Capitulum XIII

B ack on the surface, I turned invisible and headed straight for the Ultor dormitory. The doors still opened automatically, and I went straight to Rigel's room, crossing my fingers he wasn't doing anything unsightly.

But I only found him curled over his desk, pencil scratching against cardstock.

He jumped when the door opened but relaxed when he saw me.

"Did you hear something?"

I collapsed on the edge of his bed. "I already handled it."

"Handled what?"

Worry seeped into his tone as the pencil came to a halt, graphite still resting against the paper.

"I already went down there."

I couldn't help but grin at his horrified expression.

"Wait a minute." He finally dropped the pencil, freeing up a hand to point at my chest. "What happened to it being dangerous?"

"She didn't want you to come."

"She? Who's she?"

I pulled the note out of my pocket and held it out to him.

He scanned it, scoffed, and tossed it onto the cluttered floor.

"I wouldn't take it personally," I offered.

"You suck," he hissed.

"I have information."

His eyebrows shot up, anger instantly forgotten. "Yes?"

"She's not down there," I added, wincing, "but her history was."

"With the spider woman? Why would she have it?"

"Rigel," I said, trying to keep my voice soft, "do you know what happens when someone has their history destroyed?"

He shot to his feet but stayed frozen, as though he wasn't sure what he was doing.

"She wouldn't."

"She did."

"That thing is lying, then."

"Why else would she have it?"

He collapsed back in his seat. "Shit."

I'd expected the distress, but there was something else laced in his expression. Guilt, perhaps?

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "What isn't wrong?"

"Did you know . . ."

The pencil suddenly cracked in half with a fibrous tearing sound, the two halves falling loosely from his fist.

"What are you accusing me of?"

"I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just trying to figure out why she would go down there."

"What if she didn't just want everything to end... What if she was afraid?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was worried about."

In the stretch of silence that followed, I watched his face change as each thought fed its way through his mind.

"Did she know if Lindy's still on campus?" he finally asked, voice wary.

I shook my head. "She hasn't seen her."

He finally moved, bending down to scoop up the pieces of the broken pencil, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the jagged end.

"Then, rally the hounds because it looks like we're going on a hunt."

"We can't just wander the woods, hoping we trip and fall on her."

He released a long, pained wheeze and collapsed back into his chair, head lolling forward.

"There has to be something."

Unsure what to do, I patted his head, surprised by how soft his black waves were.

Something was disarmingly gentle about him, all his sharp edges dulled by misery and exhaustion. Despite myself, it made me want to care for him, whether I liked it or not.

"We'll figure something out," I sighed, rising to my feet. "I promise."

~

I pushed through the next few days, needing to direct an inordinate amount of my energy toward not behaving strangely toward Professor Faun or subconsciously gravitating toward Arlie between classes.

On one such occasion, I was walking to the library to get books when I was stopped by the words, "Hey! Girl!"

I turned at the familiar gruff voice to see Stacy trudging toward me.

She pointed an accusatory claw my way. "You haven't come to see me."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's been a really odd year so far."

Guilt gnawed at me.

Avoiding her was something I'd have to face eventually, but I'd still been hoping to hold it off as long as I could. I just couldn't shake the memory of her talking about me and Lindy like she knew something.

"Don't apologize. I'm mostly kidding. My evenings are just starting to get a bit lonely without my two usual satellites."

"Are you free this evening?"

"I am," she said, clearing her throat and leaning in conspiratorially. "Though, I must admit, I'm not entirely without an ulterior motive."

"Oh?"

"You're friends with that Ultor girl? The one they... found recently?"

"Yeah, we're friends."

"Why don't you invite her as well?"

"Sure thing," I said, eyebrows knitting together.

She didn't acknowledge my confused tone. "Good girl."

I caught up to Connie, who was hiding in the stables. Since most of the students were put off by her, she gravitated toward the animals.

"Hey, Connie," I called, dodging a big woolly cow nosing through a pile of lumpy green apples.

"Yes?" she called from the other side of the great beast.

