“I’ve felt this way once before,” Charlie remarked. “I got the same headache when we went to the fence line and tried to escape earlier this semester. These crystals must be what the Warden buried around the perimeter of the Institute. They’re why we can’t break out.”
I gritted my teeth as I took the gemstone from Charlie. “This thing literally burns my hand.”
“Mine too,” Charlie said. “It was painful to hold.”
“Oh, ancestors. Does anyone have a glove?” I asked painstakingly. Touching this thing was getting more agonizing by the minute.
“Here.” Charlie slipped off his sweater and handed it to me, leaving him in his white button-up. I bundled the crystal into the sweater, and the effects lessened slightly, though the thing made me nauseous to be around. It’d left a tiny mark on my skin.
“Remember the potion I talked about, Charlie?” I asked. “The one that could tell us what this thing is made of? Let’s go brew it now. The stuff’s in the Lair.”
“I’m not going,” Marcus said. “I need to leave.”
“Marcus,” Kallie said softly.
“I’m at the counseling session because I have to be, but as far as anything else goes, I can’t be seen with you guys anymore. It’s too dangerous,” Marcus insisted. “I have to report back to the Dead Men. Don’t try to talk to me, especially not in public. It’ll only make things worse.”
Marcus romped off with Rishi. Kallie’s gaze dropped, and I asked, “Do you want to stay here? Charlie and I can handle this.”
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “See you two later.”
Kallie headed off in the other direction, her hair hanging in her face. Gods, she got really depressed when Marcus wasn’t around. It was so sad to see.
“Let’s leave, before anyone notices us doing so,” Charlie noted.
We got to the Lair as quickly as we could. I’d already stashed the ingredients we needed for the potion there after stealing them from the alchemy lab days ago. Oberi stood guard at the entrance, while I sat on the floor and got to brewing the potion. I lit a fire underneath my cauldron before I added water and started pouring ingredients in; olive oil, cinnamon, dried primrose, and faekin dust that I’d gathered from Alette’s wings. The crystal sat bunched in Charlie’s sweater beside me as I brewed. Even though it wasn’t touching me, I could still feel the crystal’s soft hum.
“What do you think is in that crystal?” Charlie asked.
“I can’t be sure. We know the crystal hurts prophets and demigods,” I said. “If my theory is right, this type of crystal was used on my Aunt Maddie to force her to see visions, and it obviously has a negative effect on us.”
“Hopefully this potion will help us figure out why,” Charlie mused.
“You should know that the potion will eat whatever is put into it. The crystal will be destroyed during the process of the potion breaking down the chemical compounds,” I explained. “We won’t be able to keep it once I drop it in.”
“Fine. Get rid of it,” Charlie demanded, like he couldn’t stand to have the crystal in his presence.
I dropped the crystal into the potion. Charlie and I both sighed in relief as we felt the crystal’s awful effects reside, and the ringing in our ears faded.
I stirred the concoction counterclockwise, before I stood. “We should leave this here to brew. I’ll check on it before our cells are locked for the night.”
Charlie nodded briskly. We got back to the prison before anyone noticed our absence. Oberi walked behind us as we roamed the Institute halls. I headed toward the Villain’s Den, looking to relax for at least a bit of the afternoon. Charlie followed me, and I didn’t know why.
It was annoying. I wanted to be left alone. Loneliness… it was safer. It wouldn’t hurt like seeing Charlie with Scarlet had.
“I could hear your thoughts in counseling,” Charlie noted. “Not everything, but bits and pieces. It was smart of you to tell me where Jaymin had hid the crystal.”
“Uh huh.”
Charlie’s brow furrowed. “Don’t you think it’s cool we can communicate telepathically? It’s something we should work on.”
That would only bring us closer together, which was something I didn’t want. “Keep your thoughts to yourself. I’ve got enough on my mind.”
Charlie frowned. “So… you don’t want to talk to me?”
“Not really.”Ugh, asswipe.
“Did you just call me an asswipe?” Charlie snapped.
