Darkwells Academy: Written in blood: An academy paranormal/urban fantasy romance

by Abby James

  “You once told me I leaked like a sieve.”

  Her smile faulted a fraction. “Yes you do, of course, but I wish to know more than what is on the surface.”

  Did she hope to pry into my ability? Maybe she’d become suspicious of all my extra curricula classes, but it was unlike Ms Lane to pry.

  I had no choice but to comply. I slid forward and placed my hands in her up turned palms. The moment I did her fingers clamped around mine. Her lips curled up into a sneer.

  “That was all too easy,” she breathed, sounding triumphant.

  “Your grip’s hurting,” I said, as a new force of energy made its way up my arm from our connection. The energy was vacant of impact, which meant there was nothing I could latch on to to use against her, but it felt black and greedy. This was not Ms Lane. I’d had Ms Lane’s ability in me before, and it didn’t feel like this.

  She launched to her feet, keeping a manacle grip on my hands. “And now, dear child, we shall finish what we started.”

  I pulled against her grip, but the force she used to keep me bound to her was beyond human. I pitched myself forward, falling to the floor, forcing her down with me.

  She grunted as she toppled down on top of me. Leering over me, she smirked again. Out of her mouth came the voice of another. “This will only end with me winning. If you try anything foolish your precious Ms Lane will suffer.” There was an obvious sneer beyond the lip curl on Ms Lane’s mouth.

  “Scullion?” I squeaked. How could this be?

  With a strength that was not her own, Ms Lane forced my hands together so they were easily gripped in one of her hands while she dove her other hand into the pocket of her long flowing skirt and pulled out a cylindrical device. She hurled it away. The moment the thing left her hand, it glowed an iridescent red light, which grew in brightness until the object vanished. With a sudden whoosh of light a wave of energy shot through the room. In place of the light was a vortex of kaleidoscoping color and swirls, funneling down to a point in the distance.

  What the hell?

  “Time for us to depart,” she laughed.

  I lashed out, thrashing around on the floor. Ms Lane and I were about equal height and weight, which should’ve made this a fair fight, but whatever Scullion had done to her increased her strength. Unfortunately he’d grown wise to my ability from our last meeting. Whatever juice he’d given her was not something I could take in to power my escape. What came from her was empty, a dark hatred filled with grasping greed and nothing more.

  “Stop it,” she hissed, bringing her face close to mine. “You are delaying the inevitable; that is, Ms Lane’s demise. The longer this energy stays within her body the quicker it eats away at her soul.”

  I froze. Holy shit. Was that true?

  “I can see it in your eyes. I can sense the question running from you through into her. You do not believe me. But do you dare deny it? Are you willing to risk your beloved teacher?”

  “You’re a cheat and a lier. How can I believe you?” I yelled at Ms Lane.

  All I got in return was a sinister smile. “You will end up through that portal, but whether Ms Lane is alive by the time you do so is up to you. I am draining her true essence as we speak. Her strength is kept alive by me and me alone.”

  Bastard. It was likely he was telling the truth.

  She chuckled. “Ahh, yes, I see you falter. You are afraid in case I am right.”

  Something moved to my right. I turned to see Merlin flittering across the room, heading straight for the portal. Ms Lane followed my eyes and on seeing where he headed, launched herself off me and made a grab for the shright, yelling incomprehensibly as she did so.

  Merlin dodged out of her grasp and headed straight into the portal. In the center a bright white light glowed. It rushed down the tunnel and then exploded out into the room, throwing Ms Lane backward.

  I shielded my eyes from the intensity of the glare, curling over into the fetal position.

  Once the light disappeared, I uncurled, pulling my arm away and slowly turned over. The portal was gone and so was Merlin. I swiveled around to find Ms Lane in a crumpled heap against the far wall.

  2

  “We will have to take her to medic for a more thorough examination,” one of the more senior healers said, looking up at McGilus.

  Bailey glanced over his shoulder at me. Upon seeing my expression he rose and came over. He settled into the seat Ms Lane had occupied less than twenty minutes ago, leaning forward so his clasped hands dangled between his knees. “Hey, how you feeling?”

  “Dazed. Shocked is probably more accurate.”

  “It’s a nasty business. I’ve never seen the like in all my time here at Darkwells.” He looked over to where the other two healers were still tending her unconscious body. “It was a callous attack on someone who would never hurt a soul.”

  “It doesn’t matter to people like that who they hurt.”

  He nodded. “You’re right.”

  We sat in silence for a few seconds. I could see Bailey was trying to find the right words to say. “You don’t have to worry about Ms Lane. Elba’s the best healer there is. She will bring Ms Lane out of whatever spell she is in.”

  “He said she would die. That her soul would slowly be destroyed.”

  “We’ve placed her in a form of supernatural coma, which halts all bodily functions, kind of like being frozen. Whatever is inside of her is also frozen. It can’t cause her anymore harm. We will find a way to rid it from her system.”

  I dragged my eyes away from Ms Lane’s still form. “I know you will.” I tried for a small smile, not sure how it worked.

