Chapter 24
We sped across campus in the Porsche, adrenaline fueling each breath. The caretaker’s cottage awaited us with its trove of stolen logs, genealogical records, and infiltration notes. The brand on my shoulder ached, a physical manifestation of how deeply I’d been dragged into this darkness.
Once inside, we locked the door, turned on a dim lamp, and began piling everything on the rickety table: Toccara’s partial camera logs, files from Carlisle’s infiltration, my phone screenshots from the server records, genealogical references about my Edenvane ancestry. The pile felt both damning and incomplete.
Anubis opened his laptop, face set in grim determination. “Let’s compile it all into one encrypted file. Then we can figure out how to get it to Kate and the Howler. They can blow the whistle across campus.”
I nodded, rummaging for a flash drive. “Yes. The more public we make it, the less chance the Skulls have of burying it.”
“Though they might bury us,” he muttered darkly, tapping at the keyboard.
We worked feverishly, copying images and documents, summarizing Toccara’s final hours, the black hooded watchers, the brand ceremony. My chest twisted every time I saw Toccara’s name. She died alone in that river, and now these same people threatened me—and the man I loved.
Yes, loved. The realization was as terrifying as everything else happening. But I pushed that swirl of emotion aside, focusing on finishing the file.
Close to dawn, we had a nearly complete dossier. Anubis clicked “Encrypt,” then typed a pass phrase. My phone screen glowed with texts from Kate, verifying a secure method to transfer data.
Just then, a harsh pounding rattled the cottage’s door. We froze, hearts pounding.
Another pounding, more insistent. A voice: “Open up, novices!”
I whispered frantically, “It’s them. The watchers.”
Anubis shut the laptop. “Stall,” he mouthed, slipping the flash drive into his pocket.
Trembling, I approached the door. “Who’s there?” I called, injecting forced calm into my voice.
“Society business,” came the clipped reply. “Open.”
I glanced at Anubis. He gave a tight nod. No way out except the window in the back room, but that might be guarded too. Reluctantly, I unlatched the door. Three watchers in black coats barged in, their expressions severe, eyes scanning the cottage’s clutter.
One shoved a letter into my hand. A heavy wax seal with the skull crest glinted under the lamp. “Captain Edenvane. Nubia. The council demands your presence at dawn for an urgent gathering. No excuses.”
My throat constricted. “Dawn is practically now. Where?”
“Eden Hall courtyard. Ten minutes,” another watcher growled. “You’re late.”
“Late for what?” Anubis demanded, voice edged with anger.
The first watcher sneered, ignoring his question. “Disobey, and face punishment. Let’s go.”
They stepped aside, clearly expecting us to comply. Anubis met my gaze, silent understanding passing between us. We were cornered like frightened foxes in a hound’s trap. We had no choice but to follow. The watchers parted, escorting us out under the thinning night sky.
They marched us across campus, deserted except for flickering lampposts. The horizon stained purple with the first hints of sunrise. My brand throbbed again, as if anticipating the final blow.
At Eden Hall, my old dorm, ironically known as the “slums” of campus, a ring of robed figures stood in the center courtyard under a single lamppost’s glow. More watchers ringed the perimeter, ensuring no interruptions.
One figure stepped forward. The same robed man from the crypt, who had supervised our branding. Next to him stood Sophie’s mother, the Dean, face carved with cold fury. Sophie herself was absent, still recovering, presumably.
The robed man’s voice boomed. “Captain Edenvane. Nubia. You stand accused of subverting Skulls’ interests, of feeding false leads and blocking deeper infiltration at the library, and of fraternizing with outside agitators, like the Howler and the so-called Undercurrent.”
My pulse raced. They had evidence? Maybe watchers or security logs. Or a second infiltration of the library’s systems.
Anubis steadied himself, fists clenched at his sides. “We’ve been loyal, completed tasks as ordered. This is baseless.”
The Dean sneered. “Don’t play coy, son. We know you’ve withheld valuable data. You gave us partial sabotage, not full control. Your casket,” he spat, looking at me, “clearly assisted you in this deception.”
