by Imogen Rose
“So?”
“I need to borrow your nose.”
Faustine flared her nostrils as we knocked on Frau Schmelder door. I stifled my snort as The Smelt shouted for us to enter. I had asked Faustine to concentrate on the smells in The Smelt’s office. She’d been intrigued and wanted to know why, but I didn’t want to influence her findings, so I told her that it would be better for me to tell her why later, after the meeting. I could see her fighting nosiness, but she eventually relented.
I pushed open the door and walked in, a bit hesitant after my last visit.
She looked up and smiled. “Come on in, girls! Nice to see you. I was expecting you, Cordelia. Mrs. Stone told me you’d be stopping by. She didn’t mention Faustine. Is everything okay?” She leaned back in her chair. “Please,” she waved at the chairs in front of her desk. “Please sit.”
We sat down. “Thanks,” I said. “I was wondering if you’ve heard from Quinn?”
“Quinn? No, should I have?”
“Well, I was hoping you could tell me when he’ll be back.”
The Smelt narrowed her eyes. I had clearly overstepped. I braced myself as I waited for her happy mood to fade back into the one I had experienced during my last visit.
She just raised her eyebrows. “Back from where?”
“New York.”
“What? What’s he doing in New York?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping you’d tell me.”
“I don’t know anything about it. He’s going to be in a lot of trouble for leaving campus without my permission.”
“But he had your permission!”
She shook her head. I thought back to our last conversation. She hadn’t actually told me that he’d gone to New York. Mrs. Stone had told me that. I had just assumed the permission. “Well, what did he tell you when he saw you?”
“Cordelia, I haven’t spoken with him for…let me see…not since our meeting with Mason and his father.”
I shook my head, totally baffled. She had seemed confused when I mentioned Quinn, but Mrs. Stone had confirmed that she’d seen him at The Smelt’s office. “After I spoke to you, Mrs. Stone told me that he’d been taken to Zurich airport by the school helicopter. And he’d told the pilot that he was flying to New York.”
The Smelt leaned forward. “After you spoke to me?”
“Yes, a couple of days ago.”
She sighed. “I haven’t spoken to you for a while, either. What’s going on, Cordelia? You seem confused.”
“I’m not! I was here. You were busy and didn’t seem to have time to deal with me and sent me to talk to Mrs. Stone instead.”
The Smelt tapped on her desk with her fingers, then pressed the intercom button. “Mrs. Stone, could you come into my office, please?”
We waited in silence.
“Frau Schmelder, Cordelia, Faustine,” Mrs. Stone acknowledged as she walked in and stood by the door. Then she looked over at The Smelt.
Frau Schmelder said, “Cordelia was asking me about Quinn. She seems to think that he’s gone to New York. Do you know anything about this?”
Mrs. Stone repeated what I had already said.
“I’m baffled!” The Smelt stood up and paced the floor. “I have no idea what you’re all talking about! Like I said, I haven’t talked to you or Quinn since our meeting with Mason, and I certainly didn’t give him permission to leave the school. New York? I just…well, like I said…”
Mrs. Stone threw me a questioning look, but all I could do was shake my head. I had no idea what was going on.
“So,” I said, “all we really know is that he used the school helicopter to get to the airport, and he may have gone to New York after that. But we really don’t know anything.”
“I’d better call his parents,” Frau Smelt said. “Cordelia, you and Faustine can leave. I’ll try to find out what’s going on. This is all very strange. I’ll call you if I find out anything. Please let me know if you hear from him. Has anyone been to have a look in his room?”
“Yes, I did,” I replied. “His suitcase is gone. I didn’t see anything unusual apart from that.”
She nodded. “I’ll send a team up there to have a proper look. And you’ve looked everywhere else?”
“Wherever I could think of.”
“I know you’re worried, as am I. I’ll do my best to figure this out. I’ll talk to you later. Can you keep an eye on Faustine while Quinn is missing?”
