Marley tilted his head to the side.
"Interested? I need your help with something, and I would provide home and food in return," said Zayn.
A little bark came out of Marley's feline mouth, which startled Zayn because it wasn't the noise he was expecting from the callolo. But as he thought about it, he realized he'd never heard the creature make a noise before.
"Is that a yes?"
Marley strolled forward and placed his front paws—having changed back from the tiny hands—on Zayn's leg.
They climbed down the emergency exit scaffolding. Marley moved like a monkey at points, and a cat at others.
When they made the street, Zayn asked, "Would you like to walk or ride on my shoulders?"
Marley scampered up his side, taking residence on his shoulders. The callolo's whiskers tickled Zayn's ear, and the light purring soothed him on the journey back to the house in the seventh ward.
Petri was in the living room when he got back, wearing a handkerchief skirt and a crop top. He opened his mouth to say hello to her, but she blew past him before he could get a word out.
Standing in the doorway with Marley on his shoulders, a sudden unexpected rage took hold, and if it weren't for his good mood, he might have said some things he'd have regretted. A ghost taxi pulled up and she slipped into the back. By the time she was out of sight, his anger had dissipated.
"That was weird," he said, closing the door behind him. It was nice not having to rebuild the wards every time he returned home. Since they'd chased Instructor Minoan into the lower tunnels, he'd stopped bothering them.
The marionette rigging from the play sat broken and tangled in the corner, which was better than the dumpster out back, where Zayn thought it would have ended up after the play. At least Vin hadn't smashed it to bits in frustration.
Portia came out of the kitchen, nodding her head to the music in her earbuds with a bowl of dill dip and a bag of salty chips in her hands. She nearly dropped them when she saw Marley.
"A cat!" she shouted, throwing her stuff onto the table and rushing up to Zayn.
Marley leapt into her arms, purring right away. Portia buried her face in the callolo's fur.
"He's so soft," she said, still shouting because she had her earbuds in and music at full volume.
"Do you remember him? He's the callolo that helped you guys find me our first year," said Zayn.
"Aww..."
Portia melted around Marley, rocking him like a baby and making cooing noises to him. Zayn was a little surprised that the callolo didn't leap out of her arms from the smothering. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Zayn leaned over and popped her earbuds out, right as his teammates came downstairs.
"What's this I heard about a cat?" said Keelan, who was the first to arrive. "Hey, kitty. I always wanted a pet, but you know how my mom was allergic."
"His name is Marley, and he's a callolo." Vin and Skylar came down at that moment, saving him from having to explain again. "He's also not a pet, but a guest. Think of him as our seventh housemate."
Everyone crowded around Portia and smothered Marley with attention, and he seemed to be soaking it up. He was purring so loud it sounded like a lawnmower.
Bringing Marley back to the house had an immediate effect on everyone's mood, which had been down after the disastrous first play.
After a few minutes, Marley leapt out of Portia's arms and climbed onto the back of the couch.
Vin moved in front of the callolo and made gestures that Zayn interpreted as sign language.
Marley's eyes went wide, and then the callolo raised his front "hands," which had been paws only moments before, making a fist and nodding it forward.
"I asked him if he knew sign language, and he said yes," said Vin, face split wide with a grin.
"How do you know it?" asked Keelan.
"My high school used interpreters for the kids that needed it. I got interested in learning what the crazy movements meant, so I started asking questions," said Vin.
Marley sat up straight like a meerkat, and when his little furry arms went through a series of more complex movements, Vin snorted out laughter before replying while his arms shook with mirth.
"What did he say?" asked Keelan, forehead scrunched.
"There's quite a bit of slang involved, and I couldn't make out all the gestures since it appears he's out of practice, but basically he asked: when am I gonna get some chocolate in this furry belly, fam?"
Skylar retrieved some chocolate from her stash and broke off a piece for the callolo, who shoved it in his mouth with both hands. When he was finished, he held out greedy hands like a raccoon asking for more.
