Peanut Goes to School (Elder Races #6.7)(12)

As Mrs. Teaberry approached, he backed away. “I can’t. I’m supposed to keep my phone with me at all times.”

“Unacceptable. Give it to me right now.” She wiggled her fingers at him demandingly.

Shaking his head, he said again, “I can’t.”

Her expression turned incredulous and angry. “You’re in big trouble, young man. This is my classroom, and in here, other rules don’t apply. You do as I tell you. Hand it over.”

Nobody had ever said such a thing to him before. And anyway, he didn’t believe it. Dad’s rules applied everywhere.

His body turned very hot, then cold. This felt completely unlike what had happened with the other boys. With them, he had acted on instinct, a certain amount of predatory cunning and on snippets he had heard about how the sentinels handled problems, but Mrs. Teaberry was an adult and his teacher.

He was supposed to mind her, but he also couldn’t go against the safety rules. Starting to tremble, he shook his head. “No.”

Mrs. Teaberry’s eyes flashed. Lunging forward, she grabbed him by the shoulder.

Shocked, Liam tried to twist away, but her grip on him was too strong. “If you won’t give it to me,” Mrs. Teaberry said, “I’ll just have to take it.”

She rammed one hand into his pocket, searching for the phone. He struggled against her hold. “Stop—you can’t do that. I’m supposed to keep it with me.”

Her fingers dug into his shoulder like claws, and she shook him. “Everybody always thinks the rules don’t apply to them,” she snapped. “But they do. They apply to you too, mister.”

He couldn’t let her take the phone, and she was hurting him. She was scaring him too. He couldn’t call Hugh. He had turned his phone off. He couldn’t call Mom or Dad, either.

Feeling invaded and trapped, he felt his fingers change and his teeth lengthen into fangs. He rounded on Mrs. Teaberry with a snarl.

She recoiled from him. Almost immediately, she straightened until she stood very erect. Her tight mouth bit out words. “Don’t you dare bite me, you little animal.”

Trembling more violently than ever, he swiped at his face as he looked at her hands. She clenched his phone in one fist.

Breathing hard, he angled out his jaw and said, “Give it back.”

Astonishment took over her expression. She shook the phone at him. “I said you can’t have it in school.”

Growling, he walked toward her. She retreated until her back came up against a wall. Dimly, he was aware that his face was still not right. He had too many teeth, and they felt sharp against his tongue. When he held out one hand, palm up, he saw that it was tipped with long, sharp talons.

Cautiously, her eyes wide, Mrs. Teaberry set the phone in his palm.

As he turned it on, he thought about calling Hugh, because he wanted to see a friendly face as soon as possible. Then he thought about calling Mom, because he needed her to love on him and tell him everything was going to be okay.

But really, he had screwed up in so many ways that day, the only thing to do was to take it straight to the top.

He pressed rapid-dial number two.

Dad answered before the first ring had ended. “What’s going on, Liam?”

Taking a deep breath, he said, “Can you come pick me up? I think I’m about to get expelled.”

Chapter Five

* * *

Dragos changed into his dragon form, since flying directly to the school was much faster than driving on the winding country roads. Pia rode on his back, muttering worriedly. She asked, Did he tell you what happened?

No, Dragos said, which was the strict truth.

He didn’t mention what Hugh had already told him about Liam’s two confrontations at recess. While Dragos planned on telling Pia everything, he still hadn’t figured out what to say about those incidents.

He was proud as hell of how his son had handled the bullies, and he was both surprised and intrigued at Liam’s newly emerged talent for breathing fire in his human form, but Dragos wasn’t sure that Pia would feel the same way. Sometimes family dynamics were an interesting puzzle.

He also planned on having Andrew and his family investigated. As Hugh pointed out, the boy might need counseling or even special schooling.

Dragos kept his cloaking spell tight around them until after he had landed and shapeshifted back into his human form. Taking Pia’s hand, they strode quickly into the school building and to the administrative offices.

The school secretary escorted them into the principal’s office. Inside, the principal, Doreen Chambers, waited with an older woman, and with Liam.

Dragos took in everything about the older woman at a glance. She was of mixed race, part human and part Dark Fae, and she wore a tight-lipped, self-righteous expression. He turned his attention to his son, who sat with such quiet dignity that it took Dragos a moment to realize Liam was trembling. He clutched his phone tightly in both hands and didn’t look at either the principal or the older woman.

A silent snarl built at the back of Dragos’s throat. As Pia rushed to Liam, Dragos rounded on the other two women. He said in a quiet, rigidly controlled voice, “Explain this.”

As the older woman had caught sight of him and Pia, her expression had changed. Clearly she recognized them. Instead of looking self-righteous, she started to look worried.

She should.