Deaths and Vampire Girls (Misfit Academy Book 1)

by A. Vers

  Her corpse went still finally, head lolling to one side.

  Gripping the cross in a white-knuckled grip, I turned and wedged the end into the space between the lid and the sill. There was an audible crack, but a narrow space of light grew visible.

  I shoved my face to the glass edge and inhaled fresh air in large gulps until I was dizzy. The mustiness of damp stone was welcome after so much rotted flesh. It was a stench, I was sure, I would never get out of my nose.

  The edge of the cross dug into my already damaged skin as I carefully turned it in the narrow opening. The crack widened a touch.

  Pressing my face to the lid, I peered out at the room.

  There was no sign of Giroux anywhere. No sounds. Nothing but the blood roaring in my ears and the flickering candlelight.

  With one hand on the cross to keep it in place, I wedged my other hand through the crack and felt up and down the lid as far as I could.

  Twin bars of metal met my searching fingers. One near my head. The other at knee level.

  Latches.

  For a moment, desolation swelled anew.

  I could not get my fingers out far enough to undo them. Even if my strength came back, breaking them would make enough racket to draw Giroux into the chamber.

  What options did that leave me with?

  I could stay and hope that Ames or Ryder figured out where I was. But how long would that take?

  Hours? Days?

  I had no way of knowing how long I had been knocked out from whatever chemical Giroux dosed me with.

  Were we still on Lokworth property?

  The building had looked like a dungeon. And Lokworth had no dungeons. Or none that I knew of.

  So where were we?

  With Ames’ blood, I would not need to feed for several days. And despite my still mostly human body, I could forgo food for nearly that long. No. My biggest concern came after that. When my body began to wear away, to fade as only a vampire could.

  I needed to be out of here long before then.

  And that meant getting out.

  I couldn’t hope that Ryder or Ames would find me in time.

  For years, I relied on others and merely dealt with things as they happened. It was a task alone to get from one day to the next. I could not worry about tomorrow.

  Well, now I had no choice.

  Tomorrow I could be dead if I didn’t get out.

  And there was only one way to do that.

  I had to break out.

  My fingers gripped the little cross tighter, and I shoved it deeper into the crack. Pulse pounding, I gingerly lifted my hand from the now warm metal. It remained steady. In place.

  Careful not to jar it, I turned toward Lady Nancy and rolled over on top of her until my body straddled hers. The foul reek of her flesh washed over me and acid coated my tongue. I forced myself to breathe through my mouth, pressed my hands into the coffin beside her, and pushed my back up into the glass lid.

  It took everything I had to get my still mostly numb knees into the velvet.

  There was a low groan from the glass.

  My eyes flew wide; my face was less than an inch from Lady Nancy’s. I peered away and found the narrow space of the coffin a bit wider. A sob welled. I bit my lip to silence it and pressed upward again.

  Another groan was followed fast by the harsh squeal of metal on metal. Something jangled and fell at my side.

  The cross.

  Closing my eyes tight, I sucked in a deep lungful of air, locked my arms, and heaved.

  The latches popped loudly in the quiet and the lid soared off me as I sat up fast into the candlelit room. My hand flew out to catch the top, to keep it from crashing to the floor or shattering. My fingers closed over the smooth glass and I went still.

  Heart in my throat, I waited.

  Silence pressed in around me.

  There were no pounding footsteps or shouts. There was nothing but the spit of the candles and my own labored breathing.

  With careful movements, I rose slowly to my feet and climbed on shaky legs out of the coffin.

  I started to lower the lid and my eyes locked once more on Lady Nancy’s unmoving face.

  Fingers trembling, I dug around in the velvet until I found the cross and laid it back over her smooth collar. Then I closed the lid and turned to the open, dark archway.

  I was out of the coffin.

  Now I had to get free.

  Chapter 37

  Ryder

  The nurse’s office was empty as we entered. Everything was still in the same place from the last time I was inside. Ames and the twins fell into step behind me as I skirted the wall, gaze tracking over everything.

