Night Shade Academy

by Kelly Carrero

  She leaned down to get a better look. “Firstly, wow. I can’t believe you got a familiar when they creep you out so much. And yes, they do have genders, but no, I don’t know what yours is.” She straightened. “Do you even know how rare a hound is?” She shook her head. “I never thought I’d see one in person. I’ve only ever heard about them.”

  I let my top fall back into place. “Karma grounds me. It helps me to control my fire.”

  Kayla barked out a laugh. “Karma? Is that what you’re calling it?”

  Scowling at her, I shrugged. “Maybe. I think it suits him or her.” Karma kind of fit perfectly, considering I got stuck with a Hellhound, one of the strongest of them all, when I had agreed to the spell, hoping I was going to get a kitty or something.

  She raised a brow. “If you think so.”

  “I think Karma is a good name,” Nova said, coming to my defense. “It’s gender neutral.”

  “Thank you.” I glared at Kayla. “Maybe you should take note of how friends are supposed to support each other.”

  “But I’m not your friend.” She dunked a couple of fries into mushroom sauce then popped them into her mouth. “I’m your twinsie, so deal with it.”

  I chuckled, temporarily forgetting about Hunter, but then it all came rushing back again, and I no longer cared about whether Familiars were supposed to poop on you or not.

  The mood at the table changed as they both watched me with sorrow in their eyes. “Kayla told me about your friend… Hunter, is it?” Nova asked.

  I nodded. “He’s real. And we need to find him.”

  Nova slung her arm over my shoulder. “If you believe he’s real, then we’ll do whatever we can to prove you wrong.”

  My eyes widened.

  “I’m kidding,” she said with a laugh. “I think your sister is rubbing off on me.”

  I smiled. “She has a tendency of doing that to people.”

  Nova dropped her arm back to her side. “All jokes aside, we’re here for you, and we’ll do whatever we can to help find him and anyone else that’s gone missing.”

  “Thanks,” I said, my heart warming over the sentiment.

  “You can thank us later if we don’t get busted for what we plan to do,” Kayla said, a mischievous grin playing on her lips.

  I knew that look all too well, and usually I would be the voice of reason, but those days were now long gone.

  Leaning forward, I placed my elbows on the table and rested my chin on my hands. “Do tell.”

  “Well,” she said, pausing to see if anyone was close enough to hear us before continuing, “we’re going to break into the vault and get our hands on some of the good spells, because Nova heard from Jason, who heard from Alex, that there are books on the premises that are guarded for the protection of all supernatural creatures. Books that will lead us to the ones the original used. And if you didn’t get my subtitle use of original, then know that I’m talking about the Shadow Walker.”

  “Of course I know who you’re talking about,” I said. “Remember, I’m smarter than you. And his name is Orson Reeves.”

  She waved me off. “Anyway, Nova is going to create a diversion then you and me are going in for the steal.”

  “We’re not stealing, we’re borrowing.” Really, I didn’t care if I got caught for stealing, but I didn’t want to drag her into whatever mess I created—even if it was her idea.

  “Steal? Borrow? Same dif.” Her eyes lit up with excitement. “So, what do you think?”

  “Of your plan?”

  She nodded.

  “I’m way ahead of you.”

  Frowning, she was about to open her mouth when I put my finger up to my lips, telling her to be quiet.

  A moment later, screams erupted from inside, and everyone scrambled outside of the building, partially drenched from the sprinklers going off.

  Nova and Kayla’s eyes widened. “What did you do?” they asked in unison.

  I grinned. “I may or may not have started a little fire in the kitchen.” When their mouths gaped, I quickly added, “It’s not large enough to burn down the building. They’ll put it out in a few minutes. Plus, there’s sprinklers installed in the kitchen.”

  Nova drew her brows together. “Then what good is that? We need more time to get in and out.”

  “Yes, we do, which is why we’re going in tonight after everyone but us has fallen asleep, thanks to the spell I put in the water that just doused everyone a few moments ago.”

  A grin spread across Nova’s face. “You are good,” she said.

  “You have no idea,” Kayla said. “Zalia doesn’t get pissed very often, but when she does, Gods help anyone that gets in her way.”

  As planned, no one even made it to dinner. The building was deathly silent by five pm, giving us plenty of daylight hours to get in and out. Bishop would figure out that everyone had been magically drugged, but after our conversation this morning, he would take the threat against the school more seriously, which would benefit everyone here.

  The three of us headed into Bishop’s office where I opened the secret door. We proceeded down the tunnel and stopped in front of the door to the vault.

  “Do you know how to get through that?” Nova asked.

  I nodded. “Same as the first lock.” Lifting my hands in front of me, I moved them in sequence, then expanded the spell in front of me, and pushed it into the door. A second later, the lock clicked and a gush of air came out as the door opened a few inches.

  “What was that?” Kayla asked. “It’s not going to kill us, is it?”

  I chuckled. “No. It’s just the air pressure being released. It’s used to keep the materials inside in prime condition without being subjected to weather conditions.”

  They both looked at me dubiously. I groaned then opened the door and stepped inside. “See. I’m still alive.”

