Bloodline Secrecy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 2), Lan Chan [readict TXT] 📗

But try to make an effort to speak to some of your school friends who are connected to Council members. I’m this close to being able to get something in front of them.”

“Urgh.” Sophie cut off the connection.

She flung herself back onto her bed and groaned.

“Girls!” Basil shouted. That was his way of letting us know he wanted to come in. He had no way of knocking otherwise.

I opened the door to find him pacing. There was a piece of paper folded up on the floor beside him. “What’s that?” I asked.

“I wrestled it from some girl at the library,” he said. He looked like he’d had another run-in with a wild animal. Half of the stitching on the side of his soft head was coming apart.

“Jeez, what did you do?”

“She wouldn’t give it up, so I had to fight her for it.”

He stomped inside leaving me to pick up the piece of paper. I grunted when I saw what it was. Sophie cursed when I showed her. It was a petition not to allow low-magic users to be part of the Council.

“That’s ridiculous,” Sophie said.

“It’s been a few days since they painted our door,” I said. “I think they’ve found another way to get to us.”

I grabbed my repair kit.

“Stupid is what it is,” Basil said.

“Agreed.”

“What I mean is that it’s the perfect way to let us know exactly who doesn’t like you. A list of suspects, if you will.”

Sophie and I grinned at each other.

“Anyone we know?” I asked her. Basil hopped onto my lap. It was disconcerting as always to be stuffing him with cotton and stitching his head back up. “Some of the knitting is ripped. I’m going to have to patch it up.”

“No surprises,” Sophie said. “It’s a pretty short list as well.”

“Well, wonders never cease.”

I spent the rest of the night learning how to knit a patch so I could put Basil back together. I kept thinking how crappy it would be if he completely unwound. Without a body to inhabit, his soul would dissipate. That thought freaked me out completely. I’d gotten used to having him around.

Two days after the petition incident, I was called into Jacqueline’s office again. She pulled out a piece of paper form the in-tray on her desk. “We’ve managed to find someone to train you in the use of the demon blade,” she said. “Unfortunately, there are some stipulations.”

“How so?”

She pushed the paper over. What I saw on it was a mugshot. The name underneath the picture made my stomach drop. “Skander Rameros? The serial killer?”

We’d learned about him in Demonology 101. He was a high mage who had turned to dark magic in order to overtake his peers. Thanks to the kids being so young, I’d had to go to the library to get more info about him. Sixteen human sacrifices and a terrorist-scale attack later, he was supposed to be spending the rest of his life in the Dominion prison.

“Outside of a demon, he’s the only one with the expertise to give you an insight into how to properly wield the sword.”

“I think I might be better off just winging it. This is the last thing my reputation needs.”

“I know it can feel that way, but this will all blow over. In time, the other students will either get bored or come to see that you were speaking the truth.”

“I don’t understand. Surely we can’t have any criminals coming into the Academy.”

“We’re not,” she said. “The prisoner can’t be removed from the premises of the Dominion prison.”

It took a second for the meaning of what she said to kick in. “You’re sending me there?”

Jacqueline nodded. “We’ll have to send guards with you to ensure your safety. But there’s no other way around it.”

“What does he get out of this? Why would a criminal choose to help me? I don’t want to learn knowing that it’s because a murderer is getting a reduced sentence.”

Jacqueline smiled. “We’ve struck a deal with him. He still has a child living in the human world. She doesn’t know about him of course. We’ve agreed to ensure she is well looked after in return for his cooperation.”

I stared out the window. “Why would you do this for me? I don’t need to be trained.”

“Durin did it actually. He’s fronting both the money and the resolve. The rest of the Council were very vocal in their objections. But he can be very persuasive.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Are you sure?”

I thought of the battlefield littered with supernatural bodies. I nodded. “Deadly sure.”

“Alright. I’ll inform Kai and Astrid.”

“Wah?”

“They will escort you to and from your lessons.”

I knew there had to be a catch.

14

When I told Diana about going to the prison, I thought she was going to have a coronary. “What do you mean you’re going to the Dominion prison?” she screamed. Thankfully we were jogging around the billabong and not somewhere with lots of people. Sophie trailed behind us. I’d already told her. She only shook her head and groaned.

“Are you hearing this?” Diana shot back at her.

“She already knows how I feel about it.”

“Who’s your instructor?”

“Skander Rameros.”

Diana stopped running. Her eyes darted around. “The high-mage terrorist?”

“The very same.”

“I wish I could sign the low-magic petition,” Diana said. “These people who are in charge are insane. And Kai is actually going to deliver you to this psycho every fortnight?”

“I have to do this,” I said. “Otherwise how am I ever going to learn to wield the demon blade?”

“Is it really worth wielding?” she asked. “It’s friggen been forged in the fires of the Hell dimension. By dark elves no less. Is that really something you want to be involved with?”

Not really. If I had a choice I would be running for the hills. Unfortunately, choice was not one of the things on the menu.

“I’m a little tired of training and getting nowhere,” I said.

“You only feel that way because you’re fighting me.” She grinned. I couldn’t help grinning back. “But what if you get comfortable