by D. D. Chance
“Commander Frost.” I looked ahead to see Mr. Symmes standing at the end of the hallway in front of a wide doorway.
Frost nodded. “Mr. Symmes,” he acknowledged. Tall, thin, and well-dressed, a man of harsh angles from the cut of his suit to the sharpness of his features, Symmes looked at the rest of us as we approached, but his face remained impassive. There was no excitement in his gaze or even concern. He looked resolute. Satisfied, I decided. A man who’d been waiting for this moment for a long time and was now happy it had arrived. He gestured us into the room, and the only indication I had about the unusual nature of the group assembled beyond was the sharp intake of breath from both Tyler and Liam. Coincidentally, Tyler and Liam were also the two members of our group who had family in the area. In the very immediate area, as it happened.
Theodore Perkins stood before a bank of windows at the far end of the room, ramrod straight in an impeccably tailored black suit with an honest-to-God cravat at his neck. Somehow, he managed to pull off the incredibly pretentious style, and he nodded at Tyler, assessing his son with shrewd eyes. If the elder Perkins hadn’t noticed Tyler’s development before now, I got the feeling he picked up on it as we’d entered the room.
Since Tyler and I had first met, he’d leveled up both in skills and in physical appearance. He was bigger, stronger, and exuded an air of charisma that was unmistakable to me—and apparently to his father as well. I’d helped Tyler reach that new level, too. I straightened my own shoulders, lifting my chin. I might be a rogue, untrained monster hunter, but I was an important part of this team.
The scrutiny Liam received, however, was nowhere near as approving. An older, slender woman with a pronounced similarity in features to Liam, dressed in an elegant, champagne-colored suit, her caramel-and-blonde hair perfectly styled in a long bob, gave him little more than a passing glance before focusing on Tyler. She too seemed to notice the difference in Tyler, and her mouth tightened. Then her gaze went to Zach and Grim, and rested finally on me. If she was surprised that I stared right back at her, clearly having watched her assessment of the room, she didn’t seem to care. Her brows lifted slightly, her gaze imperious. She said nothing.
The other members of the room, I hadn’t seen before. I’d halfway expected Mrs. Pendleton of the neighborhood watch squad to be here, but apparently she was merely a lieutenant and these players all generals. Two men and another woman regarded us with a frosty hauteur that had probably been ingrained in them since birth. Mr. Symmes made the introductions.
“I believe most of you know Tyler’s father, Theodore Perkins, and Claudia Graham as well, Liam’s mother,” he said quickly, dispensing with more formal speech, something that Mr. Perkins seemed to take in stride, but Mrs. Graham noticed with disapproval, her lips thinning slightly.
“In addition we have Meredith Choate, Marcus Wellesley, and Anderson Reid, all of whom we are indebted to, and their families before them, for the academy’s strength and security.”
He leveled a look at Frost. “Security which now appears to be in your hands, pitched against an enemy who is rapidly approaching.”
Beside me, I could tell Liam was almost bursting to ask the questions for which he desperately needed answers. He visibly restrained himself as Frost replied, “The collective is ready to serve.”
The word collective made the entire group stiffen, and I watched with interest as the old guard of Wellington Academy exchanged glances. Did they know what the collective meant? Did they know specifically what my involvement with the collective meant? I deeply hoped not.
“We have fast-tracked waiving your team’s requirements for graduation,” Symmes said briskly. “Since you are effectively fighting monsters now, there’s no need for anything but the final ritual. We’re moving ahead with that now.”
“Alastair, no. Traditions must be honored,” Claudia Graham insisted. “You cut corners at your peril. You always have. The presentation must take place, at the very least. Only then can we proceed with the graduation ritual. That rule is inviolate. And now more than ever, we need to abide by them.”
Mrs. Choate grimaced, but Mr. Reid nodded with resignation and Mr. Wellesley stepped forward slightly to emphasize his agreement. “Claudia is right. We don’t know what other families are in play, but you can rest assured they will hold us accountable if we don’t follow the protocols and something goes awry.” His words were rough and graveled, as if he wasn’t used to speaking, and Symmes sighed.
