Shadow Caster: The Nightwatch Academy book 1

by Cassidy, Debbie

  Payne and someone else … Mariana?

  She sounded upset.

  I focused my nightblood hearing to listen in, but they must have been standing quite far from the doors because I could only catch snippets of the conversation.

  “… You promised.”

  “I’m sorry … last time ….”

  “… trust you … love you …”

  “Always. I would never … love you.”

  Whoa … I backed up from the door.

  Well, that would explain why Madam Mariana had been so eager to get rid of Harmon and me the other day. She and Payne were a thing. I guess the tutors needed to get it on too.

  My questions would need to wait for another day.

  I left the lab, and this time didn’t stop till I got back to the shadow cadet dorms.

  * * *

  The day flew by as we trained in hand-to-hand combat and sword-to-sword, then it was back to barracks one for AM post repair training, followed by another trip to the mist where we were left to find our own way back, and finally, home for supper.

  Home.

  Weird how I’d been at Nightwatch for weeks and had never thought of it as home, but here, amongst the shadow cadets, my brain had finally flipped the belonging switch.

  Maybe this was where I was meant to be, whether I liked it or not.

  Harmon and Thomas were organizing a poker game, and I’d been invited to the lounge, but my mind was restless. I’d avoided speaking to Minnie at breakfast and hadn’t bothered to find her at lunch. Logic said it was the best course of action, that soon I’d be in the mist so often that there wouldn’t be time to see her. Soon, I’d be a shadow knight, and she’d be out in the world, and what hope was there for our friendship then, but my heart … My heart missed her and argued fuck it. Live for the moment. Enjoy what you can now, dammit!

  And it was my heart that led me out of my dorms and into the Nightwatch Academy corridors at one-thirty a.m. with only a half hour till curfew.

  Minnie answered the door in her favorite purple PJs clutching a romance novel to her chest.

  “Indie?” She looked at her watch. “Shit.” She pulled me into her room. “Are you crazy? You have fifteen minutes till curfew.”

  “I know. I just had to see you.”

  She closed the door behind me. “Is everything okay?”

  Although I’d had no intention of telling her about spotting her earlier, the words just came out. “I came to breakfast this morning, saw you with Harper, and left.”

  She blinked at me. “Why didn’t you come over?”

  Good question. “Because I’m an idiot. I just thought, with the way things are now, with me and the shadow cadet shit, that I’ll hardly see you anyway. That maybe it would be better to just step away and let you get back to the way things were before I came here.”

  “Indie. Harper and I—"

  “I know. You guys were friends before, and you felt sorry for me, the loner, and you—”

  “Whoa. I did not feel sorry for you.” Minnie ran a hand over her face. “If anything, I was intrigued. Look … truth is, I was in love with Harper, okay.” She sat back on her bed with a flumph as if the admission had taken something out of her. “But Harper started dating this guy, and I was so mad and hurt, and then you came along, and it was the perfect way to get away from her. Make friends with you. Start afresh. Get over her.” She peered up at me. “You understand?”

  “Oh …”

  She reached for my hands and pulled me down to sit on the bed beside her. “Don’t get me wrong. I love you to bits, and I’m so glad I took the leap to get to know you.” Her eyes misted. “And I want us to continue to be friends, no matter what. It’s easier to hang with Harper now that I’m over her is all.”

  Yeah, I didn’t buy that. “Are you?”

  “What?”

  “Over her?”

  She looked away.

  I nudged her with my shoulder. “Crazy thought, but have you considered that she might feel the same way?”

  Minnie’s brows shot up. “What? You mean like have feelings for me?” She shook her head and laughed. “No. Harper likes guys.”

  “Doesn’t mean she can’t like girls too.”

  Minnie’s eyes narrowed, and she peered up at me from beneath her bangs. “What is it you’re not telling me?”

  Shit. It wasn’t my place to say. “Nothing. Just, don’t close off your heart too soon, okay?” I shrugged. “Give Harper a chance.”

