Chapter Twelve

Levi chuckles, "Yeah, that sounds like something that we would've done."

"I'm guessing that you guys didn't find anything interesting?" Damon asks them curiously, sitting forward in his chair.

Dean shakes his head and then frowns, "Well, I guess we did, kind of."

"What do you mean?" I ask, thoroughly intrigued.

"Well, Maria is a fucking genius when it comes to spells and has a crazy good memory, so she tweaked a locator spell that she already knew to seek out other spells, specifically ones that were being used to control other things," Dean explains.

Maria ducks her head, her cheeks tinging pink as we all turn to look at her in awe.

Yates carries on the explanation when it becomes clear that Maria won"t, "It was a bit hit and miss, meaning that we found a couple of students using the spells to control their boyfriends or girlfriends."

"I quickly put a stop to that," Maria says firmly, anger in her eyes.

The more I talk to her, the more I like her, and I feel like we could be really good friends, she's got a fire in her that I like.

"So, did you find the object? There's definitely another object that's controlling the teachers?" Kai asks excitedly.

Maria nods her head, "Yes, there is definitely an object here that is being used to control the teachers. The spell wouldn't have worked otherwise; I tweaked it after I found the controlling partners so that it only focused on that specifically. I managed to narrow it down to the library, but I couldn't tell you what was in there, that was the thing that was controlling them. It could be a book or any of the artifacts that are on display in there."

"That's fucking amazing," Erin exclaims.

"She's right that's so fucking cool, well done," I add with a big smile.

"We have a smaller area to search now, and that is so helpful. In all honesty, we hadn't even begun to search before now because the academy is so big, and it literally could be anywhere," Hunter tells her.

"Thank you," Levi adds.

"You're welcome. I'm sorry that I couldn't narrow it down more," she replies, with a small smile.

"Don't be. You've done more than any of us could," Levi replies.

"We're happy to keep an eye on the students and teachers still for you," Dean offers.

"Yeah, that would be great. We'll need to go to the library to see if we can find the object too," Jax replies.

"Why don't we go now?" I suggest.

The thought of ending the control sooner rather than later is incredibly appealing to me.

Everyone looks at each other, before Cole asks Maria, "Are you guys up for that? I know we said we were going to explore the grounds after we got the business shit out of the way."

Maria nods, "Yeah, I'm definitely up for that, I might be able to narrow down the location today, since it's the weekend and a lot quieter."

"That would be great, but don't worry too much," Levi replies.

"Okay, I just need to stop off at my room first so that I can get the spell. I didn't memorize it. I have a good memory, but I only used it once, and it's complicated enough I want to make sure I get it exactly right. I can meet you at the library. It shouldn't take me too long," Maria adds.

"Okay, that's fine, we can meet you there," I reply with a smile.

With that decided, we all get up and head out of the door. Maria was right, the school is always quiet on the weekends, but even more so now than it used to be. I can"t help but think that it has something to do with the teachers and their newfound interest in the Order, the students are most likely avoiding them as much as they possibly can. I do know that students who live near the academy are allowed to go home if they wish, and students are also allowed to go into town to get supplies or just shop as well, so there's a chance that more of them have decided to do that as well.

As we walk through the hallways and down to the library, I do start to worry that we're going to get seen by a teacher, stopped, and questioned, which could then potentially lead to us being watched, thankfully we don't come across any at all, and I'm instead left thinking about whether I should be suspicious about that or not.

We're just walking through the doors of the library when Maria catches back up to us with a small piece of paper in her hand.

"I've got it," she smiles, waving it around. "I'll try it again once we're through the doors. I hit a brick wall, well, proverbially speaking, when I got to this point last time. So, I knew it was in there, but there were far too many people around for me to try the spell again without gaining any unwanted attention."

"Okay, well, it's pretty quiet now, but don't do anything you aren't comfortable with, and remember that the library has a mind of its own and might either take offense or decide to help." Erin reminds us all.

"That's an excellent point," Harry agrees, "if at any point you start to feel resistance from the library, stop the spell and let us know. Don't push it; everyone knows that the library can be prickly and I don't want you in any danger."

"Definitely don't risk it," I add, "I have no idea how to fight a library, but I will if it hurts you."

My response has everyone laughing, but quite frankly, I'm being honest. I really don't want her coming to any harm helping us and I feel like the three of them have already risked enough helping us, and I'd feel awful if anything did.

