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A disaster scene always attracted more people than needed. The area was filled with pissed off Naturals, all wanting blood. I didn’t blame them. Alto continued to work on Jayson frantically, which wasn’t good. It was taking too long, and I was worried about the little brownie.
“How did this happen?” Asriel asked, appearing in front of me.
“We have a shapeshifter in here,” I answered in a low voice, scanning our surroundings. I took in each face and tried to find something wrong with them. “He or she or whatever it is, can shift into anyone it wants. I think it’s going around as a student, hiding among them to blend in.” I sighed. “The bastard even managed to look like me.”
“A shapeshifter?” Rophan asked. He tore open what looked like a massive adhesive cloth. His fingers kept getting stuck to the sticky edges. He swore softly as he figured it out. It was comical to watch him lose to a bandage. If it were any other time than that moment, I would have teased him mercilessly for it. “Turn around.”
“That’s going to hurt,” Asriel said.
“She needs it,” was Rophan’s oh so eloquent reply.
I took in a deep breath, preparing myself for the pain that was sure to come. He didn’t wait and smacked the thing onto my back. I yelped and jumped away from him, giving him my best glare. I couldn’t pull off a Vervain glare, but I could do a mean Adeelah version that didn’t have ‘cute’ attached to it.
“Gentle,” I snapped. Coldness seeped into my back, numbing the pain. By tomorrow night, my back was going to be okay, almost as good as new.
“Stop being reckless and I wouldn’t have had to do that.”
“Reckless?” I asked, stepping closer to him, ignoring the pain along my back. “I did everything right.”
“You shouldn’t have gone out alone.”
I groaned. We were back to this again. “You know what? We aren’t doing this again. I was, I alerted everyone to my position as soon as I knew what was going on, and I was going to stay away until one of my students got nearly gutted. So no, I won’t let you make me feel bad about doing my darn job.”
Turning away from him, I focused on Asriel, pretending Rophan no longer existed in my perfect little world. He could yammer all he wanted, I wasn’t going to listen until he calmed down.
“Asriel,” I said pointedly to let Rophan know I wasn’t going to stand there and take him berating me. “The shapeshifter got away.” I pointed to the spot I had knocked them out.
“Shit.” His eyes narrowed as he scanned everyone in the area. “Zen!”
Zen popped up moments later. “What is going on?”
“Hold on.” Asriel grabbed Zen. Zen grunted, a flash of pain crossing his expression.
“What the fuck was that?” he asked.
“We have a shapeshifter.”
Zen’s eyes widened and he did the same as Asriel, scanning the crowd. His jaw tightened. “That explains a lot. And we have no way of verifying who they are in this crowd. Too many people.”
“It took him maybe ten seconds to morph into me,” I said.
“Into you? Is there another Adeelah going around?” Asriel asked.
I shrugged. “Not a good one.” I pointed to my tattoo. “Which is good. The universe can’t handle two of me.”
Chuckling, Asriel said, “I forget sometimes how vain you can be.”
I refused to be apologetic about it.
“How do you suggest we test if they’re still here.” I eyed everyone, trying to find someone off, someone not quite right. It was hard since I didn’t know everyone that well yet. The shapeshifter only stood out as a student because an adult being a kid was hard. There were mannerisms, actions, words, that kids used that adults didn’t. It was a generational thing. They did a better job of imitating my bitter self than they did of the kid they impersonated.
“I can,” Signora Milanesi said, pushing through the crowd.
“Signora Milanesi.” I smiled at the witch. “What are you doing here?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think I could sleep through all this racket?” she asked. “Besides, all that magic. I had to come, leaving my poor dear signor cold in bed.” A light of excitement flared in her dark eyes as she glanced around the area. Light orbs floated all over to keep the area lit up.
Coming closer, she placed her hand on my forearm. “Dear, you need to get your back looked at.” She frowned and shook her head. “Those bandages aren’t always the best and it’d be a shame if you scarred your beautiful skin.”
“Signora, you truly know all the right things to say to me.” I cut Rophan a dark look. “Unlike some men in my life. But don’t worry, Alto will once he’s done with Jayson.”
She nodded, but her frown deepened. She pursed her lips for a moment before shaking her head and breaking out in a grin. I had a feeling she’d rather Alto heal me than the student. Just like I had a soft spot for her, she had one for me too, not that I’d point that out to her. Pointing out a weak spot to a witch like Milanesi was asking for them to make sure it was no longer an issue.
“I came across a shapeshifter once or twice. They aren’t good people in general,” she said.
“You would know,” Rophan said.
“Oh, shush you,” Milanesi said with a wide grin. “I had to create my own little spell, something that would strip them of their shapeshifting form, but not strip those around them of any glamors or enchantments. Naturals get all huffy when you do that to them.” She rolled her eyes like they were the silly ones.
“Great, what do you need?” I asked, excited to see her at work.
“Just space, dear.”
Rophan guided me away with Asriel at my side while Zen cleared everyone else away.
