by W. J. May
She glanced suddenly towards the school, anxious to join him in the infirmary. At the same time, the ground tilted dizzily beneath her. A moment later, she found herself in the air.
“What are you doing?” she gasped, staring up at her little brother. For the very first time she could remember, the roles had reversed and he was carrying her in his arms.
He rolled his eyes with a blush. “You were falling over, klutz. What did you expect me to do?”
...let me fall?
At that moment, Luke returned—leaving a group of rather bewildered-looking agents in his wake. He didn’t tell them what was said, but simply gestured up to the school. Halfway there, his phone buzzed with an incoming text. He glanced down at the screen, then let out a quiet sigh.
“Your parents have been delayed,” he murmured. “They won’t be here for another hour.”
Aria and James shared a quick look.
“Why?” he asked. “What happened?”
Luke simply rubbed his eyes, walking tiredly across the lawn. “They’re being held at the local precinct...reckless driving.”
BY THE TIME THE OTHERS got to the infirmary, the transfusion had already happened. Jason was lying fast asleep on a hospital cot and Gabriel was sitting beside him—rolling his sleeve back down.
He glanced up when the door opened, then flashed a tight smile.
“He woke up as it happened, then fell back to sleep. The doctor says he’ll be fine.”
The friends paused in the doorway, letting out a collective sigh of relief before rushing to join them. Benji was sitting on the adjacent cot. But he was still wearing his clothes from the dance but, judging from the fact that he was also still bleeding, he hadn’t allowed himself to be examined.
...yet.
“Put on a gown,” Luke ordered, snapping his fingers at a pair of drawers. “I don’t know why the doctor hasn’t seen you yet, but that’s about to be remedied.”
Benji tensed immediately, registering the change of tone. His father had been a lot more indulgent when he thought his only child had been attacked by a serial killer. Now that he knew it was simply the latest in a long line of fights, that indulgence had lessened somewhat.
“I’m fine, Dad. There’s no need to fuss—”
“Benjamin.”
“All right—fine.”
He lifted himself off the cot, heading across the room to change. It probably would have been easier to argue his point if the bed where he’d been sitting hadn’t been streaked in blood.
It’s the sheets, Aria thought in a daze. Why do hospitals have white sheets?
“They’ll be examining the three of you as well,” Gabriel warned softly, keeping a hand on his son at all times. Unlike Luke, he was having a significantly easier time with things now that he’d seen Jason open his eyes. “Might as well get changed yourselves.”
Aria’s eyes flickered to the stack of gowns, but she gave them a wide berth—joining him by the cot instead. Lily was already there, sitting numbly on Jason’s other side. As she reached out shyly to touch his hand, a pair of tears slipped down her face.
“None of that,” Gabriel said gently, tucking back her ivory hair. “He’s all right. And your dad will be here in a moment. Something about having to post bail?”
“That’s my fault,” Aria interjected. “Or at least—it’s my parents’ fault. Apparently, they decided now would be a great time to get arrested.”
It wasn’t the first time. The Wardells’ driving habits were known throughout the county.
She perched on Benji’s cot, staring down at Jason’s face. There was something different about him, though she couldn’t quite place it. It took a few seconds to realize what it was.
“...his hair.”
While most of his tangled locks were matted with blood, there was a wave near the front that had somehow escaped the onslaught. Furthermore, it was no longer blond. It wasn’t grey, it wasn’t white. It was pure silver. Like someone had melted a star and dripped it onto his hair.
She reached out to touch it, then let her hand drop back to her side. “He’s really going to be fine?”
Gabriel lifted his head, staring into her eyes. “Thanks to you.”
She had no idea what to say in response. If anything, she felt unbelievably guilty. The fight had broken out over her. And she’d been knocked senseless before she could even manage to help.
“Trust me,” she muttered, dropping her eyes, “it wasn’t like that—”
At that moment, the door banged open and three new people swept inside. One headed straight for the cots, ignoring everything else. The others were just as anxious, but followed at what could best be described as a cautious distance.
“I’m sorry it took so long.” Julian bypassed the others and embraced his daughter, shooting an angry look over her head. “I had to make an unscheduled stop along the way.”
Rae pretended not to have heard while Devon blushed, muttering under his breath.
“I said I was sorry...”
The psychic ignored them, kissing his daughter’s forehead before perching on the edge of Jason’s bed. “Natasha and Molly will be here in a minute. How’s he doing?”
Gabriel tightened his grip, eyes never leaving the boy’s face. “He woke up for a few seconds, tried to say my name. The doctor says he’ll be fine.”
Julian flicked the silver hair with the hint of a smile. “He’s going to love that.”
Gabriel laughed softly. “I’m afraid he will.”
“Which doctor was it?” Rae asked, coming up behind them. James was already tucked under one arm, while Aria was circled in another. “I could always check myself—”
“It was Porter,” Gabriel answered. “He’ll be fine.”
