Beside the drawing she made a note of his attributes.
Strange accent
Familiar?
Petty, and has a God complex
With one last look at her notes she added:
Possibly obsessed with the princess of Maradova and her Partizan
“Did either of you get a better look at his eyes? Any scars or markings?” Lottie asked, not looking up from her sketching. Silence met her question, so deep it made her snap her head up to find their stares locked on her.
“Hazel.”
“Green.”
They spoke at the same time, the words blurring together, but it wasn’t the mixed messages that caught her off guard. Both of them were looking so intently at her that it made her feel like a puzzle, as if something about her was sparking a connection.
“They’re the opposite of yours,” Jamie said.
Lottie didn’t know how to respond, while Saskia slowly nodded, still not looking away.
“Okay. I think we’ve made a good start here. We should go and let you have some rest, Jamie.” She smiled, pretending not to notice the strange way he continued to stare at her. She imagined a red rope between them, a line of fate holding them together, tightening with the memory of his fingers clinging to her wrist, begging her to stay.
Saskia, thrilled to leave, gave Jamie a reassuring pat on the shoulder before eagerly heading out the door, while Lottie lingered. They needed more information, and they needed it soon, but until Sayuri shared what she knew, they were on their own.
Lottie started to walk away in the now-dimming sunlight, and she turned to see her shadow stretch, melting into Jamie’s in the middle of the amber glow.
She didn’t want to leave and, strangest of all, she felt that he didn’t want her to either, waiting for something more from her, though she didn’t know what.
“Keep rested, Jamie,” she whispered. “I promise we’ll find out who he is.”
23
IN THE SMALL HOURS OF the morning Takeshin Gakuin hummed blue in the half-moon light. Filled to the brim with the sweet smell of damp earth, drenched in soothing silence. Not a single footstep on the wooden decking, nor a whispered voice, only the lone chirping of insects hidden in the flowers. It was beautiful and calming, and if Lottie wasn’t on an important mission she might actually have been able to enjoy it.
In the distance was her mark, skulking through the school, dressed in her black pleats, glossy hair tied back and hidden under a terrifying demon mask that could only have been made by Miko. Lottie had been waiting all night for Sayuri to return, memorizing her schedule, knowing where to hide, and at three a.m., smelling of gasoline, Sayuri appeared, removing her Pink Demon helmet, which she hid in the bushes, to replace it with a mask, before making her way into the school. But she did not return to her bedroom. Sayuri was clearly on a mission too, and that’s precisely what Lottie had been hoping for.
Banshee knew something. They knew what Leviathan wanted from Takeshin, and Lottie was sure they had information about the Goat Man, and she would not rest until she got her hands on it.
Sayuri knew exactly where she was going, shadows stretching around her, making monsters on the walls, and Lottie mirrored them, falling in perfect time behind her, stepping whenever she stepped, moving whenever she moved.
She stalked her, ducking behind bushes, peering over walls, and she imagined herself as one of the many felines in the school, a vampire cat—and her prey was information.
Part of her felt guilty about following Sayuri around without her knowing, but that part was easily drowned out by the vision of Jamie tormented by who he’d met on that rooftop, and Ellie torn up inside with guilt. Lottie felt like she was losing them both, and the only way to save them was to stop Leviathan.
It was just as they were approaching the headmaster’s office that Sayuri stopped abruptly, and Lottie had to tiptoe behind the wooden wall, tripping over a dirt step and landing firmly on her butt in a very un-catlike way. Covering her mouth to stop from squeaking, she watched, curious and confused, when Sayuri looked around, slinking to the other side of the museum wall like she’d spotted someone. But she was looking in the wrong direction to have noticed Lottie.
With one cautious peep around the corner of the headmaster’s office, Lottie saw that the glass door to the museum was wide open—and someone was already inside.
The statue of Kou Fujiwara outside the museum glowed in the milky light, her sword almost quivering with anticipation. Her bronze eyes were watching anyone who entered her preserved office space. And right now her sights were planted firmly on Haru, who was emerging from the sacred place with a frustrated look on his face, one that didn’t match his usual demeanor.
When Lottie had started following Sayuri, she’d never imagined Sayuri was following someone herself.
Terrified to make a single sound, Lottie melted back as far as she could into the wooden wall, begging her heartbeat to slow down, convinced the Partizan would be able to hear it.
How could she have thought this was a good idea? If Leviathan got her now, she couldn’t even blame them; she’d basically served herself on a platter.
Only Haru was nowhere to be seen. There was not a trace of him anywhere, except the door to the museum slowly shutting in his wake.
Sayuri moved like a leaf in the wind, fluttering effortlessly through the gap as it shut behind her.
Lottie cast one more tentative look around, still not convinced that Haru had moved far, until she saw him, a smudge in the distance, heading back toward the boys’ dorm.
Sure he couldn’t see her, Lottie took her chance, crawling along the ground and kneeling at the feet of Kou’s statue to watch through