"Don't worry too much though," Ty starts as he smiles at Asher, "the library has a soft spot for Asher so if it can, it might help just because we have him with us."

As we walk through the giant wooden doors and into the empty library, Asher shrugs, "If you respect the books and artifacts, then the library is fine with you."

Cole pats his arm, "I think there's a bit more to it than that, Sweet, but whatever you say."

Asher just smiles and grabs his hand and kisses the back of it, making Cole practically melt me and Erin share a smile. It"s so lovely to see him happy. We head further into the library so that we won"t be disturbed although I do note that once again the librarian isn't in here. I say a silent plea to Nyx that she won't pull us into a vision, which is what happened last time, and also note that Kai has a tight grip on my hand and the others are within grabbing distance.

I think if I were to be pulled into another vision they'd all be coming with me whether the Goddess wanted them to come or not. I do think it's curious that she knows that we communicate through the Bond Lines and that if we can"t reach each other, then, of course, we're going to panic, and yet the Bond Lines still wouldn't work. I'm starting to think that maybe that was something else that Kronos had a hand in.

"Do you need us to do anything?" Levi asks Maria.

She shakes her head with a smile and looks like she is in her element, and completely at ease. She closes her eyes, and I feel the buzz of her magic grow in the air. I have to admit that I'm quite surprised at the strength of it and pretty fucking impressed too. She mutters the spell under her breath and then tilts her head as if she's listening to something, and for all I know, she could be. I don't know how the spell works, and it might actually be talking to her and telling her where to go.

I don't think I'll ever get over magic and the many forms that it takes. It amazes me all the time, and I actually genuinely hope that it doesn't just become the norm for me.

She frowns as she opens her eyes and looks at all of us watching her, "It's weird. I can"t really lock onto it still, but I do have a vague direction which is more than what I had last time I did the spell, so at least that's an improvement, but I still can't tell you exactly what the object is, it's like something is blocking me."

"Well, that makes sense really. Whoever put it here in the first place won't want it to be traced by any spell, so it probably has protections on it," Asher points out.

"Yeah, that's very true," Kyle agrees, and then adds, "so, lead the way in the vague direction, at least then we can see if anything pops out at us as a potential object that's controlling them."

"It"s leading me this way," Maria replies with a smile as we follow her further into the library.

I take a deep breath, loving that the simple smell of the books is enough to calm my nerves and just ground me in a way that only books can. I haven't got much hope that we'll just be able to find the object and that will be it, mostly because it's obvious that the whatever the object is, it has a protection spell on it to stop it from being located at least, and although it is just occurring to me, it would be stupid if it didn't have more spells protecting it. Ones that I imagine are quite nasty; we already know that Magistrate Godfrey was behind the object being here, or at least he made out that he was pretty fucking convincingly and we all know that he's ruthless and bloodthirsty.

This means that if he was involved with the object, then the spells that are most likely protecting it are deadly. I suddenly feel a bit sick that Maria has been messing with it and what it could've done to her.

"Guys," I say as we venture further into the books and, unsurprisingly, toward where I know one of the artifact displays is.

"Everything okay?" Dash asks and then looks worryingly at Erin, "Shit, you're not about to be pulled into another vision, are you?"

Erin shakes her head but looks at me in confirmation anyway.

"No, no vision," I confirm before I get back to my original point and add, "but I just wanted to remind everyone not to touch anything that could potentially be the object that is controlling the teachers. It very likely has some high level spells on it that are probably very nasty."

"Fuck, yeah, that's true," Maverick agrees, "Don't touch anything. If you get a weird vibe about something, tell us; do not touch it."

Asher frowns as he adds, "Yeah, and if you suddenly find yourself desperately wanting to touch something, definitely speak it because some really fucking nasty spells have that built in so they can guarantee that any threat to whatever they are is taken care of, and definitely no longer a threat because it's dead."

I feel my eyebrows rise, "Well, that's delightful."

"Fucked up," Jax comments.

"You should all be somewhat safer now that you're aware that it's a possibility. It gives you a slight level of protection that you wouldn't have had if you hadn't known about it." Asher starts to explain, "It sort of relies on you not knowing that it's a possibility so that it can catch you unaware and capture control of your mind easier."