Hearing the Dean call me a “casket”, that demeaning Skulls term for a novice partner, made my blood boil. But I forced composure. “We did everything you asked. It’s not our fault the library system wasn’t fully open to infiltration.”
A murmur of discontent rippled through the circle of robed men and women. The watchers stepped closer, tension crackling in the cold dawn air.
The robed man lifted a hand, silencing them. “Enough. We must decide their fate.”
Anubis shot me a warning glance. We had minimal time or leverage.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted at the courtyard’s edge. Kate emerged from behind a statue, flanked by two masked figures I recognized from the caretaker’s photo collection, older alumni, presumably with the Undercurrent. Security watchers tried to block them, but they refused to retreat.
Kate’s voice rang out, surprisingly bold. “Let them go! We know what you did to Toccara. We have files.”
The robed man roared, “Seize them! This is private business!”
But in that moment’s chaos, alarms beeped from watchers’ phones, some urgent text or online leak. Kate smirked. She’d triggered something.
Anubis grabbed my hand, adrenaline surging. The Dean and the robed man snarled, distracted by the intrusion. A wave of watchers rushed to contain Kate and her companions. Shouts erupted, echoing off the dorm walls.
“Now!” Anubis hissed to me, eyes flashing. We tore free from the circle, sprinting across the courtyard. A few watchers lurched after us, but the scuffle with Kate’s group slowed them.
We bolted down a side path behind Eden Hall, hearts hammering. Orange light bled across the horizon. I heard Kate’s voice shouting, “The truth is out! We have the proof!” The watchers’ shouts mingled with heavy footsteps.
My breath came in ragged gasps. Did the Undercurrent just release our compiled evidence? The text messages, logs, genealogical secrets? Possibly, yes. This was the meltdown moment. The Skulls’ power was about to be challenged in daylight.
Anubis gripped my hand tighter, pulling me onward. “We can’t let them corner us,” he panted. “We have to vanish until the dust settles.”
I nodded, tears stinging. We had no illusions about being safe. The Skulls wouldn’t forgive betrayal. But we had no regrets, Toccara’s justice, our lives, demanded we risk everything.
We dashed around the campus perimeter, merging into the early morning shadows. Sirens wailed in the distance, campus police or ambulance sirens, it was unclear. Possibly the entire campus was about to explode with scandal.
In that breathless run, I clung to Anubis’ hand as though it were the only solid thing in a shifting world. No matter what happens next, we’ve taken our stand.
We collapsed against a low stone wall at the edge of campus, lungs burning. Dawn light bathed the brick buildings in an eerie glow. I fumbled my phone out, expecting furious messages from the Skulls or urgent updates from Kate. Instead, the screen was quiet—no signal or jammed network?
Anubis glanced behind us, scanning for pursuers. “Seems like they’re busy dealing with the Undercurrent’s ambush.”
I nodded, trembling. “Kate might have sacrificed herself to buy us time.”
His eyes darkened with guilt and gratitude. “We’ll find her. Help however we can.”
I brushed a shaky hand over my left shoulder, where the brand still burned beneath the bandage. Bound by blood to a monster of an organization, but we might have helped tear it down from the inside.
“Where do we go now?” I asked, voice quivering with exhaustion.
He gave a wan smile. “We find a safe place off-campus, wait to see what chaos unfolds. Then we regroup. If the Undercurrent truly leaked everything, the Skulls might face public scrutiny like never before.”
Despite the swirling fear, a tiny flame of hope flickered in my chest. Maybe Toccara’s story would come to light. Maybe Edenvane’s dark legacy would be laid bare. And maybe, at last, Anubis and I could imagine a life not dictated by hooded watchers and forced brands.
He pressed his forehead to mine, an intimate hush in the golden morning light. “I love you,” he whispered. “I don’t regret any of this.”
Tears sprang to my eyes. I cupped his cheeks, feeling the desperate pounding of my own heart. “I love you, too,” I breathed. “Whatever comes next, we face it together.”
And as we leaned into each other, sharing a final moment of peace before the storm resumed, I knew that our love, forged in secrecy and danger, was the one bright anchor that might carry us through the darkness.