Starlight & Shadows: A Limited Edition Academy Collection by Laura Greenwood, Arizona Tape, Juliana Haygert, Kat Parrish, Ashley McLeo, L.C. Mawson, Leigh Kelsey, Bre Lockhart, Zelda Knight

by Laura Greenwood

  When I looked up again, Sam had both hands in his tray and his brows were turned down. “I see you’re hanging out with a new crowd.”

  Again with the condescending tone? I put a hand on my waist, suddenly irritated. “And?”

  Sam pressed his lips tight. I thought he wouldn’t say anything, but then he let out a breath and said, “Nothing. I don’t know why I held on to hope. You’re clearly showing me there’s none.”

  At that, he turned and walked away, back to his table and his friends. And I stood frozen in the same place for a minute or two, shocked by his brazen words. The guy was direct, wasn’t he? If he weren’t so judgy, I would have liked that about him.

  Shame he was handsome and I couldn’t stop thinking about him, about him saying I was beautiful.

  I shook my head, pushing those thoughts away. Nonsense. I didn’t need Sam. I didn’t need Lyra. I had Meg and our new friends.

  Planting a smile on my lips, I walked back to my table with my new friends. I was happy the way things were.

  Chapter Five

  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to meet the next Saturday either, because Phil, the one who knew the witch’s spells, had to go to Chasseur Ville for an event.

  But we did meet in the Snapdragon building’s basement the Thursday after that. Usually, we only got together on the weekends, but once more, Phil would be busy. It was now or it would take even longer for us to have fun again.

  Meg and I sneaked into the building together, and while we were walking down the stairs to the basement, my phone vibrated. I picked it up from my pocket, curious about who would be texting me at this time. Meg was right beside me, and the others were already in the summoning room, right?

  Doreen: What the hell is going on with your grades?

  I halted all of a sudden.

  Me: What are you talking about?

  Doreen: Oh, shit, did I wake you up?

  Me: No. I was studying.

  That was a big lie, of course. I hadn’t really studied in a couple of weeks, hence the bad grades, but how did my sister know that?

  Doreen: If so, why are your grades so bad? I was on a call with Professor Claire earlier this evening and she told me about your grades slipping. And also about you skipping classes. What’s going on?

  “What happened?” Meg asked, looking back at me from the bottom of the stairs.

  “It’s Doreen,” I replied, my eyes on my screen. “Give me a second.”

  Me: Mind your own business.

  Doreen: You’re my business!

  A wave of frustration rolled over me. What the hell did she want from me? I didn’t choose the demon hunter life. I didn’t want it. I would never be as good as her, or our late brother, or our parents. I was here because I had no other choice, but to be honest, I was plotting how to get out of this by winter break and never come back.

  She texted me some more, but I didn’t want her to spoil my mood. I was excited about the party. I wouldn’t let her ruin that for me. So, I placed my phone in the do-not-disturb mode, shoved it in my back pocket, and marched down the stairs, ready for this damn party.

  “Are you okay?” Meg asked.

  “Once we go into the room and the party starts, I will be,” I assured her.

  She hooked her elbow on mine and together we went into the secret room. As we expected, everyone else was already here, and the circle was already drawn in the center of the large room.

  Phil saw us coming in. “There you are.” He stepped into the circle. “Ready to start or do you need a minute?”

  Meg shook her head. “Go ahead.”

  We stepped closer to the circle and stood beside Patrick, Lewis, and Abby. A red cup with warm beer was passed between us while we watched Phil get ready for the summoning. I didn’t even like beer, or almost any alcohol I had tried so far, but everyone else was drinking, so I took a sip here and there.

  Phil held the small knife in his hand and said, “This has been fun, but this time I’ll try summoning a few more garrimps. Agreed?”

  Everyone cheered, instantly agreeing. How many more garrimps would he summon? The circle would hold them all, of course, but usually it was already crowded in there.

  Once more, I didn’t voice my opinion.

