“Definitely a top priority,” Yasmin says with a nod. “Don’t think I’ll sleep well until I make sure mine’s okay. My kingdom for a mass spell we could put over everybody’s grave to protect them.” She thrust her fist in the air.
I giggle. Maybe I need to read more so I can finally understand all of her literary references.
Quinn snorts. “Nice thought. Getting mine was a massive pain.”
I’m about to ask why when Rafe waves a little as Haya walks up, her tray almost dipping in the middle under the weight of the amount of food she’s piled on it. She slides in next to me, not smiling back at Rafe, but returning his wave with her fingers. Her eyes droop at the corners and her mouth is pressed into a thin line.
“You’re right, that would be amazing. Sometimes we just have to rob graves if we can’t make contact with family members. They never know, but it’s still a calculated risk. Things would be so much easier with some kind of protection spell.” She shivers as Landon drops his tray onto the table next to Rafe and plops down, that ever-present glower on his face.
“What about your body, Landon?” I ask. It’s probably dumb to poke the proverbial bear, but I can’t help myself.
“Buried on school grounds like Haya’s,” he says, not looking at me. “Found it when I went out to take care of my first bit of unfinished business.”
Interesting. So he’s not just worried about saving his own neck. Unless of course he thinks he might be connected to an object. “Have any Xers ever found Locklear?” I ask.
“Once.” Haya’s hands shake and she sets down her fork. “But we should let Kaz tell you about that. It’s his story after all.”
I lift my brows. “Y’all said he was an Xer before he died. Do you know why he changed his mind?”
Landon snorts. “If he changed his mind.”
“Landon!” Haya snaps, eyes narrow behind her glasses. “Stop that. You know good and well he’s on our side. If he wasn’t, why wouldn’t he have just led all the Xers to Locklear, huh? It makes no logical or tactical sense.” She taps her temple. “Think about it.”
I hook a thumb in Haya’s direction. “She’s got an excellent point, buddy.”
“Maybe he has different plans,” Landon says. “Bigger plans than just to eliminate all the ghosts here. Like, they’re always saying they’ve ‘dealt’ with the Twisted students. But what does that even mean? The only thing you can do with a Twisted Ghost is scare them away. So where are they sending them?”
Yasmin picks at her napkin. “That’s kind of a scary, yet valid point.”
I flick the zipper on my jacket, annoyed that Landon is definitely right. It’s the same question that’s been running through my mind. And if they are sending them away, is it with the hope of one day figuring out how to untwist them?
Glancing around, I lean forward and keep my voice low. “Maybe we can find out.”
For the first time since he sat down, Landon looks at me. Granted, he’s wearing a bit of a smirk, but eye contact is still progress, so I’ll take it. “You suggesting we snoop around, Martin?”
I grin, tilting my head a little. “Maybe. Just some harmless poking to see if we can figure out where all the Twisted students are disappearing to. Y’all interested?”
Haya winces. “I don’t know. What if…” She ducks her head, then looks back up, jaw set. “You know what? Upon further analysis, I’m in.”
I look to Rafe. “What about it, Warren? You still onboard with, what did you call it before? Team Twist...something?”
“Untwist the Mystery,” Rafe says with a laugh. “And sure. Why not? Consider me your rogue.” He reaches into his pocket to pull out a leather bag. Untying the straps around it, he lets it roll out to reveal a bunch of shiny tools. “For any doors locked and lined with iron.”
“Nice.” I clap. “Yasmin? Quinn? What about you two?”
They both exchange a glance, then nod almost in perfect unison. “You have my sword,” Yasmin says with another mini fist-pump. “Better to rage than go quietly anyway.”
I grin. “Okay then. Let’s start by putting together a list of the students who’ve gotten Twisted and go from there. We can totally figure this out if we work together.”
That afternoon, already armed with a slightly terrifying list of students who’ve gotten twisted, Rafe and I head for Mr. Qureshi’s office. Though I’d already planned on going to see him, he’d sent both of us a note while we were in the rec center that he wanted to see us together.
My insides tumble a little with nerves. Had Mr. Qureshi somehow overheard our conversation about snooping around? Did we suck that much at keeping a secret? If he did, Operation Untwist the Mystery might be dead before it even started. Or maybe Mr. Qureshi will answer our questions and we won’t have to dig too deep at all.
Before we knock on his door, Rafe squeezes my hand. “You ready?”
“For a consultation with our headmaster? I think I can handle it.” I grin. “Unless you’ve already broken into something and have somehow incurred his wrath.”
Rafe laughs. “We’re safe on that front.”
“Then I’m ready.” Still maintaining eye contact, I knock on the door.
“Come in.”
By unspoken, mutual agreement, Rafe and I let go of each other’s hands and walk inside. Mr. Qureshi looks up with a smile. His wrinkled brow sort of ruins the sentiment though, so I’m not totally sure how I should feel. I watch him with a little shake of nervousness as I sink into one of the chairs alongside Rafe.
“Thank you both for coming to see me,” Mr. Qureshi says, steepling his fingers. “I know it might seem strange, but I always call both students in when I’m about to send them off to attempt their first unfinished business mission
