Initiation (21 page)

We all looked at each other, no one sure what we should talk about. I needed to check on that bird, but I couldn’t do it with Faustine.

Thankfully, Dax called. “Hey, Cordelia. Is Faustine okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. She just fed. What about the others?”

“They’re fine. Chun has some minor injuries, but Martha wasn’t hurt. Apparently, Martha took over and brought them back to my room safely. Can Faustine join us? They’d like that.”

She could, but they’d blab about what had happened in the cafeteria, and that wouldn’t be good. “Dax, I’m going to bring her over a little later. Okay?”

“Hmm. I guess. Text me.”

“Faustine, would you like to go skiing?” Jagger offered, much to my surprise.

“Yes! That would be awesome. Right now? Are you coming?” She turned to me and then to Quinn.

Quinn answered, “You guys go ahead. Cordelia and I have a few things we need to do. We’ll meet you back here later.”

Faustine jumped up and grabbed Jagger’s hand. “Ready?”

He laughed and let her pull him out the door. “Yeah, but go get changed first. I’ll wait outside your room.”

“So?” Quinn asked as soon as we were alone, pulling me closer to him. “Shall we go check out the dining hall?”

I nodded, smushing my face into his chest, just for a moment. It felt so good being close to him. “You don’t have to come with, if you have other–”

“Like I’d let you out of my sight. Don’t be silly. I’m going to stick to your side like those humans seem to do. Be a proper
boyfriend
.” He chuckled.

He was a proper boyfriend, much better than most human ones, for sure. I squeezed his hand.

The door to my room opened again, causing me to tense.

Dr. Marks stuck his face through the opening. “Cordelia? May I come in?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“How are you feeling?” He scrutinized my nose. “I’m going to set it so it heals right. Sit down for a minute.”

He fiddled with my nose for a minute of sheer agony. I bit down on my lower lip to keep from squealing.

“There! All done. Come and see me tomorrow, and we’ll see how it’s doing. I expect it to be back to normal. Now, where is the other boy? The troll? His name escapes me.”

“Dax went back to his room. He seems totally okay. I’m going over to see him in a little while.”

“Okay, that’s good. Tell him to come and see me for a checkup tomorrow. Or earlier if he feels the need. I’m going back to the infirmary. I have my hands full down there.” He sighed.

“Were there a lot of casualties?”

“Yes. We’ve got fourteen students at the infirmary still. The others were discharged after we dealt with their injuries–minor ones, cuts and bruises.”

“Dr. Marks, is there a student with a broken leg or arm down there?”

Dr. Marks sighed heavily. “Broken arm would be an understatement! A severed arm, torn right off the body. Terrible. Really terrible.” He shook his head.

“Who?” I ventured.

“I can’t tell you that, patient confidentiality. Why do you ask? Did a friend of yours suffer such an injury?”

“No, I just thought I saw something…”

 
Dr. Marks eyed me curiously. “Any idea what started it all?”

I shrugged.

“All the students seem pretty vague about it,” he noted. “Frau Schmelder has been going through the surveillance videos with the tech team. I guess we’ll know more soon.”

The cameras! I’d forgotten all about them. The school would obviously have installed them in the food hall. That was awesome. I should be able to tell who the eagle was from the video, and also how Faustine had disappeared. I wondered if I could get Frau Schmelder to show them to me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Cordelia. Nice to see you, Quinn.” Dr. Marks strode back out the door.

“Don’t tell me. You wanna watch the surveillance videos,” Quinn teased.

“Yeah! Don’t you?”

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t just want to; I need to. Let’s go ask The Smelt.”

The Smelt’s face seethed with annoyance when Quinn and I entered into her office. We had knocked, of course, and she had asked us to come in. Yet, her demeanor said we were totally not welcome. She wasn’t alone. A bespectacled bald man with a handlebar moustache was bent over her computer monitor. I recognized him as one of the computer techies.

“Do you have an appointment?” Frau Schmelder asked, her voice laced with fury.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled. I wanted to spin around and flee. She removed her spectacles and eyed us with malevolence. Sheesh. I hoped she wasn’t a witch or something, because she’d totally turn us to stone.

“Well?” she yelled, making me jump out of my skin.

Quinn cleared his throat. “Frau Schmelder, we were hoping that you’d let us watch the footage from the cafeteria.”

The Smelt narrowed her eyes. “Why would I do that?” She threw up her hands as if we were total idiots.

We were. Whatever had possessed us?

“Cordelia was involved,” Quinn explained. “But she didn’t see everything that happened. It would be useful to see what happened.”

