The Nightmare Dilemma (Arkwell Academy) (26 page)

It made sense, in an odd mafia boss, Godfather kind of way. “How do you know that your uncle purchased the chain for Marrow?”

“I didn’t for sure. Not until later. But that’s a specific kind of item and not something most people could afford. Culpepper’s records said my uncle paid thousands of dollars for it. It’s possible he wanted to make a talisman out of it for protection. I’ve heard of people doing that. But I don’t think he did. It was too much of a coincidence to be anything else.”

I let out a humph, in complete agreement with him on this point at least.

Selene wrapped her arms around her chest. “But how did you find out for sure then?”

Paul’s lips peeled back in a smile so cold it made me want to shiver. “My uncle came to see me when I was in jail, wanting to know all about the reckthaworlde website and how much I knew about the members. His nervousness was all the proof I needed. I didn’t even have to tell him about Culpepper’s records. The second I threatened to expose him to the senate as one of Marrow’s supporters, he was willing to deal.”

“Holy shit.” Eli slapped the top of his leg. “Your uncle’s the one who got you off.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I shook my head. It was incredible. In every news report I’d come across, Titus Kirkwood had been the most adamant about his nephew’s guilt. His performance was so believable he’d even convinced Lady Elaine and Sheriff Brackenberry he couldn’t possibly be involved.

I swallowed, forcing my eyes to Paul. “Why should we believe you when you’ve lied so much before?”

Paul flinched, but he held my gaze. “Because liars deal in truths. It’s the only way we can get away with it.”

Nobody spoke for a moment, all of us digesting this awful reality. Not for the first time in recent months, I wished the world were more black-and-white, right and wrong easy to distinguish.

Selene broke the silence first. “Assuming you are telling the truth about everything, why would your uncle bargain with you? If he’s the kind of man who would attack an innocent girl like Britney, why wouldn’t he just kill you?”

“Just so we’re clear,” Paul said, motioning to the three of us. “The only time my uncle gets his hands dirty is in the privacy of his own house. Someone else attacked Britney, but they were following his orders. Several someones, most likely. It’s the only way he could’ve pulled it off both at Arkwell and Vejovis.”

I was about to ask him why, if he knew so much, he hadn’t done anything to stop it. Then I remembered that he had tried. I just hadn’t listened. I cleared my throat. “That still doesn’t answer her question. Why didn’t he send someone to take care of you?”

Paul sat up straighter. “Because I have something he wants.”

“And what’s that?” said Eli.

“I’m the only person around who can identify all of Marrow’s followers.”

My temper flared. “You just said that Marrow kept everybody secret from each other.”

Paul didn’t squirm as I thought he would when caught in a lie. Instead he remained steady. “Just hear me out. I don’t know who all the followers are, but I have a list of all the member information of everyone who ever joined reckthaworlde.com. I’ve never read it, but I have access to it. I made a backup copy of the reckthaworlde.com database from just hours before the website went offline.”

“How’s that possible?” I said, thinking back. “Sheriff Brackenberry said they searched Marrow’s apartment, your dorm room, and your uncle’s house for the servers and didn’t find them. And I know that database servers aren’t small enough to stuff under the floorboards in your bedroom.”

Paul snorted. “True enough. But the servers were kept somewhere else. I don’t know where. Marrow had me set up all the hardware at his apartment, but then he moved it. The sheriff was wasting his time looking for them at my house. Someone else besides me took the website offline. Obviously, since I was in jail at the time.”

“Oh. Right.” I puffed out my cheeks.

“But once Marrow moved the servers,” Paul continued, “I administered everything remotely. All it takes is an Internet connection and an administrator account.”

Eli slid off the tomb, his boots making a dull thud on the stone floor. Then he stood up to his full height, fixing a hard stare at Paul. “This is crap. There’s no way you were able to make a copy of an entire website database remotely without big-time equipment.”

Paul returned his stare, unimpressed. “I didn’t copy the entire database. Just the user information tables. It was a virtual backup, and the data, once compressed, is very small. All I needed was a laptop. And that
is
small enough to hide under the floorboards. So to speak.”

