Azure Dragons (Supernatural Shifter Academy #2) - G. Bailey Page 0,55

away the key until it’s time to strap them to a lab table.

“Do you recognise any of those faculty members?” Silas asks, coming to a stop alongside us.

“One of them is American,” Josie replies. “The other is Myrtle Thorne; I’ve done a few jobs with her in the past. A fight will just draw attention, so we’re going to have to talk our way out of this. Follow my lead, okay?”

We nod in agreement and trail behind her as she straightens up and heads down the path towards where the others are assembled. As we get closer, Hazel notices us and her eyes go wide; I give my head the slightest shake, and she seems to understand, not saying anything. “There you are,” Josie says, really playing it up as the other faculty members turn to her. “I was worried we wouldn’t get here in time.”

“Josie?” The blonde woman on the left looks surprised. “What are you doing here? I thought you were-”

“Dead?” Josie shakes her head, giving a dry chuckle. “You’re not the first one.” Turning back to us, she continues, “There’s been a change of plans. Hawthorne wants these students transported to a different facility, ASAP.”

“Really?” The second woman frowns. “We haven’t heard anything about a transfer.”

“It’s last minute,” Josie replies. “Something about substandard testing equipment - the facilities at the Academy haven’t been used in years.”

The two women look at each other. “That’s… odd,” the blonde woman says.

“Of course it is,” comes a new voice. I whirl around to see the man himself, President Hawthorne, coming over the rise of the hill, his hands in his pockets and a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He’s flanked by two other faculty members I don’t recognise, but they look ready for a fight. “That’s because it’s not true.” He raises his eyebrows at Josie. “Long time no see, Ms. Everhart. You’re looking a little worse for wear.”

“Hawthorne,” Josie says, her eyes widening. “What are you doing out here?”

“I came to make sure the transport of these fine students goes smoothly, of course,” Hawthorne replies, “and by the looks of it, it’s not.” He nods to the men flanking him. “If you would be so kind as to restrain Ms. Everhart, here, it would be greatly appreciated. It looks like the students aren’t the only problem that needs to be addressed, here.”

The men move forward; I tense up, and all of a sudden there’s a great gust of wind; Silas has transformed, shooting up into the sky like a firecracker before letting loose a jet of fire that lights up the night air.

That one burst of magic is like a starter’s pistol at a race, and in an instant, we’ve descended into chaos.

Chapter 21

Hawthorne’s men are on us before I can even react, charging forward and changing in one swift movement. Suddenly they’re both in dragon form, too, their great wings generating a large enough gust of wind to send us all stumbling back. Hawthorne hangs back, letting his henchmen do the dirty work, and I realise with horror that the two faculty fellows are shifting too, and they’re not on our side: the blonde one shifts into a witch, while the other shifts into a wolf, and now all four of them are charging us. Silas lets out another burst of flame, which buys us a little more time as it forces the others back, and I see Landon and Shade shifting out of the corner of my eye. I summon my own power, calling to mind my witch form, and in a few seconds my skin is turning red as my body pulses with magical energy.

If only I knew more spells, I think, raising my hands, but now isn’t the time to be picky. Trying to emulate the ease with which Josie uses her powers, I unleash a burst of telekinetic energy at the wolf shifter, who is already nearly on top of me. Shade takes advantage of the opening and jumps into action, tackling the other wolf as they tumble away in a blur of claws and fur. Landon, meanwhile, his scales shimmering in the moonlight, lets out a siren scream so powerful that it sends a shock wave up into the air, which collides with the dragons’ most recent gust of wind, preventing it from knocking us over. I watch as Silas shoots across the sky, locking in close combat with one of the two dragons while I launch another blast of magic at the other.