  Phil cut his palm and let the blood drip over the circle, painting it red. His words were fast and low, but the chant grew more feverous as the lines in the circle started to bubble and the smoke rose. He stepped back, slowly, still chanting.

  A loud piercing noise filled the room, and I slapped my hands over my ears. The noise faded, but the smoke in the circle became a thick cloud in the center, taller and taller, until it reached the ceiling.

  A large arm with black talons shot out of the smoke and closed around Phil’s neck. We all screamed and stepped back. The smoke dissipated, revealing a large, bulky monster. It had thick, dark red skin, big cloven feet, and black horns curling around his head, almost touching the ceiling. Its eyes were solid black and its mouth was wide and full of sharp teeth.

  My stomach dropped and fear snaked into my veins.

  “That’s a higher demon!” someone shouted from across the room.

  “What did we do?”

  “We have to help Phil!”

  “We can’t let it get out of here.”

  “We need to kill it.”

  Some students stepped back, while others called their Dawnblades. Meg and I huddled behind them.

  “Who dares to wake me?” the demon asked, his voice rough and loud. It made my toes curl in fear. It threw Phil to the side, as if the guy was a pebble in his way. Phil hit the wall on the other side of the room with a loud bang and fell to the floor.

  Someone scurried to him. I wish I could say it was me, but my fear had me rooted to the floor.

  “Stay where you are!” a fourth-year guy yelled.

  The demon laughed, a coarse sound that sent a shudder down my spine. “You’re pathetic.” The demon stepped forward and walked over the circle’s outer line. “This can’t hold me.”

  The demon let out a roar that shook the walls.

  Chaos ensued as students charged him and others ran out of the room. I lost Meg in the confusion. My legs didn’t seem to obey me as I tried running, but only ended up skidding to the back wall, where I wished I could melt into the stone.

  The demon swiped his talons wide, hitting several students, then it turned his black eyes to me. I sucked in a sharp breath and pressed myself against the wall. The demon stalked to me and sniffed the air, as if smelling something. It stopped a couple of feet from me, half of his body towering over me. My gut tightened and I cringed, my eyes filling with tears. A talon touched my cheek and ran down my neck. It caught around the chain of my necklace and pulled back. The chain snapped and the demon wrapped it around its talons.

  “There’s magic here,” it muttered. I stared at it, trying to say something, to do something. That was my necklace. The one my mother gave to me. The only thing I had left of her. The demon glanced at me again and huffed. “You’re not worth it.”

  The older students jumped on its back, slicing it with their Dawnblades.

  The demon roared again, right in front of me, and I pressed my hands over my ears and closed my eyes. I slid to the floor, wishing I could curl into a ball and disappear.

  Shouts came from the hallway, some sounds of metal, and more roars. The demon left the room, the students who were still up went after it, but I still couldn’t move.

  I didn’t know how much time passed, but after a while, someone knelt in front of me and touched my arms lightly. “Kayleen.” I knew this voice. I peeked up and saw Professor Claire. She had her Dawnblade on the floor beside her. “Are you okay?”

  Movement behind her caught my attention. Guards were in the room now, checking each dark corner and erasing the circle. Professor Genevieve and Professor Astrid helped students who, like me, cowered in the face of danger. Headmaster Rey was here too. He walked around the circle, examining it. He had a
knot between his brows and his shoulders were squared. He didn’t look happy.

  I couldn’t blame him. This entire thing had been most unfortunate.

  And now a demon was on the loose because of us. “Did you catch the demon?”

  Professor Claire shook her head. “No, but you shouldn’t worry about that now.” She lifted my chin with her finger. “Is it hurting?”

  What was hurting? I touched my neck and felt a thin line there. I looked down at my fingers and saw a little blood. “Hm, no.”

  “Regardless, we should go to the infirmary.” She took my hands in hers and stood up. “Come on.” With her help, I stood on my wobbly feet, only then noticing I was shaking—not just my legs, but my hands and arms too. She took my elbow and guided me away from the room. “Let’s go.”

