Wah wah wah. At least Trey still has a tongue.
“Yes. Which means that Ayaz is going to get his booty spanked.” Quinn slapped Ayaz’s ass.
“Don’t be foul,” Ayaz growled. “It’s not like that.”
“Better lube up, Ataturk.”
Ayaz locked eyes with me, and I saw the pain lurking in those obsidian orbs. I knew now that he’d been coerced into sleeping with Ms. West, but Quinn didn’t know I knew that. He was deliberately trying to lower Ayaz in my eyes.
“Hazel, are you asking me to do this?” Ayaz asked, his voice tight.
I shrugged. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Maybe you can find a way to draw her away from the office without…”
…without bending her over a desk and fucking her roughly from behind. I didn’t need to finish.
Ayaz gave me a sad smile. “For you, I’ll do anything.”
“Good. Ataturk is in the game.” Quinn dragged me out of the dorm room before I could say anything else. He led me down to the library. Courtney and her friends were studying under the stained-glass window, lording it over Trey’s old table like feudal lords. They shot us filthy looks as Quinn led me into the stacks.
“You don’t think they’ll follow us?” I whispered.
“Of course they will.” Quinn slammed the stairwell door shut and jammed a chair under the handle. “Now, let’s get into that passage. Without his magical dick in play, I don’t know how long Ayaz will be able to tempt Ms. West from her office.”
“Do you have to be so mean to Ayaz?” I demanded as Quinn shoved a computer desk out of the way and slid open the secret panel.
“What’s wrong – your boyfriend can’t stick up for himself now?”
“He’s not my boyfriend, Quinn,” I snapped. “And not that this is the time, but it shouldn’t matter to you if he was. I know you don’t really want to be my boyfriend, so what’s the big—what the hell are those?”
Quinn passed me three brand new bars of soap.
“Have you ever read about the escape from Alcatraz?” Quinn asked. “They made a copy of a key by pressing it into a bar of soap. You can put the key back and we can use the soap mold to create a cast of the key. That way, West never has to notice the key missing and we can get into the lab as many times as we need to.”
“You’re cleverer than you look.” I took the soaps from him and shoved them in my pockets. “Stay here and guard my exit.”
“You got it.” Quinn gave me a boost into the tunnel. I was about to shut the door when he shoved his head into the opening. His eyes widened. “Hazy?”
“Yeah?” I lifted my head. Quinn mashed his mouth against mine. The kiss knocked my breath from my lungs. Slow and soft, it built inside me like a tidal wave crashing over me, pulling me under.
This wasn’t Quinn the joker, desperate for distraction. This was someone who craved salvation, who kissed because he was holding on by a thread that was fraying away and he needed a lifeline. He cupped the side of my face, his thumb trailing across my cheek. His eyes remained open – those amber pools flecked with light, tinged with tenderness and regret.
Wow.
I knew I should pull away, I should keep my distance because this was a guy who’d let a great injustice continue and didn’t even see it. But I couldn’t make my body obey. It was Quinn who drew away and gave me a wink. Just like that, the old Quinn was back. “I just want you to keep your options open.”
My mouth was still hanging open as he swung the door shut behind me. Where did that come from?
Is he trying to tell me that he actually cares about me? That I’m more than just a distraction to him?
My lips still burned from Quinn’s kiss. I couldn’t wrap my head around him, so I shoved that aside to deal with later. I crawled through the tunnel, trying to stay as quiet as I could. The soaps dug into my hip as I rounded a corner. Stale air scratched at my throat. Somewhere above my head, I heard the faint scritching of the rats. Please don’t come any closer. I don’t mind you guys in the walls, but I don’t want to meet you in the dark.
My knees ached from crawling by the time I found the place where Quinn and I sat listening last time. I pressed my ear against the wall, but I couldn’t hear anything except the pounding of my own heart. How will I know if Ms. West is out of her office, or if she’s just working in silence? We should have organized this better. We should have had a signal or—
There was a knocking noise, and then a sultry voice said, “Enter.”
