She stared agape at him, until she shook herself back alive and said, "Stop. Not that one. Zayn. What are you doing?"
He moved to the rightmost board and began his traverse. Before, the pit of space beneath him hadn't been as imposing, as if his subconscious mind knew that the instructors wouldn't truly put him at risk. But now that he knew for sure he was one misstep from death, his senses were amped to eleven.
When he reached the other side, he gave Brittany a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry, I need to win."
She stared back at him. "You need a lobotomy, is what you need."
At the next station he found another gap, three boards, and a fifth year staring across the expanse at him.
"Hey, Sisi," said Zayn.
Her lips were already squeezed together. "What did you do back there?"
"Did you have pets as a kid?" asked Zayn.
She lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "Sure. Two cats, and a toy poodle that slept in my bed. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Just making sure you're not a sociopath," he said, then proceeded to blast the barrier away from the building, leaving Sisi even more flabbergasted than Brittany.
"Which one is the safe path?" he asked.
Sisi squeezed her arms to her chest as if the thought of answering was a horrifying thought.
"I don't even want to tell you the correct one. What if you fall on the way over?" she asked.
"I won't," said Zayn. "So tell me."
"No way. If I don't tell you, then you won't try," she said.
"That's not the way this works."
She squinted at him. "Why are you doing this?"
He knew she wouldn't believe the truth, and he didn't have time to tell her, so he appealed to the common thread of all Academy students.
"I want to win. So which is it?"
Sisi paced away, then back to the edge. She looked behind her, to where Instructor Pennywhistle was waiting at the last station. He couldn't see her because of the staircase blocking the view, but he knew Sisi was deciding what she'd get in trouble for more, telling him, or not telling him and risking his death.
"It's the middle one. Congratulations," she said, throwing her hands up.
To be sure, he'd been monitoring her, but the signs came back that she was telling the truth. Still, as he reached the center of the board, the place where it might snap, his feet quivered as he set them down. But once he was past, he ran across the final length, trusting in his imbuement to keep him steady.
"Thanks, Sisi."
She shook her head incredulously. "You sure know how to take the fun out of a challenge."
When he reached the gap leading to Instructor Pennywhistle, the fear and nervousness that had been with him at the first station returned in double. There were four boards extending between the two buildings.
Instructor Pennywhistle's hair blew into her face, but she made no move to knock it out of the way. The cloudy sky was nearly full dark.
"Well done, Zayn. No one's ever made it this far," she said.
She wasn't using the bright, fun voice she gave them at class time as she playfully mocked and simultaneously inspired them. This one was level, serious, the kind of voice a surgeon used as they were digging through a person's guts.
"How many students even attempt the first crossing?" he asked.
"Only half. And of those that attempt it, only slightly more than half pick the correct board, then even more give up when they have to pick from three. It's the fifth years' favorite contest to help with, because they get to watch their fellow students think they're going to fall to their deaths, only to hit a clear platform just ten feet below."
"Sounds like a real treat. But why have a contest that no one is supposed to win?" He looked behind him, thought about the experience of crossing. "Unless the contest is the lesson itself."
She nodded, and the wind calmed enough that he could see her face again. "Second year students are the worst because they think they know what they're doing, but haven't truly learned enough not to be dangerous to themselves."
"That sounds vaguely familiar," said Zayn.
"Hubris will be the death of you," said Instructor Pennywhistle.
"I've heard that before," he said. "Is the deal still the same? The Tether, if I make it over, do I get it?"
She hesitated before answering. "Yes."
He stepped to the edge and blasted the clear platform away. When he reached out with his senses, he found little information, as her clothing had been enchanted to mask her bio-signals.
"Which one should I cross?" he asked.
"I'm not telling you," she said.
"You have to," said Zayn.
It was hard to see through the hair hanging over her face, but he caught a smirk beneath it. "No, actually, I don't. That's not one of the rules. I can refuse."
Zayn picked one of the boards at random, moving towards the one on his left. "I've got a twenty-five percent chance at least."
"Wait," she said, so he stopped.
"Are you going to tell me?"
"No. I'm not going to tell you, and you can't blackmail me like you did the others. I don't care if you fall," she said.
"Of course you care," he said with his foot on the board. "That's why you're a teacher. I know teachers, my dad's one. He'd never want harm to come to one of his students."
"I teach because Priyanka asked me to and I'm good at it. It's also a lot safer than being in the field, and as much as I loved it, it's nice to have a break for a while," she said, reminding him that she was much older than she looked, one of Priyanka's oldest friends in the Academy. Which also meant she was less likely to be swayed by his argument.
He started moving up the board. "Which board is it? You don't even have to tell me the truth, but I've got to have something to work with."
"You want to know about lessons? What if your death is a good lesson for your classmates? This will be even better than going through it themselves, to know what you did," she said.
He kept creeping forward, but not fast enough that he'd reach the middle too soon. It was more than likely that he was on a board that would break, and he wondered if he could jump to the board next to him if he needed to.
"If you turn back now, I'll give your team the highest score," she said.
