Light of Equality (Hawthorn Academy Book 5)

by D. R. Perry

  Logan and I stared at each other, dumbstruck. His eyes looked shiny, and I knew from the heat at the corners of mine that both of us were about to cry. We awkwardly exchanged goodbyes, and he headed upstairs while I wandered around the lobby like a lost puppy.

  Chapter Eleven

  "Come lounge in the lounge with us."

  Cadence stood over me as I sat on the bench in the lobby. We’d barely spoken since the visiting students had arrived on campus. I felt guilty for spending an hour with Izzy without her, so I went.

  Hawthorn Academy students all wore identical blazers over bland yet generally high- quality clothing. Kids from Messing, while quirky, wore green and gray uniforms accessorized and accented in high vintage beatnik style. The Gallows Hill crew was another breed entirely.

  The usually sedate and quiet lounge was a riot of bright colors and raucous sounds. Cadence’s school didn't do uniforms. I didn't realize that went beyond the clothing on their backs.

  The diversity at Gallows Hill made all the difference. I froze in place with my mouth wide open. Even my experience in mundane schools hadn't prepared me for their student body.

  They laughed louder, smiled brighter, and shared personal space to a degree I reserved for family and close friends. One glance around the room told me that most of the Hawthorn and Messing students had decided to congregate elsewhere. I could understand how Michelina, Eston, or Logan might find this scene off-putting. I almost left because I'd grown accustomed to quiet here.

  I spotted Noah off in the far corner. He sat with Elanor, yukking it up over a game of Uno. I didn't want to be shown up by my big brother, and Cadence was one of those aforementioned close friends, so I stuck around and got punched in the shoulder for my trouble.

  "Hey, I remember you," a voice to my right rumbled. Ember looked up without any hint of alarm, so I turned my head toward the speaker.

  The guy was tall and way more muscular than most seventeen-year-olds, which made sense. He was a changeling, powerful enough for me to feel the glamour coming off him. I realized where we'd met before.

  "The Night Creatures concert, right?" I nodded. "I'm Aliyah."

  "Yeah, the veterinarian's kid." He was talking about my father, who worked with mundane animals in a community clinic across town when he wasn't helping Bubbe. "I'm Bar."

  "Is that a nickname?"

  "Haven’t gone by my official name for ages." He grunted, jerking his chin at Ember. "Haven't seen one of those in almost as long."

  "Like, literal ages?" I raised an eyebrow. Most changelings grew up in the regular world but some spent time in the Under, where they aged more slowly. Bar might have been around for decades.

  "That's personal."

  "Okay." I shrugged.

  "Be nice." Cadence's voice took on a more lilting tone than usual. "We’re all going to get along, have a laugh, sing a song."

  I instantly relaxed, like I was alone on the beach in the sun instead of in a crowd of strangers.

  "Whatever you say, boss lady." Bar nodded and ambled off, joining a group of what could only be wolf shifters on the big sofa by the wall.

  "You didn't just whammy us, Cadence?" I blinked, shaking off the unexpected calm. "We were having a conversation."

  "It's officially my job. I'm part of the Safety Squad." She pointed at a pin on her shirt. "The principal picked three of us to keep rowdy students in line. She takes this visit seriously, for good reason."

  Cadence looped her arm through my elbow, escorting me to the corner opposite Noah's. Her classmates watched as she smiled and waved like we were on a parade float. Almost all went back to the business of loudly socializing, except for Brianna Collins, who continued watching us.

  "Is Brianna on the Safety Squad?"

  "Yup, and Azrael, but I don't know where he went off to." She shrugged. "Anyway, the Safety Squad's not why I want to talk. Is Dylan really an extramagus?"

  "Yeah, and the worst part is, I've known since our first week back. And now he’s in trouble with the headmaster."

  "What happened?"

  I told her the whole crazy story, including the case of the missing meeting.

  "You need Izzy. Find out what she sees for Dylan, if anything."

  "What do you mean, ‘if anything?’"

  "She has a hard time reading for you, didn't you know?"

  "I've never seen that happen."

