Term One Read online

  “Which is exactly why we’re here,” Sydney replied. She shouldn’t have to explain the importance of this.

  The blackened woods gave way to a small pool of light where a bunch of students had set up outdoor lanterns and a makeshift bar.

  “If we can trap this thing, think we can get their magic back?” Ava said.

  “Maybe,” Sydney shrugged. “Assuming it still possesses their powers within it. We have no idea how the shifter siphoned them away or if it can even use it. But we should consider all the possibilities.”

  Sydney watched Khourtney wrap her arms around herself and guessed it was more from nerves than cold.

  “If this thing was powerful enough that it took two apprentices and three Master witches to drive it off, imagine what it can do if it’s somehow able to use a witch’s additional magic, too,” Khourtney said.

  Sydney's blood pressure rose as nausea ate away at her stomach lining, making it feel like it had holes in it. But she wouldn’t show fear. The others were looking for her to lead them.

  Justin stopped to check his phone. “Ainsley and Harper are here.”

  “Super,” Syd quipped, unable to help herself.

  “Give it a rest for once,” Justin said. “She’s in this whether you like it or not. Actually, she’s in this because of you.”

  “I sort of like her,” Khourtney said, making sure to avert her gaze from Sydney, “for a middling.”

  “Then you’re an idiot,” Sydney sniped. Rage chased out some of her sickness, which was just what she needed. She needed to get angry—no more victim mentality.

  “Now, now kids, play nice,” Jax said. “It’s too bad Langston refused to come.”

  Sydney snapped her head to face him. “Would you hang out here knowing the shifter could attack you again? He can’t defend himself.” God, did she have to spell everything out?

  Ava stopped in her tracks. “For once, can we please put the snarky bullshit aside, at least until we figure this out? We can’t defeat this thing if we’re at each other’s throats every second.”

  Ava wasn’t normally the rational, reasonable one in the group, but she had a valid point. “Fine,” Sydney acquiesced. “For Langston. But those middlings better not push me.”

  Justin met her gaze. “You might want to watch that attitude, considering that you’re dating one now.”

  Syd clenched her jaw. “Don’t say that. Langston is not a middling. We’re going to get his magic back. He will be whole again.” She spit the words out. “He’s your fucking friend, Justin. Try supporting him.”

  Justin put his hands up in surrender. He’d made his point.

  The heat in her blood had barely cooled when Ainsley and Harper bounded over. Why in hell would she bring Harper, when she knew they had so much to discuss? Ainsley had better not have told her moronic, Thor-loving roommate anything.

  “Hi guys,” Ainsley said in a tentative voice. She motioned around her. “I almost couldn’t find you. This is crazy. I can’t believe the school allows this and that no one calls the cops.”

  Syd allowed herself the joy of rolling her eyes. “Why would they? The trees absorb the noise, most of the faculty are comfortably at home, and it’s not like there are any houses nearby. We’re not bothering anyone.”

  “Where are the kegs?” Harper asked, looking just as awkward as she sounded saying it.

  Ava grinned, “You want a beer?” she laughed.

  “I drink beer,” she said as if trying out the line.

  With an amused glance, Khourt said, “I think Dr. Pepper is more up your alley, but come with me. I know something you might like.” Putting her arm around Harper, she led her to the bar—a fallen tree, lined with liquor bottles and a few pony kegs.

  “So how will we know if the shifter is here masquerading as a student?” Jax appeared particularly wound up this evening. “I mean, it has to be here. I can’t see it missing an opportunity to hunt for one of us. How do we sniff it out?”

  Brooding, Justin narrowed his gaze on Syd and said, “We don’t—unless we want to risk getting killed or having our magic ripped from us, too. I don’t know about everyone else, but neither sounds like fun to me.”

