The long talk I promised Valerie hasn’t happened yet, but it will soon. I promised her that. For now, I’m still trying to recover a week later. Thankfully, all of the bruises and cuts and scrapes have all healed. I’m still sore, though, and will be for a long while yet, I’m sure.
“I can’t believe you get to wear such an amazing gown! And the cape! You’re going to look like a witch princess!” Calli gushes.
I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s… not exactly me.”
“Silly. No one wants to look like themselves at a ball.”
Yes, part of the ball is a celebratory ball with dancing after all, and only those on the three teams are given a choice to pick from the hordes of gowns, capes, suits from the academy’s vault. The entire school is invited, but everyone else has to make do with their own clothes.
Earlier, I picked out my gown, but now, I'm second-guessing it. Calli ignores my protests and helps me dress. The sweetheart neckline dips a little lower than I would like, and the bodice is actually a corset that is comfortable and functional, pin-tucked silk. The silk charmeuse gown is a beautiful olive green that fades to sage, the color for witches of course and why I chose this particular gown. The neckline and chest panel has beaded lace, and a small ribbon is belted in the front, connected by an ornately detailed diamond-shaped clasp with an oval cut out, the tail end of the belt flowing down the center, touching the ground and even with the bottom of the gown.
And the cape! Even I love it, and I’m not overly girly. The chiffon cape is an ombre, the same shades of green, and it drapes over my arms and back, clinching at the neck with a gem-studded, golden clasp.
Calli fusses with my hair, curling it, and then does my makeup. I refuse to be overly done up, but she respects my wishes, and I look natural.
“You’re so lovely.” Calli sighs.
“Um, aren’t you going to get ready?” I ask. She’s still wearing a skirt and blouse.
“I’m more worried about you. Rubbing shoulders with royalty and third years.” She wiggles her shoulders.
I laugh and playfully shove her. “You’re ridiculous.”
“No, you are. What are you wearing on your feet?”
“My flats.”
“No. Absolutely not.” She digs through her trunk and produces silver heels. At least they’re only two inches. “Don’t worry. They’re super comfortable.”
“Sure they are,” I murmur, but I put them on.
She smirks. “And?”
"For now at least, they're comfortable."
“Good. Go. I’ll catch up.” And she literally shoves me out the door.
It's embarrassing to be introduced to the entire room as one of the team members. I'm amazed there's a building on campus large enough to have the academy student body in it with room for dancing as well as tables for eating the feast Malak and I wished for, but I can't eat. I'm too anxious as the music starts.
The kings and queens all dance the first dance, and then, halfway through the song, the other team members all partner up, and I’m dancing with Malak. He immediately sets me at ease, but I keep glancing at Darius. I can’t help it. He and Miyako look so uncomfortable.
“Go cut in,” Malak says.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want Darius to get the wrong idea.”
“Wrong idea? You two make a great team.”
“He’s one of my tutors.”
"He has to be a friend, too, right?"
“Yes,” I say slowly.
“And he’s not entirely ugly,” Malak continues. “Not as good looking as I am, but then, not everyone can be as handsome as me.”
“Modest too don’t forget,” I tease.
“Go.”
I narrow my eyes. “You want to dance with Miyako?”
He shakes his head. “I mean, I will, but this is for you.”
Confused, I glance at Darius again. He’s so stiff and formal, clearly ill at ease. Maybe he hates dancing.
Or hates dancing with his ex.
I lower my arms from Malak and cross over to Darius and Miyako. “May I cut in?” I ask.
Darius’s gray eyes fill with relief, and Miyako immediately walks away, seemingly relieved too.
With Malak, I know where I stand. We’re friends. Nothing more. I had been comfortable dancing with him. With Darius, I’m worried I’m too close, too far away, not moving in time, too fast, too slow.
“Relax,” he murmurs.
I flush, realizing that he’s definitely dancing easier with me than he had with Miyako.
“That’s better.” Darius smiles, his eyes warmer than I’ve ever seen them. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you. You do too. Handsome, I mean.”
And he does, wearing an ombre suit, a big contrast from sage green to black. His shirt is silver, as is his bow tie.
“You did me proud,” he says, his eyes shining. The room—ballroom I guess—is decorated by a thousand suspended crystals that reflect and refract lights, casting rainbows everywhere including in his eyes.
“So you’re taking credit for everything I did because you were one of my tutors?”
“Damn straight.” He laughs and then grows more serious. “You exhibited a great deal of control over your arcane magic.”