I circled the animal to find her hacking away at its thick roan fur with a wire brush. After every couple of strokes, she'd stop to pull a handful of fur free from the bristles.

"Looking to make a really warm hat?" I asked, eyeing the fluff as it disappeared into her apron.

"The school uses it for bartering," she said, running a hand down the ridge of the cow's back. "How else do you think they get supplies?"

"Interesting," I said. "Do you have any plans this evening?"

"Not that I'm privy to."

"Good, you're coming to drink tea with me at Stacy's."

"Stacy?"

"The groundskeeper."

"Oh, that's right." Her face fell. "She's not exactly pleasant. Why are we doing this?"

"She's great. You'll love it."

When I brought her down into the tree, she practically jumped in fright as the bark pulled away to reveal the narrow stairs.

She followed me down, fingers skimming the textured root walls.

"Hello, girls," Stacy called as we came around the corner.

I went straight to my seat while Connie wandered, peering at the mice hanging from the line suspended around the room. She extended a finger toward one, but upon touching it, the skin turned to dust, and the bones clattered into the tray below.

She leaped back, large eyes swiveling in my direction, but I just gestured to the chair beside me.

Stacy served us tea, her iron teapot making the tabletop rattle under its impact when she set it down between us.

"What was Agnes like before I got here?" Connie asked.

Stacy laughed as I tipped my head in surprise at her question.

Connie looked between us, then settled her eyes on me. "What? I don't know anything about you."

"Well, you've found yourself quite the little troublemaker here." Stacy leaned in, holding up a single claw. "The very first week, she got her foot ripped off, and in the last week of the year, she came stumbling out of the woods, clutching two screaming heads."

If Connie's eyes could have grown any larger, they did as her head swiveled toward me.

"Yes, it was just as dramatic as you're imagining," Stacy added, shooting me a wink.

I pressed my face into my hands, releasing a long groan. "Stace, you're freaking her out."

"I'm surprised you didn't say anything yourself."

"Perhaps it's not as endearing as you seem to think."

"I don't know. That beast seemed to think you were quite the catch."

"Boo," I said, even though Connie was still holding back her giggles.

Before I could get too annoyed, a light turned on inside my head. I had experience with something trying to snatch me from beyond the fence. A creature whose head I'd dragged from the wilderness at my own expense. That creature owed me a favor.

"Speaking of that, Stacy," I began, trying to sound casual as I stirred a sugar cube into my tea, "what ever came of those heads? What do they do with them?"

"Oh, they have a place for people who end up that way. It's a rehab just outside town. It's a decent facility. I've ended up there a few times."

We both shifted back in surprise. "You did?"

She laughed and held up the raptor talons. "What, you think a god gave me these? I'm afraid not. They're replacements."

"So, that doesn't just . . . happen?" Connie asked.

Stacy cleared her throat and sipped her tea. "Hopefully, you girls won't have to find out."

The conversation carried forth while I did my best not to seem like I was plotting.

Luckily, Stacy enjoyed showing off her wooden creations, and Connie seemed thrilled someone was being friendly to her, so keeping the collective attention at bay was easy.

When we got up to leave, I was surprised to see Stacy extend a hand to Connie, gesturing for her to remain in her seat.

I raised a curious brow at the two women. "Are you trying to get rid of me, Stace?"

"I just need to speak with her privately."

Grabbing my chest, I winced dramatically. "Ouch."

"Oh, get over yourself, girl. I'll see you later this week?"

"Sounds like a plan, Stacy," I said, mounting the stairs.

Part of me was excited I didn't need to shed Connie without hurting her feelings.

There was too much to plan. I needed to think through how I would handle everything before bringing it up to Rigel. Once he knew I had a lead, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to corral his enthusiasm.

~

The next day, I was on my way to Advanced Transparency when someone accosted me.

The crunching of my footsteps was so loud in the fresh layer of crisp brown leaves I barely sensed the approach until they were right on top of me.

"Agnes," Blair said, coming up fast behind me.

