All Hallows' Eve (Ravensbane Academy Book 1)

by Dallysten Mackenzie

  “I’m all good. I can always practice my elemental skills if I get bored.”

  I sat down on the couch. Another awkward silence fell between us. He seemed different, more mature I guess. Not at all like the carefree boy I met at school months ago. I had a feeling that may have something to do with me.

  “Where have you been, Stig?” I asked, finally exhausted with the awkwardness.

  His head snapped up and his smirk disappeared. “I—uh…to hell with it, I was at a retreat to learn how to master my power.”

  “Haven’t you already done that?”

  “No, to learn how to turn it off when I need to.”

  “You can do that?”

  “With practice, yeah.”

  “That’s cool, but why didn’t you just learn that at school?”

  Stig shrugged. “I needed to know how to control it sooner than I would have at school.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I am of no use if I can’t control myself.”

  It was because of me, I knew it, but I didn’t want to upset him. Instead, I changed the subject. That always works, right?

  “Have you spoken to Tiger?”

  “Not yet. I’ll head back to the school once Dallas returns.”

  “So…I probably won’t be able to return to Ravensbane then?”

  The reality hit hard.

  “Not yet, but I’m sure if we all work together, we can get you back to school and back to Luther as soon as possible.”

  The bite in his voice when he said Luther’s name made me cringe. He really hated him.

  Stig pushed up off the recliner when I didn’t respond to head outside.

  “Stig…I really did miss having you around,” I said, quickly.

  He didn’t reply, nor did he turn around. Instead, he hesitated and then walked outside. My chest burned. Tears threatened. Our happy reunion was ruined, and it had been my fault. Why couldn’t I have just run up to him and hugged him, told him I missed him and that our fight was stupid. Why couldn’t I just admit to him that yes, I chose Luther, but he still mattered to me.

  Why were things so hard with Stig?

  I was about to get up and go outside but the door slammed open and Stig stood there, looking panicked. “Come on, Elke, we have to get back to the school.”

  I ran after him, toward the waiting car with Dallas inside. Dallas was spooked, and things were tense. Stig mentioned a name and Dallas nodded his head descending us into silence again. My heart raced. Things were about to get real, and I prayed my skills I’d learned over the past couple of weeks would be enough.

  Shit was about to get real.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Luther

  Ike stood in the doorway, looking as eager to get out of the academy as Ianthe was. He didn’t like being back here but I could tell he knew he was needed. It was hard to think of him as Elke’s uncle, one she hadn’t met yet, but the unmistakable genetics were there. The one thing Ike is infamous for is time traveling, a skill that not a lot of Oracles can do. Much to the Queen’s dismay, he was powerful and that was why he had been in hiding for so long. Joan sat with Ianthe hatching out a plan for the recovery of the school and the safety of the students.

  Most had been sent home for the holidays but there were a few who stayed behind and were willing to help. I was astonished at how many wanted to help. Tiger had been a great leader in our time of need.

  “You love her, don’t you?”

  I spun around to look over at Ike. He’d been watching me rather than the planning as I had suspected.

  “What?”

  “You love Elke. Ianthe said like before, but I can see the stress on your face. Every time her name is mentioned you snap to attention.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Good, it means you’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “Of course I would.”

  Ike smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Instead I saw a glimmer of pain in them. I wondered who he had lost.

  “They say you’ve time travelled.”

  “That’s what they say,” he grunted.

  “Is it true?”

  Ike motioned for me to follow him outside, I did with a last look at everyone else. No one noticed us leaving.

  “The Queen has outlawed time travelling. If I were to get caught doing it, I could face death. Do you understand that?”

  I nodded. “The Queen has become complacent, fearless. But Elke is powerful, more powerful than I have seen in a long time. She could rival her with no fear of dying.”

  “You don’t underestimate the Queen, Luther.”

  “I don’t bow to her,” I grit out.

  Ike looked out the window, almost contemplating what he would say next. I waited patiently.