"Got it," Damon replies gruffly as he checks that we're all taking the warning seriously, he worries like a mother hen, but in this instance, it's definitely fucking justified.

"Yeah, I definitely don't want to be on the receiving end of one of those spells," Dean adds, shaking his head and looking truly disturbed.

We stopped while we were discussing the spell, and I'm glad that I brought it up; I don't want to risk losing any of these people.

"Okay, well, now that we're properly prepared, or at least as prepared as we can be, the area the spell is leading me to is pretty much just around the corner after this giant bookshelf," Maria says.

"Okay," I reply, and then when my instinct twinges slightly, I add, "Do me a favor and disconnect completely from the spell before we go around that corner. I don't know for sure that something bad will happen, but I can tell you that I do know that something will happen, and knowing what we know, I don't want to risk it."

Maria nods, "You got it. Hell, if your instincts are twitching, then I'm not going to go up against them. That just wouldn't be worth the risk."

"I knew I liked you," I reply. My nerves settle again now that I know that she's listening to me, and I become even more sure that I've done the right thing by stopping her.

"Alright, I'm completely disconnected. Let"s go check this out," she grins, not seeming nervous or unsure as she moves ahead of me to follow the others around the corner.

"That was smart," Hunter says quietly, and I have to admit that I'm so lost in my own thoughts and checking with my magic that we're not doing something like walking into a trap, that I didn't realise that he was still here and it makes me jump when he speaks.

"Shit, you made me jump," I chuckle as I turn to face him.

I take a moment just to admire him. I feel so off-kilter at the moment. We're not safe here, we're training hard, and we're trying not to let on that we're aware that there is anything wrong; we're with each other all of the time, and yet I feel like we're worlds a-fucking-part, and I hate it.

I miss them all, and I'm craving the time that we managed to spend together while dealing with all the shit that got thrown at us before. I don't like it and I don't like being here.

The only reason that I don't feel like I'm missing out on time with Erin and Cole is because we're in so-called lessons all day, five days a week together, and we don't really have anything to do other than talk.

Something needs to change.

All thoughts flee my mind as Hunter prowls towards me and backs me up against the shelf behind me. I have a fleeting thought that we really should be with the others to see if they've found anything, but it's literally for a moment before I become all consumed by Hunter.

He places his forearm on the shelf by my head, his eyes studying my features closely as I look up at him. placing a giant palm on my cheek, he gently rubs his thumb on my cheekbone, making my eyes flutter closed as he moves even closer, pushing me against the shelves as my hands automatically move to clench in his shirt.

His lips meet mine in a soft kiss, taking his time before I make a sound of protest and feel his lips twitch up into a smirk against mine. It doesn't last for long though, as my tongue licks the seam of his lips, and he opens willingly, his tongue moving against mine in the most sensual way as he pulls me closer against his hard chest, a rumble of a growl building in his chest and making my clit twitch, I fucking love it when he growls, something about it turns me the fuck on in a big way.

I bite his lip, knowing full well that it will make the growl deeper, and I swear I can literally feel it vibrating my clit. He deepens the kiss as I practically try to climb him, although I have no idea what I'm trying to achieve by doing so.

Before I can do what I want to and have him inside me right fucking now, he suddenly breaks the kiss, his hand going to the back of his head as I look up at him, confused.

"What the fuck?" he questions like I'll know what the fuck is going on, "something hit me."

I peer around him and then can't help the giggle that escapes me, "Erm, it was a book."

Hunter turns around and stares at the book that is still flapping at head height as if ready to strike him again if he doesn't behave himself.

"I guess the library wasn't too keen on us making out in here," Hunter smiles, still rubbing his head.

I shrug. Now that I'm not all consumed by Hunter, I can actually feel what I can only describe as amusement surrounding us, and I'm guessing that the library finds it rather amusing that it just hit Hunter with a book, and there's fuck all that he can do about it.

"I think the library let us enjoy each other for far longer than it would let anyone else," I say to Hunter, and then, because I feel like I need to, I add, "Thank you, friend."

I have no doubt that it somehow knew that I needed that stolen moment of closeness with Hunter.

"Let's go and see if the others have found anything," Hunter says, smiling and reaching for my hand.

I take it as I watch the book fly somewhere else in the library; that's so fucking cool. I kind of wish that I had a flying book that would hit people when they pissed me off.

I feel like that would be really handy.