I pulled off the topmost card and examined the image of an orange triangle. I slowed my breathing once more and tried to project the picture outward so Mr. Deverell could see it, but the image of the plinth forced its way to the front of my mind again. For a second, it was so powerful that I almost forgot where I was, the desire to discover the hidden word as strong as ever.
“Dusty?” Mr. Deverell said, his voice breaking through my distraction. “Are you all right?”
With an effort I looked up at him. I tried to smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Deverell stared at me, unblinking. “That image, the stone pedestal, what is it?”
I felt the color leave my cheeks. I hadn’t meant for him to see. What’s wrong with me? “It’s nothing,” I said, trying to make my voice as light as possible. I shrugged. “Just something I dreamed about last night.”
Mr. Deverell leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin. “It didn’t seem like nothing. It seemed like a—” He broke off and turned his gaze to the doorway. “I think Mr. Booker is about to arrive, and if I’m not mistaken, he will be able to take my place.”
Confused, and wishing he’d finished his comment, I turned my gaze to the front of the room just as Eli appeared. He was carrying a wand. His wand. He held it in one hand, the tip pointed to the ground as if it were a knife he feared stabbing someone with accidentally. The class fell silent, all eyes following Eli as he crossed the room toward Mr. Deverell and handed him a note. Deverell read it quickly, looking delighted.
“Congratulations,” he said, folding the note. “Let’s see it then.”
Eli held up the wand, a dazed expression on his face as if he couldn’t believe it was his. It wasn’t much to look at, hardly more than a short stick of dirt-brown wood polished smooth, but I understood his awe completely.
“Very nice,” said Deverell.
I smiled my agreement, but I couldn’t help but notice that not everyone in the class looked happy. Travis Kelly in particular wore an expression that was borderline hostile. I started to glare at him, but Mr. Deverell’s voice distracted me.
“Back to work, everyone,” he said, addressing the class. He returned his attention to Eli and gave him a quick summary of the task at hand.
Eli nodded and sat down across from me. Deverell clapped him on the back and then walked away to observe the rest of the class.
“It’s awesome,” I said, indicating the wand, which Eli had set on the table in front of him. He picked it up, set it down, and picked it up again.
“Thanks. You first.” He motioned to the cards with his wand. It seemed clumsy in his large hands.
Wincing at his curt tone, I picked up the next card and went through the focusing process again. This time when the image of the plinth rose up I was able to squash it down. Eli stared at the back of the card for several minutes, his fingers clutched tight around the wand.
He surprised me when he answered. “It’s a rectangle.”
“What color?”
“Um … yellow, I think.”
I turned the card over, showing him he was right. A half smile lifted one side of his lips. I returned it with a full one, hoping he was getting over our argument this morning. The situation with Paul would be hard enough without Eli so against it. We might’ve stepped into troubled water with the kissing last night, but we were friends first. I wanted his support.
I pushed the cards nearer him and waited as he selected the one on top. Then I focused again, trying to pull the image from his mind. To my surprise a picture formed behind my eyes of something with several pointed edges. I concentrated harder, willing the blurriness away.
“It’s a pentagram. Blue.”
“Yep.” Eli flipped the card over.
It got easier as we went along. He answered the next two correctly and in half the time. He missed the third, but it was mostly my fault. He’d interrupted my concentration when he leaned across the table and whispered, “Lady Elaine told me about you and Paul and the trouble in the senate.”
I frowned. “Why did she tell you?”
“She found out what happened this morning and was worried I would mess things up.”
Yes, that sounded like Lady Elaine. So he knew the truth, but he was still upset about it.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.”
“It’s okay.”
Not knowing what to say next, I returned my attention to the picture of the wooden rowboat. The image was more complicated than the ones before, harder to project, especially with the plinth still lingering in the back of my mind.
Eli rolled the wand through his fingers, his focus on me and not the card. “You don’t have to do it, you know. You could say no.”
My grip on the card slipped, and it fell to the table, picture side up. “But I can’t. They need my help.”
Eli reached forward and laid his hand on mine as I went to pick up the card. “They can do it without you. We should focus on the dreams. That’ll uncover the truth far faster.” He paused. “And safer.”
The idea was tempting. It really was. Except, we both knew that reading dreams was no easy task. The answers didn’t just reveal themselves. Not unless it was too late to make a difference.
Reluctantly, I pulled away from his touch. “The dreams won’t be enough. If they were, Lady Elaine would never have asked me in the first place.”
Eli pinned me with his blue eyes. “But Paul’s put you in danger before. You should stay away from him.”
I sighed. “I can’t.” Eli started to argue further, but I cut him off. “I won’t.”
His mouth fell open then closed again with an audible clack. The bell rang a moment later, and Eli got up and walked away without another word.
11
Need Not Apply
Fortunately, there was little opportunity to continue my argument with Eli in our next class. Math was one of the few classes at Arkwell that was more or less the same as in ordinary high school. It seemed math was a universal idea. And there weren’t any algebraic functions that could calculate the magical intensity of spells or anything. It was completely boring and easily my second-worst subject.
Alchemy and science afterward was my absolute worst subject, and with Britney absent, I stood no chance of changing that. She was half the reason I’d managed to scrape a C last semester. I wondered if she was doing any better, and I resolved to go visit her at Vejovis this weekend if I could get a pass.
Finally, the beaker and Bunsen burner hell that was alchemy ended, and I made my way to gym class. At least Selene seemed more awake as we changed into our gym clothes.
“You think I’m doing the right thing, don’t you?” I asked after I finished telling her about Eli’s reaction.
Selene considered the question long enough that I knew I wouldn’t like her answer. “I don’t know, Dusty.”
I stood up from the bench and shut my locker. Then I turned to face her, trying not to sound as upset as I felt. “How can you say that? Don’t you think Paul should be stopped before he hurts more people?”
Selene ran a finger over the scar on her face. “Yes, but…”
“But what? Come on, for all we know Marrow has already risen from the ashes and is just waiting for his faithful servant to return.”
Selene snorted. “I’m sure if Marrow is alive again that he’s not waiting around for Paul Kirkwood. We know he’s got more important servants out there than a seventeen-year-old boy.”
I tapped my toe. “How do you figure?”
“Well, somebody let him out of his tomb over in England, right?”
I exhaled, some of my annoyance evaporating. “Good point.” I shrugged. “But still, it’s not like letting Paul run around unwatched is a good idea.”