by M Guida
“Oh, crap.” I put my shaking palm on my forehead. “That’s what’s in the stuff he gave me and Phoebe?”
“Yeah, but I think there’s something else in there to. Something I can’t put my finger on.”
“This Dr. Greenwood’s got to be a doppelgänger. We’ve got to do something. He could kill someone, I know he could.”
He clasped my hand gently. “You’re right.”
“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you tell everyone today when we were at the library?”
He sighed. “I hate to say it, but I think there may be a traitor amongst The Sentinels.”
“Why would you say that? That’s horrible.”
He put his palm on his chest. “It’s Hades. I can feel him recoil around at least one of us, but I can’t pinpoint who.” He crushed my lips with his lips again and I molded myself against him, desire pumping through me. My nipples budded beneath the towel and I wanted to feel his skin on mine, but he moved away.
“Be careful. I can’t lose you. You’re all I ever think about.”
With that stunning statement, he disappeared out the back door that led out to the arena. I couldn’t move. My lips were bruised where he had kissed me and my body tingled all over.
Bam Bam Bam
Someone pounded on the front door to the girls’ locker room. “Ebony, are you going to stay in there all day? I’m starving.”
Rusty. Crap. He would be furious. As quickly as I could, I got dressed and hurried out the door, wondering if there was really a traitor among The Sentinels.
Chapter 18
I rushed out of the locker room to find Rusty pacing. He stopped and put his hands on his hips. “What the hell took you so long? I was about to bust down the door and drag you out.”
I rubbed my arms, trying to chase away the goosebumps. “Sorry. I was so tired and the shower felt so good I lost all sense of time.”
He threw up his hands in disgust. “Whatever. Let’s go.”
We walked to the cafeteria without speaking. I could still taste Gunnar’s lips on my bruised ones and hear his words. God, he really was a silver-tongued-devil. Everything he had told me tumbled in my mind and I couldn’t quite sort out all the jigsaw pieces—one was missing.
But I wasn’t sure which one.
Rusty and I dropped our stuff off at our usual table and stood in line. Tonight was fajitas. I could hear the sizzling of meats and my stomach growled impatiently. The same lady from lunch was there and gave me a cool look as if to say don’t-even-start-with-me.
“What would you like?” she asked. “Meat or cooked chicken?”
Rusty gave me a strange what-the-fuck look.
Ignoring him, I braced my back. “I’d like beef, but rare, please.”
She rolled her eyes but did as I asked. Maybe bronze dragons liked rare, almost bloody, meat compared to the other dragons? I never remembered Raven demanding everything rare.
I piled on all the usual fajita toppings—guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and pico de gallo—but I skipped the tortilla. I didn’t want anything getting between me and my meat.
Rusty got every kind of protein imaginable—chicken, beef, and shrimp. Plus, his plate was so loaded with all the trimmings I was surprised he could even carry it.
Evan was already seated at the table attacking his shrimp fajitas. “God, this is so good.”
I laughed. “I can tell you’re enjoying it. You have a guacamole and sour cream dripping all over your chin.”
He dabbed at his mouth with his napkin. “Sorry, but God, this is great. I love fajita night.”
I dug into my bloody meat and savored the taste. My dragon seemed to want everything dripping with blood more and more. I really was going to turn into fright night if this didn’t stop soon. I wished there was someone I could talk to about it.
None of us talked much since the food was so good and had all of our attention. Then I noticed The Sentinels getting up from the table and taking their dishes to the dishwasher.
“Guys, they’re done. We need to head for the library.”
Rusty shook his head. “Not until I finish my plate.”
I wanted to scream because Rusty had gone back for seconds.
Evan glanced between me and Rusty. “Dude, chill. I’ll escort Ebony to the library, so you don’t have stuff yourself so fast and make yourself sick.”
Rusty put down his loaded fajita that had chicken, tomatoes, and guacamole falling out of the sides. “If she goes anywhere near Gunnar, you’re dead meat, pretty boy.”
