Page 3 of Escaping Hallow Hill Academy
I didn’t even get to enjoy it.
Oh, well.
There are always others.
At least my sword is satisfied. It pulses and hums as it drinks his life force, and when there’s nothing left inside him, I yank my weapon out, and he crumples to the ground.
Blood slides off the blade, leaving no trace of it behind on the shining metal. No trace except for the burning glow of his soul, that is.
I sheathe the weapon once again and bend to search his pockets. There I find a few crumpled-up twenties that are bloody. Forty bucks. He’s a good tipper. I appreciate it.
I’m not above stealing from a dead man, and a murderer at that. The only thing I want is money. Pawning off trinkets like his watch in a shop leaves a trail. I don’t want anyone coming after me for what I do.
Life is dangerous enough as is.
Footsteps sound slowly behind me, but I ignore them while keeping my senses alert.
I hear the mirth in his voice. “Are you quite finished, or do you think you’ll take his gold fillings, too?”
“Now there’s an idea . . .” I shove the last of the bills and coins into my coat pocket and stand to turn and face him. Cocking my hip to the side and pressing my palm against my curve, I get a good look at the asshole. “What do you want?”
His lips quirk up, and I think he might be attractive with his dark hair and sharp complexion, but I’d rather choke on a troll dick than admit that to a warlock.Ever.
“Forgive the interruption, but I’ve come on behalf of Headmistress Krist Emperium of Hallow Hill Academy.” With a flourish, he brandishes a glittering card from thin air and hands it to me.
Show-off.
I look at it warily before taking it, glancing at the scrawling letters there.
I purse my lips. “Yeah. Tell the emperor I said hi, but I’ve never heard of him.”
“Headmistress Krist would like to extend an invitation for you to meet her in person on Academy grounds for a . . . business proposition.”
I flick the card back at him. It catches in his fine suit jacket before floating to the ground. “Not interested in the Beverly Hills Academy.”
“HallowHill Academy. And you will be, once I explain, I am sure.” I hate that he sounds so condescending and smug, but he can’t help himself, I’m sure. All warlocks are alike. They think they’re better than witches, purer because darkness doesn’t run through their blood.
As if they’re all so innocent.
I snort. Arrogant little shit. I turn and focus on the corpse at my feet. Time for the harder part of the job. Disposing of the evidence.
There’s plenty of crime in this city, but I like to live a quiet little life. When I’m not feeding my sword with the blood of men like Jeff here, I like to keep to myself.
It’s safer that way.
I begin turning through my spell, feeling my blood heat through my veins as magic gathers around me. It takes energy from me, but I manage to give the cadaver a forceful shove into the hidden plane. My own personal garbage disposal for my kills. Place is a fucking rotting morgue, but I’ll never have to look at it, so it doesn’t really matter.
“Miss Lucero . . .”
“Shit on a cracker! You’re stillhere? I told you, I’m not fucking interested. Ihavea job.” Fucking self-employed and loving it. Okay, so the benefits are shit, but other than that, my hours are my own, and I don’t have to answer to anyone other than my Holy Lady of Death. That means I don’t have a shitty boss I have the urge to kill every time I go into the office and see his stupid face. I’m nobody’s lapdog.
His lip pulls back into a sneer. “Hunting common human criminals and half-breeds for pay. Riveting, I’m sure, but Headmistress Krist is prepared to pay you a hefty sum for your troubles.”
My ears threaten to twitch. Money is a weakness, but as much as I love cash, I also know I can live without it. It comes and goes, and there’s so many criminals waiting for their death that I can cash in on.
“No, thanks.” I start to walk away from him, done with this conversation.
Still, he calls after me. “The Academy caters to the rarest supernaturals in our history. There is so much we can learn from you and even more you can learn from us.”
