Page 59 of Strength of Desire

“He seemed legitimately scared,” I said. “Which makes sense, if he’s working with Argus. You know how he treats his lackeys.”

“You’re not working for Argus,” Isaac said, “and I trust you’re not arrogant enough to pretend you’re not scared right now. Sheridan may be in the same boat. If he knows what the coin means, and just who he’s investigating—”

“He’s not investigating, he’s working to free Argus from the dreamworld and give him free rein to enslave humanity. He’sdangerous, Isaac,” I growled. “We have to question him, immediately. I don’t know if the moraghin were after him, or if he’s just saying that to throw us off the scent, but the fact is, they broke through the wards, and Sheridan is a wardkeeper. Sheridan was the last one to make it to the ward room after the alarm sounded. Sheridan has that coin in his possession. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out he’s involved in all of this.”

“Possibly involved,” Isaac said. His voice was soothing, almost the tone he used when putting me in one of his trances. “I agree that we need to look at him closely. But I will not accuse one of my staff members of working for Argus without proof. Witches take such allegations very seriously. I certainly won’t subject him to the kind of…treatment…that you’d like to give him without further evidence.”

“He’s working against us. And the longer you wait, the more damage he’ll do.”

“I understand that you feel that way. I’ll certainly look more closely at Sheridan’s actions this past year. Now that we have a new lead, I expect we’ll gain even more information soon.”

“You’re not taking this seriously enough,” I hissed. “Argus could be on the brink of attack. The moraghin might simply have been sent to test our defenses. And you want to sit around and gather more information?” I invested those last words with all the scorn I felt.

“I assure you, I take the safety of everyone at Vesperwood very seriously. I know what Argus is capable of.”

“Do you?” I spat. “Do you really?” My hands had curled into fists of their own accord.

“I know what you were like when I found you,” Isaac returned. “I have not forgotten that.”

I wanted to scream.

“You promised me,” I said, forcing my voice low. “We were fighting the same battle, you said. Work with you—workforyou—and I’d have a better chance of killing Argus than I ever would alone. All these years of waiting, of trusting you, and we finally have a chance to take him down, and you tell me to wait again?”

“Noah,” Isaac said, and there was power in the way he said my name. I wanted to look away, to yell or punch something. But I couldn’t move. “I understand that you’re upset. You have reason to be. I understand that you’re suspicious. You have reason to be. I understand that you wish to act. God knows your past gives you reason for that. I understand.”

His gaze held me pinned.

“But I can’t run this school based on your gut feelings,” he continued. “Nor can I let you run off half-cocked with free rein to beat what you believe to be the truth out of Sheridan.”

“I don’t want—” I began, before realizing that was exactly what I wanted to do.

“As for an imminent attack,” Isaac continued, “I will step up surveillance for external and internal threats. You have my word. And I will question Sheridan further, you have my word on that as well. But Argus isn’t one for direct attacks, if he can avoid them. You know that.”

“He’s direct enough when he wants to be,” I said. The wound on my chest was burning. I flexed my fingers, trying to release some of the energy trapped in my body.

“Give me a day,” Isaac said. I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. “That’s an order, not a request. We’ll talk tomorrow evening, and we’ll discuss next steps.”

“I really don’t think—”

“Tomorrow,” he said, and I could tell from his tone he wouldn’t say any more.

I spun around and stalked off. I needed to get away. Away from Isaac and his calls for restraint. Away from Sheridan and the temptation to beat answers out of him. Away from Vesperwood entirely.

Violence would feel good in the short run, but would make things more complicated in the long run. I was going to explode if I didn’t do something, though. There was only one other outlet for my energy that I could think of, and it was in Point Claudette.

16

NOAH

Ten minutes later, I was at the Balsam Inn, knocking snow off my boots and pushing open the front door. Tom, the bartender, looked up from where he was polishing the bar on the left. I nodded to him and let my gaze sweep the rest of the room. It was dim, but I could see Lew hunched over a beer in the corner, in the fluorescent blue glow of the Bud Light sign in the window.

Tom held up an empty pint glass and nodded at the taps, but I shook my head. I didn’t want alcohol. I wanted—no, Ineeded—to satisfy a deeper urge. I crossed the room to Lew and jerked him out of his seat by the arm. His beer sloshed in his glass, but it was mostly empty, so it didn’t spill. It was probably warm by now anyway.

“Let’s go,” I told him.

“No ‘hello?’” Lew said, his voice angry.

“Hello. Let’s go.”

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