Free B00AO57VOY EBOK by AJ Myers

rather than reassuring.  “I assume that is
the reason why you failed to show up for my class this morning?  Then, you’ve
gotten very good at not showing up, haven’t you, Miss Blaylock?  Don’t think
I’ve forgotten that you still owe me a detention.”
    Oh, shit.  I had forgotten
all about that detention.  
    “But that so wasn’t my
fault!” I squeaked.  I swallowed again when her eyes narrowed on mine and then,
without thinking, blurted out the truth, “I was kidnapped!”
    Ms. Cantrell gave me a
patronizing look and stirred her coffee.  “Of course you were.”
    “I was,” I muttered, giving
Grams a look that practically demanded she back me up.  Grams just smiled and
sipped her coffee, though.  What.  A.  Traitor ! 
    “I believe when one is
carried away by their boyfriend, it’s called a lover’s tryst, not kidnapping,
Miss Blaylock,” Ms. Cantrell continued, her lips turning up even more when I
glared at her.   
    After a few seconds of
meeting that condescending gaze, I had to turn away.  How she could be related
to someone as sweet as Mrs. Amelia…
    Wait.  She was Mrs. Amelia’s sister ? 
    Holy hell!  She was a witch!
    I didn’t find it all that
hard to picture to be honest.  If there had ever been anyone in this world who
would fit the stereotype of a witch, it was the old hag still smirking at me
from across the room.  All that was missing was the wart on the end of her
nose…and she could have had that removed.
    I listened carefully as the
two older women resumed their conversation and got the impression they were
planning out a guard detail.  A guard detail for me.  I had to go back
to school, after all, a dangerous undertaking with Jack lurking around waiting
for a chance to pounce.
    When Ms. Cantrell said she
would let the others know what their duties were, I was genuinely curious.  I
mean, how many witches could there be at Oakhurst Academy?
    “Well, Miss Blaylock,” Ms.
Cantrell said, getting to her feet once the arrangements to have me guarded day
and night had been finalized.  “In light of recent events, I am willing to
overlook your absence today.  In fact, I’ll even forget about the detention you
skipped.  Instead, I would like you to write me a three page essay on
supernatural beings in literature.”  
    She paused as the door
opened and Nathan walked in.  He stopped and they glared each other briefly
before he shrugged and walked over to sit next to me at the counter.  Her eyes
narrowed so much they were practically closed when he tugged my stool flush
against his and pulled me back against him.
    “Given the company you keep,
I suggest you start with Bram Stoker’s Dracula ,” she said, smirking
nastily at Nathan as he tensed.  “I believe you might find some very useful
information there.  Did you know Stoker truly was a vampire hunter, Miss
Blaylock?”
    “It’s been a pleasure, as
always, Constance,” Nathan said.  “Feel free to come by and bathe us in your
warm glow again soon.”
    I didn’t have to turn around
to see his sneer of dislike.  It was pretty obvious in that delicious voice.  I
wondered for a second who he was talking to and then stared at Ms. Cantrell in
surprise.  Strange as it might sound, I had never thought of her actually having a first name.
    “Excuse me?” she snapped.
    “Loose translation?  Get
out,” Nathan told her simply, unwrapping one of his arms from around me to
gesture toward the door he’d just come through.   
    With a hiss of insulted
outrage, she drew herself up to her full height, and I waited for her to
breathe fire and barbeque us all.  Then Grams patted her arm and Ms. Cantrell
seemed to remember she and Nathan were on the same side.  With a look that
should have killed Nathan on the spot, she turned toward the door without
another word.
    “Did you feel that?” Nathan
asked, pretending to shudder as she left.  “I feel all warm and fuzzy inside
now.”
    “Must you antagonize