Nightborne Academy

by Jessica Morris

  Nightborne Academy

  1

  Jessica Morris

  Jesse Wells

  Edited by

  Breanna Robertson

  Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  About the Authors

  Blurb

  My twin sister was murdered and now I'll have to take on her identity her to find the killer.

  Trapped in an Academy full of supernatural delinquents with my sister's less than stellar reputation, I'll have to face more than just murder and mayhem. My twin was dangerous and deadly with her magic, and the only thing I can do is communicate with ghosts.

  Did I mention that my sister is haunting me until I find her killer?

  She and I will have to work together to unravel the last few months of her life and track down her enemies. There's only one problem. You don't become the number one magic user at Nightborne Academy without making the entire school your enemy. And in case you were wondering, my sister was unstoppable.

  I have only a few allies who know the truth.

  Grayson, a too-handsome guy who morphs into smoke to sneak around. He's got as many secrets as I do, but he seems to know everything about me and that makes him even more dangerous.

  Courtney, my twin's best friend and someone who blames me for my sister's death. She's in charge of my magical education and I wonder if I'll live through it.

  The third ally is Detective Cutter, a werewolf (sorry, they hate to be called that) and lead investigator of the NIB, the Nightborne Investigation Bureau. He's also the guy in charge of my sister's case. This whole mess was his idea, but he's disappeared on me.

  Then there's the mysterious doc who can create copies of himself at will and the vampire headmistress who would rather kick me to the curb, but needs me to protect the reputation of this Academy and her number one student's position. Let's not forget my loving parents who sold me to the Academy so I could become my sister.

  I've got nowhere to go, and enemies all around me. And if I don't figure out who killed my sister, I'll be joining her six-feet under before Christmas.

  1

  "Lizzie, sweetie," Dad calls from the living room. I hear the door open and close.

  My stomach twists. He just got back, so he must have a new case for us. It’s the only time he calls me sweetie. Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to ignore the pounding of my heart and the sick feeling in my gut. I don’t want to leave tonight. If I put my arm over my face, will he think I’m sleeping and leave me alone until the morning?

  "Sweetie, we have a job in Indiana." He's persistent this time. Standing at my doorway, a dark silhouette against the hall light, he doesn’t even say hello before he’s diving into the next job.

  Indiana. Great. A record-breaking blizzard just dumped over a foot of snow on the state, and Dad definitely can't drive on ice and snow. He's hovering at my door, and can't hide his excitement. It's obvious in the tapping of his fingers against his leg. A habit I inherited from him and hate.

  "No kids." My voice cracks. If I had my way, I'd never take another child case again.

  "No kids. I promised, didn't I?" Dad sounds hurt, but I know he'll try to push it on me again some other time. "It's an adult male. Disappeared three weeks ago."

  "Okay."

  Dad launches into his spiel about how we’re helping the family by taking this case. His voice echoes in my ears, but I tune him out. The details don't matter. Only whether or not his ghost is still around to show me the way to his body. Dad says something else and walks away. Closing my eyes, I try to relax into sleep so I can reserve my strength.

  In a short time, my mind slips into that sweet spot between awake and dreams. Cold grasps at me, clawing up my body and jerking me awake. I clench the blanket in my fists and squeeze my eyes shut.

  Inhaling and exhaling, I try to keep calm.

  One of them found me. I hate this part.

  Pressure envelops me in a blanket of frigid anger. Keeping my eyes shut won’t do anything. I jerk to a sitting position and search the room.

  My voice sticks in my throat as I try to call Dad. A low whisper is all I can manage and he’s probably in his room packing. Too far away to hear me.

  Trembling as cold seeps into my bones, my jaw chatters and my limbs freeze. Ice slowly creeps over the window beside my bed, to the nightstand and my phone. I huff out rapid breaths of air. My gaze focuses on the window where something is pressing through the glass.

  Move, Liz. Move. I whisper in my mind over and over, but I’m trapped against the bed. This is the first time one has been able to get this close to Dad’s barrier.

  My eyes widen as the barrier is breached. He has to know, to feel it. Forcing my frozen limbs into action, I jump out of bed and run to the hallway. "Dad," I call loudly. "Get your gear. We've got a problem. It broke through your barrier."

  "What came through?" He comes out of the bedroom with his backpack in hand. As our gazes lock, the panic in his eyes scares me. My stomach lurches. His barrier has protected us for the past ten years.

  “Stay calm. Don’t panic.” The moment his bare feet hit the hallway floor, he sucks in a breath. It comes out again as a puff of icy mist. The temperature is dropping fast. "Where is it?"

  "My room. It’s coming through the window."

  "Is it a ghost?"

  We’ve faced hundreds of spirits, some darker and more twisted than others, not all of them human, but this level of rage is often tied to one of our kind. "Definitely. An angry one."