  Nova and Kayla looked at each other then Nova entered first. Seeing she didn’t keel over, Kayla followed.

  “See. We’re all still alive.” I headed over to the bookshelf containing what appeared to be the oldest of books. “I’ll start here. You guys find another pile to go through.” I whipped my head around to face Kayla, just in time to see her reaching for a white and blue vase that looked as if it were more than a hundred years old. “And don’t touch anything if you want to make it out of here in one piece, or without releasing some other Demon into the world.”

  She recoiled her hand. “Books are safe though, right?”

  “Books are safe so long as you don’t read the spells aloud.”

  “Got it,” she said, heading over to another bookshelf.

  Picking up the first book, I opened it and drew my brows together, as I flipped through the blank pages. I put it back then picked up the next. This book was the same as the previous.

  “Hey, guys?” Nova said. “I’m right in thinking there’s supposed to be words in these books, aren’t I?”

  I grabbed another book. The same thing. “They’ve all disappeared.”

  Kayla huffed. “What good is a book without words?”

  “No use whatsoever,” I mumbled, as I searched through one more book before moving onto another shelf. Every single book was blank.

  “Who would do this?” Kayla asked.

  I placed the book back on the shelf. “Someone who doesn’t want us figuring out how to stop them.”

  Rage coursed within me as frustration took over. I’d played nice for too long, and someone was going to get hurt.

  I stormed out of the vault and headed back through the tunnel.

  “Where are you going?” Kayla asked, as she and Nova followed. “Don’t you think we should lock the vault?”

  “Damn it.” I raced back to the vault and locked the door, not because I cared if anyone found out what I’d done. It was because I didn’t want anything else to get out that shouldn’t get out. I’d already supposedly done enough damage with opening one canister, so I wasn’t going to have more Demons on my conscious.
>
  Storming back down the tunnel, I passed my friends then continued into Bishop’s office, locking the secret door behind us. “You guys go back to our place, and I’ll meet you there soon.”

  “Where are you going?” Kayla asked.

  “To pay Bethany a little visit.”

  34

  I had no idea what apartment belonged to Bethany, but she’d been meticulous about keeping records, and Bishop had been lazy in protecting his password.

  Kayla placed her palms on the desk, leaning over it as she watched me try to break into his computer. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.” She grinned. “You know you could get kicked out of here for doing something like this.”

  I glanced up at her. “I don’t think it’s a could but rather a will.” After entering his password, I hit the enter button, and his screen came to life.

  I searched through the files, trying to find the details on her apartment. “Bingo.”

  Making a mental note of her room number, I closed off his computer and ushered Kayla and Nova out of the room. “I’ll see you both soon.”

  I didn’t wait for them to say goodbye before I took off to the elevator and headed up to the faculty floor. Bethany’s room ended up being at the end of the hall and down another hall on the left.

  With a flick of my hand, I unlocked the door then turned on the lights as I entered the room. It was the same layout as Kayla and my room, except hers was bare of any personal items.

  An uneasy feeling spread over my body that was hard to shake.

  Bethany was clean and meticulous, but what I was seeing was too clean.

  Gingerly, I walked toward her bedroom, no longer ready to make her talk or tear her apart trying. Something was different. Something was off.

  I slowly opened the door, revealing an empty bed. I rushed over to the wardrobe and opened it.

  There was nothing there.

  In a panic, I searched the rest of her place, but the bitch was gone, not like the other students and Hunter who had no record of existing. Bethany had a record. Bethany had just up and left.

  Karma stirred awake as the fiery rage inside of me lit up, and I was once again grateful that I had my new little buddy to ground my power.

  After doing one final sweep of her apartment to see if she’d left anything behind with a clue as to where she went, I returned to my apartment where I found Kayla sitting on the couch with a leather bound book in her hand.

  “What have you got there?” I asked, intrigued as to why my sister, who never picked up a book if she didn’t have to, was now looking through one.

  She shrugged, as I made my way over to her. “No idea. It was on the sofa when I got back.”

  Frowing, I eased myself onto the arm of the couch and peered at the blank pages on the book, yet another dead end. “Where’s Nova?”

  Kayla drew her brows together. “Who’s Nova?”

  My blood ran cold as I waited for her to tell me she was kidding like she so often did. But she tilted her head up to look at me, worry lines creasing her forehead. “I’m supposed to know who Nova is, aren’t I?”

  I nodded. “You and her were supposed to meet me here.” I stood and paced the room, trying to calm my nerves. “You were with her only five minutes ago. And now she’s gone just like the others.”

  Stopping, I turned to Kayla. “Did you run into anyone on your way back here?”

  Looking off into the distance, deep in thought, she finally shook her head. “Not that I can remember, but apparently that’s not saying much since I’ve forgotten someone I was only just with.” She shook her head again. “So who is Nova?”

  I blinked hard as I remembered the girl who made my time with the Darks bearable then drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly before I explained who Nova was.

  Kayla pushed the book off her lap and leaned forward, almost hugging her knees. “How could I forget her?”

