Surviving Plagues (Artemis University Book 3)

by Erin R Flynn

  “There is a rune for that,” Marshall said from behind me. “We use it to make sure people are clean if we need to bring in unknowns or people on campus we don’t know.”

  I smiled brightly at him. “Sure, you can come over during break and hang with us.”

  He cleared his throat nervously. “Good, because I think a few of us need to work with Craftsman on getting better mental shielding since we know the address.” He shot a nervous glance at some of the other aides and council people.

  “Sure, but you could just also have your Christmas presents from me early,” I teased him, giving him a wink when he frowned. “I ordered a bunch of those mental blocker charms from Calloway. I’m not letting people get fucked over because of me or my shit.” I shrugged when several people gave me shocked looks. “Everyone can’t be on guard all the time. Even I need sleep.”

  “It really is like they’re trying to provoke you though,” Campbell muttered as she stared at the recovering aide I still had trapped.

  I snickered, meeting the gaze of the Dean of Vampires. “Of course they are. They think they can trap me. Right now they have no reason to drag my ass into their domain or get what they think they deserve or have a right to. But I’m young and have boobs—so of course I’m an idiot and they’re so smart—that they’ll trip me up and get me to break a rule they can call me on.”

  “And then they’ll have you in a position they can work with,” Professor White worried. “They can bend you to their will.”

  “Exactly.” I gave her a wink. “Unfortunately for them, I’m not actually an idiot. And I probably have more real-world experience than they do. I mean, come on, Elder Harbour was completely blindsided. They’re so used to no one daring to so much as talk back to them that it actually makes them easy prey. We could have done it way faster but we gave the system a chance to work, just like we will with Ainsworth.”

  “And if it doesn’t?” someone challenged.

  I met their piercing gaze head on, feeling a bit like a broken record I’d been repeating myself so much lately. “Then they don’t deserve to be elders, leaders to protect others, and need to be replaced with better people. Ainsworth broke the law and ordered someone to attack a student. I don’t care if he probably tried to set me up so he could charge me with attacking his aide or—”

  “You think that was the goal?” Geiger interrupted.

  “You don’t?” I snickered.

  “No, it makes sense,” he admitted, scratching his chin. “Or it was win/win to him. He sent his best to try and penetrate your shields as he heard yours were good. If he got the information, wonderful. If not, it’s known you won’t hesitate to defend yourself. It would be easy to spin you attacked an aide.”

  “Yes, because able to fight and defend themselves is the same as randomly attacking people,” I drawled as I gestured to the surveillance cameras. “Or there’s not like proof.”

  “Proof of what?” the aide challenged, finally saying something. “I did nothing to you and you attacked me!”

  I rolled my eyes at her. “Lady, there’s magic in this world. You have to do better than you didn’t throw a knife at me first. That recording will show me react to your tearing at my mental shields. It fucking hurt. I thought someone was trying to knock me out and abduct me.

  “I reacted. Before that I was loading gear in the vehicle. I wasn’t even focused on you until I was in pain. Try to spin your shit to someone else because I heard it all in your head.”

  “It’s your word against mine and I’m a respected aide to the council,” she challenged.

  I felt the shift in the air, people wanting to back down and not get involved. Fine, two could play that game. I flipped on my telepathy and wanted to kiss Professor White when she was thinking of the exact rune I would need. I wrote it on my hand and focused it on the aide, pushing my magic into it.

  And then she spilled the beans for everyone to hear, not just me listening to her thoughts.

  I smirked at her as she stared at me in horror at what she’d just admitted. “It’s no longer your word against mine, is it?”

  “How dare you use an interrogation rune on me!” she seethed.

  “How dare you try to strip off my mental shields,” I snarled. “I don’t give a flying fuck who you are. You come after me and I’ll fucking take you down, bitch. Spread the word. You attacked a student on campus. Your job doesn’t absolve you from breaking the law.”

