Wilde Abandon (Ashcroft Academy Book 3)

by K. M. /Kelly Charron

  Watching them all—seeing how much they cared about each other—made her realize she hadn’t had anyone like that in her life. Her old friends hadn’t even stuck around after her dad’s funeral. This group was risking their lives for each other.

  “How are we going to get everything we need? You know they keep a strict inventory.” Justin’s strained voice added to Ainsley’s discomfort.

  “That’s why it’ll be better if only one or two of us go down,” Jax interjected, “besides, they only check it once a month. We’ll replace it by then. So, who wants to join me?” He wiggled his eyebrows in encouragement. He was far too excited about this.

  “Wait, why do you get to go?” Ava protested. “I want to have a little fun."

  “Because I know more Dark magic than any of you, and I’m the least chicken-shit,” he said bluntly.

  Ava rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.

  Khourtney nodded. “Yup. I’ll wait here, no problem.”

  “Fine, Ava, you go with Jax. Khourt, Langston, and I will wait with Ainsley,” Justin said. “Syd’s responsible for finding the gravesite location.”

  Ava clapped. She and Jax nodded and took off for the coven entrance. Ainsley watched in wonderment as they seemed to disappear before her eyes. “Whoa.”

  “It’s spelled with a glamour so no one can see where the entrance is,” Khourt explained.

  “You could’ve gone,” Ainsley whispered to Justin, her stomach felt like it was full of rocks.

  “There’s no way I’m leaving you out here.” Maybe he cared about her after all. Why did she let Sydney get in her head?

  “We need to stay in groups until the shifter is caught,” Justin said.

  Her hope plummeted in one fell swoop. He hadn’t been singling her out; he just wouldn’t let anyone be vulnerable. She inhaled a hard, sharp breath to help quell the disappointment filling her chest.

  “What do we do now?” Khourtney asked, slightly skittish.

  “Now we translate the conjuring spell from the grimoire. The words have to be exact for the spell to work," Langston said, gripping the book tightly. “If we do anything wrong, it could do a hell of a lot more than just raise Saskia’s spirit,” he said, focused on Justin. “We can’t do this in the common areas. We should sneak Khourt and Ainsley into our room to work.”

  Ainsley could practically see Justin listing out all the consequences in his head. She wished he’d throw caution to the wind and relax a little. He had magic for God’s sake.

  “Justin, do an invisibility spell on us,” Khourt said.

  The four of them stopped just outside the main doors of the boys’ dorm. Ainsley could hardly contain her excitement. She was going to participate in actual, real-life magic. “Is it going to feel weird when you cast over us?” She knew she was too wide-eyed and perky but couldn’t help it. “Wait, it’s not going to hurt, is it?” She held her hands up, remembering the jolt of electricity that had gone through her during Sydney’s attack.

  Justin grinned. “No, you shouldn’t feel much.” He looked around. Satisfied that they were in the clear, he held up his fingers at them and chanted.

  He was right, except for the tiniest warm breeze blowing over her, she didn’t notice a thing. “Is that it? You’re done?” She didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed.

  “Holy shit!” She couldn’t see Khourtney anymore. “You’re gone,” she whispered and thrust her hand out, accidentally smacking something hard.

  “Ow!”

  Ainsley covered her mouth with her hand, muttering an apology.

  “What about me? Can you guys see me?”

  They guys nodded in unison before Langston leaned in. “This spell is to block middling sight only. We can still see both of you.”

  “Cool.” She wanted to squeal and jump up and down, but if Justin could still see her, then she’d have to contain herself. “It really felt like nothing.”

  Justin smirked. “What’d you expect? Fireworks?”

  She smacked his arm. “No. Maybe. Whatever, let’s go.

  “Be quiet,” he warned, “others can still hear you.”

  Langston pushed the door open, letting the others go in first.

  Ainsley did a quick scan. Same interior layout as the girl’s dorm, just in reverse, same furniture, but different pictures on the walls—these walls featuring the boys’ sports teams.