  Jax gripped Justin by the shoulders. “Look man, I know this is shitty, but we can do this. There are six of us. We’ll outnumber it. We’ll get the symbols, recreate the room, and lure it there. If a handful of witches could do 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,” Sydney broke in, “there are five of us, not six. Ainsley doesn’t count.” She scoffed at the very idea, rolling her eyes. “But, I agree with you, Jax. We can do this, and we will, but we have to be careful.” The memory of her, Jeremy, and three Elder witches attempting to subdue the shifter gave Sydney pause. She’d hold her tongue, though, and not say anything that would plant doubt in her backup. It wasn’t going to be as easy as Jax believed, but they had to risk it.

  “What are the chances that it’s left Danvers and has moved onto some other town, looking for witches there?” Ava pulled out her phone and began reapplying tonight’s hot pink lipstick with her camera app.

  “Are you serious?” Khourtney asked, indignant. “Why are you fussing with your makeup?”

  Ava didn’t stop the swipe of the silver tube across her lips, but she still managed to say, “There’s no law against not looking hot while on the hunt. Who knows, maybe our super freak will find it attractive.”

  “The idea is to stay under the radar, to sneak up on it.” Sydney grabbed the lipstick out of Ava’s hand, twisted it closed, and shoved it in Ava’s pocket.

  “I saw the shifter,” Ainsley said out of nowhere.

  Sydney, like all of them, jolted to attention. She crossed her arms and tilted her head in disbelief. “You … saw the shifter? When? Where? And why the hell are you just saying something now?”

  Ainsley swallowed hard. She looked nervous. Good, she should be.

  “I saw it last night when you were all in the Nest. I went for a walk on campus, and then Justin texted me to say the shifter had attacked Langston and another boy. He said not to be alone anywhere, so I was heading back to my room when Professor Winslow came up to me. He was acting really weird. It was something about the way he spoke to me, the way he acted, and then his eyes changed. They looked almost reptilian. They went from blue to this yellowy-gold color, and his irises elongated like a lizard’s.”

  “Seriously?” Sydney straightened, staring at her. “What did he say?”

  “He—it—was being cryptic. I felt like it was playing a game with me. He told me I needed to be careful out there alone in the dark. Before I could stop myself, I asked him what he was.”

  “You what?! Dead giveaway, newbie.” Sydney ran her hand through her hair. She had to remain calm. “So, it knows you’re onto it?”

  Ainsley held a hand up. “I don’t know. Let me finish. He looked at me very strangely, like he was trying to figure me out, and said, ‘Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing.’ I have no idea what he meant, but maybe it has to do with my immunity to magic.”

  Ugh, of course, she would make this about her. “Come on, come on. We don’t have time to be amazed by your special trait right now. What else happened with the shifter? Why did it let you go after it all but outed itself?”

  Justin moved closer and grasped Ainsley’s hand. “It’s okay, you can tell us.”

  Ainsley smiled and batted her eyelashes at him. Sydney was tired of all her innocent lamb bullshit.

  “That’s just it,” Ainsley continued. “It was like it enjoyed the banter. He didn’t seem aggressive, just creepy. I think he liked the fact that I was on to it. He kept watching me—as if he wanted to see what I’d do next. It’s like I was a test or an experiment.”

  “What did you do?” Jax asked, still hyped up.

  “I tried to act like I thought he was Winslow, said I’d see him in class, and then I got th
e hell out of there.”

  “Well, that’s anti-climactic,” Ava quipped.

  “There’s one more thing,” Ainsley said.

  “Can’t wait to hear it. We’re all mesmerized by your grand triumph,” Syd said, dismissing Ainsley by looking at the party, her arms crossed tightly. Why had it revealed itself to her and not done anything? If it had taken to modeling identities, why not Ainsley’s?

  “It was wearing leather gloves,” Ainsley said, dropping the sentence like she was handing them the clue they’d all been waiting for.

  “Sorry, but I think we’re going to need a little more than his fashion choices,” Sydney said, ready to end this conversation.

  Justin glared at her, but he was smart enough to keep quiet.

  “Don’t you see?” Ainsley’s voice grew impatient. “I think the shifter was wearing the gloves to keep his form from changing. I think touching—direct, skin-to-skin contact—is how he takes on someone’s appearance. He becomes whoever he touches.”

