Cursed Magic: Harper Shadow Academy (Book Two)

by Luna Pierce

  If she chose to leave, why would she have lied and said she was going with Jenny? Especially considering we went to Jenny’s funeral together. The two of them went to high school together, and she was torn up about her loss, so to nonchalantly bring it up now is that much weirder. Why wouldn’t she have called and told me she was leaving and not lead me to believe she would come to family day?

  All of this doesn’t add up.

  “And what about tracking?” I say.

  “We’re still working on it. I’ll keep you posted if anything changes.” He motions to the book splayed out on the table. “Making any progress?”

  Silas’s words pound through my head, “Be careful.” His stare burns a hole through me.

  “No.” I sigh.

  “Keep at it. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

  I force a smile, nodding and watching him dismiss himself.

  Lying isn’t something I’m proud of, but not knowing what any of this means and feeling the concern Silas had when he told me to be cautious zips my mouth shut. But how can I be so sure that Silas is trustworthy, too?

  “It’s only until we can figure out what to do with the information,” Silas says tenderly.

  “And what if we never do?”

  “We will. But until then, you have to keep this between us.”

  “What about Sydney?”

  “Especially him. He’s a LeBlanc, Willow. Nothing good comes out of that family.” Silas’s jaw clenches, his energy thrumming.

  “Tell me about them?”

  “Where to start… they’re greedy, self-serving narcissists.”

  The room thickens with his emotion.

  “Hey.” I take his hand in mine. “I won’t say anything, okay?” I do what I can to push into him my calming aura. A glimmer of pink and purple floats around us, illuminating the area.

  Silas’s stone face softens. His gaze shifts around the room to the light show, settling back on me. “You’ll never see yourself how I do, and that is a damn shame.”

  The families leave for the day, and Silas and I find the guys, filling them in on what’s happened.

  “Damn, it keeps getting worse for you, doesn’t it?” Deghan frowns and extends his arms, doing his best to hug away the stupid shit going wrong in my life.

  Sydney rubs his chin. “Abigail has a natural locating ability, but she learned from the best. Walker has a lot of resources he can pull from. They’ll find her in no time.”

  “What can I do to help?” Cam asks.

  “Unless you have any idea where my mom would have gone…” The idea strikes me, and I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it earlier. “My dad.”

  “You think she went in search of your dad?” Sydney straightens.

  “Has to be. She was so excited when I went to her house and spoke to her about everything that happened. With the love curse broken, she could finally get him back. It’s either that or a demon kidnapped her and is holding her ransom, which isn’t a far-fetched idea now that I say it out loud.”

  “I thought you said Walker ruled that out?” Cameron confirms.

  I nod. “Yeah, so he thought, but you never know. Could have been a witch who took her.” My gaze shifts to Sydney and back to the floor.

  “How can you trust any of them?” the voice taunts.

  I stare at my hands, totally caught off guard by the intrusion but not wanting to show the vulnerability to the guys. The thing in my head is typically at bay if they’re around, but for some reason, it’s louder than ever, concerning me that maybe their presence no longer has a protective type of effect.

  “Or maybe, one of them is the reason all of this is happening.”

  “You okay, Wills?” Deghan questions, his brows furrowed.

  “I think I need to be alone for a little while.” I don’t dare allow my eyes to wander to them.

  A flush of sadness mixed with desperation fills the room, funneling out of each one of them, me included.

  “Of course,” one of them mutters.

  A large warm hand touches my shoulder. Deghan.

  Footsteps wander to the door.

  “I’ll be right outside if you need me.” Silas floats across the room and then disappears.

  They all do.

  They’re gone.

  And I’m left alone, but not truly, the evil version of myself to keep me company.

  I curl into a ball on my bed, on top of the covers, silence filling the space. I grip each shoulder with the opposite hand and squeeze tight, hopeful to force a fraction of the calming relief into me that I can for others.

  I fail, limbs going slack, and allow the sadness to take hold. My mind is a danger I’m not sure how to handle, but how can I ask for help not knowing who to trust?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Two weeks pass with no solid leads on my mother’s whereabouts.

  The trackers follow a path, only to hit dead end followed by dead end.

  I can’t be of any service, not having a clue what my father’s name is or where a single one of his possessions are located.

  Uncle Danny is no help either, although he’s filed an official missing person’s report. Not that the Harper County Sheriff’s office will be of much assistance, given the most severe case they’ve ever dealt with was the local seniors toilet papering the high school one year.

  I find the thoughts in my head to be all-consuming. I can no longer differentiate which are mine anymore, and that alone terrifies me. I’m in too deep, and as much as I struggle, I can’t find my way out.

  I spend less time with the guys, or, well, I speak to them less. I don’t really talk much at all, to anyone. They’re there, watching over me always, but I’ve become reclusive, folding into myself. I spend my days studying, either school or magic things, and trying to sleep. It’s a fruitless task for the most part, but people don’t seem to want to pry if you’re trying to rest, so I use the excuse any chance I can.