I backed away from the wall, my heart hammering. Good thing I hadn’t opened the panel.
“Headmistress,” it was Ayaz’s voice. “I wondered if you could come with me for a moment? There’s something I need to show you.”
“I’m busy, Ayaz.”
“It’s very important,” he said. There was a strain in his voice.
“I see.” A chair pushed out. “Is this a problem that you have, in your trousers?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I didn’t have to listen, didn’t have to imagine. He’s doing this for me. He’s doing this for me.
Fuck. This not caring about the guys anymore was harder than I thought.
“Yes.” That voice. So soft, so silken. The same voice that told me I was beautiful. I fucking hate this.
“Why do we have to go somewhere?” the Deadmistress purred. “I’ve a perfectly serviceable desk right here.”
Because we need you out of your fucking office.
My stomach lurched. If she made him do it here, and I had to listen…
“Miss, I have a surprise for you. But I can’t bring it to you. I have to take you to it…”
“You’re sweet,” she purred. “Very well. I’m amenable to being surprised.”
I heard the pair of them talking quietly to each other, their voices fading as they crossed the room. The door to West’s office swung open and shut again. The lock clicked shut.
As soon as I heard their footsteps fade away, I slid the panel aside and stepped into the room. Ms. West’s office had a one-way window that looked out at her secretary’s desk and waiting room, but as it was the weekend, the secretary wasn’t working today. The room was thankfully empty. I was on my own.
Where would she keep a key?
I tried the desk drawers. Luckily, none of them appeared to be locked. Most of the drawers contained stationary – pens, pencils, a leatherbound date-planner. One held a stack of alchemical drawings. I wanted to take them to show Ayaz, in case he could make sense of them, but that was a bad idea.
The next drawer was stuffed full of cell phones. A-hah! I riffled through until my hands closed around my phone, and I tucked it into my pocket. She’d never notice one was missing amongst all those others.
A shudder ran down my spine as I realized that every phone in that drawer belonged to a student just like me who was now walking the halls as the living dead with their tongue cut out.
The bottom drawer contained a bottle of alcohol and a block of expensive Belgium chocolate. Ms. West’s private stash. But not a key in sight.
As I was pushing the drawer shut in frustration, the bottle rolled along the bottom, and the sound it produced sounded weird, muffled. Leaning down, I pressed my fingers on the bottom of the drawer, tracing the height against the outside wall. The drawer was a good one-inch shallower than it should have been.
Gotcha.
I set the bottle and chocolate on the rug and ran my hands along the edges of the wood, searching for a spring. I didn’t find one, but at the back there was a small finger hole. I inserted my finger inside and tugged up the false bottom, revealing a black velvet ribbon holding two keys.
Keys in hand, I rushed back to the panel, where I’d set down the blocks of soap. I pressed the keys into two of the blocks, careful not to move them around. When I lifted them out, I had a perfect impression of each key. I used the edge of my blazer to wipe off any excess soap, then dropped the keys back in the drawer, replaced the false bottom and b
ottle, slid the drawer back into place, and locked it.
I checked over the desk to make sure everything looked exactly as I left it. As I pushed the chair back in so it sat in the same position on the rug, my eye caught a colorful flyer on the desk. Gingerly, I pinched the corner between two fingers and held it up to the light.
The flyer looked like it had been made using 90s clipart, which meant it definitely came from inside the school. That software suite hadn’t been updated since the Miskatonic fire, and none of the teachers seemed to have the latest equipment.
It invited students to a formal dance in the third quarter, to be held in the newly refurbished gymnasium. A chill ran down my back as I remembered that eerie, deserted gym with the shadows flitting beneath the bleachers. The flyer promised a night of magic and wonder and encouraged students to ‘dress to impress’ in their most lush formal attire. One couple would be voted king and queen. Weirdly, instead of the Derleth Academy crest with the strange star, this flyer showed the old Miskatonic crest.
My first thought was, this is the perfect opportunity to have my revenge. Students and alumni gathered together in one place, on the site of the fire that started this madness.
