Page 34 of Cry of the Damned
Mrs. Clarice pressed a hand to her chest. “I’m sorry, child. I know how awful that pain is.”
“At any rate, I came here with what is left of my pack because we have a plan to destroy the Academy.”
She stood and took a few steps in my direction. “A plan?”
I nodded.
“And how do you feel about your chances of succeeding with this plan?”
She saw the Academy turned to ashes. She saw families reunited. She saw a great leader uniting the packs, guiding them to success. She saw the one who would save our land,my mother had told me.
If we were to believe Bethel’s prophecy, our chances were good.
But if I brought that up, Mrs. Clarice might just think me crazy. Instead, I said, “I feel pretty good about it. I’m determined to make them pay.” I paused, thinking. “You know Bethel and my sister, Ila, but what you may not know is that the guys and I form a tetrad. I’m their alpha.”
At this, Mrs. Clarice’s eyes grew big. So she hadn’t knownthatbit of information.
“That is, indeed, something noteworthy,” she said. “I know trusting is difficult. We’ve both been sizing each other up, trying to figure out if trust poses a risk because we have so much to lose. I know it wasn’t easy to share what you just did, but it was the right thing to do because I can help you. You see, it has taken me years to find a few people who feel the exact same way we do about the Academy. They’re not like us, but they know the truth. They know about the magistrates and their lies, know that most of them live double lives, that they pretend to be righteous and pious, but they’re rotten inside.”
This left me no doubt that Mrs. Clarice knew the diversions the magistrates occupied themselves with when they thought no one was looking.
“And their rot has spread to the city,” she continued. “They bribe people to keep quiet about their vices. And not just that, they also pay people to provide them. And all along they force their students into a life of deprivation. Most people turn a blind eye or have no idea about what the magistrates do. But there are those who pay close attention and notice things. They wonder about what happens to most of the students. Only a fraction of the initiates become apprentices, and an even smaller number of them become magistrates. Where do the rest of the children go?” she asked, her voice trembling with rage.
“I know what happens to them,” I said.
She blinked up from the floor and regarded me with deep interest. She waited for me to explain, but instead, I asked, “Tell me more about your friends. How can they help?”
CHAPTER 12
“Idon’thavethebest feeling about this,” Maki said, crouching behind me. “I don’t trust city rats.”
“I trust the witch,” Novuk said.
Maki rolled his eyes, then glanced at Bethel. “Of course you do.”
Ila smacked him on the back of the head.
“What?! I’m not wrong,” he complained. “Remember the time she set my crotch on fire?”
“I was four,” Bethel shot back.
“I didn’t mean Bethel,” Novuk protested. “I meant Mrs. Clarice.”
“Shh!” Kall turned to us, a finger pressed to his lip.
We were hiding among a group of trees under the cover of darkness. A waning moon hung low in the clear sky, but its light was dimmed, so I felt safe where we were.
In front of us, about fifty yards away, stood a small warehouse. Its corrugated walls were rusted and a peeling logo was stuck to its side, so damaged it was impossible to decipher.
I don’t think anyone else is coming.I pushed the thought forward.
We had watched three people other than Mrs. Clarice enter the building through its back door. A couple arrived in a car and carried in a basket and bag. Then an older man arrived on foot.
Let’s spread out then, Kall instructed.
As agreed, only Bethel stayed behind while we shifted and weaved through the woods, creating a perimeter around the warehouse. As I went, I sensed the guys moving stealthily, pausing every few moments to listen and peer through the foliage, making triple sure this was not a trap.
Once we were certain, I walked back to Bethel and shifted into my human form. “Ready?”
