out,” Finn whispered, giving me a calm smile. “Don’t worry, honeybee, we will crack this mystery.”

  I gave him a grim smile and went back to scanning, to flipping pages, listening to Finn’s ladder creak as he pulled out book after book. After a few minutes, Finn’s ladder wasn’t the only thing creaking. Moaning echoed through the dust-covered air, one of the shelves two rows over shaking as the books we were looking at began to bounce.

  It wasn’t the first time someone had ventured near us. It was doing nothing for my focus. If I could find the damned name, I would be free to do some pounding of my own.

  The woman moaned louder, the guy saying something in a language I didn’t understand as everything continued to bump and thud and moan. I was clearly having trouble focusing. My heart rate accelerated as my thighs grew warm.

  Wet.

  I slammed the book I was reading shut.

  “Anything I can help with, honeybee?” Finn purred from where he was perched atop the ladder. I could have sworn the light that sat on the floor between us dimmed a bit.

  I knew what he wanted. Hell, I wanted the same thing. But if I didn’t figure out what Junius was, I might just drive myself to insanity.

  Not knowing was gnawing a hole in my gut, stretching the painful frayed edges from when Tommy had told me my mom was missing.

  My mother, Ivory Junius. The witch. It would figure I would find out what and who she was right when Tommy showed up to inform me that she was missing. Maybe it was a coincidence. Here were too many missing pieces there for me to believe she was some powerful witch anyway.

  If I kept my memories of my mother contained to my early memories, then all those puzzle pieces fit together. Powerful woman. Maybe a supernatural. Passionate. My mother wasn’t just the smiling, bread-making vixen from my elementary school years, though. She was also the strung-out, passed out on the couch, bringing her tricks home to the trailer park Mama, who cared more for her meth budget than her child's wellbeing.

  It didn’t fit.

  It was as though when my dad left, he took the best part of her with him and left me with a shriveling monster.

  “I’m fine,” I snapped, earning me a straight lipped smile from Finn.

  Yeah, I didn’t believe myself either.

  I went back to the book as the girl screamed in climax. The bookcases gave one last bounce and silence drenched the library once more.

  Turning pages.

  Sighs of frustration.

  Slamming covers.

  “I am becoming increasingly frustrated with your presence in my library,” a voice cut through the shadows, the lanky withered frame of the librarian following right behind.

  Wilma emerged from the shadows as though she had been there the whole time, her eyes narrowed at us, darting between me and Finn as she licked her lips.

  God, and I thought Tommy was terrifying when he did that.

  “Have we done something wrong?” Finn asked, smiling kindly at the old lady as he pulled a book from the shelf.

  “No,” her breathy voice sounded more like a snarl. “You aren’t doing anything, that’s the problem. Your combination would be lovely I believe. And yet, nothing. Just studying.”

  “Is there a problem with studying?” I asked. Wilma grimaced.

  “No,” the single word seemed painful for her to say. “Is there anything I can help you find? Seeing as you are insisting on ripping up my library without any form of payment...”

  Payment.

  Good lord, is that what these women thought all the fucking that went on in the shadows was?

  I shivered, holding a book against me like it was some kind of shield.

  “We are looking for the records of the witch covens,” Finn said, his steely eyes fixed on Wilma as he descended the ladder, each rung squeaking. “My mate is interested in all this because of the horrid announcement this morning.”

  “Oh,” the withered woman tipped her head forward and looked down at me. “I’m glad the news has sparked some interest in history. I am sorry to say, the Coven keeps those records within the pillars.”

  Crap.

  Of course, I go swimming in the library for no reason.

  “Even if they were, I would not leave them here for the messy students to find. Not without payment.” I had never seen Wilma smile before. I never wanted to see it again. Her face was contorting to unnatural shapes, her eyes darkening hangrily as she looked at us side by side. Her tongue flicked out against her pale lips again and I about hightailed it the other way.

  I would have if Finn hadn’t reached out and grabbed me, holding me against him as his fingers moved my hair out of the way, pulling my shirt down until my bra strap was exposed, his nails running over the bright red fabric with a faint scratching sound.

  Oh. My. God.

  He wasn’t really playing into this was he?

  His finger tapped against skin and bra as he clicked his tongue.

  Yes, yes he was playing into this old lady and her twisted delusions.

  And I wasn’t cringing.

  “Well, we have no problem cleaning up, if you can help us find the books we need,” he said, as all sorts of confused emotions worked their way through me.

  Moaning drifted from the other side of the library as if on cue, the ecstatic sounds faint as Finn’s hand moved from my shoulder to
my hip, holding me against him.

  Everything about this was wrong. The old woman staring at us, the echoes of sex that were oozing across the floorboards.

  I shouldn’t be wanting this.

  I shouldn’t be wanting him.

  I shouldn’t be getting wet.

  And yet I was, on all three counts.

  Wilma cleared her throat and stepped closer, blatantly staring at his hand as it rubbed down the front of my skirt. I couldn’t help it, I moaned and shivered.

  I fucking moaned as the old lady stared at me, as Finn’s palm pressed against my pelvis.

  Wilma gave a shaky exhale and stepped closer. Finn pulled me against him protectively.

  Well, at least he wasn’t planning following through and “paying back” the old woman.

  “But,” she finally said, licking her lips. “If they were to keep records of the Coven families on my shelves, I suppose they might want to keep them a secret. Where they are. What they look like. All secrets. Concealed. Right where you would see them if you knew how. I am sure those whose histories they hold would have the skills to do such things.”

  Oh, for fuck’s sakes.

  This place had thousands of books in it and she was talking in riddles.

  “I suppose we won’t get any more than that?” Finn asked, his fingers drumming against my pelvic bone.

  “Not without a higher cost.”

  If I wasn’t uncomfortable before, I was now. The ancient woman was looking at me as though she could see through my clothes, as though she was imagining what she would like to have happened.

  Gross.

  “Well, we will let you know,” Finn said, squeezed me against him.

  The librarian’s smile slid off her face. With a huff she stomped away, only giving us one longing look before she vanished behind the stacks and was swallowed by the shadows. I could almost guarantee that she was still watching us.

  “Well, now what are we going to do?” I asked, sagging against Finn’s chest, while I glared at the shadows.

  “We find the book,” Finn said simply, turning me around and planting a line of kisses along my cheek with each word.