by Lily Webb
“Are you sure this is it?” I asked. Beau barked and panted at me. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
There weren’t any lights on inside the house, which made me wonder if anyone was home — or if anyone still lived there at all. Beau lurched forward, and I lost hold of his leash as he dashed around the side of the house into the backyard.
“Where are you going?” I hissed as I followed, hoping against hope there wasn’t anyone inside the house. I crouched and made my way around the house, keeping a watchful eye where I stepped because it was impossible to say what kind of magical critters might’ve been hiding in the tall grass.
The lawn in the back looked worse than the front, which was saying something. The weeds came up to my waist, which I didn’t think was possible. Had it not been for Beau’s wagging tail, I wouldn’t have been able to spot him in the sea of vegetation. I followed the movement and nearly tripped when my feet met cement.
I stood on what appeared to be some sort of patio covered with broken glass and several garbage bags that’d all been torn open by animals, which convinced me that no one could’ve lived in the house, much less called it home. A few feet ahead of me, Beau sniffed at something I couldn’t make out thanks to the darkness and the grass.
I got closer and crouched down beside him.
“What is it?” I asked. Beau stepped aside, and I found a piece of glass. Watchful of its jagged edges, I picked it up and held it to the moonlight to examine it — and nearly screamed when I realized it was covered in dried blood.
“What the…? Who would throw out or leave bloodied broken glass lying around like this?” I asked. Beau barked and licked my hand.
“I take it that means this is something worth paying attention to?” I asked. He barked again and against my better judgment, I tucked the palm-sized piece of glass into my bag. Behind me, a light flared to life, and I jolted.
Half a second later, the back door to the house flung open, and a gravelly voice carried through the night.
“Who’s there? What are you doing?”
I grabbed Beau’s leash from the weeds and slowly stood with one hand raised to show I wasn’t a danger.
“Hi, good evening. I’m sorry to bother you. I was just out walking my dog, and he got away from me. He must’ve smelled something back here, something wild,” I said. It was difficult to see because of the darkness and the piercing light coming from the back porch, but it was a man — and an old one at that. Was it Nolan?
“Wait a minute, I know you,” the man croaked.
“You do?”
“Of course. You’re the newest student at Veilside, the reporter from the Messenger,” the man said.
“Oh, yeah, that’s me. Did you work at the school or something?” I asked, feigning ignorance.
“Until recently,” the man said, and my heart slid down into my stomach where it sat like a stone. It was definitely Nolan, and that meant I was in trouble — so much for not drawing any attention to myself. Good thing Beau had the foresight to disguise himself as a dog; I could only imagine what Nolan would’ve said if he’d caught both of us in his backyard.
“I see. What did you do there?” I asked, trying my best to smooth things.
“I was Deputy Headmaster and Professor of Transmutation,” Nolan said. With one hand held in front of my eyes to shield it from the light, I took a few steps forward to see him better.
“Oh, you’re the one who just resigned. What a shame! I hate I didn’t get to meet you beforehand. I’ve heard a lot of great things about you,” I said. Truthfully, I’d heard nothing but the opposite.
“You don’t have to flatter me, Miss Clarke,” Nolan said. “I know you’re a reporter, and it doesn’t take a spell crafter to figure out why you’re here. Why wouldn’t you knock on my front door like any other person?“
Busted. What was I supposed to say to that? He’d caught me red-handed — or I guess in this case red-pawed.
“Okay, you got me. Truth is, while I was walking my dog, I couldn’t resist stopping. When I saw all the lights were off, I assumed you’d either gone out for the night or weren’t living here anymore — but my dog really did get away from me,” I said. It was close enough to the truth.
“But now that you have me, might as well question me, right?” Nolan asked.
“Well, sure,” I said. “After what happened to Delia, a lot of people want to talk to you, myself included. That can’t be a surprise.”