While Skylar fed him little chocolate squares, Keelan asked, "So why did you bring Marley here?"
"Instructor Minoan," said Zayn. "I think Marley could help us track him."
"But don't callolo only track shapeshifters?" asked Portia.
"Minoan seems like more than your ordinary instructor. He seems like a trickster of some sort, and they're often shapeshifters," said Zayn.
Vin snapped his fingers. "That's it. I knew that seemed familiar from my high school mythology classes. Minoan Crete was a home to many ancient gods, including Dionysus."
"I don't get the connection," said Skylar as she handed another piece to Marley, who had bits of chocolate stuck in the fur around his mouth.
"Dony. Dionysus," said Vin with his hands wide. "Get it?"
"Wait a sec," said Keelan. "Are you suggesting our instructor is a god?"
"I don't think there are gods, like in the religious sense," said Vin. "I think they're just old powerful beings that people probably treated like gods because they didn't know how else to deal with them. Probably an immigrant from another realm."
"I mean, we are supposed to be the hall tasked with protecting Invictus from other realms," said Zayn. "I wouldn't put it past Priyanka to enlist supernatural help. Instructor Pennywhistle is a doppelganger, after all."
"I still don't understand," said Portia. "Who is Dionysus?"
"Are there trickster gods in Mexican culture?" asked Zayn.
"Huehuecóyotl is one," said Portia. "His name means very old coyote. So Dionysus is like him? Si, I understand."
"We're not going now, are we?" asked Vin, shoulders pinched.
"No," said Zayn. "Let's give Marley some time to settle in, plus I think he's going to need a nap after all that chocolate."
Marley looked up from his chocolate feast and signed his agreement.
"But we'll go soon enough," said Zayn. "I want to get this behind us so we can focus on the play."
"What about classes?" asked Vin.
"Those too, of course," said Zayn, but to him, the play was more important at the moment because it was their way into the embassy. After the discussion with Katie, he suspected it might be the only important thing going. Which was why he wanted to get this Instructor Minoan thing put behind them.
His teammates filtered back to their previous activities. Skylar was going to take Marley on a tour, but Zayn asked her to stay back. There was another distraction that seemed to be lingering, and he wanted to discuss it with her.
"What's up?" asked Skylar, crossing her arms.
"Have you noticed anything different with Petri lately?"
The exasperated eye roll said everything that Zayn needed to know.
"It's like she's in her terrible twos," said Skylar. "She came up to my room earlier and asked if I wanted to go out. I told her I was busy, but suggested I could go tomorrow night when I had some free time. She made a huffy breath and stormed past me as if I'd done something wrong. The worst part was that it made me snap and I yelled at her. I don't know what came over me, but it felt awful."
"I don't know what that means, but it worries me. I had the same reaction when she went past me on the way out. Her aunt is a powerful witch, so maybe she's coming into her own powers?"
"My reaction was primal, and she didn't cast any spells,
" said Skylar.
"Maybe she's got supernatural blood, or something," he said, shaking his head. "Can you help me keep an eye on her?"
"How? She sleeps all day and goes out at night," said Skylar.
"Then maybe we should join her," said Zayn. "We can try to figure out what's wrong."
"It's probably nothing," said Skylar. "Maybe her aunt contacted her and said something that made her mad. Family has a way of doing that."
"Yeah, let's hope it's something temporary." Zayn noticed Skylar's sudden expectant expression. "Yes, you can go play with Marley now."
"Yay!" she said as she sprinted upstairs at faez speed.
Zayn scratched the back of his head. Like Skylar, he hoped it was nothing, but he didn't think so. Petri's moods were getting stronger, not weaker, and the bleed-over effect on him and the others was not a good sign.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Varna, July 2015
Trust issues
A host of gnats hovered around Zayn, trying to get through his enchantments, but every time they flew near an invisible wind pushed them away. It had a secondary effect of providing a cool breeze across his skin, which was soothing in the blistering heat.