“I had no choice.”
“Sometimes, being under pressure can hinder, but sometimes, it can help. I knew having you on the team would be a benefit.”
“Thank you for believing in me.”
“Of course.” Darius hesitates. “I wasn’t sure about you at first, but you really surprised me. In a good way.”
“I’m glad.”
And I think I surprise us both by lifting onto my toes and kissing him on the cheek.
A throat clears. I'm not sure how many songs Darius and I have danced through, but I should probably dance with others, so no one gets the wrong idea.
I glance over, and immediately, my cheeks grow warm. Kayden.
Darius nods to me, releases me, and heads off to the side where the other kings have gathered. They aren’t wearing crowns, but there is no mistaking them.
“I can’t wait to hear all about what happened,” Kayden says.
I smile and step into his arms. We aren’t exactly dancing anything formal like a waltz, but it’s not dancing to today’s music either.
“I would’ve told you if I could,” I assure him, “but that gag order…”
One of the traditions is that the king and queens give a combined speech to explain how their quest went. It should be happening soon, and then one of the three teams would be chosen as the winner. What exactly that entails, I don’t know, but regardless of what happens, I’ve made my peace with what happened. I might never see Lapis Draca again or even learn her baby’s name, but I’m happy that everything worked out in the end.
“It’s all right. When I heard you were going after the gargoyle dragon…” He shakes his head, grinning. “Things really worked out, huh?”
“You can say that. Thank you, Kayden, for coming with me to the orphanage that day.”
“You are going to take me back there, right?”
“Yes. One day but, um, not the next time. I need to have a talk with a friend first.”
“No problem.” He glances around.
“Who are you looking for?”
"I was just… You were on the third-year team."
“Yes. The king is one of my tutors.”
“Oh. Just a tutor?”
What exactly is Darius to me? More than a tutor, that’s for sure.
“A friend too,” I say.
“Oh. He’s the one…”
“That you cut in on, yes.”
“That you kissed.”
Is that jealousy in his tone? I’m confused by wanting to argue with him that I’m allowed to kiss whoever I want, and it hadn’t even been on the lips!
Without warning, the music stops, and I back away from Kayden. I don’t know why I’m so nervous around him, and thanks to Malak, I’m all confused about everything.
Then, the crowd parts, and Jaidos along with the mentors and masters march through to the center of the ballroom. He calls forth the kings and queens, and Valentina and the first year king, a gorgon named Chevor, speak first.
“Our assignment was to locate and hunt down an evil manananggal named Sumul,” Valentina starts.
“In case anyone is unfamiliar with manananggal, they are similar to vampires, can grow wings like a bat, and can sever their bodies at their waists.”
“Absolutely hideous, ugly creatures,” Valentina says, screwing up her face in revulsion.
A mentor flashes her fangs.
Valentina’s expression turns blank.
“They don’t just drink blood,” Chevor says. “They also eat flesh, and this one had been drinking and eating people in Sonoma. We hunted Sumul in El Pueblo de Sonoma, tracked down his exact location, and called in our mentor.”
“We even got there in time to save a human’s life,” Valentina says smugly.
Chevor scowls, and I’m so tempted to read his mind, but I don’t. Valentina shoots him a glare, and I know they’re omitting something. What do you want to bet that she forgot to wipe the human’s memory?
Cheers arise from the crowd, and I politely clap.
Next, the second year king and queen are given the floor. I don't recognize either of them.
"A lich named Brikdur was our target," the king says. "A real nasty skeleton we found in Mountain View. He was converting a person or two a week, mostly homeless people so that no one would realize that people were disappearing."
“By converting, Brikdur was trying to amass an army. He killed the people and brought them back as mindless slaves willing to do his bidding.”
"And willing to die for him," the king says grimly. I think he has to be an elf. He's so regal, almost medieval-looking in his attire. The queen has to be a fairy of some kind. Ah. She's hovering ever so slightly above the ground. An air fairy is my guess, a sylph.
“We had to kill every last one of his army, all twelve of them,” the queen says. “We tried to bring them back, but there was nothing left of their former selves. They were truly mindless, basically dead bodies and nothing more with no brains or thoughts of their own.”
“We cornered Brikdur and tried to convince him to stop, to change, but he refused.”
“We called in our mentor, but before he arrived… Brikdur killed himself. He didn’t want to be captured.”
I cover my mouth, horrified. That couldn’t have been easy to witness at all.
