Page 79 of Shadow Caster
I was pissed, but the reason was pathetic, and that made me more pissed. I turned on my heel and took the steps two at a time, anything to get away from the man who made me want to rip his clothes off one minute and punch him the next.
* * *
The lounge was buzzingwhen I entered. I caught sight of Harmon and Thomas by the windows.
Thomas saw me, and then both guys were weaving their way through the crowd toward me.
“Justice.” Thomas broke free of the throng.
“What’s going on?”
“A cadet was found unconscious in the library. They took her to the med bay. Rumor is that it’s the same shit that happened to Lottie and that other guy.”
That didn’t make sense. “It’s been two weeks. If it was a virus, surely more cadets would have been hit with it before now.”
“Brunner’s issued a lockdown,” Harmon said. “Everyone stays in their dorms.” He snorted derisively. “Makes sense. Faraday’s a legacy family, after all. They’re going to pull out all the stops.”
Wait, what? “Did you just say Faraday?”
Thomas shot Harmon a dirty look before turning back to me. “Indie. The girl they found in the library was Minnie.”
* * *
Lockdown my arse.I paced my room. There was no way I was sitting here twiddling my thumbs while Minnie was alone, frightened, lost. Fuck it.
I had to get to her. I had to see her.
There was only one way.
I stared at a pocket of shadow hugging the wall at the corner of the room. Please, let this work.
I ran into the darkness.
Oomf!
“Whoa!”
Hands steadied me.
“Indigo?” Master Payne looked down at me. “How …” He glanced about. “Where did you come from?”
Shit on a stick. I’d materialized in the foyer to the med bay, not the quarantine room like intended because, of course, that room was too brightly lit.
Master Payne was studying me with a frown.
“I came to check on Minnie. I just walked in.” I jerked a thumb at the door. “Through the door.”
He didn’t seem too convinced, but then what other explanation could there be, right? I saw the cogs turning as his gaze flicked from me to the door behind him, as he attempted to calculate how I could possibly have appeared in front of him and came to the conclusion that he must be going crazy.
“Yes, well …” He released me and patted my shoulder awkwardly. “She’s taking it well. Conscious and alert, but she already has a visitor. Maybe you should come back later?” His frown deepened. “Wait a second. Aren’t we on lockdown?”
“Are we?” I blinked up at him innocently. “I just got back from shadow cadet duty. I didn’t hear about a lockdown.” I walked toward the quarantine bay and peered in through the round window to see the back of Harper’s blonde head. My chest tightened. “It seems that Harper didn’t get the lockdown memo either.”
“Miss Bourne arrived with Miss Faraday. She was here when the lockdown was announced.”
Of course she fucking was. I opened my senses, reaching out to hear what they were saying, and yeah, I didn’t give a shit that I was blatantly eavesdropping in front of a tutor.
“I’m your best friend here,” Harper said gently. “We do everything together. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take good care of you. It’s what we do—look out for each other.”
