Academy of Beasts XXXII

by Becca Fanning

  “Theo, Ren and Enrique will infiltrate Dante’s meeting.”

  “Dracus,” I gasped. “What about―”

  “They’re going undercover.” He sent them sharp glances. “Do not engage if it isn’t necessary. I mean it. There will only be the three of you in a room full of who knows how many slayers. That’s a recipe for disaster.”

  “And death,” Theo snorted, “ours.” Enrique and Ren wore smirks that said they were going to enjoy walking into a dangerous situation.

  I dropped my head into my hand and groaned. “Ren, Enrique, please don’t look so smug about marching towards possible death. It’s very disturbing to me. You see, Dracus? That’s why I need to go along. To keep those two warmongers in check.”

  “Hey,” Enrique scowled, “just because we wanted to rip that guy sniffing around you to shreds, doesn’t make us warmongers.”

  “What guy?” Theo and Jasper chorused.

  Dracus’s jaw clenched as he looked skyward, and I groaned again. “Focus,” we hissed simultaneously. I glanced at him with a slight smile. At least we could agree on one thing.

  He huffed and continued. “The last thing I want to do is send you three in without me, but Fiona and I walking in there would be extremely stupid. We’d be recognized instantly.”

  True with him being a prince and all. Many knew his face.

  “Since we still have another job― finding the latest shifter killer― I’m sending Jasper on that mission tonight. His investigative skills are needed. Fiona, you’ll go with him.”

  I harrumphed and sat back. Jasper sent me a mock frown. “I’m sorry, Jasper, it isn’t that I don’t want to go with you.” I was itching to go after Dante.

  “I get it,” he smirked.

  “I’ll remain here, doing the best I can to keep an eye on the campus and outside the walls.” Dracus rose, straightened his jacket, and ordered, “Gear up everyone.”

  “We’re spread a little thin, aren’t we Dracus?” Theo inspected our small group with a worried frown. I shared in his concern. If anything went wrong on our respective missions, could we handle it with so little of us? Could Jasper and I take on the killer if we encountered him, her or them? Could Theo, Enrique, and Ren escape a group of slayers and Dante unscathed if discovered? Should Dracus be left alone to face any potential threat to the campus? Granted, there would be campus security and skilled professors to come to his aid, but he’d be on the frontline in the direct path of danger.

  We all fell quiet and exchanged glances. “There was a reason why each of you were chosen to join the Core Council. You can handle any situation. We all can,” Dracus encouraged.

  I had no doubt the guys could. Dracus was right. They were all here for a reason. I’d seen time and again, all of them handle things that the other students probably wouldn’t survive. Me on the other hand? I was a little skeptical about my ability to handle anything. I just didn’t have enough training… yet.

  “You know, Fiona, for a calm, you’re way too agitated.” Jasper turned to me with a smirk and I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t even argue. He was absolutely right. I was so anxious, any animal in the vicinity could probably smell it on me.

  “I can’t help it. I’m worried about Enrique, Ren and Theo. Aren’t you?”

  He snorted. “In case you haven’t noticed over the year you’ve been here, Ren and Enrique are vicious killers hiding under thin veneers of civility. They’re both kind of nuts. And Theo? Well, I’d say he’s worse.”

  “Not my Theo,” I scoffed. My sweet, sweet, loveable Theodore.

  He chuckled. “Any man who’s that happy all the time has some kind of darkness lurking underneath, trust me.”

  I gulped. Jasper was onto something. I’d witnessed Theo snap once or twice in a battle, becoming shockingly vicious. “I think you’re right. And what about you, Mr. Classy, sly and mysterious?”

  I was hit with another heart-stopping grin. “Me? Well, I’m capable of ripping a few hearts and throats out myself. You know, if the situation calls for it.” He winked and went further into the apartment. The fact that he so calmly uttered his violent nature made me shiver.