Darius and Miyako wait until the cheers end to take center stage.
“We were assigned Lapis Draca, a gargoyle dragon,” Darius says. “She was hounding the orphanage where Mirella lived before coming here.”
“Lapis Draca had started fires and had been terrorizing the children there, but not because she intended to inflict harm or inspire fear,” Miyako says.
“She did kidnap one of Mirella’s friends,” Darius adds.
Miyako nods. “We had to move and quickly. We… We never even consulted our mentor about the plan.”
Whoops.
“The gargoyle had a stone egg and thought the baby dead. She attacked us,” Darius says.
“Well, we provoked her,” Miyako points out.
"We did, and it wasn't an easy battle. But Mirella realized the stone baby wasn't actually dead. Its heart was beating, but only about one beat a minute. The baby was dying."
“Mirella saved the baby by creating a patch or maybe more heart muscle to close the hole,” Miyako says.
Um… why aren’t they mentioning the heroics of everyone else? None of the other team kings or queens went into this many specifics. I fidget, uncomfortable, and seek out the other team members from the crowd. They’re all beaming, proud as can be.
“The baby hatched, and Lapis Draca flew off and returned with her baby and Mirella’s friend.” Darius looks as stoic as ever as he announces, “We hunted down our target and determined she wasn’t evil. She had noticed powerful magic at the orphanage from Mirella and brought her egg there because she knew something was wrong, only Mirella wasn’t there. She thought her baby was dead and lashed out, feeling wronged by Mirella’s disappearance. Her grief spurned her actions, not hatred, not malicious, and we let her go. We never called in our mentor. We hunted her. We did what was asked.”
There’s almost no applause at all as the third years move to stand beside the other royal pairs.
The headmaster Jaidos and the other instructors huddle for a long while. The crowd grows restless, and even I, who am not a dancer, wish the music would start up again so we can talk and dance and mingle while we wait. Instead, we just stand around awkwardly.
“The purpose of the ball, of the quests, is to gain valuable field experience, yes,” Jaidos says, his voice booming, echoing against the walls despite the massive area, “but it is also supposed to be within the confines and rules of the establishment, of the academy. The third years did not notify their mentor once of their decision to go after their creature.”
“Being,” I correct under my breath, and Kayden smiles at me, but I’m too agitated to even look directly at him.
"The first years neglected to realize that the manananggal had amassed a collection of humans to drink and feed on that needed to be rescued. Their mentor had to go in after collecting Sumul and free them herself."
Valentina gapes at Chevor. The two of them look thoroughly embarrassed.
“The second years did well but not well enough. They overlooked the fact that the twelve mindless men and women were only one branch of the lich’s army. Brikdur had two other factions, each containing twelve members. Likewise, your mentor had to clean up your mess.”
The stricken looks on the faces of the second years' royal couple churn my stomach. I can sense how hard their quest had been for them, and I hope they aren't plagued by nightmares about it. Fighting the undead and then watching their target commit suicide when he could have been brought in instead had to leave a lasting impression and not a good one.
“As such,” Jaidos continues, “one might be inclined to think the ball is a draw, that no one rose above to the high standards that we have here at Magical Hunters Academy.”
He pauses, gazing out at the crowd, turning in a circle, his penetrating stare landing on the royal couples standing in a line.
“One would think wrong,” the headmaster says. “There is a clear and definitive winner. There is only one team that sought to find the motivation of the target. There is only one team that learned the true nature of their target. There is only one team that realized that evil isn’t evil.”
“The manananggal was hungry and thirsty,” Chevor says. “That was his motivation.”
"Actually, Sumul had been attempting to rid the town of parasites. Most of those people you thought were homeless were not. Most of them were criminals. Some committed violent crimes. As for Brikdur, he had once been a powerful witch, but he had been cursed by one more powerful than he, one far eviler than he, so evil that this person's bloodline had been contaminated. He had been eradicating that threat from the face of the earth. Was he wrong to do so? Yes and no, but his plan for his army was not to dominate the entire world but to save Brikdur's own lineage. He had a son who still lives and whom he had wished to protect without his son ever learning what his father had become."
Brikdur’s suicide was even more heartbreaking now. He thought his goal would never be accomplished, and whoever this person was who cursed him sounded like the true villain.
“The witch who cursed him is dead, the line wiped out. Brikdur accomplished that goal, and we will see to it that his son is taken care of, whether or not his son exhibits magical abilities.”
