“I…” Nadya closed her eyes, brows dropping. She opened them again, a small tear resting in the corner. “I never said I was the best.”
It was obvious that Nadya was sorry, but Camila didn’t want to let it go. “But you act like it.”
“All right. Enough!” Caspar huffed. “There’s no point arguing.” He waved his hand at AJ and then at Mason. “There are bigger problems here.”
Mason twisted his body to Sage and whispered, “Is he talking about me? I’m a problem?”
The door swung open and Arielle walked in. “We have to meet Makoto in class. He said to bring both the Fallen.”
“Mason isn’t—” Sage began.
Nadya splayed her fingers and pushed her palm in Sage’s direction. “Stop,” she snapped. And then, her face softened. She turned her hand around, an offering for Sage to take. “You’ve done this alone long enough. We’ll face the consequences together.”
In the Shadow Society lecture room, Makoto stood over a still unconscious AJ, his eyes hooded with the sadness. The recruits and Mason surrounded him, waiting for his orders. He looked up and as he noticed Mason, his pupils dilated.
“So, you’re a Fallen?” he cried, storming closer. “Killing people and turning them against their will?”
“No sir.” Mason shook his head wildly, taking a step back.
Makoto half-shifted, eyes a bright shade of gold. As he inched closer, Sage’s heart kicked into overdrive. She knew his stance on the Fallen. It was his job to be rid of them. His job to kill them.
She leapt between them. “Please stop. He’s not a Fallen.”
Makoto stopped in his tracks and blinked. “And how would you know?”
She grasped Mason’s hand, making sure he stayed behind her. “Because I turned him.”
Makoto stared at Sage through his Guardian’s golden eyes. His face didn’t change as he asked, “You turned him?”
Sage took a few quick breaths. “I followed him to make sure he wouldn’t bully anyone else and when I was satisfied others were safe, I left. But then, I felt called to go back. Like a tug. You told us that we should follow that tug, so I did. I went back and I found him beaten by his brother and dying. He already had a mark on him, so I turned him. To save him.”
Silence fell across the room. Only the rattly breath of AJ could be heard.
Makoto shifted back to human form and nodded. “Good.”
“Good?” Sage asked, letting Mason’s hand go.
“Mmm.” Makoto stepped back. He smiled at Mason. “Your father will be proud.”
“You know my dad?” Mason gawked.
Makoto nodded once. “He asked me to bring you into the Shadow Society earlier this year. But I told him I couldn’t, not until you had shown the signs of a True Guardian. I guess now you have.”
“Are you kidding?” Arielle said. A certain bitterness laced her normally chipper voice. “We recite the rules every day for nothing?”
Makoto whipped his head in her direction. “Not for nothing.” He forced himself to take a breath. Pointing at Sage, he said, “This, team, is what a successful solo assignment looks like. Congratulations, Sage. You are showing promising signs of being a stellar True Guardian.”
“Sorry, what?” Nadya balked.
“Oh, didn’t I teach you that? Sometimes assignments aren’t given, they’re aligned.” Makoto chuckled to himself. “Honestly, it’s my favorite part of the year, when recruits find this out on their own.”
Sage’s insides felt like goo. All this time she was worried about how he’d react, and he’d known about it all along. She pinched her leather necklace.
Makoto placed a warm hand around her shoulder. “Some things are best experienced than taught. Always trust your instincts.”
Sage closed her eyes, deciding right then and there to break the cycle inside her mind. She heard her mom’s gentle voice as she said; “Sage Windsor, how many times have I told you to believe in yourself?”
Running her fingers over her necklace, Sage finally allowed herself to let go of her fear of trouble.
Camila cleared her throat, pointing to the elephant, or rather bear, in the room. “And, uh, AJ?”
Makoto frowned, glancing at AJ. “Yes, that. I need to consult with the Elders of the Veil.”
Everyone rushed behind Makoto as he headed around his desk. Caspar ran to the back of the room and pressed a hidden button on the side of the projector. Above the board behind Makoto’s desk, the projector lifted, and the wall moved with it. A small room about five meters square appeared beyond the wall. It was a secret compartment with long scratch marks dug in cement walls.
