“You’re impossible,” she groaned.
“I can be.” I returned her stare, unwilling to back down from the fight.
“You don’t know what you’ve put at risk,” she sighed. “I can’t win, no matter what decision I make here. You’ve become the lesser of two evils today, Jace. I hope you can live with it. You’re on the team.”
The Hollows
CRUZAL WASN’T HAPPY that I’d outmaneuvered her through sheer, boneheaded stubbornness. She shooed us all out of her office after announcing that I could pick the rest of my team, since no one cared about her opinion, anyway.
Brand and Hirani weren’t terribly amused with my stunt, either. Though Brand promised he’d help us get ready for the Gauntlet, Hirani strode off down the hall without a backward glance. I knew she was concerned about me, and I’d hurt her feelings by rejecting her advice.
I hadn’t been able to see any other choice, though.
My friends and I returned to our rooms in silence. They were stunned by what I’d done, and I was busy thinking of my next steps. I tossed and turned most of that night, going over strategies and puzzling out tactics until my mind gave out and I slipped into a dead sleep. I woke the next day with dozens of unanswered questions in my head and a bubbling cauldron of adrenaline in my stomach.
I’d won.
And I paid the price for that victory almost immediately.
“Mr. Warin,” Headmistress Cruzal called out to me as I made my way to the dining hall for breakfast. “I apologize for the short notice, but there’s something I need you to do.”
“Honored Headmistress,” I said as she caught up to me, “I was just headed to breakfast.”
“I know,” she said cheerily. “And now you’re coming with me.”
With that, she hooked her arm through mine and guided me and my grumbling, empty stomach through the School. We soon left behind the bustle and buzz of other students on their way to breakfast, and after a few turns down short hallways, we were deep in the School. The headmistress stopped in front of a door I recognized and rapped on it three times with her knuckles.
The door opened a moment later, and a PDF officer in full battle gear greeted us.
“Good morning, Headmistress,” he said. “The students have been assembled, just as you instructed.”
He stepped back and allowed us to enter. The desks were still arranged in neat rows and columns, and this time all the hollows had taken seats. Their hands were flat on the desks in front of them, their eyes fixed on the chalkboard. They all looked showered and rested, which was an improvement over the last time I’d seen them.
They were also terrified.
“Good afternoon, students,” Headmistress Cruzal called out. “I trust you had a pleasant evening and have enjoyed our hospitality so far.”
She waited for the hollows to nod their assent. A few of them smiled at her, though the expression never touched their eyes. Their faces held a wariness, like they were prey animals trapped amongst a pack of wolves. I could tell that these kids had been raised in the labor camps or undercity slums. They’d been powerless their entire lives, and their trip to the School was just one more way for the world to stomp on them.
The PDF guard at the front of the room probably had them completely freaked out. His uniform was way too close to the protective gear worn by labor camp overseers who kept these kids hard at work in the fields.
“Headmistress?” I said quietly. “May I have a word?”
“Of course,” she said and joined me at the chalkboard, facing away from the students. The instant her face was hidden from the hollows, her eyes narrowed into vicious slits. “Be quick about it.”
“The hollows will never trust me as long as that guard is here,” I said.
“Jace, I thought I told you to stop using that word,” Cruzal said with a frown. “The guard is here to protect our investments. That is all.”
There was that word again. I hated to hear it used to refer to these poor kids. They weren’t property. They were people.
“He can stand outside,” I said. “It will be just as safe, and he’ll see any threat coming before it reaches the room. I can’t teach the hol—the students—even the simplest of cycling techniques if they can’t relax. That’ll never happen with an armed guard in the room.”
Cruzal weighed my words, her lips pursed. Finally, she gave me a sharp nod and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t make me regret this.” Cruzal tightened her hand on my shoulder until the pressure was just short of pain. “I’ve had just about enough of your camper tricks.”
Cruzal’s words stung, and it took all the willpower I could muster to lock my face into a neutral mask. I didn’t want the headmistress to see how she’d upset me. More importantly, I didn’t want the other hollows to see how deeply her words had cut me.
“All right, then,” I said after the headmistress had left. “My name is Jace. Believe it or not, two years ago, I was just like you.”
“Doubt it,” said a young guy with unevenly shaved hair and the blurred outline of a labor camp tattoo on the side of his neck. It was clear he was trying to prove how tough he was. It was just as clear that he was scared and confused. “You’re an Empyreal.”
“But I was from the labor camp in the Dallas undercity.” I shrugged. “You can believe it or not, but I’m the kid who took out the champion with a fistful of jinsei during my Five Dragons Challenge. And last year I was the undefeated champion myself. So, you can listen to me, or you can spend the rest of your life wondering what’s wrong with your cores.”
That got their attention. Kids from the camps
