The Plague Doctor (The Paranormal University Files: Skylar Book 4) Read online

  “Where’s my plate?”

  “Waiting to be made,” I teased, handing him an empty plate. “You have hands.”

  He sighed heavily, exaggerating. “That’s cold.”

  “No, your food would have been cold if I’d dished it up ahead of time.”

  Anji snickered. Even Pilar gave a quiet laugh. Gabe took it all with grace.

  Just as my mate returned to his chair with a beer from the fridge, a second raven landed on the windowsill. “Hello,” it croaked in a familiar voice.

  Anji fumbled her plate and jumped up. “Cole! You made it.” She glanced at the rest of us and smiled. “Um, sorry. I told him it was all right to swing by after his class. That’s okay, right?”

  “It’s your place too,” Lia replied. “Your friends are welcome.”

  Cole hopped through and shifted, moving over to Anji’s side, where he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Hey all. Nice to finally meet all of you.”

  I raised brows at Anji. Now that was a new development. “You haven’t met the others yet?”

  “No, just you, Skylar.” He smiled and ducked his head.

  “So,” Gabriel said, miming drawing a shotgun from his back. An illusory one appeared for him to feign polishing. “How long has this been going on, young man?”He had a bit of a Texan accent naturally, but he exaggerated it now.

  Ben and Holly cracked up. They loved his illusions.

  Anji rolled her eyes. “Gabe, really?”

  “What? Your dad ain’t here so it seems like the responsibility’s gotta fall to me.”

  Cole took it in stride with a relaxed smile. “Only a couple months, sir.”

  “We ran into each other over the summer, if you wanna be nosy,” Anji cut in. “You hungry, Cole? I can make you a plate.”

  As Gabe’s illusory shotgun dissipated, he turned a look on me. I smiled sweetly in return, then took a deliberate bite of my chicken and mushroom egg roll.

  “So, have you all heard the news yet?” Cole asked once he was settled with his plate.

  “What news?”

  “There was another zombie outbreak up near the Navy base. The local office took care of it, but I overhead Sebastian talking with the provost on my way over.”

  Holly frowned. “That’s the third one.”

  “And that area is really populated,” Radha added. “How bad was it?”

  “Not sure yet,” Cole replied. “Reports are still coming in.”

  “Shit. Guess I’m going to be busy all night,” Gabriel grumbled.

  “Nah, man, I think you’ll be fine,” Cole said, waving him off. “I mean, maybe some paperwork to add to the current investigation, but that should be it.”

  “It’s already a crap ton.” Gabe checked his watch, and I could tell by his body language he was ready to hop up and head out—a good two hours early, before he even finished his dinner.

  “Hey.” I laid a hand on his leg and leaned in close. “You don’t have to run off. If they need you, they’ll call.

  Gabe grunted. “Maybe.”

  “They will. Enjoy dinner. Relax some. There will be plenty of work left for you.”

  Plenty of work for us all, because if the Hidden Court was really behind this, then we could expect a lot more chaos to come.

  14

  Loss

  It took about two weeks for the Kostas and their alchemist teams to create a stable vaccine and to synthesize enough for all the student shifters, personnel, and members of the SBA. Gabe had received his shot two days ago, easing my worries about his safety while in the field.

  He’d been out there a lot with Sebastian, Simon, and Stark—as the only member of their group without an S name, we all teased him and called him Sabriel now. Our time together in the evenings dwindled to the occasional hour, and in the mornings when he shambled in after his shift, he gave his time to Ama then went to bed.

  I totally understood. That bird hated me so much that if I prepared her food, she refused to eat.

  Tuesday evening, three hours of boot camp kicked my ass. I wolfed down a few breakfast burritos with Holly and Anji in the food court then sprawled on the townhouse’s living room floor for an impromptu study session for an upcoming test in Philosophy. We all took it this semester. Everyone hated it.

  At some point, my heavy eyelids drifted shut and stayed that way. When I stirred, sunrise wasn’t far off and a sliver of golden sunlight warmed my face.

