Paranormal slayers magic.., p.1
Paranormal Slayers: Magical Hunters Academy, Book 2, page 1
Paranormal Slayers
Magical Hunters Academy Book Two
Nicole Zoltack
Contents
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Other Books By Nicole Zoltack
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
Copyright © 2019 by Nicole Zoltack
Cover Artist: Taurus Colosseum
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9781687813893
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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To those who long to change the world for the better by fighting the good fight.
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Chapter
One
The sun is high above me, almost directly overhead, and I enjoy her warmth. Fall is rapidly approaching, but I long for hot days and nights. Mid-fifties overnight isn’t that cool to most people, but it is to me.
Wandering around Magical Hunters Academy grounds with no purpose in mind is actually kind of freeing. I’ve been rushing around, trying to do as much as possible, and burn out is a distinct possibility. Worst of all, my second year hasn’t even started yet.
Everything leading up to this point has been so crazy and hectic. Yes, my team—the third-year team—won the ball during my first year, and my teammates and I had been awarded ten days of leave to either skip classes or to even go off academy grounds. Ask me how many of those days I’ve used.
Yep. None. Zilch. Nada.
But now, there are a few days break between the first year ending and the second year starting. What better time than now to go visit the orphanage? I've been emailing my best human friend Valerie constantly, but I promised to see her.
And to bring along Kayden Grayridge.
Kayden. I close my eyes and tilt toward the sun. I noticed him right away when I first came here. Who wouldn’t? He has green eyes and hair, so very tall, and handsome. Not just handsome by Spriggan standards but handsome by any standard. He’s part fairy, giant, and troll, and he’s powerful, too.
And I might have a crush on him.
He sneaked off the academy grounds with me months ago, when Valerie’s emails made me worried that something was happening at Peace Blossoms Orphanage, where I lived for most of my life. Neither of us had a chance to talk to Valerie then, but my best friend saw us. Ever since, she’s been bugging me for the chance to meet him.
Unfortunately, Kayden doesn’t have any days to be able to leave the academy grounds. It’s not worth it for him to get into trouble right before the new year begins.
There is someone else who has days, though. Darius Devonshire. He’s a witch, like I am, and both of us have skills with the arcane, the rarest branch of magic there is. Darius is the reason why I was selected to the third-year team. A huge honor and it meant that much more to me because we ended up being assigned the paranormal creature threatening the orphanage—a dragon gargoyle. We hunted Lapis Draca down but let her go. Rage over thinking her baby had died in its shell had driven her to commit terrible acts, but I healed her little one. I hope that wherever they are, they’re happy.
Darius? I seek my tutor in the arcane arts in my mind.
Mirella.
Do you have any free days left?
I do. Why?
I thought you might come with me to the orphanage.
Why? he repeats, his tone in my mind growing anxious. Has something happened?
Yes. I giggle out loud and finally open my eyes. A few other students are walking by, and they cast me curious looks, but I ignore them. I want to go visit Valerie.
Oh. You had me worried.
Worrywart, I tease.
Call me names and I won’t come.
Fine. Your loss. I’m going with or without you.
Give me five.
I smile and head to the front gates. To my surprise, Darius is already there, leaning against a tree. His gray eyes pierce through me, and, like always, his dark brown hair is slicked back.
“All ready to go?” he asks.
“Yes.”
But before we can blink, a familiar voice calls out, “Mirella!”
I glance over my shoulder and turn around. My mouth grows dry as Kayden jogs over to us. He’s taller than Darius, who he ignores entirely.
“Have you eaten lunch yet?” Kayden asks.
“Uh… no, actually,” I admit.
“Want to eat with me?”
“We’re about to leave,” Darius says.
“Can’t you eat first?” Kayden asks. “Or are you two going out to eat.” A cloud crosses over his green eyes. They aren’t the normal human green, more earthy, more forest-y, more in line with nature.
“I already squared it away with the guard,” Darius says. “We’re clear to go. Now.”
I clear my throat and definitely don’t shuffle my feet. It makes sense that we would have to secure permission to use our time away, but it’s not something I thought of before.
“Thanks,” I murmur to him before focusing on Kayden. “I’ll get something to eat soon. I promise.”
“You don’t eat enough,” he says disapprovingly.
"I'll make sure she's fed," Darius says, rising up to his full height. Is it me, or is he puffing out his chest?
