"And then we explain it to her and make her swear she won't tell anyone else it was us who found this out. That way she can warn everyone."
"And if the shadow-walker is there when we meet? Or if someone else finds out we know?"
Then we might just find ourselves broken at the bottom of the stairs.
Chapter Eleven
This was such a flimsy plan that had more holes in it than solid foundation. It involved a lot of trust, and with another shadow-walker lurking around with a skin-walker, I had some major trust issues. But relying on a raven to seek out the real person rather than a skin-walker version hadn't failed me yet.
At least, I didn’t think so.
We met with Headmistress Millington right before my gym class. And she brought the parchment the raven had sent.
"What's this all about?" she asked as we entered her office. She looked even more haggard than she had at breakfast. "It better not be about getting out of your punishment early."
"It's not, Headmistress." I glanced at Ramsey as he sat next to me in the wooden chairs in front of her desk. I couldn't help but remember the last time I'd been in here, my nerves raw and near snapping as I awaited my fate. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
"I found out something that I thought you should know,” Ramsey blurted. "Today is December twelfth, the day of the black moon when black magic is supposed to work even better. With the dampener already here, it makes perfect sense that something could happen tonight."
I stared at him, my jaw hitting my knees. "What are you doing?"
"Dawn here didn't even realize it, but I put the pieces together myself,” he continued. “So we should probably warn people, take precautions."
He was acting like he'd found it out, making him look like the target instead for any potential enemies in case word got out. He was doing this for me, and I... Well, how was I supposed to feel about that? Because in reality, my chest warmed, and I didn’t like it. At all. Because not only did it feel good, it also hurt, and that was what made it so confusing.
Headmistress Millington flicked her gaze between us. "I already know about the black moon tonight. Why do you think there are guards at the gates, why I've sent for extra mages from the rest of Eerie Island, and why your professors are scouring the school for the dampener?"
"Oh." Ramsey sat back in his chair, nodding. "Well, should we warn everyone that someone might try to activate the stone tonight?"
With a long, long sigh, Headmistress Millington clasped her hands on top of her desk. "I appreciate you trying to help. I really do, but I'm trying to balance preparedness with not causing a panic for those who’ve chosen to stay behind. The students and staff who are still here know the risks, or they would've left already. Some of them probably know about the black moon tonight too. Some don't. If something happens tonight, we'll be ready, same as if something happens tomorrow or the next day."
“You’re right, Headmistress.” He rose from his seat. “I hope we haven’t wasted your time.”
“You haven’t. I really do appreciate the help, more than you could know.” With a no-lip smile, she sent us on our way.
“Well, that cleared one thing up,” I muttered as we strode down the empty hallway. “It wasn't knowledge of the moon phases that got Vickie killed. It was her knowledge of Professor Wadluck or ME."
Ramsey scrubbed both hands down his face, seeming exhausted. "Yeah.”
"If the last stone is activated—"
"It won't be."
"But if it is, the last part of Ryze's soul will be free. Logically, whoever is helping him will need to join his soul to his body, right?"
"But no one knows for sure where he's buried, remember? I don't know how to join a soul to a body. That would be super advanced necromancy, beyond any I know about. And to do that, they'd have to break the spell that keeps Ryze dead first."
"Unless it's already been broken by the dampener. Unless he's here, inside this school already." I pointed to the floor in case he missed my point.
"So you're saying we need to go body hunting."
"Maybe Jon could help us with his bones to narrow it down?"
We stopped in front of the gym. From here, the walls of the school rattled, the coming storm gathering strength before it unleashed.
Ramsey leaned against the wall with a sigh. "Sure, yeah, but if Ryze is already here and in the catacombs, they go underground for miles upon miles."
"Then we need something a little more precise." Behind Ramsey, I spotted Morrissey coming down the hall with Echo at her side.
Morrissey waved and shot me a grin. Echo...did not. They both turned into the gym.
