Azure Dragons (Supernatural Shifter Academy #2) - G. Bailey Page 0,44

say tentatively, “can you tell us anything about what the faculty thinks? About this whole conference?”

The recruiter gives me a long look. “Are you asking on the record, or off the record?”

“Off,” I reply without hesitation. “It seems like not much progress is being made.”

“I…” She hesitates, a flicker of doubt passing through her eyes. “To be honest, I really can’t say. It sounds like something’s been put to the board, but they’re deadlocked right now. A lot like the politicians, now that I think about it.”

I don’t need to ask what it is that’s been suggested to the board. “What do you think is going to happen?”

Josie just gives us a sad smile. “That’s getting into dangerous territory, Ms. Brix.” There’s a long pause, and it seems as if she’s getting ready to say something else, but then decides against it. “You all had better get inside,” she says at last. “They’re going to want us to do a headcount before too long.”

“Understood,” Hunter says, giving her a stiff nod before turning to the rest of us. “Shall we?”

We give him a reluctant nod and begin to follow Josie in through the front doors. She frowns when we reach them, an odd look passing over her face. “That’s odd,” she remarks, her brow furrowing.

“What is?” I ask, coming to a stop beside her.

“There’s usually a security guard right here,” Josie replies, peering in through the entrance doors. “And where is everybody? The whole floor looks empty.”

I can feel the buzz of adrenaline beginning to pulse through my veins, some primal part of my brain sending up warning signals. Something is wrong; Josie senses it, and so do I. I glance back at the others, who have tensed up, and are watching the building with guarded looks. For a long moment, no one says anything, and I realise how thick the silence is in the entrance hall of the convention center. A second ticks by, and then another, and an instant later, Josie’s eyes are going black, her skin turning red as she whirls around on her feet, her expression frantic.

“Josie…?” I prompt, eyes wide.

“Run,” she says, and moments later, an explosion rocks the building with a shock wave strong enough to knock us all off our feet as the convention center is consumed by fire.

Chapter 17

It feels like everything is moving in slow motion. I can see the ground racing up to meet me, slamming to the floor hard enough to knock the wind right out of my lungs, leaving me gasping for breath. The air goes out of the building at once with a whooshing sound, a shock wave shattering the glass of the windows and sending sharp fragments flying. I suddenly feel a presence over me, and crane my neck to see Hunter covering me with his body, shielding me from the flying glass. His fangs are out, although whether he’s even aware of it, I can’t say. He seems to have transformed the rest of the way, too, as the high speed glass shards bounce off of him like he’s made of steel. I guess the adrenaline must have let him access his powers, and I can’t help but feel a smidge of pride in spite of our situation.

The shock wave dissipates, leaving us in the midst of what might as well be Armageddon: fires lick up and down the walls all around us, and panicked students, teachers, and assembly guests run around like chickens with their heads cut off. Some of them are using their powers, others are cowering in corners, and some are making a break for the exits, pouring out of the conference rooms and auditoriums in a stampede. Hunter gets off me then, and I feel a pang of regret at not having his protective presence guarding me anymore; he seems embarrassed as he gets to his feet. “Er… sorry,” he says, holding a hand out to me to help me up.

“You shifted,” I tell him, aware that I should have other priorities but unable to keep from pointing it out.

“I did?” His eyes go wide and he stares disbelievingly down at himself. “I’ll be damned. I wasn’t even thinking about it. I just…” He looks away, sheepish. “I wanted to keep you from getting hit.”

“Thank you,” I tell him, my hand lingering in his for just a moment before we pull apart, looking around at the others. They’re all struggling to get to their feet; Xander is helping Hazel up, a