Evan shrugged. “Fine. No Gunnar.” He tilted his head. “Come on Ebony, let’s go.”
We took our plates to the dishwasher and headed out the door. Rusty was still finishing his shrimp fajita, but I saw that he left the tortilla untouched. He definitely had a case of eyes bigger than tummy.
Outside, dusk was beginning to set and the clouds overhead had turned purple and pink. The air was crisp and I inhaled the pine and flowers. Crickets were chirping. It was perfect.
“I love Colorado,” I murmured.
“Yeah, you can’t beat Earth’s weather.”
I crinkled my brows. “What? Compared to what? Venus?”
He chuckled. “I meant mountain weather. Sorry, I ate too many carbs and my brain is jumbled.”
The library was across the courtyard from the cafeteria on the third floor of the academic building. As we were climbing the stairs I tried to remember the last time I had even been in a library. I preferred doing everything online, but since Legacy didn’t have the internet everything had to be done the Dark Ages way, actually using a card catalog index and print books and journals.
I hadn’t been in Legacy’s library before, but when Evan opened the door for me, I gasped at its beauty. A five-petaled Tudor Rose and the Fleur di Lis were hand-carved into the wood ceiling. Soft red velvet carpet covered the floor, muting any footsteps. Wall-to-wall rich mahogany bookcases went all the way to the cathedral ceiling. The librarian would have to have the tallest ladder in the world to reach the very top, unless they could fly. I guess that was entirely possible.
The gang was sitting at a wooden table that was close to a big bay window that looked over the courtyard. They had put two tables together to make enough room for them all. Gunnar was sitting between Darius and Armond at the end of one of the tables, so Evan gestured for me to sit next to Kyle who was on the opposite end. We left one chair empty for Rusty, who I assumed would be here soon.
Armond frowned and peered behind us. “Where’s Rusty?”
Evan pulled out a chair for me to sit. “You mean Mr. Bottomless Pit? Still stuffing himself. He should be here soon.”
As if on cue, Rusty came up behind him and swatted him on the back of the head. “Up yours, Mr. Funnybones.” He grabbed the seat next to me before Evan could and plopped himself down. “Shall we get this show on the road?”
Evan quietly sat down, giving Rusty a you’re-such-an-asshole glare.
Armond looked at me. “This is your show, Ebony.”
They all turned to me as if I was their leader. Instead of shrinking, I sat up straighter and took a deep breath as I looked around the circle of faces. “Something’s not right here at Legacy. I think Ryker or Cormac have been worming their way inside covertly.”
Kyle yawned. “Why do you think that? I haven’t seen anything wrong.”
I liked Kyle, but he wasn’t the swiftest. Sometimes he missed things unless they were laid out in front of him, and even then, sometimes it took some convincing. I quickly brought everyone up to speed on my observations, and Gunnar’s, but I left out what he had told me in the locker room. I don’t know if even Armond knew about that part.
“But you don’t have any solid proof,” Kyle said. “This just seems all circumstantial.”
Rusty glared at him. “What are you now—fucking Perry Mason?”
“No, but still…” Kyle’s face and ears turned bright red, and he squirmed in his chair.
“Kyle’s ri
ght,” Gunnar said. “We don’t have any proof that something’s up here, and we won’t convince Anton or anybody else until we do.”
Kyle shot him a grateful smile and Rusty snorted, rolling his eyes, as if he wanted to smack both their heads together.
“I talked with Phoebe today," Cadye chimed in. “She’s doing much better, thanks to Gunnar.”
Gunnar winced and I held my breath.
Evan frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She said Dr. Greenwood kept making her drink this gross brown stuff that kept making her sicker and sicker. When he left for a few minutes, Gunnar came to see her and Hades healed her.”
With each word she said, Gunnar’s face grew paler and paler. I guess he forgot to tell Phoebe not to tell anyone he healed her, or maybe he did, and she didn’t care.
“So, Dr. Greenwood didn't see you come into his lab, I mean infirmary?” Evan asked.
