Charmfall (17 page)

“You are . . . Veronica,” he said.

“I—yes. Who are you? And how did you know my name?”

“You can call me . . . Nicholas. I know your name because we’ve met before.”

“Before?” she repeated, and I could see the confusion in her expression . . . but also a glimmer of recognition. Maybe because of the blackout, the block on her memory seemed to be losing its power. She may not remember exactly how she knew Nicu, but I could see in her face that he seemed familiar.

“Before,” she repeated, this time a statement. “Do you go to school around here?”

“I do not,” he said. “I . . . work.”

“How did you get the note to me?”

“The note?” he asked, brow furrowed. But then he looked up and across the garden . . . and caught my eye.

He nodded at me and I nodded back, my debt cleared.

“I have friends,” he told her. “You look cold. Perhaps you should return to your school.”

“I think . . . I want to stay here with you.”

For a long, silent moment, they looked at each other with such emotion I nearly got teary eyed. How could they have that kind of bond so quickly? How was that even possible?

Possible or not, there was no point in denying it. ’Cause here they were, in the middle of a park in the middle of the night, staring like they could save each other.

“You should go,” Nicu said, then picked up Veronica’s hand and lifted it to his lips. He pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist, and then held her hand against his cheek. His lashes fell, and for a moment he just stood there.

“How will I—” Veronica began, but he opened his eyes again and shook his head.

“This is only the beginning,” he said. “I will find you.”

If this was only the beginning, my life was about to get a lot more complicated.

And then, like he’d been only a figment of her imagination, Nicu disappeared into the thorns again.

Veronica stood there for a moment, and, like nothing had happened, walked back into the building and rejoined the brat pack in study hall. Amie, her head in a book, seemed uninterested in the fact that Veronica had been gone. M.K., on the other hand, looked plenty curious. I wondered what Veronica would tell them later. That she’d snuck outside to meet a guy who left a secret note in her suite?

Scout leaned over the table when I took a seat. “What happened?”

“They met.”

“And then what?”

“I’m not entirely sure. But it looks like love to me. And good luck to them.”

With Marlena angry at Nicu, and M.K. ready to sabotage Veronica’s relationship at a moment’s notice, they were going to need it.

13

W
hen study hall was over, we dumped our books, changed into jeans, and headed out to the Enclave. Tonight, there was no Detroit, but we were joined by Katie and Smith. They both looked unhappy to be there. Actually, they both also looked like they were wearing the same skinny jeans. Not a fashion statement I was fond of.

Everyone was seated around the table when we walked in. Michael smiled when Scout sat down beside him, and Jason smiled a little at me, but he looked distracted, like he had other things on his mind. Maybe his family was giving him more trouble than he’d let on.

“We’re here,” Daniel began, “because we need to talk about the blackout.”

Scout and I exchanged a glance. Did he already know about Fayden Campbell—that we suspected she might be involved? Did he already know I’d been talking to Sebastian?

“An Adept from Enclave Four, apparently frustrated by the loss of her magic, attacked two of her fellow Adepts last night.”

“She attacked them?” Michael quietly asked.

“I understand that Enclave had been on edge since the blackout began, and the lack of magic hit them harder than some of the others. This particular girl was taking the loss of magic very poorly. She was nervous. Excitable. Angry. An argument at the Enclave escalated, and . . .”

“Are they okay?” Scout asked.

“One was released from First Immanuel Hospital this morning. The other is still in serious condition. She hasn’t woken up since the attack.”

The Enclave went silent.

“Not having magic is difficult for all of us,” he said. “But that is an explanation. It is not an excuse.”

“What if that happens to us?” Jill asked. “It could happen to us. We could lose it just like she did.”

“You’re not going to lose it,” Daniel said. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t stay vigilant. We are all experiencing something we thought we had years to prepare for. Instead, we went cold turkey. Not everyone handles that transition well. I didn’t tell you this to scare you,” he added. “I told you this because you need to understand the risks. You have a right to understand the risks.”

He let that sink in for a minute, and then put his hands on the table. “All right. Let’s get to business. Scout, you had news?”

