Chapter 37
Iwas ready to fire off a binding rune, but Nikita paused a few feet away, staring blankly at us – as if she didn’t recognize us at all. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, and her clothes seemed disheveled, like she’d slept in them.
“Harlow,” she said finally, her voice soft and distant.
No indication of surprise. No binding rune or blaring of some alarm to let the world know we were here.
I raised a brow at Fable who shrugged.
“Nikita . . . have you been drinking?” I asked as she swayed slightly, almost like the breeze was too much for her to bear.
She just kept staring at me with that same empty expression, as if her brain had temporarily disconnected.
Unease prickled at the back of my neck. This woman had the sharpest tongue I’d ever encountered, and that was saying something seeing as how I’m me.
In all the time I’d known her, she’d never been at a loss for an insult or rude remark, especially when it came to yours truly.
Something definitely wasn’t right.
“I think she’s in shock,” Ellie said. “Let me see if I can help.” Ellie stepped up and held out a hand, but Nikita jerked away from her touch. “Doyenne Elmwood, are you hurt? Did something happen to you?”
“No! No, I’m fine. Don’t touch me.”
Something about that blank expression triggered a recent memory.
This wasn’t the first time I’d seen her like this.
Right before we’d left for Heathermoor, I’d run into her out on the school grounds at night, not far from here, and she’d been almost as confused as she was now – only she’d been more lucid then.
Whatever was going on with her, it had been happening for a while now.
Maybe she was struggling with an addiction issue?
I took a deep whiff of the air; she didn’t smell drunk. I took stock of her eyes – not dilated – and her mannerisms didn’t fit with those of an addict. She didn’t seem high. More just like an empty, lifeless shell.
It was unnerving and had all my senses buzzing.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Zeed asked, his tone gentle as he stepped a little closer.
“I’m fine.” She flashed him a polite smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes as she turned away. “But you’ll have to excuse me . . . I have work to do.”
Work? Outside the school?
At night?
She shuffled past us without another word, and I chewed at my bottom lip as I watched her go. She had to know Tarquinius was on the hunt for House Phoenix. But she hadn’t even flinched when she’d seen us all . . .
Something fishy was going on here at Neverthorn, and it made me twitchy.
“What was that about?” Gary whispered as he watched her go. “Did someone, like, lobotomize her or something?”
“She’s been acting strange – stranger, I guess – since you guys left,” Bandit said. “Canceled some classes and has been super disconnected. Like she’s here but nobody’s home.”
One too many weird coincidences, and it was giving me very bad vibes.
I turned back toward the entrance. “We aren’t waiting around for Typhon to meet us. Some sort of fuckery is going on around here and taking things slow and careful isn’t going to cut it.”
Typhon could already be in trouble as far as we knew.
The school loomed in the distance as we jogged across the grounds, making our way to the main entrance. We hadn’t managed to piece together what was going on, but I knew one thing for sure; if someone had hurt Opie, there would be hell to pay.
“Time’s up.” Ross said. “We going in?”
“Maybe we should split up,” Fable said. “Cover more ground?”
“No, we stay together.” I kept my voice low, “We get Typhon and Opie and we go.”
Low murmured agreements and we stepped inside, our footsteps echoing through the hallway.
It was well past curfew, the halls were empty, and we didn’t see a single person as we hurried to the main staircase.
Tension coiled tighter in my chest with every step.
I had no way of knowing what we might find, and the anticipation was killing me.
Keeping my footsteps light, I hurried down the hall the second we reached Opie’s floor. Typhon stood in the open doorway of her room as I approached. I could hear him talking softly and my knees went weak with relief.
“Opie!”
Typhon’s head jerked around, and I searched his face, the tight lines around his mouth and eyes.
“She’s not here. Get inside, all of you.”
My heart sank as Phyllis emerged from Opie’s room, her usually neat, gray hair pulled back into a messy bun.
Her eyes shimmered with tears as we entered, and she stepped toward us, arms open.
For a second, I froze. The last time I’d seen her, she’d been on her back, dead on the floor.
Fable must’ve felt the same because she stiffened beside me.
“Thank heavens you’re here. I’ve been so worried, you bunch of idiots!”
At first, I hesitated, on high alert. But the second her arms wrapped around me; I leaned in and breathed deeply.
