“And you have them teach us?” I asked. It seemed crazy. Dangerous and crazy. Who would sign up for a mission like that? Mr. Selby was either very brave or had a serious death wish.
“That school is the easiest place to track Keeper investments because it offers the juncture of human, Guardian, and Keeper lives,” Silas said. “And they employ only human teachers. We’ve been able to keep at least one and sometimes two agents on its staff for the past few years. They’ve significantly improved our intelligence operations.”
“He always has to bring that up,” Connor whispered to Adne in a voice loud enough for all of us to hear. “It’s not like he’s the only person who’s had an original idea in this outfit.”
I nodded, ignoring Connor’s snide remark, but then frowned. “If Mr. Selby knows about our world, why did he talk about Hobbes in class? Do you know what happened to him?”
Our teacher had discussed The War of All Against All—a topic raised by Shay but strictly forbidden by the school’s proprietors, the Keepers—and he’d paid for it. I remembered the way he’d flailed at the front of the classroom, spittle running down his face. Magical torture disguised as a seizure.
Anika grimaced, but Connor started laughing. “Yes, and it happened because he’s a sentimental fool. Nearly got himself caught there.”
He batted his eyelashes at Shay. “He was just so taken with the fact that the Scion wanted to talk about Hobbes. Thought it was a sign from on high or something.”
Shay scowled.
“It probably is,” Silas said. “If you’d crack a book, you’d appreciate the connection. But then again, you’d have to learn to read first . . .”
“You knew something like that was bound to happen when we let him recruit an agent.” Connor ignored the Scribe, speaking to Anika. “Silas has all the wrong priorities.”
“Grant has done exceptional work,” Silas sneered.
“That slipup almost blew his cover,” Connor said. “It was stupid, and he should have known better.”
“Better than that troglodyte you brought on board,” Silas said, shuffling through a mound of papers. “I wouldn’t set foot in that dunghill he operates. Then again, you probably already have all the diseases you could catch in the Rundown.”
“It’s Burnout, moron,” Connor said. “And it’s as good a cover as the school. The wolves are there all the time.”
“Burnout?” I gaped. “Tom Shaw is an operative?” I thought of the gruff manager of our favorite dive bar. A place we found refuge from the Keepers’ scrutiny—and were never carded. Tom was Nev’s friend, the drummer in their band. Was all of that just for show so he could glean information from us when we hung out at the bar?
“He is.” Monroe glanced wearily between Connor and Silas.
“Hardly the keen observer that Grant has been for us,” Silas sniffed.
“Tom’s got better connections.” Connor had pulled out his dagger and thumbed the edge of the blade while throwing menacing looks at Silas. “He’ll be a linchpin in this alliance. Grant hasn’t gotten his hands dirty the way Tom has. That school is a cushy place to cool your heels.”
If you aren’t being tailed by a succubus. Grant wasn’t the only one who’d been punished at the Mountain School. I squirmed at the memory of Nurse Flynn’s fingernails digging into my cheeks when she walked in on Ren and me. Then I blushed when I remembered what we’d been doing. I glanced guiltily at Shay, but he wasn’t looking at me.
“I like Mr. Selby,” Shay protested. “He was a great teacher.”
“Of course you like him.” Adne threw a stern glance at Connor. “He’s a brave man and brilliant to boot. Connor just has no appreciation for intellect.”
“You know you don’t have to defend Silas just ’cause you’re both overachievers,” he said. “My point is, intellect won’t save your hide at the end of the day.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Shay countered, looking ready to have a serious debate. But Connor shook his head.
“I call ’em like I see ’em, kid. I’m not going to argue with you.”
“You just like free drinks.” Silas began scribbling furiously in what looked like some sort of logbook.
“God, you aren’t filing another complaint against me, are you?” Connor pointed the dagger at Silas.
“Actions unbecoming, threatening language . . .” Silas didn’t look up.
“I’ll just ignore it, Silas.” Anika folded her arms across her chest. “You submit at least ten of those a week.”
