by Fiona Starr
“Ah, I see. Well, I expect an audience with his eminence will be granted very soon. If not today, then it will be tomorrow before he leaves for his sabbatical. Move the girl to one of the cells in the lower level so you can proceed. No need to wait for me.”
“Sounds good. I will make the selection right away.”
“My pilot can be ready to go at a moment’s notice. I’ll call you as soon as we are wheels up.”
“Thank you. And sir?”
“Yes, Daria?”
“Good luck with your audience. I’m sure he will give the approval for the new charter in Europe.”
Damon nods and taps his screen, ending the call.
Daria leaves the basement as her phone rings again. “Daria North.” She pauses to listen. “Oh, hello Professor Molis…”
I stay in the basement as Daria leaves, and once she’s gone I release my cloaking spell. I stare at the Vessel, at the green glowing light emanating from it. It’s something I’ve seen a hundred times. Sometimes it’s red, sometimes it’s blue, sometimes purple… and now it’s green. I have always known that the colors corresponded to the different lines of ancient magic, but the real meaning of it has hit me like a kick in the belly.
I stare at the Vessel, replaying Daria’s conversation with Damon.
The sacrifice. The girl.
And the little thing Damon said half to himself that Daria didn’t hear.
They must be close.
The girl they’re talking about has to be Mel—Melody Carmichael, whose body is still upstairs in that refrigerated room. The same room with the cage, and the straps to hold someone against their will.
But the other thing that Damon said when he saw how the Vessel was going crazy.
They must be close.
Which he surmised after Daria told him about the other times the Vessel had gone crazy. The first time was on Saturday, for hours. Then it happened again on Monday night. And then every night since. And then just now…
And like a kaleidoscope that has spun all the way around to start again, all the scattered pieces of information I’ve gathered over the last year of investigating this horrible vampire click into place.
I know what the Vessel is, or at least what he’s using it for. The ramifications of it are too much to get my head around. But if I’m right, it means that everything about this place is built on an evil, vengeful lie.
“Holy shit.”
Chapter Ten
JOELY
Timbray Commons is a tall brick building that sits facing Stonemill Hall on the end of the quad near the dining hall. It houses many of the faculty and administration offices, though some Professors maintain offices in their classrooms, too. I usually meet with Master Underwood and Daria at the Society house, but I know they also come here to serve the rest of the students.
Professor Molis directs me and Eliza to a bench in the entry hall. “Wait here.” He disappears down the hall.
“I hope you get kicked out of school,” Eliza says through gritted teeth. She keeps flicking her fingers and moving her hands to cast spells, but nothing happens. “Tell me what you did to my power.”
“What? I didn’t do anything. And you attacked me, in case you forgot.”
She keeps flicking her hands and whispering spell words. “Whatever. It’s my word against yours, and who is going to believe anything you say? And I saw you with Sebastian Allbright. Katie is going to kill you.”
I can’t help but laugh. “What is it that you think you saw?” I run through all the defenses in my head, but I realize that it won’t matter. She won’t believe me and when it comes right down to it, Eliza doesn’t deserve any explanations. She can think what she wants. I just don’t care anymore.
The door opens and Daria hurries in, looking flustered and annoyed. I get to my feet as she gets closer, not sure what I should say.
“Hello, Joely. I’m looking for Professor Molis. Have you seen him?”
Molis appears in the corridor. “I’m here, Daria. Just checking my mailbox.” He lifts a stack of papers as proof.
“Ok, well. I’m here.” She grins at Professor Molis. “Show me to your hooligans.”
The professor looks embarrassed. “Um… here they are.” He motions to me and Eliza.
Daria’s eyes go wide. “These young ladies were the pair you caught fighting?”
“Indeed. And now that you’re here, I shall leave you to it.” Molis retreats and hurries out the door, leaving the three of us standing there.
“Step into my office, if you please.” Daria waves a hand down the corridor and we turn into the second door on our left. “Please explain to me what happened, because I am having a very hard time picturing this, and I am very short on time.”
My sister and I start talking at the same time.
“She attacked me—” I begin.
“Joely is insane—” Eliza shouts.
“One at a time, please!” Daria shouts over us. “Tell me what happened, and if you’re are lying, there will be swift and serious consequences.” Her smile is bright, but it’s not at all friendly. I’m reminded that this is the same woman who is involved in Mel’s death. “Eliza, we’ll start with you. Why did Professor Molis have to pull you off your sister?”
Eliza is taken off guard by that little tidbit. She scoffs. “I was defending myself. Joely attacked me out of the blue.”
I can’t believe her audacity. “That isn’t true, Daria.”
Daria raises a hand to silence me. “And what were you doing out by the lake near Rubydown Manor? The last time I checked, it was Joely who resides there. You live in Bristol dorm, don’t you?”
Eliza’s throat works as she swallows. “Um. Well. I was going to see my sister, and she just came out of nowhere.” It’s so obvious she’s lying I want to scream.
Daria doesn’t look away from Eliza as she asks, “Joely, did you know your sister was coming to visit you today?”
