didn’t want him to worry about her, not when he had so much to deal with.
That’s why she still kept parts to herself. Like how Liv’s turning into a siren was probably a very bad thing. It freed Penn up to look for a new replacement, which meant that Gemma’s clock was once again counting down.
But more than that, a new siren was another monster to stand in her way. Penn wanted to kill her, Lexi had actually tried to kill her, and with her luck, Liv would probably feel the same as Penn and Lexi.
Liv was just another siren Gemma would have to get out of the way before she could finally be free of this curse.
THREE
Coincidental
Once Harper had calmed down after Liv attacked her yesterday, her first thought had been,
She’d almost immediately dismissed it though, assuming she just had sirens on the brain. But there were some signs to back up the claim, besides Liv’s irrational rage and superstrength. Her dirty blond hair had taken on a more golden shine, and her brown eyes had a richness to them.
But Harper eventually decided that she couldn’t be sure. She hadn’t been paying close attention, and Liv could also be on drugs or have a serious mental disorder, which would explain the dramatic mood swings and violent strength.
After Liv had stormed out, Harper took a few minutes to catch her breath, then she gathered her things and went to her classes. When she came back later that afternoon, the dorm room was completely trashed—or at least Liv’s side of it was, with some of the mess spilling onto Harper’s half. The bed was dismantled and broken, her posters were torn off the wall, and random junk was strewn all over.
Harper had considered sleeping out in the commons area that night, but most of Liv’s stuff appeared to be gone, so she decided to risk it. She’d been safe because Liv didn’t come back at all, and Harper hoped she never would.
When her afternoon psych class was canceled because the teacher was absent, she went out to the campus lawn instead of going back to her dorm. It was a class she had with Liv, so it didn’t give her a chance to find out if Liv was really gone, but it was still a good opportunity to do some homework.
Besides, the weather was gorgeous, especially after the previous week’s oppressive heat. There was almost a chill to the air, and that was a nice change. She pulled out her textbook, planning to brush up on her medical terminology, and she didn’t realize how much time had passed until her phone rang.
When she grabbed her phone and saw the time, she cursed under her breath. Even though she was in a hurry to make an appointment, she had to answer it. It was her dad calling from his lunch break, and he would worry if she didn’t pick up.
“Hey, Dad,” Harper said, struggling to shove her books into her backpack with one hand while she held the phone with the other.
“Is something wrong?” Brian asked, already tense with worry.
“No, everything’s great,” Harper lied as she slung her bag over her shoulder. She hadn’t told anyone back in Capri about Liv attacking her. Enough things were happening that they didn’t need to worry about her roommate problems.
“You sound out of breath,” he persisted.
“I’m just running late,” she said as she walked briskly across the campus lawn. “I have a meeting in a little bit with Professor Pine.”
“Who’s that?” Brian asked.
“Remember? I told you about him before,” Harper said. “He’s the history teacher who used to be an archaeologist.”
“Oh, yeah, Indiana Jones,” Brian said.
Harper laughed. “Yeah, him.”
Brian seemed to hesitate before asking, “It’s about Gemma, right?”
“Yeah.” Harper nodded and lowered her eyes, as if the other students hanging out on the lawn would read her expression and know what she was talking about.
“Well, if you’re busy, I won’t hold you up.”
“Sorry. I don’t mean to brush you off,” Harper apologized, and she paused when she reached the doors outside the faculty building. “But I’ll see you when I come home this weekend for Gemma’s play.”
Once she got off the phone with her dad, Harper headed inside to find Professor Pine’s office. She didn’t have him as a teacher, but she’d talked to her advisor, who’d referred her to him because of his archaeology experience.
When Harper had given him a call the day before to set up the appointment, she’d had to fabricate the backstory for how she’d found the scroll. He probably would’ve sent her to a psychologist if she started talking about monsters and curses. So she’d told him simply that her sister had found an old scroll in Bernie McAllister’s house when she was cleaning it out after he’d died, and they had a few questions about it.
Pine had been kind enough to set up a time to meet her in his office, although he sounded dubious about being able to help that much. Still, Harper was willing to follow any lead to find out more about the scroll.
Harper was getting a handle on the campus quicker than she’d expected and managed to find his office with five minutes to spare. The frosted glass on the door read PROFESSOR KIPLING PINE. She thought about waiting outside, but his door was partially ajar, so she gave a slight knock.
When he didn’t answer, she pushed it open wider and saw a man hunched over his desk. He appeared to be in his early thirties—a little young for all the traveling his office and reputation suggested—with blond hair combed to the side.
Earbuds ran from his ears to an iPad resting on his large oak desk, precariously close to an open can of Red Bull. In front of him he had a small box covered in symbols that reminded Harper of a cross between a cryptex puzzle and the Lament Configuration from
The professor wore a small spyglass attached to his glasses, like the monoculars jewelers used to inspect diamonds. He had a tiny needlelike tool to poke at the box, then he typed rapidly on the iPad next to him, apparently documenting some miniscule discovery.
Since he was so immersed in his work, Harper took a moment to look over his office, which was rather hard to do since it was filled floor to ceiling.
His office was a mash-up of ancient Egyptian, steampunk, and technomodern. Artifacts and old books were overflowing from the shelves, mixed in with all kinds of vaguely antique gadgets. An ankh, an old globe with a spyglass protruding from the side, and a flashing digital scale all occupied the same shelf. Then there was a slick computer, the tablet on his desk, and something flashing a blue laser light buried in a corner among textbooks and newspapers written in Syrian.
Professor Pine’s office was like the strangest episode of
“Professor?” Harper asked hesitantly.
“Yes?” He lifted his head to look at her, peering out from around the monocular, and pulled out one of his earbuds.
Harper had to suppress a smile when she realized that he kinda did look like a young Indiana Jones. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sporting a tweed jacket or fedora. Instead, he wore a dress shirt that was unbuttoned to reveal the Joy Division T-shirt underneath.
“We had a meeting at one fifteen.” Harper gestured to one of four clocks he had in his office—the only one that told the correct time. “I’m a few minutes early, but I can come back—”
“No, come on in.” Professor Pine pulled out the other earbud and clicked something on the iPad before moving it aside on his desk, along with the puzzle box. “Harper Fisher, right?”
“Yeah.” She smiled at him.
He gestured to the ergonomic chair across from his desk. “Have a seat.”
