"I’m helping." Amelia strokes his temples with fingers from both hands and incants a spell quietly. "This will steady you Jamie, but I agree with Maeve that you need checking out."
Jamie’s mouth turns down and I exchange a glance with Amelia. The pain in Jamie’s head isn’t what hurts him most here. Did he lash out to test whether the spell still held?
Without the pendant, he’s no longer protected by the magic.
"We should get back," I say. "Report them."
"How is that possible?" asks Jamie, voice thick. "They’ll tell everybody the whole story. And people will believe them."
Shit. I pace to the edge of the clearing with my hands in my hair, elbows at right angles. What do we do? First, get Jamie to safety and then—what? I’m about to be exposed and it’s my stupid fault.
"I’m the only one who did something wrong. I’ll deal with the fallout."
Faint moonlight illuminates Amelia’s pale face. "I used magic too."
I turn my eyes to the sky, where the stars peep from behind the clouds and disappear as quickly as clouds move by.
"Then we have to wipe their memories," I say.
Jamie coughs a weak laugh. "How? They’ll be back at the sports hall in ten minutes. We can’t catch them."
I open my mouth to protest at their pessimism, but he’s right. "Then we call Ash and hope he has his phone," I suggest. "Amelia?"
"We could, but Ash doesn’t have that skill."
"Tell him to ask Andrei." I smile, the solution simple in my mind.
"Ask Andrei to wipe a pupil’s mind? Three pupils? Maeve, that’s as illegal as what we did," Amelia protests.
I rub my cold hand across my nose and scramble for another solution. "Then ask Ash to intercept them before they can talk to people."
"Oh, god." Amelia’s voice wavers. "Why does all this crap happen to us?"
I squeeze my eyes closed. Because I’m here.
"I think Andrei would help," says Jamie softly. "If this threatens Maeve, he’ll step up. Look at how he confronted Tobias."
"He could ask Tobias for help?" I suggest.
"Oh, shit," says Amelia. "Wait until he finds out. And Theodora."
My heart races as we need to make a decision—and quick. "I don’t have Andrei’s number."
"Andrei didn’t take part, but he’s around. If Ash returns before Clive, this could work. Call him," Jamie urges Amelia.
With shaking fingers, Amelia does as Jamie asks.
"What about your head, Jamie?" I ask.
He shoves his hands in his pockets and kicks stones on the ground in front of him. "I’m the type who’d fall over, aren’t I? Not exactly the ‘sporty’ type. I’ll tell them I ran into a tree."
I move to give him a hug, but he sidesteps me and keeps his focus to the ground.
"We can’t let them get away with this, Jamie."
He lifts his eyes, the pain still in them. "We don’t have any choice."
"Because of me," I mumble to myself.
"Oh well, at least I wasn’t shot through the chest. Yet." He swallows. "Something to look forward to, now I’m a hundred percent sure the Blackwood protection is gone."
"Don’t say that."
He slumps to the ground and holds his head again. "Why not? It’s the truth."
Holding a hand on her forehead, a shaky Amelia sends Ash a text.
ASH
I wait outside the sports hall on a low metal bench for Maeve and her group to return, and the more time that passes, the more anxious I become.
I was grouped with Anton and Dane, who aren’t serious about the games and weren’t much help to my itch to win. They happily ambled after me, following my barked directions. Finally, I lost my shit and they speeded up. Despite all this, we were the first group to return. I saw Katherine’s group sprinting through the trees at vampire speed and we picked up our pace too. Vampires vs. shifters—the shifters won. The academy fools themselves if they think we won’t use our skills in competition.
I check my phone for the time. Two a.m. I expected Clive and his mob back by now, but they’re missing too. Is this a coincidence?
Professor O’Reilly sits on a bench inside the sports hall. He’s often dour, but tonight he’s tired and irritated—dark shadows sit beneath his eyes and his jaw is hard as he taps his pen on a clipboard. He isn’t my favourite professor, but over the years I’ve attended the academy, I’ve noticed his injuries weaken him further. When he walks around Gilgamesh house, his limp is more pronounced and he rubs his side often, grimacing.