  It pained me to see her that way. Even though she still didn’t remember Nova, it affected her nonetheless. “Bethany’s not going to get away with it. I’m going to find her and when I do…”

  Kayla tilted her head back to look up at me. “When we.”

  “You’re not getting involved in this. It’s too dangerous.”

  She bounced to her feet. “I am involved in this, and if you so much as think about cutting me out…”

  Kayla didn’t need to finish her warning. I had years of experience of dealing with her repercussions. I’d probably wake up to being bald with a cow’s ring in my nose. And as much as I was okay with that if it meant Kayla was safe, there was also the bigger risk in that she might try to solve this without me being there to watch out for her.

  “Fine,” I said, pretending to be not happy, which wasn’t far from the truth. “But you are to stay with me at all times. No running off to look into anything on your own, okay?”

  She held up her hand. “I swear. I’m even going to sleep with you.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  Kayla raised a brow. “You think I’m going to risk being taken while we’re both sleeping, and you’re not there to stop them?” She chuckled. “You can kiss any privacy goodbye until this is all over.”

  I laughed. “You’re not watching me go to the toilet.”

  “And you’re not closing the door so I can get taken.”

  I laughed again because the only other alternative was to cry. And I wasn’t doing that. This was now our life. “Deal.”

  Kayla wasn’t lying. She crawled into my bed because she thought I would be the last one to get taken, and she almost insisted on a binding spell, tying us together. Luckily, I convinced her I was able to put a ward around my room, which worked out relatively the same. Someone with enough power—say a level D Demon—would still be able to get through, just like they’d also be able to break a binding spell.

  I really needed to learn some more upper level Dark skills.

  The next morning, I woke up before Kayla, who was snoring in bed beside me, a line of drool running down the corner of her lips.

  I dragged myself out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Keeping to my promise, I didn’t close the door when I went to the toilet or jumped into the shower, but I also didn’t leave the door wide open. I could still hear and yet gained a little bit of privacy.

  Seeing Karma in the mirror, and the poop that still remained just above my right breast was a shock, but I no longer harbored any ill feeling toward the beast. The poop was another story. I was going to have to work out how I was supposed to clean up the mess of a familiar, so it didn’t pile up, and my skin wouldn’t be covered in poop and pee.

  The warm water lifted my soul, as did putting on a fresh set of clothes, doing my hair, and smearing on a tad bit of makeup. I felt positive about the day. We were going to find Bethany, and I was going to save my friends—and the others that probably didn’t deserve it after the way they’d treated me.

  Who was I kidding? I couldn’t even be mean in my head. No one deserved to be forgotten.

  Heading back into my room, a shiver ran down my spine, my gaze shooting to Kayla, who was still out to it.

  Shaking off the weird feeling creeping under my skin, I made my way over to Kayla’s side to wake her but froze when the atmosphere in the room began to change—almost like a glitch.

  Then as if I were in a horror movie, writing appeared on the window, as if someone was drawing it on with their finger, and they were using blood or something that closely resembled blood. Whatever it was, it scared the shit out of me and froze me in place.

  A moment later, the atmosphere returned to normal, and the only proof left of the weird glitchy thing were the words written on the glass.

  Use your other eyes.

  35

  Reaching down, I shook Kayla’s shoulder. “Wake up.”

  Shrugging me off, she rolled over and tried to pull the blankets over her head, but I wasn’t letting her stay in bed any longer. I ripped the sheets off her. “Get up
now.”

  Kayla was ready to sock me one until she saw the look in my eyes and jerked into a sitting position, fully awake. “What happened?”

  Following my gaze, she looked at the window above her then scooted on all fours down to the end of the bed and jumped out, grabbing onto my arm, as if I were going to save her from all of this.

  I was.

  But not from the message.

  “What does it mean?” Kayla asked, her fingers grasping me tighter.

  I shook my head slowly. “I have no idea.”

  “We have to go see Bishop.” Kayla dragged me out of the room and into hers, where she gathered her clothes then headed into her bathroom. “Do not leave this room. Got it?”

  After what just happened, I wasn’t letting Kayla out of my sight. Well, out of my reach. I didn’t need to watch her, but I wasn’t leaving her alone, either.

  Once showered and dressed in the quickest time I’d ever seen her get ready, we raced down to Bishop’s office, where we found him on his way out.

  “I don’t have time, girls,” he said, not stopping for us. “I’m late for a very important meeting about what’s going on here.”

  “But its about Bethany,” I said. “Plus, Nova is missing now too and—”

  “I’m sorry, Zalia,” he said. “I really don’t have time for this, but we’ll speak about it tonight when I get back.”

  “Don’t you think I should go with you to this meeting, considering I’m the only one who remembers?”

  “Your presence could cause more problems than we are able to deal with at this moment, which could mean the difference between saving your friends’ lives or not.”

  “But…”

  “Come see me tonight.” Bishop strode into the lift and pressed the close door button, cutting off our conversation.

  “Well, that was rude,” Kayla said, as the lift went down to the basement garage. “And weird.”

  I drew in a deep breath then released it slowly, trying to imagine my frustration disappearing with my breath.

  It didn’t work.

  However, Karma came to life and soaked up what was left over, leaving me level headed.