“And for your information,” Selene said, “it’s very possible the crows represent Mr. Corvus in the same way that the black phoenix represented Marrow.”
I started to nod my agreement, but Eli’s reply gave me pause.
“I thought that too at first, but when you think about it, the black phoenix represented itself. It was always real. As far as I can tell, Mr. Corvus doesn’t have a pet crow hanging around.”
I bit my lip, mulling it over. Eli was right about the black phoenix and Marrow, but there were things about Mr. Corvus that unsettled me, and not just his eye patch. He was so strict and hard, for one thing. For another, he’d taken Marrow’s place as history teacher and had moved into Marrow’s office with some of his things still on the shelf.
Selene traced a finger down the scar on the side of her face. “That doesn’t mean he’s not one of Marrow’s followers. Anybody could be one.”
Eli’s nostrils flared as he inhaled a deep breath. “That’s true. Okay, so we’ll check him out. See what he was up to before he came here to teach.”
“Right, good idea,” I said, although a part of me wondered why, if he was one of Marrow’s supporters, he would’ve put himself in a position so likely to make us associate him with Marrow. Or maybe that was the point. Maybe it was a ruse to try and throw us off.
Selene motioned to the boys. “Why don’t you two work on digging up the dirt on Corvus while Dusty and I talk to Britney?”
“All right,” said Eli.
“Assuming we actually get to visit Britney,” I said, returning my attention to the eTab. I clicked on my e-mail, but when it refreshed a second later, there were no new messages.
Across the table, I watched as Eli took a bite of egg casserole, made a face, and then set his fork down. “I think I’m done. Anybody want some of this?” He motioned to the surprising amount of food still on his tray.
I stared at him. Eli normally ate enough for two people. “Are you not feeling okay?”
“I’m just really worn out.” He shrugged, running a finger over his wand ring. “This magic business is a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
Lance clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, man. It’ll get easier the more you practice. I mean, look at Dusty. She hasn’t blown up anything in at least twenty-four hours. Might be some kind of record.”
I smirked at him. “That’s only because I was waiting for you to be around. Wouldn’t want to waste a good explosion.”
Eli grinned. “I’m glad to see you guys are getting along so much better these days.”
An offended look crossed Lance’s face. “We could always resume our competition. We left off with a tie, I’m pretty sure.”
“Oh, give me a break,” Selene said with a dramatic eye roll. “Dusty totally beat you.”
“I have never been beaten.” Lance thumped his chest.
Selene started to reply, but I elbowed her. “Don’t encourage him. We know who won for real, and that’s good enough.”
Eli shook his head at the lot of us. Then he stood, picking up his tray. I looked up at him. The dark spots beneath his eyes were more noticeable from this angle. I wondered if his exhaustion today had less to do with magical exertion and more to do with worry over his dad.
An image of Mr. Booker’s dead body being eaten by crows popped up in my mind with shocking clarity. I sucked in a breath, and forced the image away before I saw my mother again. All my humor vanished with it, leaving fear behind.
I hoped my mom responded soon.
18
Vejovis
Typical of my life experience, the more I wanted something to happen—like an important e-mail popping up in my inbox—the less likely it was to happen. Even worse, the likelihood decreased with every press of the refresh button.
When I wasn’t obsessing over my inbox, I spent the day reviewing The Atlantean Chronicle, but I didn’t find a single thing of note. Selene’s detection spell was a bust, too.
Finally, an hour past curfew, a message came in from my dad:
So sorry sweetheart. Just got your voice mail but I figured it’s too late to call. I was at a symposium all day. I’ll call you in a pass first thing tomorrow. Love, Dad.
I sent him a quick reply and closed the eTab. I texted the news to Eli and then asked if he’d heard from his dad, but he texted me back saying no. He also told me to get a new phone because it was changing every other letter of my texts into symbols, making it nearly impossible to read. The symbol-changing was new, but the crappy phone wasn’t.
Tell me something I don’t know, I texted back, but Eli didn’t reply. Maybe my phone had been offended and eaten his response.
Eager to be off tomorrow, I turned in early. Selene came in not long after and lay down. I was a little surprised at her arrival. She’d gotten a phone call from Lance an hour before and had gone out to meet him.
Selene cleared her throat and then announced into the darkness, “So Lance just told me there’s a little more going on with Eli than him being tired.”
I rolled over, focusing my gaze on her vague outline. “What do you mean?”
She exhaled. “Some witchkinds have been giving him crap about being a Conductor.”
I leaned up onto my elbows. “Like what?”
“A couple of threatening notes left in his locker and some anonymous e-mails calling him a cheat and a fake.”
“Why on earth for?” My voice echoed loudly in the still room.
Selene exhaled again. “It’s stupid. But I guess a lot of the witchkinds aren’t happy about an ordinary using their magic. They’re acting like he stole it or something.”
I gasped, outraged. “That the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I know,” Selene said, a dark tone to her voice. “And it gets worse. Lance told me that his dad and the other witchkind politicians are unhappy that he’s being allowed to use magic at all. They tried to stop it. They say it’s dangerous to let an ordinary do magic.”
“What? But that’s so unfair.” I wanted to hit something, but the only thing available was a pillow, and that would be less than satisfying. No wonder Eli was so distraught. He’d been so happy to discover his magic, but now he was getting heat for it. My heart hurt for him. I wondered why he hadn’t told me.
“What does Lance say about it?” I asked, bracing for the worst.
I heard Selene shift on her bed. “He’s angry. More angry than I’ve seen him. He had a big fight with his dad about it on the phone. Senator Rathbone wants him to put in a new roommate request, but Lance refused. He’s no plans on ditching Eli.” Something like awe, or maybe pride colored Selene’s voice.
My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe it. I never would’ve expected Lance to stand up to his father. I guess this meant he wasn’t quite the total jackass I’d always taken him for. “I’m glad to hear it,” I said.
Selene didn’t respond for several long seconds. Then she said in a soft voice, “Me, too.”
We fell silent after that, each of us no doubt thinking about the boys in our lives as we drifted off to sleep.
Despite our good intentions, Selene and I both slept in late the next day. We hurried to get dressed. The cafeteria would be closing soon, and as much as I wanted to eat a Milky Way Midnight bar for breakfast, I figured it was a bad idea. Maybe afterward.
I opened the door to leave but froze when I saw my mother standing in the hallway, one hand raised as if she were just about to knock. I stared at her a full thirty seconds before registering that it was really her.