Vincent stands over him and they talk. I wander over. "Everything okay?"
Vincent turns me to one side. "The professor is tired. I’m taking over while we wait for the others. Who’s missing?" he asks gruffly.
"One of the Walcott teams and one of Gilgamesh."
Vincent snaps his head around. "Gilgamesh? That surprises me. This is your strongest event."
I shrug. "They probably took a detour via the village."
"Why?"
"Any excuse to leave campus," I explain. "Pay a visit to the local pub."
Instead of anger, Vincent responds with a laugh. "Oh yeah, I remember sneaking into town. Good times. I wonder if that girl’s still around. She was fun."
He winks at me and I shake my head. Vincent’s popularity shone around him when he attended here, and as his brother, others expected me to take his place when he disappeared.
This earned me an uncomfortable reputation. I was never the manwhore Vincent once was, but kept up the pretence by surrounding myself with girls.
Or I did. Last night flickers into my mind.
We need to talk.
"Do you remember I brought the chick to the pub? Karen, I think her name was."
I remember a Karen. At fourteen years old, I’d remember a stunning girl like her. I especially remember her tight tops and ample breasts—almost the only thing on my mind around that time.
Is he deliberately teasing me again, the way he did back then? I can’t be annoyed, because this reinforces Vincent’s my brother—how could an imposter remember small details about his life in this way?
I test him a lot. Randomly throw him questions about things we’ve done. The other day, I asked him if he remembered our holiday to France. Confused, he said no.
The family never holidayed there.
Nobody can trip this guy up—because he’s Vincent. My brother knows what’s true and what’s false.
The words become a mantra and people have learned not to question his motives when I can hear. Me and Vincent aren’t dumb. We both know suspicion will follow him for a long time.
Professor O’Reilly struggles to his feet and heads over to a table and picks up another clipboard, where he logged earlier results. Now we wait for the straggling teams to ensure all times are recorded.
A message alert sounds on my phone and I pull it from a pocket.
Amelia.
I frown. Huh?
"Everything okay?" Vincent appears at my shoulder and I hastily shove my phone away. "All good."
His eyes narrow. "You sure?"
"Yeah."
Vincent waves a stopwatch at me. "Look out for the final teams. I’ll be back in five."
With a nod, I take the stopwatch and head back outside.
What does Amelia mean by ‘Maeve used mind control’? Why would she do that to Clive? Hell, this is one big slip up for her.
I tap the stopwatch with a finger. Sure, I can intercept Clive, but he won’t listen to me.
Students loiter in the dark, some sitting on benches outside the sports hall, others on the cold ground. They grumble that they need to wait—although some already snuck away.
I glance behind me. Vince escorts the professor towards the academy and away from me.
Why the hell has Amelia aske
d me? I can’t use mental magic—I’ve never been trained. Whipping the phone out, I check for more messages.
I sense something more has happened—there’s no way Maeve would use her powers unless she had a reason. Or is she out of control. Crap. I zip up my sports jacket and set off to look for Andrei.
We haven’t spoken much this term, but that’s Andrei’s fault and not mine. He’s odd, the way he involves himself with us and then immediately retreats. He helped me on Halloween. Assisted with repelling Dominion when Maeve was attacked. We don’t exactly welcome him with open arms, but I like the guy more than I did last year.
Maeve likes Andrei, and I’ve spotted her unhappiness when he doesn’t speak to us. Is she interested in a vampire? I can’t picture the pair kissing, but if she wanted to, that’s not my call to make. Maeve is a powerful witch and, once she discovers the position this puts her in, Maeve’s life will move further away from human. A witch this powerful will need for more than one person to stand by her, and she’s already created desire to be one of these in a few of us.
Maeve told me Tobias’s theory that we’re connected for a reason. I can accept that. If he or Jamie can, we won’t have an issue.
