The Culling Trials 3 (Shadowspell Academy #3)(52)

“I don’t think so.” He shook his head. “That guy Rory told me to get your crew and head to the dungeon without telling anyone else. I assumed he’d handle the rest.”

He’d gotten the Sandman. He’d more than handled it.

Ethan had known where to come.

The memory banks that had been locked for the last two days finally opened, and I saw it all over again. The first time Ethan and I had found the hidden dungeon.

The Sandman sneaking up on us.

The other assassin attempting to kill us—only to be stopped by the Sandman.

Gregory reaching for me.

The Sandman had saved my life, only to boot me in the head and somehow take my memory. To effectively make me butt out of his operation while the kids stayed locked in the cells. To use them all as bait. To use me as bait.

And Ethan had helped him do it.

I stared hard at Ethan, feeling the distinct urge to strangle him. “You and I are going to have a chat about lying to each other after this is done. And it will involve me kicking you in the balls to make sure you get my point.”

Ethan’s face was flat, emotionless. “No one goes against the Sandman.”

“Except me.”

We spun as Director Frost stepped from the shadows, wand in hand. With a flick of it, she threw the five of us up and back, pummelling us against the various trees.

I slid down the tree I’d been tossed into, tumbling through the branches, the rough bark tearing at my dress. I wished I were wearing jeans and a shirt instead, but I might as well have wished the ground wasn’t going to hurt when I landed.

The ground came up fast and was as hard as I’d thought it was going to be. But that didn’t stop me from picking myself up and charging the director. Her eyes widened and she smiled as she pointed her wand at me, the tip glowing deep red. I dove to the right, rolled, and came up as she sent another shot my way. One after another, she kept on firing away.

I was doing what I could to pull her eyes to me, to give the others a chance. But they weren’t getting up.

“Waiting for your friends? You’re drawing from them, taking their energy and abilities.” She laughed. “So much natural talent, so raw.”

Part of me knew she was trying to distract me, but I still tried to shut down whatever it was that I was drawing off my crew. Only she was right, I had no idea what I was doing and there was no way I could stop It.

Jared was on his knees still, holding his hands over his face, moaning. “My eyes, my eyes are gone.”

An idea formed, and before I could question it, I acted. I bolted for Jared, spinning him around to use him as a shield as I put my knife to his throat. “You want him back?”

The shadows behind her moved. She’d notice them if I didn’t do something. The fact that she’d bested both the Sandman and Rory spoke volumes.

She was better than them, which meant they would need my help to take her down.

Her eyes hardened and then she laughed, tinkling and light. “You don’t have it in you.”

Only I did. I wouldn’t hesitate to kill to protect those I loved.

I tightened my hold on Jared. “I’ll kill any wolf that comes for my family. No matter what clothing they wear.” I slid my blade across his throat, cutting through to the spine. Just like they’d done with Adam. The blood flowed down over my hands, impossibly cold for fresh blood, as if it had been dead for a long time.

He gurgled and slumped in my arms as the director screamed. “NO!”

With her focus broken, she didn’t see them coming for her.

The Sandman burst out from the shadows on her right side and took her down, wrenched her arms behind her and wrapped them in a gold ribbon of all things, faster than a cowboy hogtying a calf. Then he pulled a golden clamp from under his jacket and snapped it around her neck.

“That will keep you, Frost. You’re done.”

Rory limped out of the shadows, holding his side. Injured, but alive.

I thought for sure she’d keep on screaming, but her silence was almost worse. Cold, deadly silence that spoke volumes. Her eyes locked on mine, and I knew a promise of death when I saw one.

She would not forget what I’d done. That I’d killed her love, Jared, that I’d helped them take her down.

Moments later, the forest was alive with lights as more teachers and students ventured into the trees. I wiped my blade on the back of Jared’s shirt and tucked it away.

For the first time since I’d arrived, I knew for certain I wouldn’t need it.

At least for a minute or two.

After the arrival of the other teachers, testers, and students, everything went to hell. Frost was hauled off to some magical jail that Wally whispered to me was the place where all the baddies went.

We were sent back to our dorms. Wally let me shower first. I couldn’t get the water hot enough to wash off the feeling of Jared’s blood. I couldn’t get warm even though it wasn’t by any means cold outside this late in the summer.

I pulled on cotton pj’s and climbed into bed. Wally kept talking, but I just wanted to sleep. I didn’t want to think about what I’d done. Despite everything we’d faced in the trials, Jared was the first person I’d ever killed. He was a vampire, sure, but I was the reason he’d died.

And Frost’s words clung to me. I wasn’t just a freak of nature for being a Shade, but a Chameleon who could drink down the power of others. Fear jangled my nerves and kept me awake far longer than I wanted.