Shadowspell Academy: The Culling Trials, Book 2

by Mayer, Shannon

  “Your cussing didn’t get any better either.”

  “Not true. I’m much more colorful now. When I’m not worried about being slapped, that is. Anyway, listen. No one knows what’s going on with the missing kids. But we’re on it.”

  “We? Meaning you and Mr. Sunshine?”

  Rory choked and then chuckled. “Yes. We think they’re still alive, but we don’t know why they’re being taken. Or where they are being kept. I’m positive this is different than the assassin who’s after you. You need to watch yourself, Belle—”

  “After being a boy for a few days, I hate that nickname even more.”

  A grin tweaked his lips. “Like I said, you need to watch yourself, Belle.” He pulled the door to the mansion open, looking back at the grounds. Before he stepped out of the way for me to enter first, he placed his pointer finger against his lips. “I won’t help you if you get caught.”

  He could help me but wouldn’t. I frowned at him.

  A smile lit up his face, clearly thinking that was a hilarious joke, before dying within the reality we now faced together.

  “You felt the caliber of what you’re up against. You cannot be caught alone. Ever. Do you hear what I am saying?” He lowered his gaze and leaned in, beating his stare into me. “Stay near the activity, always. Keep your classmates around. Do not go running around after curfew.”

  I shook my head as he ushered me inside. “Why were they after Tank—I mean, Tommy—and now Billy? And who is the ‘he’ coming for me?”

  His footfalls were deadly silent as he followed me down the hall. When I glanced back, his expression had completely closed down. It would take a crowbar to pry information out of him when he looked like this.

  “Really?” I said quietly, stopping at the base of the stairs. The hush of my surroundings pressed down on me. “Still keeping secrets?”

  Shadows draped across his high cheekbones and outlined his narrow nose, giving him a severe look. His eyes delved into me, piercing green. “Please trust me,” he said softly. “And watch yourself. If there is one person in your family that can make it through this, that can end this, it’s you. But the misconceptions about your magic won’t fool him. He’ll do everything he can to stop you. I know it in my blood. Trust no one, not even Rufus.”

  “Who’s Rufus?” I asked.

  “The Sandman. He’s not what he seems. I can feel it. His position in the school is a cover. I haven’t put all the pieces together yet, but you’re in an incredible amount of danger from all sides, Belle. These aren’t just trials for you. This isn’t a game. This is life and death. Tank is proof.”

  Fear coursed through me, questions battered me, and all I could think to say was “His name is Rufus? No wonder he goes by Sandman.”

  Rory’s grin was never far away, and I saw it now, even in the shadows. “Please take this seriously. Just this one thing—take this one thing seriously.”

  I started up the stairs, trying to get my questions in a row. My whole personality was a crowbar, and I would get my answers from Rory one way or another. He was talking about sides, but I didn’t even know the players. He was talking about making it through this, but he obviously didn’t mean the trials. And for the love of all that was holy, who was this he? What misconception could there be about my magic? Even saying my magic made my head spin.

  “Don’t get caught.”

  I glanced back to see what he was talking about now, and empty air greeted me.

  My stomach flipped, and I stumbled to a stop.

  It wasn’t the speed with which he’d disappeared, which was beyond impressive. It was the speed…while silent. Moving that quietly should have made some noise. A scuff of his heavy boots. A swish of fabric. Something.

  The House of Shade had clearly boosted Rory’s natural attributes. He was broader, faster, stronger, and had unreal stealth. The boy had been sculpted into a man who excelled at his craft after just two years of training. And right now, he was showing off.

  I let a smile bud.

  I’ll be better.

  A little competition was good for the soul.

  Chapter 11

  “Why don’t you just admit it?” Pete said with spite in his voice as our crew climbed the stairs after breakfast.

  I’d broken the news about Gregory to everyone this morning. Well, everyone except Orin, who I’d told last night, and who I was convinced never slept. The news hadn’t set well with Pete. Ethan didn’t seem to care overmuch, which only made Pete angrier.

