The Culling Trials (Shadowspell Academy #2)(49)

“The lines have been drawn,” Orin said.

“Good.” I swiped a hand across my mouth. “I’m going back to the room. Wally, come with me.” Rory’s warning pinged inside my head. “From here on out, we go out in groups of two. Even you, Ethan.” I pointed at him as he opened his mouth, no doubt to protest. “No one gets left behind.”

Pete grumbled something about being stuck with the dick of the group. Ethan shot him a look, and I snapped my fingers at both of them.

“We need to find out if anyone knows about this latest missing kid,” I said. “Ask around, see if you can find any details. They may not have announced it yet, but someone has to know something.”

I hurried away from the mess room, Wally at my side. The weight of many pairs of eyes was no small thing, but I did my best to ignore it.

“What are we going back to the room for?” Wally asked as we headed up the flight of stairs that led to the second-floor dorms.

“Gregory knew something was up. Whether it was because of the cheat sheets or something else, he knew.”

She lowered her voice. “And you think he left a clue behind?”

“Maybe. It’s worth checking out.” The others had told me it was impossible to find what a goblin had hidden, but something had occurred to me between that bus ride yesterday and being called to task in the director’s office. I had felt those gems in the House of Unmentionables challenge. Maybe I could use that same ability, whatever it was, to find a clue about Gregory’s disappearance.

I reached the room first, and as soon as I lowered my hand to the handle, the slightest warning tingle cut across my palm. I put a finger to my lips and motioned for Wally to stay outside.

Someone was in our room.

There was no noise, but I felt it in my gut, alongside the warning that I was about to surprise someone who didn’t want to be surprised.

I twisted the doorknob as slowly as I could, then slid through the narrowest opening I could manage.

A figure had his back to me, hunched at the window as he slipped out. I recognized that hair.

I slammed the door behind me, startling Rory.

He spun around, throwing stars in hand, and threw one on reflex. I ducked to the side and the star embedded in the door with a thud.

I glared at him and he glared back. What the hell? I mouthed the words.

“Everything okay?” Wally asked from outside.

“Fine, just bumped into the…door. Give me five minutes,” I said.

“And they say I’m weird,” she said.

Rory stalked across the room, silent even in his anger. He moved to grab my arm, but I was done being dragged around. I batted his hand away and pointed to the bathroom. Not the most glamorous place to chat, but it would work and give us a semblance of privacy.

I shut the door behind us and he rounded on me, not wasting a second. “What the hell indeed, Wild? Rumors are flying that you’re a girl! And someone said you took on a trio of vamps last night and broke curfew? How in the hell is that flying under the radar?”

His words were like a bucket of ice, and I hated that part of me agreed with him. He wasn’t wrong. But he wasn’t right either. “They attacked Wally.”

“Not your problem,” he growled. “None of them are your problem. You look out for you, that’s it in this world.”

I lifted my chin. “No, not anymore. Director Frost knows. You’re right about that. And she’s backing me. So, no, I’m going to follow my gut.”

He got right in my face, looming over me. “And what about Billy? What happens to him and Sam if you get booted out or killed? You think they won’t come here the same way you did, looking for answers?” His words shot an arrow into my heart. He knew me enough to know how to hurt me. But that went both ways.

I curled my lip. “I see you have the same intimidation tactics your father taught you.”

Rory grunted as if I’d booted him in the gut. Low blow, but I was done playing fair. No one else was, so why should I?

“I asked you to trust me.” He stepped back, jaw muscles ticking.

“I do.” I looked him straight in the eye. “Trust isn’t the issue, Rory. You can’t be here every second. Which means you have to trust me too. I’m doing what I need to do to survive. And my crew is part of that. They’ve helped me get this far.”

He blew out a breath and closed his eyes, then shook his head and went for the bathroom door. “Stay clear of the vamps. They’re in on this, on the missing kids. I don’t know how yet, but…”

I grabbed his arm, stopping him. I knew already that someone from the House of Wonder was in on the kidnapping—I’d seen the wand myself in one of the kidnapper’s hands. “What do you know?”

“Scent dogs were brought in. Cadaver dogs. They picked up on a vampire who shouldn’t have been snooping around the mansion. It’s all they’ve got so far, and I shouldn’t have even told you that much.” He put his hand over mine and leaned in closer, this time with none of the aggression. “Please be careful. I know you, Wild. A day off is the worst thing you could have right now.”

“Why?”

“Because when you aren’t kept busy, trouble finds you like a lemming finds a cliff.” He grinned and then was gone, out of the bathroom and out of the window before I could ask him anything else.