“What happened to Sarah?”
“She was killed with her husband in a car crash. No one knows the details, but there was a huge blizzard the night she died. Their car was found on fire at the bottom of a ravine.”
I closed my eyes. So many deaths.
“But now there’s you, Llona. You are like Mary. You can change people’s minds with your voice and your actions. Already you have an Aura on your side, Kiera. I’ve watched you with her.”
“And Sophie,” I added, opening my eyes.
His lips tightened briefly then relaxed. “Yes. And Sophie. Don’t despair, Llona. Change takes time.”
I shook my head. “But we don’t have any more time.”
“Then what do we do?”
I glanced up at the clock, a plan forming in my mind. “Tonight. At six.”
“Where?”
“In your training room. And bring whoever of the teachers you think will go along with us.” I stood.
“What about Sophie?”
“She needs to be there. And can you tell her before she meets with Cyrus? I’m worried what he’ll do to her if she confronts him.”
“I’ll go talk to her now.”
Outside his office, May and Kiera were waiting for me. They must’ve seen us leave together and followed us.
“What did he want?” May said.
“He spoke to Liam and is going to help us.”
Kiera squealed. “Yes! A Fury is on our side.”
“Um, hello,” May said. “I’m a Fury too.”
Kiera’s smile disappeared. “I know. I just meant an experienced Fury.”
“I have to call Liam and Christian,” I said. “We’re all going to meet at six tonight in Dr. Han’s training room. You two try to convince everyone to leave today. Say whatever you have to, but make this week sound like it’s going to be completely boring.”
They nodded and left through the front doors, leaving me alone in the hall. I took several deep breaths until my lips began to tingle. The weight of what was happening pressed on my chest. How can Dr. Han expect me to lead? A year ago, I didn’t even have friends.
I thought of my great-grandmother; what sort of person she must have been. She sounded so strong. If only she were here to talk to. But she’s not, Llona, I thought and looked up into my reflection in the glass door. There’s only you. I shoved back whatever pity I was feeling and pushed open the door.
It took some time, but eventually I made it back to my room. By the many conversations I eavesdropped on, most students were planning on leaving. I called Christian first and told him about the meeting and how the school was shutting down for a week.
“I heard,” he said.
“What about the Guardians? What have they been told to do?” With the phone to my ear, I went to the window and looked out. Already the driveway was starting to fill with cars. The richest of the rich probably had paid a Lizen to drive their child home.
“As soon as the announcement came, I’d say about a third of the Guardians just disappeared. I have no idea where they could’ve gone.”
“Do you think they’re with Jackson?”
“Could be, or maybe they’re scared. Many of them have never been in a real fight before.” He was silent for a few seconds, then said, “But the rest of us are ready to defend Lucent. Do you know who else will be at the meeting?”
“Not yet. I’m calling Liam after you, and hopefully he can rally some troops from somewhere.”
“Good. I’ll come meet you for lunch, and you can fill me in then.”
“Deal.”
“Llona?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.” But his tone held so much more than those three simple words.
“I know. I love you too.” Reluctantly I hung up, took a deep breath, and called Liam. He sounded better.
“I have good news,” he said. “Not really good news, actually, but information.”
“What is it?”
“In three nights. That’s when the Vykens are coming into the school using the secret entrance in Cyrus’s office.”
My pulse quickened. “And they’re coming for the blood?”
He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but then asked, “How are you doing? Are you feeling better, not so Jack Ripperish?”
“I’m fine,” I said, annoyed by the comparison, although it was probably true. “Just tell me.”
He took a deep breath. “Yes, they’re coming for the blood.”
I frowned. “But why not just sneak it out? Why a dramatic entrance?”
Liam’s voice lowered when he said, “They want the girls too. Every last one of them.”
I dropped the phone.
THIRTY-SEVEN
After I recovered, I bent down and picked up the phone. “Say that one more time.” My voice was shaking.
“They want to take you all to a facility where they’ll use the Auras as their own never-ending personal blood bank. But it’s not just the blood, Llona. They also want to change some of you.”
I didn’t know which horrifying discovery to address first. “But changing Auras, won’t they all end up like Britt?”
“They’ve done something to the blood. Less potent, I guess.”
I leaned my head against the cool glass. “How do you know all of this?”
“Last night the twins and I went out. We caught ourselves a Vyken and made him talk.”
“But you were so weak!”
“Sometimes you just have to man up.”
I sat on my bed, listening to his quiet breathing. So many people were going to get hurt.
“Llona?”
I forced myself to speak. “There’s a meeting tonight at Lucent, about what’s going on. At six. Bring whoever you can.”
“Will do.”
“Oh, and Liam?”
“Yes?”
“Cyrus knows that I know.”
It was Liam’s turn for silence.
After a moment, I said, “Liam?”
“Is Christian there?”
“No, but he will be,” I glanced at the clock, “in one hour.”
“Good. Whatever you do, don’t be by yourself. Stay in public by May and whoever else. Got it?”
“Got it. See you soon.”
