Charmfall
Page 30
“Maybe not,” I said. “But I think we know someone who can get some intel.” I looked at Lesley.
“I’m in,” she simply said, then tilted her head as she looked at Foley and the dragons. “This is easy.”
Without any instructions or warnings, she walked over to Foley. Hands on her hips, she began talking to her. Foley looked surprised, but it looked like she answered whatever Lesley had asked, and then Lesley walked back to us again.
We crowded around her. “What did you say?”
“I asked her if my $78,231 cello was safe in the dorm, or if the dorm was on fire.”
You couldn’t fault her for being direct. “What did she say to that?”
“She said there’s no fire. The company is working to turn off the alarms.”
Scout and I exchanged a glance. “Would someone have tripped the alarm just to get us out of a trig test?” I wondered.
“Like Dorsey said, it wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Maybe, but it happened now that we know Jeremiah’s gunning for your Grimoire? When he thinks he really needs it? Remember what they said—that they had plans?”
She shrugged. “That’s a lot of coincidence.”
“They could be searching our rooms right now.”
“They could be,” Scout agreed. “But they won’t find it. That would be impossible. And I’m not going to tell you where it is,” she added before I could ask. “I don’t want you tortured for it.”
“In that case, thank you very much. Still, we need to get back inside.”
“Yeah, but that’s not exactly going to be easy, is it?” She gestured to the crowd around us, which was still growing as folks filed out of all the school’s buildings. “There are people everywhere.”
“We need a distraction.”
“I’ll take this one, too,” Lesley said, her expression kind of devilish. She cleared her throat and smoothed out her plaid skirt, then began waving her arms in the air.
“My cello! My cello! My gorgeous cello from 1894 that may be burning to a crisp right now! What if it’s on fire? What if it feels pain? Oh, woe, my cello!”
She sounded completely ridiculous, and she looked pretty ridiculous, too. She was running back and forth in a zigzag across the grass, arms flopping around in the air like she’d completely lost it. But she did make a really good distraction. Everyone turned around to look at the crazy teenager who was yelling about her cello. You just didn’t see that kind of thing every day.
As soon as Foley’s back was turned and the rest of the girls were watching Lesley, we snuck around the corner of the building and then raced back to the dorms. But I stopped her before we went inside.
“If this is part of their plan to take the Grimoire, they could still be in there.”
She looked down at her empty hands. “Days like this make me wish I had a wand, you know.” She made two finger guns and pointed them at the door. “Pew pew! Abracadabra.”
“Not really the time for humor.”
“Sorry. I’m nervous.”
I nodded my head, completely understanding the emotion. I was freaking out too, and not just because we might soon be facing down Reapers again. As if last night hadn’t been enough.
What if we were also facing down Sebastian? What if he was part of a team sent to destroy our rooms to find the Grimoire? What if I’d been totally wrong, and he was even worse than I thought he was? What if helping me had all been a plot to get closer to me and Scout . . . and her spellbook?
He was right. I’d never really be able to trust him. I’d never really be able to ignore the possibility that I was being played and he really was as bad as everyone else thought. The first question in my mind would always be “what if,” and I didn’t think there’d ever be a good answer. Especially not if I found him rifling through my stuff.
Oh, God—what if he was rifling through my underwear drawer?
I didn’t hear my name until Scout shouted it. “Lily!”
“What?”
“Where were you just then?”
“You don’t want to know.” I gestured at the door. “Are you ready to go?”
“We have no magic, no weapons, and a school full of dragon ladies on high alert. ‘Ready’ doesn’t really cut it.”
“Actually, we aren’t completely unprepared.” I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. “It’s broad daylight, and any Reapers would be trespassing. Even if we can’t nail them magically, we can nail them with the law.”
“That totally deserves to be a line in an action movie. I mean, a really crappy action movie, but still.” When I rolled my eyes, she held up her hands. “I know, I know, inappropriate timing. Let’s do this. First sign of trouble, you dial nine-one-one. Got it?”
“Right behind you, Tex.”
We slowly pushed open the door to the dorm building, then walked inside and held it until it closed slowly behind us. We stood inside for a moment, just looking and listening.
And for a moment we didn’t hear anything . . . but then we heard rustling and shuffling that didn’t sound like dragon ladies looking for fire or St. Sophia’s girls returning to their rooms.
“They’re up there, aren’t they?” I asked, my stomach beginning to ball with nerves.
