Page 33 of The Vampire and the Case of the Perilous Poltergeist

The class made a juvenile ‘ooooh’ sound like I was in trouble and I rolled my eyes, making them laugh. ‘You wanted to see me?’ I asked pointedly when we were alone.

As he studied me, he suddenly looked younger, sharper and more dangerous. He flashed me a shark’s grin. ‘You know Patkotak?’

Surprised, I answered, ‘Yeah. You?’

‘Yes.’ He leaned forward. ‘Is there anything you want to tell me?’

I blinked, nonplussed. ‘Like what?’

‘Like about the damned poltergeist wreaking havoc on the academy?’

‘Oh, about that? Nope.’ I kept my tone light.

Clearly frustrated, he sighed and sat back. ‘Speak to Patkotak. You can trust me.’

Really? I could trust him like the gingerbread man could trust the fox.

He sighed again. ‘Dismissed,’ he barked when it was clear I wouldn’t engage further.

I stalked out, eager to get to my supernat class. On the way, I spotted Thorsen’s broad frame crowding someone. I moved closer to see who he was bullying this time: Eben. ‘Hey,’ I said loudly. ‘What do we have here? A budding bromance?’

Thorsen shot me a hate-filled glare and stalked off without a word; I considered myself lucky. I turned to Eben. ‘You okay?’

He glared and pushed past me without a word of thanks. Charming.

‘You’re welcome!’ I hollered at his back, but he ignored me. I grimaced; maybe he was upset at having a woman rescue him from a bully, or maybe he was upset that I’d joked about a bromance between him and Thorsen. Maybe next time I rescued someone I shouldn’t insult them at the same time, but it had been Thorsen’s fault; something in him brought out the worst in me. Everyone else seemed to think the sun shone out of his ass, but all I could see was the darkness in him.

When I filtered into our ‘remedial’ class, Eben was already sitting down and Margi was perched at the front. I looked at Marks and mouthed ‘later’. He gave me a slight nod.

As always, I was excited about my supernat class. This one was about dwarves and I could have listened for hours.

‘You’ll know all about dwarves,’ Harry teased Danny. ‘You’re a proper gnome, aren't you?’

Danny’s expression went flat. ‘Good thing we’re friends,’ he muttered, ‘or I’d kick your ass.’

‘I’m missing something,’ I said. Danny was a huge beast of a man, which frequently amused me since he became extremely small when he shifted into a raven. But I didn’t think there wasn’t anything gnome-like about him – although I had no idea what magical gnomes were like. I’d only met the garden variety that Mum thought were terribly gauche.

‘You’re always missing something,’ Eben jibed, his tone still distinctly unfriendly. Okay, so maybe I’d accidentally threatened his masculinity by rescuing him as if he were a damsel in distress. Should I apologise? I’d been trying to help.

Marks’ voice cracked out like a whip. ‘Enough! We’re getting off course. Barrington, a gnome is a derogatory term for a person from Nome.’

Danny looked exasperated. ‘It’s a lame joke about our height.’

‘I thought you were from Ugiuvak?’ I was confused: Danny haddefinitelysaid he was from Ugiuvak.

‘I live there now,’ he assured me. ‘But I was born and raised in Nome.’

‘Okay… But you’re really tall and gnomes are short, right?’ I pointed out. He’d said it was a height joke.

‘Most of us are,’ Danny said. ‘It’s like calling a giant “Tiny”. It’s hilarious, it never grows old.’ His voice was laden with sarcasm.

I grinned, enjoying learning some in-jokes. Marks rapped his knuckles on the board. ‘We are here to talk about dwarves, not gnomes. Eyes front and centre, mouths closed.’

‘Walk me to my dorm later?’ I whispered to Danny as the class was wrapping up. Looking intrigued, he nodded. Apparently he hadn’t been oblivious to my glances during the day. ‘I need to speak to Marks,’ I went on. ‘Wait for me outside with Sidnee. I won’t be a minute.’

I waited until the classroom was empty before approaching Marks. ‘Anything?’ I asked without preamble.

‘Something,’ he said grumpily. ‘All the files for Petrovich’s year are missing. The files for the years before and after are still there.’

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