Page 71 of Demon of Dreams

“Great question, Cory!” Ash said, his voice cheerily emphatic. “Sure would be nice if someone could justify the need for a highly-trained, prone-to-violence paramilitary force answerable to exactly zero higher authority, wouldn’t it?”

Despite saying my name, he was staring intently at Felix, who stared right back at him. They were having some kind of silent conversation, that much was clear. Ash’s nostrils flared, and even the hair on his head looked bristly.

Finally, Felix held out his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to stop defending them.”

“I’m not defending them, I’m just acknowledging that the historical context is more nuanced than the either-or dichotomy you make it out to be.”

“You thinkI’mthe one who thinks that? It’sthemwho think that way, and that’s the whole problem. They want to tar and feather us all with one brush.”

“Can we not mix our metaphors?”

“I don’t know, can we stop being bootlickers for the oppressor?”

“Can we stop using so many pronouns and tell Cory what the hell is going on?” I interjected, lost again. “Who’sthem, for Christ’s sake?”

“Them! They! Those!” Ash huffed. “The Hunters, the Hexers, the lot of them. All the witches who are forced to be polite while we’re all students here at Vesperwood, but who would be more than happy to see us dead as soon as we’re outside university bounds.”

“You make it sound like we’re living in the Middle Ages,” Felix said.

“Because we might as well be. It doesn’t matter what the dean’s views are, when half the student body wants to murder us in our sleep, and the other half wouldn’t lift a finger to stop it. They might be playing nice for now, but tell me you’d feel safe, surrounded by this many witches, after we graduate.”

Felix didn’t bother to reply to that. He looked at me instead. “Hunters arenotVesperwood’s private army. The academy doesn’t maintain a standing military force of any kind. The Council wouldn’t allow it. And while Ash isn’t wrong about there being prejudice among the students and faculty, it’s not as dire as he makes it out to be. Half of the student body doesnotwant to kill us.”

“Tell that tothem, and see how they respond,” Ash said.

“You know, Cory’s one of yourthem’s,” Felix pointed out. “So which half is he in? The one that wants to kill us, or the one that wouldn’t object if it happened?”

“Neither,” Ash said. “Cory’s not an asshole corrupted by hatred.”

“Then can’t you believe that there could beotherwitches who are similarly not assholes?”

“I can count them on one hand,” Ash said. “As for the rest? I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Anyway, your math doesn’t add up,” Felix continued. “What about the paranormal students at Vesperwood? Which half of the student body are they in?”

“The half that’s trying not to get jumped in an empty classroom.”

A knock at the door interrupted their argument, and we all turned to look.

“Are you expecting someone?” Felix asked. “We can go, if you are.”

“Who would I be expecting?” I said. “The only people I know here are you guys.”

“Maybe it’s Professor Braverman,” Felix said thoughtfully. “Maybe he wants to apologize for Sean’s behavior.”

“Be real,” Ash said. “Can you honestly imagine Noah apologizing for anything? The guy could run you through with a sword and turn it into a lesson on preparation and mindfulness. Anyway, if he were going to apologize, why wouldn’t he do it yesterday?”

My heart thumped. It couldn’t be Noah, right? There was no way he would apologize, but what if he’d come here to threaten me into silence? Or to tell me I had to leave? Or maybe he’d told the dean what I’d had done at the Balsam Inn, and now the dean wanted to—

“Come in!” Ash called brightly, when I didn’t respond. “We’re decent. Or as decent as we’ll ever be,” he added with a snicker.

The door swung open.

16

CORY

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