Page 24 of Curse of the Shadow

Narrowing her red eyes, Headmaster Patricia glared daggers at Anson. She was still upset with him for his outburst earlier. Now, he was asking to leave the academy and take me with him. Clearly, he wasn’t on her good side.

“I can’t allow all of you to go. If anything happens, I would lose my…” her words trailed off as the underlying meaning of what she was about to say hit us all like a truck. If we all went and were killed, she would lose her entire patrol team. That could be catastrophic for the academy.

“You believe in us enough to allow us to patrol and protect the academy, but you don’t believe we will keep Farrah safe?” Leo asked.

The room fell silent. He made a great argument and even the Headmaster couldn’t argue with him this time.

“If I allow this, only four of you may go,” she intoned. “You will also need to take someone from the new team.”

All of our happiness subsided at the thought of having to take any of those people with us.

Using her phone, she tapped out a message, and in mere seconds, Jax and Luke arrived.

At least she hadn’t asked Violet to come, too. I wasn’t sure I could handle being in a car with her for too long.

“So, I hear we are going on a road trip,” Jax asked, clapping his hands together.

Groaning, Anson rolled his eyes and Candi appeared to be annoyed by his presence.

“Don’t get excited just yet. Only four of us can go,” Anson stated, growling toward the Reaper.

“I suggest you decide who has the abilities to protect Farrah more fiercely,” Headmaster Patricia began. “Knowing Anson, he won’t let her go without him. So, Anson and Farrah will be the first two.”

“I know the Gullah and she gave me the warning,” Candi argued.

“I will shift into my Dragon and fly over the forest to see if there are any new creatures roaming around,” Kindle interjected.

I was almost envious that she would be flying as her Dragon. When I first met her Dragon, she had attacked me, but over time, I grew to find the mystical beast enchanting and endearing. Having Kindle fly over the forest gives us an advantage over the creatures inside.

“I will shift into my Cat and prowl around the basement and exterior of the academy. I will see if I can locate any new scents,” Stella said, her golden yellow eyes already appearing cat like.

I could already imagine Stella in her cat form, prowling on all fours as she hunted for anything that dared threaten her school. She was sassy enough as it is, but when she gets angry — well that’s an entirely different story.

Everyone in the room continued to step up, ready and willing to share how they would support us right now. It was a great feeling to know that so many people cared, even if some of them drove me crazy.

“You need someone with you who has healing powers in case something goes wrong,” Luke adds in with a smirk. “I would love to go and escape this place for a little while, but I think Jax and I need to stay here with the Professor. We are working on some things and need to remain here,” he explained.

Part of me wanted to ask him about this little secret project they had going on, but now wasn’t the time for that.

Suddenly, the office door opened again and Violet sauntered in. My face fell as I took her in. This had to be some cruel joke. Was she just waiting to make some grand entrance just to annoy me?

“Farrah, your emotions are wild right now,” Candi whispered next to me.

“Is she going, too?” I asked, already fearing that I knew the answer.

“I think that would be best,” Headmaster Patricia agreed.

“Sorry, I’m late. I had other things to attend to,” Violet said, not appearing apologetic at all.

“Alright, so Anson, Farrah, Candi, and now Violet will go see the Gullah. You have until midnight and then you must be back at the academy. If you are even one minute late, I will be forced to send reinforcements out to retrieve you,” the Headmaster scolded.

We hadn’t even left yet and already she made it sound like we were in trouble. Eager to leave, we all began moving to the door. Stopping us, Headmaster Patricia gave us one final warning before we left.

“I know this is all happening fast, but I have faith that you will return with answers. Be safe and watch out for one another,” she stated.

We all waved goodbye as we left her office and the rest of our friends. Hopefully, not for the last time.

Chapter 18

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