  “Anything?” I asked of the darker male.

  Ames’ pale face slackened slightly as his nostrils flared. “Nothing. No traces of blood or even Mor’s scent.” He glanced at the other two. “Riki? Roman?”

  The blond male walked behind the desk, his blue eyes fading under a soft wash of gold light. He leaned nearly in half, scenting the air like a damn golden retriever. “There is a hint of her scent here,” he muttered by the refrigerator. “But it’s faded. Old.”

  Ames and I stalked over, and then stopped as it became obvious we both couldn’t make it through the narrow gap side by side. He glowered down at me. I rolled my eyes but stepped back.

  Any other time I would’ve argued. But I wanted to find Morgan more than I wanted to kick his ass.

  He slipped into the space next to Roman and inhaled. His own gold eyes pulsed. “Faint. But she was here.”

  “Can you guess how long?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I know it was over an hour ago when she left me at the end of the hall. But I don’t know how long after she got in here that she disappeared. It was several long minutes before I grew worried enough to see what was taking her.”

  His disgruntlement was obvious. And I got his frustration. However, we had other problems besides catering to his sore ego.

  “Is there any other fragrance with hers? Another vamp’s maybe?” I asked instead.

  Riki snapped her gaze to mine. “What do you mean another vamp?”

  Ames sighed. “Ryder has been helping to find out who killed the humans, Riki.”

  “Morgan and I narrowed it down to a male. Possibly Ames’ size or bigger,” I admitted.

  “How?” she demanded.

  “Measuring the vamp bite.”

  Her full lips parted into a small 'o’ shape and she blinked. “I overheard Harrington saying that it couldn’t be done. That the neck was too damaged.”

  “Yeah well,” I muttered. “I’m stubborn, and I don’t like hearing no.”

  Ames made a sound of annoyance. “Focus,” he snapped and looked at me. “You said bigger than myself?”

  I nodded. “Who at Lokworth fits that description?”

  Riki’s face furrowed. “There are few males at Lokworth as big as Ames. Let alone some bigger.”

  “Humor me,” I retorted.

  Though her expression grew cool, she propped her hand on one cocked hip. “Ames, Roman, Tove.” She ticked them off on her fingers as she looked at her brother.

  I did too.

  The blond male was barely an inch shorter than Ames, and I realized he hunched his shoulders all the time. If he straightened, he would be our height. Maybe bigger.

  “Tove has been in the rec room all day,” Roman replied, shifting under our scrutiny. “So you can cross him off the list.”

  “And I would not take her,” Ames said into the quiet.

  “Nor would I,” Roman muttered, his eyes darting with worry and confusion. I glanced at Ames and he gave an imperceptible nod to vouch. If Roman saw it, he didn’t say. “So who could have taken her?”

  I scrubbed a hand over my face. “What else are you getting?” I asked. “Laundry soap, body soap, anything that could help narrow it down?”

  Roman inhaled again. “Nothing like that. No colognes or perfumes. Just some sort of sweet fra
grance.”

  My head cocked. “Sweet?”

  He nodded and sniffed a bit more. “Sickly sweet. With a faint … chemical undertone?” He looked at Ames for confirmation.

  The dark-haired vamp gave another gruff nod. “It is nearly as faded as Mor’s scent, but it burns my nose even now.”

  My heart tripped inside my chest and all three vamps turned to look at me.

  Ames stared. “What?” he asked.

  I met his gaze levelly. “You’re smelling chloroform.”

  His teeth bared. “That is a human chemical. It cannot harm a—”

  I knew the moment it sunk in that Morgan was still untransitioned. Her nearly human body would be unable to fight off such a powerful drug. Especially in a dose large enough that the fragrance lingered in the air an hour later.

  The light in his eyes flared so bright it should have blistered my skin. “Someone drugged her?” he roared.

  Roman took a step back, his face paling. Even Riki flinched out of my peripheral, but I could only nod.

  “It would explain how she disappeared,” I told him. “The odor would mask her scent enough to get her out of the office. Maybe the school.”