“Twenty.”
I was getting impatient with all this bickering. “How do you get information from them? How do they avoid detection?” We’d been talking about a fight. Was that ever going to happen? My teeth were sharp in my mouth and I was working hard not to growl every time I spoke.
“We keep two post office boxes in Vail, under aliases of course, but we give them each a key,” Anika replied, happy for the opportunity to interrupt. “That’s how we communicate. We change the name and box every few months and distribute the new keys. Vail has a lot of ski bums and seasonal workers who move in and out; it keeps interest in the rotating names low.”
I nodded, increasingly on edge. The Searchers had been watching us the whole time, and we hadn’t even known it. They were unpredictable, but that seemed to make them more effective than I’d first thought. My pride in the effectiveness of Guardian patrols was being eroded with each revelation.
“You’ll rendezvous with Grant tonight,” Silas said, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out of his jeans pocket. “I just got confirmation.”
Anika reached for the note. “Silas, we’ve talked about keeping correspondence neat.”
“I was in a hurry.” He shrugged.
“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you,” Connor said. “You don’t know where it’s been.”
“Shut up, you louse,” Silas snapped.
“Louse?” Connor laughed. “How deep did you have to dig for that one?”
“Quiet, both of you.” Monroe spoke for the first time since rejoining our group. The calm, forceful demeanor that usually emanated from the Guide had returned. “Anika, my team is set. Can we execute today, like we’d hoped?”
I held my breath, waiting for the response. If she didn’t say yes, I’d be damned if I didn’t find my own way back to Vail.
“Yes,” she replied. “Who’s the team?”
I smiled, running my tongue over my sharp teeth. Shay looked at me. I could tell he was worried, but he nodded. He knew as well as I did how much this fight mattered.
“Lydia, Connor, Ethan, and Calla,” he said, startling me. As much as I was eager for battle, it felt strange to be counted among the Searchers. Plus there was one name that still left me uneasy.
“Ethan?” I asked, remembering the raging eyes and maniacal screams of the Searcher not half an hour ago.
“He must adjust to this alliance as quickly as possible,” Monroe said. “There isn’t time to coddle him.”
“I agree,” Anika said. “Who else?”
“Isaac and Tess will help us stage the mission from the outpost.” He paused, glancing at Adne. “Jerome will weave.”
Adne sputtered, but Anika spoke first. “No. Jerome has been reassigned to a teaching post. He’s an excellent Weaver and he’s earned his place in the Academy. Adne is the Haldis Weaver effective immediately.”
Adne closed her mouth, looking smug.
“I thought with the nature of this—” Monroe began.
“No discussion,” Anika broke in. “Adne weaves. I trust that won’t be a problem.”
“No,” Monroe said, though he folded his arms across his chest, clearly unhappy.
I frowned as I watched the exchange. What’s up with them? Whatever the source of Monroe and Adne’s bickering was, I didn’t want it interfering with this mission. Luckily, neither did Anika.
“Good,” she said. “There’s no time to waste. Ethan’s already there?”
“Yep,” Con
nor said. “Should have cooled off by now. Tess works magic with the ravaged soul. Plus I think she gave him cookies.”
He winked at Lydia. “That whole Betty Crocker thing is how she snagged you, isn’t it?”
“I’m a sucker for oatmeal chocolate chip.” Lydia shrugged.
“Maybe Ethan hasn’t eaten them all yet.” Connor laughed.
“You’re about to find out.” Anika smiled. “Adne, open a door.”
FIVE
“WAIT.” SHAY’S HAND WAS gripping my arm, holding me back even though I hadn’t yet started to go anywhere. “You’re leaving now?”
“We only have a window of hours before an elder Nightshade patrol is out on the mountain, if indeed the younger wolves are still taking patrol routes—which we are betting on for the time being,” Anika said. “Speed is essential if we hope to make contact. We’ve got the time zone working in our favor, but that’s about it.”