"That's not what I want. Give me the Tether and I will," he said.
"Why are you doing this? Is this because of Varna? Are you trying to die so you don't have to be a Watcher?" asked Instructor Pennywhistle.
He paused, wobbling a moment as the wind picked up, pushing him to his right. He looked down, seeing the miniature cars far below him.
"So you know what happens to us?" he asked.
"Of course I do," she said.
"How do you feel about it? What's going on?"
"Priyanka forbade us from being involved. And before you get all righteous on me, I'm well aware how crappy that is, but in our profession we have to make deals with horrible people sometimes," said Instructor Pennywhistle.
They stared at each other, Zayn wobbling on a board above the empty air, Instructor Pennywhistle on the edge of the building, hair half in her face.
"Go back, Zayn. You've done well to get this far. Don't risk your life for a worthless trinket," she said.
He looked at the four boards, including the one he was standing on. Was he really that crazy that he was willing to risk his life for a magical trinket? Neveah would kill him if she saw what he was risking.
Zayn rotated, right at the moment a gust of wind blasted him in the face. He rocked backwards, but caught himself right away. But in that moment, he noticed Instructor Pennywhistle's hand going out, as if she were going to try and save him. It was only a tiny gesture, the first two fingers flexing outward, but it was enough that he knew what she was thinking. She did care if he fell, she didn't want him to die. But she also didn't want him to take her trinket.
He thought back to what she'd said. She was willing to offer him any
thing to keep him from going forward—except the trinket. Had he picked the correct board and she was trying to bluff him back? Her fear had risen only when he nearly fell, which suggested he was in no danger currently.
The chance to own a Tether was too good to pass up. But was it worth his life? He searched his feelings and found that he was sure she was trying to get him to turn back. That this was the correct board.
Zayn turned back towards Instructor Pennywhistle, moving forward one step at a time. She watched silently, arms hanging at her sides. When he reached the center, each step was like walking across a minefield, but once it was past, a nearly overwhelming sense of relief flooded into his limbs. He barely registered the last few steps and then he was standing on the other side.
He wanted to collapse. Or have a shot of whiskey. Or both. His knees were shaking.
Instructor Pennywhistle pulled the Tether out of her pocket and held it out. It was a circular obsidian amulet, like a tiny portal. There was an ache in her eyes. However she'd acquired the Tether, it had come at some cost, and now she was giving it up to a second year student, and that caused her pain.
But there was also pride, a creasing at the corner of the eyes, lips that curled at the edges, just so. The Academy thus far had felt like a means to an end. A place he had to survive for five years so he could return to Varna and save his family—or die trying.
The way she looked at him with a keen warmth suggested the Academy could be more than ruthless assassins or Machiavellian agents. They were a family of a different sort, a sometimes murderous one, but they did seem to relish their involvement with the games of death.
"Congratulations, Zayn," she said, placing the Tether on his outstretched palm.
A sense of calm came over him, and though he'd been at the Academy for a year and a half, it was the first time he truly felt like he belonged.
Chapter Ten
Undercity, November 2014
Even the Beatles didn't have a fifth member
It was Sunday afternoon and they were hanging out in their room studying. After winning the contest, they'd been freed from regular duties in the Honeycomb, so during the times they weren't in class or sneaking off to quiet places for sex (everyone except Zayn), they tended to fall into a comfortable routine.
Skylar usually had her earbuds in, listening to the Garbage Kings, or some other band like them, while she paced around the area behind the couches, miming her spellwork. Vin sat at a vintage desk he'd hauled up from the basement of the Honeycomb, the kind with a roll top and locked drawers that had no keys so he had to pick his way into them every time. Portia claimed the other half of the beige couch Zayn was on. She rested her back against his bent knees as she scribbled in her notebook.
A knock at the door, followed by a tentative opening, brought an exclamation from Skylar, prompting the others to look up. He'd been expecting his cousin, or Elenna, who'd been hooking up with Portia for the last week, but not Priyanka Sai.
Zayn climbed to his feet, along with Vin and Portia.
Priyanka crossed her arms. "You need to stop treating me like royalty. That kind of deference will only get you killed."
"Sorry," said Zayn, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's just like having the principal show up to your dorm room."
"I'm not the principal. I'm your patron. I don't want your deference or admiration. What I want is your excellence." Priyanka paused. "So well done beating Marilyn at her game. I've always thought it was a little cruel."
"Is she still mad about losing her Tether?" he asked.
"Of course she is. But that's the least of her worries right now. A friend of hers was killed yesterday. A mage from the Aura Healers Guild," said Priyanka.
"Was it a beheading?" he asked.
Priyanka nodded, glancing at his teammates. "I assume despite my requests for secrecy that you've informed your teammates about what happened at the Black Council."
Zayn sunk into the couch, wishing he was a turtle so he could put his head inside his shell. His teammates suddenly couldn't make eye contact with their patron. Zayn nodded reluctantly.
