Page 43 of These Unhallowed Halls (Equinox Seasons Duet #2)

Twenty-Eight- Stagnation Cannot Foster Growth, Only Change Can Do That

Caleb

I t’d been twenty-four hours since we left that tent, and…

so much had happened. Thankfully, we were able to get Rebecca to the school board for healing, but I was forced to leave almost immediately after dropping her off, trusting Temps and Lizzie to report back to me.

That many powerful mages in one spot would have picked up on the soul weaving I’d done, and I would’ve lost my job in a heartbeat.

I’d been grateful to hear that she would be making a slow but steady recovery when my partners returned to my apartment, and none of us was ashamed to say that we almost immediately passed out.

Now, awake and snuggled into my bed with them, I stretched over to my nightstand where my cell was charging, and picked it up to see if we’d missed anything during the night.

“Well, anything?” Temps rolled onto her side, looking up at me from her position next to me in the bed.

“It looks like the authorities blame ‘odd cult behavior’ for the bodies and horrendous crimes committed by the carnival. The headline says, ‘Son of Infamous Killer, Pastor Jebediah Paine, Found Dead in His Carnival of Horrors.’”

“Ha, well, shit. That’s pretty damn accurate, actually.” Lizzie lay on my other side, her arms folded behind her head as she looked up at the ceiling. “Wonder how they’re going to explain those ‘freaks’ we fought.”

“It looks like a lot of it disappeared after we killed him. The circus tent’s rooms and shit were mostly gone. There’s no mention of the house of mirrors or funhouse.”

“More like a not-so-funhouse, thank you very much. We almost died in there. Ugh,” Temps shuddered, “fuck that place.”

Pulling her under my arm, I kissed the top of her head, scrolling away from the news and to the emails the school had sent.

“Classes are paused until the board sorts this out. And they’ve expressed interest in me continuing to teach, so I think we’re clear on the soul-weaving front.”

“Thank gods,” Temps said, nuzzling into me. “I feel weird saying it, but I’m glad that the dean was able to see how necessary it was because she was right there in the tent with us.”

“Umm,” Lizzie leaned up onto her elbow, glancing at me with that uncertainty she disliked so much behind her eyes, “any word about the townspeople who were killed?”

I knew she was getting at Temps’ mother, and undoubtedly she was curious about her father as well.

I went back to the article, scrolling through the paragraphs that speculated why Paine had done all this.

We knew well enough that this was a family corruption.

Jeb had been just like his old man, falling into the depths of malignant power and trying to use it for his own gain.

As we rested last night, Cerberus had filled the three of us in more about what had happened in the World of Below with his parents and Jeb Senior.

He’d corrupted an entire portion of the Underworld and very nearly spread his plague through the entirety of it.

It’d taken his mother everything she had, as well as the Beast King in several forms, to defeat the man.

It made sense that shortly after, the demiurge would cook up another plan involving Paine’s son.

Refocusing, I found a section of the article about the people found inside the tent’s backroom, and the surviving victims who’d nearly been killed by the cult extremist before an unknown person or thing had killed him.

“It says that there are twelve confirmed victims and nine survivors. The survivors were blindfolded so they didn’t see what happened to Paine, but report hearing an animal attack. The names of the lost aren’t listed ‘for the privacy of their surviving families.’”

“I wonder if the police have talked to my dad yet.”

Temps and I glanced at each other before eyeing Lizzie, concerned for her obviously, but also feeling guilty. At least I was. I’d been the one to wipe him thanks to Cerberus making a home in my soul, and I could feel what it was like to take those memories away.

“Are you okay, Lizzie? I know it was hard to lose your dad.” Temps reached over me, taking her hand.

“I’ll be fine. It’s just…weird.” Lizzie smiled at both of us, cocking her head to the side. “But I have you guys. I feel less alone than I ever have, I promise you.”

“Speaking of,” Temps shuffled about in the bed, sitting up tall as she looked both of us in the eye in turn, “what are we going to do about this? Like, are Lizzie and I going to keep living in the dorm? Or are we living here? Do we tell people? Do we not?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Temps was certainly the planner of the two of them, and part of me really appreciated that she wanted to get this all straight.

I wasn’t a wishy-washy type of guy myself.

I liked knowing my place, our place, and it felt good to know that she’d been thinking about all this.

Hell, it felt damn great to hear her mention living here.

I wanted both of them with me all the time.

“Fuck, babe.” Lizzie rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Just lay it all out, why don’t you? Haha, I mean, you gave our poor professor like four seconds to think about it.”

“Actually,” I shrugged, pulling Temps to my lips for a forehead kiss and then yanking Lizzie up under my arm, “I’ve been thinking about it since we first had sex. I’m a planner, too.”

“Really?” Temps stare softened as she leaned in, and I was holding these two amazing women in my arms after all the fucking hell we’d just been through.