“No, of course not,” Nolan said, stepping down the stairs from the back door to get closer to me. He carried a cane and didn’t seem to be able to walk without it. His face swam into the light, and my breath caught in my throat when I realized how ghastly he looked.
His milky eyes were sunk into his head like anchors, and wisps of black hair flew from his scalp like flags. His skin was as white as the moon, and it seemed to cling to him like it was already falling off the bone.
He was definitely sick.
“I’ve lost count of all the new phone numbers calling me lately. I suppose I’ll have to talk to someone eventually, so it might as well be you. I trust you’ll write something about this?” Nolan asked.
“Probably,” I said.
“Good. Maybe that will stem the flood of phone calls.”
“Well, you have to admit, it was odd timing for you to announce your resignation,” I said.
“I understand, but that doesn’t entitle this entire town to the details of my personal life,” Nolan said.
“Fair enough,” I said. “But given that another teacher at the school was just killed, it raised more than a few eyebrows — including mine.”
“I assure you, Miss Clarke, I had nothing to do with the death of my colleague,” Nolan said. “Look at me, do you really think I’m capable of something like that? I can barely walk on my own, much less murder someone.”
“I’m sorry, Professor Grimm, I had no idea,” I said.
“No, of course, you didn’t. After all, you and I had never met until now,” Nolan said.
“We hadn’t, but I’ve met a few of your students,” I said. “Seth Highmore seems to be fond of you.”
Nolan eyed me.
“Not all the students were fans of mine,” Nolan said. “Seth was different, however. He understood me in ways none of his peers did.”
“You mean because of all the time you spent with him? Seth mentioned you started a group for warlocks at the school,” I said. Nolan furrowed his brows.
“I did. If you’ve spent any time at Veilside, I’m sure you’ve noticed there’s a certain bias toward witches,” Nolan said.
“I hadn’t, actually. The only thing that’s stuck out to me is how everyone seems to know who I am,” I said. Nolan smirked.
“Putting a powerful vampire in a silver cage tends to have that effect, doesn’t it?” he asked.
“See what I mean?” I sighed.
“Moon Grove is small, Miss Clarke. It’s not unusual for word to travel,” Nolan said.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” I said. “So why start a group for warlocks?”
“Warlocks at Veilside weren’t being valued for their full potential,” Nolan said. “I saw an opportunity to correct that and to let my brothers know they weren’t alone at the school.”
“That’s noble of you,” I said. Nolan’s smile widened, revealing several broken, yellowed teeth. I shuddered.
“I’ve always tried to give back to the community that’s given me so much,” Nolan said. “A similar group existed during my time as a student at Veilside, and I wouldn’t be the warlock I am today without its influence. I resurrected it for that reason.”
“What exactly does the group do? Is it purely social?”
“Predominantly,” Nolan said. “At times it can also be educational.”
“How so?”
“Though Veilside is indeed a prestigious institution, it doesn’t teach a warlock everything he needs to know about the world around him,” Nolan said. “To that end, our grou
p teaches young men life skills and other associated information.”
“So you’re basically like a magical version of the Boy Scouts then?” I asked. Nolan’s brows came together.
“Sorry?”
“Never mind, it’s an outsider thing,” I said. It was easy to forget no one in Moon Grove had the same cultural references I did. “Anyway, why resign now? Why not wait until the investigation into Delia’s death was finished?”
Nolan frowned and let out a sigh.
“My resignation wasn’t by choice,” he said, and my heart skipped a beat.
“It wasn’t?”
“No, far from it. Though I might look like I’ve got one foot in the grave, I’m not so ill I couldn’t have continued teaching — as much as some of the students and staff insisted otherwise,” Nolan said.
“Why would anyone push you to resign then? Especially now?” I asked.
“Due to my illness, I missed work often. As a result, some of my peers thought they would be better suited to do my job,” Nolan said. Did he mean Delia?
“Who?”
“Delia and Jade Hallewell both,” Nolan said. “Or so I’ve heard. Neither said anything to me directly.”
