Virtual magic academy of.., p.2
Virtual Magic (Academy of Modern Magic Book 2), page 2
One of the Zeta agents turned in our direction and pointed.
I froze. The only way they'd know where we were was if they had incredible hearing, like that of a dog.
The hybrids Zeta created were all what we would consider mythical creatures—phoenixes, griffins, gargoyles and, yes, dragons. What the hells kind of hybrid would a dog be?
"Have you ever heard of a Cerberus shifter?" I asked nervously.
"No, but that doesn't mean they don't exist," Dyson replied. "If you drop the bubble for long enough, I can distract him."
"I can't let you take that risk." I pulled him forward a few more steps.
The agent turned his face as though following our movement. His brow was creased. He moved toward us, slow and deliberate.
I stopped again.
The agent sniffed the air. He might be able to follow our scent as easily as any sound we may make. I could drop the bubble and blast him with magic, but that would draw the attention of every other Zeta agent on the street, not to mention the normal people who had stopped to gawk. Evidently a car crash was a novelty.
"We need some kind of distraction," Dyson whispered. "I can—"
Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the flapping of wings. Not big wings, so it wasn't a dragon come to rescue us. No, these were small wings, but fast. An owl, about the size of my forearm, shot across the road and into the face of the Zeta agent.
The agent flailed his arms and tried to strike the bird, but Kane was gone as quickly as he'd arrived. He circled above the Zeta agent and came in for another dive.
"Shoot the fucker!" someone shouted.
Dyson squeezed my hand and dragged me up the street at a run.
A gunshot rang out.
I spun in time to see Kane soar away to the safety of a rooftop before he disappeared.
"Gods, Kane," Dyson muttered,
"You can thank him later." In the meantime, we had to keep running.
"We need to split up," Dyson insisted. "I'll throw that fucker off your scent."
Before I could protest, he let go of my hand and pushed his way out of the bubble.
"What the hells…" I almost lost my magic, but drew it back at the last moment. I hated the idea they would risk themselves because of me, but I wouldn't throw it back in their faces by exposing myself.
Dyson shifted into his dog form and let out a long, low howl.
"Over there!" an agent shouted. Three or four of them set off after him, including the dog hybrid.
"Peyton!" Matt's voice out of nowhere made me jump. Surrounded by his own bubble, I couldn't see him either. "Head west. I'll be right behind you."
"How do you know? You can't see me," I pointed out.
I was certain he grinned before he said, "I'll probably hear you trip over your own feet."
"I am not that clumsy," I retorted. Maybe he was the one tripping. In spite of that, I checked where the sun was and went in the opposite direction. A shadow passed overhead and I was relieved to see Kane land on a tree up ahead. I assumed Matt had told him which way we'd go. It seemed unfair I could see him and not vice versa, but there wasn't much I could do about that at the moment.
With one eye on him and the other on the sidewalk ahead, I ducked around passers by and hurried away from the scene of the accident.
A big, furry figure bolted between a few cars in front of us. A couple of Zeta agents followed, but the gods knew where the rest were. I glanced back. The man I assumed was a dog hybrid was only fifty metres behind me and closing fast.
"Shit," I muttered.
"Take the next street," Matt said. "It'll be busy enough. Maybe we can throw him off."
"And if we can't?" I hissed.
"Then he'll meet with a nasty accident," Matt replied. He almost sounded as if he relished the idea.
"Right," I said under my breath. I hurried forward at a jog until I reached Clarendon Street. There, the roaring traffic would cover a lot of the noise and the exhaust fumes were thick. Hopefully thick enough to cover my scent.
I checked the sun and headed west toward the freeway. I hoped Matt had a plan. Dodging traffic doesn't generally result in a good life expectancy.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Kane on a roof up ahead. He looked around, obviously wondering where Matt and I were. Even in the middle of this craziness, I had to admit he was a cute owl. All brown and fluffy, I would have loved to give him a cuddle. Who am I kidding, I quite enjoyed cuddling his human form as well.