“Yes, little flower.” I squeezed them tight. “And…I’d love it if you both lived here. I just…I didn’t want to be pushy. I have a tendency to throw myself into something completely, and I knew that would be the case with you both, even more so. You’re…mine.”

And mine, sage . I chuckled, rolling my eyes. “Cerberus agrees.”

“I want to stay here. I want us all to be together. Lizzie?” Temps glanced at her with her brows up.

“Umm, duh. Of course, I want to stay. Not that your apartment is much bigger than our dorm. But the company is much better.”

“Fair.” I grinned, squishing Lizzie some. “But I do still think it’s smart to keep this under wraps. At least until neither of you is officially my student anymore. You’ll have your dorm for show, but next semester, you can move the rest of the stuff in here.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Temps declared, nodding with a smile. “But does that mean we need to lie to the dean?”

“Of all the people who get to be privy to this, I think Rebecca will actually understand. She also owes us big time for saving her life, so we have some leverage there.”

“Maybe during the rest of the year, we can work on finding a bigger place?” Lizzie sighed, looking up at the ceiling like she was imagining it. “I’d like something with a garden. And I’m sure you’ll both need a room for all your alchemy shit.”

We all laughed, settling in with absolutely no plans to do anything else for the rest of the day except enjoy each other’s company.

“And a room for all the toys. A proper sex dungeon so we don’t have to go visit that club unless we want to.”

Temps stared at Lizzie in shock, but all I could do was grin, from ear to fucking ear. That sounded like a fantastic idea. Even so, I could make due without one for the day. Cerberus growled inside my head, happily agreeing.

“ The kitchen will suffice for today. ”

Both of them stared at me, that humming sensation warming my skin and eyes as Cerberus crawled to the surface.

Yup, I can definitely get used to this.

A week later…

“T hank you for coming. I’ve been looking forward to finally getting the school year started again, and I wanted to discuss a few things with you all.”

The dean sat behind her oversized wooden desk, the dark room of mahogany and gothic architecture smelling like old books and incense.

She smiled across at the three of us as we sat in the brown suede chairs before her desk, her fingers gently crossed as her hands rested on the desktop. I was glad that she was looking better.

“Of course, Dean Owens. How can we be of service?” I knew Rebecca would appreciate the decorum, and right on cue, she smiled over at us.

“I would like you to return to teaching spell casting for the remainder of the semester while I look for a new hire, but in the spring, I’m elevating you to the post of alchemy professor.”

Nodding, I offered a gracious smile, putting my hand on my chest. “Thank you, Dean. I look forward to being back in the laboratory.”

“As for you two,” she flicked her eyes to Temps, “Ms. Montgomery, I have passed you for spell casting. I think the show you put on at the carnival was quite enough of a final exam. You’ll be moving up to alchemy with Professor Harkert…as his assistant. Formally this time.”

Smirking, I restrained a laugh, but leave it to Lizzie to snort for all of us.

“And Ms. Chamberlain, you too have passed spell casting. Though I know your interests do not lie with alchemy. Instead, I would like you to consider joining the Evening Tides. They are a group of psychics and empaths with renowned abilities who are responsible for the school’s protection.

They have not had new blood in some time, I’m afraid, and with you joining, as well as a new faculty advisor, as I have dismissed the previous for his lack of oversight into the situation, I’m sure that—”

“You fired the head of the school board committee? I thought that windbag would never leave.”

I couldn’t stop the remark, and Rebecca did her best to hold back her grin. “Yes, well, he was less than helpful during this trying time. He couldn’t see the talents you both possess, even you, Caleb, and we do not need that type of rigidity here.”

Temps and Lizzie were practically glowing in their chairs, Lizzie’s excited aura filtering out of her and smoothing against mine, and no doubt Temps’ as well. She’d gotten quite good at manipulating emotional energies and projecting them on others or pulling them away.

It was spectacular when we were fucking. Which, of course, gave me so many ideas for when we got home.

“I accept.” Lizzie grinned, nodding as she stood up from the chair and walked to Rebecca to shake her hand. “Meet your new student-faculty advisor. Nothing like a morrighan to set the ‘whippersnapperss’ right.”

“I—That was not what—” But Rebecca stopped, Lizzie giving her a look I couldn’t see. “Very well. You’ve both earned the reputations floating around campus now.”

“Ooh, we have reps, Temps.” Lizzie spun back around, holding out her arms so that we could loop ours through them. “We best not let the power go to our heads.”

Without another word, she marched us to the door, slick, warmth energy rushing off her in waves. I could taste the lust she sent us, spicy and demanding on my tongue. And then she whispered into our heads.

I think we’re ready to try that thing with Cerberus, don’t you?

We’d been planning something special, doing the research, and I turned inward, listening for his response.

Yes, young morrighan. We most definitely are.