14. Chapter 13 #2
The shadows keeping them hidden slowly dissipated, and Silas straightened his posture before brushing his hair back into place. His face returned to the neutral expression he often wore. Then, with a last look, Silas turned and left silently.
He sat in the stairwell, his hands clutched behind his neck, as he tried to pull himself out of the recesses of his mind.
But the basement kept flickering whenever he’d close his eyes.
The small windows. The bare-threaded blanket on the twin-sized bed.
His father’s thunderous steps on the stairs from the other side of the door.
The wall of television monitors his father would strap him in front of and manipulate his mind into doing exactly what needed to be done.
All because he let his conscience get in the way the first time.
It was as if a piece of his mother had shouted from the depths, begging him to stop.
Maybe Declan was right. Maybe Ezra had intentionally sabotaged the first disappearance.
He wasn’t sure, but his father made sure he wouldn’t do it again.
He sighed, brushing his hands over his head to rub his face.
Memories of his mother always pulled him out of the darkness.
Thinking of her smile, her laughter, the warmth of her embrace.
If she were watching him now, she would be disappointed.
Here he was, bending to his father’s will, something she had been strong enough to fight against before she got sick.
What other choice did he have? It was this or die in that basement.
A loud bang of a door on the floor below echoed through the stairwell, snapping his attention away from his thoughts.
Hurried footsteps clattered along the floors, followed by the slamming of a second door opening and closing.
It was probably someone who was too drunk and about to hurl.
Ezra stretched as he rose from the floor, but when he turned to leave, a hoarse scream came from outside.
He rushed down the stairs, coming to a door leading to the outside of the building, and he pushed it open. A rush of cool night air hit his face as he stepped out onto the small stone steps leading to the grass. But the area was empty. There was nobody there who could’ve made that sound.
He scratched the back of his neck as he moved off the steps, and something glistening in the grass caught his attention.
Likely condensation as the cold settled.
Maybe he was hearing things. It only took him, at most, a few minutes to get outside and, unless someone cloaked themselves with magic, he would assume there would be a trace.
As he inspected the area, a door nearby creaked open slowly. But not from behind him.
He peered ahead to where a door of the building across from Belarune opened and, stepping out from behind it, was Ivy.
How curious. What could she possibly be doing in there after hours?
Before he could say anything, she noticed him and froze.
She glanced over her shoulder, as if she were debating whether to retreat inside.
“You’ve been caught red-handed, Snapdragon, you may as well come over here,” he said, chuckling as he took a few steps closer.
She huffed loudly before hurrying down the steps. She scanned the stretch of grass before getting closer to him. “What are you doing here?”
“Could ask you the same thing.” He studied her closely. She wore all black, which meant she was intentionally sneaking around. “You weren’t at the party.”
“And how do you know that?” she asked, sticking her chin up in defiance.
He breathed a small laugh and cocked his head. “I would remember if you were there.”
She rolled her eyes and cast her gaze away from him, to the ground. Her brows crinkled. “What is that?”
He turned to where she was staring. A few feet ahead of them, toward the forest, was a small puddle of liquid and something small in the center glinted under the moonlight.
She inhaled sharply as they stepped closer. “Shit, is that blood?”
His jaw clenched as he bent to the ground to get a closer look. In the center of the dark pool was a large ring. He picked it up gently, squinting when he noticed a torn red piece of string hanging from the metal and congealing blood.
“Yeah,” he muttered. He turned the ring to find the familiar signet on the front. “It is. And this belonged to my roommate.”
“What happened to him? Maybe there’s been an accident or…”
He tuned out Ivy’s panicked voice because he knew what had happened.
It was no accident. Whatever was done was planned, either as part of his family’s plot to unleash whatever power lingered within the school or as a test of his loyalty.
Probably both. His stomach roiled as he tossed the ring back onto the ground, and the realization of what came next settled in.
He glanced at Ivy, expecting a horror-stricken look on her face. Instead, it was more like determination. Or maybe…vindication? Was this why she was sneaking around? Suspicion slunk into her gaze as her attention switched to him, like she was trying to figure him out as well.
Before he could say anything, a flashlight beamed from behind them.
“Stop right there!” a deep voice called out. “Campus security! Raise your hands slowly.”