  She looked wary, and then her gaze fell to the clock on the wall behind me. “Shit, Indie. It’s two a.m.”

  Crap. “I’ll be fine. To be honest, I don’t see the point of the curfew. They don’t even know what’s caused Lottie’s and the other guy’s memory loss.”

  “The curfew makes the administration feel like they have some control. I heard that Brunner activated the Academy gargoyles. She has eyes and ears on the place now.”

  Urgh, gargoyles creeped me the fuck out. “I’ll be careful.”

  I hugged her quick and then slipped out into the corridor.

  Silence and gloom greeted me. The lights were low, and my boots sounded way too loud even though I was in sneak mode.

  It was a long way between here and the shadow dorm. Look before you leap, Justice. Hyde had warned me to not act rashly during training, and here I was acting rashly in general. Maybe he was right. Maybe I needed to stop and think things through more.

  I was almost at the main staircase when a shadow climbed the wall—hulking with horns.

  Gargoyle.

  Dammit.

  There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide except a pocket of shadow.

  Shadow.

  God, please let this work. Get me out of here. I leapt at the shadows as the gargoyle rounded the corner. A tingle ran over my skin, and the world went black. I took another step, and my boot snagged on something. I tumbled forward just as my vision returned. Hyde’s shocked face greeted me. And then I was barreling into him, and we were falling. Legs tangled, noses bumped, and my breasts squished up against his taut, naked chest.

  Oh, my God. I was lying on top of my half-naked tutor. In his room. On his bed and he had his hands on my hips. I should move. Push him away. Get off him. Something. But I was mesmerized by the gold flecks in his eyes and the thick lashes that framed them. His pupils dilated, showcasing my reflection—parted lips and heavy-lidded eyes.

  If I moved, the spell would be broken. If I moved, then I wouldn’t be touching him anymore. I wouldn’t be able to feel the length of his powerful body against mine or feel the heat of his skin seeping through my clothes. And right now, that was all I wanted. Here in his room, surrounded by lamplight, anything felt possible. Our faces were so close that our breath kissed. It would be so easy to bridge the gap and press my mouth to his lips.

  But he was my tutor and a feyblood. There was no future there, even though my body didn’t care about that. My hands were on his biceps, and I pressed down with my fingertips, wanting to feel that velvety skin just for a moment before I broke contact.

  He sucked in a breath, and his grip on my waist tightened. Heat spiraled inside me, shooting down to my core.

  “Indigo …” One word filled with torment.

  But fuck, he’d said my name.

  He closed his eyes as if in pain. “You need to get up now.” His voice was hoarse.

  Oh, shit.

  I pushed off him, and my thigh grazed something hard and long. And … Oh, man … was that ….

  “Shit.” He slid out from under me so fast I fell face first onto his bed.

  I sat up to find him standing, hands on hips, with his back to me. The scars that crisscrossed his back stood out starkly in the lamplight.

  “Fucking hell, Justice, what the hell are you doing here?”

  My mouth refused to work for a moment, too dry. I licked my lips and took a much needed breath. “I went to see my friend in the Nightwatch dorms and got caught outside of curfew, and I … I did that
thing again. I shadow phased.”

  His shoulders rose and fell, and then he walked over to his dresser, grabbed a white tee, and pulled it on.

  “And it brought you here? To my room?” He turned to face me, his expression pissed. “Do you know what will happen to me if anyone catches you in my room?”

  Nothing good, that was for sure. “I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose. I wanted to get away from the gargoyle, and I just leapt into a patch of shadow.”

  “That doesn’t explain why it brought you here.” He crossed his arms. “Were you …” He cleared his throat and looked at the floor. “Were you thinking about me?”

  Had I been? Oh, God. “Yes! Just before it happened, I was thinking how you might be right about me being rash, and then I was here.”

  “I see. So, you can control it. You just need to focus.” He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. “Try it now. Go from that patch of shadow to the one across the room.”

  I’d expected him to kick me out, but it looked like he wanted to train me. “Um. Okay.” I focused on the shadows—on the patch I was about to leap into—and visualized the other side of the room.