  Merlin was gone. By flying into the portal he’d closed it somehow, rescuing me, but sacrificing himself in the process. He did it for me and now he was gone. If Ms lane was hurt in any way, or if Scullion did anything to Merlin, he was going to pay. I didn’t have the strength to face him, not yet, but one day I would. I would make damn sure of it. And when I knew how to wield multiple abilities I would hunt him down and make him pay.

  We both turned as two more people entered the room. The last being Luca. My heart climbed up my throat and lodged there so I couldn’t swallow. This was the first time I’d seen Luca since we’d sat on the moss bench near the rotunda. A sudden burning ran through my stomach, boiling the acid in my gut.

  I had woven a fantasy in my head that Luca was away on some secret mission for faculty or the council, just like Duncan, and that was why he’d not bothered to come and see me, or even contact me, leaving me only a few short words saying class had been canceled.

  “I do not want any of the students to see,” McGilus said to Luca. He nodded his head as he turned his back to me.

  “I’d better head over,” Bailey said. He placed a hand on mine and the knot in my stomach soothed. The hard lump in my throat eased. I took a big breath, closing my eyes as I did so, savoring the feeling of being healed emotionally. I turned to look at Bailey, unable to stop the smile from creeping across my lips. “You never told me you soothed out emotions as well.”

  “Empaths aren’t the only handy ones here.”

  “Thanks,” I said. And never had I meant the thanks more.

  He headed back over to the rest of the party. Luca performed some sort of sorcery magic, waving his arms about, binding Ms Lane in what could only be described as a swathe of glowing linen.

  Lifting his hand, he rose her off the ground, then with some more fancy arm movements, the glow intensified and she vanished.

  McGilus nodded. “Good.” He patted Luca’s shoulder. “Thank you, my boy.”

  He turned to me. I straightened in my seat as he headed over. Behind him the healers left the room. I tried not to notice Luca had remained.

  I forced my eyes on McGilus. For the first time, his face looked pale and drawn. Today he looked closer to one hundred than his real age, not that I knew what his real age was.

  He sat with a heavy sigh. “What an ordeal.” He glanced around the room.
“I don’t suppose Ms Lane has a drinks cabinet anywhere close by?”

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  I kept my eyes on McGilus, refusing to pay Luca any attention, although his presence burned a hole in my periphery. He stayed to the side, like he wanted to be out of my direct sight. It bugged the hell out of me, but I resisted the urge to glance in his direction.

  McGilus looked out the glass window. “And it was there it happened?” He was referring to the portal.

  “Yes.”

  He rose and headed for the spot, looking at the ground and then seemingly out the window. “Tell me again how it closed.”

  I didn’t want to reveal Ms Lane’s secret by telling him about Merlin.

  “Something fell into it.”

  He turned to face me. “Indeed. What something, could you say?”

  “I’m not sure. I was too busy fighting off Ms Lane. She was a lot stronger than humanly possible for a woman. When I looked over an object was falling into the center and then it just exploded and disappeared.”

  “All portals are temporary structures. They can be created to last a certain length of time or to allow a certain number of passages before they are exhausted. It would seem in this case the portal was designed to allow one passage and one passage alone. It’s not so easily detected that way. They overestimated the effectiveness of Ms Lane’s ability to complete the task.”

  “What happened to her?”

  “I can hazard a guess given her state.” He turned away from the window and came back to sit down. “It seems our enemy used an entreius infection. It’s a curious form of curse that acts like a virus. And like a lot of viruses it is passed through contact. Empaths fall prey to this particular form of curse. It’s likely she was infected while visiting her sister this last week. This particular form of virus passes straight through into the emotive receptors, which, as you can imagine, are acute in empaths. The curse can be designed to carry any emotion that creates desires. And like any virus there is an incubation period during which time it can be transmitted to other potential carries. In this case other empaths.”

  “She spoke with Scullion’s voice.”

  McGilus steepled his fingers and rested the tips on his chin. “It is a particularly powerful curse that can transfer a lot of the creator into the infected individual. It was the only possible way he could have penetrated into Darkwells. It says one thing about him.”

  “That he’s a psychopath.”

  “That he is desperate. That is twice now in a month he has made an attempt at kidnapping you. Which begs the question. Why is he desperate?”

  “Maybe it has something to do with my father.”

  I had shared my findings with McGilus when I returned to his office wanting to have a look at the albums once again so I could see my father, McManus. I had been disturbed yet fascinated when I discovered more similarities between him and me than I had found with my mother.

  I’d given McGilus mum’s journal so he could read for himself what she’d done and had sat in his office watching his expression change with each paragraph he read. He apologized to me quietly. When I’d said he had nothing to do with the choices any of the three had made, he explained how he felt responsible for my mother’s relationship with McManus.

  Apparently McManus had always fancied mum long before dad was on the scene. That I knew from reading her journal. My dad had always been a troubled student, who gave little attention to his studies—could explain where I got my inattention from. McGilus felt mum would be a good influence on him and had asked if she would tutor him through some of the general classes they shared. Although she was at first reluctant, they had formed a friendship, which for him had turned into an obsession with her, even after she’d married Miles.

