Chapter 14 Baz
MORNING CAME AND brOUGHT JAE along with it.
It was barely dawn, but soon the campus would be flooded with students from all over arriving for the Quadri, and Obscura Hall would no longer be the refuge Baz knew it as.
He soaked up his last moments of quietude in the commons, a strong cup of coffee in hand and Dusk, his sister’s cat, nestled at his feet.
“Where’s Kai?” Jae asked as they sat next to Professor Selandyn on the sofa opposite Baz.
“Still asleep, I think.” Baz didn’t want to think about the fight they’d had over the Hourglass. “Any word from Vera?”
For the past few weeks, Vera had been working undercover as a clerk at the Institute, where she kept an eye on the goings-on of the Regulators and their treatment of the Eclipse-born.
“I’m afraid it doesn’t look good.” Jae’s face was grimmer than the grave. “Word is the Reanimator is being moved from the Institute today to be brought to an undisclosed location. Vera thinks that means the Regulators are planning to do tests on her. In an… unofficial capacity.”
“And we’re just going to let that happen?”
“Short of another jailbreak, there’s nothing much we can do, I’m afraid.”
Baz glanced up toward their rooms. Kai would be livid to find this out—and all for the jailbreak, no doubt.
“Now about this.” Professor Selandyn held up Clover’s journal, which Baz had lent her the day before to study.
She tapped a ringed finger against it. “I stayed up all night reading it. Clover wrote something that piqued my interest, since it aligns with my own research into the Tides and the Shadow—and coincides with what’s happening out there. ”
She gave a jerk of her chin to the window overlooking the sea, and Baz knew she meant the unpredictability of the tides, something she’d been poring over since news of it first broke.
Just then Kai burst through the secret door that led to the cove, still dressed in yesterday’s clothes. “Sorry, I know, I’m late,” he said, out of breath. His bleak appearance and the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes betrayed a sleepless night.
“Kai Salonga,” Selandyn said sternly, “where in the Deep were you off to?”
Kai gulped. “I, uh, seem to have sleepwalked.”
“Did anyone see you?” Jae asked.
“I don’t think so.” Kai tried to meet Baz’s gaze, something pleading and desperate in his eyes. “I need to talk to you.”
Baz glanced at his watch, a confused tangle of anger and worry knotting his stomach. He wasn’t sure he believed the sleepwalking bit. What had Kai been doing out there? Reckless as usual. “You and Jae should go before the Quadri’s opening ceremony starts.”
“Brysden…”
“He’s right, we have to go,” Jae said, grabbing their coat from the sofa’s arm. They squeezed Professor Selandyn’s shoulder. “Beatrix, always a pleasure.”
Baz locked eyes with Kai. He did not want to say goodbye—and Kai, he knew, was not the sentimental type.
He wished Kai would make some quip or other, but there was this weird tension between them now that had him fearing neither of them would say anything at all.
The thought had Baz reaching for Kai. He pulled him in and held him tight.
There was a moment of hesitation or surprise on Kai’s part, but before Baz could think twice about it and pull away, Kai’s arms closed around him.
“Be safe, asshole,” Baz murmured.
He felt the small chuckle that went through Kai. “Right back at you.”
The campus was a flurry of activity at an hour when it would normally be still.
As Baz made his way to the assembly hall, he spotted groups of students he’d never seen before, some of them sporting uniforms from distant colleges. Despite everything, he was excited about the Quadri. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and he would get to live it.
Though the opening ceremony didn’t involve students showcasing their magic, it was imperative that Baz be there to start playing the part of dutiful Eclipse student who would smile like everyone else as they welcomed student delegations from around the world and—perhaps most importantly—the scouts that would be on the lookout for talent and intellect.
Near the Fountain of Fate, he came across a group of students speaking in what he thought sounded like Luaguan.
They seemed agitated—but not with the excitement he would expect.
One of the girls looked like she’d seen a ghost. Another was comforting a boy who was in near hysterics.
Baz wished he knew what they were saying; Kai would know.
As he found a seat in the assembly hall, it was clear that the Luaguan students weren’t the only ones perturbed. Baz picked up on threads of conversation he could understand, and though the words made little sense—ghosts, abominations, undead—they still had his nerves fraying.
What in the Deep was going on?
The doors closed with a loud clang that set Baz even more on edge. He’d never been claustrophobic, but something about this didn’t feel right—especially as he spotted two Regulators standing before the doors. Barring the way out.
Other people had noticed and were murmuring uneasily among themselves. At the podium where Dean Fulton should have been giving her welcome speech now stood another Regulator. One that Baz knew all too well.
“Due to some safety concerns, the Quadricentennial opening ceremony has been canceled,” said Drutten. “You are all required to remain here for your security as we conduct a sweep of the school grounds.”
That got everyone talking over one another, confused questions and displeased shouts rising all around them in a cacophony of languages.
Drutten lifted a hand to call for silence again.
