by W. J. May
“Any time, Wardell,” Benji murmured, standing like a guard beneath her.
She gritted her teeth, wishing desperately she’d decided to go with a strength tatù after all. “You want to try?”
“Absolutely,” he replied instantly, putting his hands on the base of the ivy.
But Jason appeared from nowhere, pulling him back.
“Be quiet,” he commanded under his breath. “She’s almost there.”
After a few more agonizing seconds, her fingers finally curled over the ledge. By now all the others were gathered beneath her, but she never saw them. She was staring intently through the window, trying to make out anything she could in the dark.
Then suddenly, another face appeared on the other side.
Crap!
She let out a silent gasp, almost losing her grip entirely, then remembered she was invisible and held her position. There was a suspended moment where he stared right through her.
Then the man vanished and she dropped back to the ground.
“What happened?” Benji caught her instinctively, setting her on the grass as she shimmered back into sight. “Who was it?”
She lifted her eyes slowly to the window.
“...it was Dorian Locke.”
Chapter 9
The midnight hour came and passed, and still the group stood there debating it—hidden deep within the trees. As fate would have it, they weren’t far from where the attack had happened the night of the dance. Jason’s eyes kept glazing over. He shivered involuntarily, zipping up his coat.
“Why would it be Dorian?” Lily asked, shaking her head. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“He’s the newest one here,” Benji murmured. “No connections, no grievances. Most of the parents haven’t met him yet. I doubt people outside the university circle even know he works at the school.”
“Wait a second,” Alexander interrupted. “Are you saying he was the real target?”
“He was a history teacher at his last job,” Jason remembered quietly. “Maybe someone heard he was working here and decided to come looking. Started in the history building.”
Benji’s eyes flickered up to the building in question. Aria knew what he was thinking. His father taught history at Guilder as well. It could easily have been him.
No, it couldn’t, she corrected herself.
Luke might not have had a tatù, but the man could hold his own against anything the supernatural world tried to throw at him. There was a reason he was included in the deadly Kerrigan gang. No one in their right mind would try coming after him; they wouldn’t survive it.
Dorf was a different story.
The man was gentle, trusting. His ink wasn’t dangerous. She remembered the story Dorian told her at the library—how he’d helped with luggage, given the librarian an impromptu tour. He’d encouraged her to apologize for her outburst, reminding her the teacher was a good man.
Maybe Sofia was right. Maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Why wasn’t Dorian killed, then?” Eric asked impatiently, gesturing to the cottage. “You say this killer shadow ran straight here—probably after realizing his mistake. So why is he alive?”
“Because he wasn’t at the cottage,” Aria said immediately. “He was supervising my detention in the library. Remember he wasn’t promoted to the teaching staff until afterwards.”
Benji nodded slowly, eyes flickering between the cottage and the school. “Well, if Dorian actually was the real target, then the killer’s job isn’t done. If they risked it once, they’ll risk it again. My guess is they’ll be back as soon as the heat has died down.”
Alexander followed his gaze before throwing Jason an unexpected grin. “At least some good came of our little skirmish in the woods...”
The rest of them turned to him in shock. Even Jason, who’d kept such a level head so far, found himself at a temporary loss for words. “...excuse me?”
Alexander froze, then glanced quickly at his sister. “I just meant—agents were sent out to patrol afterwards. If the killer really is waiting for an opening, at least our fight set him back a few days.”
“So you make a bloody joke about it?” Sofia hissed under her breath.
“What?” Alexander threw up his hands. “I was trying to be friendly.”
Strangely enough, Aria believed he was telling the truth. She held up her hand, silencing the sibling quarrel before it could even begin. There was only room for one brother-sister blood feud in the group, and she and James had claimed it years before.
“It physically pains me to say it, but Alexander’s right. There are agents on patrol.” She stared warily into the darkness. “The problem is, they’re patrolling for the wrong guy.”
“In that case, we’ll just have to patrol ourselves,” Benji said briskly. “Keep an eye on things around this part of campus, at least until we can confirm it’s Dorian.”
Sofia nodded excitedly, pleased they were finally making progress. “We can break into shifts,” she suggested. “Set up a surveillance—”
“No...we won’t,” Lily interrupted, bringing the conversation to a sudden halt. Her dark eyes flickered between the two groups, lingering on Alexander. “I don’t know what kind of power-play was supposed to happen tonight, but you’ve clearly done enough. We’ll take it from here.”
In a flash, that collective spirit they’d been building for the last hour vanished in the cold night air. Aria and Jason nodded soundly in agreement. Benji avoided Sofia’s eyes.
The girl stared at them, trying not to look as hurt as she felt.
“We’re in this together,” she began uncertainly. “They’re accusing my brother—”
“Yeah?” Lily snapped. “At least someone is.”
Jason flinched beside her, then turned away.
However divisive it might be, the psychic was right. No matter how the night had been originally intended, it had served its purpose. The truce was over now. Never to be restored.
