Casting Shadows (The Ash Grove Chronicles)

by Amanda DeWees

  “What else could have happened?” asked Joy, and beside her, Tan swallowed hard. He was a step ahead of her.

  “It could have escaped on its own,” he said.

  The thing that had been the succubus hadn’t been quite dead when the council had gathered it up, it was true. Even now the memory of that grotesque heap of flotsam having the capability of speech made Joy break out in gooseflesh. It hadn’t been in any condition to get up and walk, though.

  Or had it?

  Holding tight to Tan’s hand for courage, she put the question.

  Gail shook her head decisively. “No, that’s impossible. Even if the—the thing hadn’t been in such sorry shape, there’s no way it could have gotten out of the holding cell under its own power. It was locked down.”

  “With actual locks, or with magic?” asked Tanner. “Because I’m sorry, but I’m not convinced at this point that campus supernatural security is worth a rat’s ass.” To Steven he added the grudging afterthought, “No offense, sir.”

  Jim spoke up in his quiet, calming voice. “It’s possible that it was taken by someone else, not the shapeshifter. But these are the two biggest security breaches we’ve had since Samhain. I think it would be foolish to assume there’s no connection.”

  “An excellent point,” said Dr. Aysgarth, with a cool precision that lent the words emphasis. “And that leads me to my next question. Steven, as head of security, can you tell us how this creature got into my school?”

  Caught off guard, he cleared his throat. “Well, I don’t know offhand,” he began. “I’ll have to check the perimeter and the other measures to determine whether they were compromised while I was in Oklahoma.”

  “I see.” The principal’s voice was still chilly. “I would have thought that in over a month you would have had sufficient time to do that already.”

  “Ah, well, I’m still catching up.” Joy was astonished to see him avoiding the principal’s eye. “There are still some details that need attention—”

  Mo spoke up. “That’s not good enough. Your job is to keep Ash Grove safe from malign paranormal influences. If you’re still in recovery and not up to carrying out your duties, you should let us know.”

  Joy couldn’t let this continue. “You’re not being fair to Dad,” she objected. “He’s just finished cancer treatment, for heaven’s sake, and he’s working as hard as he can to get caught up. He’s hardly ever at home anymore, he’s working so hard.”

  The principal’s eyes narrowed. “Is that so?” she asked.

  “Yes, it’s so! You can’t accuse him of not being dedicated to his work here, when that’s all he seems to do any more.”

  “That’s very interesting,” said Mo, “when he’s hardly ever seen on campus these days.”

  Steven blinked rapidly. “It’s possible that when I’m deeply engrossed in my work I may not hear a knock on my office door.”

  “Hogwash,” Mo retorted. “Either you’ve been dodging us or you’ve been somewhere else altogether. Which is it?”

  He didn’t answer at once. “Dad?” said Joy.

  Under the gaze of the entire room, Steven’s face took on an ornery expression Joy knew well. “I’ve been working on a side project of my own. Sometimes research takes me off campus.”

  “And the nature of this project?”

  “I’m not ready to disclose that yet,” he said stiffly.

  Dr. Aysgarth pressed her lips together. “Steven, I’m going to have to insist. What can possibly be so important that it causes you to neglect your responsibilities to the school and put the entire student population at risk?”

  “It’s an undertaking that could have tremendous implications, not just for Ash Grove but for the entire world.” Confidence had returned to his voice. “Once it’s ready to be unveiled, you’ll understand why it’s so much more important than campus security.”

  Gail’s face wore an expression of hurt disbelief. Joy imagined that her own face must be wearing the same expression. She couldn’t believe her father had been lying to her and Tanner all this time. “But keeping the students and staff safe is our first priority, Steven,” Gail almost pleaded. “No matter how important this personal project is, it shouldn’t come before that. We have a duty to protect everyone here.”

  “I am perfectly aware of that. I’m just saying that, if my work bears fruit, it could revolutionize everything—even causality itself. Suppose a student does come to harm. We may someday be able to actually undo that harm. I’m telling you, this is groundbreaking.”

  “No,” said Dr. Aysgarth, and her voice carried so much force that Steven actually rocked back slightly in his chair. “What it is, is theoretical. Here we must deal with the actual.” She took a breath, and then said quietly, “Dr. Sumner, I hereby relieve you of your duties as a member of this council. Gail, Jim, I’d like you two to serve as interim security supervisors until we can find a long-term replacement.”

  “Eleanor, you can’t—”

  “I can and I must. I’m sorry, Steven. We can revisit the matter after New Year’s, at which time I’ll also decide whether to renew your teaching position. But for the time being,” and she sounded genuinely regretful, “I’m afraid I must ask you to leave campus. You are no longer welcome on these premises.”

  That startled Joy into speaking. “Dr. Aysgarth, are you sure that’s necessary?”

  “The council’s decisions are not to be questioned,” said Mo, and Joy knew there was no shaking him.

  Steven looked as bewildered as Joy felt. He moistened his lips. “May I at least retrieve my books and notes from my office?” he asked huskily.

  “Everything that’s yours, yes. I’m afraid that all school materials must remain here. One of the council will accompany you to make certain that you take only your own belongings.” The principal was not bending an inch.

