Page 87 of Monster's Mystery

Professor Dunlop was holding the office door open for us, counting his magical tags as we entered. “Sixteen,” he muttered, sagging with relief when the last person made it through the door. He closed it and said, “All right, invisibility spells off.”

The headmistress was sitting in her chair, fingers steepled in front of her mouth. Her thick black hair was pulled back in a bun, the silver streak wound intricately through it. She surveyed us calmly.

Finally, she said, “Thus it was spoken, ‘Master Bruce Blackthorn shalle travel through tyme and awaken his love, he shalle be of need, and shalle require siblings willing to gift of their lives, a golden spirit shalle be broken and consumed, twelve by twelve tymes, and she shalle breathe once again’.” She smiled. “The prophecy passed down through our family has been fulfilled. Why didn’t you come to me with this earlier, Bruce? I would have helped you.”

Bruce looked ashamed, his shoes suddenly of great interest to him. It was funny to watch him be scolded by his many-times descendent. “I didn’t know who to trust,” he finally admitted. “I’m sorry.”

“Tell me everything, from the beginning,” Headmistress Blackthorn said.

It took a while, with many interruptions from the siblings, but finally everyone was caught up on the events.

“Hang on,” I said slowly. “What about Richard’s death? He’s not a beast, so he had nothing to do with this.”

Bruce looked alarmed. “I never talked to Richard, I swear.”

“I believe you,” the headmistress said.

“But who killed him?” I asked.

CHAPTER24

We endedup leaving the headmistress’s office not much later, with nothing solved regarding the murder, and with Bruce not in trouble, thanks to the siblings and Hazel reassuring the adults that they had agreed to help willingly.

Bruce did have to return the memories of the others the next day, which he had already planned on doing anyway.

Clarissa had been cleared by the healers, after having been given several vaccines.

Aiden, Hazel, Bruce, Clarissa, and I were in the third year’s foyer when Lilia, Brom, Una, and Rhiannon found us. After a tearful reunion on some people’s parts, I got up and started pacing.

“Hazel, can you run through the argument with Richard for me again?” I said. “Maybe there’s something we missed. What did he do after you left?”

“Well, he left me. He went outside.” Hazel frowned. “I’m sorry, I don’t really remember anything else specific. Bruce came to talk to me at that point, so I was a bit distracted.”

“And you left by the kitchen door, so you wouldn’t have seen anything out front,” I muttered to myself. “What we need is someone whowasin the front of the school, someone who saw what happened to Richard.”

We were all silent for a moment, just thinking.

“I was at the front of the school,” Clarissa said hesitantly.

My jaw dropped. “Do you remember anything?”

She shook her head. “No, I was essentially in a coma. But I wasthere.”

“How is that helpful?” Lilia groaned.

“No, no,” I said, holding up a hand. “Your eyes were open. You were facing the school. The memory might be in there. It’s just a matter of finding the right one. Can I... Can I try the memory scan spell? I promise I won’t touch any other than the one we’re looking for. You’ll be able to see it as well as me, kind of like a movie.”

“I’m willing to try,” Clarissa said. “What do I need to do?”

“Sit there and relax,” I said, trying to avoid thinking about the last time I’d been sitting where she was. I sat across from her. “Closing your eyes will sever the spell.” I cast the spell and her pupils widened until I felt like I was falling into pools of inky blackness.

This time, it was as if I was in a forest. Each tree had a set of memories tied to them. In the distance, there was a giant tree, wider than any I had ever seen before and taller than the clouds. “I think I found where the memory will be,” I murmured, walking toward it.

The closer I got, the stranger the bark seemed, until I realized that it was made of rock. “How am I supposed to find the right memory?” I asked, taking a deep breath. “There are so many here.”

“Be careful,” Bruce’s voice filtered through my consciousness. “Too many released at once, and there could be a shock to her brain.”

I hummed agreement. “I just want the memory from Sunday evening,” I said. At a thought, I was floating up the length of the tree until I reached the top. “Fresher memories at the tip?” I questioned. I took hold of one leaf. “Show me the scene I need,” I whispered.

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