  Sydney’s heart quickened; she felt her eyes widen with recognition. Finally, something that made sense. Her intuition told her that what Ainsley was suggesting was true. “Wow, you’re not completely useless, after all.” She kept her voice flat, unwilling to give Ainsley the idea that this, in any way, made up for her part in this nightmare.

  Justin cleared his throat. “There’s something you should know, Ains.”

  Sydney narrowed her gaze on him. What was he going to reveal now? Couldn’t he keep his mouth shut? “Justin,” she began.

  He ignored her and kept talking, “Remember when I texted you about the shifter attacking last night? It… Well, it was bad.”

  “I figured when I didn’t see Langston. Is he okay?” she asked tentatively.

  “No, he’s not okay!” Rage burst inside Sydney. She had to keep her voice down, to control herself so other students wouldn’t develop more of an interest in her than usual. But it was too late. A few of the nearest students glanced over, gawking, so Sydney sent a gentle magical incentive for them to turn around and walk away.

  “But how could the shifter have attacked them, when I saw him on campus looking like Professor Winslow?” Ainsley asked, confused. She looked around at all of them, her face falling. Softly she asked, “Why isn’t Langston here? Is he going to be all right? Please tell me he is.”

  No one answered, and their silence hung heavy and tense in the air.

  Sydney felt sucker-punched, but she had to be the one to answer. “The attack on Jake was serious. The shifter disguised itself as Kai.”

  Ainsley shook her head and focused on Jax. “The guy from the fountain?”

  Jax nodded, biting his lower lip.

  “He approached Langston, dropped his human form, and attacked. It attacked both of them when Jake tried to help Langston,” Sydney said. “They’re still alive, but the mist did something to them.” Her throat thickened with grief. She wasn’t sure she was capable of saying the next words.

  “Oh my God! Are they okay?” Ainsley asked again, her face a mask of disbelief and horror.

  “Are you not fucking listening? No, Ainsley, they’re not okay!” Sydney lashed out, her fists clenched at her sides. A wave of fury bowled her over, and it took every ounce of effort she had not to haul off and punch this most hated of middlings. “You had to open that fucking door, and now Langston’s magic is gone!”

  Ainsley looked like Sydney had hauled off and punched her anyway.

  “That’s enough! Fuck, Sydney, this isn’t helping anyone," Justin said. “If you can’t get your emotions in check, we’ll deal with this without you.”

  “Always swooping in to rescue her, huh. You’re supposed to be my best friend. Mine. Or doesn’t that mean anything to you anymore? God, what’s happened to you? I don’t even recognize you anymore.”

  Justin hung his head at the accusation, but he still looked angry.

  Ava put a tentative arm around Sydney, and Syd allowed it. She knew she should brush her off. Show no weakness. Hold her head high with righteous indignation. But she was at wit’s end.

  “What does she mean, “Ainsley asked in a near whisper, turning to Jax, the only one looking in her direction anymore, “that Langston’s magic is gone? Can that happen?”

  Jax closed the distance between himself and Ainsley, his tone melancholy, “The shifter was able to siphon Langston and Jake’s magic from their bodies somehow.”

  Sydney stepped forward, hands on her hips, and stared Ainsley straight in the face. “The shifter is stronger than ever with the addition of their magic, while they’re both left in excruciating pain. We have no idea if they’re ever going to get their magic back. They might never be whole again. That’s what we did when we opened that door, and I can’t live with that. We need to fix this. We need to find the shifter tonight before it attacks and adds the strength of yet another witch’s power. Before no one can ever stop it.”

  Ainsley

  It would have hurt less if they’d struck Ainsley in the chest with a baseball bat. Poor Langston. She replayed her part in this mess for the hundredth time, especially the way she’d goaded Sydney into opening the underground room’s door. She could only have felt more horrible if she’d ripped the magic out of Langston herself.

  Justin stared at Sydney with a level of defiance Ainsley had never seen on his face. “You think it’ll be that easy? We just ‘find’ the shifter? It could be hiding in plain sight, anywhere on campus. It could be anyone. Last night it wore Kai and Winslow’s bodies.”

