Page 90 of Validus Vale Academy 1
“What’s up, guys?” Theo asks the two students, who are looking around at the assembled party with big eyes.
“Er, we wanted to see if you were alright. Dunc sawhim,” Bloomhower glares at Drakeward, “and the professor bundling in here at top speed.”
This Duncan is clinging to a laptop computer. “Yeah,” he says, in an approximation of a stern voice. “If you are bothering Theo, you need to stop it and get out right now.”
Drakeward lets out a derisive snort, but I find myself liking the kid. Good for him, standing up for his friend.
“It’s all good,” Theo says, making a calming motion with her hands. “We, er, are kind of working on a project together.”
“The mystery of the missing twins project?” Bloomhower asks, planting her hands on her hips. “Do you need back-up? There’s an awful lot of dick and ego in this room.”
Theo looks around at me, her face conflicted. “These are my friends,” she says, “who I trust implicitly. I’m going to tell themwhat’s going on, either now or later. So I might as well do so now.” Turning back to Willow, she lets out a long sigh. “Yes, we’re all working together to find the twins.”
“Even the professor?” the Defectivum girl half whispers, glancing in my direction, her eyes wide. “And Cosmo, Cosmo Arsehole Drakeward, to use his full name, is helping too?” I snort out a laugh, but her friend, Duncan, ducks his head, like he doesn’t want to be associated with the girl’s fiery snark.
“It’s complicated,” Theo mutters. “And maybe dangerous, so you two should head out.”
“Don’t be a dumbo,” says Duncan, clutching his laptop tighter like a shield. “We want to help too. I’m not a huge fan of danger, but I’m not chicken shit either. Also, who are the twins?”
I guess I can’t police who she invites into her room, but I can't help but be concerned with whom she shares our secrets. There are too many variables. Too many risks. “Theo,” I growl, a warning in my tone.
“Just chill, professor.” She throws a bag of chips at me. “Willow already knows most of it, and Duncan is completely on our team too; he just doesn’t know it yet.”
“What she said,” Duncan says, settling into a chair.
“A fucking circus…” Drakeward groans again, his head tilted towards the ceiling and eyes closed. Meanwhile, Ludo continues to loom menacingly from the corner of the room.
And me? I think I’m going to let Theo take charge. Not my normal modus operandi at all, but in her understated way, she’s the leader of this pack.
“Then that’s settled,” Theo says, a note of finality in her voice. “You want a sandwich, Willow? Duncan?”
So we sit, crammed into Theo's moldy basement room, chewing on cafeteria sandwiches, as Drakeward finally details the run-inwith Singleton-Smith to the room. “It was unexpected to see him turn up here, so I decided to do a little spying.”
“And?” Theo prompts, leaning forward.
“He went into the building site, but the usual listening spells were useless; the site is warded, with extremely advanced wards,” he tells the room, who are focused on his every word. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ludo hand Theo a steaming coffee.
“I couldn’t hear anything until the gates opened again and Singleton-Smith and the other man exited.” Drakeward sighs, running a hand through his unusually disheveled hair.
“Other man?” Theo asks.
“Some henchman, probably. It looked like he was from the Magicheskiy Soyuz, if you ask me. You know how thuggish Eastern Europeans are.” Drakeward looks at me as he says this. I don’t rise to the bait.
“Go on,” I tell him.
Drakeward shrugs, a little disappointed. “That’s when I cast another listening spell, this time with some success.” He pauses to look at his cell phone.
“If you could bring yourself to concentrate for just a little longer, Drakeward?” I say in a patronizing tone. He scowls but puts down the phone. “The Russian guy was talking about stabilization and money. Singleton-Smith was snapping at him about the time. Then the Russian, or whatever, said something about ‘moving bodies being a problem and needing replacements’.”
“OK, now I’m a little freaked out,” Duncan mutters under his breath.
Theo takes a sip of her coffee, quite calm and steady. “So there’s some shady shit going on, we already knew that. What happened then?”
“I was about to clear out when I was spotted by Dean Crankshawe and dragged over to Singleton-Smith by a couple of goons,” Drakeward replies while pointing a finger at Ludo. “You got any coffee for me?”
Ludo turns his back on Drakeward, his broad shoulders conveying absolute disdain. Drakeward’s left eye twitches. I’m beginning to really like the janitor.
"She caught you trying to listen in?" Theo asks, as, to my surprise, Ludo handsmea coffee.
