“Na…” Max closes his eyes for a second, then gives a decisive nod. “Outside.”
I follow my cousin as he stalks out of Defectivum and into the gloomy dusk. “Left? Right? Give me the sight,” he mutters to himself, then starts heading toward the construction site, following his hellhound instincts.
"Ludo!" I shout as I reach the perimeter fence. The site is surrounded by high metal walls. Fuck, even if he hears me, it’s not like he can shout back.
“He definitely came this way,” Max says. “The spoor leads right to the gates.”
“Spoor? He’s not an animal.”
Max raises an eyebrow. “We all are, cuz. Get with the program.”
Right.
So Ludo went inside the compound. What now?
A patrol of guards turns the corner.
“Retreat,” I mutter to Max, and we both head back into the shadows.
The two men walk slowly. Alert. Carrying guns.
“Getting inside will be problematic,” I murmur.
“Not if we shift and just tear down the walls,” Max replies, eyes fixed on the razor wire.
Fuck. Is he right? Is that the best plan? It’s not exactly nuanced. I need a beat.
I need to think.
“This is going to take careful consideration, and I don’t want us to be conspicuous by missing the assembly.”
“Fucking waste of time.”
“It is, but don’t forget you’re on probation. The alternative is getting ejected from the campus, and where would we be then?”
Even Maximus has to agree with the point I’m making.
???
The faculty are sitting in neat rows on the stage, and below us, the students.
Larrisa Crankshawe, looking harried, paces the dais. She’s talking about ‘tragedy,’ ‘security breaches,’ and ‘the resilient spirit of Validus Vale,’.
The usual air of ‘chirpy cheerleader’ is nowhere to be seen.
My gaze seeks out Donovan Hart. His eyes are fixed on the dean with a cold, unblinking intensity. I think he’d gut her to find the truth of Theo’s disappearance.
And so would I.
What does she know?
By his side, Cosmo is slouched back in his chair, the model of a Drakeward contempt for pedestrian proceedings, but the disdain is a mask.
He cares.
Far more than I thought possible.
Though that’s not surprising. I have a notion that all of us who were with Theo in Avalon are more than just friends, or lovers.
