The Puppet Master: The Paranormal University Files: Skylar, Year 4 Read online

  “Hey, Sky,” Sam called, his smile wide. Ash, by comparison, appeared a little less relaxed. “Or maybe I should call you little sister now?”

  “Only if I get to call you big brother.”

  Sam’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Deal. Ash, allow me to introduce my new sister. Sky, meet Ashley.”

  I crossed the remaining distance between us and aimed a sunny smile at Sam’s nervous boyfriend. And before he had a chance to say anything, I stepped in and hugged him.

  “It’s about time we met. Sorry I wasn’t here to welcome you into our home.”

  Ash’s tense shoulders relaxed. After a brief but strong hug, he stepped back. “Way I hear it, they keep you busy around here.”

  “Yeah, they’re real taskmasters. Gabe especially.”

  “Hey!”

  I leaned in and dropped my voice to a dramatic whisper. “He likes to beat me up during training because he’s afraid I’m a better flyer than him.”

  “You kinda are. I’ve been watching what this lazy ass calls flying for a few years now and it’s nothing special. Shame of the family,” Sam teased.

  Just then, Teresa stepped inside with a huge earthen jug in her hand. “Got it! They almost wouldn’t give it to me and said you or Sky were going to have to fetch it. They didn't wanna ‘furnish alcohol to a minor’ or some shit like that.”

  “With good reason,” I said. “That cider is seriously strong. Like, apples filtered through Everclear strong.”

  Both of Ash’s fair brows jolted upward. “Never had booze made by a supernatural before. It can’t be that bad.”

  “Ooooh, cider from the nymphs. You’re in for a real treat, Ash.”

  Liberating the jug from Teresa, I took it into the kitchen and proceeded to get drinks poured for everyone. By the time I passed glasses around, Gabe was bringing out a tray loaded with golden strips of chicken, a huge pile of perfectly cooked jasmine rice, and veggie tempura, all served alongside a curry sauce. Teresa brought out plates and chopsticks.

  “Okay, so you have to tell me how you two met,” I started while I began loading food on to my plate. “Sam’s been super mum on the details."

  “Sorry about that.” Sam awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “I—”

  “That’s my fault, actually.” Ash grimaced, the expression short-lived on his handsome face. Sam really had great taste because the guy was gorgeous in a way that remained masculine, so hot I stole a quick glimpse of his Destiny Lines to confirm he had no fae blood. “I kinda work in a job that wouldn’t be too cool with me having a boyfriend. To be completely honest, when he told me about his family, that intimidated me too."

  Sam nodded. “The past year has been a lot of time of just pretending to be friends.”

  “Ohhh…” I considered that, thinking about my in-laws. Gabe’s mom hadn’t completely warmed up to me yet, and they were fairly traditional. Not that Gabe or Teresa seemed to mind.

  “Yeah,” Sam said.

  “Well, you should tell them. I mean, it can’t be any more shocking than Gabe bringing a fae into the family. I’m busting down all kinds of walls, dude."

  My attempt at humor, dumb as it was, resulted in the laughter I’d hoped for. Sam gave me a grateful look while Ash laughed so hard his eyes watered.

  “Sam said you were cool, but he’s been known to exaggerate. I’m glad he wasn’t this time.”

  Instantaneous relief swam over me and washed away what tension remained from our first meeting. Between the chat with my favorite sentinel mentors, an hour of play with their baby, and settling in for lunch now, I was reminded that life wasn't so difficult after all. I was loved and appreciated.

  People looked up to me.

  I was more than one error beyond my control. And I was not a quitter liable to give up after a couple failures.

  Sooner or later, fate was bound to cross my path with Annalise’s again. I would be ready for her.

  10

  Redemption

  There was a strange buzz in the air Monday morning when I made my way to my sole fae required class. Everyone I passed was whispering, as if the whole campus was in on some secret I wasn't privy to.

  Then again, I was running late and skipped my usual breakfast in the food court, which is where most of my daily gossip was picked up. Not that I actually needed to hear what was going on, because the moment I stepped into class, the answer was right in front of me.

