by W. J. May
“I would have thought you’d hate something like that.”
Eric and Sofia shot each other a quick look, but Alexander softened with the trace of an actual smile. Looking pleased with her response. “I wouldn’t hate going with you.”
She felt Jason standing beside her. Felt half a dozen pairs of eyes lock on her face.
Guilder had dances all the time—she and her friends had gone to every single one of them. But never with individual dates—always as a group. She couldn’t say she was taken without giving herself and Jason away. And for that matter...she wasn’t taken. Jason hadn’t asked her to go.
“I’m...I’m not—”
“Are you okay?”
The group turned in surprise to look at Benji—who was still staring with quiet concern at Sofia. The girl paled dramatically, looking as though she’d temporarily forgotten how to speak.
“I’m—”
“Why would you ask her that?” Alexander interrupted sharply. The cool façade vanished as he glanced between them in alarm. “You don’t—”
“Sofia,” Benji said again, never taking his eyes from her face, “are you okay?”
Her face lost even more color as her lips parted uncertainly. She looked surprised that he knew her name. But one look at the girl and it was easy to see why he’d asked the question. Even the expressionless Eric looked her up and down with a hint of concern.
“Come on,” Benji said gently, rising from the bench, “let me take you to the infirmary.”
Alexander stepped instantly in between them, his eyes flashing with silent rage. “If anyone’s taking her to the infirmary, it’s me.”
Benji stepped right in front of him, showing not a hint of fear. “Take her, then.”
Not another word was spoken. An impossible silence fell over the trees. Finally, when it couldn’t stretch on any longer, Alexander turned abruptly on his heel and started walking back towards the campus. Eric fell automatically into step behind him, but Sofia flashed the tiniest of smiles at Benji before following suit. Halfway there, she glanced back to see him still watching. The smile warmed with the hint of a blush as she vanished behind the stone walls.
“Well, that was awkward.” Lily shoved back her hair, taking her first deep breath since they’d arrived. “I have no idea why your grandpa let those psychos into the school.”
“They’re not all bad,” Benji said quietly, still staring at the doors.
“They’re not all good either.” James dug his hands into his pockets, with a frown. “I’m starting to think that Eric guy can’t actually talk.”
Lily snorted sarcastically, gathering up her things. “At any rate, I’m looking forward to hearing your answer about the dance.”
Aria shot her a death look as Jason picked up his bag and headed inside.
“Yeah,” he muttered as he swept past her, “so am I.”
Chapter 12
Sometimes it seemed truly impossible that amidst a covert mission and a homicide investigation, Aria and the others would still be expected to go to school.
The next morning, she stood mournfully in front of her closet. There was a cup of coffee in one hand, a pair of mismatched socks in the other. To complete the manic image, she was wearing a pair of lobster pajamas and a bedraggled sleep mask was still tangled in her hair.
There was a quick knock and the door opened. A second later, a blue flash lit up the room.
Aria jumped around to see Lily standing in the doorframe, gleefully peering into the camera to see the results of her surprise attack.
“What are you doing?” Aria demanded, giving it a telekinetic tug. “Delete that at once!”
“Not a chance.” Lily held tight, then zipped it into her bag. “You should be thanking me. I just solved the problem of too many boys asking you to the dance.”
Aria turned back to the closet with a faint grin. “What, you’ll just show them that picture?”
Lily nodded with great satisfaction. “They’ll go running for the hills...”
On that happy note she skipped across the room, pushed the secret wall panel to reveal the espresso maker, then settled down with a cup in the middle of the bed.
“...are you guarding the closet?”
Aria’s shoulders fell with a defeated sigh. “What do you think makes me look less capable of murder? A skirt with stockings, or a cardigan-jeans combination?”
Her roommate had left ten minutes earlier, but she’d found herself unable to budge. If she was being honest, it wasn’t the clothes that were the problem. It was the people. The scores of nosy, overly-excitable people. Watching her in the hallways, whispering behind their hands.
Lily glanced at the closet before returning to her coffee with a shrug. “I think you’re pretty much capable of murder no matter what you wear.”
The hanger Aria had been levitating towards herself dropped halfway, spilling the cardigan-jeans combination on the floor. “Did you come here just to cheer me up or what?”
Lily looked up distractedly before lowering her eyes with a blush. “Sorry, I was just...I was just thinking about the dance.”
Aria’s frustration melted into an instant smile as she sat down beside her. For how many thoughts were constantly rattling around in the girl’s head, sometimes she was adorably transparent. “Was there someone you wanted to ask?”
Lily’s shoulders fell with the tiniest sigh. Without seeming to realize it, she stretched out a finger and started fiddling with her diamond bracelet. The same bracelet she’d yet to take off. “Not really. You?”
Aria stifled a smile. Seemed they were both keeping secrets lately. “Haven’t you heard? I’m taken.”
The tension shattered as Lily let out a sudden laugh.
“I did hear that.” She downed the rest of her coffee, relaxing for the first time. “It was sweet of Jason to rescue you like that. I was just surprised you actually needed it. It isn’t like you not to bite back with stuff like that. Just ask Oliver’s recently broken face.”