Milanesi drew in a breath, and a ward popped up around everyone instantly. Magic crackled in the air, thick and heavy, all of it coming from Milanesi. Witches had inherent magic, they drew it from within, and I felt what that meant when it came to someone at Signora Milanesi’s caliber. Witches were good at healing, but they were also the best when it came to wards and defensive magic. If a powerful witch like Milanesi put up a shield, no one was going to break it.
All the hairs on my body stood to attention as goosebumps popped up all over my skin, and my instincts told me to hide, to not draw attention, because having all that magic pushed onto one person would kill them.
People called out their displeasure, but the moment they realized it was Milanesi working, they fell silent, eyes going wide, faces pale.
“Everyone locked in to prevent the shapeshifter from slipping out,” Asriel muttered. “She’s smart.”
“She’s a trained predator,” I said. “She knows how to catch her prey.”
No one moved, and barely dared to breathe, scared of what the witch was going to do. I eyed the crowd, trying to ferret out the shapeshifter. Everyone looked the same though; nervous, scared, anxious. They didn’t know what to do and it wasn’t like we were going to give them a warning.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” I sang out underneath my breath.
Rophan snorted.
I returned the favor with an elbow to his gut. His grunt was satisfying.
As Milanesi did her spell and it built up, the only person to continue working was Alto. All other eyes were on her like she was a crazy lady—which she was. Alto remained focused over his patient, his skin pale, face drenched in sweat, eyes intent on his task. Nothing outside of an atomic bomb would break his focus. Well, maybe not even that.
The magic exploded away from Milanesi and traveled through the area. When it hit me, I shuddered as it rained against my skin, skittered around, and then jumped away.
Her magic settled.
No one spoke, wondering what was supposed to have happened as they looked around.
“Did it work?” Zen asked, frowning as he scanned the confused crowd.
“Really, young man?” Milanesi asked in a low and cold voice, a clear warning for him to watch himself. “Who do you take me for? I do not mess up. My spell would have revealed the shapeshifter.”
Zen looked again. I did too, but there was no one there we didn’t know. I matched each person with their position in the academy and to their flavor of Natural.
“Adeelah, are you sure it was a shapeshifter?” Zen asked.
I raised an eyebrow, but before I could say anything, Milanesi spoke.
“Really!” She huffed. “What kind of guard are you? Are you thick-headed? Adeelah knows her Naturals. She’d never make a bungle like that. If she says it’s a shapeshifter, then it is.”
It was hard as I fought my smile, seeing Milanesi get mad in my honor like that. Zen blinked, bemused, unsure how to respond.
“Did your thick head ever consider that they’d already left when they didn’t get what they wanted?” she asked and pointed toward the ward, still intact.
Zen sighed, holding up his hands to show he didn’t mean anything by what he said as he slowly backed away like the smart man I knew him to be. “I’ll talk with my guards to let them know it’s a shapeshifter. Now that we know, we’ll know what signs to look for.”
“He’s a good employee,” Milanesi said.
Smiling, I said, “I like to think so. Now, we should probably have a chat with Jordan.”
“Who is Jordan?” Rophan asked,
“The senior who was here.” I nodded toward Jayson and Alto, where Jordan hovered over the two of them with a pale face. “He was the leader so to speak. I’m pretty sure the shapeshifter was the real leader though. So, a figurehead?” I nodded. “Yeah, he was the one the shapeshifter hid behind as he orchestrated all this.”
“I wouldn’t mind having a chat with the kid,” Asriel said, something sharp and dangerous in his voice.
“How is the ward?” I asked as we walked over to them.
“Fine. They’re repairing the damage. The magic was almost enough to take it down.”
I shuddered at Asriel’s response. If that attack had outright killed Jayson, it would have been enough to work. The artifact would have been exposed, people hurt. “I’m glad.”
Jordan’s eyes met mine, and he paled.
“Relax, I’m not going to kill you for being an idiot,” I said. If anything, that had him freaking even more as a green tinge entered his skin tone.
“Adeelah,” Rophan said under his breath.
I shrugged. “Can you fill us in on what is going on?” I asked.
Jordan’s eyes shifted down to Jayson. His shoulders slumped, and I could practically smell the defeat emanating off of him despite the fact that I didn’t have heightened senses.
He was just that destroyed by these events.
By seeing Jayson nearly killed.
By realizing he’s almost been killed.
And this was exactly why they didn’t have business in learning how to kill.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he whispered.
“But it did.” I sighed. “I understand what being defenseless means. I really do. I understand that hopelessness that settles low in your stomach as your world falls apart around you. The question is, what will you do next? Will you help us or will you remain a bystander as the other students fall to this same fate.” I pointed at Jayson.
Jordan swallowed. “I want to—” His voice cracked, and he licked his lips. “I want to help you.”
“Good. Then come on, we have some questions for you.” I placed my hand on his back and led him away to somewhere more private.