I hung up before he could say anything else. Liam’s tendency for bluntness was the last thing I needed right now. I was scared enough.
I found May and Kiera in the commons area talking to several of the girls. I pulled them away from the crowd and into the corner of the room. “What’s everyone deciding to do?” I asked.
“A lot are going home today,” May said. “They can’t wait, actually. Sometimes I wonder if they sense the tension in the air.” She was looking around the room as if she could feel it too.
Kiera said, “And a bunch more are leaving tomorrow.”
May lowered her voice. “If I had to guess, I’d say less than twenty percent are staying the rest of the week.”
“That’s too much,” I said, still frustrated with Sophie for planning fun activities during the break. Maybe I could get her to cancel those as well. “Let’s keep campaigning. I’ll talk to Sophie about stripping some fun out of the schedule later.”
Despite the warning from Liam, we split up. There wasn’t enough time to get everything done if we didn’t. May and Kiera were more successful than I was, as I was still considered a troublemaker, but I didn’t give up. If only I could tell them the truth: if you stay, you might die, or worse, become a Vyken. But no one would’ve believed me even if I did. I was an outsider.
“Hey,” a voice said.
I spun around and smiled. “Christian.”
“What a scene,” he said, looking around. “Everyone’s pretty anxious to get out of here, aren’t they?”
A girl rushed by us, flinging her backpack over her shoulder. It barely missed me. “I know. Lucent’s never done anything like this before. The girls seem excited, but every once in a while, I see a flash of fear
in their eyes. They’re scared.”
“Are all the girls leaving?” Christian said.
“Most of them. What are the Guardians up to?”
“Come see for yourself.” He pulled me toward the window, and I looked down. The sun was shining bright, reflecting off a slew of car windshields. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. When they did, I saw a bunch of Guardians loading bags for Auras into the trunks of their cars. “You’ve got to be kidding,” I said. “Can’t we do anything for ourselves?” I looked back at Christian. “How did we let ourselves get so wimpy?”
“I think that was the point, but don’t worry. We’ll change things.”
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get some lunch and wait for things to settle down.”
We passed by Abigail’s office when I heard, “Llona!”
I turned around.
Abigail was standing in the doorway, smiling big. “Do you want to use my phone? It’s available.”
I stared at her, trying to understand what she was saying. There was so much to do.
“My phone. So you can call your uncle. I bet he’d love to have you home for a week.”
Jake. Just the mention of him made me homesick.
“Call him, Llona,” Christian said. “It might make you feel better.”
He was right, of course. There wasn’t a person alive I’d rather speak to right now. “Thanks, I’d love to.” I went into her office and picked up the phone. While I dialed, Christian started up a conversation with Abigail about all the excitement. Jake answered on the third ring. I relaxed into Abigail’s chair at the sound of his voice. “Man, I miss you,” I said.
“Tink? Is it really you?” he said. “I was beginning to think you forgot about me.”
“Never.”
“I figured I’d hear from you today. So when are you coming?”
“You got the notice then.”
“Of course, but I’m surprised you called. I figured you’d be on the first flight out as soon as you heard. I can’t wait to see you. Heidi and I already have some awesome things planned.”
“I’m not coming, Jake.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, then, “How come?”
“I need to stay here. You know, take care of stuff.”
“What stuff?”
“School stuff.”
“You don’t care about stuff.”
“This stuff I do.”
“What’s going on, Llona? I hear it in your voice. You’re scared.”
I swallowed. “I’m okay. Christian’s with me.”
“That makes me feel a little better, but do I need to speak with Sophie?”
“No, not at all. It’s nothing like that. Really, I’m fine. But how are you? And tell me everything. I really miss you.”
Jake and I spoke for twenty more minutes. After I hung up, I felt better. And worse. Better because Jake had made me laugh, and I really needed that, and worse because I wanted to go home, and that made me feel guilty.
By the end of the day, about a hundred girls remained, and about half of those would be leaving tomorrow. I wished it were more. Through all the commotion, I occasionally caught sight of Sophie. She was on the phone mostly, talking with parents, arranging rides and flights.
May came and found me in the lobby. “Kiera’s already at the meeting. You ready?”
I nodded and followed her over to Risen Auditorium. I remained by the door, waiting for Liam and the others to arrive while she continued toward the Fury training room.
The sun was just setting, changing the sky to a deep purple color. I hoped it was dark enough for Liam. I hadn’t thought about that when I’d chosen the time. I guess he would’ve told me on the phone if it were a problem.
A moment later, Liam arrived wearing a black baseball cap, sunglasses, and a long trench coat. He looked ridiculous, but I knew it kept him sheltered from what little light was left. Behind him were the twins. They looked even bigger in the light. They said hello as they passed me. Liam stopped at the door. “Why are you alone?” he said.
“Why do you look like a serial killer?” I asked. When he didn’t smile, I said, “Everyone’s just inside. I was waiting for you.”
“And the Auras?”
“The ones who are left are outside near the track field. Sophie set up an outdoor movie.”
“How about the Lizens? Where are they?”
“Sophie gave them the night off. They should all be inside Lambert House.”