Makoto stepped inside. As the wall closed, he demanded, “No one is to go anywhere!”
“What the hell is happening?” Mason asked.
Sage thread her arm through his. With a teasing tone, she said, “You’ll see.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Caspar hit another button and the wall shimmered until it became transparent and everyone could see Makoto inside. He cracked his neck side to side, then fully shifted. A great wolf with black silky fur and eyes like the sun stood in his place.
“So,” Sage said to Mason. “You know about the Veil?”
Staring at Makoto’s wolf, Mason said, “It’s where the Guardians are, waiting for us. Like an alternate dimension.”
“Yeah, and we act as the conduit between dimensions. Did your dad ever tell you about what’s beyond the in-between though?”
Mason shook his head. As if disappointed, he muttered, “No, he didn’t.”
“When we shift, we are joined to both the Veil and our world. But just as we can be human on this side, so can our animal. We just have to swap spots. They hold our place in this world as we go through to theirs.” She half-shifted, showing Mason her purple eyes.
Nodding at Makoto, she said, “Watch.”
Mason half-shifted and cast his Veil-seeing eyes to Makoto. The wolf’s eyes flickered and the glow stopped. Beside the wolf, Makoto stood tall, his shape nothing but a transparent red aura. Makoto turned and walked on, shimmering through the wall until he couldn’t be seen any longer. His wolf began to prowl. Its mouth raised to the ceiling as a howl broke out.
“And now his wolf is wild,” Caspar added. “Hence the cage.”
“Where’s he going?” Mason asked, straining his Guardian’s vision as if it could see that far into the Veil.
Sage explained, “To talk to the Elders of the Veil. They are who give us the assignments. They know things we don’t.”
“They’ll help him weed out the Fallen on campus.” Nadya said, shoulders slumping. “Well, they’d better.”
Mason let out a nervous laugh. “Why the heck didn’t you do that before? Save everyone attacking me, thinking I’m the culprit?”
“Apparently, we’re not up to that part of training,” Camila said, rolling her eyes.
Arielle shrugged, sauntering to Makoto’s desk. “Anyway, Makoto says they speak in riddles and aren’t always clear with their meanings. So, he only goes when it’s necessary. Like now.” She pulled his drawer open and sifted through his papers, lifting out one in particular.
“What are you doing?” Caspar asked.
Arielle waved the piece of paper, a wide grin on her face. She began reading, “Sage Windsor. Showing signs of secrecy and anti-Guardian behavior.”
“What?” Sage leapt across the desk and ripped the note from Arielle. Sage Windsor. Showing signs of being tasked her own assignment. Rule number three may be temporarily waived in this time.
Mason stood behind her, reading over her shoulder. “Nice one, Floss. It says she was given her own assignment.”
“This is lame.” Camila huffed. “We should be doing something. Getting out there and finding this Fallen. We should be fighting, not sitting back twiddling our thumbs.”
For a moment Sage was hurt. She thought Camila was upset with her. It wasn’t like she meant to have a solo assignment or that she inadverte
ntly did the right thing by turning Mason.
Sage reached for Camila, clasping her wrist. “We’ll get the Fallen. We just need to know who it is first. Isn’t it better going in with our eyes wide open?”
“Now who’s the perfect Guardian?” Camila mocked, articulating every consonant. “I’m going to take action. Are you coming?”
Sage refused to be offended. She understood Camila better than anyone. She was cruel when she felt inadequate. But now wasn’t the time to prove themselves. And since she knew she’d done the right thing with Mason, she wasn’t about to ruin it by being reckless with a Fallen. “We should stay here. Until Makoto returns.”
“Suit yourself.” Camila slid her hand out of Sage’s grasp and a smooth bump tickled Sage’s palm.
Sage glanced at Camila’s hand to see a mood ring on her thumb. Camila spun around and marched to the door, her wavy brown hair swinging behind her. As she put her hand around the door handle, Mason pointed, mouth agape.
The door slammed behind her.
Arielle blew a raspberry and swiped the note from Sage. As she piled all of Makoto’s papers back into his drawer, she said, “What’s her problem?”