She nodded, then spotted Benji in the corner. He’d headed obediently to the gowns under his father’s watchful eye, but had yet to surrender completely and put one on.
“Come here, Benny. Let’s get you cleaned up before your mother sees all that blood.”
‘Benny’ was a privilege only Rae was allowed. One he ‘despised’, but secretly adored.
He pretended to scowl, but dropped the gown in a triumphant pile and headed back to the rest of them. Avoiding his father’s disapproving gaze as he perched like a model patient on the bed.
Porter was good, but old-fashioned. Old-fashioned in that he still used things like high-tech equipment and modern medicine. Benji would much rather be healed supernaturally. Not only did it allow him to wear his own clothing, but it was over in the blink of an eye.
That being said, there was a bit more of an examination this time.
Luke must have texted that the children had been too overwhelmed yet to talk, because from the second Benji sat down Rae took matters into her own hands.
Without giving him time to respond, she took off his suit jacket under the guise of “seeing what we’re dealing with,” then sucked in a quick breath when she saw the scratches.
Unlike the children, who’d never done anything more than horse around with their fellow shifters, she and the others had been attacked many times before. At a single glance, she could tell you it was a large cat. And the list of active shifters with such a gift was few and far between.
“It’s not that bad,” Benji said quickly, shifting uneasily on the cot. “The blood makes it look a lot worse than it is...” For once, the sudden spotlight didn’t agree with him. “You should really be looking at Jase. He got it a lot worse than me.”
It was quiet for a moment, then Devon stepped forward. “He got it a lot worse...from who? What happened tonight?”
The children froze in unison, shooting each other furtive looks.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to tell—quite the opposite. It’s just that they were dealing with stakes far higher than any they’d dealt with before.
Not only were students forbidden from using ink against each other on campus, but shifters were never allowed to attack in their animal form. Alexander
could go to jail for what he’d done. And in the supernatural world, ‘jail’ didn’t always come with what you’d call a fair trial.
He’ll rot in a cell forever because of a high school fight? And his sister? And Eric?
Benji had been asked the question, but he lowered his head quickly—avoiding his uncle’s eyes. When Luke stepped forward and lifted his chin, he let out a quiet sigh.
“It wasn’t what you think. And I don’t know how it got started.”
...my turn.
Without having to ask, eight pairs of eyes shot to Aria. She blushed furiously and kept her own eyes on the cot—looping the questions again and again in her mind.
What will happen if I give Alexander’s name? What will happen to Eric? To Sofia? Will they just be expelled, or will it be something worse? Did he even realize what he was doing—he looked out of his mind!
Then another thought interrupted. One that put all the others to rest.
He could have KILLED Jason.
Just like that, her decision was clear.
“Jason and I were walking to the dance,” she began softly, “when all of a sudden, this—”
“—this shadow jumped out of the trees.”
The others let out a gasp, then swarmed around the hospital cot as Jason’s voice echoed off the walls. He was too weak to sit up, but his eyes were open. They bypassed the adults completely, burning with a searing intensity into each of his friends’.
“Hey.” Gabriel leaned over him, taking the first real breath since he’d arrived. His eyes were shining, but his voice was steady and calm as he squeezed his son’s hand. “Don’t worry about that now. There are agents on the ground. We’ll take care of it. In the meantime, you just rest—”
“No, we should settle this.”
Jason hitched himself higher on the bed, biting his lip as scalding pain rippled down the center of his chest. The room was spinning in several directions, but he seemed determined to speak. In fact, there looked to be no stopping him.
“The whole thing was over in a second. It was dark, and whoever it was...they knocked us down before we could see anything that might help identify them now.”
He paused ever so slightly before driving the point home.
“We have no idea who it was.”
Chapter 3
When news had leaked out about the attack just an hour earlier, the parents had thought it was an open and shut case. They’d leapt into their cars and raced towards the school, under the impression that their children had been assaulted on the way to the dance by the same person responsible for killing the unfortunate professor. Speed limits had been broken, front doors had been left hanging open in the cold, but there was no question in their minds as to what had happened.
When Luke texted just a short while later, the plot had thickened. No, it was not a serial killer on the loose, but a regular fight. That being said, there was nothing regular about it. Laws had been broken. People had been mauled. And though he didn’t yet know the identity of the attacker, the skirmish had raged on for quite some time. And there wasn’t a doubt it would soon be revealed.
Their night of investigation turned into a mission of vengeance. Already they were scrolling through the lists of faculty and students, wondering who it would turn out to be. By the time they parked the car, they were already on to the next step in their heads. A quick stop in the infirmary to check on the children, then they’d apprehend and punish the wrong-doers themselves.
Under no circumstance had they considered there might be a third possibility. That the children would know what had happened...and lie.
Gabriel leaned back slowly, staring at his son without saying a word. As usual, it was difficult to know what he was thinking. But a single glance at his face said it wasn’t something good.
The rest of them shot each other quick glances, not knowing how to proceed. Thrilled as they were to see the boy awake and talking, it certainly wasn’t the answer they’d been expecting. And, needless to say, a sudden and seemingly deliberate gap in memory would simply not suffice.
