Page 83 of The Vipers and Their Vendetta

I don’t believe for a moment that the Preachers have genuine magic working against us, but there’s something in the air, and it feels dark and dangerous.

We head out of our place and back to the college. As we approach, I glance up at it to see the lights glimmering in the gloom. Anyone would think it was twilight, not early in the day. The wind is picking up. and, in the distance, thunder rumbles.

Christ, Verona Falls manages to appear gothic in blazing sunlight, but it was built for days like this. I can’t deny the strange beauty of the light and the way the building stands stark against it.

When we hit the main hallway, the bustle of a new day makes me feel a little better. More normal. There’s a gang of students gathered around the wooden mail slots that the college still uses in the same arcane way it uses all kinds of old school things. They aren’t locked either, because they’re generally only used forcommunication from the Dean to us. I stop at the bottom of the hallway, watching them milling around. What gives?

I watch as one by one they take out pieces of paper and read, and then talk, laugh, gasp. They’re chattering and the whole vibe is energized. Distracted for a moment, I head to the mail slots to see what they are reading.

Maybe the dean has sent down some new rules, but then why the laughter and gasps? As I approach, the students part like the Red Sea, letting me pass.

Saint is close behind, and he hits me when I halt. I haven’t even reached my own slot, but in front of me, on the ground, slightly crumpled, is a flier, and I can’t fucking move.

No. No way. This cannot be real.

I bend down and pick up the paper. It’s a photograph of Vani that was most likely taken on someone’s cell when she wasn’t aware, as she’s glancing away and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. It’s been photocopied and has the wordsDaddy’s Little Whorescrawled across it in red ink.

My blood boils, and a roaring fills my ears. I can’t contain the rage filling me. I’m going to explode with it. I turn to my right and see a group of girls laughing like idiots as they look at the flier. I pull the paper from their hands, ignoring their scandalized gasps, and rip them up.

A guy next to me has just pulled his out of his mail slot, and I grab it from him, too. I let the pieces fall to the ground like confetti. Then I turn to the rest of the mail slots, gathering up all the remaining fliers. Some students have gotten theirs, but plenty are still to be claimed.

Saint catches on and starts to help me.

“What the fuck?” he asks, voice low. “You still don’t believe me about the Preachers? They’re setting us up. Think about that night, when we tortured her. The words we made her say.This has to be that. They’re fucking with us, and it’s some dark, satanic shit.”

I shake my head.

He starts to speak again, but I turn to him, and something in my eyes must make him realize that, right now, he needs to shut the fuck up.

There has to be a rational explanation for this. Maybe they have put listening devices in the house? Something along those lines, but not fucking magic.

My heart is beating too fast. Has she seen this? She’s going to think this is us. There’s no way she’s going to come to any other conclusion. It makes me realize something else too.

There are forces waged against us all, and, no matter what she was talking to Jarl about, Vani isn’t our enemy. We should have spent less time suspecting her and more focused on whoever the fuck has been manipulating us.

“Maybe she’s done it herself,” Saint says. “Part of a plan with Jarl?”

I turn to him and stare. He’s chewing his lip and scratching his arm. Is he insane? Why would she do this to herself?

Why?I mouth.

“A double bluff,” he says. “She’s working with Jarl against us. She knows this looks really bad for us. Christ, she’s a fucking venomous creature, all right.”

My arm pulls back before my brain registers consciously what I’m about to do. I let it fly, my balled fist connecting with Saint’s mouth. He stumbles back, falling on top of the torn papers. His lip is split, and he’s dazed.

I don’t hang around long enough for him to recover and hit me back. He can go fuck himself. I’m beyond fuming with him, and worried about Lex, but most of all, I’m worried about Vani.

I fish my cell from my pocket and call her, but it cuts off on the second ring. I try again, and this time it cuts off on the first.

The text appears a moment later.

Well, that answers my question as to whether she’s seen the fliers or not.

Despondent as hell, I stalk down the corridor. I sense eyes of other students on me, and I want to roar my fury at them. I need to get away from everyone. Slipping down one of the rear passages, I reach a spiral staircase that will take me up to the second floor, and beyond. I start to climb, but the sound of footsteps comes from above.

I lean out, just as someone above me does the same.

I see her. Two floors up. Vani.

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