  “All the more reason to end this now,” Sydney said with a confidence Ainsley knew she couldn’t possibly possess. While the Queen Bee of Ashcroft could get practically anything she wanted, this was something out of Her Royal Highness’ reach.

  He focused on Ainsley. “What time did you see it on campus?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know, maybe around nine.”

  Jax ran his hand over his chin. “That fucker had enough energy to attack Langston and Jake, fight off a group of Elder witches, and then morph into Winslow for an evening stroll? Holy shit.”

  Ava’s eyes widened. “Maybe sucking out their magic wasn’t enough for it. What if it was out hunting last night, looking for another witch to attack? Think about it, what’s more innocuous than being an Ashcroft professor? No student would worry about Winslow.”

  Ainsley fought to ignore the news about Langston and the noise from the party. Not one of the revelers had the slightest inkling about what lurked in these woods. She ran yesterday’s events through her mind and what she’d learned of the way it dropped its form to attack.

  “Wait,” Ainsley paused until she had everyone’s attention, “if the shifter changed into its mist form to attack, and then immediately found a new person to imitate, it must be hunting.”

  “We’ve figured that part out,” Sydney snapped. “Now, how do we stop it?” She looked paler than usual, her violet eyes dark and sunken.

  Ainsley looked around to make sure no one at the party was paying them any attention. “What I mean is that maybe the shifter is strongest when it’s in fog-form. If we can attack it when it's in human form, we stand a better chance.” The inflection in Ainsley’s voice made it sound like a question.

  Sydney stormed in front of her, pointing her index finger in Ainsley’s face, making Ainsley flinch and back up. “First, you have zero clues about whether the shifter’s supernatural energy is the same, depending on what form it’s in. Second, there is no we. You’re not a witch, in case you’ve somehow forgotten.”

  Justin gently moved Ainsley out of the way and stood in her place, face-to-face with Sydney. “Back off with the us-against-her shit, will you? If you want my help, then you will start treating Ainsley with the respect she deserves. Not only has she kept everything a secret, but she’s shown up for us time and again, even with no magic to protect her. I know you, Syd. You’re better than this.”

  He squared his shoulders in defiance, but Sydney didn’t bac
k down. Sydney narrowed her gaze on him. “Fine, but when she crosses us, I reserve the right to deal with her my way.”

  “Great, now that we’re all squared away, can we go?” Jax asked, looking over all of the players in this drama triangle.

  Khourtney sauntered back to the group. “I pawned Harper off on a few middlings. What did I miss?” she asked, her voice akin to one leading a pep rally.

  “You’re just in time,” Sydney said before letting her eyes fall on each person’s face. With a half-smile, she said, “Follow me, we’re going on a shifter hunt—with one of you as bait.”

  Ainsley knew she was the bait. Rather, if the shifter wasn’t determined to go after another witch tonight, she would be, especially since it had already made a point of making contact with her disguised as Winslow. “Where to then, Sydney?” She had zero doubt Sydney would throw her at the shifter like a piece of raw meat to a pack of starving dogs, without even blinking an eye.

  “We are going to break apart from the party. Maybe then we can lure the shifter out. How can it resist five witches all wrapped up in a nice little bow?” With that, Sydney stormed off into the blackness of the forest, away from the party.

  The laughing and music grew less distinct as they followed behind her like a pack of lemmings, including Ainsley.

  “I know I missed a lot,” Khourtney said, “but how is this a good idea? We’re not exactly prepared if this thing comes at us.”

  Ainsley was grateful she didn’t have to be the one to protest.

  “It’s better to draw it away from the rest of the students here,” Sydney said.

  Ava, who had barely uttered a word, spoke up, “The Elders know something is here. Máthair Bello told everyone to be on guard. Maybe Syd’s right, and we should at least see if it’s here. If we can observe it, we can get a better sense of how to handle it.”

  “Coming out here was a bad idea,” Justin said, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

  Jax clapped him hard on the back, making him jerk forward. “Being in a group is the safest thing we can do. There are six of us. It won’t attack us with these numbers. And if it tries, it won’t succeed.” His confidence was noticeably exaggerated.