Page 4 of School Spirits
“Isolde!” he called happily, leaning back, his hands on the table. “To what do I owe this lovely visit?”It was always bizarre watching Torin. Trapped in the mirror, he appeared to be sitting at the table in the middle of the War Room. But the actual table was empty. Even though I’d seen the phenomenon my whole life, I still caught myself glancing back and forth, as though Torin would magically appear on our side of the glass.
The thought made my head hurt all over again. In his own time, Torin had been an extremely powerful dark warlock. No one knew what spell he was attempting when he’d trapped himself inside the mirror, but one of my ancestors, Avis Brannick, had found him and taken responsibility for him.
The fact that Torin made the occasional prophecy had probably had something to do with that. His ability to see the future had come in handy for a few Brannicks over the years; easier to fight a witch or a faerie when you know what it’s going to do.
But I hadn’t come to have my fortune told. Climbing up onto the table, I crossed my legs and propped my chin in my hand. “I got bitten by a vampire tonight.”
Frowning, Torin leaned forward. “Oh,” he said, once his eyes settled on the bite mark. “So you did. That… What is the word you use?”
I couldn’t help but smile a little as I rolled my eyes. “Sucks.”
Torin nodded. “Even so.” He mimicked my pose, ruby pinkie ring flashing in the dim light. Shaggy blond hair fell over his forehead, and when he smiled at me, his teeth were just the slightest bit crooked. “Tell me the whole story.”
So I did, the way I always had, ever since I was old enough to go with Mom and Finley on missions. There was something…I don’t know, relaxing about telling the story to Torin. I knew he wasn’t looking for all the flaws in my mission, all the places where I had zigged when I should have zagged.
Unlike Mom, Torin didn’t frown through the entire thing. Instead, he chuckled when I described Pascal’s lair, grimaced when I mentioned the body glitter, and raised his eyebrows when I talked about chasing the vamp up the stairs.
“But you’re all right. And you lived to fight another day.”
Sighing, I pulled my braid over my shoulder, fiddling with the ends of my hair. “Yeah, but if Mom hadn’t come in… She thinks I shouldn’t be doing jobs on my own. Which, I mean, I should. This one got a little out of hand, but if she’d just trust me a little more—”
“If she had trusted you completely, she wouldn’t have followed you, which means she wouldn’t have burst in when she did,” Torin said, lifting his shoulders. “And you, my lovely Isolde, would either be exsanguinated on what I can only guess was truly dreadful carpet, or the bride of the undead.” He narrowed his eyes. “Neither fate suits you. Or me, for that matter.”
His words seemed to lodge somewhere in my chest, but I shook them off. Torin had been a part of my life for, well, all of my life. When Mom and Finley had gone out on missions, he had kept me company. And after Finley disappeared, he was the only one I could talk to about my sister. Which is why that niggling suspicion, the one Pascal had picked up on, bothered me so much.
“Your mum is simply worried about you,” Torin said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “She’s lost one daughter. I’m sure the idea of losing another is particularly hellish for her.”
“I know,” I said, the guilt returning with a vengeance. What if I’d gotten myself killed tonight, all because I let one stupid vamp mess with my mind? Where would Mom have been then?
I tugged the rubber band off the end of my braid and started unraveling the strands. A thin layer of vampire ash rose from them. Ugh. Apparently I’d been closer to Pascal than I’d thought.
Wrinkling my nose with disgust, I hopped off the table. “Okay. Shower, bed. Thanks for the debriefing.”
Torin made a little flourish with his hand, lace cuff falling back from his wrist. “Any time, Isolde.”
I was nearly to the door before I turned back. “Torin, you…” I trailed off, not sure how to finish. Finally I took a deep breath and said, a little too fast, “You swear you don’t know anything about Finn, right?”
I’d asked it before, the night Finley disappeared. Other than her belt, there’d been no sign of my sister in that rickety house. But there had been a mirror. A big one with a thick wooden frame, carved cherubs grinning at me. And while it could’ve been a trick of the light, I could’ve sworn that the glass had glowed slightly.
But I’d been beyond freaked out that night, confused, upset. I couldn’t be sure what I’d seen, really.
In his mirror, Torin came up close to the glass. “No, Isolde,” he said, his voice surprisingly gentle. “I do not know where your sister is.”
“Right.” I ran a hand through my hair, blowing out a long breath. “Right. Okay.” Reaching out, I flicked off the switch.
From out of the darkness, Torin added, “Besides, Finley was never of much interest to me. She isn’t the Brannick who will set me free, after all, is she?”
It was a wonder I could speak given how tight my throat had gone. “That’s never going to happen, Torin. I may be nicer to you than my mom or Finn, but you’ll be chatting with mygrandkidsfrom that mirror.”
Torin only laughed. “I’ve seen what I’ve seen. The time will come when you will finally let me out of this cursed glass prison. But until then, go wash that vampire out of your hair and get a good rest. You and Aislinn will be taking quite the journey tomorrow.”
“Where are we going?” I demanded. “What did you see?”
But there was no answer.
CHAPTER 3
When I woke up the next morning, Mom was already dressed and waiting for me at the kitchen table. She frowned at my tank top and pajama pants and pointed back up the stairs. “Get dressed. We’re leaving in five minutes.”
