“You’re never too old to learn where you come from.” I kissed his cheek. “Plus, you have me.”
“Ugh,” Kallie complained. “You two are gross. Marcus and I already figured out you two havebroken-inthe Lair.”
I hissed with laughter, thinking back to the delicious blow-job I’d given Charlie. “Maybe.”
“No time for that,” Marcus said as he checked his watch. “The bus for Shade Hills leaves in fifteen minutes. We’d better get going.”
We had to leave Oberi and Rishi behind in our dorms, per Institute rules. It was a good way of preventing people from trying to escape during the field trip— forcing them to leave their pets and their Familiars behind. No witch would leave their cat, and no Elementai would abandon their Familiar, either.
Oberi insisted on remaining a unicorn, until she realized that Charlie and I couldn’t stuff her through my dorm room door, despite trying. She changed into a husky and hopped on my bed with a grumble. Oberi whimpered, and Rishi let out a soft yowl as we left them behind in my dorm. I feltso bad, as I knew Oberi wanted a chance to play outside Institute grounds, but we didn’t have a choice.
Dozens of prisoners were already waiting at the bus stop in front of the prison, excited at the prospect of getting out for the day. Most people had been stuck inside the Institute for a year or more, and were thrilled at the opportunity just to get some space, even supervised. Field trips into town were rare, and not everyone got to go every time, so for once, I was glad for my good behavior.
We were fitted with the noxite tracker cuffs, which definitely put a damper on my mood. I could feel the poison sucking away at my magic. I knew if anyone here tried to escape, they’d have a rough time of it with these cuffs on. Slipping away to go check on the gate in the middle of the woods was going to be a long shot, but we had to try.
We were ordered to loop our prison ID cards around our neck with the lanyards they handed out, and told we had to keep them on at all times. Anyone who took theirs off would get an immediate infraction, and a trip back to the Institute.
Charlie put the lanyard on. A giggle rose past my lips as I read his ID tag. “Charles? Your full name isCharles?”
“It’s the formal name for Charlie, yes,” he replied tiredly, like he’d known I’d figure this out eventually and hadn’t been looking forward to it.
I snorted. “Charles. It’s sofancy.Lord Charles. No,PrinceCharles!”
“I don’t know what my parents were thinking when they named me that. I’m not a stuck-up guy,” he argued.
“Of course not,Charles,” I replied in a snooty tone. He sighed.
I teased Charlie all the way to Shade Hills. When we disembarked the bus, I looked around. We hadn’t had much of a chance to observe Shade Hills during the Darke Games, but now that we were here, I could take in the sights. Shade Hills was overcast and cloudy, with a lot of abandoned shops along the twisted and winding cobblestone roads, but it was also quirky. The windows we passed advertised all kinds of unusual items. We walked by a botany shop that exclusively sold poisonous, man-eating plants, and a bookstore that only contained banned books. I wanted to go in there, but a guard cut me off before I could enter, so I was forced to stay with the other inmates.
We moved as a massive group through Shade Hills, the guards surrounding us so we didn’t have a chance to walk off. We weren’t allowed to have any money at the Institute, but the guards had permitted us to bring a couple of small bills, for approved trinkets and treats in Shade Hills.
Cursed Collectibleswas the first shop we entered. It was a witch store, but instead of being full of the usual things witches would want like wands, crystals, and herbs, the shelves were packed with cursed objects, skulls, haunted cauldrons, mummified cat remains, possessed Ouija boards, and magical artifacts. It was dark in here, and smelled musty. The necromancer running the shop was balding, and he had a crooked, toothless smile that I really didn’t like. A bone parrot sat on his shoulder, squawking and flapping its skeleton wings.
“Couldn’t let him go after he died,” the necromancer croaked to me when I passed, and he stroked the parrot’s beak. “Now he’s with me forever.”
Totally gross. A couple of people bought things, but me? No thanks. The last thing I wanted was to bring a cursed object back to my cell, where I’d certainly receive bad side effects, if not bring back a fully-fledged ghost. My cell was too small to even share it with the dead. As the group left, we had to pull Marcus away from the artistic section of the shop, which was full of magical paints that would change colors as you put them on the canvas.
“Why would you even want to tamper with that? The sign said the paint hasdemon bloodin it. You’re asking to summon something you don’t want to play with,” Kallie protested as we left.
“I’m part necromancer. It doesn’t bother me,” he said.
“I’m not helping you exorcise a demon once it possesses your ass,” Kallie grumbled. Marcus shrugged, like he didn’t see what the big deal was.
Our next stop was a pet shop for Elementai namedPrecarious Pets. I usually didn’t like pet stores that sold animals, as I thought they could be cruel, but this one was very unique. It was full of creatures in cages and stalls that could potentially bond with Elementai. There was a ram with fire horns and pitch-black eyes, a bear with tentacles for a face, a twelve-foot long basilisk that had crocodile legs, and a giant spider with a gibbon’s head (and a hundred black eyes). Every creature in here seemed to be sort of dark and twisted— evil, in a way.
I was firm on the standing that Familiars needed to roam free, in order to find their Elementai at the right time. But on the other hand, I was glad these creatures were locked up. They seemed deadlier and more dangerous than the average Familiar.
Charlie and I bought a couple of dog treats to take back to Oberi, along with a fancy rhinestone halter she could wear in her unicorn form. Opal and Ezekiel hopped between each aisle, taking in all the creatures with wonder.
“This one is really neat!” Opal said as she leaned closer to a cage. It held an animal that had the head of a cobra and the body of a cat. The cobra lunged its fangs at her, and Ez yanked Opal back. She fell against his chest, and he pulled her away from the cage, naturally wrapping his arms around her. He didn’t seem to realize what he was doing, but Opal’s cheeks blushed pink.
“Notthatone,” he said. “But maybe I can find a Familiar here!”
Ez let her go and hurried from cage to cage, looking for his Familiar, but didn’t bond with any of them. He was forced to leave the shop disappointed— unlike one student, who squealed with joy when he realized he’d bonded with a purple toad with a forked tongue that leaked poison.
“Darn.” Ez sighed. “I just don’t have any luck, do I?”
“You didn’t want any of those, anyway,” Opal said brightly. “Your Familiar will bebetter.”