"Locator spells have been no help lately," Ramsey said, his voice low. “Everything’s blocked.”
“No.” I hardened my resolve before I said it. "I'm talking about another séance."
Ramsey paled as his eyes widened. "Another séance?"
"We need to find out what Vickie knows. Maybe she can help us find Ryze."
"Opening the spirit door is dark enough without the moon's influence." He turned to look over his shoulder at a waiting Diabolical and then sighed. "I have to go. Send me a raven if you find out anything. Be careful, Dawn." He reached out and smoothed a strand of hair behind my ear, his thumb brushing my cheek, and then he took off down the hall.
It was hardly a touch at all, but I felt its warmth long after he'd gone. I pressed my fingers to my face and stared after him, just standing there like a dumbass. Why did he do that? It only made me more confused...and somehow less stabby. But mainly confused, about him and my reaction because somehow...I didn't hate it when he did that. Didn't hate it that he cared enough to try to put the target on his back instead of mine.
"Dawn," a voice called from behind me.
I whirled and found Seph standing outside the History of Defense classroom next to the gym.
"You all right?"
Nodding, I started toward her, and when I was close enough for only her to hear, said, "We need to do a séance for Vickie, but there's a black moon tonight so we need to do it early."
She stared at me and then swallowed hard. "So lunch while séance-ing?"
"Yes. Can you ask Jon to come? I'll ask Morrissey in gym class, see if she can slip away from Echo's guard for like ten minutes."
She arched one brow. "And your shadow? The one named Ramsey? He'll be there too?"
"He's not my shadow. He's just..." The words stuck in my throat because I didn't really know what he was anymore. An ally, I thought. Maybe a friend.
"Uh-huh." Seph clicked her tongue. "Have you seen the way he looks at you?"
Yes, I had, but it didn't mean I wanted to think about it. Still, that she'd noticed heated my cheeks. "The same way Jon looks at you, I bet."
"Hmm, well, Ramsey may be deranged, but I will say this: he's got great taste in hot, strong women who aren't afraid to challenge him." She shrugged. "I'm afraid that's the best I can do for now when it comes to him."
"Okay." I gave her a light shake. "Can we get back to the séance? Are you in?"
She nudged my shoulder with hers. "Of course I'm in. And you're the one who brought up Ramsey."
"I did not."
"Oh yeah. But you'll have to be the one to call on Hecate, since with dampened magic, I'm hardly a mage at all."
"I can do it."
"I know you can." She reached out and squeezed my hand. "See you in an hour."
“Wait, what are you doing in History of Defense?”
She frowned. “Just studying since I can’t go in there with you.”
She went into her classroom, and I dragged myself into mine next door. I probably should’ve just skipped, but I did need to talk to Morrissey.
Our gym teacher for today was the same blond Diabolical who'd followed Seph and me up the steps to our dorm and into a testosterone-fueled ambush all those months ago. Instead of throwing threats now, though, he flicked his fingers through the air in a half-hearted wav
e while standing behind Professor Wadluck's desk. I nodded on my way past, thankful we were now on the same side.
"Name's Craig," he barked as he sauntered out into the middle of the gym.
"Hey, Craig," the freshmen in the bleachers said meekly.
I took a seat at the front near where Morrissey and Echo sat while meeting Morrissey's beetle-black gaze. I'd have to get her alone somehow, see if she was down for another terrifying séance during lunch. Who wouldn’t be up for that? Oh, right. No one.
"Today you start your Psycho-Physical Education semester exam," Craig said.
I groaned inwardly. I hoped that didn’t apply to me.
"Who's first?"
Echo raised her hand high.
Craig looked at her and sighed.
"What?" she asked, climbing over people in her haste to get to the gym floor. "Afraid of me, are you?"
"Of course not, freshman." But there was a flicker to his expression that indicated otherwise, and then a sly grin crossed his face. "But you can't use magic this time."
"Well." She cracked her neck as she crossed toward him. "Neither can you."
