Page 105 of Every Shade of Shadow

Staying quiet might be the best course of action. If Darkwood was threatened or challenged with this information, if he perceived anyone as a threat, I have no doubt he’d destroy them—students or not.

But then, telling the others would convince them to investigate the relationship between Darkwood and Victor Mortis. It’s clear they’re not the same person, but Damien surely has insight into the matter. There’s a connection between them, of that I’m sure.

It’s clear the Professor is hiding things from me, as he has every right to, but this is not about him. This is about discovering the true identity of the murderer, and maybe worse.

I grab my coat and leave, hoping to make a quick and quiet exit while it’s still early.

In a small mirror on the wall I see the small cut on my neck where Damien pressed a knife to it.

Dangerous, I repeat to myself.

So why am I wet thinking about it?

Snap out of it, you horny little bitch, my brain scolds me. We’ve got more important matters to attend to than your sexual satisfaction.

I head out from Darkwood’s quarters, a painful strain in my thigh muscles that wasn’t there yesterday.

I find Lily in the hall outside her room, chatting with Ava.

“Good—you’re both here,” I tell them, keeping my voice down. “We need to talk.”

Lily looks me over. “About your fashion sense?

The pea coat. Shit. “Yeah, long story.”

Lily nods. “Long story, huh? We talking how many inches long now?”

I ignore that. “Can we go inside? Please, it’s important.”

“Okay,” Lily nods and gestures me forward. She takes her key out of her pocket and unlocks the door to her quarters, while I sense Ava’s stare burning a hole through me.

“You’re torn,” she presumes, eyeing me off. “This is important.”

I follow Lily in, giving Ava a polite smile. I don’t want to point out the obvious. I’m not trying to hide anything from them.

“Ava,” I start, my hand on the pane of the door to push it closed. “What else do you know about Victor Mortis?”

“Not much,” she says, a flicker of disappointment in her tone. “Conquer inais, black arts, umbral shit…the usual. My grandparents talked about him like he was the boogeyman. Could well be. Fictional, that is. Why do you ask?”

I pull the coat tighter around myself. The last thing I want is to flash my friends. “Because I found a reference to him in Darkwood’s chambers,” I explain, embarrassment beginning to bloom over my face.

“You…”

“Yeah,” I interrupt Lily before she has a chance to finish her sentence. “Let’s skip the part where you act all shocked about me and the good Professor, okay? I’m a dirty little ho, yeah, yeah, yeah, but I found an old picture of him with a man and a woman. There was a something written on the back of it, saying they were hunting Mortis.”

There’s a knock on the door.

Lily puts a finger up. “Hold that thought.”

She pulls the door open and Leo walks in. “So Darkwood knows who this Victor Mortis is, huh?”

Lily throws her hands up. “Fuck me, are the doors around here made out of paper?”

I shrug my shoulders, addressing Leo. “Your guess is as good as mine, but there does seem like some kind of connection there. That’s all provided this Mortis character is even alive.”

“Look,” Ava interjects, her hand slashing through the air. “I think Mortis, or whoever this murderer is, is very much alive. You probably don’t know this, but Stephanie Tyler and Dale Donovan were highly skilled in their respective magical disciplines. Stephanie was phenomenal at divination and scrying, whereas Dale was a powerful elemental. If you ask me, Mortis, murderer, whatever is eliminating anyone who’s too powerful or who could challenge them. And something tells me we’re next.”

Lily gives a laugh. “I’m safe then. You’ve seen my grades.”

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