Page 59 of Validus Vale Academy 1
“Do you trust me?” he asks, gently.
I nod. I do, entirely.
“Then speak whatever you are able to. Tell me as much as you can.”
Tears push their way out of my eyes and down my cheeks. “I hate him,” I say, my voice shaking. “I hate what he’s done to me, but…I need him to help me find…W-w..” My vocal cords can’t form any more words.
“Theo,” the professor says, using my first name for once. “Drakeward marked you; that’s why I can’t break through his control, but I can still help you. Am I correct in understanding that you and Cosmo Drakeward have two Validus Vale friends who are missing?”
I can’t even nod, but he reads the affirmative in my eyes. I don’t know what else he sees, but a change comes over his face. “I’m going to trust you in the same way that I want you to trust me, Wilson.” He pauses to light a cigarette, then continues. “Maximus Larsen, a student here last year, is also missing; vanished into thin air—and the academy is covering it up.”
Someone else has gone missing? I blink several times and tap my tongue against my teeth. Not being able to voice certain thingsis messing with my mind, making me question every sentence before I say it. “That, that’s…no. Um, are you looking for him? This Maximus Larsen?”
Can he help me find the twins?
“I am, and Iwillfind him. I have to, you see…he’s my cousin.”
Shit. Wow. So that’s why the professor gets it. He’s lost someone, too.
“I won’t rest until I know what’s happened to Maximus,” he continues, “and any other student that’s disappeared from this fucking place. Your problem is now wrapped up in mine, Wilson.”
I want to throw my arms around him and cry with the relief of sharing this burden, but instead, I keep myself firmly glued to the office chair and whisper. “Thank you.”
He gives a curt nod. “Thank me when I find them. But what we need to think about now isyou. I don’t believe this school is a safe place, Wilson. You should go home, leave the search to me.”
Is he kidding? “No, I can’t leave. I won’t. Not until I find t-th-the..” Fuck this curse.
Professor Feniks gives me a pained look. I’m not sure if it’s annoyance or something else. “If you won’t take my advice about getting out of here,” he says, “then I need you to work with me. We do this together. Something is wrong at Validus Vale, and you can’t just go blindly stumbling around; you don’t know what danger you could walk into.”
I nod, feeling flustered. Work together?
“And you don’t keep anything from me,” he continues. “Do we have an understanding?”
“What about Cosmo?” I whisper.
“Leave him to me.” Professor Feniks’s voice is ice-cold. “Now give me your phone.” I obey, and he swiftly enters a cell number. “Call me anytime, OK? Anytime.”
Taking the phone back, the sense of security his digits give me brings the blood back to my face. “Thanks. Seriously, this means a lot.”
“It’s nothing,” he replies, turning his head to glance at the wall clock. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I’ll write you a permission slip. You’ve had quite the twenty-four hours. Shit, and to think I changed the class to swimming because I thought it would be easier on you.”
He changed the class for me?
Professor Feniks starts fumbling around with his lighter, looking almost embarrassed. “On the subject of classes, are you still interested in the extra training? It’s not just about being physically strong for spell casting. Witches are predators, as thatrunkataManu Hale already proved to you. You have to be able to defend yourself.”
He is, of course, totally right. “If it doesn't take up too much of your time, I’d love to have help. Even the last couple of days have made me feel a little stronger,” I tell him. Stronger and incredibly sore, but no pain, no gain, as they say.
Professor Feniks looks pleased. “Good, then we’ll meet tomorrow.” He turns to look out the window, the light emphasizing the rugged lines of his face. “Meet me at the combat field at ten. As it’s the weekend, I think we’d both enjoy a lie-in.” When he spins around to look at me again, his burning gaze makes me squirm in my seat. “Alright, off you go, Wilson. I’ll put the absentee note in your file. You can go back to your dorm.”
Not having to think for the rest of the day sounds perfect—my brain is fried right now. I push to my feet. “Thank you for everything,” I say.
“Close the door on the way out,” he replies, intently studying some papers on his desk.
Walking back to Defectivum, a tiny spark of hope flickers within me. If anyone can find my twins and this guy Maximus, I have a feeling it’s the fierce and slightly confusing Professor Feniks.
27
Isleep for nearly twenty hours, and wake up feeling like a new person.