  The lobby was empty except for three guys sitting on a leather sofa in front of the fireplace. They all had their eyes glued to their phones. Ainsley wondered what the point was of sitting together if they meant to ignore each other.

  Justin gave a small wave, gesturing for Ainsley and Khourt to follow him. Instead of passing by the front desk to go to the elevators, Justin turned right and pushed open the stairwell door. Thank God. Maybe he had psychic abilities on top of his magic.

  A guy about seventeen, with messy, dirty blond hair, was walking through as they filed into the stairwell. He looked up, pulled an earbud out, and cocked an eyebrow at Justin and Langston. “What are you doing?”

  Justin froze and looked out of the corner of his eye at Langston. “What do you mean?”

  The guy looked around before leaning in, “You can’t bring girls up, dude. You know that.” He motioned to Ainsley. “She needs to leave before you get in deep shit, and the whole dorm gets a lecture.”

  “You can see me?” Ainsley said before she could stop herself.

  The blond rolled his eyes. “You’re hilarious. I can hear you, too. Seriously, the three of you are going to get busted. Jacob is on his way down to start last checks.”

  Ainsley replayed his words in her head: Three of you.

  “Sure, got it,” Justin said, putting his hand on Ainsley’s back and quickly ushering her out, Khourtney and Langston in tow.

  The cold air wrapped itself around Ainsley again as she stepped back outside. “What the hell happened?” she asked, bewildered.

  Langston squeezed the bridge of his nose in apparent contemplation. “Shit, we forgot.” He shook his head. “I still have no idea how you’re immune.”

  “I knew Persuasion didn’t work,” Khourtney said, “but I didn’t think you couldn’t be spelled at all. At the dance, when Sydney… Well, I figured some magic worked.”

  “You mean, after the dance?” Ainsley asked. Had Justin or Sydney told her about Sydney attacking her when they’d gone outside?

  Khourtney gave her a sheepish expression. “Remember when you suddenly got those bad stomach pains?”

  “Yeah,” Ainsley replied, noticing that Khourtney looked down at her feet instead of meeting Ainsley’s eyes. “Are you saying Sydney did that to me with a spell?”

  “Maybe,” Khourtney admitted, her voice rising at the end. “But the Repercussion gave her that nasty bloody nose, so that evens it out.”

  Ainsley remembered the nose bleed. What a bitch.

  Justin sighed. “None of this makes any sense. You can’t be Persuaded, but Syd was able to inflict some magic on you, just not every time. You’re a mystery.”

  “Maybe it’s something to do with the type of magic used,” Khourtney said.

  “Or,” Langston said, “it’s because that was on Samhain. Magic is much more powerful when the veil is thin. That could be why it worked.”

  “But it didn’t work the way it should’ve,” Justin said with narrowed eyes. He appeared deep in thought.

  Ainsley could tell he was holding something back. “What do you mean, not the way it should’ve?”

  He pulled her aside, whispering, “When Sydney blasted you with that spell, it should’ve really injured you. But you were fine.” He saw her eyes widen with aggression at the description. “Yeah, it knocked you down, but you weren’t really hurt. It’s not possible, and yet…”

  “Oh my God, did you forget we have excellent hearing?” Khourtney laughed. “So, Sydney attacked you? Shit, that girl is a straight-up nutter. Or you did something to deserve it.”

  Justin shook his
head. “Ainsley didn’t do anything to deserve that blast, and we don’t have time to go over all of this now. We need to get Ainsley out of here before Jacob sees her.”

  Ainsley noticed how startled Langston looked.

  “Did you say Sydney attacked Ainsley?”

  This was her chance to take advantage of the situation, to make Langston understand the kind of monster he was dating. But if she did, Langston might never look at Sydney the same way again, and Ainsley couldn’t take that away from him. Not after everything else he’d already lost. “It wasn’t that big of a deal—more of a misunderstanding.”

  Justin gawked at her, shocked that she hadn’t tied-off the opportunity presented to her in a nice, little bow.