“Um, well, Reapers broke into St. Sophia’s today,” Scout said. “Two girls tried to steal my
Grimoire
. We’re assuming that’s part of Jeremiah’s plan to steal it because he thinks I had something to do with the blackout. Which, obvs, I did not.”

“Did they get it?” Daniel asked, his voice tight.

“Of course not. They wouldn’t have found it anyway, but Lily had already suggested I hide it, and I did.”

Daniel blew out a breath. “Good,” he said. “Good.”

“And, in addition to being awesome,” Scout continued, “we also have a lead on who
might
have something to do with the blackout. We went to Gaslight Goods. Kite told us some of the Reapers were talking about a fairy tale that involved a guy named ‘Campbell.’”

“What’s that?” Michael asked.

“Supposedly Campbell overthrew an overlord, but then went evil when he took power,” Scout said. “Kite told us Reapers were talking about the fairy tale like they thought it might be real. Lily did a little research, and it turns out Sebastian Born has a cousin named Fayden Campbell. She just moved back to town.”

Scout pulled out a copy of the article from her bag and handed it to Daniel.

“That’s a pretty big coincidence,” Daniel said, looking it over. “But it’s still only a coincidence. Do we have information tying Fayden Campbell to the blackout? Or to any Reaper activities?”

Scout looked at me.

“I’ve actually been told she’s not a Reaper,” I said. “But I don’t think that’s true.”

Daniel tilted his head in curiosity. “Where did you hear that?”

Nerves flooding me, I squeezed my hands into fists. “Sebastian Born. He’s my source in the Reapers. He helped me use firespell to rescue Scout, and he gives me information sometimes. That’s how I found out their magic was working even when ours was gone—at least at first. I saw him and Fayden on the street earlier this week. He introduced us, but he didn’t mention her last name. When Kite told us about the fairy tale, I did some Internet research and found her picture.” I left out the part about calling Sebastian to check if he knew anything about her. I was only so brave.

Without saying a word, Daniel sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his head. I was afraid to look at Jason, afraid of what emotion I might see in his face.

“You have a source in the Reapers,” Daniel finally said.

“Yeah.”

“And you talk to him often?”

“I don’t talk to him at all, really. Occasionally, he gives me information.”

“Out of the goodness of his heart?”

“Honestly, I think he thinks he can sway me to his side. Which is ridiculous,” I added. “I know who the good guys and the bad guys are.”
Or I mostly did,
I silently added. “But I’m not going to ignore him when he’s trying to help me out, whatever his reasoning.”

“Yeah,” Scout said. “Does this really matter? The point is, Lily has a contact in the Reapers and helped us figure out what’s going on. We need to focus on this Fayden Campbell person. We need to track her down and get some eyes on her—some Enclave Two cameras or something.”

Daniel sat forward again, crossing his hands on the table. “I’m going to need to think about this one. A source is nice, but I find it hard to believe he’d be so helpful without some secret motive.”

“That’s all you’re going to say?” All eyes turned to Jason. “Seriously. She’s suddenly friends with a Reaper, and that’s it?”

My stomach dropped. There was no doubting the fury in his gaze. He looked like I’d committed an unforgiveable sin. What if, no matter how good my reason, he couldn’t forgive me?

“Scout’s right,” Daniel said. “Whatever the source, we have to follow the lead. It could send us right to the source of the blackout.”

“There is a way we can track her, maybe,” I said, forcing myself to keep my gaze on Daniel and not think about the fury in Jason’s voice. “We went to Gaslight Goods yesterday. I asked Kite to call us if Sebastian Born came in. When he does, maybe we can follow Sebastian and see what he’s up to. It may not be much of a lead, but it’s better than nothing.”

Daniel thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Agreed. When he calls, go to Gaslight and follow him. See where he goes. Maybe the clue leads nowhere, but it’s worth the trip. And keep us posted.”

Without saying a word, or looking at me, Jason pushed back his chair, grabbed his backpack, and headed for the door.

“Jason, wait!” I pushed back my chair to follow him, but he closed the door in my face. I pulled it open and ran into the tunnel, but he kept going.

“Jason, please stop.”