“We’ve gone over this,” he said. “There isn’t enough time.”
“Of course there’s time,” Claudia sniffed. “You simply haven’t applied yourself to the organization of it. I will take charge.”
Nobody argued with her. I got the feeling nobody ever argued with her much.
She didn’t stop there either. She turned and pinned Liam with a stern look. “You were attacked,” she said. “Recently. What was the nature of that assault?”
I barely managed not to gape at her as I processed how she could possibly have known about what had happened to Liam. Then again, he’d been inserted with any number of toys to help augment his magic. How difficult would it have been for one of those toys to be a monster-attack tracker as well?
Answer? Not very difficult at all. I suddenly developed an intense and deep dislike of Claudia Graham, but Liam answered without rancor, his voice polite and even.
“An illusionist,” he said.
Much like the term collective, the reference to an illusionist elicited an immediate response from the room. Frost tightened his lips, clearly pissed that Liam had dropped this piece of information, whereas Symmes’s eyes widened. Liam’s mother and Wellesley drew themselves up almost painfully, and Meredith Choate gave a small, startled cry.
“The Hallowell family?” she squeaked. “Is it possible?”
“No, it’s not possible,” Mr. Reid answered heavily. “Their line has long since removed themselves from any magical undertakings with the academy so that they can function in private industry, which they have done quite successfully. There would be no reason for them to trouble us here. The agreements that were struck are set in stone.”
He spoke with such authority that it was clear he intended his words to be taken as gospel. Too bad this wasn’t a group of true believers. More to the point, a strange shiver rolled through me at the name of the family he mentioned. Hallowell. Deep in my mind, my mother’s cry resurfaced, warning me away from the very collective I’d recently joined. Four warriors, bonded as a team, working together. I needed to run if I ever encountered them, and run fast. Hallowell.
As if she could hear my thoughts, Claudia turned her gaze to me and spoke. “But the girl here is looking for her family. A girl of unusual talent and ability. Who better to be that family than one who basically owned all things magical in Boston back when all the trouble began?”
“That’s ridiculous,” Symmes insisted, batting her suggestion away. “By your own logic, if the Hallowells had lost one of their own, don’t you think they would have moved heaven and earth to find her? And we haven’t been completely remiss. We have our own agents in place watching the Hallowells and their activities. Much as we assume they are watching us as well, all is fair in business. But Anderson is right. The agreements that were struck with the Hallowell family were executed amicably to great mutual benefit. If they had any issue with the academy, they would simply raise it in the normal course of action and we would accommodate them. They know this as well as you do.”
I felt a different set of eyes on me and turned to see Theodore Perkins studying me with new interest. Apparently, he wasn’t convinced my arrival had nothing to do with the Hallowell family.
“Well, where does the Hallowell family live?” I asked, unable to keep the hope from my voice. “Are they still in Boston?”
“Absolutely not,” Symmes said, throttling my enthusiasm. “They relocated to upstate New York at the time of the agreement, a century ago. The only conversation we’ve had with them s
ince then has been through intermediaries, as the agreement dictated.”
“Well, if not them, then who?” Claudia demanded. “It’s not as if we have master-level illusionists coming out our ears.”
“And thank God for that,” Wellesley put in.
“We will search the rolls.” Symmes turned to Liam. “This is excellent information. An illusionist on the level of the Hallowell family explains a lot. The recent monster sightings, the demon attack and subsequent destruction on campus… Some of that could have been mere fantasy, conjured up to keep us hopping. We’ll need to act fast.”
“What if it’s not fantasy?” Tyler countered. “What if there really is a monster invasion on the way?”
