Page 147 of Every Shade of Shadow

“No,” says Ava, reaching to remove hairpins, “we’ll go old-school.”

Lily looks surprised. “You as well? Am I the only one who doesn’t know how to pick a lock here?”

“Shh, already,” whispers Ava, crouching down with me. “Give me some light.”

Lily takes out her cell, switching the flashlight on and holding it near the lock.

Ava bends the metal of the hairpins and twists them apart, pushing them into the lock and twisting. The lock is old, easily giving way with a satisfying ‘click.’

The door swings open.

I take a breath. “Shall we?”

Lily goes first with the light, holding it aloft and illuminating the interior of the office.

It’s a lot more sinister by night.

I close the door softly behind us. “Let’s make it quick. Spread out.”

Lily goes left, Ava goes right, and I go for the desk.

There are stacks of papers, parchment, but they don’t seem to offer much insight beyond attendance records and potential students—poor bastards.

A rush of excitement overcomes me when my fingers touch leather in the first desk drawer. A grimoire! A journal! But no, it’s just full of senseless scrawlings about budgets and staff meetings.

“Over here,” whispers Ava.

The three of us move over to where Ava’s managed to swing out a painting. There’s a small room beyond.

“You’ve got a real knack for finding hidden places, huh?” I whisper.

“I could feel air coming out around the frame,” Ava whispers back.

“Look at Sherlock Fucking Holmes here,” snorts Lily, which earns her a solid shushing from the both of us.

Squished shoulder to shoulder in the small space, Lily’s light swinging up, it becomes clear why the Headmistress keeps this particular room out of sight.

There are shelves, floor to ceiling, full of jars, and inside those jars? Parts.

Body parts.

“The…fuck,” says Lily, peering into a jar that appears to hold two sets of eyeballs. “So these are all the murder victims?”

“No,” says Ava.

We both turn to her.

“What do you mean ‘no’?” laughs Lily. “A closet full of body parts seems pretty damning.”

Ava reaches up to touch a jar. “They’re not human.”

“How the fuck would you know, Dr. Dolittle?” asks Lily.

“I grew up on a farm, remember?”

“Commune,” corrects Lily, “but okay, you’re sure?”

Ava nods. “This kind of collection is actually pretty common in ritual alchemy. Not exactly kosher in a legal sense, but I mean it’s not uncommon. Mother has a collection like this.”

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