  I force moments with the girls, although I’m shit company. But I can’t imagine losing them again, so I do the minimum without losing too much.

  Somehow, I pass all of my exams with flying colors. I guess I really was excelling in my classes like Walker had said. My accounting class took the brunt of my regular school attention with those annoying balance sheets and income statements. The creative writing essay was a breeze. We had to pick a fictional character we admire and explain why. My choice was easy, Rudy from The Sandman’s Travel. His grit and determination to overcome every insane hurdle that life threw at him was admirable. He loved so deeply and never once gave up, even when anyone else would have. That was one assignment I actually looked forward to doing.

  Being so new to the magical world, I never had any solidified supernatural classes or final exams. Next term will be a different story, though, depending on whether or not we can fix the shadow realm.

  Each day Walker reassures me that he and his team are doing their best to find my mom, but I can’t help but think I should be the one out there looking for her. It only throws me that much farther down the rabbit hole I’m stuck in.

  Abigail told me she thinks my mother’s magic is hidden similar to how mine is, protecting us from the wrong people finding us. “I’m a firm believer in intuition, Willow. We’re going to find her.”

  “How can you be so sure?” I asked, hopelessness consuming me.

  “Trust me.”

  That word I keep circling back to. Trust. How can I know for certain that any of them have my best interests in mind? Especially given people are notorious for being self-serving. Sure, intuition may be a good judge, but what do I do with the gut feeling that something isn’t what it seems. Someone is lying, and I have no idea who or what about.

  Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m the one allowing my mind to play tricks on me. But what if I’m wrong, what if it’s those I care about most, deceiving me in the worst of ways?

  How can I trust myself?

  “Sydney is going to be taking over soon. Do you
need anything before I leave?” Cameron asks, his voice soft like he’s walking on eggshells.

  I force a smile. “No, thank you, though.”

  He sits next to me in the large windowsill seat in my dorm room. “You’re worrying me, Willow. You remind me of a zombie. You barely eat or drink anything, other than coffee. You haven’t spoken but a few words to me in all of two weeks. I’m not trying to pry. I really hope you understand I’m here for you if you want to talk. I’m not all-mighty and powerful in some fancy supernatural way like the other guys, but I swear to you, I’m the best listener ever.” He sighs, putting a hand on my knee. “I care about you, do you realize that?”

  I give my focus to him and nod. “I do. I’m sorry I’m… this way.”

  “No, no, no, that’s not what I meant. There is nothing wrong with you. This is hard on all of us, too. Not having any idea of how to help is brutal.”

  The bedroom door creaks open, and Sydney walks in. He sets his bag on the closest bed and takes out whatever he’s working on today. Without saying a word to either of us, he digs into his book.

  Cameron gives my leg a gentle squeeze. “We’re going to get through this, okay?”

  “Yeah,” I whisper, damn well hoping he’s right.

  Cam leaves, and I move toward the window, scanning the grounds for a familiar face.

  I locate Deghan a moment later, staring straight toward the setting night sky, the purple-and-orange horizon casting colorful shadows across him.

  I summon the pink ball into my hand, tenderly tossing it out the window, following it along on its way down to him.

  He adjusts, letting it flow through him, and turns around. He motions for me to come down and frowns at my shaking head.

  “Are you going to work on anything tonight?” Sydney asks.

  I shrug.

  “I brought you a few books.”

  I glance at his bag, walking over to check out the contents. “I’m kind of tired. I might try to nap.”

  He rolls his eyes. “What would you rather be doing?”

  “Something other than sitting in this school doing nothing.”

  Sydney rubs his temples. “I think I might be able to help. Do you still have that pen?”

  I grab it out of my pocket a second later and extend it out to him.

  “Good. Now, pack a bag.”

  My eyes go wide. “Are we leaving?”

  “Keep your voice down. But yes. Bring whatever you need. I know how we can find your mom.” He shoves the books in his backpack. “Go.”

  A few minutes later, we’re holding hands, invisible, and tiptoeing down the west wing stairs. We clear the garden, stopping dead in our tracks when Silas walks by.

  He halts, scanning the area. “Willow,” he mouths.

  I hold my breath, the grip I have on Sydney’s hand growing tighter.

  Silas moves on, jogging up the north steps and out of sight.

  “We have to move,” Sydney urges quietly.

  I settle into the passenger seat and let out a heavy exhale. “That was intense.”

  Sydney turns the key, the engine of his car roaring to life. In a hurry, he puts the vehicle in drive and speeds out of the parking lot without anyone seeing us.

  We turn off the gravel drive, and the security of the school is left behind. A strange vulnerability pulses through me. I push it aside, letting the freedom of finally getting to do something productive come to the forefront.

  Sydney white knuckles the steering wheel. “It’s not too far.”

  “What isn’t?”

  “My house.”

  “We’re going to your house?” I hope this isn’t a gigantic mistake, but what could be the harm in going to his home?

  “Our family… we have a vast collection of magical devices. There’s a stone that can help us locate your mother.”

  His words register, but I don’t quite understand the hesitation behind them.

