Fracture

‘I can’t believe you’re the only people who can help me.’ Katie sounded disgusted. Glancing around to make sure no one could overhear them, she lowered her voice. ‘They told me they might like to go away this week, and that I might come with them. They said I should pack a bag just in case.’

‘What…?’ Allie began. But as the word left her mouth she realised what Katie meant. ‘Oh.’

‘Exactly.’

Allie looked at her in dismay. ‘This week?’

Everything was about to happen – they were so close to identifying the real spy. They’d found the key, now they had to confront the instructors, form a plan, expose Zelazny, use him against Nathaniel in some way. And the Night School instructors were all still missing. The students were unprotected. Everything was half finished.

‘Bollocks, bollocks, bollocks. Katie, we’re not ready!’ Desperation made Allie’s voice rise. ‘It’s too soon.’

‘Well, get ready.’ Katie didn’t appear sympathetic. ‘We need a plan. Like, now. I do not want to be dragged out of here by one of my parents’ thug bodyguards like poor, stupid Caroline.’

‘We’ll come up with something today,’ Allie promised her. ‘In the meantime, if they show up, hide. You have time to find places to go. The roof, the attic, the old cellar, the carrels in the library – the chapel has a priest hole; I can show you where it is.’

As she listed all the places she’d used to hide from teachers earlier in the term, Katie looked bleak. Clearly this wasn’t the great escape plan she’d expected.

She ran her fingers through her vivid hair. ‘This is such a nightmare.’

‘Don’t worry.’ Allie tried to sound positive. ‘We’re working on a plan. We’re meeting now to talk about it.’

‘I hope…’ Katie bit her bottom lip. ‘I hope you come up with something. Because this is bad.’

Her bluster had evaporated. She looked like a scared kid whose world was spinning out of control. Allie, who had never seen her looking anything but confident, didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t comfort Katie.

Besides, the others were waiting for her.

‘I guess I better go…’ When she took a step away, though, Katie followed her.

‘Hey, uh… wait.’

When Allie turned back to her she said, ‘If you ever want me to come to one of your meetings, I could do that. And, you know… help.’

Forgetting to keep her face blank, Allie gave her a look of pure astonishment. The redhead appeared anxious and almost… lonely. As if she was the one left out of things.

Last winter Allie had asked her why she’d never joined Night School when she could have had anything she wanted, and she’d given her a flippant answer. But there must have been a reason why she’d so deliberately avoided the power group at the very heart of Cimmeria Academy.

But this wasn’t the time to ask. So she nodded in a brisk, business-like way.

‘I’ll talk to them.’

‘Her parents told her it’s happening now?’ Nicole’s expressive eyes darkened.

‘She didn’t know the day for certain,’ Allie said. ‘But maybe this week.’

Carter’s jaw tightened. ‘If she’s right we’re screwed. We’re not ready.’

They were gathered in the far corner of the great hall. Pale afternoon light trickled through the enormous windows behind them. The vast ballroom with its polished oak floors and huge fireplace held only a few tables and stacked chairs, waiting for the next elegant event; its emptiness made it feel even more cavernous.

Although they were alone, they talked quietly; if they spoke any louder their voices echoed in the hollow room.

‘I’ve asked for word to be passed to my dad that I need to see him tonight,’ Rachel said. ‘He really can help us if we let him.’

‘Is it time to tell him what we know?’ Sylvain asked, turning away from Rachel to face the others.

When nobody responded, Rachel’s face reddened.

‘Come on. We can trust my dad.’ Her voice rang with frustration. ‘I don’t know how many times I have to say it. He’s on our side.’

‘I agree with Rachel,’ Nicole said. ‘I believe Raj Patel is loyal.’

‘I don’t doubt his loyalty,’ Sylvain said evenly. ‘But I think anything we tell him will get to Isabelle. Because of that loyalty.’

‘It’s true,’ Carter said. ‘Are we ready for Isabelle to find out what we’ve been doing?’

‘Not everything,’ Zoe interjected. ‘I mean, we don’t want her to know we went out to the cottage to talk to Eloise, or that we broke into her office. That would not make her go, like, “Yay. My favourite students.”’

‘So we leave those parts out. Agreed?’ Sylvain looked around the group – everyone nodded except Rachel. Sylvain held her gaze for a long moment. ‘Rachel?’

Finally she nodded her reluctant approval.

‘But we’ll have to admit we broke into Zelazny’s rooms,’ Allie said. ‘Otherwise we can’t explain the key.’

‘Agreed.’ Carter said. He turned to Allie. ‘Did Katie say anything else?’

‘Nothing much,’ she said hesitantly. ‘Except that… she kind of… wants to… join us.’

‘What?’ They chorused, and their voices echoed around the empty ballroom like a ricocheting bullet (What? What? WHAT??).

And so Allie found herself in the bizarre position of defending Katie Gilmore. Something she’d never thought she’d do in her life.

‘She says she could help. She seems really scared. I think…’ She sighed, forcing herself to say the next words. ‘I think she’d be useful. Even though she’s an evil cow, obviously.’

‘Oh God.’ Rachel sounded horrified. ‘Do we have to?’

‘Her parents are hard-wired to this school, and she has very strong connections to the board and to the students whose parents are on Nathaniel’s side,’ Sylvain said thoughtfully. ‘They think she’s on their side, so they tell her things. Allie’s right. She could be very useful.’

She gave him a grateful look and he held her gaze – the light from the window illuminated his eyes like cobalt glass. It was hard to look away.

The others were still arguing about Katie.

‘She’s vile,’ Nicole said.

‘She’s insulting,’ Rachel said.

‘Crazy,’ Zoe muttered.

‘But we should invite her to join.’ Carter looked around the group. ‘Right?’

With clear reluctance they all nodded. There was no getting around it.

‘Great,’ Allie said, not thinking it was great. ‘I’ll tell her.’

‘She shouldn’t come to all the meetings,’ Sylvain said. ‘I believe we can trust her but we can’t be certain yet. So we cannot have her there when we’re talking to Isabelle, or…’ His gaze glanced off Allie’s. ‘Like yesterday.’

‘Good point,’ Carter said. ‘She’s very connected to things, but she’s not Night School and she’s not Rachel so we’ll only invite her to certain meetings.’

‘God help us,’ Rachel said.

After dinner that night, they gathered again in a corner of the crowded common room to wait for Raj Patel.

Rachel, who had talked to the guards that afternoon, was adamant he would come but, as time ticked by, she grew antsy – looking up from her chemistry homework every time anyone walked through the door.

‘Worst case scenario,’ she said as ten o’clock passed with no sign of him, ‘he just shows up in my room and I have to tell him everything myself.’

‘If he does, just knock on the wall,’ Allie suggested. ‘Then I can come over and back you up. And also stop you from saying all the things.’

‘He’ll come soon.’ Rachel looked around hopefully. But the spacious room with its leather sofas, bookcases stacked with board games and books, and tables topped with chessboards, was populated only by chattering students. Someone was playing Clair de Lune on the piano in the corner as others gathered around urging him to play something more lively.