“No. That’s not what…”
She stops me again with her raised hand. “So, Eliza, what you’re telling me is that your sister was hiding in the woods, just waiting for you to happen by the path that leads only to her dorm, even though you hadn’t told her you would be coming to see her?”
The red in my sister’s face gives her away. There’s no way her story makes sense. She points at me. “She did something to my magic!”
Daria ignores that last bit and carries on, turning to face me for the first time. “Now, Joely. Can you please tell me the sequence of events from your point of view?”
I tell her what actually happened, and because I am pissed off, I let her know that this isn’t the first time my sister has attacked me. I know by the way she’s analyzing my face that a bruise is rising on my cheek, though a bruise isn’t really proof that I didn’t start the fight.
“All right. I’ve heard enough, and I have had enough. Unfortunately, you’ve caught me on a rather trying day. So… I will make this quick and be done. Eliza, you’re no longer welcome here at Blakeborne University. You have until the weekend to pack your things and be gone.”
Eliza gasps. “What? You can’t do that to me!”
Daria barely smiles. “Oh, but I can, and I have.”
Eliza’s face goes totally white. “You’re taking her side because she’s in the Society! This is blatant favoritism!”
“Are you accusing me, young lady?” Daria says.
Eliza seems to realize her position and pulls back. “But… the Alumni Gala and the Samhain Festival… I’m being honored with a Golden Wand this year.”
Daria shrugs and spreads her hands over her desk. “A Golden Wand is for exemplary character, Eliza. There’s time to pick another, more worthy recipient of the award given for to student representative. Clearly your behavior today has shown that we could have chosen more wisely?”
I know she doesn’t deserve it, but I don’t want my sister’s life to be ruined over this. “Daria, please. Don’t expel Eliza. It was a stupid fight b
etween siblings that got out of hand. It won’t happen again.”
Daria smiles at me as if she expected me to say this exact thing. I don’t like the feeling of being played but I’m willing to let it slide if it means we’ll get out of this with my sister and I still enrolled in the school. Daria seems to think about it for a moment before nodding. “Very well. What would you have me do?”
I look at my sister. “What if Eliza promises to leave me alone?”
Eliza nods emphatically.
Daria clasps her hands together and leans back in her chair. “I like how that sounds. How do you feel about that, Eliza?”
Eliza nods again, and doesn’t say anything.
“I take that as a yes?”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”
“Oh, I think you should be thanking your sister. And please be assured that if you’re brought to me for fighting again, I won’t be so lenient. You may go.”
Eliza shoots out of her chair like her ass is on fire. She hurries out the door and doesn’t even look back.
Daria grabs a stack of folders off her desk and walks with me to the door.
Every time I look at her I see the way she stood next to Mel’s body without even flinching. She’s part of whatever is happening with the missing students. I have to remember that. Despite doing me a huge favor just now, Daria is a dangerous woman.
I force a smile. “Thank you. I think everything going on with me has been hard for my sister.”
“Don’t worry about it. Professor Molis saw the whole thing. I knew Eliza instigated the fight today. I sensed there was more to it. I wanted to scare some sense into her.” She smiles at me as she locks her door.
We walk outside the building and into the quad. “I’m sorry you had to come all the way here. It sounds like you’re busy.”
She taps a folders clutched to her chest. “I had to come anyway. Research. But, now that I have you, how have you been?”
I hear Van’s voice in my head listing all the things I shouldn’t be talking about. Not that I am tempted at all to share anything with this woman, but his reminder is there nonetheless. A slip up wouldn’t have to be intentional. I sling my bag over my shoulder. “I’m okay, I guess. My classes are harder than I expected.”
She nods. “That’s not a surprise, considering. I’m sure you’ll catch up. But that’s not what I meant. Have you spoken to anyone about what we discussed? About your parents, and what happened with your powers being suppressed?”
Even if I had, I don’t think I want to talk about any of this with Daria North. “No. I haven’t found the right time.”
She squeezes my shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll know when the time is right.”
I watch her walk away, back toward the Society house, and try to reconcile the two sides of Daria North. Is she a cold-blooded killer or a warm counselor who feels like a friend? Is it possible that’s she is both or is one a front while the other is real?
I picture Mel in the last place I saw her, strapped to that bed and unconscious, or maybe she was already dead by that time. I’m not sure which was worse and either way, the mental image makes me shiver.
Chapter Eleven
JOELY
I’m walking back to Rubydown for the second time today when two familiar figures emerge from the woods behind the building and come straight for me. A bubble of warmth fills my chest with every step Angus and Marco take in my direction.
I haven’t seen Marco since we ran together, and the pull of him now that he’s in front of me is impossible to ignore. It’s more than physical attraction, it’s deeper, and it feels like it should be off limits.
“Hey you.” Angus wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a kiss.
“Hey you,” I whisper, letting myself melt into his embrace. The pressure of his mouth on my jaw makes me wince.
He pulls back and looks more closely at my face. “What the hell happened?”
“My sister. It’s nothing.”
“That’s not nothing,” he says.