  Jiro Yamazaki, member of the Hidden Court who had nearly killed Gabriel and me, was sitting at the end of the front row.

  “Someone pinch me,” I whispered as I took my seat beside Pilar. “Because obviously I’m still in bed and dreaming.”

  “Afraid not,” she whispered back. “He arrived last night.”

  “You knew? Why didn't you tell me?”

  “Because Simon told me not to say anything about it, that's why. They didn’t want any rumors going around, I guess.”

  “Then how—?”

  “I happened past when they arrived because I was out jogging.”

  “Jogging. At night.”

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Uh-huh.” More like she was meeting Dain, I bet, and wondered why she wouldn’t just fess up about their relationship. But it was her choice if she wanted to keep it in the dark, just as it had been Sam and Ashley's right to keep the nature of their relationship secret too. Gabriel’s family had a scary, traditional sort of ambience in the household. I’d gained acceptance by the skin of my teeth.

  Throughout class, I stole glances at him. He looked sickly and pale, a withdrawn shadow of the kid who once shared his mom-made bento lunch with me in the cafeteria. A buffer of unoccupied seats divided him from the rest of the classroom.

  No one wanted to sit near the darkling.

  No one would even look at him.

  And despite how much I wanted to loathe him for trying to kill me, an undeniable stab of pity lanced into my chest.

  When the bell rang, most people hurried out, and those who didn’t gathered in groups to watch Jiro pack his bag. He hesitated and lingered near his seat, probably waiting for everyone to go.

  “Coming, Sky?” Pilar called.

  “Yeah.”

  We’d barely made it ten feet from the door when a chill ran up my spine, the sensation of being watched boring into the back of my head.

  “Skylar.” Jiro’s voice froze me in my tracks. Pilar cast a worried glance over her shoulder and I slowly turned. Jiro stood there, dark eyes on me, his shoulders hunched. Those eyes were once the prettiest green I had ever seen. “You have a minute?”

  Shit. Shit. Shit. “Yeah?” I forced a smile to my face that felt oddly genuine instead of tugging my mouth into a friendly shape against its will. “What’s up?”

  Professor Baranov glanced up from her desk, eyes narrowing as her gaze skipped from the group of stragglers to me. I thought she’d fuss at all of us, but instead, she snapped in her whip-sharp voice, “Don’t you all have somewhere to be? Go. Go. Not you, Corazzi. I need to have a word with you and Yamazaki.”

  A triple-shit wasn’t good enough. Baranov was an excellent teacher, but she was scary as hell. She never yelled, but her disappointment had a way of reducing us to the size of worms. I’d had her last year, too, and had managed to never end up on the other end of one of her counseling sessions. Until today, it seemed.

  Pilar shot me a sympathetic glance then hurried from the room behind the busybodies. Once they were gone, however, and the door shut, Professor Baranov crossed the lecture hall and busied herself with breaking down training dummies, too great a distance for her to overhear a word. I thought.

  Jiro didn't close in on my space, standing about twice as far as necessary for casual conversation. "Hey. I…thanks.” He lisped it, bringing attention to his forked tongue. Becoming a darkling changed fae. Changed any supernatural. What I couldn’t understand was why he’d been allowed back on campus.

  “Thanks for what?”

  “For not le
aving.” He rubbed the back of his neck, allowing me a chance to see his wrist closer up. A scattering of black scales stretched over his arm. “I’m sorry about what happened back then. She made—” He stopped, sighed and rocked on his feet with his hands in his pockets. “I’m not trying to make excuses. That’s just a lame explanation. They approached me, I made a conscious, stupid decision, and then I went along with it instead of seeking alternatives. I was dumb.”

  “Yeah.” More words, harsher ones, burned on my tongue, but I bit them back, casting a glance toward Baranov. She still hadn't shown any indication as to why she wanted us both here. Maybe that had just been an excuse to get everyone else to leave.

  “I don’t expect you to forgive me.”

  “I don’t,” I snapped, an immediate flush following my curt words. I swallowed and drew in a deep breath through my nose. “I mean… Forgiveness is gonna take some time.”