Nothing.

“Please, can we just talk about this?”

He finally turned around . . . and he looked
furious
.

“What are you doing?” I asked him.

“What am
I
doing?” He pressed a hand to his chest. “
I
am trying to keep all of us safe. And it looks like that’s more than I can say for you. Talking to Sebastian? Helping out Reapers? What is that about? He’s the one who got you into this mess in the first place, and you’re talking to him?”

“That’s not what it’s like. He’s helping us. Ask Scout.”

“He’s
helping
you? Do you even hear yourself?”

I forced myself to stay calm. “Quit yelling at me and listen to what I’m telling you. Sebastian helped me. When we were in the sanctuary, he helped me use the firespell and get Scout out alive. And he’s helped me since then.”

“If he’s helped you, it’s because he has an ulterior motive—just like Daniel said. He wouldn’t just do it out of the goodness of his heart.”

“Because he’s evil?”

“Because he’s a
Reaper
, Lily, God. Haven’t you been paying attention for the last few months? Reapers are manipulative. This is how they operate. They take sane people and convince them that everything they know isn’t true.”

“Isn’t that what you and Scout did to me? Convinced me there was more to the world than just what I saw? Convinced me magic existed?”

His eyes flashed. “Sebastian convinced you of that when he hit you with firespell.”

I could see the anger in his eyes, and I knew what he thought. He thought I’d been swayed by a Reaper, convinced by Sebastian’s words. But I was still able to think for myself. I just had a different view of the world—a bigger view of the world—than I’d had before.

“He hit me with firespell accidentally,” I said. “He was aiming for Scout. And I’m not going to apologize for actually thinking about what’s happening here, instead of just accepting what you and Daniel say.”

“Great. Go think for yourself. And when I need someone levelheaded to talk to, someone who isn’t trying to screw up my family life, I guess you aren’t the person I should call. You may not even believe a word I say.”

“You know that’s not true.”

“No, I really don’t. I don’t think you’re the girl I thought you were. I do know I can’t handle this right now.”

He put his backpack back on his shoulder and began walking down the corridor.

“Where are you going?”

“Honestly, Lily, I’m not sure. I’ll let you know when I get there.”

With that, he disappeared into darkness.

I bit my lip to hold back tears. I didn’t want to cry in the tunnels, I didn’t want to cry over a boy, and I didn’t want to feel bad for thinking things through instead of just buying what everybody told me.

Yeah—it was scary to give up your assumptions and actually think, but wasn’t that the entire point of being an Adept?

The door creaked open, and Scout peeked her head out and looked around. “Where’s Jason?”

“He left.”

Frowning, she walked into the tunnel and closed the door behind her. “He left?”

I wiped at the tears on my cheeks. “Yeah. He’s really mad that I talked to Sebastian. He thinks I’m a traitor.”

“Aw, Lils,” she said, and held out her arms for a hug. I walked into them and sobbed my heart empty of tears.

*  *  *

Scout went back into the Enclave, grabbed my messenger bag, and got us excused so the other Adepts wouldn’t have to see me standing in a damp, nasty tunnel with tear tracks on my face and raccoon eyeliner eyes.

“I am definitely not going to the dance now,” I said, as Scout put an arm around my shoulder and we began walking back toward the school.

“You never know. He could come to his senses. And even if he doesn’t, do you really have time to worry about a werewolf with a bad attitude? Or a dress? You haven’t even had time to find a dress yet.”

“Do you really think he has a bad attitude?” I stopped short in the hallway. “Scout, am I making a huge mistake by even talking to Sebastian? It’s just information—he’s not going to sway me from one side to another. I’m a smart girl; I can make up my own mind.”

“I know you can. But Jason doesn’t think there’s any choice. In his mind, there’s clearly good and clearly evil and there’s no meeting in the middle. You talking to Sebastian totally crosses his wires, you know? He doesn’t see how you could do that if you were really a good guy . . .”

“Which makes him wonder if I’m really a good guy,” I finished.

“I think so, yeah.”

We started walking again. Feeling totally rejected, I kicked at a rusted chunk of metal on the ground. It skittered away into the dark.