Ziv shakes his head. “No. Going there would only draw more attention to her and give the gods a reason to punish us. I’m going to bring him to me.”
“I want to be there,” I insist as I stand as if he might try to leave right now.
“I can’t get you past the wards without raising alarms.”
“That’s bullshit!” I rage indignantly.
“I know, but it’s also reality.” Ziv is calm, and it pisses me off even more.
“Fuck the wards,” I argue, even though I know I’m fighting a losing battle. “Tell Syrinx to turn the other way and keep her mouth shut.”
“We can’t trust her.”
“I know we can’t trust her, but you can threaten her. Tell her if anyone finds out, you’ll put her in your little hole and torture her for eternity. It isn’t like you don’t have the free space.” I throw the fact that he killed Briar’s father too easily in his face just to piss him off.
“If anything happens to her, I will be the first one they come for. We are trying to get out from under the gods’ thumbs, not give them more reasons to want us dead.”
“They don’t care about her!”
“Maybe not, but someone is watching out for her, and they do care about the Undertaking.”
“It’s a fucking game. They can’t be that bored.” If wringing his neck would make him yield, I would do it. It wouldn’t even kill him since I never go anywhere without protection covering my skin anymore.
“Do you really think it’s as simple as a game, demon?” The big bastard glares at me with those swirling eyes, and I want nothing more than to gouge out the reminder of what he was. Not that long ago, he was just like them—still is.
“Why don’t you tell me since you’re one of them?”
“Was,” he corrects in a low voice I’m too pissed to take heed of. “They may have started out as entertainment, but over time, the gods realized they served a vital purpose. Want to know what’s almost as good as worship? Fear. The Undertaking serves both purposes. If the masses aren’t praying to the gods in hopes of surviving the games, then they are living in fear of perishing in them. They won’t give up the attention, because if they did, they could become as anemic as the djinn, relegated to folktales about wish granting deities that live in bottles who answer to a master. There is nothing they wouldn’t do to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“I can’t believe I never once thought about how sick this is until her. We all just stand in line like it’s some fucking honor to be set up for slaughter. Our lives hinge on whether or not we get selected and survive these fucking games and for what? So the gods can stay powerful!”
“They are banking on the fact that it’s an accepted tradition, and when they hear murmurs of rebellion, we squash it.”
“We?” It doesn’t slip my attention that he included himself in their group.
“Yes, we. I’ve killed my fair share of dissenters, so believe me when I tell you it’s nothing to them. They would wipe out an entire institute to prove a point. Just imagine what they would do if they really thought their godhood was challenged. The only thing worse for them would be death, or to become like me.”
I feel my lip curl in disgust, but there’s no point in arguing or denying him, because I agree with everything he’s saying. I also know the lengths people are willing to go to so they can protect what’s important to them. That’s why I’m here in the fallen’s room in the first place. “At some point, you’ll be stuck sitting on your ass, useless, and I will get to watch you squirm.”
Ziv turns his head slowly to acknowledge me, his voice droll when he says, “You think that will be some new fuckingexperience for me? You think I don’t know exactly how useless I am right now?”
“No, I’m certain you don’t know because if you did, you already would have leveled this place and everyone in it, but you will know, fallen, mark my words. Someday, you’ll think back on this moment and know exactly what it feels like.” I leave before our interaction devolves into something worse.
With nothing but dead time on my hands, I shift into my shadow form and seek out Syrinx. Following her is the only thing that has given me a measure of worth lately. I only left her to come see Ziv because I wanted an update on my creature and the headmistress was still in her office where I can’t go without risking detection.
The halls of the Ivy are empty, which I’ve come to expect recently. With the selection growing closer, the novices are being pushed to the brink of exhaustion. There’s no time for socialization or energy for reveling in petty gossip. It’s all about giving your best so you can be considered for glory… or death. However, it does make finding my way to Syrinx’s office relatively easy.
I stay clear of her vampire underling after confirming the headmistress is indeed still in her office. Her senses are keener than most, even while I’m in this form. I’m certain the vamp spotted me one day last week and has been on guard ever since, or maybe I’m paranoid. Either way, I hunker down in a corner, allowing my essence to pool near the floor in the natural shadows created by the waxing moon.
With nothing but time on my hands, I replay the conversation in Ziv’s room over and over, but nothing changes—not the outcome or my general disgust with the situation. I rack my brain for a solution to leaving the school undetected, but I haven’t tested the wards. There was no desire to before Briar,and after, I couldn’t risk tipping our hand, or at least that’s what Ziv said.
I’m not as convinced we’re being watched like he is. Oaktar hasn’t returned, nor have any other gods for that matter, yet we still cower in fear from the notion that they may.
Hushed voices emanating from the hall interrupt my circling thoughts. Recognition comes quickly. Though it kills me to admit this since I would like nothing more than to see the banshee tortured for her involvement in Briar’s disappearance, her voice is captivating. While I’ve never met another banshee, I’m certain it’s part of her ability—I won’t accept any other possibility.
“Had I known the trouble she would cause, I never would have allowed her to step foot out of that town or anywhere near this institute. I should have had her killed the very night she was found.” I don’t need confirmation to know she’s talking about Briar, but I do wonder what I’ve already missed. Instant rage makes it hard to maintain my shadow form. I would love nothing more than to shift and kill her with a single touch, but I need to know more. This is the first time I’ve heard anything of importance in the weeks I’ve been trailing her.
“I wish you would have spoken to me before sending her to Foley. We could have handled this here.” The male voice is unfamiliar, and I can’t see either of them without risking revealing my concealed position.