  Dad kneels at my doorway, busy pulling stuff out of his bag. I stand between him and the ghost as he prepares. It’s the formation we’ve used since I was six years old. I see ghosts and he helps them pass on.

  "Why is it here?"

  "I don't know. It hasn’t tried to communicate yet. It’s furious, Dad." Sliding the rest of the way through the glass, it leaves ice crystals in its wake. An aching familiarity hits me and I gasp in shock.

  Dad comes to my side with holy water in hand. I slap his wrist down.

  "What are you doing?"

  "You can't." My throat tightens in pain and the ache in my chest grows into a gaping hole. Tears burn my eyes. The shock and horror of my pain grows within me, eating at my heart from the inside. I’m wrong. I have to be.

  "Why not?"

  I can't tell him. What if I'm wrong? What if this is just some horrible hallucination or my exhaustion playing tricks on me? I want to deny it, but my heart and mind know it's true. "Dad, call them back. We won't be able to take the case in Indiana."

  "The seal is still in place. How is it coming through?"

  He’s not listening to me. "She doesn’t mean us any harm. We have to go back home for a while."

  "Is the ghost someone you know?" His phone belts out a nostalgic tune and I glance over and see his expression pale. "Sarah, what's wrong?" he answers and walks away, suddenly forgetting that I'm stuck with an angry ghost. Of course, he's always been like that with Mom. When she talks to him, she becomes his entire world.

  Rage and helplessness build inside me. As I watch, the shape solidifies into a fo
rm so similar to my own it's like we're breathing the same breath. Her face, an echo of mine, smiles at me and the ice around us stops pushing forward.

  A twitch of my lips is all I can manage; my face feels like it’s carved from stone. "You always did have trouble holding in that anger," I say, barely able to push the words from my throat.

  She hovers so close the energy of her soul warms mine. Her ghostly form is nothing like the energetic and bright woman I know. She’s still wearing her Academy uniform.

  I smile a bit more. “You were right. That skirt does look cute on you.”

  She grins and my heart bleeds from the agony burning through my body. The hand that had the same burn scar as mine touches my face.

  "Hey, Lacey." I place my hand over hers. Ice and fire fill my nerve endings, making me want to pull away. But I force my hand to remain touching hers. Tears spill out of my eyes and Lacey puts her forehead against mine.

  "Lizzie, we have to go. It's about Lacey." His voice breaks and I close my eyes, wishing I could feel her real touch one last time.

  "I know, Dad." He didn't have to tell me. It was obvious from the stab wounds covering her body that my twin sister Lacey had been murdered.

  2

  Packing to leave was as simple as throwing my stuff in the suitcase. Our lives are constantly on the move as we travel from one crime scene to another.

  The apartments were rented by the week, so all he had to do was call the night manager and let him know we were leaving. He tells us to leave the key inside and go. I take the stairs down, carrying my small suitcase and the backpack that’s always with me. For a minute, this had been home. Now we’re back on the road. Lacey floats beside me, illuminating my path. The moon watches over our every move, turning shadows into pits of darkness.

  From the corner of the building, an unnatural movement draws my attention. Dread flows over me, scraping its claws against my spine.

  Dad jerks his head up and reaches into his jacket pocket for the holy water he keeps nestled there. “Is Lacey with you?”

  “Yeah.” Normally, we would slide under the radar of the things that go bump in the night. Dad’s shield is pretty impressive. But with Lacey’s fresh soul as a beacon, something itches to find us.

  “Can you ask her to dissipate for now?”

  I turn to her and hold up my hand. She reaches for it and wraps her fingers around mine. The touch slips through my flesh, chilling it, but I ignore the sensation and close my eyes to concentrate. My twin, my everything. I’ve told her a thousand times about this, of course she’d know how to talk to me.

  You’re in danger. Leave me for now.

  How will I find you, again? Her voice whispers in my mind, a dull echo of my own.

  Don’t worry. You’ll know the moment you need me. I don’t really know how the ghosts come back to my side, but until Dad exorcises them or helps them pass on, they stick with me.

  She hesitates and I open my eyes to gaze at her. I’ll be right here waiting for you.

  I wanted to show her that I wasn't that scared kid who feared her power and the damage she could do to me. Now, I see her standing in front of me, a ghost, no chance to ever make things right again.

  She fades to a wisp of blue-green light and then she’s gone. I put my hand on my chest and drag in a breath.

  The cold gaze watching me from the shadows disappears. “She’s gone for now. Toss me the keys.” He sends them my way and I catch them mid-air.

  “Get inside.” Dad starts his ritual of protection, walking around the SUV and saying his incantations.

  I haul both of our suitcases toward the rear of the vehicle. Halfway there, he changes his intonation and rhythm.

  Pain sears my body and I gasp.

  Panic sets in. Why is he doing the spirit banishment spell?

  He tosses the water away from us, and the pain still chokes me. I gasp for air, trying to force my body to seem normal. Ah, the amazing feeling of having a ghost refuse to let me go. How many agonizing nights have I endured this?

