Page 88 of A Dusk Of Stars

“What’s going on?” Alaric asks with a frown.

I roll my eyes, but I did agree to this, so I put on my big-girl pants and say, “It’s party over, that’s what’s going on. You can ask Bane all about it.”

I see my confused friend out and I turn the lights off before I start getting undressed.

“Perfect,” comes another text.

I don’t reply. I just get in bed, my mind rushing straight back to what I’d just been telling Alaric.

I’ll still have to go investigate the deaths, I think to myself. I promised Bane I would. But at least I’ve got something else going on.

Chapter 27

Why did it have to be six AM? I’mhorribleat six AM, even when I’m not tired, groggy and anxious like I am right now. Even when I’m not being shocked out of sleep by the buzzing demon bracelet around my wrist.

It’s early February and the Academy grounds are still covered in snow, so when I come outside, my breath puffs in front of me. There’s no one else walking the grounds and it’s still dark, which is not surprising considering it’s,again, six AM.

I’m finding it more than a little weird, to be walking towards Bane, Alaric and Raven waiting for me in front of the garden Pull Chamber. I almost let out a groan when it hits me, that the three of them might not exactly get along.

But as soon as I get near enough to see that Bane has my coffee in his hand, I feel the first flutter of hope that this day might not turn out to be as horrible as I thought it would.

“Good morning, Anna,” Raven greets me as I come to a stop in front of the three of them.

“Morning, Raven. Sorry I’m late, everyone,” I say as I exchange nods with the other two, taking the coffee out of Bane’s hand. I’ll just down it and we can be on our way.

“That’s alright,” Alaric says just as I lift the cup to my mouth, “it wasn’t awkward at all.”

I lower the cup, fighting not to cringe, even though the remark doesn’t seem to hurt Raven and only makes Bane look at my blunt little friend with raised eyebrows and a curious smile.

Still, it all makes me rush to say, “Well, what are we waiting for?” And I motion at the Pull Chamber.

“We,” Bane says as he turns his focus onto me, “punctual as we are,were waiting foryou.”

I fail to stop myself from complaining. “Do you know what hoops I had to jump through to get the equipment for this without anyone knowing? Allyoudid was get us Pull passes for the day.”

“AllI did?” he asks with a feigned frown. “Guess you won’t be needing this then.” And he takes the cup out of my hand, making me grit my teeth.

This isnota day I can handle without coffee.

“Um,” Alaric starts with a weird glance between the two of us. “What’s going on here? Am I in some lame teen show?”

“Let’s just go, alright?” I say, forcing myself to stay civil, but when I see Bane step into the Pull Chamber with the cup in his hand… “You’re going to spill it,” I protest.

“Maybeyouwould,” he replies with a smirk, motioning for us to get inside.

Yeah, this is turning out to be an even worse experience than I thought. But before I know it, all four of us are in the Chamber, Bane is saying the words and we’re getting sucked someplace else.

***

It’s frozen forest ground the four of us find ourselves on, no Pull Chamber to be seen. But when I glance around, it becomes so perfectly clear to me, why there’d be no need for something like that here. There’s only a sea of enormous leafless trees around us, this mist gathering around their trunks and their branches shivering in the freezing winter air.

Everyone else seems absorbed in the sight as well. For a moment, my eyes stay fixed on Bane. He has his back turned to me, this tension in his entire body as he surveys the surroundings in a way that gives a strong impression of complex calculations being carried out.

“Are we there?” I ask, my voice sounding more hollow now.

He takes a second longer. “Close,” he says somberly.

Then the only ex-military member of the group starts walking and the three of us just follow him like little ducklings. As we go, I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from the forest. I’ve never been this far north so it was perfectly clear to me I’d be going someplace that’s not familiar to me.

---