Chapter 15
Ashort while later, I leaned against the inside of my cabin door, safe inside but shaking from head to toe.
“What the actual fuck did he mean by that?”
“Who?” Gary sat on the couch in the semi-dark, and I let out a squeak.
“Shit, Gary,” I hissed, holding a hand to my galloping heart. “What the hell?”
“You told me to meet you here, like, before we went to meet everybody . . . what’s wrong?”
Seeing Typhon had sent me into a spiral, and I’d totally forgotten about the stones and our big meet-up tonight with the others. My evening felt like a hundred hours had passed, not just a few.
“Typhon is here.”
Gary choked on nothing, and I couldn’t blame him as he gasped. “Did he know who you were? What happened? Like . . . how did he find us so fast?”
I gave him the quick rundown of what happened with Mallachtan and how Typhon had intervened.
“Holy hand grenades. We’ve been here, like, a day and a half. Not even.” Gary shook his head. “That’s . . . how did you manage to stir all that up in such a short time?”
Hell, and he didn’t even know about me kissing Liam and nearly getting caught by the Sage. He wasn’t wrong, I seemed to be truly drawing the trouble to me.
“Thanks, Gary.” I grabbed a cup and turned the tap on, waiting for the water to get cold.
“To be fair, Typhon wasn’t my fault. And I’m not even sure he knows we’re here, at least not yet.
Heathermoor might just be one of the stops he’s making on behalf of Tarquinius to get the word out that we’re missing.
For all we know, he could be gone tomorrow. ”
“Only to me, Hannah. Only to me . . .”
I thought back to the pain in his face, the way his green eyes had darkened, and shoved it aside.
Nope. I was not going to let my sweet, kindly nature make me feel sorry for him. He was the dangerous one, preying on other Dwimmers. Not me. I wasn’t the bad guy here.
“And you guys were face to face, and he didn’t know it was you?” Gary asked, expression puzzled.
Right, Gary? Exact same thought here.
Liam’s little pendants must’ve been stronger than we realized.
Or maybe you didn’t make the same impact on Typhon as he did on you . . .
“Yeah, it was sort of dark and –” I snapped my mouth shut and managed a tight smile.
“You know what? It was great. He had no idea it was me, so as long as we don’t hang out in a big group and try to give him a wide berth for however long he’s here, we should be fine even if he winds up here for a few days.
How did things go for you? Were you able to get Fable her note? ”
Gary scrunched up his face as if he, too, wasn’t sure we’d be able to avoid Typhon.
“I gave hers to Caterina. She was going to try to get close to Fabes and take care of it. Other than that, things seem to be going pretty well. Like, I learned a lot today. And the kids are nice – not just first day nice. I feel bad because I know things are a mess with the Runecoats here and, like, Typhon popping up but I gotta admit, overall, it was a good day for your buddy Gerard. Shen actually seems kinda into me. She’s nineteen, only six months younger than me. ”
He grinned and I lifted my cup of water to him in a ‘cheers.’
“Well done, Gerard.”
He laughed and I realized how much he’d changed since I’d first met him. He’d found his Quirk. He was more confident. He wasn’t gassy Gary anymore – mind you that’s what you got for having lactose intolerance during pizza week and then being shoved into a dorm with seven other people.
At least one of us was enjoying their time here at Heathermoor.
I was curious about how the others had done in their first classes and at dinner.
Was I the only one who had been tap dancing around minefields all day?
If I were a betting girl, I’d have laid it all on the line that very well could be the case.
The others had attributes that fit them into a normal house. Me . . . obviously not so much.
Gary winced and rubbed a hand across his head. “One thing, though, that’s kinda weird . . .”
I waited a long time, easily ten seconds before prompting him. “What’s weird?”
He scrunched his eyes shut, like a kid trying not to investigate the dark of his closet for fear of what he might see. “It feels crazy even saying it . . . but I think I’m hearing voices.”
I did a double take. “You mean . . . in your head?”
“No, no, that’s just it. I am hearing them, I’m sure of it. But it’s like a low whisper.” He grimaced, his cheeks pink. “I think it’s maybe an animal of some sort calling to me?”
That made sense, given his newfound Quirk of talking to the Nessies. “And the voice or voices are in here, right now?” I looked around the room.
“Just one voice but not here. When I was inside the school at dinner time, I could hear it really clear.” He frowned. “I feel like it’s a baby . . . it keeps saying it’s hungry and can’t see in the dark.”
I patted his hand gently. “I think you’re just getting used to your Quirk.