  “Admit what?” Ethan said.

  “You ordered a hit on Gregory,” Pete replied. “You threatened him. We all heard you. You hated him.”

  “If I’d wanted him gone, I would’ve gotten him expelled, genius. Hitmen and kidnappers cost money. Framing someone is free and much easier.”

  “He’s got you there,” Orin said.

  This discussion had been going on some time, and my mind drifted back to my near miss with the assassin. In the moment, I’d been incapable of anything but fear, but it had struck me after the fact that Rory and I should have been in plain sight of my stalker. Or as good as. . . Where else would we have gone but the trees? The guy had basically stopped right next to us too. He’d even turned our way! But then…nothing. He’d moved on as soon as my pulse had slowed. He hadn’t even stooped to peer into the shadows. It was like he’d been feeling out his prey—me—and lost the trail as soon as my panic faded. Almost as if Rory had somehow shielded our whereabouts.

  “I know it was you,” Pete grumbled, cresting the stairs and turning toward our rooms.

  “Awesome. Let me know how that works out for you trying to pin something on me that I didn’t do,” Ethan said sarcastically, pulling me out of the residual tremors of fear from the night before.

  Wally waited in front of our room, staring at the ceiling as if she could see right through it.

  “She’s like a bad smell,” Ethan said as he brushed by her and opened the door.

  “Hello, everyone. Ready to get going?” Wally said, as chipper as I’d seen her. “Nicer room, huh? Where’s Gregory? I didn’t see him at breakfast.”

  “I’m surprised I didn’t see you at breakfast,” Ethan said dryly, stopping by his bed and reaching for a note pinned to his pillow. A quick look around said we all had one, except Gregory.

  “Oh, I thought it prudent to eat with my roommates like we’re supposed to.” Wally shadowed me to my bed. “You know, to ease the sting of leaving them high and dry for the trials. They could use my help.”

  “Are you serious?” Ethan read the note.

  “Not again,” Pete groaned. “I’m tired. When do we get a day off?”

  I picked up my copy of the note.

  You are hereby summoned. Your next trial awaits. You have one hours.

  “Number one, there is a typo,” I said blandly, not able to summon up the effort to feel outraged. “Number two, there’s no time stamp. How are we supposed to know when the hour is up?”

  My watch vibrated, and I glanced down at it. The face didn’t give me the actual time, but a countdown that said we had fifty minutes and thirteen seconds left. Awesome.

  “You guys should’ve taken a trip to the healer for more energy.” Wally’s mouth stretched with a smile. “I feel great. Excited, even. Which trial do you guys want to do next? By the way, where’s Gregory? You didn’t answer me.”

  “House of Claw,” Ethan said, digging through his trunk. He pulled out wads of sweats and threw them onto the ground. His movements turned frantic, crazed almost, until he stood up so fast, I wondered how he didn’t stagger with dizziness. “Where is it?” he demanded, his face red and his eyes ablaze. “What’d you jerk-offs do with it?”

  I lifted my eyebrows and glanced at Pete, whose face was screwed up in confusion, nose wrinkled and lips tight. Orin stared out from a shadow in the corner that really shouldn’t have been possible with all the light pouring into the room.

  “Where is it?” Ethan demanded again, rushing
across the room toward me.

  I stepped forward, ready to meet him head-on. I didn’t know why we were fighting, but that had never stopped me before. “Where is what?” I asked.

  “You’ll feel really silly if you did make the goblin disappear,” Orin said with a small smile. “Since he was the one who took your…notes.”

  Ethan rounded on Orin, but the gesture was somewhat undermined by his unwillingness to get closer to him. “What’d you say?”

  “Gregory disappeared?” Wally asked.

  “Gregory took your cheat sheets?” Pete said, a smile working up his face, dispelling the confusion.

  “Goblins are surprisingly adept at finding hidden treasure,” Orin said, “whether it be gems…or personal items of interest. Such items might fetch a great price from the right bidder.”