I search for Andrei, approaching groups and not-so-subtly scrutinising them. My pulse races as I keep an eye on the trees, worried that Clive will appear before I have a chance to speak to Andrei.
Following a fruitless search, I head back inside the hall.
Andrei sits in the far corner, head resting against the white-painted breeze block with his eyes closed. He opens an eye as I reach him, detecting me before I have a chance to speak.
"Yeah?" he asks.
"Maeve needs your help."
Instantly, Andrei pulls himself to his feet. "What do you mean? Where is she?"
I dig my hands into my pockets. "Maeve’s still out on the course."
He shoves hair from his face and darts a look to the door. "Do you want me to fetch her? Do you think she’s hurt?"
I’m surprised by his animated response, but shouldn’t be. He reacts like this every time Maeve needs something. I never thought I’d see this vamp care for anybody.
"Maeve’s with Jamie and Amelia." I guide him to one side and lower my voice. I’m annoyed I need to hide this from my brother, but the threat to Maeve is more important. "She’s used mind control on Clive. Amelia messaged to tell me."
Andrei’s eyes widen. "What? Why?"
"You need to make Clive forget tonight." I urge. "I don’t know why this has happened, but if we don’t do something, Clive will tell people about Maeve’s mind control."
"Something bad. What if she’s hurt?" He straightens his shoulders. "If that shifter dickhead has hurt her—"
"I don’t know why she did this, but she has. Can you help? You’re friends with Clive—he’ll talk to you."
Andrei pulls a face. "I’m only friends with him through Katherine, but yeah, he speaks to me."
We stride from the hall together and Andrei steps to the edge of the track that runs around the field perimeter. Light from the sports hall only allows my eyes to see a hundred metres or so and I strain to see as far as the edge of the woods.
Andrei halts at the edge and I catch up to him. "They’re coming. I can hear voices I recognise."
As soon as the words are out, a figure emerges from the woods and I join Andrei in squinting into the dark.
"Hah. Speak of the devil." Andrei winks as I attempt to make out who this is, but can’t. "Vampire sight helps. Okay. Distract your brother, and I’ll approach before the group reach here."
I clap Andrei on the shoulder. "Thanks for helping out again, dude."
He stares at my hand but doesn’t pull away. "I’m not doing this for you. No need to thank me."
As I remove my hand, Andrei slinks away and I cross my arms to watch for others appearing and hoping to hell Andrei works his magic.
As I watch his figure blend into the shadows, something strikes me.
Students aren’t permitted to use mental magic on each other outside the classroom.
Andrei is sticking his neck out for us. Again
Chapter Twenty-One
ANDREI
I pad across the grass towards the shifter emerging from the trees. Two things confuse me. Firstly, that Ash asked for my help and secondly, why the hell Maeve would risk discovery?
But who am I to criticise someone for making mistakes?
I bury my hands into my back pockets as I approach. "Hey, Clive," I say breezily. "Can I have a chat?"
But whoa. What did Maeve do to him? His eyes are dazed but his mouth set in determination.
A mouth covered in the blood that streaks his face.
He glances at me with his brow pinched but keeps striding to his goal. "I’m in a hurry. I’ve something really interesting to tell people."
Crap. "This is about Katherine. It’s important. I think she’s still out there and lost."
Clive halts and turns around. "Are you sure?"
I nod. "I’m headed out to look for Katherine. Are you coming?" I can practically hear the cogs whirring in Clive’s head—finish and win, or fulfil his duty to his beloved lamia. The lamia who’d have him by the balls if she knew he’d let her down.
If I was telling the truth, that is.
"Where are Remi and Seamus?"
He waves a hand. "I’ve walked ahead so I can speak to Vincent and Professor O’Reilly."
Why won’t the guy look at me? He runs a hand along his head. "Crap."
Clive’s knuckles look red to match his eyes. What the hell happened?
