Page 52 of Fortune Academy: Year Three
He sighed and lowered his knife, turning to the Dean again. “I’m trained to find magical oddities. I found one. A vampire who still had his warlock powers.”
The Dean’s jaw began to tick and I wanted to nudge Dante that he’d made his point, but he continued.
“Vampires are monsters, right? Monsters are only good for two things.” He pointed his dagger at the vampire for effect, but I knew that his comments had a doubled-edged meaning meant for me. “For study, and for killing.”
His gaze raking over my body, leaving no doubt what he wanted to “study” when it came to me. That thought made me swallow the lump in my throat.
“Enough,” the Dean snapped, her control on her powers loosening as the ground trembled. “You two have done enough damage. Apologize to our guest and then show her the way back to her home.”
“We’re sorry,” I blurted before the Dean changed her mind. When Dante frowned, I jabbed him until he grunted out a sound that was as close to an apology as I was going to get.
The Dean leaned back, giving me the silent go-ahead to get Evelyn and her mate back to her timeline.
I didn’t test her patience and looped my arm through young Evie’s, dragging her out of the room before the tightrope I was walking snapped under my feet.
“All right. You from Earth, I hope?” I asked, because that was the only portal the Dean had given me access to that would work with a time-warlock’s powers. The vampire followed from a short distance along with Dante who didn’t seem all that amused with my antics. “That’s the only other place I know how to get to,” I continued, “so we’re going there.”
I went down the hall and counted the doors like the Dean had instructed. When we got to the third one, I jiggled the knob that wouldn’t budge.
“Do you do this often?” Young Evie asked, looking skeptically at the door.
Oh right…lockeddoor.
Cursing, I pulled the key from my skirt. “Leave the Academy? Not really,” I said, blathering on with enough truths to make my statement believable. “Only for missions or assignment and stuff like that.” I glanced at Dante, thinking of how many times he’d left me for pursuit of so-called missions for my sake.
Young Evie gave me a raised brow. “Like hunting monsters?”
I offered her a grin as I attempted to hide the unbidden sting that gave me. Dante had hunted me once… too. “Yes, like hunting. That’s my favorite,” I confirmed and glanced at Dante again. This time, I would be the one doing the hunting.
Trying the lock again, I managed to get the door open only to reveal a gaping void of nothing.
Damn. I didn’t envy anyone who had to travel through that.
“Okay! In you go!” I said cheerfully as I shoved Evelyn on through.
Marcus bared his teeth at me and threatened my life before jumping in after her. A black cat materialized, having been nothing but a shadow all this time and followed the pair into the void.
I shut the door behind them and grinned.
“What you smiling about?” Dante asked.
I held up my black claws that had nicked the young Queen on her way out. “Founder’s blood, anyone?”
Chapter 19
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Dante roared as I sped-walked down the sparse streets straight for the Monster Arena.
Cole’s influenced seemed to have spread across the campus, evidence of that by the dark fog that curled around my ankles.
I decided that was a good sign. It meant that he was strong, and I needed him strong—and angry—when I freed him because he was the key to taking the Dean down.
All I had to do was convince him that the Dean was a bigger threat than me. Given that she wanted to mess with Hell and she was the reason he was locked up in the first place, I figured that wouldn’t be too hard to do.
I clutched the handkerchief to my chest that I’d used to soak up the few droplets of blood from the young Queen. It was my lifeline. The proof of that came as it hummed with innate power that would give me access to any locked door in the Academy.
Finally, I could see Kaito again.
And I could face Cole.
