Page 35 of Dead Wolf Falling (Bad Moon Academy 2)

Darkness shrouds her features, and she huffs. “Don’t worry, Raven. Your time will come. Try not to be a hero.” Then she disappears into thin air.

I look behind me, expecting her to appear where Everett stands, but she doesn’t. Erron is shaking, a pathetic hunch to his shoulders. If she’s not coming for them, she’s gone after Jackson. Running up the stairs, I use my supe hearing and try to find him. It takes me a moment because I haven’t been around him much, but I hear panting coming from the third-floor west wing.

A throaty scream fills the air, but there is no pleasure in the cry. Fuck. I reach the third-floor landing and careen down the west hall, racing toward the sound. Sliding to a stop in front of a door to what I assume is his room, I shove it open. Jackson’s body is contorted on the ground, like he thrashed back to escape her reach but didn’t make it in time. His face is ashen. Placing my trembling fingers on my mouth, I shoot my gaze around the room, searching for Jinx.

“Boo,” she whispers from behind me, kicking me in the middle of the back.

The force of her hit has me stumbling further into the room. The door slams shut by the time I whirl around to escape, but Jinx leans against it, blocking my way out.

“That was stupid.”

“Maybe, but I had to try and stop you. I can’t just let you kill people for fun.”

She tsks. “Oh, love, I thought you’d figured it out by now. They’re not exactly dead.”

Narrowing and sliding my eyes to where Jackson’s prone body lies, I curl my top lip. “He looks dead to me.”

“I mean, if you consider the vessel in which his soul lived the only way he can be alive, then I guess you’re right. He’s dead.”

The only thing worse than a demon spirit is a condescending demon spirit.

“You’re not consuming his soul. . . you’re using it?”

Pulling her hands from behind her, she claps and struts toward me with an exaggerated sway to her hips. “You. Are. So. Smart.”

“You’re a bitch,” I say, lifting my brow.

She pouts. “You wound me, Raven. I thought we were friends.”

“I’d definitely remember befriending a psychotic demon. Sorry, we’re not friends.” I lift my chin and stare at her. Her milky white eyes swirl and glint with malice.

Ugh, I think I hate her.

Youthink? I ask Joan.

Jinx stops two feet away from me. “You’re sure about that?”

My face screws up in frustration. She thinks she has the upper hand, but I can’t think of how or what she might be hiding. There is no mistaking the eager twist of her lips as she prepares to drop a bomb. Stomach churning with unease, I purse my lips, trying not to let her see how she affects me.

“Raven?” a familiar voice asks right before fingers tap my shoulder.

Craning my neck, my eyes widen as I take in a mess of brown curls, brown eyes, and Morg’s signature grin. I blink, unsure if what I’m seeing is real or if it’s a vision. Reaching for her, I fully turn and grab her arms, gasping when she’s completely solid. She’s not a spirit. She’s not a ghost. Morg is alive.

I knew it. If Jinx had truly killed her, she would have found a way to communicate with me from the other world, especially since I told her I was a medium not so many days ago.

Then she’s gone in a puff of air. My hands are still raised like they’re cupping her arms.

“Raven?” she asks from behind me.

I spin, only seeing Jinx, who is wearing a Cheshire smile as she twirls a lock of black hair. Stomach dropping with the sudden understanding, I take a few steps back, tripping on Jackson’s body and landing on the ground with a hard thud.

“Are you okay?” Jinx asks using Morg’s voice. Her facial features shift, and suddenly she’s wearing Morg’s face. “Raven, what’s wrong?”

Scrambling back when she advances, I press into the wall and scream. Jinx cackles and hops over Jackson, landing in a crouch in front of me. She still looks like Morg, straight down to the teeth. Something flickers on the edges of my vision, and I move my attention to the shape materializing. It morphs and curves until Morg stands behind Jinx, who now wears her true face, and they both chuckle.

“Raven, what’s wrong?” they ask in eerie unison.

A fist pounds on the door when I scream again. Kicking at Jinx with all my might, I try to force her back. The demon disappears, leaving me in the room with Morg, who isn’t at all who I thought she was. Morg is a part of Jinx. She was never real.

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