She felt like our Phyllis. Right height, right shape. Hell, she even smelled like our Phyllis. Slightly medicinal like herbal tea, but with an undertone of spray starch that kept her widow’s weeds looking sharp and wrinkle free.
I gave her a hard squeeze and pulled back, my gaze fixing on something in Typhon’s hand.
Opie’s necklace.
My heart sank. Now there was no way to track her.
“She must’ve taken it off and left it behind,” Typhon confirmed. “She knew you could track her with it?”
Throat tight, I nodded as I searched the room. A half-eaten sausage biscuit wrapped in a napkin sat forgotten on the small table, and a book lay open on her bed, as if she’d rushed out to answer a call or knock at the door.
“How long has her room been like this?” I asked, my voice thin with dread.
“I can’t say for sure because she was in a mood the day before yesterday.
When I came by the next morning, I assumed she just didn’t want company, so I gave her some space.
” Phyllis wrung her hands together, looking miserable as could be.
“I didn’t bust my way in until dinner time.
I hadn’t seen her and started to get worried.
I’d hoped she’d tucked herself away somewhere, hiding from me and Bandit.
But her room was like this still when I checked this morning. ”
“Tell her what you told me,” Typhon said.
Phyllis nodded. “Things have been very strange the past few days. Tarquinius has been locked behind his office door or off school grounds more than he’s been here.
I suspect he is taking students somewhere.
Even before Opie disappeared, I was keeping tabs on him.
He keeps sneaking out around the back of the school. I don’t know what’s there, but . . .”
Typhon’s face tightened. He rubbed at his temples again, frustration clear in every movement. “Something about that . . . is close but feels wrong. Keep going, maybe something you say will break through the block.”
Phyllis continued with a quick bob of her head.
“When I couldn’t find Opie, I snuck into the administration office.
What I found was a secret stash of papers, thanks to your ‘finders keepers’ rune, Harlow .
. . there were missing students. Every year – with excuses next to their names.
Zeed’s was in that pile. I took his emergency contact information.
But when I tried to get in touch with his family, the number had been disconnected.
Then, I remembered what you said about the girl . . . Lucy?”
My pulse quickened.
Lucinda Azalea Maura. I’d found her real name in a school yearbook.
Lucy, the terrified, supposed ‘wraith’ stalking the halls of Neverthorn last semester. I could still see her filthy, horror-stricken face as she begged me . . .
“Don’t go! They’re going to get me and take me back! I just need someone to help me!”
I shook my head hard to rid myself of the image. I had to focus on the now.
Phyllis put a hand to her chest, her throat bobbing.
“There were so many over the years. The papers gave me bits and pieces, but there was also a great deal that had been scrubbed – a rune that removed any mention of what truly happened. And I fear that if Opie is missing . . . she’s caught up in this ring of missing children.
” Her hand slid up to grip her throat. “Something terrible is happening here at Neverthorn and has been for a very long time. And as much as I hate to say it, I don’t know if Nocta is behind it, and Tarquinius is trying to fight against him, or . . .”
“If he’s the one doing it all himself,” Cat whispered.
Fable shook her head furiously. “No. No matter that he wasn’t our favorite, this has got to be one of Nocta’s tricks. Maybe he’s using a compelling rune to control Tarquinius. Cat, is that possible, do you think?”
Cat nodded hesitantly. “I’ve only scratched the surface, but I think it’s possible, yes. With that said, it would require immense power, and Nocta is a Splice. Could he seriously be strong enough to master two powerful Quirks?”
“He’s also part-Fae.” I said, more for Phyllis than for the others. Her eyes widened and her face paled. I took her hand and gave her a squeeze. He’d never told her. Or maybe he hadn’t known yet when they’d been young and in love. “We have to assume he’s stronger than we ever imagined.”
“The place Tarquinius has been going to . . .” Typhon shook his head. “Can you lead us to where he was sneaking off to, Phyllis? Or at least what direction you saw him go?”
She nodded. “Yes, follow me.”
Zeed’s face was drained completely of color.
“If Tarquinius is already under Nocta’s control, and he’s out there wiping memories, then he’s got something to hide.
I’m getting better at using my Quirk. If I can get close enough to touch him for more than a few seconds, I should be able to find the truth.
We need to go now, though. We need to stop him before . . .”
He didn’t have to finish the sentence.
Before they did the same to Opie that they did to Lucinda.
“Come on!” Ross scooped up Phyllis, carrying her on his back. “I got you, Phyll.”