Page 14

Puzzle boxes and Mason jars safely stowed in my backpack, Genie and I set off on our two-woman mission through the Institute. Keeping things nonchalant, of course, so as not to attract any unwanted attention. We paused beside display cases and pretended to read the notes, all the while eyeing our surroundings for any whisper of a pixie. Black-suited hunters swarmed the main corridors and common areas, encouraging us to stick to the paths less traveled. The pixies wouldn’t be foolish enough to come out where their would-be captors were congregating, which made me wonder why they were being so obvious. Perhaps the hunters had some sort of flushing operation to siphon the creatures into one spot.

Anyway, their plan of action didn’t concern me too much. We just had to stay out of their way and keep our heads down. Not literally, though, or we wouldn’t be able to scan for the mischief-makers.

“Anything?” Genie whispered, as we walked down a narrow corridor that housed a bunch of study doors. They had bronze plaques outside, bearing names I didn’t recognize: Scheherazade Rouhani, Advanced Tactical Practice; Damian Greatorex, Covert Operations; Kofi Smithson, External Affairs. I guessed they weren’t people we needed to know in our first year. There were so many people in this place, from students to teachers to graduated hunters to visiting hunters to general administration, that I doubted anyone knew everyone’s name.

I shook my head. “Not even a wing flutter.”

“They can’t, like, go invisible, can they?” Genie stopped for a swig of water.

I shrugged reluctantly. “I don’t think so.”

“I love you dearly, Pers, but why did you have to Purge something that’s been extinct for ages? Couldn’t you have gone for a critter that at least has a crystal-clear entry in monster history?” She pretended to flip open a book and run a finger down the imaginary page. “Bullet-point one: this creature can’t disappear at will. Bullet-point two: leave out a cookie and it’ll come running. That’d be sweet right now.”

“I don’t get a lot of choice in what I Purge.” I took the water flask she offered and gulped down a mouthful. This secret-agent stuff made a girl sweat. No wonder my mom always came back from her missions looking disheveled. “Hey, maybe when I get better at this Purging stuff, I’ll be able to decide what I create.”

Genie laughed. “Promise you’ll make them small and singular?”

I crossed my heart.

“Come on.” Genie made to continue up the corridor. “Let’s check the orchard, see if we can notice any signs of a pixie shindig.”

Twenty minutes later, we had fresh air on our faces. It made for a nice change from being stuck indoors. There didn’t appear to be any black-suits out here, either. It gave me hope that we were on the right track.

“I should’ve worn an extra sweater,” Genie grumbled as we ambled through the trees. The spitting rain pattered at the leaves, and misty rays of dulled sunlight sliced through the canopy, dappling the ground below. The weather might’ve been grim, but the rain and soft light soothed my raw nerves. The earth was covered in a mass of foliage in various stages of decay: fresh green leaves on top of their dry, russet-toned forefathers, with the browned mulch of older dead carpeting the ground beneath. Tufts of grass pushed through, creating a pretty patchwork of color.

Admiring the scenery, I almost forgot why we were really there. In fact, I was so engrossed in the shade and light that I didn’t see the figure stalking toward us until she was beside us.

“Shouldn’t you be in your rooms, staying out of the way?” Charlotte shoved her hands aggressively into the pockets of her jacket. Her hazel eyes fixed me with a stony glare. “Hunters are sweeping the place, and I don’t want anyone holding them up.”

I rubbed my arms to chase out the cold. “There weren’t any hunters out here, so we figured it’d be okay.” I understood her frostiness more than she knew. If Genie were missing, I’d be hostile to anyone who I thought was remotely responsible.

“Well, it’s not okay.” Her voice hitched for a split second, exposing some serious subtext. She was torn up about this, and who wouldn’t be? She wanted her friend back, even if her friend did happen to be a bigoted snob. After all, friends were the family we chose for ourselves. Maybe Charlotte saw something in Xanthippe that we didn’t.

Genie looped her arm through mine. “Do you want us to go back inside?”

“I can’t make you.” Charlotte scuffed her boot through the dead leaves. “I’m just saying, don’t get underfoot. There’s important work going on.”