  I couldn’t help but glance back once more before we left the room. My heart broke at the sight of several students on the floor and guards over them. Were they dead? Had the demon killed anyone? Shit, I hoped not.

  But I didn’t let my thoughts go down that rabbit hole. Right now, all I wanted was to get as far from here as I could.

  Chapter Six

  I inhaled deeply, letting the crispy air of a mid-October evening fill my lungs and clear my mind. It wasn’t hot anymore, but it wasn’t too cold to go outside yet. If it weren’t for the gray clouds gathering in the sky, it would be a beautiful day in Chasseur Ville, but it seemed it would rain.

  Not that raining stopped the weekly Scavenger Hunt the town held for clueless humans. In fact, it added a more mythical and darker vibe to it all, making them love the game even more.

  I had been born here, I had grown up here, and I still thought the scavenger hunt was something magical, even though I was on the inside and knew it was all a trick to make money from rich tourists.

  As I walked down main street, I saw the store owners getting the decorations and the lights ready for later, the excitement almost tangible in the air.

  It took my mind off things.

  Things I didn’t want to remember, things I couldn’t believe I had done, things I wish I could leave behind and never remember.

  I ran a hand over the faint line on my neck. The demon—Zhorgul, a higher demon who had a penchant for magical items—had scratched me lightly when he snatched my necklace. The line would fade with time. But many others hadn’t been so lucky.

  After Professor Claire helped me out of the basement, a lot of the next hours were a big blur in my mind. I remember going to the infirmary, being examined, having some nasty smelly ointment applied to my wound. I remember Professor Claire questioning me about what happened. Then Headmaster Rey. Then my sister, Doreen. As expected, the demon hunters were called since the demon had escaped. Instead of going after the demon, Doreen had come to see me. First, she fussed over me. But that lasted only a few minutes. Once she realized I would be fine, she yelled about how stupid I was.

  I couldn’t argue with that, so I stayed quiet while she laid out her frustration on me.

  While in the infirmary, I also saw the other students being brought and taken care of. Besides some nasty scratches around his neck where the demon had held him, Phil had broken his collarbone and dislocated his shoulder when the demon threw him at the wall. Patrick had a deep cut on his shoulders from when he tried confronting the demon—it needed a lot of stitches. Meg, Lewis, and Abby had been lucky and had no injures. But two others I didn’t know well were in bad shape. The demon had stabbed them with its talons in major organs and they had needed surgery. Now it was a waiting game to see if they would get better.

  After the incident, Headmaster Rey had issued a notification to the students and their family. In the notification, he explained a group of students had disobeyed the academy’s rules. He assured the problem would be cleaned up and the students would be punished accordingly.

  I didn’t know much about the others, but I had lost five points in all of my grades, and when I returned to the academy next week, I would have to start working in the library between my classes—for the remainder of the school year. No free time for me.

  One thing I hadn’t considered was my friendship with Meg. Since the incident, she hadn’t talked to me. I didn’t see her in the infirmary, so I texted her a few times asking if she was fine. She didn’t answer me. I was starting to get worried until Abby came to visit us in the infirmary and let us know Meg was fine, but she was in her room, not talking to anyone. I texted her a few more times since then, but she still hadn’t answered me.

  When I was discharged from the infirmary, I had a few minutes to stop by my room to get some things before Doreen escorted me to her car and drove me to our family house in Chasseur Ville. Since Headmaster Rey was giving everyone Friday off to clean up the mess and focus on capturing the demon, Doreen asked to take me home for the weekend and he agreed.

  However, things at home were worse. My father and my grandmother freaked out about what happened. Like Doreen, they had asked me if I was okay. Then, they laid it all on me. Even my aunt and my cousins came over to tell me how stupid I was, that I was a disgrace to the family, and that I would be the ruin of them all.

  I was able to endure it for a day. On Saturday evening, I felt sick and tired of the arguments and accusations, so I left the house and went for a walk.