  Langston didn’t press further. He nodded, relief relaxing his features.

  Pulling out his phone, Justin said, “It’s 10:45, which means we have fifteen minutes before last check.”

  Khourtney beamed. “If magic doesn’t work on her, then we can use my room, and I’ll spell the two of you invisible.” The guys gaped at her. “What?” She feigned offense. “I have my moments.”

  As they walked, Ainsley wondered if the shifter would be able to see the guys despite the spell. It wasn’t a middling. And now it had Langston’s and Jake’s magic inside of it. If it siphoned any more, she wasn’t sure they’d be able to beat it. And then a thought occurred to her, “Hey, wait a minute. If Langston’s magic is gone, how can he still see Khourtney? Shouldn’t she be invisible to him now, too?”

  They all stopped in their tracks, looking at her in astonishment.

  “Let’s deal with that later,” Langston said, but Ainsley couldn’t ignore the hopeful glow in his eyes.

  Chapter 11

  Sydney

  Sneaking in and out of the Nest was getting tiresome, but Sydney didn’t trust anyone else to do it. Besides, she was the only one who could talk to Oswald. She peered around the corner and ran down the hall toward his office, praying to the Ancestors that he’d be there.

  Her stomach jumped into her throat when she saw his light on. She pushed the door open and called out, “Oswald, you in here?”

  Sliding inside, she closed the door behind her. Oswald sat on the sofa, his head lolled to the side, his eyes closed. Heart quickening, Syd crept over to him. His chest didn’t look like it was moving, and his skin seemed paler than usual. Her attention went to the orange tabby curled on his lap.

  She stepped closer and called again in a soft tone.

  He didn’t move, not even the smallest flicker of the eyelids. Holy crap, is he dead? Goosebumps trailed down her arms and back in a full-body shiver. She’d never seen a dead body before.

  A snorting sounded and then a groan as Oswald appeared to have startled himself awake.

  “Oh, thank God,” Sydney said, letting out the breath she’d been holding.

  “Ms. Lockwood, what are you doing here?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he regained his bearings. “Darn it, I must’ve fallen asleep.” He gently lifted the tabby and placed her on the seat beside him before standing. The cat curled back up and went back to sleep.

  “Sorry to disturb you, but I need your help.”

  “I assumed as much. It’s not like you visit for social pleasantries.” He turned to collect a few books on the arm of the sofa.

  “Maybe I’ll start once we catch the shapeshifter, but for that, I need your help. Do you know where the villagers buried Saskia?”

  Oswald stopped cold, his shoulders stiffening before he turned. “Why would you need to know that?” His tone was even and measured.

  “The less you know, the better. Please, trust me. I know I’ve said that a lot, but I know what I’m doing now. It’s going to be okay.”

  “It’s not safe out there with the shifter, especially for a witch. You must know that.” He narrowed his gaze. “You shouldn’t be out and about on the grounds or in the woods.”

  “I promise I’ll be okay, and if we want everyone else in the coven to be okay, then you need to tell me where they buried Saskia.”

  He regarded her, and she swore she could see a change in his eyes. “I suspect you’re not doing this alone then.”

  Syd shook her head.

  “Your mother will have my head.”

  “Mother will never know.”

  He grunted before hobbling over to his desk. He slid a piece of paper from a folder and grabbed a pen from his drawer. “I suppose I can’t stop you or talk you out of it?” He smiled ruefully.

  She shook her head.

  He turned back to his paper. “I can only give you the resting spot told through the legend.”

  “Thank you, Oswald. Anything helps.”

  He began sketching, and she couldn’t help but watch the way his wrinkled and spotted hand glided over the page. He must have been a brilliant artist once.

  He didn’t stop the pen when he said, “You’re going to try to raise Saskia’s spirit to talk to her, to learn how she trapped the shifter. Smart, but dangerous.”

  Sydney’s stomach lurched as she attempted to convince herself she’d heard him wrong. “What?”