  The whole room stilled, all of us wondering if Gregory had gone out last night to sell the cheat sheets, and if so, which of our competitors had bought them.

  “Let’s go,” Ethan said, grabbing his sweatshirt and heading for the door. “If someone has those notes, I’ll know it. And I’ll take them back.”

  “Why would he sell those, though?” I asked, following along. “That puts him at a disadvantage. No, it makes more sense if he was keeping them for collateral. We should look to see if he hid them.”

  “He’s a goblin,” Ethan said, as though that explained everything.

  My dumb look had Orin explaining, “Unlike a wand waver who thinks he’s better than he is”—he pointedly looked at Ethan—“if a goblin hides something, you’d be hard pressed to find it. He’s a novice, so a good magic user could probably figure out his hiding spot, but none of us are good magic users. We’re all novices too. There’s no point in looking.”

  “What happened to Gregory? Would one of you please fill me in?” Wally asked, trailing behind us. She shut the door as if taking ownership of the room.

  I explained the situation to Wally as we joined other trial goers pouring out of the mansion. Buses waited for us in the same place as yesterday, and by the time we’d reached the boarding area, Wally was muttering to herself about statistics regarding abducted trial goers. “There have been a number of missing students over the years. First at the academy itself, but the security was improved as more Shades were used to guard the schools. After that, there is a 2 to 3 percent chance of being abducted at the Culling Trials based on past history.”

  “How many were found?” I asked.

  “None,” she said. “No one abducted was ever seen again.”

  The odds weren’t good that we’d see Gregory again.

  “Wait,” Ethan said, putting out his hand to stop my progress. Pete bumped into my back and stumbled to the side.

  I followed Ethan’s gaze to a cluster of students to our right. A few stood in a huddle, peering at something between them.

  “Anyone who has any sort of leg up will pick the House of Claw today, I think,” Ethan said, his gaze shrewd.

  "How do you know that’s the right trial to go to?” I got in front of Ethan, stopping his forward momentum.

  He lifted an arm to push me away. I glared down at him. “How do you know it’s that trial and not a different one?” I repeated the question, as if he were slow.

  Wally once more took the lead. “There is no official route to take—the randomness and our choices of that randomness is part of the testing. To see where our instincts take us.”

  Ethan glared up at me, one eyebrow raised. “The shifters announced they’ve upped their prize money today because two of the first trials were won. By upping their prize, they’re trying to lure in the top dogs.”

  “Looks like they know their prey well,” Orin drawled. I had to agree.

  Ethan’s gaze swept the rest of the crowd, all moving in a steady flow. Only that one group had hesitated for more than a moment, and they were on the move again. One of the guys slipped a square of white into his pocket.

  Ethan started forward.

  “I still don’t think Gregory would’ve sold the cheat sheet,” I mumbled, though I had to concede I didn’t know Gregory all that well, maybe he had planned on selling the sheets. Hell, I didn’t know any of them that well.

  “If he had it on him when he was taken, then someone else could have sold it,” Wally said. “Given the size of the house prizes we’ve seen so far, any help would be worth a pretty penny.”

  “Best argument I’ve heard so far,” Orin said.

  I stepped up into the bus after Ethan, following the group of guys he was stalking.

  “Did you hear?” a buck-toothed girl said to her seat mate. “Someone went missing last night. That goblin who won his house challenge.”

  “Ethan Helix won the challenge,” her friend returned.

  The buck-toothed girl rolled her eyes. “I meant his goblin teammate, obviously…” Her words drifted away, and her eyes rounded when she spotted the man of the hour walking past her.

  A hush fell over the bus, though Ethan didn’t seem to notice, his eyes locked on the other guys. He passed the group of boys from earlier without glancing their way and stopped at a random block of kids farther back. They all looked up at him, one girl’s face reddening.

  He jerked his head. “Get out.”

  “Wh-what?” one of the guys said, slim-faced with dark circles under his eyes.

  Ethan stared him down. “Do you want me to repeat myself?” The threat in his tone was evident.