“We know,” I said softly.

Charlotte’s head snapped up. “The Institute has never had anything like this happen before. My mom is so proud of that, and so was I. But the two of you are here for a week and all hell breaks loose.” She hissed a breath through her teeth, visibly trying to calm down. “Do you have any idea what kind of damage this could do to my family name, if it ever got out? We’re just lucky it’s Victoria in charge, and not some sap who cracks under pressure. Meanwhile, my friend is…” She trailed off, dragging in unstable breaths.

“I’m sorry. I understand that you’re hurting.” I tried to offer an olive branch, but I’d never been one for good timing. She didn’t want sympathetic words from me right now. She wanted someone to blame.

Her eyes narrowed. “I just want to ask one thing, and I want an honest answer because I’m on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Did your monsters do this? And don’t pretend they’re not yours; the math isn’t hard.” Bitterness dripped from her words.

“Why don’t we take the animosity down a notch, huh?” Genie cut in, pulling on my arm so I ended up a half step behind her.

I smiled at my friend. “It’s fine, Genie. It’s a valid question.” I held my ground and answered Charlotte. “Not that I know of. They’re not cruel or malevolent by nature, so it doesn’t seem like something they’d do.”

“What, are you also best buddies with the things you Purge?” Charlotte chewed her bottom lip.

“No, but I read up on them.”

She snorted. “Is that what you’re carrying around in that massive backpack? Books on all the creatures you’ve spat into this world?” Her eyes flitted upward, like she was trying to blink away tears. She was the model hunter with a perfect record and a famous mom—she carried a lot on her shoulders. And, hey, at least she could actually match up to her mom’s legacy. That couldn’t be said for everyone. But it was sort of humanizing to see that exterior slough away, leaving behind a sad girl who just wanted her friend back. It certainly made it easier to ignore the insults.

“What did you say to her?” Genie straightened, shoulders squared. I nudged her gently to get her to back down, but it was like trying to wrangle a bull who’d seen red.

“Oh, come on, you can’t say you admire that messed-up ability?” Charlotte refused to look at me. “It’s unnatural.”

You’re not wrong there… I doubted she’d believe my sincerity if I agreed, though.

Genie laughed coldly. “Isn’t that what your friend thinks of me?”

“I didn’t tell them to gang up on you!” Charlotte’s eyes widened, a flicker of guilt crossing her face. “I had nothing to do with the other night. I stood up for you!”

“Yeah, to save face,” Genie shot back. “But that doesn’t mean I think your friend should’ve been taken. We’re not out here to cause problems. I hope your friend gets found, because I’d be out of my mind, too, if anything like that happened to Persie.”

Charlotte gaped like a beached fish, and I breathed a subtle sigh of relief. I didn’t want a repeat of last night. Impulsively, I made a bold move. “Believe it or not, we’re trying to help. That’s why we’re out here.” I pulled one of the puzzle boxes out of my bag and showed it to her. “We’re looking for the pixies so we can catch them. Same as everyone in there.”

Charlotte eyed the box. “Where did you get that from? Did you steal it from Naomi’s storage?”

“No, of course we didn’t.” Genie rolled her eyes. “You’re not listening, are you? We. Are. Trying. To. Help!”

“You expect me to believe—”

Just then, the intercom system screeched to life, cutting her off. A deafening siren blared three times before a familiar voice crackled through the speakers: Victoria’s voice.

“This is your head huntswoman speaking. Another magical has been reported missing. As of this moment, the Institute is now on high alert,” she boomed. “Everyone, return to your rooms immediately and remain there until further notice. The Institute is now officially in lockdown.” Three more piercing sirens sounded, ending the transmission.

Charlotte rounded on us. “No way. You two are going straight to Victoria’s office for stealing Institute property.”

“We didn’t steal anything! Do you think I’d have shown it to you if we had?” I held the puzzle box to my chest, in case she tried to take it. We didn’t have enough to lose one. “Look, we really are trying to help. Naomi gave us these—after a lot of persuading, I might add—because I have to learn to get my ability under control. That means being able to capture what I Purge. I know these pixies better than anyone, and doing my part is the best thing I can do for myself, your friend, and the Institute right now.”