"I’ll help. We can soon track Katherine." Look at me. I need to do this before you walk away. "Clive?"
Finally, his eyes meet mine. One thing about a shifter is their minds are easy to wipe. Especially ones like him—all brawn and no brain with the emotional range of a potato. Katherine knows this too, so she easily keeps him under control.
Ash is different. He thinks things through. Cares about people. Is his stronger mind the reason she gave up and pursued Clive instead?
And I hope that strong mind remains if the ‘not-Vincent’ starts on him.
"Looks like you had a crap time out there, Clive. Did you get lost?"
Clive finally looks at me and snorts. "We met the witches."
Holding his gaze, I lower my voice. "I don’t think you did."
"We did. Did you know your witch girl controls minds? She’s dangerous. She made Remi do this." Clive points at his broken face and my hold on his mind drops as my shock registers. What the hell have you done, Maeve? Are they expecting me to wipe three pupils' minds?
"I doubt that," I retort. "Witches can’t usually control minds, and I think I’d know by now if she could."
"Yeah? Looks like some witches can. Such as Maeve. I’m reporting her. now."
"You didn't see Maeve."
I’d prepare myself for resistance as I reach out to his mind. But his mental barriers barely exist, his focus is running to the finish line and finding a professor. Something easy to interrupt. "Remi upset you, I suppose. What did you fight about?"
Doubt flickers in his eyes. "Uh. What?"
Sifting through his mind, I run my mental fingers across the things that upset him. To locate a thought with an emotional root that I can take and twist.
Ah. Here’s something interesting. "Remi is a tosser sometimes and he challenged your authority. The group lost their way because he insisted you listen to him. You lost your shit, which I understand. Sucks to come last in the challenge. To be a loser."
"We’re not losers," he retorts and runs a palm across the top of his head. "Remi... Yeah, he’s a dick. He should’ve listened to me."
"Maeve and her Walcott team aren’t back yet. Did you see them?"
I project my t
houghts harder and the energy pulls at his mind, yanking the immediate memories from his brain and replacing them with false ones. As I do, I snort softly at my role in the gang’s world—Andrei the mental magic expert who swoops in and saves the day.
Clive chews on his bottom lip and stares at the ground. "Maybe. Dunno. We were looking for the witches."
"Did you find them?"
"Nah." He tips his chin. "We were lost. Bloody Remi."
A smug relief flows through me as he repeats the words I’ve pushed into his mind. Man, I’m better than I thought at this. "Remi punched you in the face. You fought."
"Remi punched me, and he’ll bloody regret this. I’ll fucking knock him into next week." He touches his injured cheek and scowls.
I shake my head. "Ash won’t let you cause drama. Gilgamesh need to unify against the other houses. Your head boy is also counting on you winning. Gilgamesh lost to Petrescu last year—I’m sure you don’t want that to happen again."
With a shake of the head, Clive steps away. "Dude, are you trying to delay me so the witches can finish the competition before I do? Shit." He screws his face up. "Are we the last back?"
"Almost. If you wait here any longer, the last team will beat you—Maeve, Jamie, and Amelia."
Clive blinks at me and then shoves me hard to the side. "If I wait here any longer, the witch team will beat me."
I blow air into my cheeks as he breaks into a sprint towards the finish line and turn. Remi and Seamus appear on the tree line, running towards us at speed and barely panting.
"Whoa, guys," I say and slam a hand on Remi’s chest. "What’s happening?"
"Out of the way, bloodsucker," snarls Remi as he attempts to push me to one side.
Mentally, I curse Ash for asking me to do this and not telling me everything. A quick scan of their minds tells me this won't be difficult—the small amount of mental energy they have was used up in the challenge. They’re fired up, like Clive, unfocused.
I pull myself straight and look Remi in the eyes. "Clive is waiting for you."
A brief chat later, the two stumble away. With the worry I’ll be caught for using the magic comes a smugness how powerful I am to have the energy to do this three times in a row.
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