  His hands curled into fists. For several long moments, his chest heaved and the sight of such deadly anger in a vamp left me cold. The recurved press of his fangs had blood dripping off his chin. And I swore he salivated like a rabid dog.

  “Ames,” I began, hands raising. He snapped his glowing gaze to mine. “You still with me?” I asked.

  He took several ragged breaths. The tension in his shoulders faded enough that I didn’t have to worry about him spontaneously cracking.

  I exhaled as quiet as I could manage. “Good man,” I said. “Now, chloroform is exceptionally strong scented. I doubt it would linger over much in fresh air, but if you can track which direction they went in …”

  He jolted like he had been hit and strode around the desk.

  Roman and I barreled after him as he cleared the door in two long steps. Riki walked tight on my heels. Ames’ dark head turned this way and that as he cast once toward the main hallway and then back to the other end of the corridor.

  He and Roman stepped out into the hall, both men inhaling the air in bursts as we headed toward the dim corner farthest from the main entryway.

  Roman dipped around the wall and Ames was right behind him. I followed suit as fast as I dared.

  The hall was shorter, and not as frequently used. It ended in a wall of brick covered in a long tapestry of an aged knight.

  Ames stalked right up to the thick bolt and inhaled over it. He jerked back. “Here. The scent ends here.”

  I rushed around Roman and pulled at one side of the tapestry. Only a single grey door waited under it, the panel painted to resemble the stone around it. But it was flaking and in need of a good coat of varnish or new paint. There was no knob. No handle. Nothing but the blank section of wood.

  I cocked my head. “Where does this lead?” I asked over my shoulder.

  Ames stepped up beside me and scowled at the door. “Only one way to find out.” He drew one polished leather dress shoe back and kicked dead center of the aged door.

  The panel fractured inward with a crackling bang that could probably be heard all the way up in Harrington’s office. I grimaced and turned my head as shards of wood sprayed in every direction.

  Dust and cool air floated to my senses. I glanced over at the dark hole yawning downward onto a derelict staircase of more stone.

  “I will venture a guess that no one knew this was here,” I muttered.

  Ames straightened his lapels and peered sidelong at me, his irises glowing bright enough that it was like torchlight over the slick stone. “Now we do.” He slipped onto the first riser and descended into the shadows.

  Peering over my shoulder, Roman gave me a grim nod. “I’ll tell Harrington,” he said and gave Riki’s arm a quick squeeze before sprinting back the way we came.

  I looked at the vampire girl.

  Her luminous gaze scoured the hole and she shuddered. “I’ll wait here.”

  Grumbling under my breath about vampire girls, I started down the stairs into the dark.

  Strong fingers closed over my bicep, drawing me to a stop. I glanced back.

  Riki’s blue eyes were stark in the dimness. “Bring her back safe, do you understand?” I tracked my gaze over her face and petite frame. She bit at her lip, darkening the pink expanse. “Please.” The last was barely more than a whisper, but I saw the emotion she was trying hard not to show.

  Fear. Fear for her friend.

  I carefully extricated my arm from her grasp, and she let me. “We’ll get her,” I promised.

  Still worrying at her lip, she wrapped her arms around her body and stepped back. A gruff nod was my only answer.

  I turned on my heel and set off after Ames.

  Chapter 38

  Morgan

  The dark stone corridors were empty but endless. Every turn I took seemed to be the wrong one, leading me deeper and deeper into icy shadows with no exit.

  There had been no sign of Giroux since my escape from the coffin, but there had also been no sign of a way out. Every tunnel was dark, and though my eyes flickered with lilac light, it was hard to see more than a few feet in front of me.

  I clung to the walls, my fingers and shoulders growing damp from the moisture coating every rough surface. I had long since removed my boots and held them both in hand. They would not offer much defense, but they could serve as a distraction at the very least. My limbs and toes were numb with cold, and I wished I was transitioned merely so I wouldn’t feel the icy air.

