“I hate to break up the reunion,” Trey hissed. “But we need to get back to school before we’re missed.”
Zehra’s face swung around, seeing the rest of us for the first time. “Trey Bloomberg, you haven’t changed a bit. I still remember the first day I came to this school. You had Ayaz steal my diary and you read my poem aloud to the entire dining hall. You made me want to die. Guess the joke’s on you.”
Trey’s smirk froze.I dig this chick already.
“He did something similar to me,” I said, offering my hand for her to shake. “We didn’t formally introduce ourselves last time, friend. I’m Hazel Waite, scholarship student, currently one of only three living students at Derleth Academy.”
“Zehra Demir.” She shook my hand with a firm grip. “I know all about you, Hazel. That was a hell of a deal you made with the devil.”
“I’m told that we’re not supposed to call the Great Old God a devil or demon,” I said. “Apparently, it upsets him.”
“I meant Headmistress West,” Zehra grinned. “She’s the devil incarnate.”
“No argument.” I grinned back.
“I’m not sure why we’re still hanging out in this cave.” Zehra led me back towards the entrance. Trey protested, but I was only too happy to ignore him. “So, tell me, if you’re a scholarship student, how did you end up with my brother and the two biggest dicks in the school?”
“I actually don’t have an answer to that question.” I shrugged. “I guess they’re trying to help me.”
“Hazy’s my girlfriend.” Quinn came up behind us and tried to throw his arm over my shoulders. I shoved him. His foot slipped and he skidded back, landing on his ass in a puddle of brackish water. He winced and I ran to help him, knowing that must’ve hurt with his injuries.
“Fuck!” Trey growled as Quinn splashed filth up his trouser legs. “Thanks a lot, Quinn.”
“You’re welcome,” Quinn said, deliberately splashing Trey again as he let me help him stagger onto his feet.
“I amend my previous statement,” I said to Zehra. “Trey and Ayaz are helping me. Quinn is trying to get into my pants.”
“Why are you back here, Little Turk?” Quinn asked as he slipped into step behind us, keeping a bit of distance this time. “Surely there are better things to do with your freedom than hiding out in caves and spying on us?”
“Well,Quinnanigans, I’m trying to get your life back,” Zehra punched him in the arm. I smirked.Quinnanigans – I’ll have to remember that.“All the time I haven’t spent escaping assassins and learning how to surf, I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what happened here. I’ve tracked down a woman who used to work with Headmistress West, back when she was plain old Dr. Hermia West at Arkham General Hospital.”
“So?” Trey demanded.
“So… didn’t you read those articles I left for you?” Zehra’s eyes flashed, just like Ayaz’s did when he was frustrated.
The articles…I remembered the stack of old newspaper clippings in the storage room. They weren’t there now. “There was one about the fire. I went to show it to Ayaz but then I got waylaid by some shadows and next time I looked they were gone.”
“Waylaid by shadows… jeez.” Zehra rubbed her forehead with her hand. “I thought you were the brains of this lot. Guess it’s going to have to be me, as usual. All the answers you needed were in those articles, and if someone at that school has their hands on them…”
“You’d better catch us up,” Trey said. “What did you find?”
“Three years before the fire at Miskatonic Prep, Hermia West was fired from Arkham General after it was discovered she was experimenting on bodies in the hospital morgue.”
“If that’s true, how did she get the job as headmistress at a prestigious school? Surely that would’ve come out in the media?”
“The hospital would do anything to avoid litigation by the families of the deceased. According to my source, West had a wealthy benefactor who swooped in and offered a generous donation to the hospital if they kept the story out of the papers. By the time Hermia West appeared in front of the school board, she had a glowing recommendation from one of their own.”
“Let me guess,” Trey said darkly. “Vincent Bloomberg II.”
Zehra shot finger guns at Trey. “This guy’s cleverer than he looks.”
“You’re the one who’s brilliant.” Ayaz squeezed Zehra so tight I thought her eyes would pop out of her skull.
“That’s not even the full story. Before the morgue incident, there were two cases of mysterious patient deaths. In both cases, someone punctured the patient’s IV drip and administered a concoction of drugs – none of which were doctor prescribed or listed on that patient’s chart. Both patients died in agony while their bodies were in complete paralysis – they couldn’t call out for help. Also, a bunch of medications and chemicals went missing from hospital stores. Neither the thefts nor the deaths were ever connected to Ms. West, but the other nurses and the internal hospital risk manager suspected she was the one behind them.”
“What does this have to do with the school?”
Zehra’s eyes flashed. She hadn’t forgotten the things Trey had done to her, and hearing the impatience in his voice brought that all back. When she spoke again, her voice had an edge to it. “You think it’s a coincidence West got the headmistress job even though she’s not exactly qualified, and then three years later a whole bunch of students die in a fire, and those same students then end up as reanimated corpses, confined to the walls of this very school?”