“Good. Let’s get started.” Liam waited for me to go first before he closed the door.
I went into the training room and looked around. On the left of the court, May and Kiera sat on a long bench against the wall. Both looked deep in thought. Near them, more toward the middle of the room, Christian and several of his Guardian friends spoke quietly. To my right, Liam was shaking Dr. Han’s hand, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Ms. Crawford standing next to him. She was glancing around nervously and fidgeting with her hands, especially when she saw the twins. But where was Sophie? It was almost six—maybe she was late?
I waited a minute before I cleared my throat. Everyone turned and looked at me. I suddenly felt very small in the great big room. I looked at Christian. He nodded at me encouragingly. “First, thanks for being here,” I said. “Seriously. I can’t imagine going through this without your help, so thank you. Second, I guess everyone knows why we are here.” I took a deep breath. “In just a few days’ time, the school’s going to be attacked by Cyrus and other Vykens. Thanks to Liam and his group, we’ve learned that Cyrus has a facility where he plans on keeping the Auras. The ones still alive, anyway.”
The group broke out in cries of disbelief. I let them wrap their heads around what I’d just said and turned to Liam. “Where’s Sophie?”
He looked around. “I don’t know. One second.” He walked over to Ms. Crawford. Over the commotion I heard him ask, “Where did Sophie go?”
She looked over his shoulder at me. “She went to see Cyrus. I told her to wait for Llona, but she said she couldn’t wait anymore.”
A lump formed in my throat, and my eyes slowly turned toward the door. Before I realized what I was doing, I was moving forward. And then I was running.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Christian called my name, but I was already out the door. At the last second I heard Liam tell Christian to go after me.
I ran fast, past the clock tower that chimed six o’clock, and into Chadni Hall, not slowing for anything, even Christian, who was still calling me. I took the stairs three at a time until I was on the fourth floor. I could tell by the smell of cinnamon that Sophie had just passed by here.
Christian caught up and stopped me. “What’s going on?”
I shushed him and pointed to Cyrus’s open office door. I could hear Sophie’s voice saying, “Cyrus, I’m glad I caught you before you got too busy.”
I hurried down the hall and into the room, panting. I took in the scene. Three men and two women were talking to Cyrus near his desk. A wave of nausea washed over me. Not humans. Vykens. I stumbled to Sophie, who was just inside the doorway, and gripped her arm. “Let’s go, Sophie,” I said.
Christian moved behind me, keeping his hand on my lower back. I glanced back at him. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his skin looked pale, or maybe it was the lighting. Why was it so dark in here? I glanced around nervously, searching for the Shadow, but if it was here, it remained hidden in the darkness.
Sophie turned around, looking very annoyed. “What are you two doing here?” She shook her head when I tried to speak. “Never mind. I just want to get to the bottom of this.” She turned back to Cyrus. “What is going on, Cyrus, and who are these people?”
Cyrus looked at me and nodded his head once, before he acknowledged Sophie. “Sophie,” he said, “I’m so glad you stopped by. I’ve been wanting to talk to you, but with all the excitement today, I just couldn’t find the time.”
“Who are these people, Cy
rus?” Sophie demanded again. I held her from moving forward.
The five Vykens all looked at Cyrus, waiting for him to answer. Cyrus smiled. “There’s been a terrible misunderstanding, Sophie.”
“I would agree,” she said.
“I didn’t mean to get upset with you this morning, it’s just that I had something else planned.” He looked back at the others. “I was going to tell the students today that we have some transfer teachers from Ellie Academy who will be introducing new classes to the curriculum.”
Sophie frowned. “I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t you have told us?”
“Honestly, I didn’t think they would be coming until the fall, but then I received word from Ellie that it would be much sooner. I meant to talk to you about it yesterday. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
This was getting ridiculous. “Don’t listen to him, Sophie. He’s lying.”
Cyrus looked at me, innocence radiating from his light blue eyes. “I’m not sure why you say things like that, Llona. I’m beginning to think you really are a disturbed, young Aura.” He turned his attention to Sophie. “I have the paperwork if you’d like to see it. It bears Professor Hurley’s signature.”
Sophie took a step, but I tightened my grip. “Don’t do it, Sophie.”
“It’s just on my desk,” Cyrus swept his arm toward it, as if to say, “After you.”
Sophie brushed at my hand. “Let go, Llona.”
“No way. We have to get out of here,” I said.
“Llona’s right,” Christian said. His whole body was tense, and his hand was no longer pressing on my back, but was gripping my shirt tightly. I could tell by the way he kept looking toward the open door that he knew what I knew: there was no way we could fight this many Vykens. Our only chance was to run.
Sophie whirled around on us. “No. Llona is not right,” she snapped and then looked at me. “I’m sorry, Llona. I know you’ve suffered a lot so it makes you question everything and everyone. I understand, I do, but you’re wrong about this.”
“Well said, Sophie,” Cyrus said. “Now if you’ll just come read the letter, this whole matter can be put to rest.”
“Please, Sophie,” I said, trying one last time.
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