  "Not when you're there, silly." Cadence giggled, her voice pitched at a register I knew meant she was nervous. "She can't get an accurate read remotely on you. After you got solar magic, she pulled cards when you weren't there, and they said gobbledygook. She thinks it’s because you’re an extramagus.”

  “She might be right.” I shook my head. "Maybe Dylan will agree to a reading in person if he ever gets out from behind that counter."

  "That sucks. I can't believe his professor." She shook her head. "You watched him ask for a meeting in that notebook. She must be lying."

  "That's the thing, Cadence. I'm not sure who to believe."

  "Dylan, of course." She clicked her tongue. "Was she hard on him before today?"

  "I don’t think so, but he's been out of sorts all month."

  "Relationship problems do that. He's probably not over Grace. Anyway, I'm on Team Dylan, not Team DeBeer."

  "She totally surprised me with her attitude about extramagi." I sighed. "I thought she was a cool professor."

  "Maybe there's no such thing as a cool professor." Cadence shrugged. "Teachers aren't here to be our friends. They make sure we learn everything we need and prepare us for life out there." She waved a hand vaguely at the exit hall. "Angels ferrying knowledge up from the inky depths, they are not."

  "You have no idea what angels are like for us." I snorted. "In the stories Dad and Bubbe tell, they're terrifying, full of snap judgments and immutable messages. A lot like professors, actually."

  "I get it. Your angels are like our demons, diving in to drop nets on our heads."

  "Yeah, that's pretty much the vibe."

  "Anyway, I met Dorian Spanos earlier. He’s interesting."

  I sighed. "I wish he and Dylan could just get along. Maybe they'll do it for Logan."

  "Oh, yeah, Logan's got it bad," Cadence said, chuckling. "But it looks like someone else is on the sweet romance diabetes train."

  She jerked her thumb at the other corner, where Noah now stood, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. I hadn't seen him that nervous since the night middle school put on Little Shop of Horrors.

  "Whoa." I blinked.

  Jonah smiled like a movie star, but with fangs. The way he tilted his head as he spoke made me think he’d asked a question I couldn't hear over the Gallows Hill students. Whatever it was made Elanor clap her hands and bounce in her seat. Noah blushed profusely, nodding.

  "Did he just ask him out?" Cadence squeezed my arm. "That's only the cutest thing ever!"

  "Not around here. We've got serious vampire haters on this campus, remember?"

  "Oh, my God, they're holding hands. Noah doesn't care about any of that."

  I watched them leave the lounge, heading toward the lobby. I wondered how Dylan was, hiding behind his work.

  Go and find out. You never know what might happen.

  "I don't want to know." I put my hand over my mouth. "Sorry, Cadence."

  "I'm cool with your inside voice." Cadence relaxed her grip on my arm, patting it. "Sorry, I got a little excited."

  "How do you feel about being here? Honesty time."

  "It's exciting but stressful. Safety Squad’s like herding cats, figuratively. Most of them aren't feline, just the tag-along." She jerked her thumb at a boy I'd seen on the beach before school started.

  "Who's that?"

  "Cosmo, Blaine Harcourt’s godson. He's only here for the Magipsych Fair. At least he behaves himself, unlike other people." She narrowed her eyes, flaring her nostrils at a lanky guy roughhousing with Bar. I'd also seen him before, but mostly, I’d heard his voice while hidin
g behind a crate with Grace.

  "Who's that?" I knew his name but not what Cadence thought of him.

  "Oh, Crow? He's nobody, um, important." Her face turned beet-red, and she flipped stray curls of auburn hair over her shoulder. "He and Bar have been friends for ages, kind of like us with Izzy."

  "Why do I get the impression you're not telling me the whole story?"

  And you're not telling her what you heard Crow doing at the Lyceum. Why is that?

  "We’ve dated. A few times." Her eyes moved from side to side like a nonexistent ping-pong match was happening on my shoulders.

  "Wait a minute. Isn't he a bird shifter? Are you telling me a mermaid and a bird have an on-again-off-again relationship?"

  "You're taking it way better than my parents did." She shrugged. "Anyway, our relationship status is subject to change."

  "Aren't you worried it’s too much like oil and vinegar?"

  "Oil and vinegar is the stuff of amazing salad dressings," Cadence said, smirking.