Symmes exhaled. “Time was, I wouldn’t have thought it possible. For all your disdain for your Dean Robbins, his information is not incorrect. Monster sightings and interactions have gone down dramatically these past generations. Not enough to remove the minor entirely, but certainly enough to limit the way we behave. I can’t say the same for powerful magicians. Perhaps those are the monsters we should be fighting against.”
Grim muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t quite catch, and no one paid him any attention. In fact, it seemed as if the old guard of Wellington Academy were doing their level best not to look at him at all.
“So Dean Robbins is working with you?” Tyler asked abruptly. “You trust him?”
“Of course we trust him,” Symmes said, his tone measured. “His loyalty is impeccable, and his discretion inviolate.”
Tyler looked like he was going to argue when Frost cut in. “We’ll start the search. We’ll also explore every avenue to determine the identity of the illusionist, including any potential connection with the Perkins family since he used you all to make his initial point.”
Theodore Perkins nodded sharply. “That slight was personal, and we have made our share of enemies. That should narrow the list.”
Symmes glanced back to Frost. “Excellent. Meanwhile, despite my misgivings, I’m forced to agree with Claudia. To ensure you’re all prepared for the battle to come, your graduation requirements will be waived for all but two inviolate elements: the presentation and the final ritual.”
I wrinkled my brow at the repeated word. “Presentation? Like some kind of a parade?”
To my surprise, Symmes nodded gravely. “Exactly like a parade, Ms. Cross. We are a product of our Victorian-era founding, and Victorians enjoyed nothing more than a grand show of strength—and if music and dancing were involved, so much the better. We’ll get you the information you need to prepare as soon as possible. In the meantime, keep a sharp eye. Whether we’re being attacked by magic or monsters, the enemy is at our very door.”
16
We had barely exited Wellesley Hall when Frost began giving orders. “Tyler and Liam, I need you back at Lowell Library,” he began.
Liam raised a hand. “That would be negatory. Family matters to attend to first. You may not have picked up on Claudia’s death glare, but you can bet I did.”
“What are you talking about?” Frost blustered, but Liam waved him off, his face grim.
“You can bet if the old battle-ax wants to talk to me, it’s going to have some bearing on our upcoming monster campaign. Permission to take Nina with me? Because I have a feeling she’s going to want to learn it too. She may even make my mom unbend a little, which would be a miracle of the modern age.”
Frost breathed out an irritated breath. “Okay. But I need you back at the library as early as possible. We’ve got things to do.”
“And may I remind you that you have two amazingly elevated monster hunters, courtesy of one Nina Cross, already at your disposal. I suggest, if you’re not doing anything else, that you figure out exactly how super special their powers now are. Because I’d be willing to bet they’re way bright shinier than mine, even in the ward-building department.”
It was as close as I’d ever heard Liam get to insubordination, and he sounded genuinely rattled. Frost apparently thought so too. He scowled at Liam. “Are you okay?”
Liam shrugged. “I will be once I get to the bottom of things,” he said. “You go handle your crazy, and I’ll handle mine.”
That seemed to satisfy Frost, and he jabbed a sharp finger at Zach. “What do you know about electronics?” he asked, and I stifled a laugh. Zach had single-handedly dismantled Mrs. Pendleton’s camera brigade in my apartment. I was pretty sure he’d be able to handle anything Frost threw at him.
Grim didn’t wait for an assignment.
“I’m going to check the perimeter,” he said. “If we have an illusionist at work, he should have been caught well before he reached Lowell Library.”
“Agreed.” Frost turned to him. “Report back whatever you find, as soon as you find it. And keep in touch. Also, I don’t buy the bullshit that Dean Robbins is on the up-and-up. Symmes and the others may think he’s their flunky, but that doesn’t sit right. There’s something else going on, and until we figure it out, don’t underestimate him. Try to avoid him even more.”
The guys all nodded at that, and the three groups peeled away—Frost, Zach, and Tyler heading back to Lowell Library, Grim heading for some obscure “perimeter,” and Liam and me heading…I had no idea where.
