Fairy Bad Day(36)

“Well,” Loni continued, “your mom took me into her study and she had a zillion ancient-looking books, and I clearly remember her telling me that some of them were the only copies available in the whole world.”

“You think that one of them might mention the darkhel?” Emma asked as a sense of hope started to swell up in her. Loni was right: her mom had a seriously big collection of books, and while she hadn’t been what Emma would call a meticulous note taker, there had been times when she had seen her mom scribbling in a small leather-bound book. However, another thought suddenly occurred to her, and Emma felt her hope slide away like a leaf down a stream. “But I can’t get them.” She groaned. “I’m on detention, remember? I can’t leave campus.”

Just then the alarm on her cell phone beeped and she absently stared at the screen. It was the reminder that she had put in yesterday. The one to tell her she was supposed to meet Curtis in fifteen minutes to work on their assignment.

Emma was just about to delete it, but before she could, Loni, who was leaning over her shoulder to read the message, let out a little squeak of excitement. “That’s it. You already have your pass-out. You just need to ask Curtis if he minds if you swing by your house on the way the back from doing your assignment.”

“What?” Emma yelped in surprise as her last encounter with Curtis suddenly flashed into her mind—with particular emphasis on the fact that she had mistakenly thought he was going to kiss her.

“It’s perfect,” Loni insisted in an excited voice. “You’re allowed off campus for your assignment. So, just make a pit stop afterward. Tell her it’s perfect, Tyler.”

“It’s perfect, Tyler,” Tyler dutifully repeated as he approached them with a bulging backpack slung over his shoulder. “I’m not sure what we’re talking about, but she’s got her Taurus-girl face on and you know what she’s like when she gets like that.”

Loni ignored him as she turned her attention back to Emma and softened her expression. “Look, I get that you probably don’t want to speak to him after what happened yesterday, but—”

“Yesterday? So what happened yesterday?” Tyler piped up. “Oh, I bet you told Curtis that you never wanted to speak to him again. Ten bucks says I’m right. Yes?”

However, the two girls just ignored him as Loni lowered her voice and squeezed Emma’s hand. “The thing is, despite how you feel, this is your best chance of finding out about the darkhel. Besides, it’s not like you can get out of doing the assignment. Not unless you want to make Kessler even more mad than he already is.”

“I know, you’re right,” Emma reluctantly agreed. Not because she thought it was a good idea to spend any more time than was necessary with Curtis—or because she really wanted to face going home—but because Tyler was right. Loni’s normally placid, heart-shaped face was pinched into a stubborn, bullish expression that Emma had long come to know, and she quickly realized that the chances of her friend dropping the subject were slim to none. And at least on the positive side, she wouldn’t be wearing a tie, so Curtis wouldn’t be tempted to straighten it again.

“Good.” Loni grinned.

“But,” Emma added, “if I’m going out with Curtis, then you guys need to promise that you’ll be careful when you’re checking those wards. The last thing I want is for either of you to get in any trouble. One dysfunctional, out-of-favor slayer is probably enough for now.”

“We’ll be careful,” Loni promised as she gave her a fierce hug. “And good luck with your mom’s books. I have a really good feeling about this.”

Emma nodded. But she wished she shared her friend’s confidence that it would all be okay.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN





Jones, I’d almost given up on you,” Curtis said fifteen minutes later as they swiped their pass-outs and the security guard ushered them through the gate. Curtis looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. In fact, he was probably congratulating himself on managing to escape her tacky and humiliating invitation to join her at the practice range yesterday.

He was dressed in standard slaying clothes, and the black, well-fitted top seemed to mold to his chest. Emma found herself unconsciously smoothing down her own matching black top as she tried to remember if she’d brushed her hair this morning.

However, the sight of the Burtonwood minibus parked just in front of them caused her to forget about her appearance as she realized that this was a fatal flaw in her plan. For some stupid reason she was thinking they would be catching a taxi and it would be a simple matter of just paying the driver to make a detour. But now that was clearly impossible, since whatever she said to the driver would go from his mouth to Kessler’s ear. Which meant that she would have to text Loni and get her to arrange for a taxi to pick her up once the minibus dropped her off. Not to mention asking Curtis to cover for her.

It will be easy. Loni’s words came back to her just as Curtis pushed back the sliding door and ushered her in. There was a group of seniors already spread out across the backseat of the bus, on their way to a selkie scouting mission farther past the lakes at the river’s head. They shot Emma a curious glance as she made her way to a window seat as far away from them as possible. Curtis followed her in and awkwardly lowered himself down, propping up his crutches on the spare seat just as the bus drove off into the night.