Aria tensed ever so slightly. She’d been thinking the same thing herself.
Even if she’d been even the tiniest bit interested in Alexander (which she wasn’t), he’d disrespected her friends—so that was the ballgame. Like everyone else in the group, she’d sworn to eternally love their collective friends and eternally hate their collective enemies.
Jason had once forgiven a childhood sports rival because the guy stopped a toddler-sized Lily from running into the road. Their first year at Guilder, Aria had complained that Benji’s new girlfriend was cutting into their ‘play time’. He’d broken up with her the very next day.
They were a closed unit. Prizing the family above everyone else. If she was being honest, she probably should have cut Alexander down to size. But somehow it wasn’t so simple.
“I don’t know what it is about that guy,” she murmured. “He just creeps me out. And what was going on with his sister yesterday? She looked ready to faint.”
Lily shook her head, frowning as well. “When I mentioned to Aunt Molly that we had new students, she shut down. Like completely shut down. It’s one of the only times I’ve ever heard her not talking.”
“Yeah...Luke was the same way.” Aria remembered his cryptic warning not to get too close. Then there had been the moment he’d seen Alexander in the cafeteria—it was impossible to say who’d been more on edge.
“But do you think...” Lily trailed off, afraid to finish the sentence. “I mean, the guy’s clearly a jerk, but do you think he’d actually be capable of murdering a teacher?”
Another image floated through Aria’s mind. This one was Alexander leaning towards her across the table, a flicker of intensity dancing in his eyes.
“So this teacher—Mr. Dorf. He’s giving you a hard time?”
“I don’t know,” she said briskly, holding out her hand. The hanger shot into it—dragging the outfit along like a wilted flag. “But we’ll be murdered ourselves if we don’t make it to class on time. It’
s bad enough you guys all ditched yesterday.”
Lily’s eyes narrowed as she pushed to her feet. “You mean when you stood outside the window, waving banners and reciting Winston Churchill at the top of your lungs? Is that the time you’re referring to?”
Aria flashed a wicked grin, yanking the cardigan over the top of her head. “You guys are truant so often now...it’s hard to keep track.”
THE GIRLS WALKED TOGETHER until they reached the courtyard, then waved goodbye and headed off their separate ways. Usually Aria had English first thing in the mornings, but the schedule had shifted after the attack. Instead, she was heading to her very first history class with Mr. Dorf.
Well, not Mr. Dorf. With the librarian who’d temporarily replaced him.
She walked quickly, keeping her eyes down, trying to tune out the hushed conversations echoing around her. She’d been right to think it would be bad the first day back. Even though most of these people didn’t think there was the slightest chance in hell she had anything to do with the murder. She was somehow ‘involved’. And that was enough to keep the rumors flying.
She slipped inside just as the first bell was ringing and glided quickly through the desks to the back of class. Benji and Jason were already there, waiting for her. Although they’d never admit it, each had gotten up early to provide a barrier of security before she arrived. Whispered questions had already been shot down. When the whispers continued, there had been open threats.
“Morning, sunshine,” Benji greeted her cheerfully, pushing out her chair with one of his long legs. Whatever tension there had been just moments before, you’d never have guessed it from his carefree smile. “Nice outfit. Very innocent-until-proven-guilty.”
She pushed back the sleeves of her cardigan, setting her bag on the floor. “That’s the general idea...” Her eyes flickered to Jason, who’d yet to say a word. “Hey.”
He looked up quickly, like he’d been deep in another thought.
“Oh—hey.” He hastened to recover himself, gesturing obliviously to her clothes. “Good choice with the cardigan. Murderers wear pole shirts, never cardigans.”
She frowned as Benji turned to him with a strange look. “Yeah, we just said that...”
The door opened again and three new people stepped inside. By now, Aria didn’t even have to look up to recognize the lock-step and tight formation. You’d think they were all legs of the same beast. Never more than six inches of space between them.
“Hey, killer.” Alexander settled directly in front of her with a wink. “I’m surprised to see you here. Thought you would have just dropped the class.”
She stiffened as the eyes of the room shot towards them, but before she could speak Benji leaned forward with a cold glare. “You were prowling around the night of the murder, too, right Hastings? Where was it you said that you were? I can’t remember...oh, right. With a counselor.”
Alexander’s face paled, and his sister and Eric went very still.
“Mr. Phelps, right?” Benji continued, driving the knife in further. “You had some kind of appointment with him? Now why is that? Why would a fourth-year transfer from the Abbey need to see a retired school counselor at Guilder? Was it one of your...conditions?”
He may not have known exactly what the word implied, but it was obviously a trigger. The second Alexander heard it he sprang to his feet, grabbing Benji by the collar.
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” he hissed, pulling him closer. “But if you like, we could go outside and talk about it just the two of us...”
In that moment, Benji won Aria’s permanent respect.
He smiled.
“Aw, looks like we touched a nerve.” His fingers closed on Alexander’s, prying them off his shirt. “Unfortunately I have no desire to talk to you, outside or otherwise.” The smile sharpened as an electric spark jumped to his eyes. “Besides, I don’t need a reason to kick your—”
“Good morning!”