I nodded, wincing at the word missing. After my last meeting with The Smelt—and I was sure that I hadn’t imagined it—I had felt comforted that Quinn had at least sought her permission to leave. That meant that he had had a plan; that he was in control. But I was back to feeling helpless, a worry pit forming in my stomach. I wanted to ask her about my suspicions that she might have been possessed, but I didn’t dare. She might still be, for all I knew.
As we walked back to my room, Faustine put her arm around me, squeezing my shoulder. I was grateful for the silent support.
Once she closed the door to my room, she said, “Cordelia! What the heck is going on? Where is Quinn?”
“Please don’t.” I was exhausted by it all. I threw myself on the bed.
“You have to tell me, Cordelia. But take a moment while I get us some food.” She disappeared into my kitchen.
I did what demons just don’t do. I burst into tears. They were tears of frustration, sadness, and anger, all mixed into a horrible soup of acidic liquid that burned my skin. Thankfully, they dried quickly, and I was as good as new by the time Faustine walked back in with some food.
“Cordelia?” Faustine encouraged once we finished eating.
“Did you smell anything funny at The Smelt’s office?”
“No, but it’s hard to make anything out in there; there’s such a jumble of smells. I didn’t smell anything weird. But I’m not that great at it. Better than you maybe, but that’s not saying much. What were you thinking I might pick up on?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. The last time I was in her office, I’m sure I smelled something, something familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.”
“Familiar? One of the students?”
“I really don’t know, other than that it was a bit stronger than the background smells. And it filled me with a sense of foreboding.”
“Hmm. I didn’t pick up on anything like that.” She cocked her head, curling her lips in a strange way.
“What?” Her expression creeped me out.
“Just seems weird. The Smelt sure didn’t seem to remember any of it.”
“Yeah. I don’t know what’s wrong with The Smelt. She was really off at that last meeting. I was telling Jagger that she almost seemed possessed.”
“Well, could she have been? Like in The Exorcist? Kind of seems likely from what you’re saying.”
That movie had sure put demonic possession on the map, in a particularly unhelpful way. “Yes, kind of. I guess. But by who? And did Quinn just walk into possessed Smelt’s office unexpectedly, or had she summoned him?” I felt ill again. “It would be just awful if Quinn has been whisked away somewhere dangerous by someone who used The Smelt to lure him.”
“That’s rad! The Smelt being possessed by what? A demon?”
“Yep, demons do possessions.”
“I want to learn how to do that. It sounds so cool!” she said. “How is it done? Will you show me?”
It was pretty normal for a demon kid to learn that skill at a young age. It was fun, especially at school with the teachers.
“Yes, that’s something you need to learn. We at least need to find out if you can. All full demons can, of course, but I don’t know about hybrids.”
“Do you have to be able to make yourself invisible to get inside the other body? How do you get in? Like through the nose or ear?”
“Funny, but I’ve never really thought about the steps; I just kind of do it. No, it’s not an invisibility thing or anything like that. And you don’t suck yourself into the o
ther body through an orifice. You just sort of…blend into the other body. Gosh, this is hard to describe. Hmm, you float into it, like a bubble pushing through water.”
Faustine sat down and dipped her finger into her glass of Coke. “Like that?” she asked, popping her finger in and out of the liquid.
“Yes, I guess. It’s like that.”
“And what happens to my real body? Does it just remain the same like my finger is doing at the moment?” She popped her finger in and out of the Coke again.
“Not exactly. Our bodies become like floaty cloudy masses, adjusting to the shape of the host. We can opt to become one with the host, making their bodies ours for all intents and purposes. That’s how we control the host’s movements. Or we can opt to just silently live within the host as observers, remaining indiscernible entities with no shape or voice.”
“Hmm.”
“I totally suck at describing it. Sorry. It’s just that it’s so second nature to me that I just do it. We need to figure out if you can do it.”
She nodded.
“It’s a pretty handy skill.” Very. I could, in fact, use it to find out what was going on with The Smelt. I shuddered. I had possessed her once before, and I hated the thought of visiting that old body again. Still, it would be the simplest way to find out what was up with her.