“Some of you might have heard of or witnessed firsthand the strange… apparitions sighted in Cadence early this morning.”
Apparitions? What in the Tides’ name was he on about…
Drutten cleared his throat. “We believe this to be the work of a highly dangerous and unstable Eclipse-born known as Freyia Lündt, a Reanimator who escaped from the Institute sometime last night.”
Baz’s stomach dropped as Drutten continued: “The fugitive is believed to be in the vicinity of Cadence, if those reanimated corpses roaming the streets are any indication. Now, rest assured, that matter has been taken care of, but Freyia Lündt poses an imminent threat so long as she remains out of the Institute’s custody.
She evaded the Unhallowed Seal after Collapsing nearly a decade ago, and the horrors she has committed since are unspeakable.
We believe she escaped to join a movement of fellow Shadow-cursed—that is, Collapsed Eclipse-born like her whose magic hasn’t been sealed—who have been gathering around Elegy and plan to use their dark, twisted magic to sow terror among us. ”
Horrified murmurs rose in the crowd. Baz couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Freyia must have given away everything that Jae had been doing in Threnody. She’d betrayed her own people to the very Regulators she’d been running away from for a decade.
It was only a matter of time now before Jae was caught—and their entire plan would come fluttering down like a flimsy tower of cards.
Drutten gripped the podium in his beefy hands and swept a solemn look over the gathered students, drawing their attention as he waited for silence.
“I share this information with you not to sow fear but because it is a matter of public safety and concern.” He took an intentional pause, letting the tension build.
“It’s no secret that the tides have been acting up of late, affecting not only our ecosystems but our magic as well.
This, combined with the uprising of these dangerous Shadow-cursed, indicates that there is some larger force at work.
” Drutten stood a bit taller, clasping his hands behind his back.
“We believe the root of the problem lies in the appearance of a Tidecaller in our midst.”
Baz’s pulse beat so loudly it drowned out the gasps of surprise around him.
Drutten held up a hand again, somehow able to quiet the bewildered crowd.
“A student of Aldryn College known as Emory Ainsleif lost her life to an apparent drowning a few months ago. She was a Healer of House New Moon, but recent information has led us to understand this was a lie. Dean Fulton has kindly provided us with evidence of a selenograph test that indicates Ms. Ainsleif’s blood contained Eclipse magic.
Multiple witnesses have come forth to confirm this and testify to the kind of dangerous magic Ms. Ainsleif dealt in.
And though Ms. Ainsleif is presumed to be dead, we believe the Reanimator and her accomplices are looking to resurrect her.
Because Emory Ainsleif is a Tidecaller. The Shadow reborn. ”
The world tilted beneath Baz’s feet. This couldn’t be happening.
Who within the Selenic Order had spilled the truth of Emory’s magic?
It had to be Artem, though he wasn’t here among the Regulators, from what Baz could tell.
Likely out hunting down the Reanimator and these supposed accomplices of hers.
Baz thought of Jae and Kai. If the Regulators believed the Reanimator had help from Eclipse-born allies, those two—as well as Baz’s father—would be at the top of their list. He could only hope they were far from here by now, on a train back to Harebell Cove.
But then… if the Regulators were aware of the nature of Emory’s magic, it wouldn’t be long before they headed to the lighthouse to question her father.
Where they would find Jae and Kai and Baz’s own father hiding from the law.
He had to get out of here, had to warn them.
It was only then that he noticed the furtive glances a few students were throwing him. Whispers of Timespinner and Eclipse-born reached his ears. Panic shot through him, especially as Drutten continued with his speech.
“Rest assured, all the necessary measures will be taken against these Eclipse-born. The college campus is being combed through to ensure your safety. Once we have finished this initial sweep, you will all be asked to return to your respective dorms. We will be making the rounds to ask questions. If anyone has information regarding Ms. Ainsleif and these Eclipse-born rebels, it is in your best interest to tell us.”
Then, almost gleefully, he added: “All Eclipse-born students and staff, whether from Aldryn or another school delegation that has arrived here today, will be subjected to a Memorist’s interrogation, so as to verify that they are not hiding any pertinent information regarding the Tidecaller.”
This was illegal. It was like they’d gone back in time to when Eclipse-born were so feared that they were subjected to these kinds of humiliations on a daily basis.
Drutten’s eyes found Baz’s in the crowd, and the bastard smirked. He knew he’d won. A Memorist would crawl into Baz’s mind and find all the secrets Drutten had been trying to draw out of him these past few months.
It was over.
“We’ll start with that one,” Drutten said, pointing to Baz. “A close friend of Ms. Ainsleif’s, were you not, Mr. Brysden? Seize him.”
Two Regulators were on him before Baz could think to move. Damper cuffs gleamed in the light as they held them up to his wrists, looking to prevent him from using his magic.
The floor suddenly exploded, blasting back the Regulators and sending Baz to his knees.