  “As you like.” He stood, straightened his shoulders, and said gravely, “If my work leads where I believe it will, you will all thank me for having followed this path. I’m on the trail of something that’ll change the universe as we know it.”

  “Then tell us what it is,” said Tanner. “I think we all deserve to know why you’ve been deceiving us. Sir.”

  But he shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe me. Until I can demonstrate it, I’m not going to discuss it.”

  “Whatever it is,” said Dr. Aysgarth, “I just hope it was worth the danger you’ve exposed us all to.”

  Joy watched in desolation as her father left the room and shut the door behind him. She half rose from her seat to follow him, but Tanner didn’t release his hold on her hand, and she subsided, heartsore. Why had her father misled them—no, outright lied to them? What was he working on that was so important he was letting everything else, even her, fall by the wayside?

  At a nod from the principal, Jim left the room, doubtless to follow Steven to his office to supervise his packing. As the door closed again, Mo broke the silence. “We need to discuss ways of identifying the shifter,” he began. “Joy, tell us again what you observed from your encounter.”

  “Wait, we need to settle something first,” said Gail. “I’m sorry, Joy, but I have to ask. Is there any reason your father himself might have had for getting the—let’s call it the husk—out of containment?”

  “Of course not!”

  Tanner placed a soothing hand on her back. “Take it easy, babe. It’s a good question.” And as she stared at him in shocked indignation, he said gently, “He won’t tell us what he’s working on. How can we be sure there’s no connection?”

  “You just say that because you’ve never liked him,” she said, knowing she was being unfair. “I know he wouldn’t do something like that.”

  Gail said quietly, “He lied to us all, Joy. How can any of us really believe we know what he’s capable of?”

  She refused to consider it even for a second. Her father would never get involved with something evil like that. Whatever he was working on, he had to have good rea
sons for keeping quiet about it. He was probably just trying to protect her, as he had all the time that he was being treated in Oklahoma.

  But why would she need protecting from the knowledge unless it was somehow distressing—or dangerous?

  And that brought back to the surface a question that had been dogging her for the better part of a year: why Oklahoma? It wasn’t an area known for advances in cancer treatment. Did that have something to do with this mystery project?

  She couldn’t keep doubting him this way; she’d make herself crazy. And there were more urgent matters to deal with. Reluctantly, she dragged her attention back to the meeting. But even as she and Tanner described their confrontation with the shapeshifter again, half her mind was on her father and his mysterious side project. What if there was a connection?

  Chapter 20

  William was surprised to get Maddie’s text asking to meet up next morning at break, but he showed up at the snack bar all the same. He had scarcely sat down when she came hurrying up.

  “I’m so glad you came,” she said breathlessly, slinging her bag down and sliding into the chair across the table from him. Her cheeks were pink from the chilly outdoor air, and she had a magenta scarf wound around her neck, which brightened her eyes. She looked—he shut down the thought. Never mind how she looked. Irrelevant.

  Now that she was here, she seemed not to know how to start. “You said it was urgent,” he said to nudge her. Whatever this was, he was impatient to be gone. Sheila was waiting for him.

  “Yeah. The thing is, it’s going to sound really weird. But I had this—kind of premonition, I guess you could call it. A couple of times now. And it said that you’re in danger. From Sheila.” She rushed on without giving him a chance to respond. “I know, it sounds totally bogus. But I’m not making it up. I’m really scared for you, William.”

  “What kind of danger?” he asked, not trying to hide his skepticism.

  She flung her hands out. “I don’t know. It’s all so vague. But somehow it involves getting you into the underground chamber below the drama building.”

  “The what? Are you LARPing or something?”

  “Ask any of the teachers,” she said, bristling. “I’m not making it up. You can’t let her lure you down there, William. It’s important.”

  He wasn’t sure whether to take her seriously or not. He’d never heard Maddie sound this unhinged before—but whether that made her more credible or less, he couldn’t decide. “I don’t think she has any plans to lure me anywhere,” he said, not committing himself.

  “But I do. I think you need to stop spending so much time with her. I don’t trust her.”

  “And the truth comes out,” said Sheila, making William jump. He hadn’t heard her come up to them, with that silent dancer walk. She was standing over them now. “I had a feeling you’d try to come between us, Maddie. You never did like me.”

  Maddie, to do her justice, didn’t try to backpedal. “No, I don’t like you. I think you’re a self-centered hosebeast with a ballet barre stuck up your ass, but that has nothing to do with this. It’s William I’m thinking of. You’ve got some secret motive in seeing him.”

  Sheila folded her arms. “Oh, so the only reason anyone would go out with William is if they had some kind of evil plot in mind? That’s a pretty rotten thing to say about a guy as great as he is.”

  “I didn’t say that. You’re twisting my words and you know it.”

  Their voices were getting louder, and people at other tables were starting to stare at them. William thought about sliding under the table where he wouldn’t be seen.

  Shelia had seized control again. “I suspected you were jealous, but I honestly never thought you’d have the brass ones to ask him to break up with me.”

  Maddie looked genuinely surprised. “That’s not what I came here for.”