But Sofia wasn’t going down without a fight.
“Look,” she started as she took a step forward, speaking with strained patience, “I understand that you’re angry. I’d be furious myself. But this isn’t—”
RUN!
The message rang out telepathically between them, but it had come too late. The friends had been bickering so heatedly, even the shifters hadn’t heard the agent coming. By the time he stepped into the clearing, the game was over. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
...or so they thought.
The moment played out like it was in slow motion. There was a flash of surprise when the agent saw them, followed by a flash of recognition when he identified the kids. He was still stepping towards them when Lily threw up her hands—an involuntary reaction of half-surrender, half-surprise.
Then the strangest thing happened...the man froze.
“We’re sorry!” she shrieked, flushing in shame. “We’ll just go back to the dorms—”
“Lily.” Benji put a hand on her shoulder, staring at the man in surprise.
“We didn’t realize it had gotten so late,” the psychic trilled nervously, still addressing the frozen man. “We were just working on a class project and—”
“Lily,” Benji said again, taking a cautious step forward. “He’s not moving.”
“...what?”
All her panic stalled as she realized what had happened for the first time. A look of total bewilderment flashed across her face as she slowly looked down at her hands.
“I-I didn’t...”
There was a charged moment where no one knew what to say. The first time a person accessed their ink was a momentous occasion—one they’d remember for the rest of their lives.
But it wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
Of all people, it was Alexander who broke the silence. The second he realized the agent was truly immobile, he fearlessly strode forward—waving a hand in front of the guy’s face.
“
Cool.”
“He can still see you,” Benji hissed furiously, swatting down his hand. His eyes flickered to the agent a moment later, muttering under his breath. “...sorry.”
“Arie—erase the memory.”
Aria turned in shock, but Lily had never been more upset. She was literally standing on the tips of her toes, wringing her hands in a cartoonish portrait of guilt.
“Erase the memory of a PC agent?!” she exclaimed. “Are you crazy?!”
“This is an attack!” Lily shrieked back, unable to control her volume. When Jason put a hand on her shoulder, she batted it away. “This is technically an attack—I’m using my power on an agent of the Privy Council!” Her eyes welled up with tears as she turned to the man in question. “And I’m so sorry about that, Mr. Jeffreys. I don’t know how to control it—”
“So you want me to erase his memory?” Aria hissed between gritted teeth. “Because this is an accident, Lily. But that is very much intentional.”
Alexander chuckled under his breath, finding the entire situation highly amusing. “Allow me to repeat what was recently said to me...he can hear you.”
“Just do it,” Lily whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Please, Arie. I can’t...”
She didn’t finish, but she didn’t have to. There weren’t many things the friends wouldn’t do for each other. Least of all when it was Lily. Least of all when Lily was crying.
“Fine,” Aria sighed, stepping forward, “but get your butts back to the dorms. It’s hard enough doing this once. I’m not going to do it again when he asks why we’re out after curfew.”
The others didn’t have to be told twice. The second her back was turned, they vanished into the trees. Flying across the lawn so fast, she could easily imagine any one of them had a speed tatù.
“I really am sorry about this, Mr. Jeffreys.” She bit her lip with a flush. “If it makes you feel any better, we weren’t technically doing anything wrong—besides the curfew thing.”
While he couldn’t technically move, she could have sworn he still managed to roll his eyes.
“At any rate, I swear we’ll go to sleep right after this is done—”
But at that moment, Lily put too much distance between them and the freezing power suddenly lifted. The man lurched forward to complete his step, while Aria’s hands flew into the air.
In an instant, his eyes drifted out of focus—staring at her with a strange sort of calm.
“Uh...hi.” She waved her hand nervously, trying to come up with something to say. “So, I know you’re out here on patrol, but the thing is, you didn’t find anything. In fact, it got so boring that you decided to go into the Oratory to train.”
When he continued to stare at her, she felt compelled to add a bit more.
“But you’re going to have an amazing night. You’ll take a bubble bath, listen to your favorite music. And if anyone asks, the last name in the world you’re going to say is Aria Wardell.”
He blinked slowly, then headed off into the trees.
Please say that worked.
She streaked off towards the dormitories a second later, unwilling to push her luck any farther. Her feet barely skimmed the dewy grass as she slipped into Benji’s own cheetah tatù—moving so quickly she didn’t see the others until he grabbed her hand.
“Whoa there,” he chuckled, letting go before the bone could snap. “Take a breath.”
She took several in quick succession, trying to control her pounding heart. Then she lifted her gaze to see the rest of them standing in a loose crescent in front of her, trying hard not to smile.
“What?” she asked in bewilderment, feeling her hair to check for leaves. “What’s so funny?”
Jason and Lily exchanged a quick look between them before he stepped forward with a grin.
“Did you just tell that agent to take a bubble bath?”
