Page 49 of Dance With Death

Marci already protested that she doesn’t want to get caught in a downpour and walk to class soaked if we meet outside, but a rendezvous inside the academy isn’t an option. Not until we’ve settled on a mutual agreement about what we do—or do not—tell people.

We locate Marci resting against the wall at the back of the sheds adjacent to the greenhouse, wearing her uniform. Zoe and Nita stand with her, also dressed for class, but the humans are absent.

“How’s Holly?” Marci asks immediately and pulls herself from the wall. “I heard rumors she was found in the woods and is in the hospital.”

Great. That didn’t take long.

“Have you told anybody?” I reply.

“About what? Holly’s return, or that you were in the woods with Rowan around the time somebody attacked Holly?” Marci’s voice holds a warning tone.

“Both,” says Rowan as he stands at my shoulder.

“I’ve mentioned neither,” Marci replies. “Tell me how Holly is. Badly hurt?”

I suck my lips together and look to Rowan.

“Holly will be alright, but I suggest you don’t share information about Holly before Mrs. Lorcan announces the news to the academy,” he says.

“I won’t—if I’m allowed to visit her.”

A visit to ask Holly to ask her to hide something? I can’t drop my suspicions about this girl. “Holly isn’t conscious.”

“I don’t care.”

“You don’t care? Well, that’s rather unkind.”

“Violet. Marci means that she wants to see Holly regardless. Not that she doesn’t care about her welfare,” says Rowan.

Still. Suspicious.

“Can we discuss last night?” puts in Nita. “Class starts again in ten minutes. Nobody else knows that Isabella and Helen met us in the woods, and the girls believe we left shortly after their departure to escape Violet.”

“And the pair wouldn’t say anything due to my knowledge of your illegal activities,” I say.

“And because they’re scared of you,” says Marci.

“Will you tell anybody?” asks Zoe, fidgeting with her blazer sleeve.

Marci scoffs. “Of course, they won’t. The police would be very interested to know Violet was nearby when Rowan found Holly.”

My gaze on Marci remains steady. She knows half the story, and things will remain that way. “You should stop selling your magical talismans before somebody discovers the truth.”

“Why hasn’t another witch told the humans?” puts in Rowan. “One must’ve examined a brooch.”

“Because Isabella told the human girls that if another witch touches the brooch, the talisman will lose its power,” says Nita. “So, I doubt any witch has touched one.”

“Good grief,” I say. “Why are humans like this? They ignore logic and believe what they want to be true in order to give themselves peace of mind.”

“Isabella refuses to be involved anymore,” says Marci. “Our enterprise is over, and nobody will know what we’ve done. Right?”

“Someone will discover,” I say.

“Yes. And someone will discover your secret too, Violet,” she retorts. “You won’t be able to hide that you were in the woods last night for long.”

“But people won’t hear that news from you,” says Rowan.

Marci runs her tongue across her top teeth and steps towards Rowan, face to face, ignoring me. “How did you explain your presence in the woods without Violet glued to you, Rowan?”

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