Finally, the man wearing a newsboy cap noticed me. He swore and glanced at his partner.
“Students shouldn’t be back here,” the other man said.
I gestured to the coffee. “Sorry. What’s going on?”
“It’s classified.” Newsboy-cap-guy shot his partner a warning look.
The woman’s hand grabbed me. Hot coffee sloshed everywhere as our skin met, but that wasn’t what made me gasp. My skin tingled at her touch. She was a witch.
“Don’t trust anyone!Anyone,I tell you, girl!” the woman shrieked. “They’ll—”
But I never got the chance to figure out what anyone would do, because at that very moment, Newsboy Cap clocked the witch over her head, and she passed out.
“Hey! What the heck? Why did you do that?”
“Like I said, classified,” Newsboy Cap snapped, and the men kept moving toward the door at the other end of the hall.
Oh hell, no. You will not just dismiss me.
I barged forward after them, only to have a pair of hands reach out and stop me. My head whirled about, and I saw David Chena, his brows furrowed with worry.
“Are you okay, Odette? Did she hurt you?”
I shook my head, perplexed by the question, and all the air left David’s chest.
“I’m so sorry. First years should never have to see something like that,” he said, concern in his eyes.
“I’m fine,” I insisted and pointed to the woman. “But what’s wrong with her? Why are they forcing her to go somewhere? They’re being super rough.”
“She’s ill. Very ill. And she’s been threatening to unveil the government and witches’ relationship.”
My blood froze, and I shot a nervous glance at the door that the witch had disappeared through. Why would someone want to do that? Why would they endanger us all?
“Do you want to sit down?” David asked.
I shook my head and suddenly became aware that my classmates had trickled into the hallway. “No, let’s just get on with the tour. I’m fine.”
“All right. But if you feel even the slightest bit off, you’d tell me, right?”
My lips formed a thin smile. “I promise,” I said. My word seemed to be enough for David, who released me and began wrangling my peers into a group again.
A few moments later, our informational tour started back up. Once again, I stayed to the back of the class, shooting glances at the door that the witch had disappeared through until it was no longer in sight.
Chapter Nineteen
The scene from the PIA played in my head for the hundredth time during Demonology the following Monday. By now, Eva and Hunter had heard my story and agreed that it sounded odd, but not unprecedented. Eva’s mother had known a spy who’d rebelled and disappeared from the agency overnight.
But the question of why a witch would rebel remained. Magicals had a good thing going for them. We could use our gifts for the greater good, and governments kept our secrets from the wider populaces—a demographic too varied to ensure the peaceful acceptance of magicals.
“Answer the question, Miss Dane.” Professor de Spina rapped his pointer stick against my desk with a loudthwack, and I nearly fell out of my seat.
“Sorry, Professor de Spina. What was that?” I asked, trying to play it cool while a few people tittered, and de Spina glared at me.
“I’ll accept your apology if you can tell me what this is.” De Spina swung his arm to the right and twirled his fingers in a move I’d now seen many times. A ghost-like creature appeared and began to glow as if it were on fire. The demon’s narrow eyes were glowing red, and his lips curved up grotesquely, like an exaggerated clown smile.
I shivered as I always did when our professor introduced new demons. The illustrations in our textbook were not as sharp as his conjurings.
“Ummm.” I studied the monster, taking the most interest in the way his hands and feet glowed like flames. “A fire demon?”