  I ran forward, into the tingle that took over my body. The darkness enveloped me, and then the room materialized, but I was seeing it from a different angle as I stepped out from the other side of the room.

  “Intent helps,” he said. “But I’m guessing you have to be focusing on a person or a place for it to be accurate or you could end up anywhere.”

  He walked toward me and placed his hands on my shoulders. That close, he was a head and a half taller than me, and my eyes were level with his pecs. I looked up into his beautifully scarred face. This close I could smell him, that fucking citrus aroma that made me want to lick him.

  “Now,” he said, his voice low and intimate. “Do you think you can shadow phase yourself to your own room?”

  * * *

  Sleep refused to come. I’d shadow phased into Hyde’s room and felt him up. I’d given him a boner. Unless … Wait, had that already been there?

  Urgh.

  I needed to shut off my brain and sleep.

  Long minutes ticked by.

  Not happening.

  Sod this. I threw back the covers, shoved on my slippers, and headed out of my room to the lounge.

  It was dark and empty, but the dark didn’t bother me. My night vision was excellent. Maybe a bag of warm blood would help. They kept A positive in the fridge, and there was a microwave here too. Whoop de do.

  I prepared my drink and curled up on the sofa with it.

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention.

  “Can’t sleep or won’t sleep?” Larkin asked. He materialized slowly like a polaroid picture, perched on the sofa opposite me. “Oh, look, you didn’t even jump. The guys yelp.” He grinned. “Every time.”

  Even though the hour was late, he was still immaculately dressed in a silver waistcoat and navy-blue trousers. His hair was brushed forward over the stripes on his forehead, and his eyes glowed in the dark like tiny slanted lamps.

  I finished off the blood and licked my lips. “I’m not a yelper.”

  “No? But you’re a visit-her-tutor-in-his-room-in-the-middle-of-the-night kind of woman, aren’t you?”

  He blinked, and his pupils widened. The atmosphere went from playful to menacing.

  Panic gripped my chest. “It’s not like that. It was an accident.”

  “You accidentally walked into his room?” He tapped his chin with a claw. “Let me see. Oh, Principal Brunner, I accidentally walked into Master Hyde’s bedroom and then stayed in there for a good ten minutes.”

  Annoyance mingled with the panic swirling in my chest. “You were spying on us?”

  “It’s my job to keep watch on the occupants of this dorm.” Larkin’s drawl was less relaxed now. “Now, tell me why I shouldn’t report you?”

  This was what Hyde had been worried about. I couldn’t let Larkin report us. I was the student. I’d get a slap on the wrist, but Hyde … Hyde could lose his job. His place here. Oh, shit.

  “Fine. The truth is that I phased into his room by accident. It’s a thing I can do. I broke curfew and had to get back quickly, but I got my location mixed up and ended up in Hyde’s room.”

  He blinked slowly at me. “Oh.”

  “Oh?”

  “I thought you were going to say you were in love with him or something, which would be fine. I mean, the hunk of a man deserves some action, and the way the administration has treated him … pffft, fuck them. But I like your version better.” He slid off the sofa in a catlike, sinuous way and sidled up to me. “Tell me about this shadow phasing.”

  I filled him in on the training incident and then the curfew and how I’d ended up in Hyde’s room.

  “How exciting. What did Brunner have to say?”

  I winced. “Yeah, I’m not telling her. I just … I want to get a grip on it first. To understand it. I mean … I’m a nightblood female with a shadow knight gene and now this weird ability? I need to get my head around it.”

  “Hmmmm.” Larkin moved closer, his eyes huge and compelling. “Yes, you certainly are a nightblood, but more … so much more.”

  I shuffled away from him. “Has anyone ever told you, you have issues with personal space?”

  “I have no problem with personal space.” He grinned. “I love it. It’s Hyde who has issues. The man has been alone for too long. Doesn’t even take portal leave to stick it to the ladies.”

  Oh, God. “Are you seriously having this conversation with me?”