"I knew you were going to tell them the moment I told you not to," said Priyanka like a parent worn out from scolding their children. "But in this case, it saves me time from having to explain the stakes, and eventually, all students learn about Deathbird and the Council. Just know that if I ever tell you something important enough it will come with an unbreakable binding."
Zayn scrunched up his face. "Yes, ma'am."
"I've learned a few things since our trip. It appears that someone is collecting information, for what, I don't know, but that's why the heads are being taken, to get at their thoughts. The friend of Marilyn's was an expert on how faez works, and the Smallest Eye dealt in molecular arcane biology. I don't know what they're trying to learn, but I don't like the outline of what it suggests."
Zayn glanced at his teammates. They looked like kids trying to remind their parents that they were up later than their bedtime. They'd all been jealous of his trip to Deathbird, so he was relieved they were getting to hear this directly from the patron herself.
"What do you need us for?" asked Zayn.
"I checked with the mages at the Oculus Hall to see if they could see anything in the future that might help us. The more important an event, the harder it is to see the true future, because its impact might veer off in small ways, upsetting things dramatically. So they weren't able to offer much, except a glimpse of you working in the fish market on the west side of the tenth ward."
"Isn't that near the Metallum Nocturne hall? I bet they're going to hit them next," said Portia.
A twinkle shone in Priyanka's eyes at Portia's comment. "I was thinking the same thing, though I wish I understood what they were after. I don't yet see the thread that connects these halls."
"We'll do it," said Skylar from behind him.
Priyanka raised an eyebrow. "I haven't asked you anything yet."
"You're going to ask Zayn if we can keep surveillance on Metallum Nocturne for you," said Skylar too fast, then realizing she might have overstepped her bounds, she added, "or at least that's what I'm hoping."
Priyanka chuckled. "You are correct. That's what I was going to ask. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the cleverness of this team."
"Careful, Ms. Patron," said Vin. "Zayn's head is already too big for this room."
"I'm aware, but for some people, their own failures are the only teacher they're willing to listen to," said Priyanka, looking directly at him. "But yes, I would like you all to watch that hall. Find a place you can keep an eye on it, without drawing notice to yourself."
"Well, I guess I'm working at the fish market," said Zayn. "Easy enough."
"I could probably get a job teaching aerobics at the gym nearby. It faces the street, so I can keep watch during classes," said Portia.
"No way am I going to work at the fish market," said Skylar, wrinkling her nose. "I love sushi as much as the next girl, but show me the scales and guts, and I'm out. There's a boutique on the south side of the hall that sells the most divine dresses. I'm sure I could get a job there."
When they looked at Vin, he startled as if he hadn't been listening, but then a secret smile hovered on his lips.
"I know the perfect job, but...I'll have to see if they have an opening first," he said.
Priyanka's eyes lit up. "You've chosen your teammates well. Remember that you're providing surveillance only. Rotate your schedules so someone is watching the hall at all times. If the Gurken arrives, do not engage. You wouldn't even dent him."
"Zayn attacked him," said Portia.
Priyanka gave an exasperated sigh. "He was foolish, but lucky. Don't expect that to work for you."
"What do we do if he shows up?" asked Vin.
She pulled a dozen small discs from her pocket and threw them on the table near the couch. They looked like plastic dimes, except thicker.
"Ask Instructor Noyade to teach you the spell that act
ivates them. They'll help us track where he's taking the heads," she said. "Any questions?"
Zayn raised his hand tentatively. "I have one small request."
"It's never small when someone asks that way," said Priyanka.
"We need a fifth member," said Zayn. "Especially with our class load. It's going to be hard enough keeping up while maintaining surveillance."
She tilted her head to the right, letting her silky black hair fall partially into her face. "If you can't handle it, I can find another team."
"What about the oculus vision?" asked Vin.
Priyanka raised one shoulder in the semblance of a shrug. "They make mistakes. And who knows, maybe his presence is a precursor to his death."
"What about everything Instructor Allgood taught us last year? Everything was based on a five-person team. If we're going to learn it, shouldn't we get to practice it?"
"You don't always get to have the perfect tools for the mission," replied Priyanka. "Sometimes you have to make do."
"But you can adjust the teams and give us a fifth." As soon as he saw the way her lips thinned, he quickly added in his Jamaican patois, "Respect."
She looked like she was going to say something, then she squinted. He'd put a lot of money on that she was examining with her sensing imbuement. Priyanka walked up, grabbed his jaw, and turned his head left and right as if she were examining an antique.
"When's the last time you slept?" she asked.
He blinked. "A week ago...I think."
His teammates gasped.
She grumbled under her breath. "I was going to suggest the sensing trick to help you gain a few more hours a night, but you've already been using it. Who taught you how to do that?"
Zayn looked at his sneakers. "I sort of figured it out myself."
"Once again, leaping before you look. This recklessness is going to be the death of you." She looked to the rest of the team. "Of all of you." She jabbed her finger in his direction. "You, get some sleep. A full eight hours. That's an order. And if you're going to continue to use it, no more than two days in a row without at least two hours asleep."
"He's been staying awake using his imbuement?" asked Portia.
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