“But,” Selene said, unconsciously running a finger down her scar, “if you had access to that information all this time, how can you claim you never knew who the other followers were? Surely you took a peek.”

“I’m not stupid.” Paul snorted. “If I slipped somehow and Marrow found out, he would’ve killed me. But he didn’t know enough about technology to realize what I could do with my administrative access. I set up the virtual backup without his knowledge.”

“But why do it in the first place?” I asked, although I had a feeling I knew the answer already.

“Insurance,” Paul said, not looking at me. “I knew the information was important, and I wanted to have it in case I needed it later.” He looked up, unapologetic. “I’m glad I did. It’s what has kept me alive ever since.”

I stared at Paul as awed by his cleverness as I was repelled by it. I always knew he was ultra-intelligent, a computer genius, but I was just beginning to understand that he was a survivor, too.

“So Magistrate Kirkwood hasn’t had you killed yet because he wants the list?” Selene said, brushing something off her arm. It looked suspiciously like a spider and I squirmed.

Paul took a deep breath. “That and he’s afraid that if he tries and fails, I’ll give it over to his enemies in the senate.”

I tapped my foot. “You make it sound like the senate is a bunch of cutthroat politicians out to kill each other off to gain power.”

Paul arched a blond eyebrow at me. “Well, it is. All the conflict between the kinds, like the fight on the commons today, that’s been going on within the senate, too.”

It was a sobering thought.

“Where’s the data now?” Eli said, the hint of doubt still in his voice.

“Dusty has it.” Paul waved at me.

I put my hands on my hips, indignant at the accusation. “No, I do not.”

Paul held his hand out to me. “Can I see your phone?” When I didn’t respond he said, “Please.”

Huffing a little, I pulled my cell out of my back pocket.

Paul slid off the tomb and stepped toward me, only to have Eli block his way. Paul stared down at Eli’s hand on his arm. Then he met Eli’s glower. “I meant what I said. I would never hurt her.”

“I meant what I said. I’ll never let you get close enough to try.” The veins in Eli’s forearm bulged out around taut muscles.

I touched Eli’s shoulder in a silent request.

He glanced back at me then slowly nodded and stepped away.

I held the cell out to Paul, and his fingers brushed my hand as he took it. His touch made me jump as if from a tiny electric shock. I expected him to retreat back to his seat, but he didn’t. Instead he remained where he was, less than a foot from me, close enough to touch without even trying.

Paul did something to the phone that I couldn’t see, but a second later he turned the screen toward me. It was opened to an app I’d never seen before, some kind of menu screen with a bunch of nonsensical file names listed.

“What is that?” I said, breathless with shock.

“Those files contain information on all of Marrow’s followers,” said Paul.

Eli held out his hand. “Let me see it.” Paul gave him the cell with no hesitation. I watched as Eli selected one of the files. A passcode prompt appeared on the screen, one only Paul knew, no doubt.

Sighing, Eli handed the cell back to me. “Those file names look like legit computer files. I hate to admit it, but he might be telling the truth.”

I stared down at the screen, my face draining of color. “How did you get it onto my phone?”

“Simple,” Paul said. “That’s not yours.”

“What?” Selene and I said in unison. Beside me, Eli looked on the verge of something violent. I glanced at Paul and then down at the phone. It
looked
like my phone. It was definitely my case, anyway. It was too beat-up for me not to recognize it as mine.

Paul took a precautionary step back from Eli, slowly nodding. “I switched them out. That phone is the same make and model as yours, of course, and it has your original SIM card, but it contains some of my own modifications, including the app I just showed you. It’s hidden and encrypted with a password. Please don’t bother trying to figure it out. Three incorrect attempts and the program will self-destruct. Actually, the whole phone will self-destruct.”

Eli’s hands clenched into fists. “What the hell?”

Paul put up a hand, trying to calm him. “Don’t worry. Worst it’ll do is burn her fingers if she tries. It’s not magic but mechanical.”

“Oh, sure, because that’s such a comfort,” said Eli.

Pushing Eli aside with my shoulder, I poked Paul in the chest. “Where’s my real phone? How’d you do it?”