Something bumped into the back of me. I was about to curse when I realised it was Matt.
"I'd say you should watch where you're going, but…" I shrugged, then reminded myself he couldn't see that either.
He snorted. "We need to ditch this guy."
Sure enough, Cerberus was still following us.
"He's persistent," I agreed.
"Yeah. Hold on."
"To what?" I frowned. Matt grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. At the same time, he expanded his bubble to incorporate us both. I let my magic go with a sigh of relief. Holding onto it for long periods of time was exhausting.
"I figured it would be easier if we could see each other," he said.
"I guess so," I agreed. He was still fully dressed, so he hadn't shifted into his gargoyle form during any of this. That was probably just as well, naked Matt would be distracting.
"I know you're there," Cerberus called out. "There is no escape. Give yourselves up now."
I rolled my eyes and mouthed, "No way, motherfucker."
Matt grinned. "Let's try something," he mouthed back.
He gripped my hand and we bolted into the traffic.
3
The cars couldn't see us, so none of the drivers were any wiser about how close they came to hitting us. A side mirror grazed my ass and I bit back a yelp. Later, they might wonder why it sat at a different angle. For now though, the driver drove on, seemingly oblivious.
Matt tugged me across the last lane in front of a huge truck. We managed to leap onto the sidewalk with a hair's width to spare.
"Now I know you're crazy, as well as an asshole," I said lightly. I rubbed my backside. That would bruise later.
"We made it, didn't we?" He loosened his grip on my hand and jerked his head back. "Him, on the other hand—"
Cerberus stood on the opposite side of the road, a scowl on his features. He sniffed the air. His scowl deepened. I assumed he could still smell us, but the fumes from the cars confounded his doggie senses.
"Come on," Matt tugged me away from Cerberus and toward the highway. "We need a car."
"You're not suggesting we steal one, are you?" I frowned at him.
He ignored the question. "Do you have your phone?"
"Of course." I patted the back pocket of my shorts. "Do you want me to try to conjure a car?"
He gave me a funny look. "No, can you order a ride share car?"
"Oh." Now I felt silly. "Only if you have cash. Zeta would trace any cards we use."
He gave me a look as if I'd said the sky was blue. "I've got us covered for that."
I shrugged with my spare shoulder and tapped the details for the ride share into the app with my thumb. The moment I pressed, "enter" my breath caught in my throat.
"What if they're tracing my phone?" I asked.
"Then our friend over there would know where we are. But just in case—" Matt grabbed the device from my hand and tossed it onto the road. It was promptly run over and crushed by a pizza truck.
Yes, a pizza truck. I have never felt so betrayed by my favourite food in my entire life.
"What the fuck?" I asked.
"Would you rather be in a Zeta lab? I can leave you to it, if you'd prefer." He made to step away.
"Don't you dare," I hissed. I gritted my teeth and shook my head. "It's just a phone."
"Exactly." He nodded. "Now hurry up or we'll miss the ride share car altogether."
We trotted down the block and around a corner. Finally out of sight of the Zeta agents, Matt dropped the bubble and my hand.
"We can't leave without Dyson and Kane." I looked around, but saw no sign of either of them, dog, owl or naked men.
"We can and we will," Matt insisted. "They can both take care of themselves. My job is to get you to the academy in one piece."
I swallowed. On one hand, he was right. We couldn't afford to take the risk of waiting for them to find us. On the other hand, I adored them both and if anything happened to them because of me…
I gave my head a little shake. If they were injured, or worse, it would be because of Zeta, not me. The fact they found it necessary to protect me was Zeta's fault. However, I would blame myself until the end of time.
I sucked in a breath. "We can wait until the car arrives." If I still had my phone, I would know how long that was. Since I didn't, I crossed my arms over my chest and kept my eyes open for the guys.
Matt placed a hand on my shoulder. "They'll be fine. They're both tough as nails and slightly more intelligent."