“Time zone?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“It’s an hour earlier in Vail.” Lydia was examining the blade of one of her daggers.
“We’re in a different time zone?” I gaped. “Where are we?”
“At the Roving Academy.” Adne had come to stand in the center of our small group. “The heart and soul of all things Searcher.”
“The Roving Academy?” I asked. I’d never heard of such a place. The information I’d been given about the Searchers made it sound like they squatted in hovels around the globe, trying to muster enough force for guerrilla assaults.
“The Academy is our greatest asset.” Anika smiled. “It stores our knowledge and supplies us with food, crafts, and education. Most Searchers live here, except for those on assignment.”
“It’s called the Roving Academy because it moves out of necessity,” Monroe added. “We don’t stay in any location for more than six months to avoid detection. If the Keepers ever brought the war to us, it could mean the end of our resistance.”
I hadn’t seen much of this Academy, but I’d seen enough to know it was huge.
“How can you move a building?”
“Yeah.” Shay turned in a slow circle, gazing at the high ceiling of the room. “I’ve been wondering about that too.”
Adne winked at him. “If you’re still interested in three months, I’ll give you a front-row seat.”
“Never mind.” I scowled. “Where are we now?”
“Iowa,” Anika said.
I frowned. “Why would you put it in Iowa?”
“Exactly.” Connor gave me a mockingly solemn nod.
Adne sighed. “It moves all over the world. Now it’s in Iowa. Next up is Italy.”
A globe was spinning in my mind’s eye. How had I gotten here?
“We don’t have time for lessons right now.” Anika gestured to Adne. “That comes later.”
“Good point. Adne, just open the door,” Connor said. “I’ve never been good at anticipation; it makes me blotch.”
“That might improve your looks,” Silas muttered. He picked up a folded set of papers from the pile. How he’d identified them amid the clutter was a complete mystery.
“Here’s the next dispatch for Grant.” He sent the stack sailing toward Connor like a Frisbee. “Try not to lose it.”
Connor snatched the letter out of the air. “Thanks.”
“What’s going on?” I looked at Shay, making no sense of the strange conversation.
“Ariadne is a portal weaver,” Monroe said. “It’s the most important assignment a Searcher can take on.”
The most important assignment. I eyed Adne and could have sworn she wasn’t any older than Ansel. “She’s leading our mission?”
“Not leading,” Monroe said. “Just weaving.”
“Isn’t she a little . . . young?” I had no idea what weaving was, but if it was vital to our mission, I wanted someone with a little experience in charge of it.
“Like I said before.” Connor patted Adne on the head. “Our little honey exceeds expectations.”
“Just let me work,” Adne muttered, jerking away from Connor’s hand.
I started toward Adne, wanting to make sure she was actually as exceptional as everyone claimed.
Shay took my arm, pulling me back several steps. “I think it’s better seen than explained.”
Adne took the slender metal spikes from her belt.
“What are those?” I asked, tensing in case they were weapons after all.
She arched an eyebrow at me, taking in my defensive stance. “Skeans—the Weavers’ tools. You’ll see what they do.”
She drew a breath as she closed her eyes. Then she began to move. The skeans slashed the air; each swift stroke left a blazing trail of light in its wake, and a bell-like note hung around us. Adne’s body moved rapidly in a mad dance. She dipped to the floor and flung her limbs toward the ceiling, guiding the skeans in motions that resembled a crazed form of rhythmic gymnastics. The gleaming threads that bloomed from her skeans began to layer upon each other. The sounds that filled the ear created a rippling chorus of chiming notes. Her arms wove through the air as though the skeans were dipping in and out of a giant invisible loom. The intricate pattern of light blazed brighter until I had to pull my eyes away from the glare. Waves of sound poured through the room until I thought I might drown in an ocean of music and light.
All at once it stopped.
“Look,” Shay whispered.
