Nightworld Academy: Term One(Nightworld Academy #1)(34)

Before I can reply, Andrei disappears, his figure crossing the cloisters in seconds as he effortlessly jumps a wall. My head reels. Andrei all but admitted he attacked a human, and the fresh blood on his mouth glistened.

My head lurches. Someone could be on campus and injured. For a split second, I consider heading back to the party and telling Jamie or Ash what I've seen. But I don't want to be the one sending shockwaves through campus. Instead, I could find Andrei's victim and help. Take him or her to a professor. Right?

Victim.

My heart beats faster than when the vision started earlier as I retrace what I think are Andrei's steps through the campus grounds. Did he kill? What happens to students who injure humans? The vampires can't be the only ones who step out of line.

I refuse to head into the darkness, remembering what lurked there last time, as I follow the cloister's rectangular walkway. Who am I kidding? Andrei wouldn't be stupid enough to leave a body lying around.

Reaching the path leading to Petrescu's separate building, I look upwards. I've not set foot into Andrei's house before—never invited and would be uneasy if I were.

If Andrei were going to lure somebody, he'd either pull them into the dark or into his house.

Look at me, Detective Maeve. How ironic that a death leads me away from a vision of one.

Hurrying along the pathway, eager to escape the night, I reach the building. The door creaks as I cautiously push on the wood and step inside.

I'd laugh at the clichés inside if I weren't terrified. Gold-framed portraits on the wall depict beautiful people in centuries-old dress. The walls are painted deep reds with anaglypta wallpaper creating a border of black shapes along the middle. Candelabras on the wall drip with wax and I shudder. I've stepped into a horror movie.

The building's size and shape is identical to Walcott, but couldn't be more different in style to the bright and airy rooms and happy aura. The entrance hallway shape matches too—I know where the students' rooms are if the buildings are identical.

Unsure what insanity grips me, I creep up the steps, holding the smooth wooden stair rail and squinting through the dark. All windows are covered in heavy black drape and though the walls are lined with candles, they barely light my way.

I trip on the top step and land on my hands and knees, swearing at how hard my knees hit the polished wooden floor. A large pair of black boots appear in front of my nose, and I slowly look upwards along long legs in black jeans and a woven purple shirt with a familiar ruby stone hung around his neck.

"Did you lose your way, Maeve?" asks Tobias Whitlock in his honeyed voice. "Or perhaps you're visiting? Although I doubt that, because everybody you know who resides here is at one of Mr. Worthington's illegal parties."

I scramble to my feet and rub my knees. "I think Andrei killed someone," I blurt.

Tobias presses his lips together. "And what evidence do you have for your claim?"

"He had blood around his mouth, told me he'd screwed up, and ran." I pant out the words.

"Why do they have to make life so hard?" Tobias mutters and holds a palm against his forehead. He sighs. "Especially him. Which way did Andrei go?"

Where’s his urgency? "Did you hear what I said? We need to find who Andrei killed."

"Don't be dramatic, Maeve. It's unlikely the girl is dead."

"Girl? How can you be sure?"

Tobias cocks his head. "Why do you think? Show me where Andrei went, and I will deal with the situation."

My legs shake as I walk down the stairs, half-tripping again in the dim light. Tobias catches my arm to steady me and I recoil.

"I'm not stupid enough to hurt you, Maeve," he says in a displeased voice. "I'm a respected member of the academy faculty and have been for over seventy years."

Apologising, I allow him to help me through the shadows and downstairs.

Outside, the moon lurks behind the clouds and I retrace my steps towards the Gilgamesh building with Tobias at my heels.

"I saw him go—" The second I point, Tobias races in the direction Andrei did, and at a similar speed. He jumps up onto the cloister roof, his figure fluid and movement effortless as he does.

Nearby, two other people stand outside the door to the party, and I step back into the shadows. There's no mistaking Ash's imposing frame and Jamie beside him.

They can’t know what happened—but I need to know myself.

The moon remains hidden as I edge my way along the cloister wall back towards the main building. I step from the cloisters and off the path as I see two figures ahead. I wait beneath a tree where the decaying leaves between my feet add an earthy smell.

A side door into the academy building opens and closes as Andrei and Tobias slip inside. Rushing over, I follow them through. They stand in a corner beneath the house crests with Tobias admonishing Andrei. He purses his lips and stares at the floor, hair falling completely into his face.

Tobias looks up as the door closes. "What are you doing here? Leave."

"I need to know what happened."

"None of your business," mumbles Andrei. "Go back to your party."

"If somebody was hurt, I need to let others know." My need lies deeper than that: I want to know if the academy allows human death to go unpunished.

"Andrei. Was somebody hurt?" asks Tobias.