I snorted. "I thought you guys were friends?"
"We are, but I was trying to make you smile." He shrugged indifferently.
"Why bother?" I asked. "We loathe each other, remember?"
He grinned. "Yes, we do. That doesn't mean we can't be nice, though."
"I suppose." I scanned the rooftops. Gods, please don't let them catch the guys. A bird took off and my heart leapt until I realised it was just a pigeon.
A moment later, a car drew up alongside us. A man with spiky blue hair and about a bajillion facial piercings stuck his head out the window and smiled.
"Hey, you ordered a Broomer?"
"Yeah, we did," I opened the door to the back seat, while Matt sat beside the driver.
"Where to, guys?" the driver asked cheerfully.
Matt gave him the address while I fastened my seatbelt and watched out the window.
"Wacca's restaurant, Werribee," the driver repeated. "Okay, great! That'll take us about half an hour in this traffic." He pulled his little yellow car away from the curb.
Mat nodded. "Okay, Broomer."
"Call me Bruce," the driver said. "It's my name, but don't wear it out." He laughed, which would have been infectious under other circumstances.
"Hilarious," I muttered.
"Yeah, my friends agree. They tell me I should stop talking so much, but what can I say? I'm a friendly guy."
I hunkered down in my seat and kept my eyes on the city as it passed by. Bruce kept up a monologue the entire time, while Matt responded with a word or two here and there. I didn't hear a thing they said until Bruce pulled his car into a parking space at Wacca's.
Matt handed over a couple of notes and we climbed out of the car.
"Have a great day!" Bruce waved out the window as he drove off.
"I think he might be more annoying than you are," Matt remarked.
"Is that even possible?" I asked ironically.
Matt looked thoughtful. "You're right, it probably isn't. You set the bar pretty high."
"If I had a bar right now, I'd shove it up your ass," I murmured.
He chuckled. "We have quite a walk in front of us. Let's get something to eat first. My shout."
"It will have to be, since I have no money and no phone." I gave him a look.
"You're welcome," he said lightly. "This isn't quite how I expected our first date to go."
I gave him a funny look. "You expected us to have a first date?"
"No. That's exactly my point." He opened the door.
I stuck my tongue out at him and marched past.
"Always with the class," he said reproachfully.
"Maybe a Zeta lab wouldn't be so bad." I sat at a more-or-less clean table near a window so I could watch while we ate.
Matt's eyes flashed with anger. "Trust me, it wouldn't," he said in a tight voice before he stalked away.
While I regretted my words, I glanced at the few people around the small restaurant. None looked in my direction. They were either lost in conversation or, more commonly, engrossed in their phones. I couldn't see what they were looking at, but I wasn't sure they'd notice if Kane and Dyson walked through the door, naked.
Matt slammed a tray down in front of me, making me jump.
"I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean to—"
"Yeah, whatever." He slipped into the seat opposite me. "I get it. You ran your mouth off about something you know nothing about."
"And you do?" I asked as gently as I could.
"I'm not talking about that with you, especially not here," he snapped. He pushed a box of food and a cup of tea toward me and started to eat.
I sighed and opened my box. Bacon, eggs, toast—all the essentials for an early lunch.
"Eat fast, we shouldn't linger around here for too long."
I was too anxious to be hungry, and still full from breakfast, but I managed to down everything in record time. I picked up my tea to wash it down when Matt rose.
"Bring it with you. You can sip and walk."
I grabbed up my cup, put my rubbish in the bin and followed him out. "How did you know I drank tea?"
He shrugged. "Lucky guess."
I gave him a disbelieving look. "Bullshit. If you were guessing, you would have given me coffee. Or water."
"You must have mentioned it in passing then." He led us back to the road and we started off to the south.
"Well, thanks," I said awkwardly. "It saved me from having to tell you coffee is disgusting."
He gave me a sideways glance and sipped his. "I knew there was something wrong with you."