  “And you’re not allowed to use such a rune!” she bellowed.

  Well, shit.

  “Normally, you’re right,” Professor White easily interjected. “But I heard you issue a direct challenge for her to prove her accusation. Given she was in the presence of witnesses and the authorities of the school where the incident happened, I believe that clearly falls under the regulations of use. She has no legal guardian who could have used it for her given she’s still in school as per normal.”

  Well, hot damn!

  She really was one of my favorite people.

  Things moved fast after that given how long things had already dragged out. More people arrived to see what was going on and that wasn’t what any of us wanted. Geiger and Claudia promised they had it and would come over later but they wanted me locked down at home just in case.

  And before anyone else tried anything else.

  Fair enough.

  Hell, I packed so fast Izzy couldn’t keep up. After Izzy was loaded, I put a barrier on our room, and while they were debating if it was safe enough for me to drive home, I even asked to use the faculty portal to get there, shocking the teachers there.

  “That really hurt,” I admitted quietly. “I feel like my brain’s bleeding. It feels like a stab wound that’s been stitched up but still there. Several of them.”

  “That was a very powerful attack she launched on you then,” Professor White worried, reaching over and writing the healing rune on me.

  I shook my head at myself. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  Professor Richardson snorted. “Probably because someone tried to shred your mind. I’ve seen you take very hard hits in sparring matches, Ms. Vale, but you went down from her attack. It was a doozy.”

  Yeah, it was.

  Which was why I ended up hanging out in the faculty lounge a bit to let the healing rune work instead of going right through the portal. I pulled out my notebook and started writing down notes on the idea I was working on.

  “You aren’t taking botany classes yet, are you?” Dr. Salzman asked as he slid in the chair next to me, making me jump. “I apologize. No one can normally startle you.”

  “Lost in my head,” I admitted, remembering his question. “Oh, no, just thinking of something I wanted to look into.” I turned and focused on him. “Did you need me?”

  “No, I heard what happened and wanted to check on you.” He smiled when I frowned. “Just a quick one.”

  I nodded, letting him use the pen light on me and check my reflexes.

  “This is a genius idea, Ms. Vale,” a teacher I didn’t know commended as she looked over my notebook. I’d seen her around, thinking she was a graceful Indian beauty every time I did, but I had no idea who she was. Which she surmised from my expression. “I’m Professor Pillay, head of the botany department.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “What did she come up with?” Campbell asked, reaching over and moving the notebook closer to her. She glanced at it and her eyes flashed shock. “Yes, this would be an amazing project.” She looked at me. “You’re thinking of ways to get your orchards going?”

  I nodded. “I figured if we could work out what the fae dust turned plants or trees into we’d know what to get more of. It seemed smart to get an array of tree saplings and toddler plants and do… Whatever is supposed to happen. Is that faster than just dropping off a poop-sized dust pile on the ground in the right spot?”

  “If you were willing to give me a few days to think on this, I might be able to help,” Professor Pillay
offered. “And give you ample workers and aid if we could turn it into a teachable semester project. Say at one of your haven locations. Maybe with multiple universities.”

  “Or you just gave a lot of people the place to rip off,” Richardson drawled.

  “Might be a good way to add in protective magic projects,” I muttered, considering the possibilities. “At least on their trees and projects. Fine, they do it for theirs and their grade, but they have to pay for books and stuff. This is a time payment and they have to help plant so many more as practice for the co-op?”

  “That’s good,” Professor Pillay praised. “Yes, practice does make perfect. A different grove that would be protected with other magic. I would think that would give many a chance to see up close how strong the protection will be and spread that around without too many idiots challenging it.”

  I sat back and crossed my arms over my chest, smiling widely as I studied her. “Damn, I really like the witches at this school. You guys really get it done and don’t shy away from being badass when you need to.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment and chance to offer a proposal,” she chuckled.

  Yeah, it was both. I wasn’t what they were used to.

