She blinked. The sun was down, somehow. How long had she been reading? There were no cheers anymore from the field. How had she read in the dark? The words must have illuminated…or somehow entered her mind directly, without her eyes necessary.
Why did Lukas trust her with this book?
She wanted a fresh start. To learn how to control the flying power and keep it secret. There was some dark, distilled power that she was terrified lurked in her—and if she couldn’t control the flying power, how could she control those…those…horrific things she had seen?
Vampires were yelling and hooting, the normally cold and emotionless beings giddy. They must have won. Shifters growled as they felt frustrated in their loss, but suddenly the huge event of the football game seemed small. She didn’t want to see Ryan right now. It was only 8:30, but she needed to talk this through.
She sensed a chill, like it was winter, as she hurried to Lukas’s office. It was earlier than the scheduled time. Could others feel it? She saw a mermaid clutching herself, shivering.
Lukas’s door was ajar slightly.
She knocked at the door, and it opened with a creak under her blow.
Lukas was nowhere to be seen, but his desk looked like two cats had been fighting. A folded piece of paper was on his desk…
And on it was her name.
Naya Colt.
She grabbed it, tucking it into a pocket, and clutched the heavy book tight against her.
A scream that could pierce the soul ripped through the halls.
A mermaid’s scream.
She rushed out to the main hall. It had been so beautiful and welcoming the first time she had stepped into it. Now her blood went cold, and the book fell from her weak hands. Everything froze.
Alice Vanderlog, the mermaid, was weeping in Mrs. Belour’s arms. Students were looking in terror at the wall.
It was covered in blood, sparkling with wizard’s power.
Give us the two-kind.
Underneath the horrible words was an image of Professor Lukas, his eyes wide with horror, put there by some illusion. Blood dripped from his neck.
Under it was something worse.
Naya Colt belongs to us.
13
People whispered and turned their attention to her as she tried to secretly pick up the book that had fallen heavily to the ground. She walked towards Mrs. Belour when Alice pointed at her.
“Her! Hand her over!” She pointed to Naya. Others followed her, full of fear.
“Get rid of the two-kind,” whispered a shifter, looking at her like she was a demon.
“She’s not right! She shouldn’t exist!” yelled a vampire, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
“Enough!” Mrs. Belour’s voice boomed out through the crowd, and all the whispers went quiet. “Everyone, go to the dining room for an emergency meeting!” All the students stayed, petrified. “Now!” she yelled out, and everyone was brought out of the trance, jostling each other as they tried to get away from the horrific image on the wall.
Gossip darted like electricity. She could feel the attention on her. All she had dreamt of was to feel normal, to have friends, date, have her first kiss and be just like everyone else.
Now reality hit her like a fist. She wasn’t normal, even in a paranormal Academy.
She was a two-kind, and worse, she had learned she was from a long line of powerful wizards who had been banned for their reckless thirst for power.
She felt like she had a giant bubble around her. No one wanted to get close as they filed into the main dining room. She was isolated, all alone while people whispered about her, growing braver in their denouncement of her.
“You should leave!” a werewolf hissed at her, and even with the inhibitor shot, she could see his teeth turning into fangs for a moment, his eyes turning yellow and feral.
“You don’t belong! You never did!” A wizard spat out the curse, and she realized that all those rumors and whispers she had dismissed because of her friends and Ryan were more serious than she thought.
“Nay! There you are!” Amy rushed to her. For a second, she wondered if even her own best friend would throw her away, then Amy wrapped her up in a huge hug. “Are you okay?”
“Hand her over!” a girl screamed from the back of the crowd.
“We don’t want you here!” another yelled.
There was no one near her except Amy, as if she had a horrible disease that no one wanted to be struck by.
“Naya!” Trevor ran to her. “Don’t listen to those kids. They’re scared and don’t know what they are saying.”
“It’s true,” said Elizabeth, and suddenly she wasn’t alone. “We’re here to protect you, with whatever we can do.” Naya burst into tears, finding refuge in her potion teacher’s arms.
“Naya…” Ryan rushed to her, still in his football clothes. He had won a huge victory, but there was no triumph in his eyes. He looked scared. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”
Mrs. Belour and Mr. Vickers strode up on the main stage at the front of the dining hall, and everyone shut up, waiting to hear what they would say. The rest of the teachers stayed at the sidelines, and when the last student filed in, the doors closed. They thudded hard, and everyone felt trapped.
“I am sorry to call this news at this hour.” She sighed deeply. “One of our beloved teachers was kidnapped. His blood is now on our walls.”
She raised her arm, pointing to Verbin Kears. Every movement she made was filled with grace, poised against the terror. “Mr. Kears identified the source of the horrible attack. It was the Wild-Lifers.”
A gasp from the students was like an echo.
Naya was filled with confusion. She’d heard that word, once or twice, but people talked about Wild-Lifers like the bogey-man. It was something that wasn’t real—right?
“We have strong reason to believe that Baltus and Ezequiel Kulikov are behind this.”
It hit her. She knew those names, somehow.