Liam seemed to have a plan, though, and he set off at a quick stride, not looking back. We didn’t talk until we’d reached the gates of Wellington Academy and stepped onto the public sidewalk.
“Sorry about that,” he finally said. “But I needed to shake them, stat. I didn’t feel like playing Frost’s flunky while he shored up library security. I honestly don’t think the illusionist is going to bother with that place again. He got what he wanted.”
“The letter,” I sighed.
“Actually, I think that was just a collateral win for him. Like I said, a crime of opportunity. I think the main goal of the illusionist was to get under our skin. The whole thing kind of smacked of a taunt more than anything else. Nobody was hurt, you know? Even with illusion magic, you can pack a punch that takes out a person, and our guy didn’t do that. He’s playing with us because he can.”
“You think so?”
“I do think so, because it’s exactly what I’d do if I had the opportunity. People who are smart like to show off. It’s a hazard of the profession.”
“So where does that leave us? Where are we going?”
“You tell me.” He turned and grinned at me, cocking a Sherlockian brow. “You’re the one who had the answer all along. You just didn’t know it. I didn’t know it either because I didn’t make the connection, which proves I’m not as smart as I think I am. I’ve got some catching up to do.”
I made a face. “Once more for the cheap seats?”
“When you first met Tyler and you guys ended up fighting the Magla Gušter, you took Tyler back to your place right? Remember that?”
“Vaguely,” I allowed. “I was a little beat up that night.”
“Yup, you were. Back then, we were still trying to figure out what your deal was, so Tyler told me about your conversation and the stuff about your mom.”
“Okayyy.” I couldn’t summon up annoyance at Tyler’s betrayal of my confidence, because what I told him hadn’t been in confidence, exactly. I’d given the guy my life story, more or less. Of course he wanted to share it with his best friend. “I told him how she died and what little I knew about her past in Boston, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“The second part, absolutely.” Liam nodded. “Her time up here in Boston. She said she was a teacher, and the school she mentioned was…”
I blinked at him, suddenly getting my bearings of where we were headed, both in conversation and on foot. “Beacon Hill Preparatory Academy,” I said “Well, I hate to break it to you, but that school is a nonstarter. It’s been closed for over a hundred years.”
“It was closed almost exactly a hundred years ago,” Liam said cheerfully. “Funny you should mention that. You know what
else happened a hundred years ago? The Hallowell family left town. They ran the Beacon Hill Preparatory Academy for Exceptional Women. It was synonymous with the family, at least among our exceptionally exclusive circle. I can’t say as to whether or not any of the women who graduated from there were truly all that exceptional, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.”
By this time, I was staring at him. “Are you serious? Beacon Hill Prep was run by the Hallowell family?”
“Yup. A little-known fact of the great and magical families of Boston, of which I know far too much, courtesy of one overzealous Claudia Graham. I know every family in the city with ties to the magic academies. Hell, I probably know the evil bad illusionist-slash-necromancer-slash-all-around-asshole that we’re looking for right now who is supposedly about to bring a monster apocalypse to our door. If I were a little smarter, I’d already be able to give you his name, but at the very least, we can figure out your connection—or at least your mom’s connection—to the Hallowell family. I’m an idiot for not thinking of it sooner.”
“Well, how would you?” I countered. “My mom’s name was Janet Cross, not Hallowell.”
“Yup, and I’d convinced myself that much of what she’d told you about your past was a lie—but I forgot that the best lies are those that contain a kernel of truth. And I think this particular kernel may turn into a nugget of gold.”
We argued back and forth about what the possibilities could be as we made our way across the sun-drenched, tree-lined streets of the Beacon Hill district. It was another predictably gorgeous day in Boston, with lots of people out and about, the streets choked with cars. But walking by Liam’s side, it was as if there was nobody but the two of us, arguing arcane mysteries from a century ago. The attraction I had for him stirred up all my slumbering butterflies, but I snapped off the overhead light in their cage just as quickly. This wasn’t the time.