“It sounds like it.” She looked back at me, fear in her eyes. “We have to do this, don’t we?”
“I’m in,” she simply said, then tilted her head as she looked at Foley and the dragons. “This is easy.”
Without any instructions or warnings, she walked over to Foley. Hands on her hips, she began talking to her. Foley looked surprised, but it looked like she answered whatever Lesley had asked, and then Lesley walked back to us again.
We crowded around her. “What did you say?”
“I asked her if my $78,231 cello was safe in the dorm, or if the dorm was on fire.”
You couldn’t fault her for being direct. “What did she say to that?”
“She said there’s no fire. The company is working to turn off the alarms.”
Scout and I exchanged a glance. “Would someone have tripped the alarm just to get us out of a trig test?” I wondered.
“Like Dorsey said, it wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Maybe, but it happened now that we know Jeremiah’s gunning for your Grimoire? When he thinks he really needs it? Remember what they said—that they had plans?”
She shrugged. “That’s a lot of coincidence.”
“They could be searching our rooms right now.”
“They could be,” Scout agreed. “But they won’t find it. That would be impossible. And I’m not going to tell you where it is,” she added before I could ask. “I don’t want you tortured for it.”
“In that case, thank you very much. Still, we need to get back inside.”
“Yeah, but that’s not exactly going to be easy, is it?” She gestured to the crowd around us, which was still growing as folks filed out of all the school’s buildings. “There are people everywhere.”
“We need a distraction.”
“I’ll take this one, too,” Lesley said, her expression kind of devilish. She cleared her throat and smoothed out her plaid skirt, then began waving her arms in the air.
“My cello! My cello! My gorgeous cello from 1894 that may be burning to a crisp right now! What if it’s on fire? What if it feels pain? Oh, woe, my cello!”
She sounded completely ridiculous, and she looked pretty ridiculous, too. She was running back and forth in a zigzag across the grass, arms flopping around in the air like she’d completely lost it. But she did make a really good distraction. Everyone turned around to look at the crazy teenager who was yelling about her cello. You just didn’t see that kind of thing every day.
As soon as Foley’s back was turned and the rest of the girls were watching Lesley, we snuck around the corner of the building and then raced back to the dorms. But I stopped her before we went inside.
“If this is part of their plan to take the Grimoire, they could still be in there.”
She looked down at her empty hands. “Days like this make me wish I had a wand, you know.” She made two finger guns and pointed them at the door. “Pew pew! Abracadabra.”
“Not really the time for humor.”
“Sorry. I’m nervous.”
I nodded my head, completely understanding the emotion. I was freaking out too, and not just because we might soon be facing down Reapers again. As if last night hadn’t been enough.
What if we were also facing down Sebastian? What if he was part of a team sent to destroy our rooms to find the Grimoire? What if I’d been totally wrong, and he was even worse than I thought he was? What if helping me had all been a plot to get closer to me and Scout . . . and her spellbook?
He was right. I’d never really be able to trust him. I’d never really be able to ignore the possibility that I was being played and he really was as bad as everyone else thought. The first question in my mind would always be “what if,” and I didn’t think there’d ever be a good answer. Especially not if I found him rifling through my stuff.
Oh, God—what if he was rifling through my underwear drawer?
I didn’t hear my name until Scout shouted it. “Lily!”
“What?”
“Where were you just then?”
“You don’t want to know.” I gestured at the door. “Are you ready to go?”
“We have no magic, no weapons, and a school full of dragon ladies on high alert. ‘Ready’ doesn’t really cut it.”
“Actually, we aren’t completely unprepared.” I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. “It’s broad daylight, and any Reapers would be trespassing. Even if we can’t nail them magically, we can nail them with the law.”
“That totally deserves to be a line in an action movie. I mean, a really crappy action movie, but still.” When I rolled my eyes, she held up her hands. “I know, I know, inappropriate timing. Let’s do this. First sign of trouble, you dial nine-one-one. Got it?”
“Right behind you, Tex.”
We slowly pushed open the door to the dorm building, then walked inside and held it until it closed slowly behind us. We stood inside for a moment, just looking and listening.
And for a moment we didn’t hear anything . . . but then we heard rustling and shuffling that didn’t sound like dragon ladies looking for fire or St. Sophia’s girls returning to their rooms.
“They’re up there, aren’t they?” I asked, my stomach beginning to ball with nerves.
“It sounds like it.” She looked back at me, fear in her eyes. “We have to do this, don’t we?”