I sighed. "Leave me alone."

"I need a word."

"The word is no."

"Agnes, she didn't mean it."

I snorted. "Sure she didn't."

"You're being just as childish as she is," he said, cutting in front of me, forcing me to a stop. "She can tell you're hiding something because you don't trust her. It's hurting her more than you care to notice."

"So, what, I have to tell her my every secret so as not to get screamed at? What a deal."

"She would do anything for you. She just thinks your friendship is a little one-sided."

"What?"

"I mean, come on, Agnes. She broke up with me for you, and I'm a catch. She didn't go out for weeks because you didn't want to, even though socializing is her favorite thing. What have you given up for her?"

I opened my mouth to respond but came up empty. Although I was tempted to mention she un-broke up with him the moment he was sad about his friend. She was willing to leave me to fend for myself for months because all the Reapers hated me. But it felt petty to pretend it still bothered me just to make a point.

Despite everything else, I was afraid he was right.

"Fine. I'm a bad friend. I guess it's a good thing it's over. Bye, Blair."

I pushed past him, but he grabbed my arm. "Don't be a fucking coward."

Looking around to ensure no one was near us on the path, I leaned in and whispered, "There is a lot going on that neither of you need to be connected to. Just stay away. It's for the best."

I yanked my arm free and continued toward class but arrived late.

"Sorry, Professor," I said as I slipped into my seat.

He looked over his glasses at me. "Honestly, I'm disappointed you didn't try to use invisibility to slip in unnoticed. It would have been good practice."

I nodded. "Next time, then."

He got to his feet and paced the perimeter of his cage. "All right, everyone. Today, we're going to team up and practice. I need you to assume stage four invisibility and try to make yourself visible only to one of your fellow spirits. I'll be supervising from here and giving you pointers."

People moved their chairs around the room, and a presence lingered near my shoulder.

"Want to pair up?"

I was surprised to find Rigel looming over me.

Despite finally showing up for class, he was still in a state. His clothes were dirty and rumpled, and his hair was stuck up at odd angles like he'd been pulling at it.

"Okay," I said, but he was moving to sit beside me.

"Everyone on my right will go first," Professor Arnold called.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, turning invisible in my seat.

"Grand. Yourself?"

Since I was invisible to the rest of the room, I got to my feet and leaned in close to his ear so no one else could hear. He was so tall I barely even needed to stoop.

"Planning."

To his credit, his eyes didn't leave the valley of space above my chair.

"Successfully?"

"I have an idea."

"Rigel," Professor Arnold called, making us both clam up. "Are you sure you can see your partner?"

"Yes," he said, sounding confused.

"Based on the projection of your eyes, it doesn't appear you're looking at her face."

"Oh," he said as giggles erupted around the room.

"I won't deduct any points from you for this class period, but I do recommend you keep your mind on learning and out of the gutter in my class."

"You're an idiot," I whispered in his ear.

He cracked a smile. "Pervert, idiot, I'm really outdoing myself today."

I whispered, "I know where the beast is. If anyone knows how someone might break into the school, then that's who it would be."

He scoffed. "They weren't successful."

"It's a perspective that we might learn something valuable from."

"Are you sure?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Fine," he said, though not quite as grateful as I'd preferred. "Do you know how we'll get to town now that the summer is over?"

"No, I was hoping you could do that part. Or are you being too much of a crybaby to do anything useful?"

He settled back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I think I've finally found the merit in uselessness. It's nice not to have to be the beauty and the brains of every operation."

"Well, why don't you dust off however much of that grey matter you've still got and put it to good use, yeah?"

"You're the boss, applesauce."

When class ended, we parted ways, and I returned to my room to do homework and attempt to keep my head from exploding. Just when I reached my fill of coursework and decided to settle in for the night, I heard the whisper of something slipping under my door.

I leaned up in bed and saw a folded piece of paper in the middle of my floor. Crawling across the mattress, I scooped it up and unfolded it.

The flyer advertised the special Halloween celebration for the Mortal Media Club.