"Get a room," some guy called from the back, and everyone laughed.
With that in mind, I watched them in a new light as they faced off with each other. There was a spark there between them, a powerful one that shone in their eyes and widened their smiles. When had that happened? I'd missed so much in the months down in the dungeon that I wasn't sure I'd ever catch up. My world had paused while everyone else's had continued as normal. It made me feel like a stranger, like a whisper swept away in the wind. I'd wanted to blend in before, but now...now I wanted something completely different. Friends, memories, happiness. Despite everything, maybe I could still have that one day.
Craig and Echo sparred with their fists, circling each other and expertly dodging and blocking. Craig didn't move with the same liquid grace Ramsey did, but he was fast.
With Echo occupied, I scooted closer to Morrissey until I sat next to her. She wore a small crown of teeth today set into a jeweled band that swept her black hair away from her face. It was surprisingly gorgeous.
"Hey," I whispered, leaning in. "Séance at lunch today if you're in."
She jerked back as if I were crazy, which...yeah. After last time, probably so.
“Oh. I’m guessing from your silence my teeth are being quiet?”
She nodded with a small smile.
"Well, we need to contact Vickie and ask her if she was murdered, among other things."
She glanced out at Echo while wringing her hands in the folds of her cloak.
"No pressure, Morrissey. None at all. It's not worth angering Echo over it. I just thought since you were there last time..." I shrugged, feeling really stupid now. Another séance was a bad idea, but on the other hand, we didn't have much choice. Everyone who'd been there the first time was basically an old pro, so if she said no, I'd have to find someone else who was brave/reckless enough.
After twisting her fingers farther into her cloak, she finally nodded, meeting my gaze again.
I sighed my relief in a rush of words and nerves. "You can bring your lunch to my room. A working lunch while talking to the dead. That sounds like something normal people do, right?"
She laughed silently at that, her shoulders bouncing.
"Thank you."
She reached over and squeezed my hand then returned her attention to Echo and Craig. Neither of them were slowing, but sweat gleamed across their foreheads and dripped toward their goofy grins. They had it bad for each other, which was weird since they were currently trying to clobber each other.
I shifted my foot against my dagger's sheath hugging my heel. Maybe what they were feeling wasn't so weird after all.
After neither of them won and Craig called a draw, I waved to Morrissey and booked it out of there to meet Seph.
"She’ll do it," I said when I spotted Seph in the hall, but then my eyes narrowed on her tight expression. "What's wrong?"
She looped her arm in mine and turned me in the direction of the Gathering Room, pressing against the far wall away from the gym. "I'm not so sure about doing this on a black moon."
"It's not the black moon yet. It's daytime."
"It doesn't matter. The moon still exists whether it's daytime or not, and though it may not officially happen until tonight, all the books I just read on moon phases instead of studying for my exam had a huge list of things to avoid. Guess what was at the top of the list."
"Necromancy?" I asked hopefully.
"No. Séances. The black moon affects all things, makes dark things stronger, more unpredictable, especially the more malevolent spirits behind the spirit door."
"We have to talk to Vickie though. We have to figure out who killed her so we can stop them from...you know, which sounds like is happening tonight."
Seph stopped in the entryway and pulled me into a shadowy corner. "Stop them how? This is Ryze we're talking about, as well as who knows how many are helping him. No offense, but what can you do to stop them?"
"I see your point. I do, but it's not just Vickie's life that was ended because of all this. I need to know who killed my brother and why, and I'm not even sure death will stop me from doing that."
Seph squeezed her eyes shut briefly before wrapping me up in a hug. "You're right. Of course you're right. Rolling over and playing dead is not the answer at a time like this."
“But it would be the easier, safer, smarter thing to do.”
She huffed and shook her head. “Well, our brain cells had a good run, I suppose.”
“Yeah, they’re good while they last, but there comes a time when the right thing to do isn’t the smart thing to do.”