  “No need to be concerned about any of our mental healths, Fiona. I can tell that’s where your mind is going. It’s just a shifter thing,” he shrugged. “I mean, having the capacity to go wild makes sense with an animal living in one's mind and under one’s skin. Even your sweet, nerdy Priscilla will rip a head off if she has to. She’s a dragon with dragon tendencies. It would be the same for you if you were a shifter.”

  “I guess you’re right,” I murmured. Dracus did tell me once that their animals surfaced to protect them from danger.

  “Put that light out, will you?”

  Sighing, I turned off my flashlight. I knew using a light would draw attention but…“How am I supposed to see? I don’t have your animal-like night vision.”

  “Just stay close and follow my lead. This place isn’t all that big.”

  Shoving the light into the holster at my waist, I felt for the blades Alice had given me. With my fingers wrapping around one of them, I felt a little better. I didn’t know why, but the weapons gave me a much-needed boost of confidence. Maybe because they represented the queen’s faith in me or because I was getting very good at wielding them. I felt like I could slice an enemy to shreds. It sure felt good to not be the cowering girl I was when I was first plunged into this magical world.

  Jasper made a sudden stop and I collided into his back with an “Oomph.”

  He snickered. “I said to stay close but not this close. Although, I’m not complaining,” he purred. “You can get even closer if you want.”

  I swatted his shoulder. “Focus, Jasper. We’re in another murder house, for goodness’ sake. Murder apartment, rather.” The scene of more grizzly murders. Another couple. “I’m tempted to name this one the love terminator,” I muttered. Jasper grunted and I added, “Well, all we’ve seen are dead couples. What is with this guy?”

  “It could be female.”

  “It could be both. The thought of another group like the slayers makes me shudder.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, let’s hope we’re just dealing with an individual here. That will be a little easier to handle than a group of crazies.”

  I followed Jasper through the apartment, squinting in the dark.

  Bathroom.

  My head snapped up and whipped around. The voice echoed in my mind rather than around me. I glanced at Jasper crouched beside a bloodstained beige sofa. The entire living room had splatters of blood and it made my stomach lurch. Not really because of the blood itself, but because it was telling how much the two shifters had suffered.

  Leia? Is that you?

  Who else? I smiled at the amusement in her tone. I’d gotten comfortable with her in my head then, she was gone. She was quiet for days. I thought she was done communicating through whatever freaky method she was using from the afterlife.

  Bathroom. This time she sounded far away as if she was fading. I frowned. Sometimes she sounded so strong and I even felt her presence. Other times she was a distant echo, her presence barely there. She sounded weak. That couldn’t be good. Fighting back my sliver of worry, I veered off to search for a bathroom. Why I trusted her so much, I had no idea. I mean, she wasn’t even alive. Still, her advice hadn’t failed me yet.

  The apartment’s bathroom was tiny, as fitting as the rest of the apartment. The couple who owned it had been young. Recently married. They were just starting out. I bet they had big plans to start a family and get a bigger place… all the things that married couples thought about. A heavy feeling of despair hit me. I didn’t know them but I mourned them. A lion shifter and a fox, like Jasper.

  Different.

  That was Leia again sounding even fainter. My brows shot up. “Well, yeah, of course, they were different.” But what did that have to do with anything? Personally, I thought intershifter couples were cute. “Intershifter.” I couldn’t help snickering over my made
-up word.

  “What’s so funny?”

  I jumped when Jasper appeared behind me. “Nothing. I just thought I’d go ahead and check in here. Look at that.” I pointed to the bathtub that was still filled. The water was a deep red. Horrified, I realized that one of the murders must have been committed in the tub. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “I think by now, you should be beyond squeamish...” Jasper said, his voice trailing off. That’s a strange place for a flower.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” We stared at the white flower floating on the red water. It was so out of place, its pristine petals a striking contrast against the goriness of the scene. Jasper’s eyes swept the room and so did mine. My guess was, he was looking for the source of the flower just as I was. There was no vase anywhere and no other flowers.