  “That’s more than fair,” he said. “I just wanted you to know. And I want to apologize to Gabriel as well. He must hate me.”

  “I—” Couldn’t exactly speak for my mate, but I didn’t think hate was the correct feeling. “I’ll let him know.”

  “Thank you. Someone once told me when you give an apology, you should have the same amount of energy you used to wrong the other party.” He smiled bitterly. “I don’t think any amount makes up for attempted murder.”

  Jiro bowed deeply to me and left.

  By the time I made it into the corridor, most of the students who would have been well on their way to the next class were milling about in the hall or seated on chairs in the lobby. Two lecture halls occupied this part of the building, accessible from a corridor running parallel to a grand hall designed to showcase the splendors of Tir na Nog and Avalon. Which was why the building had been appropriately named the Avalon Building.

  “Well?” Pilar asked, appearing in a sparkle of gold dust at my side. I did a double-take. When the hell had she started doing that? “Spill the tea.”

  “Nothing to spill.”

  “Oh, c’mon,” she urged, keeping close to my side as we walked. “You have to give me something, Skylar.”

  “Honestly. He…apologized. Owned up to making a bad choice.”

  “Bad choice? He betrayed all of us. The school. He helped Monica terrorize people.”

  “He did.”

  “And you just accepted his apology?"

  “I didn’t.”

  “How could—” She stopped, blinked, then cleared her throat. “Oh. All right then.”

  “But I sort of wanted to,” I admitted. “I dunno. Seeing the way everyone avoided him made me feel a little sorry for him.”

  Pilar sniffed. “You shouldn’t.”

  “Probably not. Anyway, you should get to class, and I have an online assignment to turn in before I can get some sleep.” That was the only real disadvantage to being in the sentinel classes. All my closest pals were up during the day when I had to sleep to attend my night courses.

  “See you for dinner?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be sure to set my alarm.”

  After we parted ways, I made my way toward the apartments, my thoughts consumed with Jiro’s return. It didn’t make any sense to me to let him come back. Everyone else I knew that had gone over to the Hidden Court had either been killed or Bound. The fact that he hadn’t meant that something more was going on.

  “Ah, Miss Corazzi. There you are,” called a voice I heard only in nightmares related to my early years in PNRU. Heels rapidly tapped over the cement walking path.

  Initially, I froze, treating my former guidance counselor like a T-rex at Jurassic Park. I slowly pivoted and grunted in response.

  Delores Hansford aimed a sunny smile at me. She hadn’t changed much in the past few years, trading in the unforgivingly tight, braided bun for a short hairstyle that implied she wanted to see a manager. She stood about my height, but back when I was a freshman, she seemed like the most imposing thing on this campus next to the provost.

  She’d treated Gabriel like shit and had a reputation for finding ways to abuse the sentinel partners of her mage and fae students. Simon and Sebastian had rescued me from her by declaring my schedule to be under their purview as part of the sentinel program, releasing me from my magical guidance counselor.

  “You are a difficult woman to track down, my dear.”

  “Really?” I exaggerated a glance around my surroundings. “I’m standing in the open on a public campus walkway. What is it?”

  “We have a matter to discuss.”

  “What matter?” I eyed her, uneasiness stirring the butterflies in my chest.

  Her smile widened. “Jiro Yamazaki, of course.”

  “What about him?”

  “There have been several complaints lodged just within the past half hour related to his arrival on campus. However, my hands are tied unless one of his victims were to file an official grievance.”

  I shivered involuntarily. I didn’t like the smile on her face. “You’re saying that his fate is in my hands?”

  “More or less. If we follow the proper channels, changes to the course load would be required, and without vital classes, Mr. Yamazaki may be barred from attending PNRU altogether. At least for this year.”

  Which meant Jiro would be held in a prison cell behind iron bars until he could attend PNRU again, most likely, if not outright Bound. No. Maybe not even Bound. They’d probably execute him to avoid creating another Monica. “I’m not kicking him out of classes or forcing him to reshuffle his schedule.”

