“Besides, Ayaz has a binding spell to start on, and someone has to stay behind and watch out for the other scholarship students,” I added.
Quinn waved a hand. “Pssssh. Andre has more than proven he doesn’t need help from the likes of me.”
Ayaz didn’t look happy about it either, but instead of arguing, he swept me into his arms and planted a smoldering kiss on my lips. “Be careful,” he whispered.
Quinn’s eyes raked over my body. He didn’t offer any goodbyes, and I pretended I didn’t care.
I pulled on my leather jacket and followed Trey through the dorms and down to the atrium. We didn’t bother with the secret passage this time. My Docs squeaked on the marble floors. Even though it was past the official curfew, no one stopped us. The teachers barely had a presence at all after dark – they were preoccupied with other things, like guarding the gym while West finished whatever she was doing to Zehra.
Please be strong, Zehra. We’re coming for you as soon as we figure out a way. I just hope we’re not too late.
Hand in hand, Trey and I strolled out the front door, descended the stone steps, crossed the lawn, and entered the forest.
Even though I’d made my way through this forest several times already, I still couldn’t distinguish the different routes. Trey led the way with ease, picking the easiest path around fallen trees and over the craggy rocks jutting from the earth.
“For a pretty rich boy, you seem comfortable here in the wild,” I said.
“Twenty years living in hell with this forest as a boundary, you learn the land as well as I once knew our Martha’s Vineyard holiday home.” Trey turned to help me over a fallen log. His hands rested on my arms, steadying me. That was Trey – a rock, a solid force. When he was my bully, standing up to him had felt like pushing back against a stone statue – cold and immovable. But now that he was on my side, now that he had my heart and I his, it was like he’d build a wall up around both of us. Nothing could penetrate it.
It was such a strange feeling, this protection.
Trey picked up the rock he’d chiseled from its hiding place and placed it with reverence into his backpack. We continued down the peninsula into the town of Arkham, sticking to the bushes as much as possible. I hoped Trey’s hoodie would be enough to keep his identity secret. After all, it wasn’t as if people in the town regularly saw the students.
After a time, we reached the base of the peninsula. Here, the gravel road gave way to asphalt. We kept to the trees as we entered the village, ears pricked for sounds. We emerged from the forest opposite the Arkham Grand Hotel, crouching behind the bushes and peering up at the grand facade. As promised, Deborah waited out front, her three dogs fighting their leads and her eyes scanning the horizon. Leopold sat up, his ears pricked. He barked three times.
I nudged Trey. “He’s excited to see you.”
“He is not. That’s just what dogs do.” Trey practically bounded across the street. Leopold knocked him back on the grass, licking his face while Trey convulsed with laughter. Deborah helped him up.
“I’d better get you all inside,” she said. “We don’t know who’s watching.”
Deborah’s room wasn’t in the hotel itself, but a cheaper motel room in an annex at the rear of the parking lot. “These were the only rooms where they’d allow me to have the dogs,” she explained as she opened the screen door and ushered us inside. “But they’re more private and none of the parents would deign to stay in such sub-par accommodations, so I think it worked out for the best.”
Trey took a seat on the faded sofa. All three dogs immediately mauled him with sloppy kisses. He laughed as he tried to scratch Leopold’s ears while Roger pawed his chest, demanding attention. Trey’s laugh was so rare.
I leaned against the kitchenette counter. I folded my arms, unfolded them, put my hands behind my back, at my sides, tucked them behind my neck. Nerves tickled my abdomen. I had no idea why.Deborah has done nothing but try to help us so far, and she’d driven all the way to give us this news.
That was it – why drive here and stay near the school where it was most dangerous, when she could have told me over the phone? I didn’t like it – I knew I didn’t have the whole picture, and that made me nervous. When I was nervous, I got fiery.
Deborah bustled around the kitchen, banging cups on the counter and opening a bag of cookies. The coffee machine beeped, the sound stabbing at my brain.
“What did you want to tell us?” I demanded. My fingers flew to the scar on my wrist.
“In a moment.” Deborah fussed with the coffee machine. “Do you want a hot drink? Trey, there’s dog treats and more snacks on the table. I figured you guys would appreciate that.”
Trey shrugged. “Not me, but Hazel should probably eat something. She’s running on adrenaline and righteous indignation.”
“Hazel, do you take your coffee black or—”
“Tell me,” I snapped.
Deborah froze, her hand gripping her cup so hard her knuckles had turned white. “Of course. I’d forgotten that you don’t have the patience for small talk. Sit down next to Trey.”
“I prefer to stand.” I didn’t like how cornered I felt in this room, as if there was no escape. I moved around the table to stand by the door.
Deborah perched on the arm of the sofa, her eyes flicking from me to Trey. She set down her cup and pulled a stack of papers from her bag. She dropped them on the table in front of me. I glanced at the first page, but all I saw was a lot of scientific jargon and graphs with wavy lines.
“I started to suspect this when you first came to visit me,” she said. “When Hazel demonstrated her powers. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for certain because… well, you’ll see why. I didn’t want to give you something and then take it away again. But the tests confirm it, so I…”