  Miles had refused to allow her to continue associating with McManus once they married, and mum complied to keep the peace between them. According to her journal, McManus never reconciled himself to losing her friendship. I hated the way she had bowed to Miles’s demands, something I would never have done, but maybe I shouldn’t judge her for I did not know what it was like to live with such a volatile man.

  Luca moved to the side of me drawing my attention from McGilus to him. Throughout this time I’d been conscious of his quiet yet domineering presence. He’d said nothing, offered no insight into what Scullion had done, or reasons why, which annoyed me. If he wasn’t going to be useful, why was he here?

  Why had McGilus involved him? There were no other members of faculty present. As far as I could work out McGilus had kept everything regarding me a secret from everyone in Darkwells bar Luca. What had happened to Ms Lane was a breech in Darkwells safety but even that was not enough to have him calling a faculty meeting. Something this big couldn’t be hidden. Faculty would learn of it, but how would McGilus present it to the board?

  “These are troubling times, indeed. The Council of Factions will have to be alerted to what has happened here.” And what exactly would he say to them?

  “Will they round up the skurk?”

  “It is not that easy. Like the wissend world, we operate on strict laws. You cannot point the finger at someone without firm evidence to backup your claim. Unfortunately such a curse will leave no trace of the creator.”

  “But I heard him speak through her mouth.”

  “More proof will be needed, my dear.”

  McGilus rose, looking older than when he had entered. He cast a glance to Luca, then down to me. “There is little we can do for the time being except carry on as usual. You needn’t worry. I will have the casters place extra wards. We will be extra vigilant after this breech.”

  He patted Luca on the shoulder as he left, something good friends did.

  Without saying a word, Luca spun and headed for the door himself. Honestly, it looked like he couldn’t get away fast enough. I jumped off the couch and followed after him. It took until I was out in the corridor to find my courage to grill him over skipping out on me a few weeks back. “What happened?”

  “McGilus told you everything we know so far.”

  “I’m not talking about Ms Lane. I’m talking about our class. The one you skipped out on within hours of scheduling it.”

  “Something came up.”

  “It would’ve been nice to receive something a little more friendly than a scribe alert.”

  “Why is that, Miss Wright?”

  Oh, Miss Wright now was it.

  “I thought we were friends.”

  “Vampires and humans cannot be friends.”

  “Really, is that what you’re going to hide behind. You’re chicken. ”

  Luca stopped and spun to face me, the crimson in his eyes lashing like a cat’s tail. He leaned in, lowering his voice from the students passing through the hall. “What do you expect from me, Miss Wright?”

  “Not this. You were going to help me improve my ability.”

  “There are plenty of teachers in Darkwells more than capable. I cannot guide you in all abilities.”

  What was going on here? “You were more than happy to offer your help a few weeks ago. I don’t understand what happened.”

  “I’ve been busy.”

  “You could’ve rescheduled.”

  “I’m very busy.”

  His answers were blunt.

  “Are you searching for my father. Is that it?”

  “Not everything is about you, Samara.”

  Wow, what a slap that was.

  He continued to march on, so I pounded after him.

  “That wasn’t fair. I don’t expect favoritism, nor do I expect any special treatment, and I sure as hell don’t expect to be your sole focus. I thought we were friends. But it seems I was wrong. I just don’t understand where all this hot and cold treatment is coming from.”

  “I am simply acting as I would to any student. You will need to consult with Mrs Trouel as to who your casting teacher will be in future.”

  No way would I consult Mrs Trouel and he would know t
hat, surely. That woman was a viper just waiting to bite. “Don’t involve me in your bad day.”

  He may have stopped and turned toward me, but he looked everywhere except at me. His jaw twitched, classic indication he was struggling to keep his anger. “My day was perfect until you started shouting at me. I have more important things that need my time right now.”

  “I’m sorry my problems have drawn you away from your more important tasks. I did not ask for your involvement in this.”

  “Don’t be so naive, Samara. You are not the same girl that climbed off the bus two months ago.”

  “No. It appears I am more foolish than I was two months ago. I believed in our friendship. Silly me.”

  Luca closed his eyes and exhaled. “I cannot do this.”

  “I wouldn’t want you to do anything you didn’t want to.” I turned around and took two steps away before Luca grabbed my arm and spun me back.

  The instant injection of his vital energy funneled down inside, charging every muscle, nerve and organ in my body. I stepped into him, drawn along a path I could not back away from. I received an injection from anyone who touched me, but nothing like the feelings I gained from Luca. His came wired with TNT. But not only that, what I got from Luca ensnared me in a web so sticky I had no hope of pulling free. And I didn’t want to. I felt hopeless around him, hopelessly desperate to be with him, to make him want me.

  One look in my eyes and he dropped his hold. I was probably giving him one hefty dose of my desire.

  “This is why we can’t do this,” he whispered and his breath tickled my face.

  “What do you expect me to do? I can’t control it.”

  “And that is the problem. I am a vampire. Remember that.”

  “But you’re a human as well.”

  “When I’m around you I feel more vampire than human.”

  I wanted to kiss him. My eyes traitorously dropped to his lips, and I licked my own. Luca stepped back, releasing me.

  “I will speak to Mrs Trouel,” he said as he turned away.