For all you know, it could be a baby bird up in the rafters or maybe it’s a kitten in one of the dorms?
Hell, maybe it’s worm larvae. Who knows?
New Quirk, new stuff to deal with – maybe ask Liam if there would be a way to quiet it?
I think we’ve all had some growing pains with ours.
Keep me posted if anything changes, but .
. . I, for one, don’t think you’re crazy so try not to stress about it. ”
He paused for a long moment, then nodded. “Okay, I think I’m just nervous because this is all new, but you’re right. It will probably take some time, and Liam probably can help.”
The two of us continued to chat as we waited until lights went out in the cabins around us and the clock rolled close to nine.
At a quarter to the hour, we crept out together, making our way to the edge of the wall.
The small rolling hills and bunches of heather that had grown up in some places as thick and as high as my waist would give us cover if we ducked down.
You know, in case Typhon showed up. Again.
Lucky for us, no one spied us, and we reached the secret tunnel that led out of Heathermoor and to the edge of the loch without incident.
Go me.
“Hey!” Marina called, a wide grin wreathing her face.
She and Ellie both hugged us like we’d been apart for weeks, not just a few hours, as Caterina looped her arm through mine and held on tight.
Funny, I felt the same way. Like being separated from them had somehow made me weaker – more vulnerable.
How much worse would it have been if the Senate and Tarquinius had had their way?
We couldn’t let it happen.
“What’s up, guys?” Ross asked as he strode into the clearing. “Glad to see everyone survived the Runecoat invasion.”
He and Gary bumped fists, and I shivered as the wind blew across the loch, right through my clothes. Rubbing my arms as I looked around. “Where’s Fable?”
“We couldn’t get close enough to give her a note or speak to her,” Caterina said. “I tried, but she never stepped away from her housemates.”
I paced the small beach. “I don’t know,” I said, going on to explain to the others exactly what had gone down earlier with Fable’s stone. How much pain she’d seemed to be in, how it had pulled on me. “It was so strong, so visceral. Like, terror was just radiating off it . . .”
“It has to be a glitch like you said,” Caterina reasoned with a shrug. “I mean . . . she was fine all day, every time we saw her, so where was all that emotion coming from?”
“Fable is an open book,” I said. “I don’t think she could hide it if she was truly that scared. She needs to put a rune into another stone, otherwise . . .”
“How will we communicate with her?” Marina said, finishing my thought. “Okay, so tomorrow I will talk to her. I’ll make sure to sit with her at breakfast.”
“And I can check on her too,” Ellie said, “just to be sure there is no injury that we aren’t seeing.”
I blew out a sigh. “Good plan.” While I wouldn’t feel truly at ease until I’d had a chance to talk to her face to face, without curious eyes watching, knowing that Ellie would give her a once-over helped a lot.
The others chattered excitedly about their respective houses. How weirdly well they fit in. People were nice. No one had a run-in with anyone except for me.
“Still, it’s not quite like House Phoenix.” Ellie stood with her arms crossed, hugging herself. “When I am here, with you all, I know that you see me. I know that I’m . . . safe.”
Caterina put an arm around her and kissed her cheek. “Always.”
Gary stood on her other side and gave her a one-armed hug, reaching across to pat Caterina on the back. “I know what you mean. This is family. But these other houses . . . maybe they could be friends?”
Maybe they could.
Except you don’t have any housemates here . . .
And the closest thing I had to one was Sage Thalienne herself, and although I had a sneaking suspicion that while she might have a part to play in this all, she didn’t seem like someone I could fully trust.
But, man, could I use a mentor right now . . .
A scuffle of rocks in the tunnel froze me in place, mid-thought. I didn’t have time to say so much as ‘hide’ before a figure rose from the small space.
Liam.
“I wasn’t sure you’d all be able to get here.” He cast me a concerned glance. “I’ll warn you now, Moreno is here.”
“I saw him already.” A flush heated my cheeks, thinking about kissing Liam even as Typhon’s name sent a shiver through me. “He didn’t recognize me, though. Do we know why he’s here?”
“My guess is that maybe he was sent to deliver the doyen trainee that Tarquinius said was coming? I must tread lightly right now, so I can’t act too interested.
I’m sure we’ll all find out tomorrow as they will introduce the new student professor then.
I’m keeping a close eye on the situation in the event this is some sort of trap, so try not to worry. ”
Caterina laughed, though there was not a lot of mirth in it. “Try not to worry? If Tarquinius is already onto us, it’ll only be a matter of time until we get caught.”