  24

  We didn’t get one second to breathe from the minute break started. Geiger and Claudia came over that night and we got to work, both of them agreeing this was a fight against corruption they wanted to be a part of.

  “Why?” I had asked him.

  He let out a long sigh and rubbed his eyes before sitting back in his chair. He crossed his arms over his chest and met my gaze.

  “Because you give me hope. Melody, Craftsman, and even Claudia were too young to remember when fairies were around—but I do. This corruption wasn’t rampant like it is now. Yes, palms were greased, favors done, and backs scratched as that’s the perk of being an elder. But never like this. I miss the honor.”

  Fair enough. His answer gave me hope too.

  But it also meant making sure we did things safely because as much as I hoped I wasn’t the last, I could be and if I was taken out, the world would lose fairies forever. And that meant having the best cover stories in place.

  A few days later I went in the early morning with Melody and Claudia to inspect the first—and nicest—of the five properties. They were both shocked when Mrs. Vogel and the woman I assumed to be her sister, Tanesha Jameston, were waiting for us.

  “Thank you for coming and on such short notice,” I greeted, heading over to them and extending my hand. Tanesha shook it but Mrs. Vogel knocked it away and hugged me.

  “Hudson told us what he heard of the attack. Are you both all right?” she asked.

  “We’re fine,” I promised. “A council aide tried to shred my mental blocks. It was the first I felt and it hurt.”

  “They won’t be the last,” Tanesha warned. “You’re making some powerful enemies with your fighting back.”

  “I am and I don’t want the people around me caught in the crossfire,” I assured her, getting she was worried for Hudson. Probably Melody and her sister even. I glanced at Mrs. Vogel. “Your word my secret is safe with her?”

  Mrs. Vogel’s eyes flashed shock. “Yes, my sister is honorable.”

  I nodded, taking off the essence-blocking charm from Calloway before letting out a whistle with my power. I called one of the packs of fae dogs sworn to me I’d asked to meet us there, smiling when they came racing over before looking at Tanesha. “I would ask your help in protecting those who could get caught in the fight.”

  “How?” she muttered, glancing between me and the dogs before understanding filled her eyes. “Cover. You wish me to help give you cover that a telepath might bond with a fae dog like a human to a normal dog.”

  “Yes.”

  “Clever, very clever,” Claudia praised.

  I shrugged. “I have my moments. You’re the only telepath I know, and as Mrs. Vogel’s sister, the only I would trust.”

  “Are you really the last fairy?” she asked gently.

  “I sure as fuck hope not but as of right now, yeah, I am,” I mumbled, not meeting any of their gazes. It freaked me out to even say it. There had to be more of us.

  There had to be.

  “This is Pikachu,” I told them as the Alpha plopped down in front of me and held out his paw. I gave a slight shake of my head to warn them not to laugh when they all looked amused. “Fae dogs are much more intelligent than what people would consider animals. More like your dragons. He might be a young Alpha, but he’s strong and after years of hearing humans say they choose Pikachu, he chose the name himself.”

  “Marvelous,” Mrs. Vogel breathed.

  “Exactly.” I knelt down and took Pikachu’s paw. I communicated in his mind what I was plotting and if he and someone from his pack were willing how they could help me.

  He agreed the concept was smart, giving a soft bark before pulling his paw away from my hand. A different dog joined us, a female, who offered me her paw. I told her the same and she seemed amused at the idea, proud even to be given a special mission from me to help me help all the fair folk unable to go home.

  “Thank you. This will help immensely,” I praised her. I scratched her behind the ears before I stood and brought her over to Tanesha. “Her Alpha has sworn allegiance to me, so she’s mine as well then.”

  “Meaning she’s open to communicating telepathically,” Tanesha murmured as she knelt, holding out her hand.

