The Tracker Hive Academy Year One - Avery Song Page 0,45

there's more to come," he hummed.

Me too, Zackery Maxwell, Tracker of Wind and Ice.

12

Zion Of Water And Earth

"This feels like a family meeting," I declared. "Except with the boys."

"You make it seem like you don't want us here." Zackery sighed. "I'm tired."

"I don't even want to be here," Zeus groaned.

"You guys can leave. I don't mind the alone time," Zeke drawled.

"Always taking advantage." Zion shook his head. "Brother, you're a player."

"How?" Zeke questioned but chuckled. "Honesty gets you far, you know."

"That's bullshit. I'm honest and yet I'm last in line. How did Zeus beat me?"

"In?” Zeus questioned.

"The path to Jade's heart, that's what!" Zackery argued.

"Acting like you’re not attracted to a person goes a long way," Zion determined, pulling out a pair of glasses from his uniform pocket. "Better than you begging, anyway."

"When was I begging?!" Zackery gasped.

Tuning out their bickering, I looked out of the clear window to see Alaric, Bianca, and Tanner talking outside of the office.

By the time Zackery and I had reached the main office, the others had arrived. Tanner had then gone off to get Alaric and Bianca to discuss what had just happened to us.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have cared about the trap. In a school like this, with competitive students all trying to prove a point, I assumed it wouldn't be smooth sailing.

The problem was the source of the trap. A student with that level of control shouldn’t be in this part of the school, which was mostly for first year students.

The school grounds were basically divided into four sections based on our year of attendance. It helped maintain balance and routine, instead of forcing the students to struggle getting from one class to the another on the other side of the ginormous campus.

I felt a lot better now that I was sitting. The meeting room was more of a lounge, with couches and comfy chairs. I was sitting on the couch in between Zion and Zeke.

Zeus was sitting in a chair on our right while Zackery sat on the left. Zackery looked tired, but he assured us that he'd leave school early and take a nap.

The trap was uncalled for, but Trackers always had to be prepared for these things. School wasn't going to change that.

Tanner and Alaric walked in the room, while Bianca left.

"Where's Bianca going?" I asked once the door was closed.

"She's going to check the surveillance cameras to see if she can spot the individual you said you saw," Alaric answered, walking over to sit on the couch opposite ours.

Tanner followed but remained standing, crossing his arms over his chest. Looking my way, he questioned, "Are you sure about what you saw, Jade?"

His tone annoyed me, but I held my tongue, not wanting to get into an unnecessary conversation that tugged at my past issues.

"Positive," I replied.

"I trust that Jade really saw someone," Zackery added.

He was looking between Tanner and me. "Also take the intensity of the trap into consideration. Unless we're dealing with a veteran magic-user, there’s no way that was a long-range combo."

"They had to be super close to activate it," Zeus agreed.

"You guys were stuck for twenty-five minutes and it must have taken time to track their energy before they went fleeing away. This person's intentions had to be planned out. I doubt Ms. Sky will find anything. They would have made sure they were magically cloaked from video surveillance if they were able to hide their actual presence from Jade and Zackery," Zion explained.

"Do you two always go that route?" Zeus inquired.

"Yup," Zackery replied. "It's the easiest to get to class."

"Why would someone be trying to get rid of both of us?" I wondered out loud.

"Me!"

Everyone else flinched as Shadow Jade appeared literally out of nowhere. She'd "left" after the piggyback ride, saying she was going to nap, but here she was, behind the couch and circling her arms around my neck.

"Kill Jade?"

Turning my head slightly to see her curious eyes, I realized that was her opinion of the situation and not a simple playful taunt.

"You think they're after us?"

"Us!" she emphasized with a smile.

"Why?" Zackery questioned. "Up till now, things have gone smoothly. Since that whole incident with the brothers, no one wants to pick a fight with Jade. Not when I'm around anyway."

"And since he follows her around everywhere, his words are valid," Zion affirmed.

"Hey!" Zackery looked insulted but didn't push it.

"I don't care if someone has a vendetta against me, but why? Also, they wouldn't go attacking Zackery as well. Stupid