  “What are you asking me to do?” Ike asked me, honestly.

  “If needed, and I’m not saying it will be but if needed, when I call out to you, grab hold of Elke and take her away.”

  Ike was expressionless for a few moments, before he nodded. “I can do that.”

  “No matter what she says. Keep her safe and away from the fray.”

  Ike held out his hand and I shook it firmly.

  “You know, for a Fallen, you’re all right.”

  He moved away before I could respond. How did he know Fallen?

  Elke

  Ravensbane came into view as we drove past the wrought iron gates and into the school. It was creepy, dark and quiet. Kids must still be at their homes with their families. Dallas pulled up next to Ianthe’s car and I ran inside the doors much to Stig’s protestations.

  It was quiet.

  Too quiet.

  My fear ratcheted and I felt my eyes shift into sepia again.

  Oh no.

  Pain laced through my temples as I felt images shove their way through my periphery. Images of Luther being attacked by Palmer shot through my mind. His eyes were full of pain as he sheltered against a wall. His wings on fire, and slowly the fire dissipated as Palmer and another man stood over him. The same shadow of a man I felt in the vision about Ms Cashell. That same sick feeling whenever he was close by was there.

  They were here.

  I could feel it.

  “Elke!” I heard Stig scream as he came running over to me. “Are you okay?”

  “I need to get to Luther…he’s in trouble. Palmer is here.”

  Stig stood, helping me to my feet. “What did you see?”

  “Palmer attacking Luther, I just told you that,” I snapped, the pain forcing me to heave.

  “What else? Anyone else?” Dallas asked me.

  “Yeah but I didn’t see his face.”

  “Stig, go,” Dallas said, as he put his arm around me and steadied me as we headed further into the academy.

  “What happened?” I heard Ianthe’s voice echo through the empty halls. I looked up and saw her there with a man I’d never seen before.

  “She had a vision. I’ve sent Stig to help Luther. Palmer is here.”

  “How? We would have known if he’d come here,” she said, worried.

  “Where is Luther?” I croaked, my throat was dry and my chest was panicky.

  “He’s upstairs with Joan.”

  I looked at the man next to Ianthe, a familiar feeling at seeing his face but I knew I’d never seen or met him before. Ianthe looked to the side and realised.

  “Oh, Elke, this is my brother Ike—your uncle.”

  He didn’t look like I expected him to look, and yet his eyes were warm and welcoming. He smiled slightly.

  “Hey kiddo, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

  “You too.”

  “Let’s go,” Dallas said. “If Palmer really is here, so is whoever might be driving this thing.”

  We all headed up the stairs. My feet were steady now and my headache was going away so I pushed off Dallas and led them all to Joan’s office. No one was there.

  “Where are they?”

  “I can only presume they are in the makeshift inte
rrogation rooms.”

  “What?” I asked, turning to look at Ianthe.

  “We have a situation that required interrogation,” she shrugged her shoulders. “Come on.”

  I followed her closely until we came to the classrooms I had learned History and Astronomy in. Mr Alvarez was speaking with Anise, Tiger and Luther were both watching through a window like they were cops.

  What the hell was a two-way mirror doing in our classroom. I didn’t have time to ask because Luther looked to me, his eyes changing as he came over.

  “When did you get here?”

  “You’re okay,” I managed to get out. Too many questions were flying through my mind right now to make sense of much of it.

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” he asked.

  “I had a vision…you were getting hurt by Palmer.”

  “Palmer is here?” he asked, looking up and around. “This isn’t the best place for her then.”

  “We had no choice,” Dallas said. “She’s safest here. Where’s Stig?”

  “Stig?” Tiger’s voice shot from behind Luther. “What do you mean?”

  “You haven’t seen him?” Dallas asked. “I told him to come up here and check on you.”

  “He’s not been here,” Tiger said. “He must be in trouble.”

  “We need to find him,” I said. Luther nodded.