The boys sprang apart as the door opened one final time and Dorian Locke strode into the room. He was dressed in formal faculty attire. Slacks, collared shirt, and tasteful tie. He was carrying a messenger bag in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other. And though his smile never faltered, there wasn’t a doubt in Aria’s mind that he knew exactly what had been going on.
“I see we’re already eager to start the day.” He pointed briskly to the chairs and the two boys dropped into them. “Then let’s get started. For those of you who don’t know me, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dorian Augustus Locke. Since the beginning of term I’ve been employed by Guilder as a librarian, but I’ll be filling in as your history teacher until a more permanent replacement can be found. We’ll be continuing on with the unit as outlined by the syllabus, and if you have any questions please feel free to stop by my office at any time—”
“I have a question.” A boy with spiked violet hair raised his hand on the other side of the room. He was bolder than most. But cautious, too. “What happened to Professor Dorf?”
An audible gasp rose from the class and Dorian paused mid-step—looking him over in surprise. Clearly, he hadn’t expected the question to come up so directly. These things were mostly dealt with in clandestine meetings and whispered speculation in the halls.
Aria felt a blush rising in the tops of her cheeks. Suddenly, she found herself actually considering what Alexander had said. Why had she come back? Why hadn’t she dropped the class?
Dorian glanced down at an attendance sheet, buying himself some time. “I’m afraid you know what happened—”
“We don’t know anything,” the boy interrupted, looking him curiously up and down. “The only thing we do know is that Aria had nothing to do with it, and she’s the Council’s only lead.”
A ringing silence followed this remark as Aria slowly lifted her head.
They were all friends—everyone in the room. Even if they occasionally squabbled, even if they occasionally dated, they’d been friends since childhood and would remain together in their supernatural bubble until old age. It had stung when they’d seized upon the moment to single her out based on nothing but bad timing. Even more so because the stakes were so unbearably high.
She’d needed to hear the affirmation—more than she even knew. She’d needed to hear how they didn’t really suspect her. That it was intrigue only that kept the rumors alive.
Dorian smiled ever so slightly, warming to the boy on the spot. “I imagine that must be very frustrating. To live at the doorstep of a vast covert agency, yet receive nothing but deflections and lies. The man was your teacher. You must be upset.”
If it was possible, his answer was even more baffling than the original question. The students exchanged quick looks, turning back to him in surprise.
Everyone knew that the headquarters of the Privy Council was hidden deep within the Oratory. If it wasn’t the fact that secret agents were constantly training just outside its walls, there was the occasional hovercraft sighting, rising from the domed ceiling in the dead of night. It was one of the worst-kept secrets in the supernatural community. One made all the more ridiculous when the gang’s own parents stormed the place, looking for evidence against the acting president years ago.
And yet...the ‘secret’ held.
The adults didn’t speak of it. Their children—who’d grown up wandering the halls—would neither confirm nor deny. If ever a Guilder student had asked about it directly, they would have been vehemently shot down by every faculty member at the school.
And here was Dorian...confirming they lived on its doorstep.
“No one ever tells us anything,” a girl with curly hair piped up from the front. One foot kept tapping with uncontrolled energy, much like the rabbit inked onto her back. “We’re expected to go about our business, act like we don’t know what’s going on—but they treat us like children.”
“We’re not even allowed to submit our names to the agency,” a telepath added bitterly. “My dad an
d grandfather have been working there for thirty years, and I’m not even allowed to try.”
“Didn’t used to be that way,” Oliver mumbled, digging a groove into his desk. “And we’re supposed to be grateful for it now. Supposedly, people have never had it so good.”
Echoes of assent and anger rose up from the class as everyone started chiming in with their own opinions. Aria watched in silence before turning with complete astonishment to her friends.
This was exactly the kind of argument she’d had with Dorf before he died. It was exactly the kind of discussion they were constantly springing upon their parents. If there was ever going to be a group discussion, it would have been the five friends leading it.
But here it was circling around them, having taken on a life of its own.
“—some people have already graduated and left, gone to a common world university—”
“—this one kid who could shoot liquid metal from his hands, remember him? The guy was phenomenal, but he never got a letter, so now he’s just gone—”
“—total waste. And it’s like the agents don’t even care—”
The minutes crept by, but the conversation showed no signs of stopping. In reality, it probably could have gone on forever, but Milo, the boy with the violet hair, pushed to his feet.
“Dorf was our teacher,” he answered cautiously—circling them back to Dorian’s original answer, “and we are upset. So...what can you tell us?”
At once, every conversation in the room screeched to a halt. Twenty pairs of eyes shot towards the new teacher, who had yet to put down his bag or jacket. His name, which he’d been in the process of scrawling, was only half-written across the board.
He straightened up slowly, eyes sweeping the room, briefly meeting every expectant gaze. It was a recipe for disaster. Even if the guy was willing to acknowledge more than most, even if he treated them with more respect than they were accustomed to, there were some lines he couldn’t cross.
Move on.
Aria transmitted the thought directly into his head, watching as he startled then looked at her in surprise. She held his gaze, feeling unexpectedly protective.