They were in the book, in the section she had glossed over about the blood-lust of vampires. The book was so heavy as she tried to conceal it, and she hoped no one had seen it and thought anything of it. She wished she could fish out the book and read it now, but it was a foolish thought.
“The ball will be postponed until further notice.”
A gasp of discontent flooded through the audience, and whispers started—especially from mermaids, some who had been pulled from a shopping trip and were clutching dresses in their arms.
“Silence! The decision has been made. All extracurricular activities are banned. The plaza is closed, the final football game is postponed, and no student may stay out in non-class hours. Anyone who disobeys the curfew will be placed into confinement. Now go to your rooms, and stay there until your next classes. Teachers, stay here. We have to speak. The meeting is dismissed.”
A mass of disappointed students filed out, glaring at Naya as they went. Everyone seemed to know her. She had tried to ignore the celebrity status she had, but it followed her everywhere, and only blocking it out had worked to calm her anxiety. She couldn’t ignore it anymore.
Naya walked out in a trance, surrounded by her trusted friends. Their voices seemed so distant as they tried to cheer her up, like they were talking from the end of a long tunnel.
“This is all your fault, Colt,” hissed Leah Brotenlin, a vampire who had always been cold to her. “I bought a dress more expensive than your life for tomorrow. You should go into the woods and let the Wild-Lifers take you. That’s where you belong.”
“Shut up, Leah!” Amy yelled,
Leah snorted. “Ohh, what are you going to do, slutty witch?”
Amy couldn’t hold back. She slapped Leah across the face.
Her eyes went wide. “You’re going to regret that!” Her rage was so powerful it overwhelmed the inhibitor shot, and her eyes turned yellow and her fangs slipped out. She pushed Amy hard, throwing her back with power. Ryan caught her, stopping her a se
cond before she cracked her head against the wall.
“That’s enough, Leah. The fight is with me. Leave my friends alone.” Naya felt power flowing through her veins. She had never stood up to a bully—unless a bully threatened her friend.
“I won’t fight a two-kind. You’re worthless.” Her eyes traveled up and down Naya, filled with disgust, as if she was looking at something impure. “You’re not good enough to be a vampire, nor a disgusting witch.”
The words resonated in Naya’s head, even as Leah left and they went to their rooms. Sometimes at night, in her dorm halls, doors would be left open as an invitation to socialize.
Now they were all closed.
Amy tried to console Naya, but she knew deep in her heart that Leah was right. No matter how hard she tried, she was barely a B student. She wanted to rush out of the school and surrender herself to the Wild-Lifers so that people would stop hating her.
I need to learn more about the Kulikov family.
Naya waited until Amy fell asleep, her heart pounding as she took the book out of the pocket. Maybe that was why he was captured. His office looked like it had been torn apart. What secrets could it hold that it was worth a life?
There must be something in it that could guide her to Lukas.
She had to make sure Amy was really asleep.
“Hey Amy, guess what, the ball is back on,” she whispered.
No response.
Good. If that didn’t wake her, she was out. She bit her lip. What if Amy woke up and saw what she was doing? She needed to be alone. She opened the door, which squeaked in protest, and Amy shifted in bed. Luckily she didn’t wake up.
She snuck down the hallway towards the bathroom, thinking she could hide in one of the stalls to read, when the book went cold in her hands.
That icy winter chill filled her like just before something horrible happened when she felt a big hand on her shoulder and she fought back a scream.
“What are you doing outside?”
“Ryan? Huh? What are you doing here?”
“I should ask you the same. I’m guarding you.”
“You could get in trouble!”
“I promised you that nothing would happen to you as long as I was here. I’ll face down imprisonment if it means keeping you safe.” He looked down at the book in her hands. “What is that? Are you thinking of studying at a time like this?
Before she could stop him, he took the book from her hands.
“Maybe. If there’s a threat, I need to be better, right?” She tried to pull the book back, but his hands were strong around it. “Plus, you don’t need to guard me. I’m capable enough.”
He touched her cheek softly. “Naya, if something were to happen to you…” he sighed. “I would never forgive myself.”
That made her smile for the first time since she saw the blood on the walls. His protectiveness washed over her with a comforting wave. “What’s this book about? Spells? It’s too late to study. We’re facing a big threat, and you need to sleep.”
“Okay,” she said, rolling her eyes, “I will, but hand me the book back, first.”
He nodded slowly, and as he handed it back there were steps in the distance.
The book fell, opening, and Ryan grabbed it with fast reflexes before it could clatter against the floor hard. It opened right to the vampire section.
Kulikov’s name stood out to her, as if the book had a mind of its own, and she couldn’t stop her expression of shock.
Too late.
His brows furrowed as he opened the book. “What is this? This is no spell book!”
“I…I can explain,” mumbled Naya.
“Who’s there? Who is out after hours?” Mrs. Belour’s voice cracked through the hall like a whip.
“Leave, now!” Ryan pushed Naya forward.
“It’s me, Ryan Voight. I’m patrolling these halls in case of an attack,” he said proudly, not fearing her repercussions and letting Naya sneak away before something bad happened. He shoved the book in her hands, trusting her.
