Page 74 of Deadly Alliances

“That’s better,” Mr. Sharp said with a nod of appreciation.

“I didn’t know you were such an avid gardener,” Petra remarked from two raised beds down.

“Well, I’m sure there are a lot of students who don’t know about the lives or interests of their instructors,” he replied with a grin and wink.

She smirked, though she seemed to catch herself in showing genuine emotion and flattened her lips.

Mr. Sharp caught sight of me and made his way toward me. “Good evening, Ashlyn.” He put a sturdy hand on my shoulder. “I just want to thank you guys for volunteering to help with the renovation of the greenhouses. I know how hard you’re all being worked in classes lately, and I really appreciate the effort and sacrifice you’re making.”

“Er, yeah. No problem,” I said with a nervous wobble.

When the call for volunteers went out this morning, I thought it was a much better and safer option than sneaking around to the janitor’s closet. No one would have to run the risk of getting caught. I hadn’t realized we’d be working alongside a teacher. How were we going to be able to talk about anything of value with him here?

He went to the corner and picked up a huge bag of potting soil with his large hands, making it look like it weighed nothing. He came back to me and plopped into my arms, the impact knocking the wind out of me for several seconds as its weight threatened to pull me forward.

“Oops, sorry,” he chuckled. “Sometimes I forget my own strength. You got it okay?”

“Yep,” I squeezed out hoarsely, planting my feet and bending myknees to keep myself upright.

“You can fill the next bed when it’s finished,” he said. “Brett, how’s it coming?”

Brett rose from the middle section with a drill in one hand. “Actually, we’re out of screws.”

Mr. Sharp furrowed his brow dubiously. “But I just gave you a full bag.”

Brett shrugged and flicked his head to toss his surfer bangs over his forehead.

Mr. Sharp closed his eyes in a long-suffering sigh. “Okay. I’ll be right back.” He trudged out of the greenhouse, his heavy footfalls fading into the distance.

I trudged up to Brett and dropped the bulky bag onto the floor against the unfinished raised bed. “Did you actually run out of screws?” I whispered.

He reached under the platform and pulled out a wad of melted metal, spirals, points, and screw heads still visible among the mass.

“Good thinking,” I praised. “That should buy us at least a few minutes. But we still need to keep quiet because a soldier is lingering nearby.”

The other five gathered around us, and I was surprised to see a new face in our ranks. Katya Yoshida, one of the top kitsune students, waved at me, and I nodded to her in greeting.

“Thank you for joining us in our cause,” I said.

“Of course,” she said in her sharp Asian accent. “When Jackson told me about this opportunity, I jumped at the chance. I haven’t had time to contact my family about it, but I will as soon as possible.”

“Thank you,” I said again, then looked around to the rest of the group. “Has anyone made progress?”

Jackson raised his hand. “I spoke to my dad. Just as I thought, he doesn’t want to be the face of anything official, but he volunteered his lawyer, John Phalen, to represent him as his proxy. He’s a good choice, and he carries a lot of respect with the other shifter species.”

“Awesome,” I said, thrill dancing in my stomach at the knowledge that we had at least one notable adult on our side. But we definitely needed more than that. “Anyone else?”

Letti brushed her hair over her shoulder and said, “I talked to my mother, and after hearing about the horrible treatment we’re receiving under military rule, she agreed that it needs to be stopped. She’s going to take the issue to Queen Anali, who I’m certain will not only agree to be on a council but will also intervene. Mer are proud people, and they won’t stand for this bullshit.”

Normally, the sound of Letti’s voice had the same effect as nails scraping a chalkboard, but tonight, it was music to my ears. I never thought I’d be so grateful for the arrogance and pride of the mer.

“That’s wonderful, Letti,” I said sincerely, then I turned to Petra.

She folded her arms, looking cool and collected as ever. “Well, I made a few calls but haven’t heard anything yet. But it’s only been one day. I’m sure I’ll get a response soon.”

I nodded, trying not to frown. She was right about it only having been one day, but the news, or lack thereof, still stung a little bit. I shoved it down. This was all still good news. We had two powerful leaders on our side already, and we would only get more.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Jackson said, then tossed something to Petra. She caught it, her face lighting with joy and gratitude as she looked down at the carton of cigarettes.

---