Page 65 of Cry of the Damned
After a delicious dinner, we left to get the guys. Heather promised she would make sure to take Diana home when she woke up. She would be a bit disoriented, but Heather would check on her for a few days to make sure she was all right.
George drove us back to the warehouse, then drove back home. We went in and told Kall, Novuk, and Rob that it was time to go back to the Academy. With many students free of their codas, anything could happen. Some could shift. Others could accidentally start levitating… or worse. With untrained shifters and witches, it was anyone’s guess.
We made our way up to Lux Academy on foot. It took us an hour to get there, which gave me time to think about what we would say when we got to the gates.
As we approached, I stepped in front of the others and marched up the hill, a strange sensation twirling in my chest. I had walked up this path countless times, and it’d always been with misguided pride nestled in my chest. Now, what I felt was entirely different, a mixture of satisfaction, disappointment, and sadness.
“Stop right there!” One of the apprentice guards at the gate stepped forward, a hand to the hilt of his sword.
I recognized his deep voice immediately. “Hello, Peter.”
He cocked his head to one side, narrowing his eyes as I approached.
I stopped a few feet away from him. “Don’t you recognize me?” I ran a hand through my hair. “Must be the hair.”
“Jazmin?”
“That’s me.”
He seemed to relax for an instant, then tensed again once his gaze scanned those behind me and he recognized Rob.
Peter took a step back and drew his sword. “Stay back,” he ordered.
The other apprentice, who was standing guard, stepped forward, also drawing his sword. It was Christopher Augustus—a tall, straight back, golden skin guy who I had no doubt had shifter blood running through his veins.
“Hello, Christopher.” I put my hands up. “We mean no harm.”
“What… are you doing here? And why are you with Rob?”
“Maybe we can talk,” I said. “Like old friends.”
Peter and Christopher exchanged worried glances, and in an instant, seemed to decide we weren’t friends anymore. Threateningly, they brandished their swords in front of our faces.
“Hey!” I took a step back. “We’re not going to fight you. We’re here to help.”
“What did you do?” Peter demanded. “What did you two do?!” The point of his sword went from me to Rob and back again.
As much as I would have loved to tell him the truth, I knew it wouldn’t help our cause.
So instead, I spoke carefully. “We know what’s happening here. The initiates have lost their codas, and we can explain how, but right now, all you need to know is that many of the initiates will start noticing changes, and when that happens, we can help.”
“Where are the magistrates?” Peter demanded.
I shook my head and started backing away, my hands held palms up. “We’ll come back.”
“Don’t you dare! We don’t need you,” Christopher spat.
My heart pounded as we retreated, begging they wouldn’t charge us with their swords. The last thing I wanted was a fight with them.
Later that afternoon, we returned. Though, this time, we stayed a fair distance away from the gate. The new apprentices standing guard noticed us right away. One ran inside, and more returned with her. They watched us warily from afar and didn’t approach. The wind carried the bitter scent of their unrest, so we left again before it got the better of them.
At twilight, we were back, and this time, as soon as we were spotted, two apprentices peeled away from the entrance and descended the path in our direction.
They stopped several yards away, hands on the hilt of their swords. It was Peter and Christopher once more. They stood tense, their eyes darting from side to side, a combination of distrust and apprehension shaping their features.
“What is happening to the initiates?” Peter asked.
I could well imagine what they were feeling and thinking at the sight of their peers exhibiting traits they’d been taught to despise.
