I’d gained 500 points, and Trey lost 500.
How is that possible?
A heavy hand fell on my shoulder. “We need to talk,” Trey’s voice whispered in my ear.
I found myself nodding. Andre’s eyes widened, and he made the sign of the cross before hurrying away, dragging a protesting Greg with him. Trey grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the dormitory. “Not here. In my room.”
Numb with disbelief, I followed him up another floor and down a corridor even more opulent than the one below. He pushed open a door right at the end and ushered me inside, slamming the door shut behind me.
My breath caught in my throat as I stared around the enormous space.This isn’t a dorm room, it’s apalace.
Trey occupied a suite of rooms at the top of the tower. Tall windows on three sides looked down over the courtyard and fields below. A large black sofa wrapped around a glass-topped coffee table and faced a TV that practically covered an entire wall. Beneath the TV were stacks of DVDs and video games. I guess if you were a rich student, the rules about electronics didn’t apply. There was a full kitchen in gleaming black marble and chrome, a bar area, and doors leading off into what I guessed were a bathroom and bedroom. Everything was modern and gleaming – stainless steel and black leather, sharp corners and polished surfaces. It was magnificent – it just wasn’t the room I’d pictured Trey living in.
Not that I’d been picturing Trey in a room, in a bed, naked in the shower.Not at all.
Quinn lounged on the sofa, flicking through an ancientPlayboymagazine. It was weird that so much stuff at this school – from the teachers’ laptops to the magazines to that condom wrapper someone threw at Greg – was a decade or two out-of-date.
Quinn’s eyes were still so swollen he had to hold the practically against his nose. One look at my face and he flashed his lopsided heart-melting smile. “So you’ve seen, then?”
“Put down your scratch and sniff porn mag and tell me what’s going on,” I demanded. “Why do I suddenly have 500 extra merit points?”
“Because we gave them to you,” Trey said.
Simple. Just like that.
I folded my arms. “Why would you do that?”
Trey’s eyes flicked to the door. Quinn suddenly appeared very interesting in Paris Hilton’s cleavage.Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. They’re nervous. The Kings of Derleth are actually nervous around me. But why? Do they think I’m planning another itching powder stunt?
“Let’s wait until Ayaz gets here,” Trey said. He moved to the kitchen and opened a large stainless steel fridge that looked more like a food replicator from the starshipEnterprise. “Want a drink?”
“No thanks. I prefer not to drink anthrax this early in the morning.”
Quinn snorted. Trey cocked an eyebrow as he filled the coffee machine with beans. “Suit yourself.”
I leaned against the counter, watching the muscles in Trey’s shoulders contract as he pulled frozen croissants from the freezer and shoved them in the oven. “So if you won’t tell me why you did this, will you at least tell me how?”
“We broke into Hermia’s office last night and hacked the list,” Quinn said. “Ayaz did the actual programming. His kind are whizzes with computers. That’s why his people man all the call centers.”
From behind me, I heard a sigh. “You’re thinking of India, bro.”
I whirled around. Ayaz leaned against the doorframe, his eyes raking over my body like he was a hunter and I was a tiger ready to pounce. I wondered if he wanted me to pounce.
“India, Turkey, potato, potahto.” Quinn flipped a page.
“Name one person who actually says potahto,” I said. Quinn grinned.
Ayaz moved into the kitchen and made his own coffee in a tiny cup. When he poured it out, it was so thick and dark, it looked like tar, which reminded me uncomfortably of what Courtney did to my hair. The guys all looked relaxed in this gleaming room, like they hung out here all the time. Which I guessed they did. The place was bigger than any of the other student rooms I’d glimpsed. It dwarfed the entire dining hall.
I glared at Ayaz, still thinking about the tar. “Are you the one who’s been breaking into my room and locker?”
He stared at the floor. “I stole your keys from you when I dumped those maggots in your breakfast, made a copy in the art studio, and then returned them to you. Fucking Courtney’s got the key now, though, so I’d put something heavy in front of your door before you sleep if I were you.”
Great. Yet another thing to worry about. “If you didn’t have my key until then, how did you get my journal?”
Ayaz jabbed his thumb in Trey’s direction. “Trey paid the maid to bring him anything she found that looked personal.”
My face flicked over to Trey, flushed with anger. At least they both had the decency to look sheepish. “Amazing that a Derleth King would resort to petty breaking and entering. So what’s this latest torture about?” I demanded. “Let me guess. You’re going to tell the headmistress I stole all those points from Trey, and have me kicked out. Fine, whatever. I don’t care anymore. I have bigger problems. My roommate is missing.”