  “Tiger, take Ianthe and Dallas and search the dorms,” Luther said. “I’ll search the tower. Elke stay here with Ike.”

  “Wait, no, I want to help too.”

  “You are, by keeping away from danger. If Palmer gets you, Elke, it’s all over.”

  “Come on, Elke, we can catch up,” Ike said ushering me toward the room with the two-way mirror.

  “Be safe,” I said. Luther nodded and headed toward the tower. He stopped when a group of people came into view. I screamed out the second I saw Palmer raise his hand. My own hands flew up and energy propelled from my palms and hit Palmer in the chest. He stumbled back a bit, but when he righted himself and saw me, he smirked, evilly, and toward Luther.

  “Luther!” I screamed out as he turned to me and then called out Ike’s name. I felt a hand on my arm and then suddenly everything in front of me was gone and replaced by a sunny day, and not a modern sunny day. People were wearing fancy clothing—bonnets and all.

  “What the fuck?” I turned on Ike who pushed us behind a makeshift shack.

  “Damn, I’ve never travelled this far back before,” he said, almost distantly.

  “Did you just shove me into the past?” I rounded on him. “Luther is in trouble, Ike. I have to help him.”

  “He doesn’t want you getting hurt and to be honest, you are safer in the past so they can’t track you down.”

  “Take me back, now.”

  “I can’t. It takes time for me to regather enough energy to time travel, even if I wanted to go back, I couldn’t. We may have to wait it out for a couple of days.”

  “Luther could be dead,” I said more of a realisation than a manipulation.

  “He’s protecting you,” Ike said. “Now, come on, we need to find some era-appropriate clothing, so we don’t get hung for witchcraft.”

  “Say what?”

  Ike pulled me toward a door to what looked like a house, but I felt my heels digging in. He turned around, agitated. I’d seen that look before, and it wasn’t one I knew I should argue with. I moved with him, hating that I didn’t know what was happening in our world. The only thing I could do was wait for his power to return so we could go back, and I could save Luther.

  Tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought of all the horrible things that could happen before we could return.

  Stig

  Palmer’s men were cornering Luther in the hallway. I couldn’t hear anything, but there were a lot of them there. I stayed back, out of sight, and waited for an opportunity. Palmer’s voice was cold, and it scared me how we could have had such a psychopath without anyone noticing.

  There was a whooshing sound and I heard men stumbling over. Luther flew at two of them, shoving them into the walls and knocking them unconscious. Palmer turned the corner and I stepped in front of him. He scattered backward as I felt my energy surge. Trying to lure him toward me, but he caught on to what I was doing and ran. I ran after him, passing Luther who was busy with four men on him. I couldn’t let Palmer get away. Luther was big enough to handle this on his own.

  He ran through the halls, taking short cuts that I knew would lead to a trap. He was far too confident in his stride for this not to be a trap, but he didn’t know what I knew about this place. He didn’t know that I knew all the secrets of these halls. My father had built this place. Palmer was on a fool’s errand.

  “Stig!” I heard Ianthe call out. I couldn’t lose sight of Palmer so I continued on, ignoring her. There were feet behind me as I chased Palmer down a dark hallway. Palmer was zapping the lights and turning the academy into darkness. He was slowing down finally, coming to a dead end. I had just about grabbed him when I felt myself fall.

  Landing on my ass, I looked around. The ground was damp and it smelt putrid. Looking up, I saw something close over the hole I’d just fallen in and sealing me into this pit with no light.

  Shit.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Elke

  I felt my chest rise and fall rapidly, the anxiety of not knowing was killing me. I had to go back, I didn’t want them to die for me. This was about me. Palmer wanted me and now Luther could be dead and Stig could be fighting a battle for someone who couldn’t even love him back because of what he was. A succubus wasn’t as bad as they made it out to be, and he had learned to control it, that’s why he left. If only he didn’t think that was an easy fix for wanting to get together.

  Ike was busy constructing a makeshift shelter for us since we had taken to the woods to hide out until his power returned. Meanwhile, I sat on an overturned tree and sulked.