“Guys,” I start, but they’re ignoring me.
“It won’t take her long to eat first,” Kayden says stubbornly.
“It will if you won’t stop talking to her and not letting her actually consume her meal,” Darius says calmly.
Kayden shifts slightly. It’s subtle, but he’s put Darius behind him, effectively separating me from my tutor. “I hardly see you nowadays. What’s going on?”
“I’ve been busy,” I say.
Which is true. It doesn’t matter that we have a break from classes for a few days. My work never ends. My learning is all that matters, and the scope of that learning has increased exponentially. At least, I’m trying to learn anything and everything.
“Doing what?” Kayden presses.
“Can you get off her back?” Darius asks, side-stepping Kayden.
I laugh nervously. Up until now, I haven’t been around the two of them together, and it’s unnerving and a little upsetting, to be honest. I’m an orphan, so to some extent, I grew up in a place where you almost had to be a people pleaser. Right now, not one of the three of us is pleased, and that doesn’t work for me.
Besides, this is ridiculous. I’m not dating either of them, even if I do find myself thinking about them often… when I’m distracted from the tasks at hand.
Valerie would be pleased to know that. I’ve been avoiding telling her that my feelings are complicated, that I don’t know what to do. I mean, it should be a no-brainer. Darius will be leaving soon. In fact, he can probably leave as soon as he graduates, which is in two days. The Magical Hunters Academy is only for three years.
“I’m just looking out for her,” Kayden snaps.
“Stop fighting,” I say, glaring at them. “What has gotten into you two?”
“We are wasting time,” Darius says.
“At least I care about her,” Kayden retaliates. He’s all emotion, his face turning red. Combined with his green hair, it looks a little comical, and I can’t help smiling.
“I think you both care about me,” I say, “and I care about you both. We’re all friends.”
“Not exactly,” Kayden mutters.
I narrow my eyes, growing more confused every second. Kayden's almost being possessive of me, and he's never been like that before. Darius is as unflappable as ever. The only time he's been ruffled was when we faced the stone gargoyle.
“I’ll eat. I promise.” I lay a hand on Kayden’s arm.
He puts his other hand on mine. “Maybe we can eat dinner together.”
“I’m not sure what time we’ll get back,” I say gently. “How about lunch tomorrow?”
Kayden rubs the back of his neck.
“Is something wrong?” I ask him quietly.
“It’s just… I have something to tell you.”
&nbs p; I smile and suppress a laugh. “So tell me real quick.”
“Not now.” He scowls at Darius. “Lunch tomorrow. That works for me.”
Darius just stares at Kayden as he walks away, the spriggan’s strides carrying him a great distance in no time at all.
“Do you mind telling me what that all was about?” I ask Darius, crossing my arms.
“He seems a bit… overbearing,” Darius says.
I shrug self-consciously. “You really think so? He’s just worried. I do tend to get so involved with everything that I skip meals. You should’ve seen him the time I had breakfast one day and dinner the next with nothing in between.”
Darius lifts his bushy eyebrows. “You weren’t hungry?”
“No. And I even trained with Malak and Azir some.” I grin, remembering how I almost clipped Azir. So very close! But the ogre is fast, surprisingly so, and the troll Malak has such a greater reach on me that I think I’m going to have to change my weapon of choice. I’ve been using a sword, but a spear might be better…
“Mirella, are you still with me?” Darius asks.
“I’m sorry.”
“Kayden does have a point,” Darius says, his tone finally not neutral anymore. It’s slightly regretful. “Especially if you’re training with weapons—”
“And weights,” I admit.
“Then you need to eat enough.”
“I know. And I know that some people train hard enough that they’re starving afterward. I’m not. Is that a bad thing?” I bite my lower lip. “Maybe I can push myself harder.”
“If you push yourself any harder, you’ll end up six feet under.” Darius motions me ahead of him. “Come on. Let’s go to the orphanage.”
It’s not a far walk over, but we take our time, and I sneak glances his way.
“You can ask me anything,” he says.
“I don’t really have anything on my mind.”
He snorts and almost grins at me, the corners of his lips barely curling upward. “Why do I find that hard to believe?”
"Is it strange that I'm almost apprehensive about going back? To the orphanage, I mean. Lapis Draca isn't there anymore, and she wasn't even evil evil, so there's no reason to be afraid."
