by Lucy Auburn
Slipping into the room, Mason tells us, "I found quite a few of the students and professors. They were hiding out." Reaching out, he puts a hand on my arm. "Are you feeling any better, Ellen? Any sign of your powers?"
I have to bite back my bitterness and fear to answer him calmly. "No sign of them. And we're trying to figure out where Professor Vervaine might've gone, but there are so many guesses... it's been difficult to figure out. The others keep arguing about it. Needless to say, they haven't gotten anywhere."
"I can help with that," Covington says, surprising me. "I knew Maureen well before... before the accident. Whoever is in her body now will have the same resources. And the same magical trail."
"Oh, cool," I tell him, feeling dumb. "I guess maybe this is Shadow Fold business."
He smiles. "Let us take care of it. As far as what happened today goes, the first order of business is clear: we need to have you looked at by the medics. While we're at it, you and your four Conduits—"
"And me," Eve says, crossing her arms over her chest. "All six of us will give you a de-briefing, Professor Covington. I'd also like to know how it is that the Shadow Fold didn't notice Professor Vervaine died, was replaced, and mysteriously showed up for work anyway." She shakes her head. "At least it wasn't really her. The Maureen I knew wouldn't have done any of that."
I find myself wishing I still had my Spiritual Affinity. If Maureen Vervaine is truly dead, I'd be able to speak to her, just like I spoke to my bio dad. "I don't think that was really my dead father, Vincent Arizona, either. And I don't think this is the last time we'll see them." Glancing at Wyatt, I imagine Vervaine taking his body away, and find myself clenching my fists. "She's going to be looking for a new body for her lover boy even more now that Levi has poisoned him. They'll be back to finish what they started."
Let's hope the second time around, we're able to take them down for good, and get some answers.
That is—if I'm still allowed to attend this school now that I don't have powers.
"Your pupillary response is excellent, and you're physically fine. Pulse, blood pressure, respiration... all normal." The medic steps back and surveys me, while Professor Covington stands next to her, listening closely. "Whatever has been done to her is metaphysical. It won't be fixed with any of my skills."
"Thank you," he tells her. "If you could, check on Lya again. I'd like to speak to Ellen privately."
"Of course."
She leaves us alone. My guys and Eve are waiting outside the room too—I made them stay out of it, afraid to find out the answers to all my burning questions. If I can't get my powers back... if Vervaine took them, and that's it...
Well, let's just say that's the worst possible outcome. And I don't want my Conduits to see me cry when I get the news. Grayson would probably never let me live it down, and Mason would try to comfort me with his penis. Neither is something I want to deal with when I'm facing the possibility of my own completely mundane existence returning to, well, normal. Even Levi's humor or Wyatt's stoic strength would just rub salt in the wound. Their weaknesses remind me of their strengths, which reminds me that I don't have any powers anymore.
There's something to be said for balance. A little bit—or in my case, a lot—of good to go with the bad. Strength and weakness. Now that I've lost my powers, I'm not even sure if I'll get to keep my guys.
"Ellen." Covington stares at me carefully, and I wonder if he can read all the emotions sliding across my face. He is a Mental Affinity professor, after all. "This must all be very frightening for you."
"It is." I frown, crossing my arms and kicking my legs on the metal exam table the medic had me hop onto. "So if you don't mind, I'd rather be alone right now."
"Understandable. But I need every detail you can give if I'm going to find our missing killers. Especially because it seems likely they'll be coming back."
"Won't the Shadow Fold handle all of that?"
He raises a thin brow. "You're looking at its top assassin."
Somehow that's hard to picture. Doctor Professor Martin Covington, with his thick rimmed glasses, thinning brown hair, and tweed blazer doesn't look like he'd kill a mouse if it shit on his shoe. He even has those leather patches in his blazer that only dorks wear, and a little cut near his jawline, like he nicked himself shaving.
Then again, nerds can be dangerous. This one is clearly straight off the factory line. And for all I know, he's not who he says he is.
