Bile rose to Izzy’s throat as she and the others rushed toward their friend. Miguel dropped to the floor beside her and let out a wail so primal, it made Izzy’s knees go weak.
"Please god, no!”
Chapter 20
The sky was crying that day.
Fat, cold drops of rain that splattered off the coffin and skittered away to soak the already sodden ground. They were saying goodbye to a friend under the most awful circumstances, and Izzy’s mind still hadn’t fully accepted the finality of it all. She could still hear Miguel's screams that night. Raw, brutal, gut-wrenching howls of agony, followed by weeping pleas that nearly split her in two.
Even now, five days later, the memory played again and again in her mind on a vicious loop, along with a mantra...
Your fault.
Your fault.
"How you holding up, kiddo?"
She swallowed past the knot in her throat and looked up to see Professor Baxter there in a black raincoat and matching bowler hat. The older man's cheeks were chalky and his eyes were rimmed in red.
It had been a tough week for all of them at Nightgrove Academy, students and faculty alike. Victoria Kristoff's usually flawless face was ravaged and swollen from tears, Tom had been randomly bursting into loud sobs in the midst of preparing most meals, and even the usually impassive Dean looked like she'd been through the ringer.
"Not stellar," Izzy finally replied with a shrug as she gazed back over at the casket. Miguel had been knelt in front of it for what seemed like forever, and he seemed in no hurry to get up. Their romance had been short, but the pair had been inseparable, like they'd known each other forever. Two pieces of a puzzle that had just clicked into place.
Izzy cleared her throat and tore her gaze away. "It's going to be a rough road to recovery, I think. She was a great person, a great friend, and she's leaving behind a massive hole in all of our lives. It just seems so unfair."
“And all because of greed and the desire to weaponize not just objects, but human beings,” Baxter said, the venom in his voice unlike anything Izzy had heard from him in the past. “Children. Disgusting, vile man.”
Izzy nodded miserably but the sound of tapping on a microphone caught her attention. She and Baxter turned to see Victoria Kristoff standing a few yards from Miguel, and Ashley’s casket. Rain continued to pour down around them, but she held a hand in the air, deflecting the water, shielding the three of them now as she cleared her throat.
“Students of Nightgrove Academy. It’s a dark day here for us all as we say goodbye to our beloved Ashley.” She gestured to the ink-stained red dress she wore with a trembling smile. “This is some of Ash’s early work, actually. But you know what? She didn’t let that stop her. She practiced and pushed herself to the max, each and every day. I believe she could’ve been one of the strongest Matter Manipulators in the world had she been allowed to reach her potential before having it all snatched so cruelly away. She wasn’t just a great Talent. She was a great person and was instrumental in saving her classmates in the terrible battle in the dungeons. I will never, ever forget her, and I hope you won’t, either--”
She broke off and covered her mouth as she let out a sob as she handed the microphone to the Dean.
“Thank you, Professor Kristoff, for those lovely words. We are privileged to have this opportunity to say our last words of farewell to Ashley before she is laid to her final rest with her family in Minnesota. They have been informed of her unfortunate passing and are arranging a service there to honor her.”
Izzy swallowed back a slick of nausea as she tried to imagine how that conversation had gone. Surely a lot of spin and cover up, but a family had been decimated by what Sloane had done here. Nothing was going to change that.
“Now it’s time to heal and prepare to protect ourselves. According to Isabelle, Professor Sloane had a deal with at least one black ops military organization, whether it was a U.S. faction or an international one, that means they’re going to notice when he stops communications and they will come looking. Several students have since reported seeing a strange man in the building the evening of the Exhibition, and they are currently trying to determine if he was a part of this. Rest assured, now that we know there is a threat, we are on high alert. It is our sacred duty and goal to protect you.”
“Like you protected Ashley, Jessica, and Trent?” Rebecca shouted from Izzy’s left. Izzy had never seen such rage from the young girl.
“Jessica’s leaving us was unrelated. She is going through a personal crisis, but she is safe and accounted for. I spoke to her yesterday. If any of you would like proof of her well-being, come see me privately. I won’t allow gossip to force my hand into airing a student’s troubles publicly.”
Izzy didn’t need to bother. When Sloane had mentioned Trent during his villain speech in the dungeon, he’d neglected to mention Jessica at all. In the wake of Ashley’s death, she’d gone to the Dean and demanded a phone call with the other girl directly, in order to stem her fears that she had been killed or harmed in some way. While she’d sounded tired and withdrawn, Jessica was very much alive and confirmed everything the Dean had told Izzy.
