“But I was gonna?—”
“Read the book, yeah, yeah,” I said, shooing her toward the bathroom. “Whatever you do after I leave is on you, but I’m not leaving until you’re tucked in bed. Hurry up, I’d like to get at least two or three hours of sleep before classes tomorrow.”
“Fine,” Wendy grumbled as she marched to the bathroom.
“Hey,” I said as she walked. “Do you mind if I read this first? It sounds interesting.”
I held the true crime book up for her to see.
“Sure,” she said. “It’ll take me a few days to read the other one between studying and classes and stuff.”
“Thanks,” I said, and slipped it into the small crossbody backpack that served as my purse.
When she returned after changing and brushing her teeth, I tugged the blankets back and helped her in, then pulled them up to her chin. Reaching over, I patted the hardcover book where I’d set it on her nightstand.
“I know you won’t listen, but I’m going to say it anyway. At least then I can clear my conscience. No reading tonight. Go to bed. Okay?”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice soft and quiet, finally sounding like the child she was. “For being my only friend.”
A lump formed in my throat so suddenly that I almost choked. Swallowing hard, I nodded. “Uh, yeah…no problem,” I said, barely getting the words out while my eyes stung and burned. “It was fun.”
“I’m glad I’m friends with someone like you,” she said through a yawn.
“You get some sleep, kid.” I hurried toward the door, desperate for the girl to not see me cry.
“Good night, Veronica,” Wendy called. Despite what she’d said, I knew she’d be fast asleep before she could open her new book.
“Good night,” I said, flipping off the light and closing the door.
Running a hand through my hair, I walked back to my room, moving slowly as I thought about what I’d done that night. Ideally, no one would ever know, but it still made me nervous that Balthazar would find out somehow. It would probably be days before I could breathe easy. I needed to remind Wendy in the morning to keep the book hidden until she’d finished it. The last thing I needed was Balthazar asking his niece how she’d gotten it.
As I walked, I went through a few magical theorems I needed to memorize for the upcoming tests, and I even tried a few spells. I managed to change some wallpaper from orange to red and back again, levitated an armchair, and conjured a floating fireballbefore me, but couldn’t figure out how to condense water from the air around me—it was a simple spell, but it still eluded me. Instead of drenching the fireball, I had to lower it and stomp it out quickly before it could burn the carpet.
“Keep practicing, Paolo,” I whispered to myself and continued on.
When I was on the stairs leading to my room, I reached down and felt glasses in my pocket. Wendy’s new glasses.
“Shit,” I hissed.
I could have taken them to my room and kept them until I saw her in the morning, but I knew she’d want them when she woke up. I didn’t want her to freak and think she’d lost them first thing. She was probably already asleep. If I snuck in, I could probably stick them on her nightstand without waking her.
“What’s another ten minutes?” I murmured to myself as I backtracked.
When I arrived at her door, I paused, frowning. I had a strange feeling of worry and instinctual fear. It both pushed me away and drove me onward. I sniffed the air, using my shifter senses, and I noticed something even stranger. A scent that didn’t belong. A scent I didn’t recognize. A scent that sure as shit did not belong to Wendy.
“Wendy?” I said, as I opened the door and stepped into the room.
I skidded to a stop. The bed was empty. The covers and sheets had been dragged off and lay in a puddle on the floor by the window. A window that was shattered. Jagged shards of glassaround the edge made the opening look like the maw of some horrifying beast.
“Wendy!”
She was gone. Someone had taken her. My mind reeled with that knowledge, but my body was frozen with indecision. Should I go to the window and see if her abductor was visible? No. I needed to get to Balthazar. He had to know. He was the strongest in the academy. He’d know what to do.
I spun on my heels and sprinted, fear and horror filling me like some rancid vase. Wilted flowers sucking up the awful brackish imaginary liquid within me. Screaming his name, I rounded the corner and rushed for his quarters. Already I could hear that I’d woken some people. Doors opened and groggy voices called out, but that wasn’t important. IneededBalthazar to find his niece, to find my friend, and save her.
Usually, I’d have knocked and waited, but time wasn’t on our side. I could ask for forgiveness later. Even as I grabbed the knob, twisted, and bolted inside, I noticed a faint metallic smell, odorous and wafting from beneath the door, growing stronger as I lunged inside.
“Balthazar? You’ve got to wake up. Hurry, Wendy’s been…” I trailed off as I gazed into the shadowy room. If I’d been confused by what I found in Wendy’s room, then what I looked at now made no sense whatsoever. Down the hall, through an open door, I could see his bedroom, and no one was in the bed—in fact, it looked perfectly made, as though no one had slept in it all night. Instead, Balthazar sat on the ground, his back pressed against his desk.
