Page 40 of Magical Academy for Delinquents
The sound of brush snapping filled my ears and felt as loud as a war drum. I fought to control my breath, my brain trying to tell my body who was in charge. My body wasn’t having any of that shit. I started to close my eyes so I could meditate.
Something whacked against my tree, making my teeth clang together and send painful vibrations up my jaw. I saw a stone lion’s ass charging away from me—it must have clipped the tree—and it leapt through the air, tail whacking one of the tree branches ahead and breaking it—that tail was like a damned spear.
The stone predator was too fast. The lion leapt it stone teeth latching on to the doe. A horrible scraping sound met my ears as the lion ripped the stone animal apart, flinging boulders ripped from the deer’s body in different directions. I cringed as I watched the massive stone cat chomp the deer's head, breaking the poor thing’s face into bits of gravel. Tiny stones dribbled from the lion’s mouth as it chewed. After eating about half of the stone dear, the lion gave a satisfied grumble, and laid down to sleep.
Well. At least I knew what I could do to get past the fuckers. That was something. But damn. I didn’t want to be anywhere near them when they ate. Ever again.
I retreated slowly, eyes always on the lion, grateful I happened to be downwind. I took a deep breath as I returned to the path, clutching my heart. I hadn’t been on the path for five steps before Lundy appeared around a bend, arms on his hips, frustration in his eyes.
“Where have you been?” he thundered.
After seeing the lions, his threats registered at about a two out of ten on the fear scale—possibly equivalent to a screaming toddler who might bite me. I simply stared at him dully for a second before I realized he expected an answer. “I couldn’t breathe,” I finally rasped.
His eyes narrowed but he didn’t dispute anything. “Get over to the nurse then.”
I nodded weakly and Lundy jogged off. Clearly, my medical issues were a top priority. Dickweed.
I stumbled back to my dorm and showered. I let the suds seep out of my hair and wondered if I was taking on too much. I was recruiting two dudes, one of whom was an asshole and the other one … I swallowed hard. The other one knew I was a Darklight. I had to get them to agree to this crazy plan. Then we had to get past guards and lions to get out of here, break into the Pinnacle, steal the serum, and sneak back in time for Lundy to think I was just a brain-dead idiot and not a criminal.
I took a deep breath. Nope. None of that shit. No pity party. Life was hard. I just had to work harder. One step at a time. I was working on the guys. I had to be patient with that. I had time. I stepped out of the shower and realized I didn’t have that much time.
I had two hours to hit up the dark web and research Tocks before my Sunday detention with Ho.
I sighed. School was getting in the way of my life. The only upside to the day was that my new panties had arrived. So I got to slide into a lacey new pair before I lounged across my bed and scrolled through my phone, answering texts from Tia, who wanted Grayson updates, and trying to find the perfect, just released from prison and desperate for money Tock to add to my operation—just normal, everyday teen criminal stuff.
Chapter 18
I’d forgottenabout my appointment with Potts. My phone rang when I was grabbing banana nut muffins from the cafeteria. As soon as I saw the video call request I cringed. Despite the morning terror in the woods, I headed back that way. It was still the most private place on campus.
I made my way to a spot where I could watch the guards at the gate. Might as well do some recon while I appeased mommy by talking to Potts. If I was gonna sneak out of here sometime next fall, which was the earliest I thought I might be able to bring these guys around, I’d need a plan to get past the gate.
Dr. Potts answered on the third ring when I called her back, looking a little unkempt, which I found surprising since she’d been the first to call. Her hair was mussed, and she was still drinking coffee. Since she wasn't taking this that seriously, I set down my iPad and took a bite of my muffin.
"Hey failure," she greeted me.
"Hey Scar," I said in response. "Planning to kill your brother today?"
She looked confused.
"Lion King reference," I rolled my eyes at her.
"Oh. Huh. I woulda’ thought you were too cool for Disney references."
"Only in public."
She gave a gruff laugh. "Alright. How's the first week been?"
"Productive," I said, through a mouthful of muffin. And it had been. I was pretty certain I could convince Malcolm. Grayson wouldn't forgive me for a while. But Evan. I shook my head. He was a problem.
"What's that?" Potts wouldn't let me get away with anything. "What's that head shake mean? What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
"I've got cat videos this week. Not just pictures."
I sighed. "Fine. This guy I hate just transferred here."
"Ohh, I sense gossip. Let me refill my coffee so I can pay good attention." The video wobbled and showed bits of sky and ceiling and a furry patch that I sincerely fucking hoped was one of her cats and not--