  I jerked upright and fumbled my phone from my pocket to see it was half-past six. “Shit.”

  “Sorry,” Holly whispered from the kitchen. “You both looked so tired I just let you rest.”

  Groggily, I rubbed my eyes. I’d wanted to beat Gabriel home to make breakfast for him before I ran off to my early morning Philosophy class. If I flew, I’d have just enough time to—

  The phone rang with Gabriel’s ringtone.

  “Sky, have you been home?” Gabriel blurted the moment I accepted his call, a note of desperation in his voice. “I mean, did you pop into the apartment earlier at all?”

  “Huh? No, I’ve been too busy to stop by, but I’m on my way now. What’s up?”

  “I can’t find Ama. She’s not in her cage. I’ve been all over the apartment, and I can’t find her. She’s not here.”

  “Have you checked the closet and both bathrooms?” Ama had gotten into the closet once. I’d fucked up and left it half-ajar, allowing her to sneak inside and nest on a pile of linen behind the bath towels. She’d looked positively smug when we found her, too, like “Haha, joke’s on you, humans. I was hidin’!”

  “Yes. Sky, I really checked everywhere. I was just hoping—I thought—”

  Thought I’d done something to his bird or let her escape without mentioning it? I squashed that insidious thought. Gabriel would never think that.

  “Give me a second. I’ll be right there,” I promised. I didn’t tell him to stay cool and be calm; I knew how much Ama meant to him. Instead, I ended the call and turned to Holly. “Ama is missing. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Oh no! Do you two need help?”

  “Not sure yet. I’ll let you know.” I glanced toward the horizon. I didn’t want to hold her outdoors any longer than necessary, though I knew for Gabriel, she’d pull on her mage robes and open a parasol.

  I flew home, and when the elevator button indicated it was stuck on an upper floor, I pounded up the stairs to Gabriel’s apartment.

  Shifters were all incredibly strong and Gabriel was no exception. I stepped in to find him lifting the couch to peer beneath it. He set it down again and hefted the recliner next. Finding no Ama, he made a low, frustrated groan and raked both hands through his hair. “Last place I hadn’t looked.”

  His eyes were red, and his voice sounded suspiciously thick.

  “Okay, okay. You sit down. Let me look around really quick. Maybe she’s hiding from you. She’s playing a game and hiding somewhere where you can’t find her or sniff her out.”

  “Okay.”

  I guided Gabriel to the couch and pushed down on his shoulders until he perched on the edge, looking pale and sick.

  Then I searched our apartment from top to bottom, looking beneath the beds, checking the closets again, looking in every cabinet in case she’d somehow nudged one of the doors open and crawled inside. I lifted toilet lids, because I’d read horror stories of animals drowning in them before. Thank God, I found nothing but water in the bowls. I looked on shelves, beneath pillows, and in the pantry.

  I looked anywhere a bird could hide, praying Ama would charge out to bite me and deal swift justice to my fingers.

  Then I did it all over again from the top, taking special care to check the flowering vines crawling all over the apartment.

  “She’s not here,” Gabriel said in a quiet voice. “I don’t understand.”

  I paused in front of Ama’s cage. The door lock was secure, the food dish portals fastened. I crouched and looked at the cage’s underside. “Was it like
this when you got here?”

  “Yes. I never leave her free to roam when I leave the apartment. Too much trouble for her to get into.”

  “Did you smell anyone else in the apartment?”

  “No one. There aren’t any scents here besides ours.”

  I couldn’t imagine anyone breaking into his apartment to steal his bird, but I called the security office and asked them to check the footage of the hallway cam. Nothing. Gabriel’s baby had vanished without a trace.

  “I just don’t understand,” Gabriel groaned into his palm. “I shut the cage. I locked it. I locked the doors when we left. I just don’t understand it.”

  Loathing the helpless expression on his face, and that I could do nothing to assuage his worries, I settled beside him on the couch and wrapped Gabriel in my arms. He leaned against me and sighed. “Could be brownie or fae mischief. Something harmless but playful took her, maybe.”