Charlotte hesitated and I watched a flurry of emotions skitter across her face, morphing between fury, confusion, sadness, pain, and something else. Understanding, maybe? It could’ve been wishful thinking, but I wanted to believe that Charlotte had some faith in me. In a lot of ways, we weren’t so different.

“Charlotte, you and I are in the same boat.” I paused, hoping I was hitting the right nerve. If she didn’t buy this, I’d be back in Victoria’s office sooner than I wanted. “We both have a lot to live up to. Expectations that we didn’t ask for. And we both care deeply for our best friends. I’m trying to meet those expectations, but I can’t do that if you don’t help us to help you.”

Charlotte frowned, her hard eyes scrutinizing me.

Should I have kept quiet? Only she had the answer.

She unleashed a frustrated sigh. “Do you really think you can make a difference in finding Xanthippe?”

“Yes.” For the first time in a while, I spoke with genuine confidence. One way or another, I felt certain my pixies were the key to solving this.

Her teary eyes held my firm gaze. “Fine, but if you screw up the hunt, I’ll turn you in. Just stay out of everyone’s way and focus on catching the pixies.” She looked over at the door leading to the building. “I need to get to Victoria’s office. There’ll be another briefing now that she’s put us on high alert.”

“But you won’t say anything?” Genie interjected.

“No, I won’t.” She shook her head, like she couldn’t believe what she was doing. “I get why you want to do this, and we need as many hands on deck as possible. People who know the enemy. You Purged them. They might listen to you, or at least come out of hiding for you.”

They’re not the enemy. I held my tongue to avoid shattering this fragile treaty.

Charlotte walked away, her shoulders slumped. The walk of a weary woman. I watched her go, my chest uneasy. “Do you think she’ll tell Victoria?”

“I hope not, for both our sakes.”

I put the puzzle box back in my bag. “Well, one thing I know for certain is that Victoria just threw a massive wrench in the works. How’re we supposed to sneak around, hunting pixies, if everyone who isn’t a hunter is on lockdown?”

“Carefully.” Genie flashed me a reassuring grin. One of her best ones.

“And what about this other magical?” I readjusted the strap of my bag. “I might’ve believed the pixies were responsible for one disappearance. But two? I don’t buy it at all. These monsters are new to the Institute. They wouldn’t have a clue where to hide two people.”

Genie looked away. “How can you be sure?”

“I’ve got a… weird sense about it. Like, I can feel they’re confused, and they’re frightened, but I don’t feel any malice.” I didn’t know how else to put it. Like the gargoyle in the training room, it was like our emotions were running parallel, giving me a vague sense of how they were feeling—though it was, admittedly, a distant sense.

“You’re certain?” Genie still didn’t look at me.

I nodded. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more certain.”

“Then… things don’t add up,” she agreed, with a note of reluctance that threw me slightly. Had they gotten to her, too? I guessed the fact that she was still standing at my side meant she had some faith in what I said. I hoped it prevailed, because I didn’t know what I would do if I lost my last source of support.

I drew a lungful of fresh air. “Why is no one suspecting someone closer to home— someone who’d know where to hide abductees? In true crime shows, nine times out of ten the murderer is someone who knew the victim.”

“Don’t go throwing the ‘M’ word around, Pers. We don’t know that they’re dead, yet.” Genie urged me toward the door. “But I think you’re onto something. All we’ve got to do is clear the pixies’ name before anyone will listen to alternatives.”

If only it were that easy.

The stakes had risen with the addition of a new missing person, but that was all the more reason to keep going. I wouldn’t sit in my room and leave it to hunters who had no emotional link with the pixies and obeyed the party line of “capture at all costs.” The connection between my creations and the disappearances seemed murky at best, but we wouldn’t change anyone’s mind by arguing. We needed hard evidence, which would prove tricky to find if my wayward beasties kept up the Houdini act. Or worse, if the Institute caught them all and sent them away before I could gain their trust and get answers.

“Help me out, wherever you are,” I whispered to the orchard. “Help me to help you, or we might all end up in a box.”