“No. The door was unlocked,” Gunnar said quietly. “I just wanted to make sure Phoebe was okay, because of what had happened to Ebony when she was under his supposed care.”
Darius jumped in. “I forgot to say, I didn’t even think anything of it at the time but after practice today, Anton had me walk Ashton to the infirmary. He said he had a gut ache.”
Gunnar rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. “He wasn’t at dinner tonight. I bet he’s still there.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” Kyle said. “We should find out if he went back to Pack Tower. His room is down the hall from mine so I can check. But I’m sure he’s okay. Greenwood wouldn’t do anything to him. He’s a prince.”
Gunnar dropped his arm and gave Kyle a steely gaze. “You really think my dad or Cormac would give a shit about that? I’m a prince. And looked what they did to me. I was their favorite chew toy.”
My heart ached to hear the bitterness in his voice.
Kyle hung his head. No one was going to challenge Gunnar on that. What Ryker and Cormac did to him would have made a mere human insane, but somehow Gunnar survived. A lot of that had to do with Armond healing him.
Cadye looked at me. “So, if your guess is right and Greenwood is a doppelgänger and Anton won't listen to us, what can we do?”
“First, we need to make sure Ashton is safe,” I said. “And then we go into Sentinel mode and gather evidence. We’ll take turns watching both Anton and Dr. Greenwood and keep a journal. We also need to watch out for any kids that end up in the infirmary.”
Rusty leaned back in his chair. “Anything else you want us to do with our free time, Sherlock?"
"Yes. Research.”
Rusty slammed back in his chair. “What? Seriously? On top of all of our homework and getting ready for the trials and Academy Games you want us to play Hardy Boys?” He looked at me. “Or Nancy Drew?”
I looked at him. “You don’t have to, but if Ryker and Cormac are here, all of our lives could be in jeopardy.”
Rusty scrubbed his face with his hand. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” He looked at each of us in turn. “You’re my family. I would die protecting you.”
Armond gave him a warm smile. “Hopefully, it won’t come to that.”
“It won’t,” I said. “I think we should work only in pairs, so as not to arouse either Anton’s or Greenwood’s suspicion. Some of us will do research. Some will watch Anton, and others Greenwood.”
Rusty looked at Gunnar who kept his face completely frozen. “Ebony’s with me.”
No use in arguing. It made sense, since he was my constant shadow.
Evan pointed at Kyle. “Little bro and I will be a team.”
Kyle glared at him “Don’t call me that.”
Evan tilted his head back and laughed.
I put my palms on the table. “I think the Healers need to be separate, just in case we need them.”
Armond nodded. “I agree. I’ll be with Cadye, and Gunnar and Darius can be together.”
Rusty folded his arms and turned to me. “Okay, what do we first, partner?”
I nodded my head toward the book shelves. “What else? Research.”
He groaned and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Reading wasn’t Rusty’s cup of tea. He’d rather be out fighting or drinking.
Gunnar and Darius decided to check out the infirmary, to see if they could get in there to see Ashton and make sure he was all right. Armond and Cadye thought they’d go pay a visit to Anton while Evan and Kyle said they’d go and pick Montae’s brain. Montae had been mysteriously absent since we’d been at Legacy except when he was teaching us, or at least that’s what we thought. His ability to render himself invisible meant that, who knows, he could have been spying on us the entire time without us ever knowing it.
Chapter 19
I found a ton of books on bronze dragons, spells, and doppelgängers at the library. Even Rusty checked out one or two, and we went through them together, but we’d didn’t come up with anything that led us back to what was happening with Anton or Greenwood. In the end I carted the books back to my room, hoping I could a bit more reading there.
Victoria wasn’t there and I hoped she wouldn’t come back until I was asleep. We were two angry ships that passed at each other in the night, trying not to start World War III. I sat on my bed combing through a bronze dragon book, hoping to find out why my dragon was hiding from me. So far, I hadn’t found anything useful.
Victoria dragged herself into the room without saying a word. She changed into her pajamas and tossed her covers back. “Do you mind? I’m tired.” She wasn’t kidding. She had bags under eyes and I noticed her eyes were red, as if she’d been crying.
