“So who was the vamp leading that talk? He didn’t look like a nos. Wouldn’t Simon or Sebastian or one of the other shifter professors have sniffed him out by now if there were nosferatu students on the campus grounds?”
Gabriel snorted. “Matt? He’s a senior and trying to convince some of us to join. People like him think the laws are to keep us down. Stop us from getting powerful enough to take on the Circle of Sages or the Summer Court.”
“So why would fae and mages join if that’s the case? He mentioned my kind joining up as well, which seems contradictory, if the Hidden Court hates us so much.”
Gabriel’s bitter chuckle twisted my stomach into knots. “Because once your kind joins up with them, they’re forsaking every privilege they’ve ever had, Sky. And misery loves company, so they want the fae down in the mud with them.”
“Oh.”
“You know how good it feels when you help Sharon?”
“Yeah?”
“Imagine if you were manufacturing temporary happiness for her then sucking it out.”
“Manufactured happiness?”
“Haven’t gotten to that in class yet, huh? I’m surprised.”
I shook my head.
“Let me give you an example. Aos sidhe are muses, right?”
“Right. My parents are aos sidhe. I’ll probably be one too.”
“All fae can inspire a mortal, but the aos sidhe are the best at it, right?”
“Well, yeah, it’s what they do.”
“Your parents probably already told you this much, but when aos sidhe fae go bad, they become leanansidhe. They inspire impulsive, really stupid decisions that give short-term happiness, and they drink it all away, causing—”
My heart leapt into my throat. “Suicide.”
He nodded. “When more fae and mages go bad, the balance of power shifts. There’s no hierarchy in the Hidden Court. It’s all pleasure all the time. Going bad may not happen as often in your circle, but it happens, and when it does, sentinels spend weeks hunting down a leanansidhe. Favorite actor died of an overdose? Leanansidhe. Vocalist dead from heroin? Leanansidhe. They attach to talented mortals like leeches. The Hidden Court condones that.”
“That’s sick.” It sounded like chaos. “I overheard Riordan and Simon after the museum thing. They mentioned that the Hidden Court had claimed credit for that.”
“Yeah. Sebastian told a couple of us, but I wasn’t allowed to say anything. They want to keep it hush-hush and prevent it from spreading through the campus.”
“Has anyone joined yet?”
“Officially? Not that I know of, and I really don’t think anyone means to do it. I’m not really concerned about darkling wannabes. And since I’m not a fan of offal, I won’t be joining them any time soon.” He flashed me a big grin on the tail end of his joke, revealing teeth that appeared sharper than I remembered. “This suit your curiosity?”
Swallowing down my nausea, I managed to smile at him. “Are you sure? I heard hearts have all the protein you gym rats need.”
Shaking his head, Gabriel laughed before throwing the truck into drive. He eased onto the freshly plowed street, the sides of the road bordered by waist-high piles of brown slush and snow. “I’ll stick with eggs and shakes. Thanks.”
And just like that, the tension shattered, placing our friendship back to where it belonged.
For the remainder of the drive, he watched the road and the passing time with a wrinkle in his brow. “Hey. Are you sure she’s still at the school?”
“Ugh. Probably not.” Closing my eyes and tilting my head down toward my lap, I tuned out the radio and focused on the world beyond his truck. A world of frigid wind, wandering people, and children playing in ivory suburbs. I felt for Sharon and located her through the tenuous bond we’d formed each time I worked magic over her. “She’s at home. Do you remember the way?”
“Yeah.”
“That’ll work. I mean, this is only a checkup to make sure she’s doing all right.”
“In a couple years, you’ll be porting us around the city.”
I smiled at him. “Yeah. But for now you’re stuck with chauffeuring me, pal.”
Sharon lived with her mother in a suburb at the edge of Chicago. After we reached our destination and parked, I cast an Inconspicuous charm over the truck, and we exited to approach the house. While Gabriel flew to the edge of the roof in his raven form, I stepped across the Veil to the Twilight. In three shadow steps, I reached her bedroom and found her sprawled across the comforter with a laptop.
The screen displayed Oliver Gordon’s face in a video chat window. “Well?”
“Sure. I’d love to go see a movie with you.”
“Awesome. Your pick. I can swing by to get you in an hour if you want.”
Because of me, Sharon lived a charmed life, and my only task for the semester required me to keep her grounded. Too many godparents lost their charges to arrogance, unraveling their years of hard work. Those actors and singers who became drug addicts or alcoholics were totally the creation of a lazy fae who didn’t stick around long enough. Dad always made sure they were cool with being on their own.
Radiating confidence, Sharon glowed in shades of rosy gold, and I predicted good things for her and Oliver. Sometimes if I closed my eyes and focused, I could hear the distant call of a child calling her Mommy.
“As long as you remember to come back and read those chapters in your textbook, you should have all the fun you deserve with Oliver,” I murmured.
“I can’t stay out too late though. I have to read three chapters in Chemistry.”
“I’ll bring you back before nine. Promise.”
“Perfect. See you soon.” Sharon signed off. Before I could make it to the window, she flew from the bed to her closet. I didn’t have Pilar’s fashion sense, but I did guide her to leggings, fur-trimmed boots, and a thigh-length sweater dress.