But how can they be refurbishing the gym? Why hold a dance on the very site where all these students lost their lives? And why use the Miskatonic crest if it’s supposed to be a secret from the scholarship students—
Voices sounded outside. A door slammed. I jerked my head up in time to see the secretary shuffle over to her desk, followed by Ms. West dragging a protesting student by the ear. Quinn!
Shit.
If Quinn was here, that meant Courtney got into the computer lab at the other end. I had to hope that she hadn’t found the tunnel entrance. My only chance was to get inside and wait it out.
I dropped the flyer, but it fluttered off the desk and landed on the rug. I scooped it up and placed it back on the stack of papers, hoping she wouldn’t remember exactly where it had been.
I raced for the panel. As I swung my leg over to get inside, I accidentally kicked the lever that held the door open. The panel slid shut with me on the wrong side, still in the office. I yanked my leg out of the way just in time.
Shit, shit.
I pressed around the edge of the panel, but no amount of pushing or jiggling made it swing open again. I spun around to search for a hiding place just as Headmistress West walked into the room.
“Miss Waite, what are you doing in here?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Oh, hi, Headmistress,” I breathed, my hands behind my back, tugging my blazer down over my pockets in the hopes she wouldn’t see the phone I’d shoved in there.
“Why are you in my office?” she demanded.
An excellent question. I scrambled for a probable reason. “I was looking for some notes Dr. Halsey left for me. She said she’d drop them into the main office, but they weren’t there and I saw the door was open and I thought I’d just check if she left it in here…”
“Is that so? Because I distinctly remember locking this door behind me. I’ve just had to unlock it again.”
“It… er, swung shut and locked behind me. But it was definitely open when I came in.”
“I see.” She dragged Quinn inside and flung him into one of the chairs facing her desk. He met my eyes, his face creased with concern. “It would be very odd for Dr. Halsey to leave notes for her students in my office, since she has an office and cubby hole of her own.”
Damn. “Oh, well… I must have misheard.”
“Indeed.” The headmistress’ lip curled back into a smile that had no heart to it. “Or perhaps you were attempting to break in here to find the answers for your upcoming exams.”
“Why would I do that?” I glared at her, overwhelmed with rage. Was she really still going to pretend she was a normal principal at a normal school? “I’ll never go to a university. Come the end of the year I’ll be dinner for your god. I’m only acing classes right now to keep up appearances, so Greg and Andre don’t suspect anything’s amiss.”
“Then explain to me why only minutes before this supposed meeting with Dr. Halsey in my office, Courtney Haynes saw you and Quinn Delacorte disappear into the computer lab under the library and barricade the door. And yet, when John Hyde-Jones broke down the door and they entered the room, only Quinn was in there.”
“I wish I could explain, Headmistress.” She moved around the desk toward me, her black skirts swirling about her ankles. As casually as I could, I shifted my weight to my back foot. “But the truth is, Courtney Haynes isn’t exactly trustworthy. She’s saying that I was with Quinn, even though I wasn’t. Right?” I glanced over at Quinn and he nodded vigorously.
“I broke up with Courtney last quarter,” he said. “Ever since I’ve been hanging out with Hazel, she’s been acting jealous, trying to hurt Hazel. She even beat—”
As soon as Ms. West’s attention was diverted, I bolted around the other side of the desk and flung open the door. Headmistress West boomed after me. “Hazel Waite, get back here. I’m not done with you.”
But I’m done with you. And now I’ve got a way to prove something’s wrong at this school.
I sprinted through the atrium, shoving aside kids as I barreled up the stairs. “Watch it, gutter whore!” Tillie snapped as I slammed my elbow into her ribs.
“Eat me!” I yelled in return, sprinting through the locker corridor and onto the walkway that led to the dormitory. With every step, my phone slapped against my thigh. My phone. A link to the outside.
There was only one person who could keep me safe while I used it. I pounded my fists on the door. To my relief, it flung open.
“What happened?” Trey demanded.
“The headmistress caught me in her office.” I sagged into the sofa. Trey sat down beside me, his leg brushing mine, warm and reassuring.