“What are you thinking?” Faustine asked.
“I’m thinking that I might possess her myself to try and find out what’s going on.”
“Oh. That’s sounds icky. What if the other demon is inside her?”
I laughed. “Then I’m sunk.”
“What happens when a demon leaves a body?” she mused. “Would The Smelt even know what had happened to her? If not, wouldn’t it be a waste of time for you to possess her to try to find out something she doesn’t even know?”
“It’s hard to know what she might have absorbed, if anything. Probably nothing. It’s worth a shot, though. At the very least, I’d know for sure that she genuinely doesn’t remember talking to Quinn. That would be something, not quite a waste of time.”
“True. So, what can I do to help?”
“I don’t know, yet. Lemme think about it. Maybe I’ll talk to Jagger.”
She smiled slyly. “What’s going on with you two?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh, come on, Cordelia! I thought we were going to be honest with each other.”
“I like him.”
She gaped at me. “Like him, like him?”
“Yeah. I can’t help how I feel.”
She kept staring at me.
“It’s a bit like you with Ryker,” I said, trying to put it into a concept that a thirteen-year-old might understand.
She turned her lips down. “I was kinda hoping that I’d get over that. He’s Martha’s boyfriend. There’s no way I’m stealing him.”
Way to make me feel even more like the big bad wolf. I didn’t want to go into the whole synch thing, especially since I had promised that I wouldn’t betray Ryker. They were synched. Martha would find out eventually and just have to live with it, same as Quinn.
“What about Quinn?” Faustine had grown very close to him. There was no way I was going to be able to justify my relationship with Jagger to a human without sounding like a total bitch.
“My feelings are all over the place,” I lied. “I’ll work it out.”
“Eh. Just forget about Jagger. He’s cute, but he’s a faery.”
Said like a true demon. I suppressed a laugh, tickled that Faustine had inadvertently reminded me of her demon status while I was wondering how to connect with her human side. I decided to come clean, otherwise she’d have my head on a plate when I broke up with Quinn, which would happen as soon as he returned from wherever he’d gone. If he returned. “Wish I could forget all about him. I’ve tried, but my feelings for Jagger are very strong. Stronger than the ones I have for Quinn.”
She shook her head in disgust. “I can’t believe you’re saying this when Quinn is missing! He might be dead for all you know.”
She was right. The timing sucked. “Faustine, I meant to tell him earlier, but then he disappeared. So, yeah, it does sound awful; I get that. The best we can do at the moment is find him, or at least make sure that he’s okay.”
“So, you’ve got to possess The Smelt? Let’s do it.” She got up.
“Not so fast. I should probably wait until she’s asleep.”
“Why?”
“All her defenses will be on alert now. So it’ll be difficult, if not impossible, for me to do it. If I wait until she’s asleep, those defenses will be weaker, hopefully.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“I’m going to ask Jagger to help me. He did the last time. I’ll need him to transport me over to The Smelt’s house.”
“I want to come.”
“You can’t. We’ll have to be as quiet and fast as possible. I promise to tell you everything when we get back. Okay?”
She didn’t smile, but she nodded.
“Shall I ask Martha to sleep over here, to keep you company?”
“No, I’ll ask Audrey and Viola, if you absolutely feel that I need to be babysat.”
I didn’t really, knowing that Ryker would be around. Still, it would be more fun for her to have some people over, considering she was fuming over being left behind. “All right. Let’s ask them over.”
Hours later, I was hanging on to Jagger’s back, flying over to The Smelt’s house in the woods outside the main Academy campus. Jagger had not been the least bit supportive of my idea, but he’d insisted on coming. I was glad; the alternative would have been a walk through the forest, and that didn’t fill me with enthusiasm. Small, creepy woodland creatures were best observed from afar, high up in the air, where they couldn’t be seen at all. Even swooshing through the sky had disadvantages, though. I kept a lookout for eagles and other threatening creatures, but didn’t detect any. Still, the whole having-to-be-on-guard thing interfered with my natural instinct to fully enjoy the feeling of being so close to Jagger.
