Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  After getting changed, I made my way over to where everyone was sitting. I sat on my own, not making the mistake of looking at anyone. I would keep to myself today. I just hoped that we weren’t doing any group activities. I leaned back on my elbows, staring straight at the stage. The air changed, and I knew instantly who was in my personal space.

  I took a deep breath in and out, trying to calm my racing heart. He couldn’t seem to stay away from me. I watched him from the corner of my eye as he sat down next to me. Neither one of us said a word for the first minute. It quickly grew really hot. Sweat started to form on my forehead. I tried to not let him see how he affected me, but something told me he already knew. That was why he kept running into me. I wondered if I had the same effect on him? Why did I care anyways? I didn’t.

  “That outfit suits you,” he said. “Almost too well.”

  For a second, I didn’t know what to say, my mouth hanging open. “I used to run track at my old school,” I finally said.

  “Is that so?”

  I shrugged in response, trying to avoid looking at him.

  “Hmm,” he said. “I didn’t realize you were so… physical.”

  I couldn’t help but turn in his direction, eyes wide. He smirked in response.

  “I was athletic, if that’s what you mean,” I said, feeling flustered.

  His brows rose up as if amused, and he let out a chuckle. I grunted and turned away from him.

  “Hey, what happened last night with you and Christine sucks,” he said as he leaned down to tie his laces. How the hell did he know?

  “How do you know what happened?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. I normally would have ignored him altogether, but I needed to know who’d told him. Had Christine already blurted it out throughout the school? She didn’t strike me as the type who would spread rumors.

  “News spreads fast here, Reagan. There are eyes watching everywhere.”

  Goosebumps rose all over my arms. What did he mean? Was he watching me? I wanted to ask if it was him, but just then a whistle blew. A short lady with wild, curly, brown hair made her way up the stairs and across the stage.

  “Welcome to fitness class. For those of you who are new, I’m Mrs. Malvern, and I’ll be teaching today’s class. Now I want everyone to get into groups of four.” She blew the whistle again and everyone jumped up, moving into groups.

  I stayed seated, having no energy to even move since I didn’t get any sleep last night. It wasn’t like I would be able to find a group of people who’d want to team up with me anyway. My gaze wandered to Killian, who stayed seated next to me, unmoving.

  “Aren’t you going to find a group to join?” I asked, tucking my hair behind my ear.

  “I already have. Me, you, and whoever else is left,” he said.

  I tried to hide the smile that reached my lips. Why was he so adamant about spending time with me? What was in it for him? He must have needed something from me. I didn’t have the best track record with guys. Yeah, I could attract them, but keeping them was a different story. Especially being a part of my coven, there was no chance for them unless they wanted to go through my family’s torture. Of being asked to provide a life history report.

  And for a vampire like Killian? Forget it!

  Jeremy and Christine joined our group. Christine didn’t look pleased about it, but apparently everyone else had already grouped up. I gave them a warm smile, thankful that it wasn’t just going to be me and Killian. Jeremy slapped Killian on the back, and they started talking. Christine sat as far away from me as she could. She didn’t look at me, and when her gaze happened to come across me, she looked right through me. This was going to be a fun class.

  “Perfect,” said Mrs. Malvern, quieting the class. “Now, today we’re going to be playing a game called Trustfalls. In your groups, you need to work together to solve the puzzle that will be given to you. You may use spells to work it out. You must work as a team to win. The first group to finish will be awarded with twenty points each.”

  A silver envelope appeared, floating in the middle of our group. This was my chance to help Christine win back some points. It wasn’t fifty, but at least it was something. If we won, I could earn her trust back. Well, at least I hoped I could.

  Killian leaned in, picking up the envelope. He opened it and read out the instructions. “I live in the Wildwoods forest. I feed on creatures of the night. I prefer to be alone. What am I?”

  I knew there were a lot of rare creatures that lived in the Wildwoods forest, but I had no idea what this could be. In that forest, there were a lot of creatures that witches created. It could be anything.