  When he glanced at me, the confusion on his face illustrated how I felt. “Where in the world did it come from? And wouldn’t it be… I don’t know… crushed or damaged in some way during the struggle?” I returned my attention to the tub. “By the looks of the blood spatters, there was definitely a struggle.”

  Jasper, still staring at the tub, shrugged. “Maybe the killer put it there.”

  “Because killers walk around with bouquets of flowers.”

  “Maybe he or she left it as a sick joke.”

  “Sick indeed,” I murmured.

  Whipping out a white plastic bag, Jasper announced, “The flower is coming with us.”

  “Shouldn’t we leave it for the authorities?”

  “You forget, Fiona. We’re the only ones really in on this right now.”

  “Right.” The Official wanted to keep everything quiet for as long as possible. They were crazy, in my opinion. The murders were escalating. It was only a matter of time before the news broke to the public that there was a serial killer on the loose. My hope was that we found Dante before that happened. At least then, the panic wouldn’t be as massive. Dante’s treachery was known by everyone.

  Chapter 8

  The room was quiet as we all stared at the flower in the clear bag.

  “What are we supposed to do with this?” Enrique asked.

  “Hey, it was the only thing out of place that we found at the scene.” I frowned. “You know, apart from the blood and gore.” I still wanted to hurl, thinking about that blood-filled tub.

  “And at least we got something.”

  “Yeah,” I nodded, agreeing with Jasper. So, don’t give us that tone, Enrique. We didn’t come back empty-handed.”

  “Like you guys.”

  In a moment of silly satisfaction, Jasper and I hi-fived.

  Theo rolled his eyes. “It’s a flower. It hardly tells who the murderer is.”

  “It’s evidence. Can’t we do some kind of magical forensics or whatever?”

  “Humans,” Ren chuckled, and I turned to glower at him. Seeing my annoyance, his smirk faded.

  “Didn’t you get anything from the scene, Fiona? A vision? Like the last time.”

  Hanging my head, I sighed, “No.” I felt as if I’d disappointed the team. “Nothing this time. It isn’t like I have control over my visions.”

  Jasper scowled in Theo’s direction. “It’s fine, Fiona. Really. Maybe you’ll get something next time.”

  “Next time? I don’t want there to be a next time,” I whined. “How many more shifters are going to die before we get anywhere with this? I say it’s time for the proper authorities to step in.”

  “Please, they’d make a show out of everything, cause panic and probably allow the culprit to get away.” Enrique snorted derisively. “Are you forgetting the shit show of the slayers situation? The authorities were such a big help.” His tone dripped with sarcasm. My eyes narrowed to slits.

  Before I could muster a comeback, Jasper growled, “Don’t talk to her like that. No need to take the frustration of your failure out on Fiona.”

  “My failure?” Enrique snarled. “I wasn’t the only one who infiltrated that meeting.”

  Theo’s brows shot up. “Hey, it isn’t Ren’s or my fault that we got nothing either, if that’s what you’re implying. Dante didn’t show up. It’s none of our fault.”

  I looked around at the circle of scowling faces. It was like the day after the meeting with the Officials, where everyone felt the need to attack each other. Except, there was no spell causing discord. It was our individual frustration that came together to fuel our anger, and we were taking it out on each other.

  “I’d say it’s the witches’ fault,” Ren grumbled. “They let Dante escape.”

  “Oh, come on. I’m sure they didn’t just sit back and watch Dante escape his prison.”

  Ren’s cold stare hit me and pinned me to the spot. “What makes you sure they didn’t? They can’t be trusted.”

  “I trust them.”

  “That’s foolish.”

  Scoffing, I asked, “What the hell is your problem?”

  Ren rolled his eyes. “They’re my problem. Don’t you remember what happened to you after you visited them?”

  “For the last time, they didn’t do anything to me. I’m getting tired of having to defend them to you guys.”

  “Then stop,” Ren bit out, “and be smart.”

  “How dare you undermine my intelligence? I’m getting tired of that too. I’m always the weak link here, aren’t I? That’s what all of you think.”