Paul didn’t move to defend himself. “The day you stole
The
Atlantean Chronicle
. I made the switch that night. There was nobody in the dorm so I broke in and replaced your old phone with this one.”

“Oh, this is just great.” Venom dripped in Eli’s voice.

I gritted my teeth, outrage making my head swim. “Is that why my phone started changing letters to symbols?”

“Probably. Sorry about that.” A sheepish grin crossed Paul’s face.

Eli took a threatening step toward Paul. “But why give it to Dusty in the first place?”

This time Paul stood his ground. “Because I knew it would be safe with her. And because my uncle would never expect it. It’s not like he’s been content just to trust me not to expose him. He’s been looking for the data nonstop. And I’m pretty sure he’s a lot smarter about technology than Sheriff Brackenberry and the rest of magickind.”

My fingers tightened on the phone automatically, some of my anger giving way to astonishment. He hadn’t exactly said that I was holding his life in my hands, but if he was telling the truth about Magistrate Kirkwood, then I most definitely was.

I started to put my phone back in my pocket, but Paul stopped me.

“Do you mind if I make sure it’s hidden again?”

I frowned, realizing the gravity of what my phone now held. I handed it back to him. I wanted to stay angry with Paul, but I couldn’t manage it. What he’d done was horrible—not to mention a little scary—but the fact that he would trust me with something so huge meant a lot. Even if I didn’t want it to.

He gave the phone back a moment later, and I stowed it in my pocket.

I faced Paul once more. “Explain how your uncle was behind the attack on Britney.”

Sighing, he took a step back. “I spent a little time at his house right after my release, and I didn’t waste it. I couldn’t believe he would support Marrow. He craves his own power too much. So I wanted to figure out what he was up to now that Marrow is out of the picture. I hacked his e-mail using the same laptop that I used for the website backups. It was hidden in my room the whole time. Brackenberry didn’t find it because they were looking for magical concealment, but I had it hidden in an ordinary secret compartment. They didn’t think to check for those.”

I shook my head, once again astounded by his cleverness.

Paul continued on, unaware. “Several of the e-mails I found were written in code. They had names and references to things that don’t exist. One of them, I was pretty sure was a reference to the attack on Britney. And when I found out she was awake, and that you and Selene were going to talk to her, I guessed she would be in danger.” He paused. “I was right.”

“How did you know we were going to visit Britney?” Selene asked.

Paul shifted his weight, squirming a little. “Dusty texted Eli about it. I’ve been monitoring the phone just in case…” He leveled a defensive look at me. “In case you told Brackenberry something important about me.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You’ve been spying on me?”

Paul nodded. “But no more than you’ve been spying on me.”

I pressed my lips together, unable to decide on a response.

Paul pulled his gaze from me and glanced at the other two. “The attack on Britney is only the start of it. From what I saw in those e-mails, my uncle is planning something big. A way to make himself consul. It’s what he wants more than anything.”

Selene raised her hand to her mouth. “You think he’s going to assassinate Consul Vanholt?”

“What else?” said Paul.

I gaped—the consul was the same as the president.

“I don’t know how yet,” Paul said, “but based on the code words, I think it’s going to happen during Beltane. And the place is Lyonshold. My guess is it’s going down during the festival. But the e-mail also talked about Atlantis. I haven’t figured out what it means yet.”

He stopped speaking, giving us a chance to digest this. I turned the notion over and over inside my head. Was it possible? Could Titus Kirkwood be planning a coup? I stared at Paul, trying to decide if I could trust him. Something about the way his face looked in the torchlight reminded me of Bethany’s dream.
He
had been in the dream. No, that wasn’t right. Someone that looked like him but wasn’t him. Someone like …

Titus Kirkwood.

The realization dawned on me as bright as a searchlight. Titus and Paul shared a strong, almost uncanny resemblance given that they were only uncle and nephew and not father and son. But it was one close enough that I was certain Britney had been dreaming about Titus and not Paul.

I glanced at the other three and told them about Britney’s dream. “It all fits,” I said when I finished. “And Britney was supposed to curse Eli to keep us from seeing what’s coming in his dreams. This must be why.”

Eli nodded. “I suppose it makes sense.”