AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Curious, I lifted the page and examined it. It was pastel pink and decorated with a smiling marshmallow, and the writing had been done in glittering gel pen, which convinced me neither Wanda nor Taliyah were the culprits. Wanda regarded pastels with the same kind of wariness vampires reserved for garlic bulbs. Taliyah wasn’t a pink sort of woman either, preferring to dip into the more subdued tones of Wanda’s palette: Silvers, dark blues, and blacks, mostly.
But when I examined the penmanship, the source became clear. I’d kept every hand-written letter she’d ever sent me in a drawer along with the few family keepsakes I had. It was Astrid’s handwriting. How she’d gotten it here, I had no idea. As far as I could tell, she still had a month or two left at that damn school before she came back for spring break.
Trouble at Blood Rose Academy. Can’t explain in detail. If I don’t write back in a week, come looking for me. Morgana will know what happened and can fill you in. Love you all, -A
The words themselves were as vague as they were chilling.
If I don’t write back, come looking for me.
Which implied my harebrained little sister anticipated a scenario where she might be in danger, and was trudging forward anyway, counting on Wanda or me to come after her in the event she failed at... whatever it was she was attempting.
I knew it had been a bad idea to send her to that blasted school, but did anyone listen to me? No, they didn’t. And now she was in trouble. There was no way I was going to wait for a week to see if she’d check in. A week would be too late. I needed to find a way to Blood Rose, and I needed to find it ASAP.
Wanda and Taliyah both looked alarmed when I left the back room at speed, face grim and determined. I brushed past Taliyah, pushing the softness of her skin and the intoxicating way she smelled out of my thoughts for the moment. The chime over the door dinged as soon as I thrust my way through it.
“Where are you going?” Taliyah called after me when I bypassed her patrol car. “We’re taking my car, not yours!”
“Maverick?” I heard Wanda’s voice call after me but I wasn’t stopping.
Yes, I could have used Wanda’s help but as far as anyone else knew, she was a vampire and the last thing she needed was to be up close and personal with anyone who would be able to tell the whole thing was a ruse—aka witches.
No, I needed to do this on my own.
I drew on the power of the air, sending the note back to Taliyah on a light breeze so she’d understand why I couldn’t help her with the swamp creature.
“Maverick, wait!” she called out as I started to slow. “Please!”
I stopped walking and turned around at the exact moment that she snatched the letter before it could whip past her and back into the shop. Quickly scanning it, her face grew impossibly paler as she read.
“I’m going to see Olga,” I said. “She was a teacher at Blood Rose Academy, and she’ll know how to bypass the usual bureaucracy of entering the school. I’m sorry, but the swamp thing will have to wait. My sister is in trouble.”
Taliyah crossed the distance between us with staggering speed, falling into step beside me easily as I started for my car. Before I knew it, she was seated in the passenger’s side, staring forward, eyes flashing with determination. Her expression almost dared me to kick her out when I slid in beside her.
“I’m coming with you.”
I didn’t have time to argue. “Fine. But I’m going to break a few speed limits getting there. Just FYI.”
Taliyah considered it, then offered me a nod and a chilly smile. “Just as long as you wear your seat belt.”
The End