“Would it now? Get out. And in the future, obey the rules. You are
not
allowed to come to my office unless you have an appointment, or I have sent for you. Understand?”

We both nodded and quickly left, closing the door behind us.

“Now what?” I asked. “That didn’t go well at all! Cranky old cow!”

“Careful,” Quinn whispered. “Remember the cameras. They’re everywhere now. No fucking privacy. We’ll just come back later when she’s gone and have a look at them ourselves.”

“Break into her office?”

B
reaking into Frau Schmelder’s office was no small, easy-peasy job. The place was a virtual fortress, especially with the new surveillance cameras monitoring it. Quinn and I couldn’t do it alone.

“You what?” Jagger asked, when we asked for his help. He looked so deliciously hot, still flushed from skiing with Faustine. I had to remind myself that he had a girlfriend. Not that she, whoever
she
was, had stopped him from coming on to me. Snake.

I explained it to him all over again.

He roared with laughter. “Totally out of the question. What are you thinking? There’s no way you can get in there.”

“Actually, with your help, we probably can.” Quinn rubbed the back of his neck.

“Even if that’s true, I just wouldn’t. I’m the president of the student council, not a criminal. Ask one of the shifters.”

I was beyond furious. I stood and shot Quinn the
we’re leaving
signal. With my parting shot of, “We’ll just do it on our own!” I stomped to the door.

I should have expected it, as it was our new routine. I smashed into Jagger’s hard body. He was quick to encircle my waist with his arms, so I didn’t land on my butt again. I felt my body do crazy things as I pushed against him. Had I been able to step inside his body, I would have.

Actually, I could. The thought jolted me off him. I stepped back and went over to Quinn. I really could have, if I had wanted to. I was a demon, after all, and he was a faery. Nothing stopped me from possessing him. Apart from the whole right and wrong thing… and that it was against Academy rules. Plus, he would be furious. And most importantly, I hated possessing male bodies. Yuck!

All the same, I could if I wanted. The thought made me grin.

“Cordelia?” Quinn asked. “I’m waiting for you to throw a hissy at Jagger, and you’re grinning like a Cheshire cat instead. Wassup?”

“Oh, nothing. Let’s go, Quinn. Get out of our way, Jagger, or I’ll go all demon on you.”

Jagger glared. I could practically feel the daggers piercing me. He was so angry that he could barely talk.

When he did, his voice was hoarse and low. “What’s the plan?”

“Like we’d tell you,” I mocked. “You’d probably go straight to The Smelt with it.”

In an instant, he hovered inches from my face, breathing down on me.

Quinn’s fingers merged. “Step away from Cordelia, Jagger. Now,” Quinn growled softly, clenching his fists.

Jagger’s eyes slitted dangerously, but he moved back half a step.

“And another step,” Quinn demanded, his voice lethally calm.

Jagger stepped back again, but held my eyes in an iron lock. “Do you really think that I would betray you?”

I tried averting my eyes, but couldn’t. I raised my shoulders in a shrug.

Jagger clenched his jaw. “Cordelia? Say it! Would I betray you?”

“No,” I whispered, wishing I were anywhere but stuck in the same room with Quinn and Jagger. Of course, Jagger wouldn’t betray me. I could see that in his eyes.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Quinn looked ready to explode.

“I couldn’t understand Cordelia questioning my integrity. I’ve done nothing to earn her distrust. We’re friends. All of us. Aren’t we?”

Quinn hesitated, but nodded.

“Hey, what’s going on here? I heard yelling,” one of the Holt twins said, coming out of Jagger’s bedroom. She was wrapped in a blanket, her feet and shoulders bare.

I felt as if a knife had stabbed me right through my heart. Jagger’s flushed face had nothing to do with skiing; it was all to do with the après-ski. The rumors were true. Sienna was his lover. His girlfriend. I slumped down onto the couch, feeling ill.

“Hon, you okay?” Quinn perched on the couch arm and put his arm around me.

“Yeah. It’s just been a long day. Hey, Sienna. Did you go skiing with Faustine?”

She giggled. “It’s Jewel. Everyone gets us mixed up. Except Faustine, somehow she knew I was Jewel right away. Nice kid. Yes, I went skiing with her and Jagger. Faustine’s really good, in a human sort of way. Got to get those powers working for her. I bet she’ll be awesome on the slopes after that.” Jewel paused and looked from Jagger to Quinn, who both seemed subdued. “What were you guys arguing about before I came in? It sounded serious.”