I’m choked up, and I blink rapidly, hoping no one realizes how moved I am. Brikdur might be dead, but his life’s work would be completed regardless.
“Nothing can compare to the love a mother has for her child. Lapis Draca lashed out against the world in grief and anger. We all say and do things in the heat of the moment that we later come to regret. Lapis Draca does deserve a second chance and the ability to raise her son in peace. For looking into your target’s mind and heart, for realizing that evil acts do not always come about from evil beings…”
Here, Jaidos pauses to smirk at me. Maybe it’s foolish, but I smile back.
"The third-year team wins. Their prize is ten days that they can take together or separately as vacation time to do as they wish, even to leave the academy grounds."
My heart swells. I can go and visit the orphanage!
Now, the assembly finally cheers for us, and I’m pushed forward, to join my team members. We hug each other as a group, and somehow, I end up pressed against Darius. It’s awkward, but it’s not. It’s embarrassing, but it’s not. It’s fun, but it’s not.
The music starts up again, and I have only one second before Kayden breaks in again.
You’re the reason why we won.
Darius and I danced in silence, but now he wants to talk?
We all are, I counter.
“You seem distracted,” Kayden says.
“I’m sorry. I’m not.”
“I congratulated you three times now.” He sighs and hangs his head. “I guess I just can’t compete with a third year.”
“Stop. There’s no competing, and moping doesn’t look good on you.”
“No? What does?”
“Fishing for compliments doesn’t either.”
“You really know how to crush a guy’s spirit.”
“Better than his toes.”
“Um… you’ve only stepped on my toes three times already.”
"No, I haven't. Have I?"
Kayden laughs and nods. “It’s all right. I don’t mind, and I don’t scare off either.”
“You shouldn’t be scared.”
“Why are you?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re trembling.”
Am I? I’m a bundle of nerves, coming off the high of winning, and I don’t want Kayden to start up a feud with Darius. Maybe it would be best to just continue as I’ve been, studying hard, training hard, without a guy to bog me down. Yes. That’s for the best.
For now at least.
Just then, Valentina dances by, in the arms of Chevor. “It’s not as if her life is blessed. It’s more cursed.”
“Who?”
“Mirella Sharpe. I mean, yes, her parents were powerful witches, or were they? Not powerful enough to prevent their own deaths. After all, they were murdered.”
I gasp, pull away from Kayden, and stalk toward Valentina before she could dance away.
“What do you mean my parents were murdered?”
Valentina rolls her eyes. “I knew you were ignorant, but I didn’t think you were stupid, too. Yes, your parents were murdered. No, no one knows who did it, but honestly, if I were you, I would consider running off back to that orphanage and never using magic again.”
“Why would you even suggest that?” Kayden growls, angling himself to stand between us.
I don’t need him to protect me, and I walk around him. “There’s no chance that I’ll—”
“I’m only worried for your safety,” Valentina coos, sticking her nose in the air. Her gown is all black with red lace roses, and she looks amazing. Elegant black gloves reach up to her elbows, and she had been dancing with so much grace that I might actually be starting to hate her.
“Her safety?” Kayden looks ready to kill Valentina, but he would have to get in line.
“What if the murderer wants to end the entire Sharpe line? He or she might come looking for you, especially since you’re… making waves.”
Chevor’s been standing there the whole time, watching the exchange. He appears as uncomfortable as Darius and Miyako had earlier. He gives me a sympathetic look and ushers Valentina away.
“Do you want to dance?” Kayden asks.
“No.” I stalk off to the nearest wall, putting space between the ballroom and me.
“Don’t let her get to you.”
I just wearily rub my forehead. Leave it to Valentina to ruin the ball for me. I doubt she would lie. Not about something like this, not about something that can be researched and uncovered. It’s possible Mentor Le Rogue didn’t know, but I will find out the truth about what happened to my parents, whether they were murdered or not.
And if they had been killed, well, I was lenient with Lapis Draca, but I will not be so lenient again.
Thank you for reading Paranormal Hunters! I had a blast writing this story. Creating the world, the school, all of the different various paranormal creatures… I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!
Book two, Paranormal Slayers, is available now!
The Magical Hunters Academy trilogy is part of my A Mayhem of Magic World Story universe which starts with my Bedlam in Bethlehem series. It’s so much fun to keep expanding this world!
Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed Paranormal Hunters! I love to read my reviews. Thank you!
Until next book,
~Nicole