"Fuck off," I retorted. "There's probably a lot of things wrong with me. Not drinking coffee isn't one."
"Oh yeah? What are the others?"
I sniffed. "I'm not going to dignify that question with a response."
"Coward."
I glanced toward him to see his eyes shining and a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Has anyone told you you're an asshole?" I asked.
"Yes, you have. Recently, too."
I smiled sweetly. "Has it sunk in yet?"
He grinned. "Honey, it sank in a long time ago."
I blushed. "You wish."
He let out a choking laugh. "Not a chance."
"Liar."
He shrugged. "Keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, can you walk a little faster?"
"Can you shift and I'll ride on your back?" I was only half-joking.
Rather than dismiss the suggestion offhand, he looked thoughtful. "I don't think it's come to that yet. We'll call that plan B."
"Fine. As long as we don't get to plan F."
"The day I go to plan F with you…" he started.
"Yes?" I prompted.
He gave me a look which suggested only the animosity between us was stopping him from dragging me into the bushes and screwing me silly.
He shook his head. "I'll know I've lost the last of my common sense."
"You said ‘willpower’ wrong." I stepped over a fallen log.
"Lucky I have plenty of that," he shot back.
"Oh really?" Without thinking, I turned and pressed my palm to his cheek. I don't know who moved next, but our lips were pressed together, and his tongue slipped inside my mouth.
I only kissed him back for the count of three. Okay, four. All right, maybe it was thirty seconds, tops. I pulled back and smiled. "Yep, you're totally willpower man."
He scowled at me as though I had done something horribly wrong and stalked on ahead.
"Hurry up, we're nearly here," he growled.
I shrugged to myself and followed. "There's nothing wrong with being attracted to someone."
"It is when they're a pain in your ass," he said over his shoulder.
"I'm not that bad when you get to know me," I said. "I—"
"Shhh," he hissed.
I immediately froze. Every centimetre of me watched and listened for…anything. "What is it?" I said finally.
"The University of Arcana."
"Is it under attack?" Please gods, don't let it be that, after all we've been through already.
"No, I'm just not sure I should take you there," he replied.
I frowned and stepped up closer to him. "Why not? What's wrong?" A heavy feeling started to settle in my stomach. Had he sensed some kind of danger I couldn't? Did he have heightened gargoyle senses, like Cerberus seemed to have dog instincts?
"If I take you there," he said slowly, "I'll be stuck with you around for the entire academic year."
I punched him on the arm as hard as I could.
While he grinned, I stomped past him and onto the university slash academy grounds.
At last.
4
The university was housed in a mansion which was over a hundred years old. A number of signs dotted the driveway which led to it. One read, "Danger." Another said, "Condemned." Fortunately trees and hedges obscured the view from the road or people would notice it was neither of those things. At least, the building looked safe enough.
The inhabitants, on the other hand, were probably a different story.
A group of students strolled past and didn't give us more than a glance. At least, I assumed they were students. They were all dressed in blue jackets, blue and white ties and blue trousers or skirts.
"For real? UA has a uniform?" I snorted.
"Yeah, and we have to wear it, too," Matt replied.
My smile faded. "You're kidding?"
He shrugged with one shoulder. "Not this time. At least the skirts aren't plaid."
I made a face. "Thank the gods for small mercies." At this point I was distracting myself from worrying about Dyson and Kane. "We need to tell them about Zeta coming after us again."
Matt nodded. "Let me deal with that. You go and get settled."
"What about you?" I asked.
Before I got an answer, he was gone, marching toward what I assumed was the admin section of the campus. As for me, I was engulfed in a hug.
"Peyton, you got here finally!"
"Ariana." I gave her a squeeze, then leaned back to look her in the face. "You got here, too."
She smiled. "Last night. Where are the others? I saw Matt's back as I stepped out of our dorm." She wrinkled her nose. "If you can call it that. They've brought in temporary buildings for those of us who decided to stay with the AMM."