  I couldn't argue with that, and her nonsensical quip cheered me up. I found myself laughing despite the campus feeling like a powder keg.

  "That's the Aliyah Morgenstern I know and love." Cadence patted my shoulder.

  "She's been in short supply lately." I sighed. "Thanks, Cadence."

  "Any time." She grinned. "Hey, I know you'll be in and out for Yom Kippur this week, but are you going home for Sukkot after that?"

  "Yeah, to build the Sukkah, and also for the hour during sunset all that week. They let us off-campus for weekday religious holidays. Did you want to celebrate with us?"

  "If it's no trouble, could I have an open invitation?"

  "Of course."

  After that, she introduced me around. The Gallows Hill wildness wasn't as scary close-up. Instead, it was their version of warmth and welcome and how they communicated with each other and their surroundings. I understood why Cadence loved her classmates enough to take responsibility for them.

  Elanor made a quiet exit, and Noah returned with Jonah and a pot of tea. I almost went over to say hello, but they were totally engrossed in each other. I didn't want to interrupt the one nice thing to happen that day.

  Yawning reminded me to check the time. There were only twenty minutes before lights out. I made my goodbyes, then headed upstairs to change into pajamas before falling into bed. Grace was asleep when I got there.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next afternoon at lunch, the PA system summoned me to the office.

  Headmaster Hawkins stood with his back to me in front of his bookcase, hands behind his back. I recognized his posture as a sign of the inner turmoil I’d seen after Hal's diagnosis last spring, but his voice sounded more monotone than it had on that occasion.

  "Good afternoon, Miss Morgenstern. You must wonder why you’re here.”

  "Yes, sir, I do." I took a seat in front of his desk beside Professor Luciano, who'd been there when I arrived.

  "I’ve requested your assistance as Dylan Khan’s friend and peer." He turned and sat. "We're testing the scope of his abilities tomorrow. You must agree not to discuss this with anyone besides the involved parties and your immediate family."

  “Okay, I agree.” I folded my hands in my lap, knuckles bone-white. "But why not ask Logan?"

  "Mr. Pierce will supervise your classmates while they remain in the library tomorrow during your usual lab period."

  “Where will you be, Professor?” I blinked.

  “Escorting you and Dylan to the test,” Professor Luciano said.

  Headmaster Hawkins answered before I could ask my question. “Regulations require an instructor’s presence, and Professor DeBeer declined.” He bowed his head briefly, revealing the puffiness under his eyes. I heard a noise and felt a rush of air behind me.

  “Where are his parents?”

  "I’m standing in for them."

  "Mom?" I turned, eyes widening as I watched my mother straighten her jacket. The headmaster must have teleported her.

  "Extramagus testing is rigorous, unforgiving, and not without safety risks." She sat in the third chair, on the other side of me. "I’m acting as a guardian on his behalf. This form bears his father's signature. "

  "This isn’t fair." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Why didn't I go through this last year?"

  "Last year, we didn't have an unsolved poisoning." Headmaster Hawkins leveled his gaze at me. "If there was unexplained sabotage here last spring, you’d have endured the same process."

  "I don’t like it."

  "Nobody does." Professor Luciano sighed. His strix leaned on his head, pushing his glasses askew. He didn't seem to mind.

  "Four of the seven trustees requested further investigation,” Headmaster Hawkins said. “It’s either this test under my jurisdiction on campus or adding Dylan to the list of suspects on file with Salem PD. They’d detain him for questioning."

  "Nurse Smith will be there, right?" I sniffled, blinking rapidly. "Since it's dangerous, I mean."

  "Yes, though the risks aren't merely medical. Miss Ichiro and Mr. Harcourt have offered their services in case of an emergency. "

  "What good will a dragon and a tanuki do?" I stood, placing my hands palm-down on the desk.

  "We haven't covered magical shifters yet, Miss Morgenstern." Professor Luciano patted one of my hands. "Rest assured, those two are uniquely qualified to reduce the risk in this ordeal."

  I wasn't reassured, not after he called it an ordeal. I dropped my hands to my sides, but I didn't get back in my seat like a good little student.

  "Fine, I'll go. But only for Dylan’s sake. If you'll excuse me, I've got to eat something before Bishop's Row practice."

