“Do you, though? Professor Mortimer says you followed every instruction until the demons got hold of you. By all accounts, you were a perfect student. I can’t see how we could do anything more to protect you.”
It was then that I understood what she was trying to say. I found myself reaching out for her hand. It was strange to be the one comforting her. “You couldn’t have known that was going to happen,” I said. “And I am so grateful for everything you’ve done for me. But if me being here is going to be a problem, just do what you need to do. I’ll be okay.”
She gripped my hand in hers and sighed. “It’s a little difficult right now,” she said. “On the one hand, I have the board breathing down my neck and the Nephilim Council wanting to throw you in the prison. On the other hand, Bruce and Peter have both threatened to resign if you get expelled.” The infirmary door opened and Kai stalked out. His focus latched on to me. “And then there’s that.” She waved her hand in his general direction.
“They’re not expelling her,” he said.
“Why thank you,” Jacqueline said. “How would I ever know how to do my job unless my grandson grunts it at me? You’re on a break until you hear back, Lex.”
Kai made a displeased sound that was definitely in the realm of a grunt. She rolled her eyes at me behind his back before disappearing.
“I’ll walk you back to your room,” Kai said.
Once there, he handed me off to a very distraught Sophie and promised to come and see me after his patrol.
Diana arrived shortly after. The mirror beeped. When I answered it, Basil’s worry-lined face appeared. “You can’t be left alone for one second,” he yelled at me.
“Basil,” I heard Nanna say, “screaming at her isn’t going to help.”
“I’m not trying to help!”
The mirror turned sideways. They were wrestling for access of the view screen. “Oh brother,” Diana said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It wasn’t as though the demons were trying to attack me.”
“That’s the worrying part!” Basil snapped. He’d managed to regain control but with very little of his dignity intact. His hair was all over the place. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
“Three of the Dominion guards are currently being treated for what were life-threatening injuries, but you managed to come away completely unscathed. There are rumours flying all over the place about the prophecy.”
“Basil,” I said, “I didn’t do any of this on purpose. I keep trying to read books to find out what’s wrong with me, but surprise, there’s nothing. So I’m flying a little blind here. And freaking me out with your meltdown isn’t helping.”
The aftermath of what I’d said hung in the air. After a few moments, Basil huffed. “Well, if you’re going to get all high and mighty about it,” he said. Sophie stifled a laugh.
“Exactly how bad is the prophecy stuff?” I asked.
“Bad!” Basil said. “You spoke another Angelical word!”
I scrubbed at my face. “Yeah, that did happen, didn’t it?”
“Lex,” it was a scraped-out warning. “Even the Nephilim Council wouldn’t dare do that. The last person to have tried it went insane. And here you are spitting them out willy-nilly.”
“I am not! It just happens! It’s not like I’m trying to do it on purpose.”
“Okay,” Nanna said. “This isn’t helping.”
“No, it’s not,” Basil said. He was pacing the floor behind where she sat. The calculating expression on his face was scary. Nanna swatted at him to try and get him to stop.
“They can’t expel you,” Sophie said. “You haven’t done anything wrong!”
“I think me being alive is wrong enough in some of their eyes.”
But it turned out Sophie was right. Jacqueline called me into her office three days later to tell me that I was not expelled.
I hoped that might be the end of it. But then she cleared her throat. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any authority over the other Academies. Their heads have decided you’re too much of a liability. I’m afraid they’re no longer extending the open-elective policy to you.”
It hit me harder than I thought it would. All I could think of was that mural. “Even Nightblood?” I squeaked.
“Especially Nightblood. They operate on such tentative ground as it is. They’re concerned that you’ll expose them to greater levels of demonic energy.”
“I thought they were supposed to be more badass than this.”
“You of all people should know that your abilities have nothing to do with the person you are.”
I slumped onto her desk. “So, what does this mean for me?”
“You can pick up some other classes at Bloodline,” she said. “Although at this point, it might be a bit late for you to catch up. The other alternative is for you to do independent study.”
I decided on the latter. It meant that I would have much less contact with other students which might be a good thing for them at the moment.
I was feeling decidedly sorry for myself. Since gaining access to Nightblood Academy’s library, the limited selection at Bloodline was very noticeable. I had to find another way to do my research.
The one thing that hadn’t been cancelled was my training sessions with Giselle. Like me, she’d taken to watching the previous Unity Games. “You can avoid all of this just by phasing,” she said. The trial was a maze challenge with a real Minotaur. Recently she’d changed tactics. Since I had proven a terrible offensive fighter, she now concentrated on defence. Otherwise known as hauling ass out of any given situation. I practiced phasing for hours on end until my magic was depleted.
A week later, I returned to Exorcism class. Thanks to this being a Bloodline elective, both professors had agreed for me to continue the subject.
Understandably, half the students were missing from the class. When I got to my
