Page 56 of Bizarre Bonds
Is Rollick even going to continue calling on me for my sorcerer powers outside of my limited help at the rifts, or have I been taken off that duty too? It didn’t occur to me to ask him, I was so startled to be demoted in the first place.
I waver in the hallway, unsure where I’d want to go instead. The cafeteria is currently bustling with students getting theirdinner. After classes, the gym and other workout areas are often occupied.
I can’t even wander into the staff lounge area as if I belong there. The only part of the school I have a stake in now is my own small apartment.
If Rollick’s going to keep me off-duty, I suppose eventually I’ll lose that too. There won’t be any reason for me to return to the Quinn Moody Academy.
As the gloomy thoughts settle over me, a familiar figure creeps down the hall in my direction. At the sight of the shadowkind man’s bristly hair that seems to echo the spikes that jut from his neck, I automatically draw myself straighter.
Larch has been at the school—and in my classes—for nearly a year. In the past, I’ve offered him one-on-one advice in the office I haven’t dared enter today, trying to guide him through his discomfort with his humanesque appearance and the monstrous features he can’t hide. We’ve spent hours talking about various locations where he could more easily keep the spikes covered or, alternately, present them as a fashion statement.
There are more options for the former than the latter, naturally, but I like to cover all the bases.
I felt like we’d made progress. Now I’m not sure I’ll get to see where that progress takes him.
“Hey, Teach,” Larch says in his usual tentatively familiar way. He likes putting on the airs of human slang and other playful references but never seems confident that he’s nailing it. “You haven’t been around in a while.”
The nickname sends a fresh jab of shame through the center of me, but I can’t pretend nothing’s changed. It’d be a betrayal of trust to act as if I still have authority over him.
I dip my head, managing a crooked smile. “I’m not a ‘teach’ anymore. Our headmaster has taken me out of that role, at least for now.”
Larch’s eyebrows leap up, but he doesn’t look entirely surprised. “Right! I heard…”
He hesitates. “It’s something to do with that weird being, the chirpy one with the shiny hair, right? Some kind of mark?”
I restrain my hand from rising to the glowing spot that’s become a constant presence under my shirt. Whatever Peri’s up to now, my awareness of her comes with contrasting tickles of contentment, sadness, and determination.
Of course she’ll have found some cause to champion even while she’s supposed to be taking a break.
“It’s not entirely because of that situation,” I say. “I’m part of a team that’s been working on some new developments outside the school. All my focus needs to be there.”
That’s the polite way of looking at my demotion, anyway.
Larch shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “So… are you going to be back at the front of class later, after the special project is done?”
I open my mouth and close it again to gather myself before I can answer. “I don’t know. For now, it’s easiest to assume I won’t. You definitely don’t have to worry about me grading you or anything like that.”
I summon a little wryness into my tone. The shadowkind man’s shoulders ease down.
He offers me a warmer smile than usual. “I’m really sorry. I could tell you liked teaching us a lot—and you helped me so many times. It’s too bad one being throwing her powers at you could mess things up that?—”
The words leap from my mouth before I’ve thought them through. “It isn’t because of Peri. She’s made important contributions to the school—and to shadowkind in general. I’d like to see everyone here be more welcoming.”
Larch blinks at me. Is that skepticism in his gaze?
Maybe he thinks I’m only defending Peri because of our supernatural bond.
Then he shakes his head with an apologetic grimace. “Sorry again. I was just trying to say—it’s too bad in general. It seemed like you had a good thing going here.”
I did, but it makes my throat ache to consider acknowledging as much.
All the same, I soften my tone. “The new work I’m doing is a good thing too. I want to pitch in wherever I can be the most useful.”
“Yeah. Okay. That makes sense.” Larch dips his head, looking abruptly more awkward again. “Does that mean I shouldn’t be talking to you at all? Like, if I wanted to check about a disguise or ask about a specific city and see what you think…”
It finally occurs to me that my former student might be more bothered about how my being demoted affectshimthan how it affects me. A little of the shame pricking at me melts away.
Even if I’m not an authority figure, he still values my guidance—because of what I’ve done for him, not the job I held.
