The Culling Trials (Shadowspell Academy #2)(51)

He held a hand up in a half wave. “Hey.”

“What’s he doing here?” Pete spluttered. “He’s not part of our crew.”

“Relax, he’s here to help us find Gregory. Seeing as Wild here is afraid to be alone.” The flash of heat that coursed through my cheeks was surely visible. The way that Colt was watching me was so not helping.

Pete nudged me. “Hey, does he know—”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Wonder Bread told him.”

Pete let out a snarl. “What the hell, man? How are you going to pass the final tests if you can’t keep a secret?”

It was Ethan’s turn to flush. “Look, people are talking. You aren’t hiding it as well as you think, Wild. I mean, look at you. You’re huge for a ‘fifteen-year-old boy.’”

I took a step, fists clenched, and Ethan took a step back. “Not my fault you can’t keep it under your hat.”

A strained silence hung in the room for a few beats before Ethan broke it.

“We have half a day.” He shrugged. “If there is any chance of finding the goblin or the others, we need more help. Colt will help. I trust him.”

He wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t right either.

It struck me that Ethan shouldn’t care enough to bring in outside help. He didn’t even like Gregory. Orin ghosted up behind me, just the slightest change in air pressure tipping me off. Low and quiet, he whispered in my ear, “He thinks Gregory has the cheat sheets.”

Bingo. Then we’d use Ethan, just like he planned to use us.

I made myself smile. “Well, let’s get going then. Wally, you and Pete find out about the girl, Lisa the snake shifter. Ethan, you go with Colt—”

“No,” Orin said, “I will go with Ethan.”

Ethan spluttered, obviously not thrilled with that prospect.

I shot a look at Orin. “We need to keep an eye on him,” he whispered, his mouth barely moving.

Again, a good point. But for good or for ill, that left me with Colt. “Fine. Check out the House of Shade. Colt and I will see what we can discover about Mason.”

When we left the room, Colt quickly fell into step beside me, a few inches taller, broader across the shoulders. Next to a big guy, I didn’t look so masculine, even I could see that. Damn it. A few more days, that was all I needed.

“Mason was roomed down this way, with another guy I know,” Colt said, pointing to the third floor.

I nodded and let him lead.

“Where are you from?” Colt led the way through the mansion toward where Mason had roomed.

“Texas,” I said. Was he flirting with me? How would I know? Me and flirting were no bueno. He blew out a big breath, drew another in, but said nothing else.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one not sure what to say.

We reached Mason’s room and I knocked on the door. A young guy with shockingly bright red hair opened the door. He wasn’t much of a looker, but his eyes were as green as spring grass, and something about him, his stature and the way he held himself, reminded me of Gregory.

“Goblin?” I blurted out. His face fell into a snarl.

Colt snickered. “Jesus, that was badly done.”

“I am,” the red head snapped, long fingers curling around the door.

I held up both hands, palms out. “Sorry. Gregory is a friend of mine. Do you know him?”

“I thought we were here for Mason?” Colt asked.

“Mason is missing,” the goblin snapped, showing sharp teeth. “And Gregory got what was coming to him.”

A chill zipped down my spine. “Why would you say that?”

The door slammed in my face. Or would have had I not stuck my foot into the opening. I pushed my way into the room while Colt said something behind me along the lines of “this is not a good idea.”

But he followed me in. I booted the door shut and grabbed the red-headed goblin by one arm. “What do you mean Gregory got what was coming to him?”

“He thought he was better than us. Because he looks so human. His mom was half human.” He spat the words at me. “He’s a damn pretty boy.”

I frowned. “You could pass for an ugly human. You know that, right?”

“Don’t flatter him,” Colt said. “It won’t work.”

“I wasn’t,” I growled. “Tell me what you know about Gregory.”

The goblin tried to pull away from me, but I tightened my hold on him and locked eyes with him. There was darkness in me, I knew that, and I felt it uncoil like a beast coming awake. It surged up slowly, spreading through my limbs, spilling up into my eyes until everything around me grew still, right down to the pulse of my heart.

The goblin’s eyes widened and he gulped. “I overheard one of the vamps say that they needed to speak to Gregory. That he was doing so well, he wouldn’t have to finish the trials. That he could just skip the rest. Lucky bastard.”

I frowned and the darkness I’d felt leeched out of me like a puff of smoke on the wind. I let go of the goblin and stepped back, shaken by what I’d felt as much as what I’d heard. Like I was a stranger to myself.

Colt gave a low whistle. “I’ve heard about Shades being able to pull the truth from someone, but I’ve never seen it. That is seriously badass.”