  It then hit me: What the hell did this have to do with fitness?

  Killian turned over the card. “You must travel as a group to the Wildwoods forest and discover who I am. But beware: there will be a few obstacles along the way. After all, this is a fitness class.” Killian raised his eyebrows and placed the card down in front of him.

  That answered my question. There must be some physical activities that we would have to take part in on our way to solving the puzzle. I hoped the others in our group were with it today, because I couldn’t think straight with the little sleep that I’d had. Christine was first to get up and move toward the exit. Jeremy offered me his hand, he smiled. I took it, and he lifted me up.

  “We better not get too cozy,” he said, leaning in close to me. “Killian would have my head.” He grinned, letting go of my hand. I glared straight at Killian, who was smirking as he walked off. My cheeks burned as I stood back taking in Jeremy’s comment. Had Killian made claim on me? I shook my head unable to think clearly.

  I caught up with my group as they stepped outside. I wasn’t that excited about going into those woods again. Especially so soon. But if I wanted to make it up to Christine, I had to suck this up. Lifting my head high, I followed my group into the forest, all while trying to hide the feeling of unease, which made me feel as if someone were watching my every move.

  9

  Mrs. Malvern handed us each a wand as we breached the forest. “These are only temporary wands and can only dispel a burst of magical silver sparks once. After that, they will be useless. They are to be used once you find the solution to the riddle. Aim your wand into the air and say, ‘Riddle solved.’ I will then find you to determine if you have indeed solved the puzzle or not. Carry on.”

  We moved on, as she had instructed, with our wands in hand. Some of the class rushed into the woods while others lagged behind, rereading the puzzle. I stretched out my neck, looking for Christine. She didn’t spare me a look. I pushed my way through the line of students, wanting to catch up to her. I knew she wanted me to leave her alone, but I couldn’t go through another minute of her cold shoulder.

  “Christine!” I cried out. “Wait up.”

  “Hey, watch it,” Laurel said as I pushed by her.

  “Sorry.” I didn’t stop to apologize any further; I could deal with Laurel later. My main concern was Christine.

  “I told you to leave me alone,” Christine said as I caught up to her.

  “And I decided to ignore that.”

  Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “What?”

  “Hey, you’re the one who volunteered to come with me last night. Those were your words; you said it was your decision.”

  She scoffed. “Yeah, because I didn’t want to deal with the guilt trip if something happened to you. And now, because I didn’t want you getting killed, I have more points to earn to get out of this place.”

  Behind us, Mrs. Malvern cleared her throat. “Girls, we are not in debate club. Please hold your discussion until after class. You’re supposed to be concentrating on your assignment.”

  Christine rolled her eyes. “Great. You’re getting us into even more trouble.”

  I let out a deep breath and raked my hair behind my ears. “Listen,” I said, lowering my voice. “Let me make it up to you. We’re going to figure out this puzzle, and I’m going t
o get you those twenty points.”

  “But I lost fifty.”

  “Hey, we both lost fifty,” I retorted. “And at least it’s a start. I’ll figure out how to make up the rest. Just… Just give me a chance.”

  She was quiet for a moment, trudging along into the forest, kicking up leaves in a huff. “I don’t know. Let’s see how this goes. Just don’t get your hopes up.”

  She sped up, marching away from me.

  I didn’t bother trying to increase my pace. I’d said my piece, and all that was left to do was get those points back. If only I could figure out the solution to the puzzle.

  “I admire your perseverance.”

  I looked over my shoulder to see Jeremy. He had a wicked-looking smirk on his face, and his intense eyes bore into me.

  “Thank you,” I said, not trusting him. “Did Killian tell you to say that?”

  He let out a chuckle. “No. Why would you think that?”

  “No reason.” I narrowed my eyes at him, then turned away. I didn’t have time for Killian’s little games. I knew he’d been talking about me to Jeremy, but I didn’t know why. It was yet another thing I would have to deal with later.

