Page 51 of Baneful Magick

I chuckled, reaching into my coat for a cigarette. “I grew up in both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts where cat and mouse is an art form.” Inhaling deeply, I breathed out a small bit of fire to light my smoke without a lighter. It would tide me over until I could get back to my room for more opium.

“So maybe one of the fae students,” Falke replied, unbothered.

“I doubt it. What use would they have for the organs? I can’t feel anything from the student. The attack must have drained her of magick.” Thatcher looked away from the body, directing his words at us.

“What about the students?” Julian inquired, changing the subject. He watched the necromancer closely. “Some upperclassmen are standing guard at the dorms to keep the others safe and inside during the lockdown.”

“We do notcoddleour students,” Thatcher snarked. “Tell them to stand down and get back to their rooms. As for what happened here, the students don’t need to know.”

“Is that really…” Falke’s question faded as Thatcher walked away.

“Remember your place, centaur, and do your job.” The words were tossed over his shoulder without looking back. Tension built with each of Thatcher’s footsteps. He only stopped for a moment to tell us to clean up the mess before morning classes began tomorrow. Even I was surprised by the president’s dismissive attitude about the matter.

It was true that Greywood didn’t coddle. There were no orientations or hand holding to walk people through things. We toughened up our students because the world would do it much more harshly if we didn’t get to them first. Life wasn’t easy. There were no guarantees, and the ones that would be viewed asoutsiders, like many of our students, needed to know how things were going to be.

But the idea of destroying the body and acting like the student didn’t even exist… That didn’t sit right with me. Everyone deserved to be remembered.

“What should we... Never mind.” Falke stopped speaking once my magick stirred.

I inhaled, the darkness of the smoke unfurling in a golden glow as my eyes began to shine. My fire magick flared, covering the entire hall in bright flames. Neither Falke nor Julian reacted, but the professors on the other end of the hall jumped and rushed away, leaving the three of us alone. We silently watched the flames burn away the blood and whatever else was left of the student.

“A funeral of fire and smoke. A fitting sendoff.” Julian nodded a few times. “So what are we going to do about this?”

“Thatcher already said what was going to be done.Nothing,”I replied, occasionally scrunching my nose when a whiff of burnt flesh hit me. I took another drag to get the taste of it out of my mouth.

“Yes, but what arewegoing to do?” The vampire looked at myself and Falke with a calculating expression. We all knew the other professors would follow Thatcher’s lead.

“I can increase internal security without raising too much suspicion,” the centaur said, his tail flicking. “Do we have any idea of what to look out for?”

“They took the heart, liver, and left hand.” I slowly reined in my magick, letting the flames die down to reveal a clean, dark hallway. “They must have a use for them.”

“A ritual?” Julian mused before shaking his head. “I’ll do some research, but that doesn’t narrow anything down.”

What we needed was more information, and that meant another body. Another death.

Flashes of black hair, a sassy mouth, and hazel eyes made me think of Isla Hallowes. My obsession had been roadblocked by my duties these past few days. If she were the next victim, would I finally be free of her siren call? I didn’t think so, and the tumultuous swirl of my magick made me believe that my reaction would be explosive at best.

“Or they ate them,” Falke said.

Julian and I gave him a pointed look, but the man just shrugged, “What? They could have. The heart and liver are a delicacy for most.”

“And the rest?” I asked dryly.

“If you’re starving, you don’t question what you’re lucky enough to eat,” Falke replied with a hushed tone. “I have a few contacts. Let me see if I can pull some strings and get more assistance keeping an eye on the students. Do you think the others will question our efforts?”

“No,” Julian replied. “I doubt it, and we need to keep it that way.” That last bit was aimed at me.

I barked out a laugh and shook my head. “My interests are my own. That has never and will never change. Or are you talking about something else?”

“This isn’t the time or place–” Julian protested.

I tsked at the man, enjoying his annoyance at my interruption. “You need to watch your back, vampire. I’m not the only person Thatcher keeps a close eye on.”

“Play your word games with someone who cares. I don’t know what you mean,” Julian bit off.

“Well, there's Bricriu–” I started, but he instantly cut me off with a menacing glare.

Julian snarled. “It’s not just me who is getting close to a student. I’ve seen the way you watch the witch.”

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