Page 79 of Magical Academy for Delinquents
I became nothing but eyes as Claude’s fingers lifted … and blasted my father with ice.
Paralyzed.
Dad was paralyzed.
I was paralyzed.
Motion was impossible. Movement was a dream. A distant, uncontrollable thing. A wish.
Claude took the vial, pocketed it, and climbed out of the car. My dad was stuck staring at the passenger door as it closed.Click. Whoosh.The rush of wind and distant traffic floated through the room as another car door opened. Hands fumbled around my father’s frozen waist, releasing the emergency bake and shifting the car into neutral.
Dad’s car lurched forward.Smack.The car door slammed shut and through the passenger window, the shadows changed as Dad and his car rolled down the hill, gaining speed. In the distance, a bright light, the kind people describe when they talk about heaven, shone.
It grew bigger and bigger.
Hoowooot. Hooowoot.A train whistle sounded.
My knees gave out and I collapsed. Grayson’s grip was the only thing that stopped me from falling.
“Enough!” Zavier leapt up and shouted. “Enough!” He leaned forward and grabbed the Recollection Amulet off of Evan’s lap.
The horrific scene cut off. I stumbled away from the guys just as my dad stumbled out of Evan’s body. He shook his head, like he was clearing it. Then he glanced over at me.
“Where am I? What’s going on? Who are you?”
I leaned forward and puked. Right on the floor.
I would have pitched face first into the puddle of sick if two huge arms hadn’t engulfed me.
Evan scooped me up as Grayson released my fingers.
“We could go to the police, report this,” Zavier offered softly. “Show this memory to them.”
I shook my head. I scrubbed a hand over my face. My throat ached. “Without Darklights on the squad … even with them, my dad’s memory isn’t as reliable as it used to be. Being a ghost … it’s hard. I don’t think a ghost’s testimony …” Plus, with Claude’s connections ... Anger and hopelessness felt like a wire being pulled taut inside me and dragged over my insides, scraping them raw.
Grayson added, “Not to mention the fact that if your mom is anything like my father, anything you say will be suspect.”
I glanced dully over at him and nodded. I had no idea what lay at the foundation of his relationship with his father. But he was right.
Evan turned to the others. “I’m taking her back to her room.” He moved me around me in his arms so that he cradled me, his arm now tucked under my legs.
I shook my head, trying to clear it, though I didn’t try to leave his arms. I wasn’t ready to stand.
I struggled to push back the images from Dad’s memories, or the fact that he was at the door of the study room, trying and failing repeatedly to turn the handle. He’d forgotten he was dead—he did that sometimes. I turned my eyes away, trying to blink back the sheen that made the room get glossy.
I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “I can’t leave until I know if everyone’s in.” I opened them to find Malcolm and Grayson staring at me.
Malcolm asked, “Who was that man?”
To my surprise, Grayson answered before I had a chance. “That’s Claude King. He’s the asshole who told my dad to run for office.”
Grimly, I added, “He’s also the asshole who married my mother.” Claude had known about the serum. “He took the serum. He killed my father. Married my mom. Sold our lab to the Pinnacle.”
Evan added, “So, he’s the one experimenting on vampires. Making them disappear.”
I tossed up a shoulder. “Looks like it.” Hatred vibrated through me. The years and years of feeling my skin prickle with distaste any time the Clod entered a room suddenly felt justified. I hadn’t just loathed him because he’d married my mom. Or because he was a sadistic asshole. My hand rose to touch one of the scars along my neck as vindication soared through my veins. I’d sensed the evil in him lurking under the surface.
I shoved all that away. Emotion had no place in this heist if I was going to pull it off. Claude was simply another enemy. A bigger one. At least now, he was a known entity. I knew what his endgame was. I knew his goals. I knew why he always had chosen ice to punish me—the sadistic fuck.