  “This is getting awkward,” I said quietly, inching backward a little as the kids he’d singled out pushed out of their seats.

  “It’s not awkward for anyone else,” Orin said, although he’d made our situation awkward. He hadn’t taken a step back when I had, and now he stood a little too close for comfort. I stepped forward again. “They expect this behavior from a Helix.”

  As Ethan waited, he nodded in a familiar way to a guy in the back.

  The guy matched his nod, clearly douche-speak for what’s up, bro? He looked familiar and I realized I’d seen him before. One of the guys who’d fallen in the first trial. What was his name?

  Close up, I was able to get a better look at Ethan’s friend. Given the stranger was smoking hot and had an air of confidence, I figured they were friendly because they were on a similar level. Pretty people always seemed to gravitate toward other pretty people.

  “Why didn’t we sit near the possible offenders?” Wally whispered, leaning around the side of the seat and looking down the center of the bus.

  “We’re sitting behind them,” Ethan said quietly, dropping into the seat, with tense shoulders. I sat next to him.

  “Yes, I am spatially aware, but why didn’t we sit behind them, and also near them?” Wally pushed, sliding into the seat behind us with Orin. Pete, odd man out, shared with a red-headed girl behind them. “So we could hear their conversation. If I had a magic notebook, I’d want to talk about it with my friends.”

  “Cool people sit in the back,” Orin said with a slight smile, looking out the window. “Social standing before stakeout. It is why the social elite don’t do grunt work.”

  “No, it is because we can afford to hire people to do grunt work,” Ethan replied without turning around.

  “Yes.” Orin’s smile grew. I had no idea what point he thought he’d made, but I didn’t care to dwell on it.

  The bus traversed the usual path and came to a stop in front of the massive gates covered in the thorny ivy.

  “Wait,” Ethan said when we’d all disembarked, watching the guys he’d noticed earlier. They’d grouped together again, looking down at something between them.

  “Welcome again,” the usual stunning woman said, holding her wand high and smiling down at us from atop the stone and ivy wall. “Day three of the Culling Trials. Good luck to you and may it favor the trial you choose!”

  “It almost seems like they are trying to rush us through all these,” Pete said as he jogged after Ethan, who’d surged to a start, following that same cluster of
guys. “But what’s the hurry?”

  “Oh…I don’t know,” Wally said, waving her hand. “Maybe all the political unrest in the magical world right now? They’re sparing their resources for this. They probably want them back.”

  “Their resources are an elite school, and that school is on break,” Pete returned as we hurried through the open gate. “The people running this thing are from one of the other schools, and that school is on break. No one gives two hoots about us.”

  A field spanned out in front of us, and when we stepped onto it, it morphed into a plain covered in tall yellow grasses waving in the light breeze. The scene was slightly familiar, although I wasn’t sure why—there wasn’t much to distinguish it from any other prairie, though for sure it wasn’t Texas.

  Night slowly fell the farther in we got, and a large crescent moon rose in the star-studded sky. The group we were following veered right, and soon their target became obvious: a lone tree bent over a small glistening pond.

  No, wait…not just a pond. A watering hole.

  It struck me why our surroundings looked so familiar. They reminded me of a documentary my dad had watched about the Serengeti in Africa.

  Africa. Africa was full of things that could eat you. And I could bet I knew which of the big five it would be coming for us.

  “We shouldn’t go that way.” I grabbed Ethan’s arm. He flung me off. “Ethan, are you out of your mind? What better place to snatch prey if you’re an alpha predator than at a freaking waterhole! We shouldn’t go there.”

  “Oh,” Pete said, like a tire losing air. He’d just honed in on our surroundings. “This is bad.”

  A look around said no other trial goers had followed our path. Still, we should have been able to see them—there were some dips and rises in the terrain, but not many. The only other people out here looked to be the kids ahead of us.

  Pete shook his head. “They won’t want us working with any other crews here. We’ll all be kept separate this time—I’m sure of it.”