  “Oh really? I suppose you’re going to try to convince us that you don’t have feelings for William yourself?”

  In the silence that followed her challenge, William tried to rescue the situation.

  “Sheila, I think you’re reading too much into this. Maddie wasn’t making a play for me.”

  Sheila gave him an incredulous look. “I can’t believe you’re so blind, William. It’s obvious she wants you for herself.” She tossed back her hair and raised her eyebrows at Maddie. “It’s true, isn’t it?”

  Maddie looked paralyzed. “How I feel doesn’t matter. This is about what’s best for William.”

  “Exactly,” said Sheila, triumphant. “And what’s best for him is for you to stop screwing with his head. You just can’t accept that he’s happy with me, and you’ve come around for more mind games. Well, too bad.”

  “That’s not it at all,” said Maddie, with more spirit. “You’re using him for something. You may have gotten him to trust you, but you haven’t fooled me.”

  “Oh, give it up, Rosenbaum. You had your chance with him, and you screwed it up, so now you want to make sure he isn’t with anyone else. Well, you can go boil someone else’s bunny, because from now on I’ll be protecting him from you.” She took William by the arm and drew him to his feet. He didn’t resist; sitting there being bickered over was becoming the single most embarrassing event of his life. “Let’s go, William,” said Sheila. “You don’t have to put up with any more of this.”

  His last glimpse of Maddie was of her staring after them, her eyes huge and stricken in her white face. An uneasiness tugged at him. She seemed truly scared for him. But as for the rest—“What was that stuff about her wanting me for herself?” he asked as they walked to the music building. “You’re so off base there it’s not even funny. Maddie isn’t trying to steal me from you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You dork, she as good as admitted she’s in love with you. You notice she didn’t deny she has feelings for you.”

  “You don’t know her,” he said. “Believe me, as far as Maddie is concerned I might as well be her slow-witted little brother.” He hadn’t meant to sound quite so wry, and Sheila slanted a thoughtful look at him before drawing him to a stop in the middle of the path.

  “William,” she said, “if there’s still something going on between you two, tell me now. I’ve kind of been under the impression that we’re pretty good together. If I’m wrong, I need you to be straight with me.” Her eyes gazed searchingly into his. “Are we together or not? Because if you want me out of your life, you need to say so, like, now.”

  There was just the slightest crease between her delicate eyebrows to reveal that she was worried what his answer would be. Sheila, always so in control, was actually scared—scared of losing him. He hooked an arm around her neck and pulled her to him. “We’re together,” he said firmly. “Never mind what she said. Whatever games she’s playing, they have nothing to do with us.”

  She snaked an arm around him as they resumed their path to the music building, but more slowly now. They’d be late to class, but who cared. “Good,” she murmured. “I want you all to myself.”

  * * *

  “I’ll be honest, Joy, I’m scared. I don’t like knowing she’s out in the world again.”

  “I know.” She reached across the table to wrap his hands tightly in hers. “It freaks me out too. But she may not be out in the world per se. Maybe somebody needs, I don’t know, powdered succubus for something they’re cooking up.”

  After the council meeting broke up she and Tan had driven to an out-of-the-way Waffle House for a chance to talk in private. It was nearly deserted at this hour, and they kept their voices low so that they wouldn’t be overheard by the waitresses and the few truckers that were the only other customers.

  She and Tanner had tried to get the council to tell them what the consequences might be of the husk’s disappearance. “It was next door to dead,” she had said. “It can’t harm anyone now, can it?”

  “Succubi probably don’t have the same biology that humans do,” said Mo. “It might find a way to recharge, but without help I suspect t
hat could take years, perhaps generations. What I’m more concerned about is that someone will find a way to revivify it.”

  “How would they do that?” asked Tanner. “And who?” added Joy.

  “Who would stand to gain from the thing’s return?” Dr. Aysgarth asked in return. “Her minions seem to have dispersed, but there may be pockets of the faithful.”

  “That’s if they even know she wasn’t human, though, and I didn’t even know that for a long time,” said Tanner.

  “Whoever took the husk must have had a reason,” said Mo. “We need to figure out what that reason is.”

  Now that they’d had a chance to absorb the news, Joy found that her imagination was working pretty well to fill in the blanks.

  “If someone does want to try to bring her back to full strength,” she said, trying not to let apprehension show in her voice, “I think the false Tanner told us how to go about that. I’m the one who sucked all the juice out of her. Or technically Rose, I guess. Someone might think they can use me and Rose as a battery to recharge her.”

  Tanner’s eyes were shocked. “That means we’ve got to make sure you’re protected, twenty-four seven.”

  “But there aren’t any signs that I have any of her qualities. And Rose seems to have settled down after that one incident. Maybe all the supernatural has worn off.”

  “That may not matter, or it may not be something the thief is aware of. Joy, we’ve got to get you away from here, someplace safe.”

  “Home is safe. We haven’t had any more disturbances since you and Dad locked everything down.”

  “But you can’t stay under house arrest until the—the thing is retrieved.”

  That stumped her momentarily. “Okay then, you’ll take some time off work and we’ll go someplace off the grid.”