Certain she’d have a fantastic evening, I slipped out.
Gabriel landed and fell into step with me on the way back to the truck. “How’d it go?”
“She’s falling in love with Oliver.”
“Nice. For someone who doesn’t want to be a faerie godmother, you’re probably ahead of everyone else.”
“It was luck. I can’t take all of the credit when Monica did arrange some of it with her dad’s connections.”
“She may have arranged it, but you made it work.”
“Maybe. I’m happy for Sharon, and I’ll do my best by her, but I still don’t think it’s the role I’m meant to play.”
“That’s the best any of us can do.”
I climbed into the passenger side of his ridiculously huge truck and sank into the heated seat, relieved to escape the biting wind. Gabriel angled a vent toward me.
“Hey, Sky?”
“Yeah?”
“Do me a favor. Next time you get mad at me without me knowing, talk to me about it, okay? I like it better when we’re talking, even if it does involve you calling me names and punching me.”
“Didn’t you ditch Jada for the same thing?”
“That’s different. She hit me because she’s a childish bitch. You decked me on Halloween because I deserved it. Besides, that’s not why I ditched Jada.”
“Oh?”
He fixed me with a faux-stern look. “Are you going to promise or not? Because it isn’t too late to boot you outta my truck too. And I don’t have to feel bad about leaving you stranded since Dedrik would run here on all fours to fetch you.” A hint of a smile crept onto his face.
“I promise, geez.”
“Good.”
Unlike the drive in, we chatted the entire way back to the college. Gabriel had lined up a few jobs for the following weekend, photographing a kid’s birthday party and a small, independent book signing.
“Ugh, I need a car. Then I can get a better job off campus.”
Gabriel scoffed. “Get something with good mileage then, otherwise any extra money you make will go into the
tank.” He grinned at me. “Ask me how I know.”
“Smart-ass.”
“Better a smart-ass than a dumb…” His voice trailed off. “What the hell?”
My attention snapped to the windshield, and then I saw it too, flashing blue and white lights, as well as the campus distress beacons pointing at the sky. From what I remembered during the provost’s long orientation speech, those only lit during a campus-wide emergency. Gabriel veered to the side of the drive and slowed his truck to a crawl. Instead of the usual student sentinel at the security booth, a grim-faced older man took our names and urged us along without answering any questions.
“What do you think happened?”
“I dunno. Check my phone for me and see if there are any texts.”
While he drove and stared out the window, I held the device up for his thumbprint to register. The only recent message had come from Rodrigo asking if Gabriel knew what the hell had happened for the school to go on lockdown.
“Rodrigo wants to know what’s going on. Message is twelve minutes old.”
“Then this just started. I’m surprised Sebastian and Simon haven’t sent anything.”
“Do they always involve the student sentinels?”
“Not always, but they like to keep us abreast of any situation. If we’re pushed out of it, something bad happened.”
As he reached the end of the drive and entered the network of roads connecting the university buildings, a cluster of three dozen folk in sentinel-styled wardrobe came into view like an audition for the next Blade movie was going down on our courtyard’s lawn. I’d never seen so many dudes in body armor and leather in all my life.
“Those are some of the top sentinels,” Gabriel said. “But why are they all here?”
At the forefront of the group on the administration building steps, Simon and Sebastian faced another pair of guys armed with assault rifles. The bastard child of Van Helsing and Rambo exited the building with a bandolier of silver and ash stakes across his chest, and a heavy-duty firearm arsenal strapped all over his body.
One of the campus sentinels flagged us down. Gabriel stopped the truck and rolled down his window.
“Names?”
“Gabriel Fujimoto and Skylar Corazzi. We’re returning from a check-in on her charge.”
“Head on over to the parking garage and return to your dormitory assignments right away.”
“What happened?” I asked.
The sentinel hesitated. “A student has been killed. Please report to your dorms to await further instruction.”
My heart lurched in my chest. A student killed on campus?
Directed by another pair of sentinels farther down the road, Gabriel parked as ordered and killed the engine once inside the three-level garage.
Long after I popped the seat belt, I lingered in his passenger seat, telling myself it was because it was cold outside, not because I was scared witless. “I guess we split here.” The dimly lit campus paths beyond the garage opening had never looked so ominous. Who had been killed? Why? Was the murderer still out there?
“Fuck that. I’m walking you back to your dorm building.” Gabriel snapped his belt off and hopped out first.
By the time we crossed from the parking garage, I was glad for Gabriel’s presence. My heart thumped harder with every step, and I wondered what the hell had happened to call every sentinel in North America to our school. He followed me into the elevator and wasn’t satisfied until I stepped inside my room and locked the doors behind me. I peeked through the peephole and watched him trudge away with his phone up to his ear.
“Skylar! Thank goodness you’re okay!” Liadan rushed over and threw her arms around me in a suffocating hold I couldn’t escape if I wanted to. Instead, I sank against her in relief.
“I’m fine, and I’m glad you’re okay. We were checking on Sharon.”