  “And you’re just now telling me this?” It’s everything I can do to not get mad at him for hiding such a thing from me for all this time.

  “You don’t get it, Willow.” He glances at me. “My parents… they’ll probably disown me for this.”

  “Sydney.” I grasp his arm. “We don’t have to do this. We can figure out another way.”

  “I can’t stand to see you this way anymore. It’s killing me. It’s torturing all of us. And here I am with a way to help and I haven’t. I’m so sorry.” His jaw clenches.

  I scan his face, eyeing the stubble he’s let grown out a little in the last week. His minty-green eyes are filled with longing and despair.

  “For what it’s worth, thank you for changing your mind. But if you want to go back to school, we can.” Deep down, I beg that he stays the course.

  “That will be another battle we face.”

  “Walker is going to kill us himself.”

  The headmaster has tirelessly secured the school to protect us, developed teams to try to locate my mom, and has been working to repair the shadow realm, and here we are, sneaking out and putting ourselves in danger.

  Sydney turns the car into a long gravel lane. Two large stone pillars sit off the road, leading to what seems to be nothing.

  “How long is your driveway?”

  “About a mile,” he says.

  A pit unravels in my stomach the farther we go.

  The house comes into sight, my jaw dropping in response.

  “You live in a mansion?” I roll my gaze over the vast architecture. It may be dark, but I can still make out the intricately laid stone face and three massive levels. Sharply landscaped square bushes line the front of the house, an archway at the entrance, inviting us in.

  “My parents do. I live over there.” He points toward a smaller but still expansive building off to the right.

  “In the guest house?” I can’t hide the surprise in my voice.

  Sydney puts the car in park, getting out and coming over to open my door. He takes my hand into his, leading me toward his place. “I want you to wait in here while I go in the house and find the reperio stone.”

  “You’re going to leave me?” I latch on to his arm.

  “Not for long. Only to get what we need. My parents are really weird about who’s in the house… I don’t want to set off any alarms by bringing someone they didn’t invite in.”

  “You’re right, that is weird.”

  He opens the door, and we enter his home.

  It smells so… Sydney. Earth and wind wrapped up in one, dipped in honey and coffee.

  I let my eyes adjust to the studio-style room. A vast book collection lines two walls in the back, and across from that is a king-sized bed and desk area. A full-sized kitchen sits in another corner, various doors lining the wall.

  “Bathroom is over there if you need it.” He points to one of them. “I’ll be right back.” Sydney hesitates, running a finger along my arm. He leans in, pressing his lips to my cheek. “Make yourself at home.”

  I plop down on the dark-brown couch and sink into the seat, my feet dangling, barely off the floor. I glance around, not trying to invade Sydney’s privacy but wanting to occupy my time.

  “He’s not coming back.”

  “Stop talking,” I mutter to myself.

  “You realize this is a trap, right?”

  My heart thuds. That can’t possibly be true. I shake my head.

  “Why do you think he left? You really are such a fool.”

  “He’s trying to help me,” I demand.

  “Is that what you think? He doesn’t care about you. Why do you think he went without you? You bought right into his lies.”

  “Sydney hasn’t lied to me. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You’ll find out soon enough, especially if you stay sitting like a duck.”

  What if the voice is right? What if this really is a trick and I’m falling right for it? But what could Sydney possibly have to gain?

  That’s the moment it dawns on m
e.

  Silas’s words, ‘He’s a LeBlanc, Willow. Nothing good comes out of that family.’

  Maybe Sydney really is the bad guy.

  I jump up, surveying the room, not having any luck finding what I’m looking for. I rummage through Sydney’s bag, no cell phone in sight.

  Shit.

  “You better hurry if you want to make it out.”

  “What, so now you’re suddenly on my side?”

  I shift my focus up to the main house, watching as a light flickers on in a window at the far end. If I act now, I can get out without him catching me. The school isn’t that far away, I could easily run all the way back there and beg Headmaster Walker to let me in. He’s a reasonable man, and I’m willing to take whatever punishment he sees fit.

  Clutching the bag in my hands, I make for the door. I slip outside quietly, plotting my escape on the way.

  “Go through the woods, it’ll be a more direct path to the school.”

  I sigh. That is the direction the school is in, but should I really trust the voice in my head? Out of the corner of my eye, the house goes dark, and I know for sure if I’m going to leave, I have to do it now. Without another thought, I make a beeline straight through the yard, past Sydney’s car, and into the wooded area surrounding his house.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I was a fool for ever considering leaving the safety of the school. Why was I so stupid and careless? I left the protection Walker worked so hard on, and now here I am, running nearly blind through a dark thickly wooded forest with no real sense of direction.

  I make a path through the area for nearly five minutes, only going deeper and deeper into the forest, no roads or trails in sight. I slow to a jog and then stop, placing my hands on my knees to catch my breath for a second. I shift my head around.

  “Where the hell am I?” I squint.

  A laugh fills my head. “Foolish girl.” The voice is evil and taunting. The scariest part about it is how similar it sounds to my own. The voice calls out, “Right behind you.”