  “You know,” Jeremy said, “I can help us win this thing.”

  “What?”

  “I can help you solve the puzzle and get through the obstacles, so your friend won’t be mad at you anymore. If we work together, we have a better chance.”

  I continued to let my gaze drift back behind Jeremy, to where Killian was walking. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets and his chin was down, but I could see him watching me. What tricks did he have up his sleeve? And why was he targeting me?

  “How can you help us win this?” I asked.

  Jeremy came close enough to speak in a low voice that still reached my ears. “Let’s just say I know these woods. I can guarantee that we’ll be the first group to solve the puzzle.”

  I wanted to scream at Jeremy for being so cryptic, but I was too desperate to win back those points. “Okay, fine.”

  His smile was wide. “Great.” He looked over his shoulder and nodded to Killian before turning back to face me. “Go get your friend and follow me.”

  “Wait. What?”

  Before I could register what he had said, he turned away from the group, trudging down a dirt slope that led between some trees into darkness. Killian only cast me a quick glance before he followed Jeremy.

  I stopped short, and Laurel bumped into me from behind. “God, Reagan,” she grumbled beneath her breath before pushing past me with the rest of the class.

  Where were Killian and Jeremy going? I searched for where Mrs. Malvern might be, but she didn’t appear to notice the guys had left the group. It took me two seconds longer than it should have to figure out I needed to hurry to catch up to Christine before I lost track of the guys.

  I sprinted ahead, my eyes darting over and around the heads of my classmates, desperate to locate Christine. When I finally caught up to her, I was out of breath. I tugged on her cardigan, which landed me a dirty look as she yanked away from me.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, irritation apparent in her voice.

  “The guys—Killian and Jeremy—they said they can solve the riddle.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay. And?”

  “And they just separated from the group. We need to catch up to them.”

  She grit her teeth. “If this is another one of your crazy ideas that’s going to get more of my points taken away—”

  “No! No, I promise.” I clenched my teeth as I said it. I knew I shouldn’t promise her something I couldn’t guarantee, but I needed her to come with me. “Please.”

  She pressed her lips together hard and let out a heavy breath through her nostrils. “Okay, fine. Come on, let’s hurry. I don’t see them.”

  “They went this way.” I grabbed her hand and hurried in the direction the guys had gone.

  As soon as we ducked through the same set of trees as the guys, the light changed dramatically. I could have been imagining it, but the air grew colder as well. We walked for half a minute before we finally caught sight of them.

  “There,” I said.

  When we caught up to the guys, the underbrush practically swallowed our legs up to our knees. We had to walk slower just to get through the jumble of grass and weeds and moss.

  “Where are we going, exactly?” Christine asked.

  “Shh.” Killian held a finger to his lips. “You don’t want to scare him off.”

  “Him?” I asked. “Him who?”

  “Do you want to solve this puzzle or not?” he asked.

  “We do,” I said. “But why are we going this way? Why did we separate from the group?”

  “This is a shortcut,” Jeremy answered. “It’ll take the group twice as long to get to the cave the way they’re going. They’ve got to get past all the obstacles Mrs. Malvern has set up. This way is easier.”

  “What cave?” Christine asked. She shivered and her eyes darted around at the spooky surroundings.

  Again, Killian held his finger to his lips.

  Christine and I exchanged a look. It was the first time today I felt as if she were on my side and not raging in anger at me.

  Eventually, the underbrush became easier to move through. A slither of sunlight broke through the trees, its rays landing upon a rock formation nestled between vine-covered evergreens. As we got closer, I saw that it was a cave. Outside of the cave were scattered puddles of rainwater—at least I hoped it was rainwater.

  Jeremy nodded to Killian, who held up a hand for Christine and me to stop walking. Jeremy stretched out his neck, left to right, and then proceeded toward the dark cave entrance. Shivers ran up and down my spine.