“Delia was definitely ambitious,” I said. Nolan smiled and nodded.
“Indeed,” he said. “But I’m much more suspicious of Jade.”
“Why?”
“Since being hired at Veilside, Delia has outshone Jade. Before Delia’s arrival, Jade was the star staff member everyone assumed was on track to replace me,” Nolan said. “I agreed. Jade’s a talented witch.”
“Are you saying you think Jade had something to do with Delia’s death?” I asked.
“I couldn’t possibly speculate on that. But I can’t fathom any other reason why she’d report me to the Headmistress for allegedly teaching my students illegal magic,” Nolan said.
“Is that why you had to resign?” I asked.
“It was,” he said. “Of course, the allegations are absurd. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if Jade created the story from whole cloth to force me out and then went after Delia to make sure her path to the Deputy Headmistress position was clear.”
My blood turned cold. Seth and Raina both had told me it was Delia who’d reported Nolan for his use of dark magic, not Jade, so was Nolan lying?
… And what if he wasn’t? There was only one way for me to know.
After taking a deep breath, I locked eyes with Nolan and tried to force my way into his thoughts — but nothing came. It wasn’t the first time I’d had trouble with another witch or warlock, so I could only assume he knew about my abilities and prepared himself with a blocking spell. Now that I had a reputation around town, it made me wonder how much longer my mind reading would even be useful.
“Seth told me Delia confiscated a book of his. He said you gave it to him,” I said. Nolan nodded.
“That’s true,” Nolan said. “It’s a sort of rite of passage, awarded only to those who prove themselves worthy.”
“What’s in the book?” I asked.
“Whatever the owner decides to write in it,” Nolan said. So what had Seth been writing?
Beau barked at me, making me jump. I’d forgotten he was there.
“Well, I’m sorry to have bothered you, Professor Grimm. I should get going, it looks like my little friend here doesn’t have the patience for much more,” I said.
“No trouble at all. I should’ve spoken to someone sooner,” Nolan said. “Take care of yourself, Miss Clarke, and good luck with your studies.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you around,” I said, and led Beau away in a hurry, grateful to get away from Nolan. We didn’t speak until we reached the end of Tower Street.
“That was so weird,” I said. Beau barked his agreement. “I can’t believe he lives like that.”
Beau stood on his hind legs and blurred back into a nearly naked human man. I dropped the leash with my face burning and turned away as he took off his collar and pocketed it along with the leash.
“I’m stunned he talked to you,” Beau said.
“Me too.”
“I wonder if he would’ve done that for anyone else?” Beau asked as we walked along Crescent Street toward the bush where he’d tossed his shirt for safekeeping. Thankfully, we didn’t pass anyone along the way — though based on my prior experiences with Beau walking around shirtless, I didn’t think anyone would’ve noticed or cared.
“Somehow, I doubt it. He must’ve known I’d spread the word. What was the deal with that piece of glass anyway?” I asked as I rummaged in my bag to find it, careful not to knick myself on its edges.
Beau threw me a dark look.
“What?” I asked as I pulled out the shard and held it to the moonlight.
“It’s Nolan’s blood on the glass,” Beau said.
“What? Are you sure?”
“No one could mistake the smell of death,” Beau said. “The blood on that piece smells corrupted. It could only be Nolan’s.”
“Maybe he hurt himself on it by accident?” I asked. “You saw how he was walking, there are any number of ways he could’ve cut himself on the glass.”
“Yeah, possibly, but I don’t know,” Beau said. “Even if that was the case, why would he have all that glass lying around in his backyard?”
“Well, there was a ton of garbage back there too. Maybe it got thrown out with the rest?” I asked.
“I dunno, it seems fishy to me,” Beau said.
“Definitely, especially when coupled with his accusations against Jade Hallewell,” I said.
“What allegations?”
“Nolan said it was Jade who turned him in for teaching his warlocks illegal magic, but Raina, the Headmistress of the school, told me it was Delia who’d reported Nolan,” I said.
