Page 146 of Every Shade of Shadow

“What?” Lily and Ava ask in unison.

“The Headmistress. I saw her, or her robe at least, in the hallway, before the second murder.”

“You’re sure?” Ava asks.

“I saw a flash of green, could have been the Incredible fucking Hulk, but no, I’m sure.”

Ava stands. “Shit.”

“The Headmistress,” Lily echoes. “I mean, she’s kind of a bitch. Makes sense.”

“It does make her look very suspicious,” Ava says, her voice returning to its normal. “Nevertheless, we can’t verify she’s Mortis, can we? We can’t ask her directly, ‘Hey, are you a cold-blooded murderer looking to take over the world?’”

“No, but we could break into her office,” I suggest, my eyes glinting with mischief.

“And have her cut us to pieces?” Lily laughs. “No, thanks. We don’t even know if it’s her. Maybe she was just creeping around the castle that night looking for her lost dildo.”

“Maybe not,” I suggest.

Ava’s eyeing me.

I wonder what she saw in my head, exactly how much she knows about my sessions with Darkwood, my powers, but it doesn’t matter. There are bigger things at play here. “We have to,” I tell them. “We need evidence. So, who’s with me?”

“And if we’re caught?” Lily asks.

“We won’t be,” I smile.

“Should we bring Leo in on this?” asks Lily.

“Why?” Ava questions.

Lily shrugs. “I don’t know. Muscle?”

Ava eyes me again. “I think we have all the muscle we need.”

“Whatever,” I say. “We going or not?”

Lily nods. “Alright. Let’s fucking do this, bitches.”

*

This confidence is lost when we navigate through what seem like especially dark hallways towards the far end of the castle.

Ava seems especially on edge, keeping to the walls, head swinging around like one of those fairground clowns you pop ping-pong balls into.

Lily’s falling back.

I wave her forward. “Come on, we should stay together,” I whisper.

We climb the stairs, the only sound our light footsteps on the marble. Another turn and we stand before the twin doors of the Headmistress’s office. I consider whether there are special wards here, some sort of magical protection.

“No,” Ava looks to me, oddly inside my head again, “which means she doesn’t have anything to hide or she’s lax.”

I doubt that.

“What now?” Lily whispers.

“I know a lockpicking spell,” I suggest.

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