  “I don’t know? Am I? Or maybe you’re asleep, and all this is a dream, in which case you can ask me anything, and I would be compelled to answer.”

  I had no idea what game he was playing, but like hell was I going to pass up the opportunity to find out more about Hyde.

  “What happened to Hyde. How did he lose his leg?”

  Larkin gave me a sly look. “Surely this is a question you should be asking him.”

  “Probably, but I’m asking you.”

  He considered for a moment and then shrugged. “It got eaten, just like they say. Snapped right off in the mist when he was hunting for hounds. Came as a shock it did, considering they called him the hound whisperer. It was his special skill. Hyde could mesmerize a hound and bring it down easily. It was why he got the gig of Trial Master in the first place. But something went wrong that fateful day.”

  “Wait … so, he didn’t carry someone back while missing a leg?”

  Larkin stared at me. “Are you listening to yourself?”

  Okay. He had a point, that sounded ridiculous.

  “Redmond found him when he didn’t return to the barracks,” Larkin said. “He carried him back, bleeding and unconscious.”

  “And the scars on Hyde’s back?”

  Larkin smirked. “Those came way before. Courtesy of the Hyde family, and that is Archer’s story to tell.”

  Was that what Hyde had meant when he’d mentioned the training Hydes went through. This was why Oberon had been so devastated when he didn’t get the mark. He’d said he’d failed. It was obvious the Hyde family put a lot of emphasis on becoming a shadow knight.

  I focused on Larkin’s face. “The Watch gave Redmond Hyde’s job.”

  “To be fair, the job was meant to go to Redmond before Hyde revealed his hound whisperer trick. Trial Master means a nice retirement package, a house, and generous annual income for doing absolutely fuck all. But yes, that is correct. Hyde was a prodigy. A legend. A master. And then he was just a tutor. But he’s a fucking great one, and you’d be lucky to have him.”

  Why did I feel like there was a double-entendre there?

  “Because there is.” Larkin winked and then vanished.

  Fuck.

  I would need to watch what I thought when he was around. I needed to watch myself when Hyde was around too, because the more time I spent around him, the closer I wanted to get to him.

  It
was dangerous. For both of us. But tomorrow was a new day. Tomorrow my focus would be entirely on training. I’d lost out on too much. Parents who loved me. Freedom of choice when it came to my life, and quality time with my best friend. The only thing I had left, the only thing I had control over, was how kick-ass I could be at this shadow cadet shit. And there was no way I’d start off by losing the trial.

  Twenty-One

  Perspiration beaded my brow, and my hands shook as I reached for the component.

  “Come on, Justice,” a smooth baritone drawled. “I haven’t got all day.”

  “Fuck you, Aidan.”

  The mist swirled around me, a chill swept across my skin, and my knees trembled while my boots remained firmly locked onto the ladder of the AM post.

  I’d taken off the casing easily this time. Checked all the wires and connections, which meant the problem was the snap component—not the technical name for it, I’m sure, but it’s what the guys called it because … I grasped the tiny piece of feytech between index finger and thumb and tugged.

  Snap.

  That’s why.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Again?” Aidan’s voice echoed around me.

  I closed my eyes, tamping down on my agitation, and then looked up into the simulated sky. “You know, this would be so much more realistic if you shut the fuck up.”

  Laughter warm like honey surrounded me. “What and leave you all alone in the wastelands with your clumsy, fat fingers?”

  “I do not have fat fingers.”

  “Try again.” The humor bled from his tone.

  I visualized his handsome, stubbled face, his warm hazel eyes and the mouth that turned up slightly at the corners as if he was always on the verge of smiling, and then planted an imaginary fist in it.

  The simulation reset, and there it was again—the faulty conductor box. I ran through the steps once more until I got to the part where I needed to pull out the snap. It was a tiny rectangular component lodged lengthwise into the box and gripped tightly by metallic claws. Sixth time’s the charm, maybe? I took a deep breath, and then carefully flicked one edge of the snap upward. It came free easily. Oh, okay. I gripped and slid it out.