Page 10

The first hints of sunrise lit the horizon, but with buildings still burning across campus, the glow was mostly orange.

Black smoke climbed in thick columns, and the acrid stink of melted plastic and scorched wood clung to the air.

Sirens wailed as fire engines rolled in, adding to the dissonant noise of shouting and motion.

Two SPAR helicopters sat inert on the green—gunmetal gray, wide and ugly, built like tanks with rotors. Humvees had torn through the frost-slick grass, gouging deep ruts between scattered bodies. I wasn’t sure how they’d managed not to hit any.

Dozens of SPAR personnel dotted the campus green, each focused on their task in the wake of the night’s chaos. I saw a dryad with two elves, a bunch of elementals, and something that could have been half-troll. Their matte-black gear marked them, but there was no uniformity beyond that.

They had a medic tent already up with a queue of walking wounded, and two stretchers were carried in as we watched.

Other SPAR officers were busy with the grim task of collecting the dead, adding them to a long row of body bags off to one side.

The elementals Kara and I had killed outside the bar had already been taken, thankfully.

The SPAR officer who’d come for us was an elf, tall and thin with the longest ears I’d ever seen. His power was midrange, but I sensed several items on him laced with aether—his sword, a shield ring, a barrier in his Kevlar chest armor, and the wand on his hip.

“What the hell took you so long?” Kara hurled the words, releasing my hand as she stormed toward him. “My parents are going to hear about this!”

The question was totally valid; the threat sounded more like habit, clashing with her earlier claim that they’d disown her.

The SPAR elf looked down at her, puzzlement flickering as he took in her oversized hoodie, bare legs, and biker boots, trying to reconcile it with her portrayal of a spitting cat. His hand hovered near his radio, like he wasn’t sure whether to call for backup or a blanket.

“Take it easy, madam. I know this has been inconvenient—”

It wasn’t the best choice of words, and Kara bristled.

“Madam? Inconvenient?” She jabbed him in the chest with each word. “Five fucking hours this chaos has been going on, and you turn up and say it was inconvenient ?”

The elf grimaced, taking a half-step back. “We’re doing the best we can, ma—lady.”

“Is the rest of the city as bad?” I asked, giving him an out but wanting to know.

“No. It’s busy, but … nothing like this.”

I walked up beside Kara. “Then I think my friend’s question deserves an answer. What the hell took you so long?”

“We mobilized as soon as we could, sir.”

“Five hours was ‘as soon as you could’?”

His face hardened. “Resources are stretched. Priority decisions have to be made.”

I scoffed. “You just said the city wasn’t so bad, and we’re looking at dead students here.”

His face gave nothing away. “Calls were made at the highest levels.”

“What does that mean?” Kara snapped. “What ‘calls’? What’s more important than this?”

The elf folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not authorized to disclose details, ma’am.”

“Right,” I said. “Of course you’re not.”

His expression was carefully blank, but there was something in his eyes that flickered. “We’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”

“Tell that to the dead,” Kara said.

The elf’s jaw tightened. “Please continue to the main hall, or the medical tent if you need to see a healer. We’re asking that no one leaves until they’ve been processed.”

“That’s it?” Kara said, incredulous. “That’s your answer to this body count?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “We still have a lot to do tonight. Move along please, sir and madam.”

Kara threw up her hands. “Unbelievable.”

“Come on,” I said, leading her away. It was obvious he wasn’t going to give us anything else. It was all above his paygrade.

“That’s total bullshit,” Kara said as we crossed the green, where trampled frost still clung in patches. “SPAR doesn’t take five hours to respond.”

I rubbed my bare arms against the cold, wincing as I caught my burn without thinking. “Especially when the city isn’t the apocalypse we thought it was.”

“Right!” She glanced at me, then did a double-take. “You’ve figured something out, haven’t you?”

“Not really. I just … It feels political, you know? Like someone interfered.” I shrugged. “Only explanation I can come up with.”

Kara looked thoughtful. “If SPAR had turned up sooner, that would’ve made it difficult to …” She glanced around, making sure no one was near, “… hunt a warlock .”

I grimaced. “That was my conclusion, too. And yes, it totally sucks that this is all on me.”

She squeezed my hand, green eyes filling with concern. “We don’t know that.”

“Sure.”

We continued on in silence, watching the ants’ nest of activity as we moved. I scanned the crowd for familiar faces, but didn’t see many. Just a lot of shell-shocked, pale expressions amid the students and terse SPAR officers, trying to stay emotionally detached.

