The Thief

hesitate to harm anyone who gets between her and her goal.” Bea looked at us intently. “So is that enough to convince you to stay out of her path?”

“Tattoo lady is bad news,” Mac said. “Got it.”

“But we still don’t know who she’s looking for,” I said. “I mean, who this Wolf person is.”

Bea shrugged.

“I think I know,” Camille said, expression stony as she looked up at me. “Well, I think Gabriel knows. I’m going to ask him.”

“Gabriel,” Bea said darkly, “won’t tell you anything unless it’s in his best interest for you to know. He’s come to Havenwood before, and once he has whatever he’s come for, he’ll be gone. Mark my words,” she said.

Camille stood abruptly. “Thank you for the food,” she said formally. What Bea had said must have unnerved her.

“Yeah we better get back home before mom gets suspicious,” Mac said, snagging the last piece of the sandwich.

After the others had left, I reached into my jacket pocket and pushed the velvet box toward Bea across the counter.

She gasped in recognition, and for several moments seemed to be without words. Finally, she reached for it. “Where did you find this?” Bea asked softly.

“A drawer at the mill. The note was written to you, so I thought you’d want to have it,” I said. “It seemed kind of personal.” An understatement, that was clear.

Her eyes rested on me a moment, considering, then returned to the box, her fingers barely touching the fabric.

“Some people,” she said absently, “are never allowed to live normal lives, however much they may wish to. No matter how hard we work to disentangle ourselves, the mirrored world pulls us back in.”

“That’s basically what Tailor told us. But he said that if we avoid the principal, we could still leave - ”

She laughed, abruptly. “Behind all that anger, John is an optimist, even after all that’s happened. I don’t think he can help himself. Whatever he says, he’s never truly lost hope. But he’s wrong, Juliet. The moment you were born, your fate was sealed. Your mother only complicated it by leaving you at Simon’s mercy.” She sighed. “I fear I’ve done little better by you. Can you forgive me?”

The corner of my mouth curved up. “I should find you empty boxes more often.”

“I was harsh on Simon,” she admitted, setting the box aside, note still tucked inside. “I felt I had to be. His father died before he was born, never even knew he existed...I was afraid to raise a child alone. My parents had died years before, and I had no relatives. I did what I thought was best. I thought that if I kept him under tight discipline, I could teach him control...I wonder now if I only made him hate me, and if I’m the one who drove him away.”

“Is he the Wolf?” I said.

“No, Juliet, he’s not the Wolf. The last one died sixteen years ago. Whoever it is now, they’d be about your age, if the pattern holds. Exactly what Simon is, I’ve never been able to prove. He never exhibited powers that I saw, but I know now that it’s because of John. Even when he was too young to realize it, John had been dampening the powers of those around him to an astonishing degree. I’ve never known a Null to have such a widespread effect, and we didn’t catch on to what he was doing until well after Simon and Kyra left. I’ve been trying to help John find ways to control it, but it’s been slow. There’s not much literature on the subject. His family was nearly hunted to extinction in the Afterlands before they escaped over here. As it is, he severely dampens the abilities of any fae or feral within about a mile of him. We don’t think Rin Umino has figured it out yet. If she knew his presence at the school actually hindered their plans for the students...well, there’s no way she’d keep him bound there. Likely she’d ship him to her sister’s labs to figure out what makes him tick,” she said grimly.

“So it’s because of Tailor that Camille’s senses aren’t working?” I said, incredulous. “That’s been driving her crazy.”

“I think it’s part of what drove Simon crazy too...” she admitted. “He was always so frustrated with his lack of powers. But John was with him all the time, so they were buried. Even I don’t know how he turned out. Surely you saw something at home?” she asked, intently. “You’re the only one who’s been close to him in the last fifteen years. You had to have seen some signs.”

It was basically what Gabriel had said. “He wasn’t at home much,” I admitted. “He was always out, usually researching at the university. He would bring home giant stacks of books and shut himself up in his room when he was at the apartment. He only really came out for food.” I swallowed. “Or to yell at me to clean the apartment.”

“And you with no singing mice to help you,” she smiled sadly. “I have to say, I never liked Cinderella. I just can’t get behind a heroine who doesn’t know when enough is enough.”

“It’s hard to know what ‘enough’ is when you have nothing to compare your situation to,” I said, gaze on the pale blue countertop.

After a moment, she pushed a jar of chocolate chip cookies into my view.

“I’ve never thought about it that way,” Bea said, serious.

I looked up at her gratefully. I took a bite of one, chewing thoughtfully. “So you know a lot,” I asked slowly, “about Mirrormakers?”

Her eyebrows raised. “Just the one.”

“What was he like?”

Her expression was empty, eyes on the box. “Distant,” she said at last. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I’ve heard a few things about the Ryans as a family that makes them sound...”

“Unpleasant?” she smiled wryly.

“But Soren wasn’t?”

“He was a very frustrating man,” she admitted. “But he meant well. He just didn’t have as much control over his life as he did over mirrors.”

I could have told her everything about Rhys right then, but still I held back. “So you think difficult people are worth the effort?”

“Depends,” she said.

“On what?”

“On whether they have a good reason for being difficult,” she said, reaching for a cookie.

Chapter 16

Jul

On Monday, I ended up behind Rhys in line for lunch. He didn't even glance at me, expression flat as he stiffly reached for a tray with a sandwich. He'd strictly kept to the pretense that we had no contact beyond school, ignoring me even more completely than he had before. And it was starting to tick me off.

'Can you hand me a spoon?' I asked him.

He flicked me a glance that read, Seriously? and moved on to the drink station.

Ire rankled. I didn't care if he was some magic prince, it didn't give him a right to be this rude. Especially after all the research I'd done for him in the Tower yesterday. I'd stopped in for a few hours in the afternoon, before Bea got home from work. I hadn't found anything instructive yet, but there had been a list of different kinds of magic mirrors in one that was worth mentioning. Business arrangement or not, it wouldn't kill him to show a little gratitude.

I moved along in line to stand next to him at the drink station. 'I left you a book on the library table,' I murmured, and his hand hesitated, reaching for a bottle of water. 'It had a section that - '

'Shut up,' he said under his breath. 'What did I tell you?'