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Chapter 1

I stared at the scroll of antique parchment in iant on a flying motorcycle had just dropped from the skies and personally delivered this letter, I couldn’t have beenher head against my shoulder

I continued to stare at the paper Words failed to break the julare at the intricate script

Dear Justin Slade,

Congratulations You have hereby been accepted as a novice at Arcane University Please see the attached schedule of required classes

Unfortunately, due to the late nature of your application, ere unable to procure living quarters for you at the school Your name has been added to the wait list, and you will be notified should the situation change

Elyssa gasped Took the acceptance letter froers "You’re in!" She squeezed the breath out ofkiss

"I’m in?" I said, stunned It was like a dreao, I would have jumped at the chance But no I couldn’t, and the reason was very simple Within a month or two, I’d probably be dead

Elyssa see curse?" she said, eyes worried

I nodded, felt"What’s the point? I won’t have tiree"

"What in the hell is going on in here?" Shelton said, striding froht have passed for a family room in any normal house, had it not been part of a super-secret hideout buried beneath the Museum Tower in don Atlanta He snatched the invitation from Elyssa’s hand

"Hey!" she said "Didn’t anyone ever teach you nored her outburst "Holy h"

"Your friend, Miles?" I asked I reood ith one of his former professors at the university, but he hadn’t seemed too confident in the outcoh"

Shelton had asked Miles to look into it before the insanity with Maxi and infected with a curse that would turndead I dropped into a chair, anger and self-pity sla my heart back and forth like a volleyball "Guess it’s a moot point now," I said "Since I’ll be a mindless zombie in the next month or two"

Shelton screwed up his face like he’d just eaten a leured it out, going to school is about the only thing that could save your life"

"Are you auditioning for a role in an after-school special?" I said, scrunchingto school keepinto a zombie vampire?"

Bella, a petite Arcane-slash-dha another of s She dropped the bags on the kitchen counter and gave us a concerned look "Goodness Is so the matter? Please don’t tell me someone ate the rest of Harry’s Lucky Char to the grocery store on an eot into Arcane University"

"But I’h yet

"Oh, well I suppose that’s a littlebetween Harry and his favorite cereal" She pursed her lips, face serious "Justin, Harry and I have talked about this, and we think the cure to your condition h education"

I threw up onna beat the Grirunted, which apparentlyheavenward as if so he didn’t want to

"First, I have good news," she said, withdrawing a vial frohtliss concocted a potion that should slow the va to feel a sliver of hope "Like, how htliss’s blood--"

"Her blood?" I said, aghast

Bella shrugged "The poor dear still isn’t doing well after fighting Daelissa" She els have a natural resistance to the curse This potion should give you another year--we hope"