The next morning, Naya woke and felt like she was still dreaming. She hoped Ryan didn’t get into any trouble. He was a good, strong student, and he could convince Mrs. Belour that what he was doing was for the greater good.
He trusted her, and she kept a secret from him. Would that book make him think that she was working with the so-called Wild-Lifers?
Amy was snoring away and Naya didn’t want to talk to her. She just wanted to get to Ryan. She headed out into the halls, when Ms. Zove caught her.
“Where are you going?”
“To the library,” she said, showing her teacher the book of spells. “See? I need to study.”
Ms. Zove blinked. “Well, we are in class hours, so I suppose a bit of studying wouldn’t hurt” she said, but her voice was suspicious. “Be back before noon, then.”
It was a close call. Teachers were patrolling the halls, and even worse, there were men in military uniforms with scary-looking guns all over the place. They had always been in the background before, so as not to scare the students, but now they were all on high alert.
The library was the biggest room in the Academy. There were a couple students sitting, but the second she entered, they closed their books, gave her dark looks, and left. No one wanted to be near her.
The library was filled with passageways of books. She knew that there wasn’t a single copy of the book she was holding, however, and she had more knowledge in her hands than all the books combined. Still, she walked down the rows of books, hoping to find clues to the knowledge she had in her hands, still too scared to open it up again.
“What are you looking for?”
“Ryan! You scared me! How did you convince Mrs. Belour to let you go?”
He shrugged. “She told me that the teachers and the guards had it covered, and it was my last warning…but she knew I had good reason for it. You don’t need to look for anything in this library. You have everything in your hands.”
He took the book from her hands, then walked to a quiet corner.
He sat down, then gave her a cold, searching look. “How did you find this book?”
She bit her lip, then leaned in, speaking so low not even a vampire could hear. “This belonged to Lukas.”
Ryan froze. “He gave me it the morning he was kidnapped. I think…I think whoever kidnapped him was looking for this book.” Her eyes got wet. “I didn’t think he would end up like this…”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, and Ryan softened. He moved to the chair next to her, wrapping her up with his arms.
“Okay. It’s not your fault. Just please, don’t keep secrets from me. We have to trust each other, or we have nothing.”
She swallowed. “Okay. Okay. Thank you, Ryan.”
He kissed her cheek. “I’m here with you, and I’m going to protect you. I’m not allowed to patrol the halls, but I’ll be watching from my window, and if anything comes for you…they’re going to have to get through me first. Now. First off, here’s a little tactic I learned.”
“What tactic?”
“I call it the needle in the haystack,” he said, and got up, grabbing handfuls of books and bringing them to the table. He put them around the book The Ancient Art of Magic, camouflaging it. “There. Now we’re reading from a bunch of different books, not just one.”
He was taking control of the situation, working with her, and she felt reassured by his presence. Amy and Trevor might also be on her side, but the connection she felt to him was inexplicable.
“Let’s dig into this book, shall we?” Naya nodded, smiling back at him—a weak smile, but still there, on her lips because of him.
The next weeks they met in the library to study. It was an escape from the horrors of classes, where no one sat near her. There was always a row of empty desks around her, and none of the teachers wanted to be the ones to talk about it.
The library was her only place to relax. They pored through the texts, reading everything they cou
ld about the ancient powers and the Kulikov brothers.
There was no news about Professor Lukas. There was no news about the grand championship football game or the Autumn Ball. The sounds of military helicopters became a normal background noise. After a week, it seemed the threat had passed, and the helicopters grew less and less, until there was less personnel guarding the Academy. Maybe the rest of them were out searching for Lukas. That’s what she hoped.
“We have to practice your powers,” said Ryan.
“But how? There’s no way to get to our spot…”
“I can climb out my window. You need to try to focus on flying, and we can get out at night. We’ll meet by our secret spot. Watch out for guards…they might shoot first and answer questions later.”
He gave her a kiss, and she nearly floated off her seat. “Use the memory of my kisses to help you. I hope it will work.”
They started to meet once every three nights, and it was grueling. The process of sneaking out was terrifying, but what worried her most was that the guards didn’t see her. There weren’t as many left since the first week, but still… If they didn’t see her and Ryan, how could they be keeping them safe?
Flying was erratic. She kept hitting the ground hard at night, bruising her knees, until they discovered that she was able to use an even more forbidden spell, creating portals out of thin air. She tried to transport herself and Ryan to her old house, but the portal kept opening in her Academy room, thankfully without a sound that would wake up Amy.
She mastered another spell that was much like invisibility. People could see her, but they grew confused, as if she was someone else or nothing at all.
“Test it,” whispered Ryan, after the spell wore off and he had a confused look on his face. That night she walked up to a guard who didn’t draw his weapon, then ran back to the river, her heart pounding with the thrill of what she had done.
Every time she used her new powers, her birthmark burned, and she feared that she would be lit on fire, but she knew that if there was going to be a conflict with the wild-lifers, she needed to learn everything she could.
The Mage-Blood Test: A YA Paranormal Romance (Arumrose Academy Book 1) Page 17