The silence stretched on for ages before Julian broke it with a gentle voice.
“It must be difficult to remember...you lost a lot of blood.”
The others latched on to this idea like a life raft. Of course the boy wasn’t lying. He’d been almost bled dry right there on the forest floor. He couldn’t possibly be expected to account for what had happened. Only his father remained unconvinced. And the rest of the children.
The second Jason made his declaration, they’d gone perfectly still.
While he might have been incapacitated, they didn’t believe for a minute that he couldn’t remember what happened. Especially not when they remembered every terrifying moment so well themselves. The fight between him and Alexander had been brewing long before the dance. Even if he couldn’t recall the moment to moment, he surely knew who’d torn open his flesh.
What are you doing? Aria asked telepathically, trying to summon the ink she’d used before that allowed her to hear his unguarded thoughts. Jason...we have to tell them.
He didn’t answer her, didn’t even acknowledge he’d heard her speak. He kept his eyes trained on the others, drilling the message into them. Enforcing the silent command.
“Benji?” Luke prompted softly. The boy jumped in his skin, eyes jumping between his father and his friend. “You never lost consciousness and there were burns all over the trees. You clearly used your tatù and fought the thing. What was it? Who was it?”
All he wanted in the world was to answer. Three names were waiting, just on the tip of his tongue. But Jason met his gaze for a split second, and he swallowed them back.
“I...I don’t...” He trailed off helplessly, not knowing what to say. “It happened so fast—”
“And when has speed been a problem for you?” Luke demanded sharply.
The room fell silent once more.
“Lily,” Julian prompted softly. “Who was it?”
She froze like a deer in the headlights—looking more terrified than she had at any point in the evening when she was fighting the bear. Twice her eyes darted to Jason, but they came away blank. When she finally forced herself to look at her father, she could only stammer a request.
“Could we-could we maybe talk about it in the morning?”
Julian’s lips parted as he stared down at her in shock. They shared a trust, the two of them. Even when she was a small child, Lily Decker had never looked him in the face and lied.
She hadn’t exactly lied now, but that trust was clearly broken.
“I don’t understand,” Devon spoke loudly, shaking the room from its trance. “What the bloody— What is so difficult about this question? WHO attacked you? Tell us right now.”
A ringing silence followed his demand. A silence he had no intention of honoring.
“James.” He was standing in front of his son a moment later, startling him with the sudden proximity. “Tell me what happened. Who did this to your friends?”
The boy paled, glancing helplessly around the room.
“I have no powers,” he deflected poorly. “I couldn’t really see what was—”
“No, none of that,” Devon interrupted impatiently. “I don’t know why you’re so hesitant to talk, but we know there was a fight. That’s the reason we were called down, the reason one of you is lying on a hospital cot. A fight implies two sides, and the evidence is overwhelming. Some of you were clearly fighting back. Now tell me who did this to you, before I lose what’s left of my temper.”
“There won’t be repercussions, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Rae took a step closer, eyeing the lot of them with motherly concern. “Whatever happened is over now. The second we have a name, that person will be removed from your lives forever. There’s nothing to fear.”
Devon nodded slowly, reaching out a hand. “James?”
The teenager flushed and stared down at his feet—not understanding he reason why he was bein
g made to keep silent, but feeling Jason’s piercing eyes just over his father’s head.
“I got there late,” he mumbled. “I couldn’t tell you.”
Rae made a sound of astonishment behind him, but Devon had already moved on. If his son wasn’t willing to tell the truth, then he would demand it from his headstrong daughter instead.
“Arie.”
Their eyes met, and she felt as though a dagger sank into her chest. The two had always been close, impossibly close, but the mission in New York had brought them to even greater levels of understanding. She understood what was at stake now. She understood why he was asking.
...but the answer wasn’t hers to give.
She took a deep breath, watching as a line was drawn in the sand. Dividing two groups of people who should have been standing united.
We’re going to regret this.
“It’s like Jason said...we have no idea who attacked us.”
FOR THE NEXT HOUR AND a half, the adults tried every trick under the sun to get their children to talk. From threats, to manipulation, to promises, to fits of blinding rage as they separated them into different rooms and proceeded to interrogate them from there.
Nothing worked.
They might not have known why they were keeping silent, but the friends had a pact of loyalty just as tight as their parents were bonded themselves. As long as Jason was insisting upon the story, they would honor it. Even if it brought with it a terrible price.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Devon muttered, taking his daughter back up the hall.
He’d walked with her down the length of the medical wing, hoping that a little distance from the others would help—only to be shut down the same way he’d been all evening. After twenty long minutes running into the same roadblocks as before, he’d decided to return to the others.
“You’ve done some crazy things at this school,” he continued quietly. “Things that have made me reconsider sending you back the following year. But I thought you’d grown past it. After New York...” He gave her a fleeting look. “...I thought you’d changed.”