“Where’s Quinn and Ayaz?”
“Quinn’s still there. I just ran past her and came here. I think he’ll try and hold her in there for a bit. I got the imprints of the keys. And I got this.” I held up the phone. “Only the soaps are still in the passage. And I have no idea where Ayaz is.”
Trey’s blue eyes shone with concern. “You’d better tell me the whole story. Is the headmistress about to storm in here and hurt you—”
As if on cue, fists pounded on the door. My heart leaped into my chest.
“Trey, let me in, you bastard!”
I sagged in relief as Trey got up to open the door. Quinn slammed it shut behind him and flopped onto the chair. “That’s 50 demerit points for me. Whatever will Daddy say?”
“What happened with West? Is she looking for me?”
“Of course she is. She’ll be here any minute. And for the real icing on the cake, our parents just arrived.”
The color drained from Trey’s face. “Your dad? My dad?”
Quinn nodded. His face broke out in a reckless grin. “Never a dull moment. Oh, I did manage to nab these from the tunnel while she was out greeting the senior Eldritch Club. You did a great job, Hazy.”
“We did a great job.” I turned on my phone, whooping with joy as it beeped to life. The battery light was still flickering, but it had enough juice to send a message. My heart jolted as the screensaver came on – me and Dante making duck-faces at the camera. I flicked past it as fast as I could and typed a message to Zehra. I’d memorized her number.
I’ve got the key and location to Ms. West’s lab, but I need to get them to you, now. Shit’s going down.
A moment later the phone beeped with a reply. I’m on the eastern side of the grounds. I’ll be at the cave in half an hour.
“Fuck, where’s Ayaz?” Trey demanded, pacing across the room, rubbing at the burn on his wrist. I turned off the phone and threw it down on the table and touched my fingers to my own burn.
Quinn shrugged. “Dunno. He wasn’t with the headmistress when she dragged me in. Maybe he couldn’t pull his pants over his giant cock in time—”
There was a brisk knock on the door. “Open up, Trey,” Headmistress West demanded. “Your father is here. We need to speak with you.”
Shit, shit. I remembered what Vincent Bloomberg had said about ‘taking care of me.’ So far, he hadn’t tried anything, but I knew this visit wasn’t out of familial duty. He’d found his leverage.
From the shattered glass of Trey’s eyes, he knew I was in danger. He stalked across the room and threw open one of the windows. “Get out,” he whispered.
“Huh?”
“There’s an old tree right beside the window. Use the drainpipe to swing over and get down. I’ve used it hundreds of times. Take these,” Trey shoved the soaps into my hand, along with a lighter. “Get them to Zehra.”
“Trey, are you in trouble?”
“It’s not important.” Behind us, fists pounded on the door.
“It’s important to me. You’ve got to get out of here.”
“No.”
“We could all go in different directions, confuse them, hide in the pleasure garden tunnel.” His aristocratic features remained hard, resolute. I pounded my fist against the window frame. “Why won’t you save yourself?”
“Because I’m cut from the same cloth as my father. I’m a monster, Hazel. I need to be controlled.” Trey pressed his lips to mine, stealing a breathless, desperate kiss. Wood splintered as someone rammed the door. He tore his lips from mine and shoved me out the window. “Go. Now.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
I swung my leg over the glass panel and stepped out onto the ledge. The stone sloped sharply away. I strangled a scream as my foot slipped off. I grabbed the drainpipe running alongside the window and hugged it as my body swung out over thin air. I was three stories up. If I fell, I wouldn’t have to worry about what Vincent Bloomberg would do to me, cuz I’d be splattered across the cobbles like a life-sized Rorschach test.
Oh well. At least it would hurt the god.
The drainpipe groaned under my weight. I tried to kick out my foot to snag the nearest tree branch, but all that succeeded in doing was swinging me around so I was facing into Trey’s dorm room. The door cracked down the middle and fell open. Ms. West stood in the corridor, flanked by Courtney, Tillie, John Hyde-Jones, and a circle of senior Eldritch Club members.
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