So I point out, "I don't even know if you are who you say you are. Why should I give you more information?"
"I can assure you, I am a member of the Shadow Fold." He shows me his gaudy class ring as proof. "As for my identity, here's my driver's license." He flips open his wallet. "And my graduation photo." A picture of him, younger and equally nerdy, wearing a black robe and cap with the CU logo as a backdrop. "Plus, just as a bonus, here's me with Maureen and Lya. We're a bit tipsy in this photo, but it just shows you that I really am—"
I snatch the wallet from his hands, staring at the laminated photo of the three of them. Covington looks nerdy and slightly sloshed, his glasses askew and his cheeks reddened. Shu is just the same as always, a flask in her hand, proof that she's been capable of holding her liquor for a very long time. But it's Vervaine I can't stop staring at. Something about her is different. The look in her eyes is softer. Her hair is loose around her shoulders. She looks... nice.
The Professor Vervaine I met was purposefully cold, even a little mean, to Grayson specifically. She singled him out and gave him a test that seemed designed to fail him. Almost as if she wanted to make him feel weak and useless. But the Vervaine I'm staring at in this photograph doesn't look like she'd do something like that.
"Was Verv-Maureen... was she a cold and distant professor? Since you knew her so well, you'd know that."
"I do, yes." He takes the wallet back from me, and I sheepishly let it go. "I never studied under her as a professor, of course, but she was two years ahead of me and briefly a TA. She was always warm and kind. Right before she took this position, she claimed that she wanted to make sure Mental Class was different. One thing she said that struck me was, 'our powers already take so much of us already. I don't want to place more of a burden on my students' shoulders than the world has already put there.' Knowing Maureen, I doubt that changed."
"It did, though." I grimace. "I barely knew her before, well, all this, but she wasn't what I'd call kind. I think you're right when you say that wasn't her. I also think she had some reason to try to weaken one student in particular: Grayson Hughes. She actually made him believe he wasn't good enough, which if you'd met Grayson, you'd know is a miracle given the size of his ego."
"I'll keep it in mind." He tucks the wallet away. "Tell me everything you know."
I try to, though it sounds inadequate as I talk about it: the Black Serpent, my father's spirit telling me to find his body, the fog killer with his face, how the two of them have teamed up, and of course, my visions of the apocalyptic future. It feels like we've basically gotten there, given the state of the classroom I just fought Not-Vervaine inside, but I get the feeling this isn't the end of it.
All of this is just the beginning of a bigger, much more dangerous mystery I've yet to unravel.
"Thank you for the information," Covington says when I'm done. "I'll make sure the Shadow Fold is aware of this, as well as Lya, of course. We'll do whatever we can to catch these killers."
Frowning at him, I ask, "Any clue who it is?" His face is carefully neutral, which is a tell if I've ever seen one. "You know something. Something you're not saying."
Carefully, he tells me, "The Shadow Fold have our secrets to protect for a reason. Maybe one day—"
"Bullshit." I kick my leg against the exam table, then slide off it to face him, anger brewing inside me like it hasn't for weeks. "My powers have been stolen. That woman tried to kill me. Her little partner-in-crime definitely did kill my family. This is my business, not one day, but today."
&nbs
p; "I'm sorry, Ellen. Truly I am." He truly sounds like he means it. I wonder if his Mental Affinity is the ability to convincingly lie, because I almost buy it. "Not every decision is up to me. But I can promise you that as soon as we have Maureen Vervaine in custody, we'll do whatever it takes to find out how she stole your powers, and how we can restore them."
It's not much.
But I'll take it.
For now, at least. I don't plan on sitting still for long. I want to understand everything that's happened here, because I still intend to carry out my revenge and see my mother's murderer dead.
Maybe I can't get Covington to tell me what he knows about the killer, but he might accidentally let a few details slide if I ask him other questions. Biting my lower lip, I come up with one off the top of my head.