  As I paced toward the door, my mother gave me an approving nod. Last year I would've wondered why all day, but I understood her better now. Mom stuck to the rules, but she wasn't afraid to use the system to change unfair ones.

  At practice, I stood at mid-court with Lee, where I could get the tension out of my body if not off my mind. Dylan sat on the bench with Faith, watching. He’d been switched to reserves instead of taken off the team entirely, pending his results. Coach Pickman didn’t want to replace him. If poison was one of his magical elements, Alex would end up taking his place.

  At lunch, he came right out and said so to my face. I’d brushed it off, but the anger festered, so I overdid my next fire orb by a country mile.

  "Rein it in, Aliyah!" Elanor hollered behind me. "Let’s keep our eyebrows!"

  "Sorry." I tried banishing the big fire energy between my hands, which shrank but turned a much hotter blue.

  "Time out!" Coach Pickman’s whistle cleared the court. "Morgenstern, deep breathing exercises now! The rest of you run laps."

  "This sucks." Noah glared as he ran past. Lee jogged behind him, shrugging.

  "Said I was sorry." I sat on the court’s hardwood floor to begin my breathing exercises. I even closed my eyes but didn't have much success relaxing.

  "Come on, you can do this." Elanor made like a good team captain and sat across from me, reaching her hands out to take mine. "We're fire, so it's hard for us to chill. Plus, you're related to Noah, so I expect you to be over the top sometimes."

  "Thanks." This time instead of closing my eyes, I stared at our interlaced fingers. A tingle of energy passed between us. "Are you banishing?"

  "Uh-huh." She nodded. "After what Logan said you did in Lab last year, I'm surprised you’re having trouble banishing over a year later."

  "There's too much going on."

  "Like there wasn't last year?" She raised an eyebrow. "Charity was a megabitch. Every day feels like vacation since she graduated."

  "I'd trade the stuff happening now to deal with her again instead."

  "I wouldn't." She shook her head. "She was a powder keg. Tempe is too, but Grace has her checked better socially than I ever managed with Charity. Thank goodness Faith is the black sheep of that family."

  "Last year, familiars didn’t get hurt. How did
you do it?"

  "Performance art." She shrugged. "Improv. Guess I'm decent at playing pretend."

  "I'm not. I worry about everybody. I need to keep them safe."

  "That's not your job description."

  "I'm not sure what is." I sighed, finally feeling my fire bank down.

  "And you think I do?" One corner of her mouth turned up. "It's not your job to save the world, Morgenstern."

  Maybe she wouldn’t say that if she knew the whole story.

  Coach Pickman blew her whistle again. I managed to get through practice without burning the gym down. I tried to follow Dylan afterward since I wanted to ask him about the next day’s testing, but he was nowhere to be found.

  Because of the High Holidays, I went to my room, skipping dinner since Yom Kippur meant fasting after sundown. Tired and hungry, I took a bath, got into pajamas, and listened to music to pass the time. I fell asleep before Grace returned to our room.

  The next morning I could barely pay attention at Lecture, so I made use of our magical notebooks to keep track. I could always study later, at home after Yom Kippur services and dinner. I found it ironic that Dylan’s test came on my religion's day of atonement. He’d be judged for something he couldn’t help, and if he failed, he wouldn’t get a chance to make up for it.

  When Lecture let out, we left Ember and Gale in the infirmary with Nurse Smith, who put them into the cart that housed unbound critters during Familiar Bonding. They peered at us, Ember peeping incessantly and Gale rattling the wire around the enclosure. Nurse Smith crooned something at them as we walked out.

  Professor Luciano led Dylan and me all the way down the hall in the academic wing. The section past the library hadn't been used since long before Noah's first year at Hawthorn. A few classrooms were occupied by Gallows Hill and Messing students. I saw Izzy through one of the windows, eyes wide and eyebrows raised as she watched us file by. I couldn’t have told her or Cadence about it anyway.

  At the end of the hall stood a set of double doors, fitted with stained glass like the ones in the lobby. I'd never seen these before. Professor Luciano stopped and stared, one hand on the latch, pinned in place like a butterfly to a card, transfixed.