  Now, breathing the chilly air, I felt a little better, but only if I didn’t remind myself of what had happened Thursday night. When I did, guilt and shame flooded every cell of my body, and I wanted to hide again.

  I had been so, so stupid.

  I reached my hand to my collarbone, as I had done countless times since that night, and a pang cut through my chest when I didn’t find the necklace there. I hadn’t told my family, or anyone else, the demon had taken it. Because … it didn’t make sense. I had researched the demon. Zhorgul, a higher demon who liked to collect magical items. He had taken my necklace because it was magical. But it wasn’t.

  Was it?

  I looked around at the stores and found myself right in front of Wildthorn Trinkets. It was a newish store in town. Trinkets lined the shelves and tables, all said to be magical. As far as I knew, they had simple spells that tricked the humans but they loved the bobbles.

  I stopped at the beautiful display window and glanced in. A woman walked by one of the shelves—Harper, the owner. She was a half-witch, half-demon hunter, and Professor Claire’s partner. Like Professor Claire, Harper had also helped save the world during the Underworld War.

  I let out a long sigh. All these people saving the world while I was destroying it.

  The store’s front door jingled, and to my surprise, Sam stepped out, carrying a small box in his hands.

  “Kayleen?” he asked, halting at the sidewalk.

  “Hey, Sam,” I muttered, turning to the window again.

  Sam took two large steps and halted right beside me, also facing the window. “How are you?”

  I snorted. “Aren’t you going to yell at me and tell me I’m stupid?”

  “I think you’re already beating yourself up over it enough,” he said, his voice low. “Right now, I just want to know if you’re all right.”

  I glanced at him. Was he for real? I didn’t understand him. First, he reprimanded me for hanging out with my friends, then he told me I was beautiful, then he reprimanded me again, and now he seemed like he really cared if I was all right.

  “No, I’m not,” I confessed, returning my gaze to the inside of the store, but not really seeing it. “I should have known better.”

  I saw Sam’s reflection on the glass nodding. “Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. The key is learning from them and doing better next time.”

  “You sound like a professor.”

  He shrugged. “I would rather think I sound like a demon hunter in the making.”

  One corner of my lips curled up, and I couldn’t help but glance at him again. As always, he looked impeccable in a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt. His proud jaw and chin stuck out, like
shards that could cut with a simple touch.

  I didn’t know much about human stuff, but I remembered my sister and one of her friends talking about Calvin Klein underwear models once. Of course, I googled it … and I could really see Sam as one of those models right now.

  I cleared my throat and stared at the window again.

  “I hope they catch the demon soon,” I said it more like a prayer to the ancient gods—if they still cared about this world.

  “I heard they have a lot of demon hunters searching for it,” Sam said. Of course, students weren’t supposed to know about the details of what was going on and which demon was on the loose, and how the hunt was going, but I knew Sam had an in with many of the professors, which meant he probably knew more than me. “They will find it soon.”

  “I hope so.” I frowned and looked at him. “Isn’t your brother working on this case?”

  Shaking his head, Sam turned his ocean blue eyes to me. “No. My brother was sent on a classified mission a couple of weeks ago. Usually he tells me a bit about his missions, but this one he didn’t tell me anything.” It seemed like Maxwell and Sam were close. “How about your sister?”

  “She comes and goes,” I said. “I think she wants to keep an eye on me to make sure I’m not doing anything stupid, but she joined the hunt since it is a higher demon they are after.”

  “I know. They have to catch it soon.” He let it a long sigh. “If only there was a way to track it, then the search would be over and they could focus on capturing or killing it.” He lifted the box in his hands. “Anyway, I came to pick these up for my mother. I should take them to her.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  He started turning, then paused and looked at me again, those bright eyes locked on mine. “I hope you put this behind you and feel better soon. And if you need a reminder, let me tell you: You’re not stupid. Far from it.”

  A soft smile stretched my lips. “Thanks, Sam.”

  He nodded once, then walked away.