“So do you think he was lying then?”
“It’s definitely possible, but I’m not sure. I tried to read his thoughts but couldn’t get inside his head,” I said.
“That’s suspicious in and of itself,” Beau said. “Why would anyone who doesn’t have something to hide guard their thoughts?”
“Good question,” I said. “But it doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Thoughts are supposed to be private, maybe now that people know about my abilities they’re being more cautious around me.”
“Hm, maybe,” Beau said. “Regardless, I guess you need to talk to Jade.”
“I’m already one step ahead of you,” I said as I pulled my phone out of my bag to text Mallory. If anyone had information on Jade, incriminating or otherwise, it would be her; she seemed to know everything about everyone at Veilside.
I tapped out a quick message to ask her what she knew about Jade and dropped my phone back in my bag along with the shard of glass.
“Can I walk you home?” Beau asked.
“Only if you put your shirt back on first,” I said. “I mean, not that I’m not enjoying the view.”
Beau’s face burned so red I thought it might ignite, but he linked his hand in mine anyway — and I didn’t object.
“Thank you for coming with me,” I said as we reached Luna Street. Beau rummaged in the bush and found his shirt, which he shook off before throwing over his shoulders.
“Of course,” Beau said as he fastened his buttons. I tried not to stare. “I always get into all kinds of fun with you.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?”
“Like I said, any time with you is time well spent,” Beau said. When he was finished buttoning up, he offered me his hand again. “Let’s go. That’s enough excitement for one night.”
“There’s truly never a dull moment in this town, is there?” I asked as I linked my fingers through his. He beamed and shook his head.
“Not since you arrived,” Beau said.
I took it as a compliment.
Chapter Ten
My phone vibrated on my desk, tearing me away from my work computer screen — which was all the same to me since I wasn’t getting much
done anyway. Though I’d spent all morning searching around online for information on both Nolan and Jade, I hadn’t been able to find anything interesting.
I plucked my phone up and got excited when I saw Mallory’s name on the screen.
>>Mallory: Hey, sorry for the tardy reply. I was busy last night. Anyway, I’ve got something I think you need to see. Wanna meet me at Veilside Library?
The witch never ceased to amaze me. Aurelia and the others at school really should’ve thought better of trying to make Mallory’s life difficult — because, with her fact-finding skills, I would never have wanted to be on her bad side.
>>Me: Definitely. Are you there now?
>>Mallory: Yup. I’ve been here all morning doing research.
>>Me: Isn’t the library closed?
>>Mallory: For everyone but me, yeah. Raina gave me special permission to be here. She must’ve known I’d be lost without my books.
>>Me: Wow, and here I thought I was in Raina’s good graces. Is she going to be upset if I come?
>>Mallory: I highly doubt it. She loves you, and I’ll tell her I invited you if it’s an issue.
>>Me: Perfect. I’ll see you in a few.
>>Mallory: See ya.
I tucked my phone into my bag and powered down my computer just in time to find Mitch coming out of his office. He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Going somewhere?” he called as he approached.
“I’ve got another lead on the Delia Frost case,” I said, not at all sure that was true.
“I knew I could count on you,” he said, smiling.
“Thanks,” I said and slung my bag over my shoulder. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Take whatever time you need,” Mitch said. “I don’t doubt you’ll turn up something. You always do.”
I smiled at him and left, my bag bouncing against me as I stepped outside. I walked the few blocks north on Crescent Street to Veilside, clueless as to what Mallory wanted to show me — at which point it struck me I had no idea where the school’s library was or if I’d be allowed inside once I found it.
A blue-green gargoyle stood outside the front doors to the Academy, his arms crossed over his chest, revealing claws longer than my entire hand. Though it was common for gargoyles to be hired as security in Moon Grove, I still hadn’t gotten used to seeing them around. Elves, vampires, and werewolves were one thing — they at least looked humanoid — but gargoyles were otherworldly.
