Page 89 of Every Shade of Shadow

“A fairytale. See here,” she says, pointing to scrawled handwriting running up the left side of the page, an arrow looping back into the text. “This is in English—someone’s notes. It says ‘He’s here. He lives.’”

“Where?” asks Leo.

Lily punches his shoulder. “Lumina, dumbass, or this could be some stupid way to spook whoever finds this, right?”

But Ava’s too busy concentrating. “I don’t know.” She flips through more pages, the handwritten notes growing with each page and looking more frantic with each. Words are circled and underlined. It’s like the writing of a madman.

Ava stops on the last page, which is newer, torn from a notebook. It’s a list.

“Holy shit,” Ava says, holding the page up.

I start reading. It’s a list of names, of students and locations within the castle, times—all cross-referenced. There must be hundreds of names.

“Is that what I think it is?” I ask.

Ava nods. “A list of every student murdered here or missing on Academy grounds. It’s goes way back. Look.”

We each examine the page, but it finishes before the most recent murders.

I see initials at the bottom of the page and suddenly know why.

S.T.

Stephanie Tyler.

We all seem to clue in at the same time, except for Leo, who’s standing there clueless as always.

“So Stephanie was investigating the murders and linked them to this Victor Mortis?” I suggest. “Is that what I’m getting here?”

Ava starts shuffling through the papers. “It’s more than that. She’s saying Victor Mortis is here, at Lumina. Victor Mortis is the murderer—quite literally, I might add.”

“So who is this Morbid guy then?” Leo asks, and I kind of wish he’d just disappear and let the adults get on with this.

Ava’s shuffling again. “It doesn’t say, or she doesn’t know, but she was smart. There has to be some link to this, some reason she hid these pages, and I don’t think it was for a cheap prank. Look.”

Ava flips over the last page and there, in large writing: ‘Mortis knows. He’s coming for me.’

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

We continue going through the library late into the night but don’t seem to come up with any actionable ideas apart from a couple of interesting, albeit complex, spells. Nothing else surfaces on this Mortis character either.

Someone flags the idea of setting a trap. I’m not sure about the others, but I’m not especially keen on being bait given my last run-in with the rogue shadows.

Tired, frustrated, we call it and head back to our respective rooms, Leo again insinuating I should join him and me again telling him to fuck off—politely, of course.

I’m not surprised to find another card waiting on my bed when I return to my room, but it still sends a tingly delight pulsing through me. Darkwood has summoned me again. Sleep, it seems, will have to wait.

It’s already past midnight, past his appointed hour, but surely he’s anticipated this.

After what happened earlier with Lily, I’m extra cautious making my way to the Professor’s chambers, but the shadows that appear now are natural. There is nothing out of the ordinary on the walls or on the floor, other than my own, thin silhouette.

No murderers either, which is welcome.

I can still feel that pressure on my throat, though…the way my eyes wanted to pop clear of my head.

The iron-banded door creaks open. The Professor waves me in, black coat billowing behind him.

The door closes.

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