“Cool,” he replied offhandedly. “Let’s go outside. The fire’s going.”

Again, I was hesitant. Going outside meant I’d have to run to make it back by the appointed time with Amelia. But the manor was sweltering. They surely turned up the boilers to account for a school of half-nude kids in October. So I nodded, and once again, we were on the move.

The bonfire was like something out of folklore. Raw paganry.

By the end of October, the nights were coming on early in the mountains. The last sunlight had already gone by eight, and the orange flames leaped ecstatically from the pyre. The fire raged in the courtyard, maybe fifteen feet high. Once we were within a few yards of it, the heat was pulsing.

The few clothes that my fellow students had worn disappeared at the bonfire. They danced to Skrillex and Guetta and Marshmello, naked as bacchanalians circling the flames. They laughed madly, lifted each other into the air, and tumbled into the dirt in lascivious clutches.

In the shadows, I could see pairs and threesomes clung together, stroking and grinding and making love. The intoxicating scent of woodsmoke and sweat, fruity booze and autumn air, filled my lungs like some psychotropic drug.

I felt I’d entered another realm. I was high or dreaming, even though I was mostly sober and totally awake. But was this a dream or a nightmare? We were all teetering on this unreal plane, half-naked between the icy air and the searing flames. Between chaos and civilization. Between ecstasy and damnation.

“Believe me,” Arvo whispered, “it gets even wilder.”

He wrapped a hand around my waist and pulled me close. I let myself be pulled, arched my back, and took his face in my hands. He kissed me deeply, his loose tongue slithering into my mouth. It was a bit of a relief that he was drunker than I was. It would hopefully be easier to draw him away.

I spied one of the Kings’ freshmen gingerly approaching from the manor out the corner of my eyes. He wore slacks and a sweater. Arvo must have forbidden him from taking part in the frivolities while on duty.

“What?” Arvo groaned, sensing his underling nearby.

“I’m—uh, I’m sorry to interrupt—”

“Just fucking spit it out, dude.”

“I got word that someone from the village police is outside the gates. He says he knows where Stamos is.”

That got Arvo’s attention. I knew it would. That’s why I’d had Theo convince his friend in the Wachsbrunnen police to show up tonight and ask for Arvo Hurley. It was just believable enough to pull him away from me.

“Tough break, babe,” he said. “I gotta do this.”

“Hurry back, sexy,“ I purred, putting on the best show I could.

He pressed his tongue into his cheek and took a not-so-subtle glance at my cleavage. Then he winked and slipped away.

I pretty much sprinted back to the school and slipped through one of the many nondescript doors into Stormcloud Academy. It led straight into one of the many hidden corridors within the building.

Waiting by the stairs was Theo. Unlike most other guys that night, he wasn’t bare-assed and oiled. He wore a perfectly-tailored tux with a clean-pressed white shirt, unbuttoned to mid-chest.

He looked perfect, Theo.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Born ready.”

CHAPTER 24

BIBA

We walked side by side in silence, up the stairs and down an unlit passage, which let us out at the icky surgical theatre near the infirmary. We stepped out a service exit onto the roof, where we had to walk one in front of the other over a narrow catwalk.

We could hear the partying below and see the flickering yellow light of the bonfire playing on the roof tiles.

“Did you party hard before we met up?” I called over my back, already knowing the answer. He didn’t do unbridled depravity.

“I am capable of fun, Biba,” he replied drolly. “It’s just that this level of debauchery isn’t my jam.”

I smiled to myself and pressed forward. Truth be told, the festivities below were almost too much for me also.

Tags: Nicole Casey Stormcloud Academy Dark
Source: readsnovelonline.net