“With regard to Trent, it is our mission to create a task force to retrieve him from the military faction that purchased him from Professor Sloane. To meet that end, and to provide you all with the maximum amount of protection, we’ve arranged for an international collaboration of Special Talents here at the Academy. Folks with gifts like ours will be coming in from around the world in order to form a unified front. If you decide to leave, we can’t and won’t stop you. Just remember, you’ve signed an ironclad non-disclosure agreement, and we will aggressively prosecute anyone who violates that. And believe me, we’ll be watching. The safety of your classmates who choose to stay depends on it. Remember that before you start chatting to friends and family.”
She scanned the faces in front of her, expression grave.
“And speaking of friends and family, once you do leave here, understand that we cannot split our focus and offer protection outside of school grounds. Not for you, or for your loved ones. We need every hand on deck and all manpower here and accounted for to protect this stronghold where the largest concentration of Special Talents reside. I know this may sound harsh, but I’m on a mission to ensure that what happened to Ashley, and whatever is happening with Trent, never happens again. Not on my watch. I haven’t slept a wink since it happened, and I won’t rest until the guilty parties pay for what they’ve done. I know you have something private planned to celebrate Ashley’s beautiful spirit, so I’ll let you get to it. Thank you.”
The Dean shuffled back into the castle, waving solemnly to them as she left.
Jake walked over to Miguel and shared a few soft words with him before helping him to his feet. Miguel shook him off and looked at the ground with vacant, dead eyes.
Izzy and the rest of the group waited silently until Miguel stood up and began the walk over to the courtyard. It was decorated with twinkling lights and had sausage bread and lasagna laid out, courtesy of Tom, on fine china plates.
“Ashley’s favorites,” Molly mumbled solemnly.
Izzy made her way to the front of the group to say a few words like they had planned. Miguel was beyond grief and had decided to leave the speaking to Izzy.
“She was truly the bravest of us all. From when she waited when we saw the bear in the woods, to make sure we all got out, to when she stood her ground against Sloane in order to protect us, her courage was undeniable. Even in her last moments, there was no crying and no fear in her eyes. She just wanted us to know how proud she was that we had beaten Sloane. I knew her for a short time, but I loved her. And I will never forget her sacrifice or take it for granted. We should remember her as having saved not only us, but countless other Talents that Sloane won’t be able to get his hands on now.”
Izzy walked back to the group, not able to bring herself to look at Miguel, and gestured to the two lanterns designed l
ike tiny hot air balloons, made by Max, that were sitting on the ground nearby. Aiko put her hands up to them and lit them each with a small flame. As they rose, Miguel, who was still weeping, raised his arms and shot two massive bolts of lightning into the air on each side that lit up the night sky.
Nobody said anything until the lanterns had long since disappeared.
“What now?” Aiko murmured, eyes still glued to the heavens.
“What do you mean?” Izzy asked, her chest feeling like one, giant ache.
“Are you staying?”
Izzy nodded slowly. “Yup.”
She had no choice. Until she found Trent safe and sound, and avenged Ashley’s death, she wouldn’t sleep a good night. “You?”
“I’m staying.”
“Me, too,” Molly said.
“I just don’t know what to do,” Max added quietly. Rebecca looked at them pensively, appearing unsure.
“We owe it to Ashley to stay and figure this all out. We can’t just let her death be in vain. Think of what she would’ve done if she were here,” Miguel said, wiping tears from his eyes.
“We still have to get Trent out of all of this mess, too. I can’t see how we could just leave this unfinished,” Izzy agreed. And she and Jake hadn’t even told them about Martin Phipps yet…There were more mysteries to be solved at Nightgrove. “I’m here to the bitter end, come what may.”
"Me too. Who's with us?" Miguel demanded, dark eyes blazing fire even as his skin crackled with barely leashed electrical power.
Max and Rebecca nodded as they got into a circle and put their hands in like a football huddle. “We’re in.”
“Me too.”
Izzy turned to find a rain-soaked Jake standing there. He’d missed the lantern ceremony, but not because he didn’t care. He was clearly as broken as the rest of them by Ashley’s loss and was handling it the best way he could.
She motioned him forward and they all locked arms.
“For Ashley!”
They would be forever bonded, now. The Magnificent Seven, on a mission. Together, they would avenge their friend’s death.
Or they would die trying…
Stay tuned for Book Two in the Nightgrove Academy series, coming 9/12/19, free with KU!
Nightgrove Academy Book One Page 17