Page 121 of Magical Academy for Delinquents
My heart felt like the drum solo at a rock concert. It was a rolling, raging pounding mess that nearly made me deaf.Fuck. Fuck.
A man stepped out from behind the plastic, flashlight in hand.
Chapter 46
I pulledthe shadows tight around us, sucking all the light between the lasers out of the room. I couldn’t even see my hand in front of me as I extended it and killed the guard’s flashlight.
I heard the man smack his flashlight and mutter, “Stupid thing. Just replaced the batteries.”
I waited, holding my breath, for him to pull out his wand and parchment and write an illumination spell.
But the guard didn’t seem to think that was necessary. He turned, pushed back through the plastic, and shuffled away.
I think every one of my crew members and I sighed at the exact same moment.
I slowly let the shadows retreat, once I was sure the guard was gone. I looked over at each of the guys, checking their faces. “We all good?” I asked.
Z nodded. Malcolm nodded. But Gray looked a little shaken. The other guys had all pulled jobs before, but I think facing a second guard had taken its toll on him.
“I almost made that guy fall forward,” Gray breathed.
“Hey, you didn’t. And he left. Don’t dwell, nemesis. Or I’ll have to make your dick glow whenever I write that spell for Z’s.”
Zavier scolded me. “Codenames. I’m the magnificent Firefly. Which is a lie, but a funny one, so whatever.”
Malcolm just raised a brow. “You gonna lift those lasers any time soon?”
I leaned forward and let lasers shoot from my hands again. The beam was higher on this side, so Gray had to levitate each guy a bit before they could hop over. When all was done, and the beam was back to normal I turned to face the breakroom only to see the issue that had made my guys pause.
Everything in the breakroom was coated in dust. If we touched anything, we’d leave tracks.
I turned to Gray as I pulled the Good Intentions amulet out of my pocket. It glowed a pale lilac. “I hate to say it, but, you’re up again.”
Gray closed his eyes and tilted his head back toward the ceiling. “I should have gone with a power up.”
“I don’t mind waiting and watching,” Z said.
I ignored him and walked over, sliding my hand into Gray’s. “After this, you get a break. Evan and Malcolm are on next.”
Gray nodded. He gave my hand a single squeeze before letting go, opening his eyes, and pointing his hands at me. “I’m gonna lift you first.”
I nodded. “Remember, we’re handing the amulet person to person. You can’t get into the tunnel without good intentions.” I held up the little orb that fit into my palm. “Clear your minds. We’re going down there to help people—make sure you’re focused on that.”
Z tossed out. “If you can’t focus on that, throw in random thoughts like pizza toppings. Mushrooms, olives, pineapple—”
“Firefly, be serious,” I gritted out.
Andros held up a hand. “He is being serious. Our grandmother used Good Intentions amulets on us when we were younger. They can be outsmarted by random thoughts, neutral thoughts.”
I nodded. “Good to know.” I checked in with Evan, who stood silently in the back. “You good?”
He gave me a slow nod. I didn’t know how to take that, but we didn’t have time for more. We had to move. The goal was to get down, unravel the vault and get out in twenty minutes, before the next guard.
I tapped Gray’s arm and he lifted me and Malcolm. I floated sideways through the kitchen. I reached inside the door handle of the fridge and used my forearm to open it so I wouldn’t leave fingerprints. I was also careful not to touch the outside of the handle and disturb the dust. I climbed just inside the fridge, using my legs to prop me up on either side of the tube. Three feet below me, fire blazed. I felt like I was poised over the mouth of a dragon.
Malcolm grabbed the amulet and squeezed in next to me. He took up the tiny bit of floorspace in the fridge. He handed the amulet back and turned to stare down at the tube, analyzing the flames—we’d only ever practiced with theoretical knowledge of the fire source—while I held up the amulet out for the next person. The fit with Malcolm and I was tighter than we’d thought it would be, our torsos pressed against each other. Every tiny movement he made jostled me, which made me press my legs even harder into the sides of the tubes.
I counted down the seconds, waiting for him to begin.