He slammed the trowel down, dragging it across the soil, creating a little trough. The sandy soil spread easily but wasn't a great bed for seeds, so he scooped in fresh loamy soil afterwards.
Ms. Gardenia watched from the shade of a nearby popup, dragging on her cigarette. He saw her suspicious gaze, but ignored it.
Buford worked the row next to him, wiping his forehead off with the back of his hand, smearing dirt in the process. He eyed the gnats with an exhausted smile.
"It sure is handy to have you around," said Buford. "I hate those damn things."
Nods of agreement came from the other residents of the Castlewood trailer park, as they looked up from their parts of the community garden.
"It still feels weird to be planting in the middle of July," said Buford.
"That's the beauty of alchemy," said Zayn.
Beneath the popup, sitting on a folding table someone had brought out, sat three large plastic jugs that contained a mixture that could help plants grow in any season, giving them resistance to bugs and the rough environment. The mixture had been expensive, and Zayn had no plans to tell them how much it cost.
Zayn took a moment to check on everyone, cupping his hand over his face to block the sun. It didn't take his sensing imbuement to see that the brutal sun was wearing on them.
"Let's take a break," he said.
The others, about fifteen men and women, gathered in the shade of the popup while sucking down cold water and spilling it on their chests and faces.
Though they probably didn't realize they were doing it, no one stood near him, except Buford.
"It's really great of you to do this," said Buford, washing his face off with a wet rag.
Before Zayn could respond, Ms. Gardenia cut in, "He's just doing it so he can spy on us."
Her distrust hurt, but it wasn't unexpected either, especially since Keelan and his Aunt Lydia had taken up residence in the Gardens.
"That's not fair," said Buford, squaring off. "He didn't have to do this. Everyone else that's ever gone to the Halls treats us like we don't exist anymore."
"It's okay, Buford, I understand. She's just being cautious," said Zayn.
"It still ain't right," he said.
Ms. Gardenia put her cigarette to her mouth, keeping her gaze firmly planted on him as if she were expecting him to do something suspicious at any moment and she didn't want to miss it.
"You know he went to her place last week." Ms. Gardenia's lips flattened. "Oh, that's right, honey, don't you think you can play both sides and for us little people not to know."
Buford looked at Zayn as if he'd betrayed him.
"Did you?"
"I was invited...and curious," said Zayn, frowning.
The Lady's challenge to him, that he either give up his quest to kill her or she would kill him and his family, sat heavily on his mind and made him regret the visit. Not that she wouldn't have found another way to deliver the message before he returned.
"You met her?" asked Buford with equal parts awe and horror.
"She wasn't what I thought, and maybe exactly what I expected," said Zayn, receiving nods of agreement from Buford even though it was clear he'd never been within a thousand feet of her.
"I always thought she was," said Buford.
"Shut up, Buford, you don't know shit," said Ms. Gardenia. "You're just sucking up to him to save your ass, just like your being a guard at the Gardens. You don't guard a damn thing. They just like to have you there so they have someone to look down on."
The smirks and sideways glances from the others said more of them agreed with Ms. Gardenia than not.
"He's just doing what he needs to do to survive," said Zayn, putting a comforting hand on Buford's shoulder. "Just like we all are."
"Exactly," said Ms. Gardenia. "Which is why we shouldn't trust you."
He was beginning to regret helping them, though he didn't want to stay away just because of a lone opinion.
"She wins when she divides us," said Buford defiantly.
"He's right, you know," said Zayn.
Ms. Gardenia flicked her half-a-cigarette into the dirt where they'd been tilling. "You're young enough to be naive, Buford, but you"—she pointed at Zayn—"you should know better with all your Hall learning.
"Don't think us old-timers haven't seen a thing or two. She's divided us alright, and it's best to keep it that way. If we try mixing with them, it always ends bad. Always. Mark my word, he will betray us eventually. That's how it works. The Lady done fixed the game, and there's no use playing it, because we always lose. Always."