  “Tamsin doesn’t do that around others,” Mel warned. “She and Chief just stare at each other before Chief plays it aloof with her. Professor White said it was like how she grew up next door to someone with a fae dog so she was familiar with them, but still a bit skittish. You less so maybe as you’re older, have stronger telepathy and powers.”

  “Makes sense,” Tanesha agreed, smiling when the dog put her paw on her hand. She stared at the dog and her eyes went wide. “You are right. Their intelligence is far beyond most animals. This is amazing.”

  “So you’re in?” I checked.

  “Yeah, I’m in,” she chuckled. “How do we play this?”

  “I’ll send her to the Vogels’ mountain and once she’s seen by the guards, I think Mrs. Vogel will have the bright idea to have you try and communicate with her. I mean, people probably heard Hudson or others talk about the ones who sort of work with me so why not you?”

  “Smart,” she praised. “Do I get to keep the fae dust?”

  I smiled as she stood. “Or we could help more hobgoblins?”

  “I’m listening,” she purred, giving me the same mischievous look her sister had.

  I opened my mouth to answer but stopped when Pikachu gave a sharp bark. I dropped down and took his paw, seeing what he wanted to tell me, and sat back on my feet. “Well, hot damn.”

  “What?” Mel asked.

  “I sent Pikachu to find more, as I did Chief and Rainbow, and they did. Four more packs. Two want to be sworn to me. Two do not but want to help.” I frowned. “I get the feeling those two are used to dark fairies. Something seems to be up with me being a light fairy. But they’re all tired of running from the dust collectors and hiding constantly. Apparently they don’t just follow but they harass the dogs a lot.”

  “Assholes,” Mel grumbled.

  “Yeah, and there was a lot of talk about the fae dogs supposedly going feral a while ago,” I seethed.

  “Yes, about ten years ago,” Mrs. Vogel confirmed. “Several attacked some dust collectors. One collector died. It was a big to-do.”

  I glanced at her over my shoulder, not hiding my anger. “Yeah, they left out they were intentionally injuring the dogs so they could follow them easier. The one they killed shot a pup and the parents ate the guy. The pup survived but yeah, I think they got what they deserved.”

  “Yes, yes they did,” she agreed. “I hate to rush you along, but we have a meeting in half an hour we have to attend or people will come looking for us.”

  “Right, sorry.” I st
ood again and scrubbed my hands over my head. “I think this should be the main address we use going forward. This is the main public place for the havens. People are already demanding my address from the school and Claudia. I need to have some location even if it’s just a public one. Fine, we hold the fundraisers and events here.

  “We do the school projects and whatever else to give people a place to focus on. This is the biggest with the most land and we’ll make it the fanciest headquarters. The other places we make hidden and off the record so people can’t just go find whoever we save or grab them back. Focus it all here.”

  “Good, smart from a security standpoint,” Mel agreed, waving me to go ahead. “But you were plotting more. Craftsman said you’ve been tossing and turning like crazy.”

  I ignored that she just outed me with Mrs. Vogel that I was sleeping with a teacher and answered her. “Two I think I never go to as even with the charm, hobgoblins and fair folk can bust me.” I put back on my essence charm so I didn’t forget later as long as I was talking about it. “Irma was clear that not every hobgoblin we can trust with my secret, but that doesn’t mean those are the only ones we help.”

  “So two more sanctuaries?” she checked.

  I shrugged. “I think for now we hire them. It doesn’t have to be a co-op. If we can’t trust them that I’m a fairy, I also do think we should trust them with handling it all like we do Liluth. And if we have others there in haven hiding and security, we could build facilities meant just for them.”

  “Facilities for what?” Tanesha wondered.

  I frowned, rubbing my forehead. Hadn’t I said that already?

  “Have you slept since break started, Tams?” Mel asked gently.

  “Not as much as I should but I also have high school classes I need to do too,” I reminded her, waving off what she might say next. “Tanesha’s doing this is a big help and will take the focus off of me at least for a bit with the gossip. Or share it.”