  Stopping at the next corner, I leaned against the stone wall and drew in several harsh breaths.

  The corridor before me forked left and right. I lifted my head and inhaled, trying to sort through each tunnel’s natural scent and praying that one held fresher air and the way out of the infernal labyrinth.

  They both seemed just as musty as all the rest. Biting my lip, I pushed from the rough edge and started down the right-hand side.

  I had barely gone twenty paces when bouncing gold light washed over the slick stone wall of the corner up ahead.

  Slamming to a halt, my heart tripped in my chest.

  I peered behind me, debating on running back to the corner I had just left.

  Soft steps scuffed over the floor, raising every hair on my body in alarm. My mouth went dry, and I pressed myself flat against the wall.

  I wouldn’t run.

  Not again.

  But if I could get past Giroux, I could find my way out. I was a vampire, dammit. I was faster, stronger.

  I would get out.

  The steps grew nearer, their cadence barely audible over the pounding of my blood in my ears. My hands tightened around my shoes. I clamped my lips closed.

  A dark shape moved through the shadows and I lunged.

  Swinging the boots, I put every ounce of my fear and anger into every strike that fell.

  There was a masculine grunt and then long, cool fingers gripped me, hauling me back against a strong male chest. “Morgan? Morgan, stop.”

  The deep voice washed over me and a sob spilled from my lips before I could choke it off. “Ames?”

  I was turned rapidly, and the boots fell from my limp, icy hands. Gold light spilled from his eyes, illuminating the smooth curve of his cheekbones.

  My arms went around his neck and I clung to him, body quaking as tears tracked my face. His hands gripped my back, digging into my skin like he could meld us together merely by that gesture alone.

  “Mor.” His breath was warm over my hair.

  I trembled but pulled away. As much as I wanted to, I could not let him comfort me now. Giroux was around somewhere and we had to get out before he came back.

  “We need to go,” I said fast. “It was Giroux. Giroux took me. He was down here earlier, but I don’t know where he is now, and—”

  “Wait. Giroux? Really?
” I turned and saw Ryder rubbing at his chest and arms, his face twisted in pain. “And what the hell did you hit me with?” he asked.

  “My boots,” I stammered, surprised more by his presence than anything else. His gaze tracked to my bare feet, and he gave a rueful tilt to his lips. “What are you doing here?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Trying to find you. What else?”

  My face scrunched up. “How long have I been missing? Has school already started? Did Giroux hurt anyone else?”

  He held up his hands. “Whoa,” he told me. “One thing at a time.” His gaze met mine. “You okay?”

  Though his expression was carefully devoid of emotion, there was a slight glint to his eyes. I flushed but nodded under the warm weight of his gaze. “As well as I can be. So, can we go now?”

  His mouth quirked again. “You’re safe for right now, Morgan.” I wanted to believe that. Really, I did. But he wasn’t the one that just escaped a coffin with his dead nanny. “What happened?” he asked.

  I pressed a trembling hand to my forehead. “Giroux cornered me in the Nurse’s office. He put something … a rag over my face. It smelt weird. Next thing I knew, I woke up down here. My legs were numb and I couldn’t get away.” Everything around me started to close in, boxing on my senses until I choked.

  A gentle hand gripped my shoulder, and Ames’ peculiar scent helped to push back the stench of the tunnels.

  “We fought, and he put me in a glass coffin,” I murmured into the quiet. “I …” Trailing off, I scoured the shadowed floor under my bare feet.

  I needed to tell them about Lady Nancy. The connection. But with Ryder … How would he react knowing I hurt a human? Would he believe Giroux was just in what he did?

  Was he?

  A lean male frame crouched beside me. I startled and peered over. Ames’ bright gaze was spinning with light as he watched me.

  “What are you doing?” I asked softly.

  “You are shoeless and the tunnel is frigid.” His expression was mild. I knew he did not feel the cold, but that he was bringing it up, was another firm reminder to my bare feet that the stone was icy. “Let’s get you out of here, and then you can tell all of this to Harrington.”