“Why does that sound like an epitaph?”
“Great point.”
We continued on to the Gathering Room, noting the strangers milling about and filling the seats at the tables. Mages here to help. Good.
While we loaded our plates, Seph reminded me of everything I’d need to do during the séance in a low voice even though it wasn’t necessary. How could I forget every detail of everything that had happened last time? We hurried up the steps to our room and then began lighting candles and getting everything ready in between saying our food spell and shoving our faces into lunch.
A knock sounded at the door, and when I opened it, Jon about bowled me over as he rushed inside out of breath.
“I’m here—”
“To help.” Seph melted him into yet another puddle with her grin as she handed him a bunch of unlit candles. “I know.”
“Hey, Jon,” I said, but he was too much of a starry-eyed goner to notice.
“Nebbles!” Seph cried and startled all of us but the cat.
The cat was lapping up some of the cream sauce off my plate.
“That’s mine, silly girl.” Honestly, though, since it wasn’t my precious bread, I didn’t really care.
Nebbles blinked up at me with her one orange eye and then set her whole paw into the sauce as if to tell me it was not, in fact, mine.
“You win.” I snorted a laugh, falling even farther in love with the furry murder ball. “Flawless victory.”
“No, Nebbles, that is very naughty.” Seph picked her up and strode toward the door while Nebbles daintily licked the cream sauce from her paw. “You can’t be in here anyway while we do this.”
“Go hunt us up a big mouse,” I called as the cat leaped from Seph’s arms and raced out the door. “Love you bunches.”
As soon as Seph turned, shaking her head, Morrissey appeared in the open doorway behind her, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. She met my eyes, and with the hand not balancing a full plate, she pointed to herself.
“I mean, sure,” I said, chuckling. “Love you bunches too.”
She gave another silent laugh and sat on the floor, her eyes shining brightly.
“Any trouble with Echo?” I asked, grabbing my plate. There was a visible paw print in the pasta’s cre
am sauce, but as long as I ate around it, I’d be fine. I stuffed some of it and then part of my roll in my mouth.
Morrissey shrugged and tore off a large chunk of bread that was slathered in butter. I knew I liked her for a reason.
Seph settled herself on the floor. “Okay, I think we’re ready. Dawn?”
At once, the mood in the room grew heavier, darker, and the bite I’d just taken of my buttery roll stuck in my throat. I forced it down and nodded. We needed to do this. We needed answers to the questions that kept piling up, and we needed them before tonight.
Seph and Jon took their places on the floor. Morrissey and I set our plates aside, and Seph handed out little vials of black salt which all of us pocketed. We’d needed it last time, and we might need it again. The four of us took hands, completing the circle. We stared down at the overturned glass on the talking board/napkin, the same one we’d used last time.
Maybe if this went quickly and smoothly, I could talk to Leo again. A girl could hope.
I blew out a slow breath as a cold sweat broke over my body. My heart seemed to hum it was beating so fast. "Close your eyes. Concentrate on the spirit door." When they squeezed theirs shut, I closed mine and continued. "I call to Hecate on this day to open the spirit door and let us communicate with the dead. We need to speak to Vickie Sloane, a former student at Necromancer Academy. Hecate, will you grant us our wish?”
Silence, and then a stir of frigid air in front of me. I cracked open one eye and found Hecate’s black eye, now open, staring back from the drawing on the napkin.
“Thank you, Hecate,” I whispered.
“Thank you, Hecate,” the others said softly.
“Open your eyes,” I continued. "We are calling for Vickie Sloane to come through the open spirit door to speak with us. Vickie, are you there?”
She had no reason to answer me since she’d much rather kill me, but if I could spin this in a way that made it look like all we wanted was to find justice for her, then maybe. And we did want to, as well as a host of other things.
"We want to know if you were murdered and by who, Vickie." My voice came out strong and confident, much more than I felt. "We want to help."
Necromancer Unleashed: Book 2 Page 11