Chapter 14
"This is a terrible plan," Stone said. He was leaning against the wall of the administration building, his arms crossed over his chest. In his black Enforcer tactical gear, he looked like a shadow with a bad attitude.
"It's a brilliant plan," Ivy corrected, adjusting her glittery cat ears. "It has pizzazz. It has drama. It has a high probability of explosions."
"That is exactly why it is a terrible plan," Stone growled.
"Remind me again why I'm here?" Jax asked, checking his reflection in a puddle. He looked effortlessly cool in a leather jacket that probably cost more than my tuition. "I'm a barista. My skillset involves latte art and brooding, not breaking and entering."
"You have vampire speed," Ivy said, pointing a finger at him. "And you owe me for the time I de-cursed your espresso machine."
"That machine still hums in A-minor," Jax muttered, but he didn't leave.
"And Stone," Ivy continued, turning to the grumbling wolf. "You have the master key."
"I have the master key because I am the Head of Campus Security," Stone said through gritted teeth. "Using it to rob my boss is a conflict of interest. And a felony."
"It's a revolution," I interjected, trying to keep the peace. "Marrow is targeting students, Stone. You know he is. You felt the shift."
Stone sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. He looked tired. The circles under his eyes were dark. "He brought in 'Special Consultants' yesterday. They smell like rot. Like dead magic."
"See?" Ivy said triumphantly. "He's evil. Now open the door."
Stone glared at her, but he pulled a heavy ring of keys from his belt. "If we get caught, I am arresting all of you. Especially you, Witch."
"I love it when you talk authoritarian to me," Ivy winked.
Stone choked on air, his ears turning red. Jax snorted.
"Okay," I said, checking my watch. "Rook said he'd start the distraction at 2:15. We have three minutes."
As if on cue, a massive roar echoed from the other side of campus. It sounded like a dragon, but mixed with... opera?
"Is that The Ride of the Valkyries?" Jax asked, tilting his head.
"Rook is very theatrical," Ivy said fondly. "He's probably illusion-casting a dragon attack on the library. That should draw the guards."
"Let's move," Stone said, unlocking the heavy service door.
We slipped inside. The administration building was cold, sterile. The air tasted metallic—the taste of Null magic.
"Dean's office is on the top floor," I whispered. "Jax, you scout. Ivy, you handle any magical locks. Stone, you handle any physical guards. I'm the battery."
"The battery?" Jax whispered back.
"If Marrow has Null wards, I can absorb them," I explained. "I can drink the static so you guys can use your magic."
"Useful," Jax noted, blurring forward up the stairs.
We moved quickly. Stone was surprisingly quiet for a large man in boots. He moved with predator grace, checking corners. Ivy was... less quiet. Her boots squeaked, and she kept humming along to the distant dragon-opera.
At the top of the stairs, Jax was waiting. He held a hand up.
"Wards," he mouthed.
I stepped forward. I could feel it a thick, oily barrier across the hallway. It felt like a headache waiting to happen.
I reached out, placing my hand against the invisible wall. "Okay," I whispered. "Bottoms up."
I pulled.
It wasn't like pulling mana from the leylines, which tasted like ozone and starlight. This tasted like ash. Like stagnation. I gagged slightly, but I held on, draining the energy into my own core, grounding it out through my heels.
The barrier flickered and died.
"Nice," Ivy whispered, impressed.
We reached the double doors of the Dean's office. Stone tried a key. It clicked.
"Too easy," he murmured.
We pushed inside.
The office was surprisingly sparse. No grand mahogany desk. No villainous high-backed chair. Just metal filing cabinets, a plain table, and walls covered in...
"Whoa," Jax breathed.
The walls were covered in maps. Maps of the campus. Maps of the town. Maps of the leylines. And pinned to every intersection were photos.
Photos of students. Photos of faculty.
"He's mapping the bonds," I said, walking closer. "Look. Red string for romantic bonds. Blue for platonic. Black for..."
I stopped. There was a black string connecting my photo to the Triad's.
"Black for what?" Ivy asked, coming up beside me.
" anomalies," I whispered. "Threats."
"Guys," Stone said from the filing cabinet. "You need to see this."
He was holding a thick folder. It was stamped with a symbol I didn't recognize—a circle with a line through it.
"The Null List," Stone read. "Candidates for Re-Alignment."
I took the folder. My hands were shaking. I opened it.
The first page was a profile. Name: Sarah Higgins. Bond: Twin. Status: Consumed.
"Consumed?" Ivy squeaked.
I flipped the page. Name: Marcus Thorne. Bond: Mate. Status: Pending Extraction.
"He's not just cataloging us," I said, my voice cold. "He's harvesting us. He's breaking bonds to feed himself."
"We have to go," Stone said urgently. "Now."
"Wait," Ivy said. She was staring at a specific spot on the map wall. "That's... that's my dorm."
There was a red pushpin on Ivy's dorm. And three strings coming off it. One to Jax. One to Stone. One to Rook.
"Target: The Chaos Nexus," Ivy read the label. "Priority: High."
"He knows," Jax said, his vampire stillness breaking. "He knows about the harem."
"We leave," Stone commanded, grabbing Ivy's arm. "Right now."
We turned to run/
Click.
The lights in the office flared on.
Sitting on the corner of the plain table, swinging his legs like a schoolboy, was Dean Marrow.
He was smiling.
"I was wondering when you'd drop by," he said pleasantly. "Did you enjoy the dragon opera? I thought it was a bit pitchy."
Stone stepped in front of us, growling. "Dean Marrow."
"Captain Stone," Marrow nodded. "Disappointing. I had high hopes for you. A man of order."
"You're eating students," Stone snarled.
"I'm pruning," Marrow corrected. "Gardening requires sacrifice."
He looked at me. His eyes were void-black.
"And you," he said softly. "Lina. My little Circuit Breaker. Did you bring me a snack?"
I stood my ground, though my knees were shaking. "We know what you are."
"Good," Marrow said, hopping off the table. "Then you know you can't stop me."
He raised a hand. The air in the room vanished.
Stone dropped to his knees, choking. Jax blurred, trying to attack, but slammed into an invisible wall. Ivy screamed, her hands sparking with useless magic.
Marrow walked toward me.
"Run," I gasped, shoving Ivy toward the door. "Get the list out."
"Lina, no!" Ivy screamed.
"GO!" I shouted, and I did the only thing I could think of.
I didn't pull. I pushed.
I took all that ash, all that static I had absorbed from the wards, and I shoved it back at him.
It was dirty magic. Used magic.
Marrow violently flinched, his concentration breaking for a split second.
"NOW!" I screamed.
Jax grabbed Ivy. Stone grabbed the file. And they ran.
I turned to follow, but a hand—cold, dry, impossible strong—clamped onto my wrist.
"Leaving so soon?" Marrow whispered in my ear.
I looked at the open door. My friends were gone. They had the list.
I smiled, even as terrified tears pricked my eyes.
"Operation Starvation," I whispered. "Phase One complete."
Marrow frowned. "What?"
I stomped on his foot—hard—and used the momentary distraction to fling myself out the window.
Lucien was waiting in the shadows below. He caught me before I hit the pavement.
"Did you get it?" he demanded, his arms crushing me to his chest.
"We got it," I gasped, burying my face in his neck. "And he knows we're coming."