  “They’re not allowed. Any of the creatures who assist on campus grounds aren’t permitted to steal or borrow without express permission.”

  “Shit.”

  “Ama’s never been on her own outside before, Sky. If she’s out there…fuck.”

  I squeezed one of his shoulders. “Then maybe she hasn’t gone far and it’s not a bad idea to look for her in the courtyard.”

  He blinked up at me. “You’re right. Great idea, actually. If she is out there, she won’t go far. Not without me flying with her. Shit. Yeah!” He whipped out his phone and began to type. “All of us raven shifters have a closed Facebook group. If I post, maybe someone’s seen her. Someone can fly with her and keep her safe if they notice her soaring around or perching in a tree.”

  “Yes!”

  While he contacted his fellow ravens, I messaged Holly.

  Do you think we can try a finder’s spell with one of her feathers? Holly asked.

  It’s worth a try, I sent back.

  “We’re going to try divination. Be right back.”

  Gabriel barely glanced up from his phone. “Okay.”

  I took a single molted feather from the bottom of Ama’s cage and rushed outside, charging across the campus in record time.

  Lia met me at the door and ushered me inside. “She can’t have gone far. Most birds wake with the dawn. Even if she escaped overnight, she would have perched somewhere on campus until sunrise.”

  “I just need a minute,” Holly called from the kitchen nook. I noticed her bent over a sheet of parchment, drawing circles and sigils with deft flourishes of an old-fashioned ink pen.

  “Give me the feather, and I’ll try first while Holly draws her spell,” Pilar offered, holding out her manicured hand. Of all of us, she made the best Finders-Keepers glamours.

  “Sure.” I passed it over then wrung my hands while she held it between both palms and closed her eyes.

  “Did you try following Gabriel’s Destiny Lines?” Lia asked as we observed Pilar.

  “No,” I breathed. “I didn’t even think of it. I was so shocked that she went missing.”

  “It’s all right. If this doesn’t work, we can try together.”

  “Thank you, Lia.”

  In the meantime, I watched a wrinkle slice across Pilar’s brow. “That is unusual.”

  “What’s unusual?”

  “I can’t sense anything about Ama’s surroundings, but I can feel…I feel that she’s safe.”

  I exhaled. Safe and lost was better than dead and found.

  Holly straightened and set her pen aside. “Then it’s my turn. Bring that feather to me, and we’ll get this search party started.”

  The moment Holly placed the feather in the center of the circle, it took on a magical sheen and glowed golden. She placed both hands in the circle and bent over it, speaking in the arcane language all mages began learning in childhood. I listened and watched, crossing my fingers.

  Please.

  A few moments passed in silence as magic filled the air, an electric hum buzzing across my skin and raising the hairs on my arms.

  “I sense her!”

  “Where?”

  “Nearby, I think. Just a second, I’ll make a—”

  The parchment spontaneously combusted, erupting in flames that arched toward the ceiling in purple, red, and orange plumes. Holly shrieked and jerked away before they could catch her long blonde hair.

  “What the fuck?” she shouted.

  I couldn’t believe it. Numb, I watched Lia and Pilar jump into action smothering the flames, but both the feather and spell scroll were ruined, scarcely more than ashes.

  “I have another feather,” I said quietly, meekly. The one in my Dream Box had been my treasure since the morning Ama molted it over Thanksgiving break a year ago, but I’d give it up if it meant bringing her safely home. “If you’ll try again.”

  Holly shook her head. “I would, but no. That wasn’t normal, Sky. Someone broke my connection to her. Someone who doesn’t want Ama to be found.”

  Feeling like shit, I returned empty-handed while Holly reported the incident to Simon and asked for his advice on how to proceed. Lia and I had even tried the Destiny Lines, but we saw nothing unusual aside from the expected black snares and tangles associated with working a dangerous career.

  That was the thing about Destiny. Decisions were rarely made in advance, and warnings of danger were nothing new to sentinels who knew any day on the job could be their final day. His wealth line was flourishing, his love line glowing red and passionate, his familial line had never been stronger, aside from a couple strange little knots. Nothing implied Ama had been abducted.

