“How did you know that?” I asked. “Who’s Gavin?”
“Ask me later,” he said. “You might want to go hide somewhere.”
I swallowed, remembering her grip on me at the lumbermill. “I - I don’t think she can hurt me.”
His mouth twisted. “Lucky you,” he said, and pushed the door open.
“There he is,” Meredith grinned, stepping around the molten pillars. Smoke rose from her leather attire. “Hey, handsome. Delivering my Wolf at last? I had a feeling about this one - ”
“It’s not her,” Gabriel said, pushing me behind him. “She’s a Null, or couldn’t you tell?”
“What’s a Null?” She quirked an eyebrow.
Gabriel waved a hand in annoyance. “You forgot. Never mind. The point is, I found it for you.”
“And here I thought you’d never come through,” she grinned.
With a glance at me, he stepped forward and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened, and then she laughed. “No wonder,” she said. “Those Uminos are always a pain in the ass. It’s like their whole purpose is to piss me off.”
“Not their whole purpose,” Gabriel says, stepping back.
“Well, hopefully next time I see you, I won’t remember I owe you one,” she said. “Sure you don’t want a good-bye kiss?”
“I’ll pass on the burns, thanks,” Gabriel said.
“Too bad, too bad,” she laughed, striding out the door.
I watched her go, apprehensive. “Are you really sure that was the right thing to do?”
“Sloppy, last minute execution, perhaps. A risk, I won’t deny. Nothing here is ideal, but it’s going to work out in the end,” he said. “Well, as long as Tailor figures out his present.”
Chapter 19
Mac
“Oh no...oh no, Mac, look,” Destin says, nodding at the front of the gym.
I turn; there’s Meredith, scanning the room intently. I turn around, hoping she won’t spot us easily from the back.
“What’s she doing here?” I say in hushed panic. “Did she burn down the house? I mean, that fast? That was like three feet of solid granite!”
“We don’t know what she’s capable of,” Destin points out.
“Ok, what do we do, what do we do?”
“We’ve got to get Camille out of here,” Destin says.
“Alright, you get little red riding hoodie and I’ll get the big flaming wolf,” I say.
“She’s gonna torch you, man,” Destin warns.
“Just get going!” I say, pushing him towards the dojo where Camille will be warming up. She and Hyde are supposed to have an exhibition match any minute now.
I move towards the front of the room, dodging between clusters of people admiring the science exhibits. Meredith couldn’t look more out of place, clad exclusively in stained brown leather, tangled hair sticking out every which way. People instinctively shy away from her, but she seems to take no notice. Her eyes land on the most official-looking person in the room.
I have to do something before this gets really out of hand. I check on Destin’s progress but he hasn’t even made it to the dojo yet, caught in a cluster of families.
Meredith marches up to Principal Umino, who’s preoccupied with conversation she’s having with a bored- looking man in a suit.
“You can assure Ms. Sorvari,” Umino was saying, “that her son recieves the utmost consideration, and has been scoring some of the highest marks we’ve ever seen.”
“And where is Rhys?” the man asked.
“He was just here, I saw him only a moment ago - ”
“Hallo, I’m Meredith,” the British woman interrupts with a grin. “Let’s have the Wolf, then, shall we?”
“Excuse me?” Umino says, regarding her like a ripe bag of garbage.
I check on Destin again. He’s with Camille, but Hayley seems to be arguing with them about something. When will my stupid sister get a clue and leave us alone?
“Tell me where he is,” Meredith says in sing-song, “or I burn this school to the ground.”
“Pardon me,” the man says, leaving swiftly. Now there’s someone with brain cells.
The principal continues to look at her with disdain. “We have no...wolves...here,” she says. “And pretending to be the Ender is not amusing.”
Meredith grins. “Everyone’s a critic.”
She flings out her hand, and a fireball crashes into the banner overhead. People start screaming.
“Am I amusing yet?” Meredith asks.
Umino backs away from her, eyes wide. “You’re not...you can’t be...”
Suddenly Hyde is here, dressed in his gi. Something catches fire and he goes looking for the source?
“What’s your problem, lady?” he demands.
“Hyde, remove her from the premises!” Umino commands, backing away, voice pitched a shade too high.
“Get out of here!” I shout at him. “She’s insane!”
Meredith is looking between me and the principal, interest piqued by my involvement. “Too late to help your buddy, munchkin,” she grins at me. “A little birdie told me all about it.”
“He’s not my buddy,” Hyde snarls.
He swings a punch at her and she ducks, whistling. She reaches up, grabbing his wrist. Hyde cries out, pulling away. A red handprint sizzles against his skin. He’s an ass, but I’m not going to stand here and watch him get torched.
Distance. He needs distance. I skim around the edge of the room, heading for the weapons rack in the dojo. I snatch up a bo staff and turn back into the auditorium. Hyde is dodging her approach, shoving a table between them to delay her. People are pouring out of the gym in droves.
“Here!” I shout at him, tossing the staff.
He catches it, a brief look of surprise on his face before he returns his attention to Meredith, twirling the weapon.
“Don’t let her touch you!” I tell him.
“You think?” he snaps.
He swings the staff at her. She backs up, dodging the metal-plated tip. “No fair tag-teaming,” she grins, chucking a fireball low. Hyde jumps clear, and it bursts to sparks across the floor, extinguishing. He swings again, and scores a hit across her shoulder. She stumbles, cursing.
Camille is frozen in place on the far side of the room. The place is mostly empty now. She seems trapped, eyes wide and glued to Meredith, fingers curled in Destin’s sleeve. I can see him pleading with her from over here. What’s wrong with her? And what’s wrong with him? She’s tiny and he’s a giant, he should just pick her up and carry her out. Do I have to do everything myself?
The sprinkler system kicks in, no doubt reacting to all the smoke. Everything is instantly soaked, but Hyde and Meredith battle on. She throws a fireball that ignites one table’s posterboard, and Hyde’s sleeve. He swears, smacking the fabric to smother the cinders.
Avoiding the carnage they’re creating, I sprint over to Destin and Camille. “It’s time to go, gold ranger,” I tell her. She looks at me, and for the first time I see real fear in her eyes. True terror from someone I’d thought was immune. I hesitate, resolve shaken.
I hear a cry from across the room. Turning to look, I see Hyde sprawled across the floor, staff knocked clear, Meredith hovering over him triumphant. I should feel some satisfaction, seeing him so completely outclassed - but despite his asshattery, he doesn’t deserve to die like this.
