Descending Into Darkness (Moonlight Academy Book 2)

I wanted to quickly change the subject, but Karina remarked that my bickering with pretty boy hadn’t gone unnoticed. The other members of our team had probably already put two and two together. At that point, I didn’t care anymore. My life was no one else’s business. Over the next few days I tried to stay away from pretty boy. He somehow got the message and stopped bothering me.

On Thursday evening, Karina announced that she had planned a trip to Bucharest for both of us. I got very excited about the possibility of leaving school. One of Karina’s best friends lived there. A few months ago, after I’d returned from Russia, Oldman had paid the whole group for completing the mission, and for the first time in my life I had money. The very next day I went to town and set up a bank account. Karina helped me with the paperwork and a week later I received my first bank card in the post. I stared at it for a long time, wondering if this was happening for real.

“Are we even allowed to leave school?” I asked, staring at her after she mentioned that everything was already sorted.

“Of course. We just need to let Oldman know what we intend to do,” she explained, grinning and then added “You deserve to have fun once in a while. Besides we are going to be back here by Monday.”

I didn’t say anything, but deep down I was thrilled that I could finally enjoy myself. Karina threw my backpack at me.

“Pack your best clothes darling because are going to have a wild weekend.”

I couldn’t help but smile, agreeing wholeheartedly with her. We were all adults here and as long as we didn’t miss any lectures, we still had the freedom to do exactly what we wanted.

At the same time, I felt a little restricted, maybe because of what had happened in the past. I shook these tangling thoughts away and told myself that I had nothing to worry about.

After struggling for so many years, I finally had funds to travel to another country. The airfare wasn’t pricey. Karina said that she’d found a very good deal for both of us.

Around six am the taxi picked us up from outside the Moonlight Academy building and took us to the airport.

Since my encounter with Lachlan, my magic had been a little unsettled, so I had to be careful. There was still a lot that I needed to learn about myself and about my complex abilities.

For years Melody had been my only friend, so this whole situation was a little surreal.

“How is your witchy friend? Have you managed to finally get through to her?” Karina asked.

“No, I haven’t heard from her since our last conversation. She’s not allowed to have a phone,” I said, still thinking about her.

Melody was going to be pissed off that I had never said goodbye, but deep down I knew that she was even happier that I was no longer homeless. I told her briefly about Moonlight and about my group. She promised me that she would come visit me here in Kiev one day, but I wasn’t sure how she would manage that. I was so happy when I’d heard her voice. Witches never cared about technology, but Anna had a phone line in her house. I suspected that Melody only used it when her guardian wasn’t around.

“Witches and their convents are cagey. They don’t allow technology to interfere with their magic. I suspect that your friend doesn’t have much of a voice,” Karina explained.

She was right. Melody was restricted until she became a real witch. For now, she couldn’t change her destiny even if she wanted to.

“I might go and visit her in Lviv if I don’t hear back from her,” I muttered, feeling a little guilty.

Melody was a good soul and we had always been close. She didn’t deserve being controlled by Anna. At the same time, I didn’t want to return to the place where I was technically born as a half vampire, but Melody was the only person that I ever considered family.

Karina mentioned that we were going to stay in a fancy apartment that she’d found through some online website and I was looking forward to it.

The flight to Bucharest was very short. I had a little panic attack on the plane, but somehow I managed to calm down. We both spotted several supernatural creatures on our flight.

Leonidas was still out there. He had managed to escape and was probably laying low, planning his revenge. Dorothy had been rescued but I had a feeling that the ancient wasn’t going to give up so easily.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. I’m getting a migraine,” Karina said as we were walking through the terminal building. We located the exit doors quickly enough.

“There are a lot of supernaturals around here, way more than in Kiev,” I told her, seeing a group of vampires that were watching us from a distance.

“Bucharest is riddled with them. They are here because of Elite,” she explained when we finally got outside.

It was cold and the rain was pouring down from the sky. Karina managed to get us a taxi quickly enough. I was looking forward to exploring the city and meeting Karina’s friend.

I still had no idea why Karina had been excluded from her pack back in Sweden but I had a feeling that I was going to find it out soon enough.

Heavy dark clouds were hanging in the sky. It was probably going to snow too. It was the end of November and I’d caught the end of the weather forecast. Apparently the whole of Eastern Europe was supposed to be hit with a snow storm that was approaching from the East. I’d always hated the winters in Lviv.

After Karina showed the taxi driver the address, the driver kept talking in fast Romanian throughout the whole journey. He didn’t seem bothered that we didn’t understand a thing he said.

It was liberating to know that for the first time I didn’t have to answer to anyone. That unexpected freedom scared me a little.

The driver dropped us off by the large townhouse building. When I saw the apartment that we were going to stay in I was speechless. It was the most amazing place that I had ever seen; with high ceilings, wooden floors and an ultra-modern kitchen. Karina had really outdone herself this time. I was walking around the large living room, imagining Melody’s face when I showed her the photos of this place. She would love it.

“Karina. This place is absolutely amazing. This must have cost a fortune,” I said to her, looking out the window. The view of the city was spectacular too. She twisted her pink hair around her fingers and gave me a wink.

“Don’t be silly, it’s cheap to rent something like this in Romania, besides I can always source a very good deal. Let’s change and go out. Marisa said that she wants to meet up in the club in town,”

It was still pretty early and I was way too excited to stay inside. I didn’t even want to think about assignments or preparations for lessons with Riley. Pretty boy was a distant memory too.