  Jeremy then did something that made my brow furrow: he pulled something out of his pocket and held it out toward the cave opening.

  “What is that?” Christine whispered.

  “It looks like some kind of necklace,” I answered. “What are those? Beads?”

  Killian, suddenly standing beside me, softly cleared his throat. “It’s probably better not to ask.”

  Christine brought her head forward a bit. “Are those… teeth?”

  No one answered because the next thing we knew, a hairy, dirty creature about half the size of a human came wobbling into view. It looked like a withered old man with a fat nose that extended five inches from his face. His eyes were different sizes; the big one was yellow with a tiny black dot for a pupil, and the small one was red. His bottom teeth—of which he only had two—extended past his lips and up to touch the bottom of his nostrils. Dark clusters of hair hung from most of his body, and the remaining parts were bald patches.

  I wanted to clasp a hand over my mouth to keep from gasping, but I was frozen in place, not believing what I was seeing. Christine seemed to be frozen as well, barely breathing.

  I didn’t realize until Killian patted my fingers that I’d cinched my hand around his arm in fright. Instead of pulling away from him, I let myself hold on. He gave me one small nod, the soft expression on his face one of comfort.

  “It’s a goblin,” he whispered. “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to you.”

  “Is that’th for’th me?” the creature said to Jeremy, reaching for the necklace.

  “If you agree to let my classmates see you for a moment.”

  The goblin grunted, shifting from one foot to the other while eying the necklace.

  “Do you want it or not?” Jeremy asked.

  The goblin grunted once more, sneering at Jeremy before answering. “Fine. But make’th it quick’th.”

  Jeremy looked back at us to flash us a quick smile. He pulled out his wand and pointed it up into the air. “Riddle solved!”

  “Wait,” I said. “What?”

  The wand made a whistling sound before shooting a bright silver light out of the tip. The light was so bright, we all had to shield our eyes, and the goblin actually let out a small shrie
k.

  “Why did you do that?” I asked. “You didn’t ask us what we thought. What if you’re wrong?”

  In a flash, Mrs. Malvern appeared behind us. I hadn’t expected her to just appear out of nowhere, but then again, she was a practiced witch who knew magic better than I did. And with all the obstacles she must have set between the trail and the cave, I was sure Mrs. Malvern knew this was the quickest and easiest way to find the winner.

  “Well,” she said, looking around at us. “You got here rather quickly.”

  She lifted her chin and assessed the situation. As soon as she nodded her head, the goblin snatched the necklace from Jeremy and quickly wobbled back into his cave. Jeremy casually came to join Christine, Killian, and me, each of us facing our teacher and awaiting her verdict. For a moment I was afraid she would call us out for cheating. I held my breath until she spoke.

  “Congratulations. Well done.”

  I released my breath, my muscles relaxing.

  “You’ve solved the riddle. How efficient of you to get through the obstacle course before the rest of the class. Top score for this lesson and twenty points will be awarded to each of you.”

  Killian placed his hands on my shoulders. “Well, Mrs. Malvern, Reagan here used to be on the track team at her old school.”

  “Ah,” Mrs. Malvern said, nodding. “That explains it then. Good job.”

  Christine’s mouth broke out into a smile. When she turned my way, the smile didn’t fade, which relieved me.

  “I will alert the rest of the class to return to the school,” Mrs. Malvern said. “See you there.”

  She disappeared without another word.

  “It actually worked,” Christine said to me.

  “I promised, didn’t I?”

  Instead of answering, she gave me a hug. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch. I should have known you would make it up to me.”

  “Well, I’m not done yet. I still have thirty points to go.”

  She laughed. “I have faith you’ll find a way.”

  “Come on,” Jeremy said. “Let’s get out of these woods. They’re creepy.”

  “Speaking of creepy.” Christine sidled up to him as he began clomping his way through the underbrush and back toward campus. “Were those teeth?”