Alexis, Willow and I sprint up the basement stairs.
Students are milling around looking worried and confused. Alexis races out of the door as Bilderblast starts shouting out that we need to line up.
“Get your IDs ready, kids, and don’t give them any lip. This can all be done peacefully and swiftly. Hopefully…”
Whatever he was going to say next is drowned out by the front door crashing open.
We scramble into our positions. My hands are shaking so hard I have to shove them into my pockets.
These aren't the school guards.
These are the Conclave’s ‘Peacekeepers’. Storm-trooper types dressed in matte-black tactical gear and carrying long batons that crackle at the end.
“Eyes front! Silence!” the lead soldier barks, his voice distorted slightly by the full face helmet he wears.
The head count is brutal and fast. A soldier walks down the line, shoving a biometric scanner into our faces. One by one, our IDs beep green. I hold my breath as he reaches me.
Beep.
He moves to Willow.
Beep.
"Count is verified," the lead soldier calls out. "Initiate search."
Willow and I meet eyes.
—This shit is insane—
Soldiers fan out, moving with a synchronized efficiency. I watch, paralyzed, as they race up the stairs towards the dormitories, but relax a little as none of them glance at my basement door.
From our position in the foyer, we can hear splintering wood and shattering glass.
Bilderblast moves forward, “Hey, now. That’s enough.”
The soldier shoves him back with the butt of his weapon. All the remedial students gasp. “This search is by the command of the High Magus,” he barks. “Any interference will result in immediate detainment.”
His radio crackles, and the hallway falls silent as we all listen to the message.
“Floor two, clear.”
“Floor three, clear.”
“Top floor, clear.”
“Get back to the ground floor, search offices and the basements.”
Oh, shit.
15
Idon’t question my minotaur-instincts.
They are directing me through the confined ceiling and wall spaces.
The journey is slow, and agonizing. My body is ill-suited for these narrow passages, even when it’s not beaten and broken.
But I continue on.
