Page 18 of Strength of Desire

“And you’re absolutely sure she was not infected?” Leon asked.

Cinda stood a little straighter and gave him a look that said she considered his question impudent. “Absolutely.”

“Lucky indeed,” said Leon. He was stirring his coffee like he wanted to stab a hole through the mug. “Three moraghin attack a group of freshmen unexpectedly, and no one gets hurt. What are the odds?”

“Four.” Leon’s tone put my back up—it was time to be clear. I said the word grimly, my mind flashing back to the gym. Whyhadthat fourth moragh sought Cory out? Did it think he’d be an easy target, all alone? “There were four moraghin, not three.”

“And someone certainly did get hurt,” Cinda sniffed. “Erika may be free of infection, but she bears bruised ribs, a twisted ankle, and a dislocated shoulder that I’ve only just healed. To say nothing of the psychological wounds she and the rest of the students will undoubtedly carry for years to come.”

Leon’s eyes narrowed. I had the feeling he didn’t consider psychological wounds real.

“If that’s all,” Cinda said, addressing her comments directly to Isaac, “do I have your permission to go?”

“You do,” Isaac said. “Youalldo. I trust I do not need to remind everyone that extra caution is required until we uncover the cause of today’s attack. Vesperwood has its enemies, as you know. We must do all we can to protect our students.”

There was a shuffling of feet, a few throats clearing, and a smattering of head nods. The faculty looked like a bunch of shifty students, caught doing something they shouldn’t have. But no one said anything.

After a moment, Isaac nodded. “Good. Dismissed.”

I let the others trickle out the door ahead of me, loitering at the back of the room until it was just me, Isaac, and Nat.

“I appreciate your help,” Isaac said to Nat as she neared the door. “You have a keen mind. You may find something we overlooked when invoking the wards originally.”

“Maybe,” she said, but her shrug made clear how unlikely she thought that was. “Like Teresa said, you were involved in the process. I doubt you made a mistake in one of the foundational enchantments for the school.”

“Everyone is capable of making mistakes,” Isaac said neutrally.

“If you had, wouldn’t the wards have failed before now?” Nat asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not like they haven’t been tested, but they’ve withstood everything that was thrown at them, until today.”

“All the more reason for double-checking.”

Nat shrugged again, then turned to me. “Don’t suppose I could tempt you to a game of cards, could I? Bet you could use the stress relief.”

“Playing poker with you is never stress relief,” I told her. “I’d like to keep my shirt on my back, thank you.”

“Suit yourself.”

With a final smile, she left the room. It felt oddly empty, now that everyone was gone. I approached Isaac, who muttered a spell. The door closed behind him, softly. I arched an eyebrow.

“I assumed you wished to speak with me privately,” Isaac said. “Was I mistaken?”

“No.” I didn’t mention that he could just as easily have closed the door with his hand. “I’d like to borrow some staff for the rest of the week, if that’s okay with you. The students are going to be a mess. Especially the Hunters. I could use some extra bodies to keep them in line.”

“You? Asking for help?” Isaac looked amused. “Why, Noah, I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Not help,” I growled. “Bodies. I’m putting everyone back through basic training and conditioning. Running attack and defense sequences would only rile them up. I want them too tired to make stupid decisions.”

“Stupid decisions?” Isaac asked blandly.

“Like trying to hunt the moraghin themselves,” I said. “I wouldn’t put it past some of them, especially with your new restrictions. I’m sure they’re already chafing.”

“Better chafed than dead,” he said flatly.

I wasn’t sure it was an either-or. It was entirely possible they’d chafe, then end up dead from stupidity anyway. That was why I wanted to tire them out.

“We’re going to start with running,” I said. “The loop around the grounds is five miles. That should exhaust most of them, but some are faster than others. I can’t abandon the Hunters in the group—I don’t trust them alone. But if I stick with the Hunters, the stragglers will be unprotected.”

“And you think the moraghin will return so soon?” he asked.

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