I shake my head and squeeze Angus's hand to let him know I’m all right. “Hey Marco. Where are you guys heading?”
“We’re just back from a run. Wanted to get one last one in while we could. Van thinks he’ll be back soon. It was fantastic. I wish you could have been with us.”
I try not to read anything into Marco’s smile, but it feels like everything now is loaded with extra meaning. Standing here between them, my hand holding Angus and my eyes holding Marco, I feel like I’m suspended between two currents at sea. Their energy bumps me gently, pushing and pulling, tossing me closer to one and then the other of them. I should fight it, find a way to turn it off, but I can’t. These two men have taken hold of me, one has my heart and the other has my soul.
Angus wraps his arms around my waist and presses his lips to the top of my head. I can feel him breathing in. “You smell good,” he whispers.
“What about you?” Marco asks.
“Hmm?” I lean back against Angus's chest, distracted by all the sensations coursing through me.
“Where are you headed?”
I glance at my building. “I’m done for the day, just going back to my room. I have to study.”
Angus's phone beeps and he raises it up in front of my face. I feel his body tense behind me. “Crap. Have to go. I have a lecture and then a meeting with my professor.” He cups his hand over my bruise and kisses me softly. “See you tonight?”
Marco wrings his hands. "Well, I don't wanna keep you if you've got work to do." He turns to leave.
I reach for his arm and touch his wrist. “Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about something.” My mouth has gone dry. I realize as he watches me that I don't know how to begin. What if it flips him out? Butterflies flitter through my stomach.
“Is everything all right?” Marco asks.
“Yeah. It’s… I don’t know where to begin,” I say.
“Let’s walk. It’s easier to talk when you’re moving.”
“Is that true?”
“I have no idea, but it sounds like it could be.” His laugh sets me at ease.
We follow the stone path until it turns around Rubydown dorm, then we step into the grass and make our way to the woods.
Once we’re deeper into the trees, everything feels smaller, more close, protected somehow.
“Marco, I…” I can’t do it. I close my eyes and start again.
“Look, Joely, I think I know what you’re going to say. And I want you to know it’s all right.”
“How do you know? Did Angus talk to you already?”
“Angus? No. I haven’t talked to anyone…” He stops, confused. “Wait, maybe we aren’t talking about the same thing.”
I laugh and pull us over to a log so we can sit down. I blow out my breath. “I’m just going to say it, all right? And I don’t want you be freaked out or angry or anything.”
“I promise. Nothing you say can possibly freak me out,” Marco says.
“I have to tell you that when we went out last weekend, when you all showed me your wolves…”
“Yeah?”
“Well, something changed for me. I felt something that I can’t really explain. It’s like this connection. At first I wasn’t sure what it was, because I was riding on Angus and it felt like his energy was seeping up through his body into mine. It was so amazing and I felt so close to him, like I could cry just thinking about it. The feeling is so pure and good, and…” I realize Marco is nodding. “And why does it seem like you know what I’m talking about?”
He nods and looks down at his hands. “Yeah. I know we’ve been saying it a lot, but it’s a wolf thing. And I’m sorry if feeling something for me makes you uncomfortable. I don’t blame you for wanting to lay down some rules and boundaries or whatever. I get it. I can learn to deal with it. Given time I’ll get used to it. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Wait, what are you talking about? Why would I worry about you?”
 
; He shrugs but won’t look at me. “You’re with Angus. It’s obvious he makes you happy. And I know that he’s crazy about you. This other thing, with me… it doesn’t have to mean anything.”
I feel my face flush as it dawns on me that whatever Marco’s feeling, it isn’t something he’s interested in. I can’t believe I never even considered that. I am such a presumptuous asshole.
I get up on my feet. I want to run away and hide my face forever. “Marco, I am such a jerk. I assumed. I shouldn’t have made this a thing. I’ll go. We don’t have to talk about this again. Let’s just pretend we haven’t had this conversation.”
Marco’s eyes go wide and he gets up and grabs my hand. “Wait. Don’t leave. I think maybe we’ve both got this wrong. How about you just start over and don’t worry about my reaction. We’re dancing around the same thing here, and I think it’s important that we’re clear.”
I take a deep breath and feel my chest stutter. I’ve never been in a situation like this, where everything feels so important.
I look into his face, waiting for Marco to make eye contact. When he does, I just let the words tumble out of me.
“When I was riding on your back I felt like a part of me connected with a part of you. It wasn’t like it cut off my connection with Angus, it added to it. There was just… more. And since then, it hasn’t stopped. Angus said that it was not that surprising, given the wolf thing, as you call it. But I felt something for you back there, Marco. I still feel it and I don’t know if this is normal or what…”
Marco smiles and takes my hands in his. “Joely, you don’t understand. With wolves this can be completely normal.”
I stop and feel the heat rising inside me, waking every nerve and reaching the way to down to my toes. Screw it, we’re being open, and I decide to just go for it. I say the words before I chicken out. “Then what if I don’t want to deny it?”
Marco’s eyes widen and his face seems wreathed in one giant smile as he reaches for me, wrapping an arm around me as he pulls me close.