Free INTEGRATION (Bonfire Academy Book Two) (Bonfire Chronicles) by Imogen Rose Page A

come up.
    So I was a bit disappointed to see just two of them walk into the room. I guessed we didn’t really need more than that. One would have been enough. The two who appeared were obviously shifters, but in their human forms, which were kind of
blech
, as Faustine would have said.
    Both of them looked like strung out ex-rockers, reminding me a bit of Keith Richards. They were covered in black leather, which accentuated their scraggly, thin bodies. Enormous arched noses with flared nostrils dominated their sunken, gaunt faces. The noses were so overpowering that their small, blackened eyes were almost hidden in their tiny sockets. Both had shaped their hair into black, oily-looking Mohawks. They walked right up to Frau Schmelder’s desk, where they came to a halt and stood at attention.
    “Thanks for coming up so promptly. Please take a seat for the moment.”
    As they walked over to the chairs beside The Smelt’s conference table, she turned to Faustine’s dad. “I need to make sure that Mason is out of his room before I send the Trackers up there. Although I’m happy to send them, their value will be limited. Whoever was in the room is long since gone, but hopefully, the Trackers will be able to tell you at least what kind of paranormal it was. Chances are that Cordelia is mistaken in thinking that the voice belonged to an old lady. It could have just been Mason in his female form.”
    I shook my head vehemently. “No, it definitely wasn’t Mason’s voice. I’d have recognized it. Besides, I could hear Mason; he was in his male form. I could also hear his father. This was a third voice, definitely a woman, and she sounded old.”
    “There’s only one way to find out for sure,” King Sebastian said, rising from the couch. “Let’s go and find out.”
    The Smelt gaped at him. “We’ll send the Trackers. There’s no need for you to go, Your Majesty.”
    “I’d like to smell it for myself,” he said.
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea. There shouldn’t be anyone around in the dorms at this hour, but entering the shifter wing could be unwise.”
    “Unwise?”
    “If you go up there, Mason may be able to tell that you’ve been in his room. His olfactory senses are very well developed.”
    “So?”
    “Well, he already has an issue with Faustine, and knowing you’ve been up there may rankle him into further mischief.”
    “Perhaps. Although I highly doubt he’ll know it was me. Cordelia and Jagger have already been in his room, correct?”
    I nodded.
    “That was unwise,” he said as The Smelt threw me a told-you-so look. “He’ll be able to recognize your scents, no doubt. He’s never met me, so that won’t be an issue. He’ll merely smell an unknown demon.”
    “What about Mason’s father?” The Smelt asked. “Do you know Monsieur Drasco? Would he recognize your scent?”
    “I have met him on a few occasions,” King Sebastian acknowledged.
    “It’s very likely that Mason could ask his father to check out any unusual demon scents in his room, after what’s just happened,” The Smelt warned. “I would really prefer it if you remained uninvolved and let us handle it.”
    “
My
daughter’s life has been threatened. I’m going.” His tone said his decision was final.
    The Smelt’s mouth twitched as though she was about to protest, but the snarl King Sebastian emitted clearly warned her not to, so she simply nodded.
    “I’ll walk them over,” I offered, hoping not to be left behind. I’d already been up there once, so Mason would already know that I’d been snooping—no harm in going again. Plus I wanted to know more about the woman who’d been there, and the king definitely seemed to suspect someone. I also wanted to watch while the Trackers did their thing. Who knew what else they might sniff out? The more I found out about Mason, the better I could protect Faustine and myself.
    “That’s not neces—” The Smelt started.
    “Thank you, Cordelia,” King Sebastian