“Exactly.”
Maxon pulls his wrist from my hand. “You don’t have a scythe yet, Addy. If you do come across this demon, then what do you plan to do with it?”
“I don’t have one yet, but I’ll be getting one soon. And I know spells. I can trap it, stun it, send it through a portal and into the woods.”
“You say that like it’s easy.”
“I know it’s not easy,” I spit. “But I also know that taking the easy way out isn’t always for the best. You could be next.”
“I’d like to see the demon try to get me.”
I roll my eyes. “You’ve already almost died by the hands of a demon, and you were prepared,” I say as another thought occurs to me. “It’s highly unlikely that a demon could get into the realm undetected, let alone the academy. But nothing is impossible, right? When you assume absolute certainty, bad things happen, and that’s what it seems might be happening now. No one is prepared at all. No one suspects it. We’re easy pickings here, if you think about it. Like fishing in a barrel. I get not wanting to cause panic, but we need to warn everyone. Give them a fighting chance before they’re devoured too.”
Maxon’s jaw tenses, and right when I expect him to disagree with me, he nods. “You’re right. Let’s…let’s look into this more, okay? Keep it between us for now.”
I quickly nod my head up and down. “Okay, but we need to—” I cut myself off when the heavy front doors of the academy creak open. Since Max and I stopped to argue, we hadn’t made it very far down the hall.
Max holds a finger up to his lips and we inch forward, staying against the wall and out of sight.
“Headmistress,” a deep voice rumbles through the hall.
“General, thank you for coming so quickly,” Professor Messor tells him.
“I understand the issue is urgent.”
“Very. Another student has gone missing.”
“I take it the proper protocol has been followed?”
“Of course,” Professor Messor snaps. “We’ve implemented searches, used locator spells, and interviewed students. There is no logical explanation for this latest disappearance.” Footsteps echo through the foyer, and the door to Professor Messor’s office clicks shut.
“Told you,” I mumble, looking up at Maxon. “Whatever’s out there…it’s going to strike again.”
“We’ll stop it.” Maxon narrows his eyes and nods. “If they don’t, we will.”
My heart flutters in my chest. “Yes, we will.”
“We better get up there, though. We know something is going on, but the rest of our house doesn’t.”
“Do you think anyone is going to try to sneak out?”
“Yes, and it’s usually the fifth and sixth years who get defiant. The older students have finally gotten smart enough to know curfews and restrictions are put in place for a reason, and the younger students are too scared to put a toe out of line.”
“What about protection spells?”
“They’ll be placed, I’m sure of it. But not yet.”
“Then let’s hurry.”
We pick up the pace, jogging down the hall and up a set of stairs, not slowing until we reach the large common room in front of the entrances to each of the houses.
“Max!” Celeste shoots up from the chair she was sitting on right next to the large fireplace. Her eyes flash like broken glass in the firelight, staring daggers at me. Her nostrils flare and she looks back and forth for a few seconds before letting out her breath in a huff. “I should have known you’d be with her.”
“What are you doing out here?” Ignoring her accusation, Max goes over to her and extends a hand. He means to guide her to the entrance to the Magi house, but Celeste mistakes it for a gesture of affection. She throws herself at him, trying to push him back and down onto a couch.
“Celeste!” He brings his hands up and plants them firmly on her shoulders, gently pushing her away. “What are you doing out here?” he repeats. “We’re on a lockdown.”
“Why, because another coward ran away?”