  “Why wouldn’t you? He tried to kill you and your mate, didn’t he?”

  “And failed. I’m still here. We’re still here.”

  “Yes. Until he tries again.”

  “He’s here to redeem himself.”

  “So he says.” Her motherly smile instantly set me on edge. Hansford was never nice. At least not to me. “Well, keep it in your thoughts, dearest. You would be doing a kindness for the rest of your peers, who all feel uncomfortable in the darkling’s presence.”

  “No thanks.”

  Then I walked the hell away because I didn’t owe her anything, and she had no authority over me. A brisk, five-minute stroll was enough to improve my mood by the time I reached the apartment complex. I took the long way up to our floor, entering the lobby and riding the elevator up instead of flying to the balcony.

  “Hey, Gabe,” I called as I stepped inside and dropped my key in the holder by the door. “Did you hear about—”

  Gabriel stood beside a window in our living room. He held up a finger in an unspoken request for silence and made a quiet grunt into the phone.

  “Understood. Yeah, she just walked in, so I’ll let her know.”

  I crossed the room and waited until he hung up. “Well? What was that about?”

  “The SBA raided a warehouse up in Great Lakes and found four bodies from our missing persons list,” he replied. “All fae.”

  “Oh shit.”

  “Yeah. On top of that, another three people have been reported missing. Two fae and a mage.”

  Lia had been right; things were only going to get worse. The whole situation made me sick.

  “What are we doing about it?” I asked.

  “We’ll be getting their backgrounds and the taskforce will assist with tracking their last known movements, but beyond that…” He spread his hands. “My priority is the campus. And you.”

  “Because of the prophecy?”

  “Because you’re my mate and I love you.”

  He always knew exactly what to say. Better still, he always meant what he said. My Gabriel didn’t lie.

  “I love you too. And I have news…”

  “Jiro?”

  “You knew?”

  Gabriel gave the phone a little shake. “That was one of the things Simon relayed to me. How are you feeling about it?”

  “Shitty.”

  He sat on the couch and held out a hand toward me. Accepting the invitation, I settled in
to his lap and looped my arms around his shoulders. “I don’t know the details yet, but I’ve been led to understand that he turned himself in over the summer.”

  “So? He’s a darkling, Gabe. It was…” I struggled to find an appropriate word for what I felt. “Weird.”

  “Yeah, I can imagine. He say anything to you?”

  “After class he apologized to me. Said he wanted to do the same for you.”

  Gabriel grunted noncommittally. “That it?”

  “Yeah, I guess. I mean, everyone avoided him. Then Hansford tracked me down in the courtyard and told me I could file a grievance through her office.”

  “What’d you say?”

  “I told her to fuck off, in kinder words.”

  “It’s not gonna be easy for him on campus,” Gabriel mused. “Simon said they have him in his own dorm room and he’s restricted to campus grounds. Anything more than that, I haven’t been briefed on.”

  “Guess I’ll have to ask Simon about it then.”

  Gabe’s arms tightened around my waist. “You can ask, but not today. Today I have plans for keeping you wrapped up in bed.”

  11

  Oppression

  Since Lia wasn’t allowed off PNRU’s property—for very good reasons—we did our best to bring off-campus living to her. We ordered in, we took her along with us on shopping sprees using the video chat apps on our phones, and spent quality time in the courtyard in the autumn breeze since she’d been cooped up indoors for so long.

  Pilar even managed to pull off the impossible by tapping her daddy’s resources and emailing some corporate honchos who authorized a special campus viewing of the latest Star Wars. Maybe someone at corporate hoped kissing up to the fae would net them a faerie godparent of their own. Maybe it had been a genuine act of kindness. We would never know, because Pilar kept everything secret and shushed us any time we asked if there had been a cost we needed to help repay.

  To spend quality time with my pals, I woke up earlier than most vampires to chill with them during the narrow span of time all our schedules overlapped prior to my evening classes. The gang served dinner-breakfast sometimes to accommodate me, and at other times, I nommed down a few slices of pizza before reporting to the training compound.