Page 34 of Alchemy of Secrets

N o. Holland’s first thought was that the Professor had to be wrong. Holland didn’t want to believe anyone was a murderer, especially not the man she had spent last night with.

There was still a little sand left in the hourglass.

If Holland left now, she would have a head start.

And she wanted to leave. After talking to Padme, she had already decided she couldn’t trust Gabe.

She didn’t need more reasons to stay away from him.

But if the Professor was telling the truth, this wasn’t just about not trusting Gabe.

This meant Holland should never go near him again.

She knew the Professor had deceived her, but Holland actually didn’t think she was lying about this. And Holland always did have a weakness for the Professor’s stories.

“Tell me about Gabe’s wife,” said Holland.

“Gabriel Cabral wasn’t born into a family with abilities,” said the Professor.

“When that happens, there are only two ways to get an ability. The most respectable way is to come and work for the Bank. The other way is to ingratiate oneself with someone with an ability in the hope that when they die, they’ll leave you that ability.

Gabriel Cabral chose the latter. He married a woman from a family with a lot of magic, and, the day after the wedding, he murdered her. ”

The Professor frowned, her mouth softening, her eyes turning down.

She was once again the Professor Holland had known and loved, and she looked truly apologetic.

“I’m sorry, my dear. I hate to be the bearer of such bad news, but unlike many of my stories, this is a very well-documented fact.

If you don’t believe me, you can look at the Bank’s Most Wanted list.” She waved toward a glass mail chute near her desk, as if she could simply ring for the list. But Holland didn’t feel as if she needed proof.

Holland had known Gabe was dangerous from the second he’d rolled down his window in that parking lot.

She’d trusted him because he’d shown her a piece of paper with her sister’s handwriting.

That wasn’t actually the only reason. But looking back, all the other reasons felt flimsy now.

Holland feared that maybe she had believed him simply because she wanted to.

Maybe Cat was right after all and Holland truly was drawn not just to stories but to people who scared her.

Holland looked toward the hourglass, hoping it was finally time to go.

There was still a little sand left in the top of the hourglass—but a crack was working its way down it.

Suddenly, the glass shattered, and golden sand poured out onto the desk.

A bird smacked against the window, hard enough to crack that glass, too.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” said the Professor. Slowly, almost mechanically, she ran a hand through her hair. Her fingers came back bloody.

“Professor, your hand!” cried Holland.

But the Professor didn’t seem to hear her or notice the bleeding. She just repeated, “That wasn’t supposed to happen. This hasn’t happened before.”

Then, like whiplash, the Professor suddenly looked at Holland with a placid smile and said, “You should get going, my dear. It seems your time is up.”

Holland desperately wanted to point out the blood still on the Professor’s fingers. She wanted to ask what had just happened. Was it the same as whatever kept happening to Holland?

But time had literally run out.

Holland started toward the door.

“Think carefully about the contents of your father’s box,” the Professor called, as if blood wasn’t still dripping from her head onto her pristine floor. “I’m sure you’re feeling a lot of pressure right now, but I believe you’ll make the right decision.”

The woman really was indomitable. Holland hated that she was no longer sure she could trust her, because a part of her still respected her.

The Professor winked.

Holland turned away before she could read any more of her thoughts. But there was one last thought she needed to share. Holland didn’t know for certain what she was going to do after she opened her father’s box, but she did know for certain she wouldn’t be going back to Gabe.

“There’s something you should know,” Holland told the Professor. “Gabriel Cabral is sitting in a car a block away from here.”