I turned back to Adne. She stood, breathless, in front of a giant shimmering rectangle. It hung in the air, a tapestry of light suspended and glowing. My breath caught in my throat as I moved closer. The undulating rectangle held an image: the inside of a warehouse. Stacks of crates filled the dimly lit room.
“Is that where we’re going?” I murmured.
Adne nodded, still trying to catch her breath.
“Nice weaving.” Connor patted her on the shoulder.
“No problem.” She smiled, wiping sweat from her brow.
“So what do we do now?” I stared at the gleaming scene.
“It’s a door,” Adne said. “You walk through it.”
I eyed the tall portal of light. “Does it hurt?”
“It kind of tickles,” Connor said, mocking solemnity.
Adne whacked him with the flat side of one of her skeans.
“Ouch!” Connor rubbed his arm.
“It’s fine, Cal,” Shay said. “This is how I got to the Academy. I know it looks crazy, but it’s safe.”
“Crazy?” Adne protested.
“Crazy beautiful.” Connor grinned at her. “I’ll go first.”
“Please,” I said, not wanting to admit how much the shimmering doorway made all my hairs stand on end.
Connor strode confidently into the light-filled image. His body blurred for a moment and then there he was, standing among the crates. He paused, stretching his arms and yawning, and then suddenly dropped his pants and mooned us.
“Oh God, Connor!” Adne groaned. “Get through there and bite him, Shay.”
“I’m not coming, remember?” Shay objected, but he laughed. “Even if I was, I wouldn’t bite his ass.”
“Maybe Calla will.” Adne grinned.
“Not likely,” I muttered, though on a second glance I had to admit that Connor’s ass wasn’t that bad to look at.
“Enough,” Anika said, briefly embracing Lydia. “Be well.”
“Of course,” Lydia said, rushing into the portal in time to smack Connor’s bare skin with the flat of her dagger before he could stumble out of the way.
Adne burst into laughter.
“Go ahead, Calla,” Monroe said. “Adne will be right behind you.”
“Wait.” Shay held on to me. “What are we doing while they’re gone? Just sitting on our hands until it’s over?”
“No.” Monroe came to his side, gently drawing him away from me. “We have a task of our own to accomplish.”
“We do?” Shay’s brow furrowed.
“We’re dropping in on some of the A
cademy instructors,” he said. “And you’re going to convince them that it will be just fine when they have a pack of young wolves joining their classes.”
So that’s what an alliance meant. We wouldn’t just be fighting with them. We’d be training with them, learning about their world. As much as that idea was strange, it was also exciting.
Adne began to tap her foot. “Come on, Lily. We try to open and close the doors quickly. This isn’t window shopping.”
The nickname jarred me enough to flash fangs at her. It was more than a little satisfying when she took a step back.
I glanced at Shay, who offered me a thin smile. “Good luck.”
Returning the smile as best I could, I closed my eyes and stepped into the gleaming haze.
Connor wasn’t completely wrong about the sensations that flowed over me once I touched the door of light, though moving through the portal didn’t exactly tickle. For a moment my skin tingled, like I was caught in a space full of static electricity. In the next moment, stale musty air filled my lungs and Connor was laughing. Fortunately his pants were on again.
“You with us, Calla?” Lydia asked. “Trip’s over. This is where you get off.”
Connor coughed. “I could help you with that.”
I shook off my bewilderment, glaring at him.
“Do you ever get tired of hearing your own jokes?” Lydia shoved him toward the door.
“Do you really need to ask?” He grinned, batting his eyelashes at her.
She tried to give him a stern look, but laughter bubbled up from her throat. “You’re a disaster, boy, but I love you for it.”
“Of course you do.”
“Stop preening, Connor.” Adne had emerged from the portal. I turned around. I could still see the flickering image of the room we’d left in the tall rectangle behind her. “Everyone’s first time through a portal is intimidating.”
“Not a bad way to travel, though,” Connor said, rubbing his arms as if they were still tingling. “Is it, wolf girl?”
“No, it’s not.” My eyes fixed on the shimmering doorway. “But—”
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