"How did you get here? And how did Professor Vervaine trap you in the first place?" When his expression turns reluctant, I quickly add, "Knowing her moves might help us defend against her when she shows back up. Otherwise we'll be sitting ducks."
"No student at Cain University is a sitting duck," he points out. "Even one without powers like you. But I get the point, so I'll tell you all I know, since you told me everything you know. How much do you know about Shadow Rings?"
"Very little, except they do some magic stuff or something."
"They connect us. Those of us without Conduits pair off with other solo assassins. The rings let us borrow each other's powers from time to time, though at a much weaker strength." Much more than Eve ever told me. "I'm connected to Headmaster Shu."
"So she can use your Mental Affinity, and you can use her ability to..."
He smiles. "Nice try, Ellen, but I'm not going to accidentally reveal things Lya keeps to herself. You're not as sneaky as you think you are."
"Damn."
"I could tell you more about how I got here in time to save Lya, but if you're not interested..."
"I'll keep my mouth shut and refrain from asking any more pointed questions." That brow of his arches further. "I swear it. I'll be good, so so good, I pinky swear."
"Somehow I doubt that," he comments dryly. "But I didn't signup to teach at a school of killers expecting to come across angels. You are right about one thing, though: you students need to know how to fight this new and different enemy. I'll talk to Lya about possibly accelerating some areas of your study."
"And as for how you were trapped by Vervaine, as well as how you escaped..."
"She put me in a pocket dimension somehow by transporting me. It's her speciality—still is, apparently, even now that she's not-actually-dead." He sighs. "Her powers were a bit of a well-kept secret. The headmaster often used them to put rogue killers somewhere safe. Maureen was excellent at transporting things from one place to another. She created the transport stones we use among the Shadow Fold for Marks—they're far more reliable than the doors ever were. Temperamental things.
"As far as how I got out of the pocket dimension, I used my connection to Lya. When she was attacked she activated the emergency powers in her ring. They allowed me to transport to where she was—but only this once. She'll need to get a new ring made to do it again the next time she's in trouble."
"Huh." I consider his words. "What was this pocket dimension? And where?"
"No clue. It was one I've never been to. We have records of nearly a dozen in the Shadow Fold archives, but this wasn't like any I've heard of before. It felt... old. And there was something about the atmosphere there. It made me see things, and remember things that had never happened to me. I think if I'd stayed much longer I might've gone mad."
Interesting. "I have an idea where Vervaine might be."
"In a pocket dimension? Yes, I'd thought of that. I'm going to begin a search along with a few other scouts as soon as I'm done here."
"So you've got it handled." I feel crestfallen at the realization that even my knowledge isn't enough to help the hunt. "I thought maybe since I spent a long time in a similar pocket dimension with the Black Serpent, I might be able to help."
Sympathy crosses his face, which almost just makes it worse. "Don't worry, Ellen. We'll get you your powers back. And in the meantime, there's plenty for you to study around here. Even a Brutus needs a foundation of combat skills—something your schedule has been woefully lacking so far. Before you know it, you'll be roundhouse kicking with the best of them."
Great, just great. I'm going to be doing cheerleading moves for assassins, it sounds like. Gym was always my least favorite class. I had more than one three week long period before Coach Johnson figured me out.
I'd give anything to have my super cool magic powers back.
I almost wish I was blind again.
Chapter 4
Apparently despite her near-death experience, Headmaster Shu has rallied and discovered yet again that her favorite thing in life is drunkenly bossing people around. I spot her on my way out of the medical wing, thick bandages wrapped around her torso, the wheelchair beneath her looking more like a formality than anything.
She could probably spring out of that chair and kill me with a look right about now. Especially because I'm powerless and she—well, she definitely has a Physical Affinity for holding her liquor, that's for sure.