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Can we please just go to bed?”
I wanted to argue that I could keep my lamp on and she could sleep, but between the mishap with the sleeping potions candle and her stricken face, I agreed. “Sure.”
After I got into bed I tossed and turned, thinking of everything that happened today, but I finally feel asleep. The last thing I remembered was a pair of blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean.
When I woke, Victoria’s bed was already made and she was gone. I dragged myself out of bed, took a shower, and dressed for school. The Armageddon Sword leaned against my desk, exactly where it had been when I went to sleep last night, but, strangely, Victoria’s crossbow was missing. We weren’t allowed to take our weapons to other classes. Maybe she was practicing early. I never thought she’d be the type to do that, but all I really knew about her was that she hated me.
I came downstairs with my backpack and same as always, Rusty was waiting for me on the steps, yawning. Students were slowly heading across the courtyard toward the cafeteria. It was a bit cooler this morning, even with the sun out.
“I gotta tell you,” he said, “researching sucks.”
“Did you finish the book? Did it keep you up all night?”
He stretched out his arms and arched his back like a cat. “No, Evan kept me up all night playing poker with him.”
I grinned as we headed in to the tantalizing smell of frying bacon. “Lost a lot of money?”
“No. I actually won, but we were drinking beer all night and it just made me real sleepy this morning.”
My eyes widened. “You’re hungover?”
“I didn’t say hungover. I said sleepy. And now I can’t find that stupid spell book I checked out.”
“Well, it must be there somewhere. If you would bother to clean your room—“
He glowered. “First of all, you’ve never been to my room. Evan and I keep it clean.”
“You mean Evan keeps it clean.”
“Shut up,” he said as opened the door to the cafeteria.
That same craving for blood rolled over me as I walked inside, but I refused to give into my bronze dragon today. If what Anton had said was true, it just was fueling its evil. The funny thing was, I hadn’t found one thing about bronze dragons craving blood. Maybe it was a missing lore. According to Raven, Anton had a whol
e room filled with ancient books and scrolls that weren’t in the student library. Maybe he’d let me borrow one on bronze dragons.
When we went through the line, I looked at the solemn cook who I had battled over the raw meat and smiled. “French Toast and four strips of crispy bacon, please.”
The woman smiled in relief and handed me my order. I grabbed a steaming mug of coffee loaded with cream on the way back to my table where Evan and some of the other wolves were sitting.
Evan had eaten half of his breakfast burrito already.
“Going for the sweet stuff today, Ebony?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I wanted something different.” A lie. Something inside me screamed for blood, demanded blood.
No, dragon. You can’t have it.
I gripped my fork and knife firmly as I cut into my thick French Toast.
Blood. We need blood.
I froze. That was the first time my dragon had ever spoken to me. I closed my eyes, hoping I could see her.
Please come forth, dragon. I beg you.
Someone gently touched my forearm. “Ebony, are you okay? You’re pale.”
I opened my eyes to see Rusty’s face, full of concern.
I took a deep breath and exhaled then pretended to yawn. “Sorry, your sleepiness must be catching.”
Rusty shook his head and mumbled under his breath, but I thought I heard the word ‘bullshit.’ What could I say? I couldn’t tell everyone I was craving blood. Not even the vampires here requested bloody meat.
After breakfast, Rusty walked me to Supernatural class where I met up with Cadye.
I pulled out my book. “Did you find out anything from Anton?”
“It was weird when we talked with him. He had a difficult time focusing, and he wouldn’t let us look at any of his books or scrolls. He almost got angry when we asked.”
I leaned back in my chair. “That’s not like him.”
Cadye lowered her voice. “I know. Armond was really concerned and went to touch him as if to heal him and Anton jerked away from him, almost as if he were afraid of his touch.”
“And he didn’t look well the other day on the playing field. Shit, Cadye. That means there’s something really wrong with him. He’s never going to listen to us, though.”
