Page 22 of Venomous Lies
I was interrupted by a powerful wave of magick surging through the air. The lockdown was lifted. Students were being instructed to report to the quad in an hour for a mandatory special announcement.
This isn’t good.
“Shit.” Isla looked torn between continuing our conversation and knowing she had to get moving.
‘Go, beastie. Get some food and clean up since you have to get there at a set time. We both know how long it’s going to take you to get ready.’I could feel her argument on the tip of her tongue, so I held up a hand to ward off the next thing she was going to say.‘I’m not going anywhere, beastie. We will talk tonight when you’re not in the middle of things.’
She hesitated, uncertainty lining her face as her gaze darted to her things then back to me.
“Do you promise?”
‘I swear it to you, beastie,’I promised gravely.‘I think it’sabout time I share some things with you. It won’t be everything, but…’
“It will be a start,” she said firmly when I trailed off. I nodded sharply.
With that reassurance, she ran for her stuff and tugged on her boots. After hurrying to the door, she froze with her hand on the knob and looked over her shoulder at me.
“I’m glad you’re here with me, Cassius. No matter what you tell me, that won’t change.”
Without responding, I disappeared into a cloud of smoke, reappearing in the home I’d created in her mind.
We’ll see about that, witch.
Chapter 7
Isla
TUESDAY
“Despite the unusual circumstances of late, we want you all to rest assured that these small... blips... at the beginning of this year are being handled. I personally assure you that every measure is being taken to ensure your safety here at Greywood.” Parading around in front of the student body, Thatcher was trying to work the crowd as if he could simply convince us to forget about the overnight lockdown that had just been lifted.
When I glanced around, trying to see if any of the students around me were buying the bullshit he was selling, I was unsurprised to see skepticism on their faces.
Well, almost everyone’s.
Echo, Aizel, and Zhara were all on the other side of the crowd, making it impossible to tell what they were thinking.
When I had returned to the suite, everyone else was gone. From the looks of the lounge, they had all slept on the couches last night. If I had to guess, they must have gone for breakfast but they hadn’t left a note.
Not willing to be late to this, I focused on what I could do—showering, changing, and grabbing some food. I hadn’t eaten since lunch yesterday, so I made sure I had time to eat before listening to whatever the hell Thatcher was trying to sell us right now.
“To ensure everyone’s safety, we are going to be enacting a strict curfew on campus, excluding late-night classes. All students are expected to be back in their dorms by eleven o’clock, and staff will be patrolling to enforce this new rule.” He gave a pointed look to the professors and other staff behind him, cutting off any possible objections they might have had. “While we look into these attacks, we are also going to limit contact with outsiders to ensure that they are not coming onto campus and hurting more students. This means that as of last night we have cut off all internet, cell service, and otherhumanmeans of communication. There will be no exceptions to this new rule.”
My mom was going to kill me. There was no way to explain how we went from having spotty service to zero without telling her what was going on here.
“After a week’s time, we will be confiscating all technology to further ensure your safety, so take this time to switch over your notes or other course materials to paper before the week’s end. While I know this will be a hard adjustment for most of you,” Thatcher continued, speaking loudly to overpower the protests that slipped out, “I have come up with a brilliant plan to help boost morale. There will be a Mischief Night celebration in two months' time. This will be a student-led event, and while teachers can offer their input, you may celebrate however you all wish.”
‘He’s got to be kidding, right?’Cas muttered, sounding unusually shocked by the man’s stupidity.
‘I guess not,’I answered, watching the professors’ expressions. This was news to them as well.
“You all are dismissed. Classes are cancelled for today, but the curfew will be in full effect starting tonight.”
Everyone stayed silent until President Thatcher exited the stage, then pandemonium broke out. Voices filled the room with a mixture of excitement, disbelief, and anger.
We’d gotten no answers, just a distraction. A distraction that was most welcome even if it was completely stupid.
All around me, people were grouping off and exiting the lecture hall while I stayed seated, unsure what I wanted to do. It was so crowded I had no way of seeing my friends or where they were headed.