  What if we were stuck here forever? No…I couldn’t just sit around and wait. That’s not who I was. I was Ianthe’s daughter for fuck’s sake, I would push until I got what I wanted.

  I marched over to him as he tied a piece of tree to a large branch and shoved him back. “You should conserve your energy.”

  “It’s not the same kind of energy, Elke. It’s from within. My power source is low and it takes a while to get it back up enough to jump.”

  “How long does it normally take you?”

  “Well,” he said rubbing his hand over his head. “Last time I jumped, I went to the 60s which at the time was the earliest I had ever been able to jump. This looks like be the late nineteeth century. The further back I go, the longer it takes to recover.”

  “And how long did that take you?” I asked. He had a sheepish look on his face and I knew it meant I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear.

  “A week.”

  “A week!” I screamed.

  I started to pace around the woods. By the time we got back, my entire life could have been changed. The academy may have burned to the ground, everyone could be dead.

  “How could you do this?” I asked him. “How could you!”

  “I didn’t expect to jump this far back, I don’t control where I jump to, Elke.”

  I ran at him and shoved at his chest. Suddenly, I felt whoozy and the feeling of tumbling shot across me. I held onto Ike until we landed on our butts on hard marble.

  Looking around, I saw the academy walls, and the school was eerily quiet.

  “What the hell?” I gasped.

  “You time travelled,” Ike said, croakily. “That’s damn good, your powers are controlled by your emotions. You wanted to come back, and so we did. Well done, Elke.”

  “Now isn’t the time to talk about this. I need to find Luther.”

  I took off, running through the academy, with Ike at my heels. Where the hell was everyone? I could hear something up on the roof. The roof tiles were clattering past the windows and falling to the ground, smashing t
o bits. I ran for the door that would lead up to the tower. I saw a group of people running at Luther who was battling them and hadn’t noticed me. I was about to run over to help him when I felt someone shove me. I looked over at Palmer who continued to shove me toward the ledge. I tried to shoot him with energy balls but he blocked them. Ike came to help me, but Palmer blocked him and shoved him through the air. He was launched into the air and thrown against a brick wall. He fell to his butt and his head fell to the side of his head, unconscious. I screamed out for him, hoping he was okay, but all it did was alert everyone to me being back there, in danger. Great job, Elke, you could have killed your uncle and everyone else for wanting to come back. The back of my knees hit the ledge and I felt myself tumble over the cement wall with a scream.

  Suddenly, my wrist was caught, and I saw Tiger pulling me up, back to the roof. Once I was back on solid ground, I turned to her, surprised she had almost jumped over the roof herself to save me. Before I could thank her, I heard Palmer running for us again. She pushed me out of the way and morphed into her wolf self, stopping Palmer in his tracks…that is until another wolf came barrelling down the roof and jumped in front of Palmer, protecting him.

  Selena.

  “Elke!” I heard Luther yell out. He was trying to get to me by pushing the men he was fighting away but they kept coming at him. As I turned back to Palmer, I noticed the bright green markings on his face. Palmer turned to Luther and shot a ball of light at him, knocking him backward. I ran for him, only to feel my arm being pulled back and suddenly I spun into a vortex, being held closely by Palmer.

  Luther

  Fuck.

  Palmer got her and now everyone was emptying out of the academy. Selena took off not long after Palmer disappeared with Elke. Tiger had been trying to track her down, but it didn’t look like it was successful. I had no idea where the hell Stig had gone. Ike and Ianthe were trying to track him using some kind of Oracle power they were combining but this academy was meant to dispel spells and powers because students liked to use them for stupid reasons. Everything was falling to shit.

  Why the fuck had Ike brought Elke back here? This wouldn’t have happened if she stayed in the past. My energy was draining, and my anger was flaring making it very hard to stay cool and calm. I needed to be calm to figure it all out but how could I do that when Elke could be getting drained of her power right now and I wasn’t there to protect her.