  Ren’s irises darkened with blatant annoyance. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

  “How about we all be smart and focus on what’s really important here,” Theo threw out. “We’ve got nothing. Not on Dante and not on the killings.”

  Everyone spoke at once. There was a rumble of irritating words being thrown around and unnecessary anger. We had all reached our wits' end. Since I joined the council, we’d had our fair share of disagreements, but the energy had never been like this. I didn’t dare use my calm powers at the moment. It wasn’t a life-or-death situation, and I felt I had no right to stop anyone from expressing how they really felt. Our bickering didn’t continue for long.

  “Enough,” came the calm, stern order. Dracus strolled in, eyeing each of us with disappointment. “This is what we resort to when things don’t go our way, now? Petty arguments?”

  Immediately, I hung my head in embarrassment. Dracus was right; we were all being downright ridiculous. I couldn’t believe I had participated in the foolery.

  “Get it together, lady and gentlemen.”

  Enrique grunted. “Nothing gentle about us.”

  “Not one more word, lion,” Dracus snapped.

  I barely contained my shocked gasp. Dracus never addressed any of us like that before. He was pissed, and rightfully so.

  “It would seem my leadership skills have been lacking lately, since you all think you can pull whatever crap you like. My mistake. I need to fix that.”

  Never heard him sound like that either. Wide-eyed, I stared at his much too calm expression. It was the steel in his tone that raised alarm. Even Enrique remained quiet. He didn’t even have the usual defiant glint in his eyes. No one said a word.

  “So, we had another unsuccessful night. That doesn’t mean we go at each other’s throats. Save that energy for the enemies.”

  I almost clapped and shouted amen, but I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Dracus’s irritated stare. So, I settled for nodding in agreement.

  “Take the loss gracefully,” he continued, “like mature individuals. But, next time do better.” He glanced at Ren, Theo, and then Enrique. “It’s no fault of yours that Dante didn’t show up to that meeting. The fact that you walked into the situation knowing the danger is heroic enough. We’ll find him, eventually.”

  He turned to Jasper and me. “Fiona, Jasper, the same goes for you. As students, you put yourselves at risk to help others. Good job tonight.”

  I couldn’t help smiling at our leader. Though we were at odds, I was damn proud. I could feel the moods of the guys slowly improving as
a result of the pep talk.

  “From now on, we’ll work harder as a team. Let’s get somewhere with both Dante and the mysterious murders and show the Officials that we’re much more than students who they use as tools for their own agendas.”

  Ah, so Dracus was as annoyed as I was about the Officials’ earlier statement. I was glad someone else felt the same way. I couldn’t help it, I clapped and shouted, “Aye, aye, captain!” Dracus raised a brow and four pairs of eyes gleaming with amusement landed on me. Mouth clamping shut and heat filling my face, I smiled, “I mean, thanks for your faith in us, Dracus. You believing in us helps. We’ll do better. Right guys?” There were murmured agreements.

  For a moment, Dracus’s gaze lingered on me. I thought I saw that sliver of warmth again, but he looked away and was back to being the stoic leader.

  Staring into huge, molten gold, hopeful eyes, I groaned. It was so hard to turn Amara down when she was looking at me like that.

  “I can’t promise you anything but I’ll see if my schedule is clear.”

  “Yes!” She fist-pumped the air and turned to Priscilla. “You’re in too, right?”

  Shrugging, she said, “Why not? I haven’t gotten down in a while.” I turned to her with open amusement and she smiled. “What? I enjoy dancing a little once in a while.”

  Amara squealed, making me grin. Her excitement was contagious. “My first campus party with my girlfriends. Finally, the real college experience begins.”

  “Oh, so you just decided to go to school to party?” Priscilla sounded absolutely disgusted and I roared.

  “Take it from me, Amara, never mess with her precious academia. You just blasphemed.”

  Lips pursed, Amara eyed Priscilla with amusement. “My bad.”