We passed yet another line of body bags, and it made it harder to swallow the thought that I was alive with nothing more than a burned arm, while they were dead because of me.

“Front-page news when this breaks,” Kara said, distracting me from my reflections. “The only reason my parents aren’t here is because they’re still asleep.”

“Maybe they’re here already. SPAR must have a perimeter up.”

“That wouldn’t stop them.”

“They’re still civilians, right? SPAR wouldn’t let them in.”

She gave me a look. “You don’t understand. No one stops my parents.”

I shrugged, saying nothing. Whatever personal development she may have made tonight, she was still a rich girl.

We reached the main hall, and the crowds were denser. Hundreds of students milled around, filing through a queueing system SPAR had put in place.

“Well this is bullshit too,” Kara said as we joined the back of the line.

There wasn’t anything else to do, and I resigned myself to a long day and hours of bureaucracy.

I asked after Paul and Emma, but no one knew anything. A friend of Stefan, one of my other bar staff, told me he hadn’t gotten out of his apartment before it went up. That one hit.

The queue moved on slowly as students exchanged survival stories around us, mostly of where they’d hid to avoid the fighting. The mood was grim, everyone quiet and subdued. The occasional laugh—often with a hysterical note—was met with strange looks, like it shouldn’t be allowed.

We eventually made it inside the building, where the queue extended up to a set of desks and a number of harassed-looking SPAR officers. They took our names, asked us if we could confirm any fatalities, and answered no questions.

All very cold and depressing.

“There’s Professor Baldwin,” I said, when at last we were done. “Let’s see if we can get some answers.”

We made our way through the milling crowd—students sitting on the floor in groups, comforting one another. Sobbing mixed with quiet chatter from all quarters.

We reached Baldwin and waited as he finished talking to a couple of students before turning to us.

“Good to see you, Xan,” he said wearily. “And sorry, young lady, I forgot your name.”

“Kara, Professor,” Kara said.

“Any idea what’s going to happen?” I asked.

He ran his hand through his hair. “Your guess is as good as mine at this point. As soon as they let us leave, we’ll clear everyone out, and redistribute whatever accommodation we have left for those with nowhere to go.”

“Are there lists somewhere? Survivors?”

“Not yet, far as I know.” He looked grim, pulling out a small notebook and pencil. “You looking for anyone in particular?”

“Paul Rhodes and Emma Mallery. Nolan Barrett, Talia Graves.” I winced. “I heard Stefan Hart is dead, but I’m guessing we don’t have lists for that either, yet.” I turned to Kara. “Anyone you want?”

“Crystal Voss. Lillian Cho. Isobel Hart,” Kara said in a small voice, while Baldwin dutifully wrote them down.

“I saw Paul earlier, he’s alive,” the professor said. “As to the rest, I’ll let you know, but the lists may be up before then.” He closed the notebook and slid it back in his pocket. “You have somewhere to go?”

“No,” I said.

“Yes,” Kara replied at the same time.

Baldwin nodded. “Hang around, we’ll get you sorted by tonight. Somehow.”

I waved him off. “On second thought, I’ll just sleep in the bar. I’m guessing it’s going to be busy today.”

“SPAR said everything has to stay shut, and that includes your bar.”

I shrugged, not bothered. “Probably better that way.”

Others were waiting to talk to the professor, and we left him to it.

“You can come and stay with me,” Kara said quietly, once we’d moved away.

“Griffin House?” I asked, remembering Emma had said she lived there.

“No … I have an apartment in the city. Assuming that hasn’t burned down too.”

I scratched the back of my neck. “Er … that’s kind, but … I’ll be fine in the bar.”

“I don’t want to sleep in the bar. I need a shower. And no offense, but so do you.”

“They’ll have some facilities for that. I’ll be fine.”

She shook her head in frustration. “That’s not what I mean, Master.” She glanced around guiltily as a few people looked up in surprise, and when she spoke again, her voice was lower. “I don’t think I can be away from you. The bond …” She trailed off, eyes pleading with me.

I narrowed my eyes. “That’s why you were outside my apartment, isn’t it? You didn’t go and come back for me—you never left.”

She gave a small shrug. “I just … couldn’t walk away.”

“You saying that if I sleep in the bar, you will too?”

“I’m saying it’s better if we stay in my apartment.”

“Is that basically a yes?”

She hesitated, then nodded.

“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “No point inconveniencing both of us. We’ll go to yours … when they let us out.”

“Xan!”

I turned to find Paul approaching, Crystal with him. I grasped the arm he offered, but my eyes slid past to Emma, alive and well, following along behind.

“We saw you come in,” he said.