“You weren’t answering your phone, and I’ve been here all alone waiting for Pilar.”
“Where is she?”
Liadan released me and wrung her hands together. “Provost Riordan called every active sentinel in the region to the school. They’re questioning her.”
“What? Why?”
“Pilar found him,” Liadan whispered.
“Found who?”
Liadan set her hand against my arm and drew me toward the couch.
“Found who, Lia?” I asked again, settling beside her.
“Dedrik Blackwood. Someone killed him inside of the administration building.”
The floor seemed to go dull and gray. “No, that can’t be right. I… I just talked to him yesterday. We were gonna meet at the gym tomorrow.”
And it wasn’t at all fair because every Blackwood had died in the service of my family, and Dedrik was not my sentinel. Dating him, instead of working alongside him, was supposed to break the curse that began with his great-great-whoever generations ago.
The sensible side of me knew I wasn’t at fault, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d still be alive if he escorted me to visit Sharon instead.
“What happened?”
Liadan wrapped her trembling arms around her body. “I don’t know. After Pilar ran outside screaming, Riordan ushered her away, then the lockdown went into effect. I have no idea what’s going on outside, but everyone is tense. I haven’t been able to shut it out. And… there’s one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Remember at Samhain, when we all had the chance to look into the Oracle Mirror?”
My brows crinkled. “What about it? I remember you didn’t want to talk about it, so I never pressed.”
“I saw horrible things in the graveyard we checked out our first week here. Ravens were standing vigil around the grave as the coffin inside it opened. There was a woman inside, but then she morphed into a golden wolf. A dead one. I… I think it may have been Dedrik. Maybe if I had said something—”
“No, Lia. Don’t do that to yourself. You had no idea, and that was months ago.” I pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tight.
She cried herself out against my shoulder. Afterward, it didn’t take much effort to coax her into her room and tuck her into bed. Only then did I let my own tears fall. The pain of my new friend’s loss struck a raw chord.
Helping myself to the special brew Lia had mixed for my sleepless nights, I spent a while alone on the couch while watching the hours tick by. Sleep didn’t come, and neither did Pilar, leading me to dial up Gabriel.
He answered on the second ring. “You okay, Sky?”
“I’m fine. Liadan told me what happened and who died.”
“Yeah, Dedrik’s gone.” He said nothing for a moment, then, “What’s going on in that head of yours, Sky? You’re up to something, I can tell.”
“You can tell from my silence?”
“Call it intuition.”
A deep inhale steadied my nerves before I told him. “I want to break into the admin building, and I want you to help me do it.”
“Why?”
“Because Lia said something that got me thinking. My parents too. There’s more going on here, and I want some answers. So are you in or not?”
“Fuck it, I’m down. Just tell me what you heard first, and then I’ll tag along to keep you out of trouble.”
“Remember how I said my parents were being extra overprotective at Christmas? Well, I overheard a conversation between them. They kept saying how they wish they could tell me something but couldn’t. It’s been bugging me ever since. Dad mentioned a self-fulfilling prophecy… Do you know anything about those?”
“Well, it can be complicated to explain, but I’ll do my best. From what I understand, most major prophecies aren’t meant for the person they’re about. And they’re made rarely. Like only beansidhes and high level aos sidhe make them accurately.”
“Right. But why aren’t they meant for the person they’re about?”
“Simple. Depending on the prophecy, if it’s a good one, it can lead to cockiness and arrogance. T
he person goes out hunting to make it happen, and inevitably negates it. If it’s a bad one, like one foretelling a death, then what usually happens is the new knowledge leads to their demise instead of helping them. Sharing a Death Omen is as good as sentencing that person to d—” His abrupt stop led to uncomfortable silence.
The tension in my belly tightened further, unspoken words dancing on the tip of my tongue. “They were told a prophecy of my death,” I concluded.
“You don’t know that. Forget I said anything.”
“I can’t forget it now.”
“Sky, you have to. Fuck. I feel stupid for saying anything at all.”
“No. I’m glad someone told me something. It’s better that way. Now I can stop worrying about all the secrets and focus on the now.”
“Skylar…”
“I’ll meet you on the quad in an hour, okay? Should be plenty of time to get ready and slip past security.”
“Tonight? Fuck no,” he said, voice firm. “Skylar, think for a minute. What did we see when we drove onto the grounds?”
“Um, sentinels?”
“Exactly. An assload of veteran men and women who have been doing this shit longer than both of us have been alive. Let’s not test our luck. There’s no way we can break into the building where they’re conducting an investigation mere hours after the crime without getting busted.”
“Crap. You’re right.”
“I know I am. Now listen, we’ll meet up tomorrow night the same way we always do, but instead of punching bags, I’ll teach you the other side of sentinel work.”
17
Mission Unimpossible
PNRU Administration canceled classes the next day in light of the extenuating circumstances. A campus-wide announcement, as well as an e-mail to every student, promised bereavement counseling would be available to those who needed it.
Half an hour after the morning announcement, Ben, Holly, and Radha knocked on our door.
“Hey. Is it cool if we hang over here with you guys? Everything’s creepy today,” Ben said.
The Hidden Court Page 21