  There is no point in asking Dad to wait until I got inside. My tears don’t matter more than his need to protect us from the creatures hunting my power.

  Fighting the urge to run, I turn on my heel and march to the SUV, dragging our suitcases. The back opens thanks to the key fob, and I toss our luggage into the back, desperate to ignore the clawing ache in my chest.

  Sweat soaks my forehead, the back of my neck, and down my spine. I hate this spell.

  Climbing into the passenger seat, I buckle my seatbelt as Dad finishes his second walk around. I put the key in the ignition and start the SUV, hissing at the icy air blasting from the vent. It grows warm almost immediately, but the pain in my chest becomes almost unbearable. Lacey doesn’t want to leave and I’m not willing to let her go, yet.

  The air around me clears and whatever lingered is gone. Lacey’s presence cools the air around me. Dad jerks open the door and eyes me as he climbs in. "She still here?”

  “Yes.” The ache in my chest is almost gone. “Did you try to send her off?”

  “There’s no reason for her to stay. You know it’s better for her to pass on than to become food for something like that thing outside.” He turns to drop his bag in the seat behind us.

  There’s truth to that statement, but this is his daughter. Not some random ghost we need to exorcise.

  “Has she spoken to you at all?"

  "That's the thousandth time you've asked me that question, Dad." I roll my eyes and sigh. “You know they can’t talk to me.” I prop my elbow against the door and rest my cheek against my fist.

  “I thought it would be different with her.”

  “Yeah. Me too,” I mutter. Her presence grows stronger beside me.

  Dad says nothing, but I feel his heavy gaze. I scrunch my shoulders and wait for him to drive.

  Looking at him right now is a bad idea. First of all, I’m really pissed that he tried to send Lacey away. Second, and most important, I don’t want him to know I’m lying to him. For ten years I’ve lied to my father about the extent of my connection with the dead. Sharing my secret with Lacey back then made me realize how dangerous this power could be. It’s why we were separated for so long and why I’m stuck in this life I’m living.

  I can’t even remember the names of the little girls who died back then. They followed me for years, playing with me as I traveled highways in search of more souls to put to rest. This was before I knew how to listen to their cries of anguish and experience the last moments before their deaths. My happiest childhood memories involve playing with dead girls. How sad is that?

  “I just want to know if she’s hinted anything about who killed her.” He pulls out of the parking lot and onto the road.

  “I sent her away. There’s no telling when she’ll be back.”

  “Get some rest while you can. It will take us two days to get there. We’ll stop for the night later.”

  I nod and continue staring out the window. Did we sweep the rooms before we left? Did I pack my pillow in the suitcase? I pull out my cell phone and try to power it up. Big surprise, Lacey’s power wrecked it.

  Dad glances over at my groan of frustration. This is why I always leave my cell back in the room or in the car.

  “We’ll get you a new one.”

  I wave my hand and toss the phone in the backseat. Maybe I should just stop trying to be normal and just accept my freak of nature status.

  My mind lingers on the girls who were killed accidentally by Lacey’s power. Why can’t I remember their names?

  Attempting to shake off the weird memory, I twist in the seat to look toward the back.

  “You’re not going to get some sleep?”

  "Did you grab my pillow?”

  “No. You didn’t bring it with you?”

  I settle back into the seat and sigh. “I don’t know. We left in a hurry.”

  “We need to get home.” He says it with sobering intensity.

  “Where will we st
ay?"

  "With Mom."

  Mom? My stomach lurches. Mom is the absolute last person I want to see right now. "Let's stay at a motel."

  "Why would we do that when we have a perfectly good house? Your mom says she has everything set up." He turns up the music and settles into his driving pace.

  "Great." I cross my arms and stare out at the black landscape illuminated by our lonely car lights. The moon is covered by storm clouds. My skin prickles at the oncoming charge of thunder and lightning and tightens as shivers wrack my body. This is the worst night to return home.

  "The spirits are restless out here." Dad's voice rumbles in the car. "I wonder if there are any cases we can take on in the area."

  I let my hands fall to my side and clench my fists. Dad isn’t serious, right? I have no interest in finding unmarked graves while my sister's murderer is out there. Her soul latches onto me with more power than any I’ve ever faced.

  Lacey's presence grows next to me, leaching the heat from my fingers and arm. I glance down and see her ghostly hand touching mine. Even without looking at her face, I know she’s trying to comfort me. Squeezing my eyes shut, I force myself to slowly breathe in and out.

  "Is Lacey with us right now?" Dad's voice is a whisper above the music playing.

  "Yeah." My throat aches, raw with the sudden change in temperature. Opening my eyes, I watch the landscape rush by.

  "Is she saying anything?"

  "No, Dad. She's just hanging out with us."

  He glances my way as his hands tighten on the steering wheel. "Is she mad at me, honey?" His voice cracks and he drags in a breath.