"You! Over there. Wheel me out to the courtyard. I don't care what the medic says, I have a job to do, and last I checked I'm still in charge around here." As she barks orders at a nurse I try to slip out without getting her attention, but of course it doesn't work. "Ellen! Ellen Arizona, I'm not dead yet, so I know you can hear my fucking voice. Turn around. Yes, this way. Yes, it's me who's speaking to you. There isn't any other blonde woman named after a state around here, is there?"
"You don't know," I tell her, pointing at a light-haired nurse trying to sneak away without attracting her wrath. "She could be named Jennifer Colorado."
"That nurse is named Leila, and stop trying to distract me. It won't work. Your new assignment is to wheel me to the courtyard. After that, I want you to alert all the professors that we're going to have a campus-wide meeting, and they need to collect up the students assigned to their dorms." She glowers at me. "And before you ask, you have to do as I say, because otherwise I'll expel you."
Fun. "I wasn't going to say anything." Grabbing the back handles of her wheelchair, I wonder if she'll notice if I fart in her general direction. "What's this fancy pants meeting going to be about, anyway?"
"I'm going to tell everyone about the assassin," she says. "And together, we're going to slit his throat and pull his innards out for what he tried to do to me."
Sounds like exactly the kind of party a few hundred students of the art of killing would be perfect for.
Levi, Grayson and I mill around in the courtyard near the Spiritual Affinity fountain, with its spooky robed guardian holding up a lantern. There's an awkward tension in the air, and not just because I told them I don't want to talk about losing my powers. It's hard to find things to talk about without Wyatt and Mason around.
The duo was ordered away by the Headmaster, who barked at them to get chairs—apparently the courtyard is going to be turned into her own little speechifying area just for this occasion. She even sent Eve off to search through the university grounds and make sure there are no stragglers. Every single one of the students is supposed to hear what she has to say to us, willing or otherwise.
Given that this is a school full of killers being trained to kill again, it's not terribly surprising that many of them tend to play hooky from these kinds of things. We've got more burnouts and dropouts here than most grad programs, that's for sure.
I myself am incredibly bored by the thought of standing around and listening to someone give a speech, but if it's about my mom's killer, I'll put up with it. Especially because Headmaster Shu has got to be the least boring speaker ever.
"I don't get it." Levi leans up against a column in the courtyard and makes as much sound as a bowling ball rolling down a gravel pathway. "She should be dead. I mean, we all saw the b
lood, right? And the knife. Are we even sure that's her."
I snort. "It's her alright. No one else can be that frightening while sitting down, especially after narrowly escaping death. Also, she hid her flask in her medical robe, so."
Grayson sighs longingly. "I bet the nurses gave her the best drugs."
I raise my brows at him. "You okay there buddy?"
"I miss drugs." He sounds uncharacteristically emotional. Maybe he saves all his emoting for talking about his past addiction. "They were very, very good at taking the pain away." Shifting his weight, he winces with great exaggeration. "Say, Ellen, you wouldn't happen to have a hand free? Because I sure could use a little of that lovin' feeling right about now."
"What's going on with you?" I narrow my eyes at him. "You sound very melodramatic and corny. Usually you save that for Levi."
Grayson and Levi exchange glances, which just makes me even more sure something is going on. They're not very sneaky for two killers.
"Just take my hand," Grayson insists. "I want to show you how useful you still are."
"Yeah," Levi agrees. "Even without your that-thing-we're-not-talking about." We both glare at him, and he throws up his hands. "What? I am most assuredly not talking about the thing we're not talking about. I didn't even say the words powers! Well, that time I did, but—"
"Enough." I roll my eyes at both of them. "I get that you're just trying to cheer me up. Today has been a little tough, and that's a fucking understatement. But I don't want to get my mind off things. I want to focus on finding my mother's murderer and getting my powers back."
"Is that really what you want?" Grayson's eyes stare into mine, and I feel like he's looking straight to the very center of my being. "You know that if you get your powers back, you'll get your weakness back too. You'll be blind."
I lick my lips, staring back at him, feeling like I have to study his eyes and memorize them for the time that will come when I can't see their pale blue mystery anymore.