I needed to relax, enjoy myself to the fullest, and not worry about where I was going to sleep tonight or when could I have a warm meal next.

“All right,” I said, smiling. “But you need to help me out with my clothes. You know I’m useless at making myself look decent.”

“Stop it Jaymin. You’re not useless, but of course girl. I’ll hook you up,” she said, sounding annoyed that I didn’t have much confidence in myself. I was very lucky to have that kind of friend in Karina.

We left the apartment around six pm and headed straight into town. Karina was excited about seeing her friend. Apparently, Marisa had called her out of the blue and told her that she wanted to see her. She refused to reveal anything over the phone, but Karina didn’t seem concerned about anything.

The city was beaming, but it was so damn cold. After staying indoors throughout most of the summer and autumn I’d kind of forgotten how hard it used to be in the past.

“You seem to know these streets very well, have you been here before?” I asked Karina, after we ended up in a very busy alley filled with shifters. Most of them were looking at me with a mixture of wariness and curiosity. Most of them had likely never seen a half breed before.

“Once or twice, but don’t forget that I have photographic memory. The club is just around the corner, Marisa is waiting for us there,” Karina said. “That girl always hangs around very handsome guys. I think you should borrow one and have fun tonight.”

“Maybe you’re right, I need to live a little,” I said, thinking about Lachlan. A cold shiver crawled over my spine when I thought about our last encounter and that kiss.

We walked through the crowd and shortly afterwards we got to the club. The temperature had dropped again and we were both glad finally of getting inside. My fingers were completely numb. There were a lot of supernaturals around, similar to the clubs in Russia and Ukraine. The music was loud, a lot of female vampires wore basically next to nothing. They probably didn’t feel the cold like most of the other breeds there, but still, they should realise that there were humans amongst them.

Karina dragged me to the bar and she quickly charmed the barman. We got our drinks before anyone else did. Some females in the queue didn’t seem too happy.

Moments later, I sensed the odour of blood and my magic prickled along my skin instantly. There were several vampires with humans in the corners. It was obvious that these people were their donors. In here, no one seemed to care about humans, no one bothered to be careful. Back in Ukraine, the High Council would have shut this place down already.

“Marisa hasn’t read my last text and that was an hour ago,” Karina said, frowning and staring at her fancy phone.

“Maybe she’s just trying to get here and she’s running a bit late,” I said, staring at the human girl that was attempting to flirt with one of the vampires.

This seemed completely surreal to me, but I kept telling myself that I had to be open minded. This was a different country, different culture and obviously things were set up differently too.

“I don’t know, I’m slightly worried. Marisa hates being late. She normally leaves an hour earlier just to make sure she is always on time,” Karina said, drinking her fancy cocktail. I went for a beer and as soon as I dipped my lips into the glass, the alcohol began messing around with my magic. I thought for a second that I sensed Lachlan nearby, but surely that was impossible. He was thousands of miles away from here.

“So, what do you want to do? The vibes in this club are odd. The humans seem to know what is going on here,” I muttered, not wanting to worry her, but too many breeds were staring at us, well specifically at me, as if they had never seen a half breed before.

“Hold on, I have another text from her,” Karina said, showing me the phone so we could both read it.

Meet me in the park. Something happened and I think I was being followed. The usual place. M

Karina frowned and then glanced at me. I was confused. I had no idea what to think.

“The usual place, do you know what she means?” I asked her taking a deep breath in. Sudden waves of heat rushed through my veins. The magic around me was very intense. It started pumping through me. I knew that someone was trying to break my wards. Another fae or possibly an ancient vampire was nearby. I started glancing around, but there were so many supernatural beings standing so close to me that it was hard to tell who had a problem with me.

“Yeah, it’s that one place where we used to like hanging around. Come on, let’s get a move on, this is very strange,” Karina said, finishing her drink in one go and grabbing my hand.

I didn’t have time to question her as she dragged me outside. The magical energy was so apparent I had to take several long breaths of air. I felt a bit better after a while. Karina looked worried, so I just carried on following her. We crossed the road and headed away from the centre of the city.

Within twenty minutes we were outside the tall metal gate. The streets around us were empty. It was pitch black and I wasn’t sensing anyone nearby, no pedestrians, shifters or even vampires.

“Karina, this place is deserted. Maybe you should try calling her again,” I suggested, sensing her growing anxiety. Something was wrong and we both felt it. The sense of dread that hung over our heads mixed with freezing icy cold air. This wasn’t a very nice feeling at all.

I knelt down and took my knives out of my boot. I didn’t expect to need them tonight, but I always liked to be prepared.

“Let’s look around. We aren’t far from the Elite territory. The academy is just behind this park,” Karina said. The gate was unlocked, my half breed eyes had adjusted to the darkness and Karina looked like she was ready to shift. I was a little taken back by the fact that we were so close to the Elite. I thought that the Academy was somewhere on the outskirts of the city.

I used my hand to create a magical light, there weren’t any humans around so we were safe for now. We entered the park and started walking along the dark path. Not all of the lamps were working, or maybe someone had made sure that we couldn’t see anything here. I wasn’t really sure what we were looking for until we came through to the open path. In the middle of it there was a small fountain, but then something by the bench caught my eye.

“Karina, there’s something there,” I said it out loudly. It took us both a few seconds to figure out that what exactly we were staring at–a corpse.

“Dear Lord, it’s her, it’s Marisa,” Karina whispered, going instantly pale.