  “Thanks. I appreciate it, Jordan. No time is a bad time to call if you find her. Seriously, thank you.” Gabriel ended the phone call in time for the phone to ring again. He raised it to his ear after flashing me an apologetic look.

  “Hey. Yeah, she’s missing. I don’t know—look, I know things haven’t been—Really?” He dragged in a shuddering breath. “Thank you. I appreciate it. See you soon.”

  “Any luck?” I asked when he stuffed the phone in his pocket.

  “None,” he reported mournfully. If I’d had any doubt about him crying before, his wet cheeks confirmed it now. “G-gonna go look across campus a-and the local parks.”

  “I can go with you to help look for her.” God, I wished there was something I could do.

  “No, Jada’s on the way, so I’ll go with her and Stark. Ama doesn’t like you, and she’ll only fly away if she spots you first.”

  “Oh,” I said, reeling from the emotional equivalent of a slap to the face. The worst part was that he was right. Taking me along on a search would only be a liability.

  To his credit, Gabriel grimaced and dropped his head forward. “Fuck. That came out wrong. I’m sorry, I meant—”

  “No, no. It’s fine. You only said the truth, right? No need to apologize for saying the truth.”

  “Sky—”

  I leaned forward and kissed him, just a gentle brush of my lips against his. I wiped his wet cheek with my thumb. His best friend in all the world, who he’d grown up alongside, was out there alone and lost. It wouldn’t be right to hold anything against him now. “I’ll print off flyers and post them around.”

  He exhaled a quiet breath. “Thank you.”

  I watched him hurry onto the balcony, transform, and fly away to join the others, wondering all the while how the hell Ama had gotten out of our apartment.

  And I still hadn’t told him about the combusting feather.

  15

  A Place of Healing

  Two evenings later, there was still no sign of Ama. Gabriel hadn’t returned to the apartment until late afternoon. I’d watched him crash for two hours prior to reporting for his TA duties. Simon and Sebastian dismissed him right away, and Stark promised to cover for him in our class.

  As far as they were concerned, Ama was his family.

  A couple winged teachers helped us search for her between their classes, and I posted flyers in all the buildings on ea
ch bulletin board. Lia and I walked the couple of miles over to the Chicago Gaelic Park and spread the word to the friendly mortals there. They greeted her like family, welcoming us both inside the office with smiles and offers of tea. Lia had worked there over the summer teaching Irish dance to young children.

  No one had seen the parrot. I brought a few flyers from the Neverspace and left some in their office and pub. Even the Thai place let us post one in their window. They promised to send out a copy with every order they delivered.

  “Someone with magic definitely interfered with Holly’s seeking spell. Simon tried again last night, and the same thing happened,” I told Lia as we made our way back to campus.

  “We’ll find her. With this many people looking, whoever took her won’t be able to hide for long.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Since you have nothing else going on for you this afternoon, would you like to come with Pilar and me to see our wards?”

  “I don’t know—”

  “Please? It’ll be fun, and we can all have dinner together afterward. Plus, we can pass out more flyers.”

  “Isn’t that sorta far away for her to have flown?”

  “She’s a bird, Sky. How far have you and Gabe flown in a day?”

  As always, Lia made a valid and wise point. One final look at her pleading expression crumbled my resolve to stick around campus.

  “Fine, but I’ll have to print out more copies first.”

  Pilar’s sentinel, Holden, had a huge-ass van that looked like the Mystery Machine, featuring an epic battle between a bear-shifting druid and a horde of zombies on the driver’s side. On the passenger side, he’d painted a mural of scantily-clothed dryads and sexy vampire ladies. Okay…not the most inconspicuous of vehicles, but cool nonetheless.

  When I squeezed into one of the seats, something hard poked me in the ass.

  “Ow!” I jolted up then fished around until I found a random d20.

  “Oh, man. Thanks! I wondered where that rolled to.” Holden reclaimed the twenty-sided dice and pushed it into a black pouch.