Still pointing to the now closed door, Mason gasped, “Oh my god. That’s her. I’ve seen her somewhere before.”
Sage knew he’d seen the mood ring. He’d seen her brown hair. He was placing her at a scene that was impossible for Sage to fathom. In an effort to stop him from accusing Camila of something she would never do, Sage offered, “In the courtyard. When you bumped into me?”
“No,” Mason replied, staring at the door.
“In the library?” Nadya offered. “When she pulled you off AJ?”
“No, before that. Last week.” Mason faced Sage, his eyes lit up like a street lamp. “She’s the one who bumped into me at the bar. She’s the one who marked me.”
Arielle bounded around the desk. “Did she touch you?”
Mason glanced at her, then to Caspar, to Nadya, to Sage. “Yeah, she grabbed my arm as she walked past me. She had a mood ring on her thumb. I turned to see who it was but could only see her brown wavy hair as she walked away.” He threw his arm at the door. “Exactly like that.”
“Brown wavy hair isn’t uncommon. And tons of people have mood rings,” Sage argued.
“Don’t be naive, Sage,” Arielle said, moving in front of Mason. She lifted his sleeve to reveal his mark. “This is where she touched you?”
Mason nodded.
Nadya shuffled in closer, peering at Mason’s mark. “Camila touched AJ, too. In the library. Her name was on his list.”
Caspar joined them next. They all closed in on Mason, believing the outrageous story. Sage felt like the room was spinning and time was moving too fast.
“Hold up now,” she blurted. “You can’t possibly think she marked them both? Camila? You’ve got to be kidding. She wouldn’t—”
“Oh my god!” Arielle interrupted, her wide eyes falling on Sage. “She’s always talking about how great it would be to turn someone. Remember, I warned you about it. Do you think she’s a Fallen and that’s why AJ is?”
“No!” Sage urged. “She isn’t a Fallen. She’s my best friend, I’m sure I’d know.”
Caspar gave Sage a sad smile. “Makoto says that they are great at deception.”
Sage felt sick. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Camila was a rebel who hated rules and always wanted to do things against Makoto, but she wasn’t a Fallen. She couldn’t be. Could she? Sage’s knees buckled beneath her and Mason grabbed her around the waist to help her stay upright.
“I don’t know but we need to get her,” Caspar declared, already heading for the door.
Sage breathed in and out. Too quick. She clutched Mason as if she’d fall through the floor if she let go.
Nadya rubbed Sage’s arm. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it.”
Sage shook her head. They had to be wrong. There was no way she’d let them take care of it. Nadya had always had it in for Camila, any excuse to bring her down.
“Wait.” She cried, regaining her composure. “I’ll try and call her first, she doesn’t know we’re onto her.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sage pulled out her phone, intent on warning Camila about the impending onslaught but there was no answer.
Arielle made herself comfortable on Makoto’s chair. Kicking her heels onto his desk, she asked, “Do you think she killed that boy, too?”
“Not the Camila I know,” Sage said, staring at her phone and watching it ring out again.
Nadya shared a glance with Caspar. “The Fallen are great at deception.”
“Stop saying that!” Sage snapped.
Arielle rolled her bottom lip out, her wide eyes blinking with dramatic sadness. “It must be so hard to face the fact that someone you know and love isn’t who they say they are. I’m really sorry, Sage. There’s just too many signs—”
Arielle’s blasé and forever perky attitude was starting to get to Sage. Her voice was all bite as she said, “Camila is a rebel but she isn’t a killer.”
“I’m sorry.” Mason tried to sympathize. “But it was her. I’m sure of it.”
Sage felt like her insides were ripping apart. How could she have missed it? Was she blind? Was she a terrible judge of character? She backed away from everyone. “There must be some mistake. Some good explanation.”
Caspar clapped his hands together. “If she isn’t answering her phone, I think we should go find her. We’ll bring her back here to Makoto. He’ll find out the truth.”
“No!” Sage shouted, her whole body shaking. “He’ll kill her. We can’t let him kill her.”
