Page 74 of Malcroix Bones Academy

He smirked, then held out his hand.

“We have a deal, Shadow,” he said.

I shook his hand back warily, watching his eyes as the palm of my other hand continued to rub my chest.

He released me, then walked pointedly around where I stood.

Before I could utter another word, he’d reached the door of the utility closet. The floating, green flames winked out. Light flashed blindingly as he opened the door.

Then he was gone, and I stood alone in the dark.

17

The Mystery

Iwalked into the dining hall for Grathrock College feeling off-balance, light-headed, strangely jubilant and excited and unnerved and a little nauseated all at once.

I’d gotten what I wanted from Caelum Bones, and I hadn’t even had to go looking for it. He reallymightnot know what happened that day in Overworld London, but he’d agreed to help me find out. Even stranger, he seemed to already have opinions about it.

He’d seemed oddly certain that, whoever it was, they were trying to kill me now.

Which maybe should make me more nervous than it did.

As I pondered our agreement, his odd comments, and even odder behavior, I wonderedwhyhe was so sure the two things must be connected. It didn’t matter in that moment, of course. Whatever his thinking, and whether he ended up being right or not, I was definitely closer to learning something about both things than I had been when I woke up.

He’d alsofinallyanswered the burning, frustratingly elusive question that had been driving me crazy for months.

Ididhave a primal.

I simply had a primal no one could see.

Well, no one apart from him.

He seemed to imply it would be better if no one else knew mine existed, either, at least if his offer to teach me to project “a primal for other people” was real. He obviously hid his black crystal and flame. He projected the familial primal, and everyone assumed his magic came from that. Was there some reason our type of primal wasn’t good for other Magicals to know about? Was it problematic in some way?

And really, what was it? What were we connecting to?

The dining hall, thankfully, hadn’t closed during our utility closet negotiations.

It wasn’t even particularly empty.

The space ended up being significantly larger than I expected, but not as austere or intimidating as Worm Hall. It felt airy and homey, even, with a high, domed ceiling made mostly of glass, a stone tower at one end, and eight, wooden, student-filled tables that each ran roughly twenty feet in length. Gothic arches broke up the ceiling where banners hung down, just below the framed glass panels that showed off blue sky and clouds. Vines covered with purple and gold flowers hung down the walls. A black-stone fireplace stood near the main doors, with marble griffins flanking the hearth.

I got there after my friends, but before they’d left for classes.

They all looked relieved to see me. Relieved enough, I felt a little guilty, wondering if they’d been waiting for me before they left.

“Oh, you look well!” Jolie exclaimed first, looking up from where she had a thick textbook open by her arm. “I guess that tonic from Dr. Gupta must have helped?”

“You looked like death warmed over last night,” Miranda agreed, relief also in her eyes.

Draken smacked her arm, and laughed.

“Don’t tell her that,” he mock-scolded. “Frozen faery tits, Mir. You’ve got the tact of a drunk minotaur?”

“It’s fine,” I laughed, waving them both off. “Since I can’t even remember how I got back to my dorm room last night, I’m sure she’s absolutely right about how I looked.”

“Drake carried you,” Luc said calmly. “You passed out.”