  “There’s no point in denying it, Ms. Lockwood. There aren’t many reasons you’d need to know where Saskia is laid to rest.” His eyes didn’t move from the map he was quickly constructing.

  Sydney could lie, but what would be the point? He’d see right through it, besides he was her ally. He was drawing her the map, after all. “Yes,” she admitted.

  “And you must also know that conjuring a spirit—necromancy of any sort—is strictly forbidden.” His tone was flat; it wasn’t a question.

  “It’s the risk we have to take. I need to fix this.” She swallowed hard, keeping her eyes trained on him.

  He surveyed his work and finally passed her the paper. “Your secret is safe with me. I’m trusting you, Ms. Lockwood. Don’t make me regret it.”

  Sydney practically ran out of the Nest and up the back stairs. She texted the others on the way out and told them to meet her in the spot behind the rowing building. They had a map and, hopefully, a translated spell. This was really happening.

  It was just after eleven when everyone arrived, unlatching the dorm doors magically and masking everyone but Ainsley in a temporary invisibility spell. Sydney was pleased to see they looked as eager as she felt. They were making progress—actual steps toward capturing this thing and not just talking about it. Her heart hammered as though she’d raced around campus twenty times.

  Langston still had the grimoire clutched in his hands. “Could you interpret everything for the spell?” The last thing she wanted was for him to think she doubted him, but the grimoire was pretty old, and the language might be different than the Latin or Gaelic they studied.

  “It was standard, so no problem.” His chest puffed out slightly, and Syd was thankful to see a small glimmer of his old self again. The shifter hadn’t taken everything.

  “Um, I helped,” Ainsley said.

  Sydney gave her a round of snarky applause.

  “Were you able to find where they buried Saskia?” Ava asked wearily. They’d been going non-stop for hours.

  Sydney patted her coat pocket. “I have a map. Jax, do you have all the supplies?”

  He nodded, and she noted a definite twinkle in his eye. He was going to get to practice actual Black magic and was practically busting at the seams. “We’re ready,” he pronounced.

  Justin, in typical brooding fashion, said, “Unless this gets us all killed, or it rips our magic from us. Don’t know about everyone else, but neither sounds fun to me.”

  Jax gripped Justin by the shoulders. “Look, I know this is shitty, but we can do this. There are seven of us. We outnumber it. We’ll get the symbols, recreate the room, and lure it there. If the witches did it four-hundred years ago, then we can do it now. Our spells and power have only gotten stronger over the centuries.”

  “First of all, there are five of us, not seven,” Khourtney said, appearing as shaken as Ju
stin, “unless Ainsley has secret powers that she’s not telling us about, and,” she turned to Langston momentarily, “no disrespect, but Langston isn’t able to fight right now either.”

  “None taken, Khourt,” Langston said without emotion. “It’s true. We have to remember it also has my magic and Jake’s. It’s stronger now than it probably ever has been. Don’t underestimate it.”

  Syd wasn’t about to allow them to psych themselves out now. “I agree with Jax. We can do this. We’ll be careful.” The memory of attempting to subdue the shifter with Jeremy and three Elder witches gave Sydney pause, but she didn’t dare say anything that would plant any more doubt in anyone’s mind. They had to be smart, and part of being smart meant being extra cautious.

  “After we trap this thing, we can get their magic back, right?” Ava asked.

  Sydney took a beat, not sure what to say.

  Justin leaped in, ever ready to point out the holes in her plan, as if reading her mind. “Assuming it still possesses it somehow,” he noted. “We have no idea how the shifter siphoned it away, but we need to consider all the possibilities. If this thing was already so powerful that it took two of you and three Master witches to get it to back down, imagine what it can do now if it’s able to use the additional magic.”

  Syd’s blood pressure rose, her nausea intensified, and it felt like the lining of her stomach was blistering. She didn’t have the option of disbelief—the others were looking to her for guidance. She needed to dig deep and step up, not choke as she did in the testings. There were no do-overs here. “That was before we knew what it was and what it could do. We know what to look for now. We won’t let it get the jump on us.”