“It’s not always easy to go home again,” he says. “Time away changes you and also the people you’ve left behind.”
“I know that. But the orphanage was never my home. I just lived there.”
“You consider the academy your home?” he asks.
We have to stop at an intersection, but I avoid meeting his gaze. “I do,” I admit.
“You haven’t thought about what you’ll do after you graduate, have you?”
I shake my head. My stomach churns, and I absolutely refuse to ask him what he’ll be up to. It’s a subject I just can’t broach right now. I suppose I’ll find out in a few days, at his graduation, because I will not miss that. He’s going to move onward and upward, and I’m going to miss him like crazy and not just because he’s training me in the arcane.
“You’ll be able to do anything you want,” he assures me. “You don’t have to worry.
“Hunting down evil paranormal creatures like any good graduate of the academy.” I roll my eyes.
“You don’t want to?” he asks. “You’ve already shown real promise. Plus, you actually consider whether or not the creature is truly evil. We were ready to take down the gargoyle.”
“If we could have,” I point out dryly.
The light changes, and we cross the street.
“You don’t have to worry so much about the future. You can be a hunter or a slayer or—”
“Slayers have to go out and kill,” I interrupt.
“Yes. That’s kind of the point of slaying,” he teases.
“Hmm.” I’m almost too preoccupied to realize his tone. Darius is almost always serious, but he’s being more playful right now despite us talking about killing.
“I really mean it,” Darius continues. “You can do just about anything.”
“Including taking over the world?”
“With your powers and abilities, I would be shocked if you couldn’t.”
Chapter
Two
I gape at Darius. “I’m not that powerful,” I protest.
“You’re so modest.” He clucks his tongue. “How many witches can master one type of magic? Three? Five? Nine?”
“Nine isn’t all ten,” I mutter.
He actually laughs. “You’re so greedy.”
“Are you teasing me?”
“Am I not allowed to?”
“You can.” I smile and then frown. “Do you think you can stop giving Kayden a hard time?”
“I don’t think you can deny that he started it.”
“So be mature and rise above.”
“Why are we talking about him?”
I want to ask if he’s jealous, but I don’t. I’m not ready for that answer, and besides, I’m not in the right frame of mind to be dating either of them. I’ve been spending time with both of them since I realized I might have feelings for Darius too, but I’m just friends with them. Honestly, I don’t have the time to date anyone. I’m far too busy.
And it’s impossible for me to even think that they both might like me. That’s just ridiculous.
“I can’t help noticing that you didn’t answer my question,” I say.
“Which question?”
I just give him a look.
“Kayden… He just needs to treat you with respect. That’s all. If he does that, I have no problem with him.”
“And who made you the respect goon?”
By now, we turn onto the street that the orphanage is on. I slow my pace so we can finish this conversation because it’s too important, and once we arrive, there’s no way Valerie won’t dominate the conversation.
“You deserve respect. Everyone does.”
“Including Kayden.” I smirk.
“I’m not disrespecting him,” Darius protests.
“If you say so.”
Darius sighs. “You’re impossible. You know that, right?”
“You too.” I lift a shoulder.
“We make a great team.”
“I think so too.”
He opens his mouth, closes it, shakes his head, and points to the orphanage ahead. “You have any strange feelings about returning?”
“Do you?”
“Yes, actually,” he admits. “It was a terrifying time fighting the stone gargoyle. I thought I might die. It wasn’t the first time I went after an evil paranormal creature, but it was the first time I had to hunt one with a team looking to me for guidance. If I said the wrong thing, did the wrong thing… People got hurt on my watch. I wasn’t able to prevent that, and if it had been up to me, we would have brought her back to the academy, and who knows if anyone would have realized that she could have been saved, that her baby wasn’t dead?”
“I’m sure that someone else would have noticed,” I protest.
“You need to give yourself more credit.”
“I wouldn’t want to risk having a head as fat as yours,” I tease.
“You’re insulting me? I don’t have an ego!”
“Oh, no? You’re just one of the only arcane magic users. You’re basically purely self-taught, and you’re amazing at it.”
“Aw. Now there’s the compliment I’ve been waiting for.”
“Good,” I correct. “You’re good at it.”
“You can’t take it back. I heard you. You said I’m amazing.”
“No. I said you’re amazing at magic.”
He grins broadly. “You said it twice so it must be true.”