Aria froze where she stood, remembering too late that several of the others were gifted with advanced hearing. At this point, it would do no good to deny it. But she was still going to try.
“...no.”
A tittering of laughter swept over the moonlit stone. Even Alexander, whose smiles were few and far between, couldn’t help joining in. Only Lily remained silent, owing her a great debt.
“Leave her alone,” she commanded, trying hard to keep a straight face. “She just saved each and every one of us. Are you really going to criticize how?”
Benji nudged her with a grin. “Yeah, but she saved some of us more than others. Isn’t that right, Decker?”
Lily’s cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink as she avoided his eyes. “...I don’t know what you mean.”
Unfortunately, that only made the others laugh harder. After a few minutes Aria couldn’t help but join them, still trying to catch her breath as she pressed her hands onto her knees.
“Let’s just get inside,” she finally panted. “There have been too many close calls...”
She straightened up slowly, turning white as a sheet. The others took one look at her face then whirled around themselves, freezing dead still when they saw the man standing behind them.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Gabriel said softly. “You kids should get inside. Everyone except you.” His gaze fell on Jason. “You’re coming with me.”
NEVER HAD ARIA SEEN a group of teenagers obey a command so quickly.
The shifters were gone before Gabriel had even finished speaking—flying off towards their separate dormitories like ghosts in the night. Benji and Lily lingered only a second longer, shooting quick looks at Jason and mumbling apologies to their uncle under their breath. When it became clear that nothing they did was going to help they vanished as well, slipping past the stone doors.
In the end, only Aria remained.
“Uncle Gabriel, we were just...” She trailed off, wanting to help but unable to find the words to do so. “This was just a stupid thing for school.”
Gabriel lifted his head slowly, looking away from Jason for the first time. Their eyes met for a fleeting moment and she flushed in shame, head bowing to her chest automatically.
“I’ll just...see you guys later.”
She turned on her heel to go, feeling like a monster to leave one of their number behind. But at the last second, a voice rang out between them.
Stay.
Her body froze, but her heart was pounding. She knew that voice as well as her own, but there was a different cadence to it. A cadence that was new, but one she was already coming to recognize as having come from someone’s mind instead of their mouth.
Her breathing hitched as she glanced back at Jason.
He hadn’t said it out loud. He didn’t know she could even hear it.
He simply desired it with all his heart.
“I’d like to stay.”
Gabriel was impassive, but Jason looked up in surprise.
“It’s fine, Arie. Just get back to the dorms—”
“I’m staying,” she repeated, shooting a quick glance at her uncle. “If that’s okay.”
Gabriel didn’t say a word. He simply stared at her with that same unreadable expression before turning suddenly and heading across the grass. Jason and Aria exchanged a quick look then hurried immediately after him, flitting along in his shadow without daring to speak.
It wasn’t a long walk. The Aldens were staying in one of the cottages within sight of the dorms. And yet it still gave Aria plenty of time to think.
It was no wonder he’d heard them, she realized with a flush of shame. When evading her uncle, most people thought it best to put entire countries between them. He was staying at Guilder specifically to keep an eye on his son. Had they really thought they could run around playing midnight detective without him noticing what was going on?
Her eyes flitted to the boy walking beside her. Like his father, it was impossible to look at his face and tell much of what was going on. The guy was a vault—opening only to certain people and only at certain times. Then
again, why guess when you could know for sure?
With a silent surge of concentration, Aria focused on the new set of ink buzzing beneath her skin. It rose obediently to the surface, just waiting for her command.
But nothing seemed to happen.
Come on...just work.
She tried again, but with no better luck. There weren’t any clear, decipherable thoughts. But while he might not have been thinking clearly, he was feeling everything. The man’s face was a war of emotions. Everything from apprehension to uncertainty, to downright fatigue. But there was one feeling that won out over all the rest. And, given their present circumstances, it surprised her.
...rage?
The second they were within sight of the cottage, Jason left the others behind and stormed on ahead—yanking the door open and slamming it shut behind him. A shiver ran over Aria’s skin. Gabriel paused where he stood, eyes locked intently on the front of the cottage.
“I want to help him,” he said softly. “But I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Aria’s shoulders sank miserably as she followed his gaze. This fight might have technically started on the night of the dance, but it went back farther than that. In fact, she was suddenly convinced it went all the way back to a dingy little apartment on the outskirts of London.
“He’s not...he’s not trying to make you angry,” she said tentatively, unsure what else she could say. Of all the secrets she’d ever been told, this one certainly wasn’t hers to tell.
Gabriel sighed, digging his hands into his pockets. “I know that.”
They stood there in silence for a while, listening to Jason bang about inside the house. From the sounds of things, he was trying to make coffee. But with a lot of noise, and very little success.
“Aria, if he was ever in actual trouble...you would tell me.”
It wasn’t exactly phrased as a question, but it hung between them all the same. Aria turned her head in the darkness, struck to the core by the sadness on her uncle’s face.