Once we arrived, Jagger hovered outside The Smelt’s window, which had the slated shutter doors slightly ajar. I was surprised at the lack of concern for her own security. Anyone could’ve climbed in. Jagger lowered us to the ground just below her bedroom, and then took my hand, pulling me back toward the woods.
Once we were behind the trunk of a pine tree, he pulled my hair behind my ear and whispered, “I don’t like this at all. It seems too easy. Her shutters are ajar. It’s like she is inviting you in. Feels like a set up.”
“I know what you mean, but I have to try. I’ll go in by myself and use the stairs instead of the window. Stay out here. There’s no point in both of us getting caught.”
“You’re joking, right?” He looked at me, anger pouring out of his eyes. “You really think I’d let you do that?”
“I guess not,” I mumbled. “What do you suggest, then?”
He sighed. “Well, since you’re obviously not going to listen to sense, let’s try to mimic what we did the last time. But…” His voice turned dark as he put both his hands firmly on my shoulders. “Any—I mean any—sign of danger, and we get out. Promise?”
I nodded.
“No, say it.”
I grabbed his pinkie in mine. “I swear. Now can we go?”
He pulled me to him until I felt his heart thumping loudly. Lifting my chin, he brushed his lips against mine, igniting every nerve in my body into fiery sparks. Then he abruptly stopped. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”
He took my hand and led me to The Smelt’s front door, where he started working on the lock. At least her door was locked. Once the door was open, I listened hard for any sounds, but all I heard were deep, even little grunts coming from upstairs. The Smelt was fast asleep. I climbed onto Jagger’s back, and he hovered up the stairs to avoid making any floorboards creak. When we were on the landing, I peered into the bedroom and nodded at Jagger. He clenched his jaw, clearly u
nhappy, but let go of me. I turned and walked into The Smelt’s room, ready to dive into her.
But I collided with something rock hard and fell backwards, almost crashing onto the floor. Jagger caught me just in time. I held my breath, hoping that the noise hadn’t woken The Smelt. Jagger carried me back onto the landing.
He arched his eyebrows in a silent question. I shrugged. I had no idea what had happened. I had walked into something, something very hard; my nose still stung. I tiptoed into the room again, but with my right hand extended in front of me. I stopped as soon as I touched something. I lay my palm flat against the invisible whatever and walked along beside it. The surface was smooth and cool, like glass. I circled it until I was back to where I started. The wall extended all the way around The Smelt’s bed. I bent down and followed the wall from the floor up, as high as I could, until I was standing on my tiptoes.
Well, that explained her cavalier attitude on safety; she was surrounded by a containment spell.
I wondered what had prompted that. Did she know she’d been compromised and was now taking extra measures to prevent that in the future? That made sense. What else could she assume after the whole Quinn episode? I wondered if she had some kind of protection in place during the day as well. That would make it impossible for me, or anyone else, to figure out what was going on with her.
I turned and left, taking Jagger’s hand and continuing outside the house. I knew he wanted answers, but I ignored his attempts to pull me back. I was fed up. The last thing I wanted to do was talk, analyze, or plan our next move. I needed to de-stress, to enjoy life, even for just a moment. I practically dragged Jagger through the woods until I was exhausted from running. He yanked me back into his chest and allowed me a moment of complete peace; he even beat my heart for me. All I did was exist. Then, when I made the move, he returned my passion, overpowering me with his hunger.
Even though Quinn constantly occupied my thoughts, I had to shake myself and get on with my life. I had briefly popped in to talk to Frau Schmelder, offering to help her in any way I could to find him. She’d declined, but assured me that she had things under control. She said she’d been in contact with Quinn’s parents, and they were handling it. She firmly told me that I was to get on and concentrate on my work and leave school matters to her. She added that she’d have Quinn contact me when appropriate.