An unusual high-pitched peep flew out of Nadya’s mouth. “I’m sure he wouldn’t do that. There must be something else he could do…”
“No, he will,” Arielle stated, rolling Makoto’s pen through her fingers. “Once a Fallen, always a Fallen.”
She said it so flippantly that Sage wanted to punch her square in the face. Mason glided his hand over her bunching fist. She didn’t know when he had moved beside her.
“Breathe,” he said, softly. “Getting mad won’t help you.”
In her other hand, Sage’s phone buzzed. As everyone turned their attention to her, her heart flipped. She lifted it and stared at the screen.
“Who is it?” Nadya asked.
Arielle swung around in Makoto’s chair and stood. “It’s her isn’t it?”
Before Sage could even decide what to say, Nadya snatched the phone. She boomed into the receiver, “Where the hell are you?” She glanced at Sage. “Yes, she’s okay…. No, of course I wouldn’t hurt… Hey, listen, we know the truth about you. If you give yourself up now, we’ll… hello? Hello.”
“Great,” Arielle said, snatching the phone. “Now you’ve scared her off.”
Sage’s knees gave way and she collapsed onto the ground. She felt numb as Mason pried the phone from Arielle’s grasp and held it out for her. She took it slowly.
Mason slumped next to her. “What are we going to do?”
“We have to find her,” Arielle commanded. “Bring her to justice.”
“All right, this is Camila we’re talking about,” Caspar kept his voice even. “We want her caught but I’m sure none of us want to see her hurt.”
He glared at Nadya when he said the last part, as if calling her out. Her eyes found the ground. She mumbled, “We need to tell Makoto.”
Arielle cringed, “I don’t know if that’s a great idea—”
Nadya snapped her eyes up. “You know none of this would have happened if we went to him at the start? If we told him about AJ.” She glanced at Sage. “And if you told him about Mason. Maybe we could have stopped Camila before she went off the deep end.”
Sage bit her lip to stop the tears from falling. Her eyes stung. Her chest ached. She didn’t want to believe it, but it all made too much sense. The way Camila was so desperate to turn someone. That look in her eye was a
dead give-away and all Sage did was brush it off as Camila being Camila. That wouldn’t have helped anything.
The proof defeated her heart. She finally said, “By the time they were marked she was already lost.”
Nadya’s face softened. She helped Sage up. “Do you want to us to take care of it while you sit this one out?”
The way she looked at Sage with sympathy would have been nice if it didn’t come with so much confusion and pain. Sage shook her head. “I’m coming.”
As Caspar and Nadya headed for the door, Sage reached back for Mason’s hand. He stood begrudgingly mouthing the words, “I’m sorry.” Sage grimaced and dragged him out of the classroom.
“I’ll stay here then,” Arielle called. “You know, watch AJ and release Makoto when he gets back.”
The corridor was eerily quiet for that time of day. Last period would normally have ended with students milling to their lockers. But instead, they were all huddled in their rooms, looking out their windows for wild cougars or bears.
As they left the building and wandered down the cobblestone path, Nadya said, “Sage, I’m sorry. I acted out of line before, taking your phone. It was hasty and didn’t do any of us any favors. Maybe you could try calling her again? She’s never liked us but she seems to adore you.”
Sage nodded. Her hands shook. But even though everything inside her screamed that it was wrong, she lifted her phone and dialed the number.
“Back off Nadya, you self righteous—”
“It’s me,” Sage interrupted. Stopping, she turned away from Caspar, Nadya, and Mason. “Just me.”
Silence.
“Camila, where are you?”
“Are you coming to help me or accuse me?” Camila huffed.
Sage couldn’t answer without lying. So, she asked, “What do you need help with?”
There was a long pause before Camila replied, “I’m at the edge of the forest behind the dorms... I was going to search for those missing varsity boys.”
Camila trusted her. Sudden doubt crept in. Had she done the right thing? Looking out at the winding driveway. The evidence played out. Camila was the one who marked Mason. She was always going on about turning people. She’d hardly listen to Makoto’s intricate lessons and want to skip ahead to the in-depth stuff, the dangerous stuff. Sage couldn’t deny it any longer.
Academy of Magic Collection Page 134