Ms. Gardenia stormed off, leaving a wake of bad feelings behind. A few of the others moved back into the garden to prepare the soil.
"You won't betray us, will you, Zayn?" asked Buford with wide, wounded eyes.
The Lady's question weighed heavily on his mind as Zayn looked Buford straight in the eyes and said, "I won't. I wouldn't. I will never betray you."
Buford seemed to accept this answer and returned to the garden. But for Zayn, he couldn't shake the idea that betrayal was inevitable. Not because he wanted to, but because he couldn't conceive of a way out. The Lady held all the advantages. She had the people, the power, perfect information, and a failsafe in her poison that prevented anyone from rising up against her. The only way he was going to beat her was to do something she never expected. Something impossible. Something that would risk everything, even them.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The house, April 2016
Strings attached
Zayn was sitting in the living room studying when Keelan and Vin came running downstairs as if the house were on fire. Zayn sat up fast, knocking Visions & Deception onto the floor.
"What's wrong?"
"Wrong?" Vin scrunched up his face. "What is right is the question. Keelan solved the rope problem!"
Keelan breathed on his fingernails and then polished them against his chest.
"Ain't nothing but a thing."
Before Zayn could protest, Vin dragged him towards the stairs. "You have to come see."
He hesitated because he wasn't just studying, he was keeping an eye out for Petri, who usually went out around midnight. He wanted to see if he could join her. She'd been going out later and later, and coming back after morning. He was worried about her and the effect she was having on the rest of them.
But he couldn't ignore Vin and Keelan's excitement. They'd been trying different spells for weeks to find a way to simulate the marionette ropes without resorting to mechanical means.
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
Vin's room had been completely upended. The bed, dresser, and everything else had been moved into the hallway. The ceiling had been painted black and covered in runes. Lengths of rope lay around the floor.
"And what
am I supposed to be seeing?" asked Zayn.
Talking too fast, Vin said, "Well, there's the rope and it's enchanted and the ceiling—Keelan, you explain."
A much calmer Keelan picked up the nearest piece of rope. It was about eight feet long with a metal end. Using a spray bottle with a swirling blue liquid inside, Keelan coated the rope, spraying along its length until it was completely covered in a glistening slime that immediately soaked into the line.
"It's a mixture of demon ichor and the pulp of sequoia bark. The ichor gives the rope bounce, to simulate the marionette rigging, and the bark the rigidity. There's also a touch of gargoyle blood which extends the effect, but I don't have it dialed in yet, so it only lasts for about thirty minutes, but I'm confident I can get the whole two hours."
Zayn resisted the urge to tell his cousin to get to the point. It was clear that Keelan was proud of what he'd come up with, so he let him talk.
"The spell is something I found that snake charmers use, and it seems to work for the rope as well," said Keelan.
"And the ceiling?"
"We enchanted it to have a slight magnetic force so the metal ends ride around without getting hung up. We tested with multiple ropes and they did great," said Keelan.
"So let's see it," said Zayn, thinking he just heard the door downstairs slam shut.
The spell only took a few gestures—a snake charmer wouldn't have much time to capture the snake's attention. Once done, Keelan shoved the frayed end into his shirt through the neck hole.
"We can cut holes in our costumes," said Keelan, tapping his shoulder.
As soon as he lifted the other half, the metal end rose up to the ceiling, connecting with a little click. Keelan demonstrated the versatility of the rope by walking around using the twitchy marionette motions. It almost looked like he was dancing to dub-step.
"Great job," said Zayn, giving them both fist bumps. "It looks like we're all ready."
Vin looked visibly relieved.
"And you all aren't completely embarrassing on the stage anymore," he said with a wink.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," laughed Zayn, glancing outside to see Petri getting into a ghost taxi. "This is great, but I need to get going. I think I need to deal with Petri, or her aunt is going to kill me."
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