Page 23

CHAPTER 23

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” I exclaimed suddenly, following Niamh’s train of thought. “What was Edgar in jail for?”

“Identity theft, among others.” She grinned. “And petty larceny.”

“It was him ?” Aiden gasped. “I thought we were watching him!”

“He’s a slippery fellow. You thought you were dealing with an infant professor, not a shapeshifter thief.” Niamh shrugged. “At least you got everything back.”

“Hang on,” I said with a frown. “We didn’t. Everything was accounted for except my grimoire and ring.” A thought hit me. “Oh no. Oh nononono. This is bad.”

“I thought your grandfather said nobody but your bloodline could use it,” Aiden said.

“Edgar could shift like you,” I said, whirling on him. “What could prevent him from shifting to be like me ?”

“Once he’s cuffed, he won’t be able to shift completely,” Niamh reassured me.

“What if he already accessed the grimoire as me, and then shifted into himself?” I asked. “That might be enough to circumvent the magical process.”

Niamh grimaced. “It depends on the level of power the grimoire has. We’d better deal with this.”

“I’m coming, too,” Professor Reynolds said firmly. “Not only are these students under my protection, but I’m not ready to leave you just yet.”

“Me?” Niamh said, eyes wide.

“I know things will be difficult with our jobs, but I can’t keep on living without you in my life.”

I put my hands over my mouth.

“What are you saying, Finn?” Niamh asked.

“Will you marry me?”

She gaped at him.

“I know it’s been a few years since we last dated—” he began, but was cut off by her mouth crashing into his.

I exchanged amused glances with Aiden.

“Is that a yes?” the professor asked.

“It is a yes,” Niamh said.

“Congratulations, Professor,” Aiden said, drawing the happy couple’s attention back to us.

Niamh cleared her throat and straightened her uniform. “Right. We need to get back, and we need to be faster than the prisoner.”

“And they have quite the head start,” Aiden pointed out.

“Good thing we have a portal,” Professor Reynolds said cheerfully.

“We do?” I asked. “Why wouldn’t they use it then?”

“It’s for students and teachers only.” He nodded at Niamh. “Exceptions can be made, of course.”

He led us down to the basement corridors. I wondered if all the carvings and tapestries were portals. We’d used so many in the past few weeks to get to the Magical Olympics events.

“Here we are,” he said, stopping in front of a boxy carving in the wall. “No trouble at all.” He activated it, and we walked through into the exterior guardhouse.

“I’m glad this isn’t actually inside the jail,” Niamh said, relieved. “Otherwise, I’d have to cut it off.”

Professor Reynolds rolled his eyes. “It’s ease of use, not ease of escape.”

She waved a hand at him before turning to the guards. “Has the prisoner returned yet?”

They consulted a logbook. “No, ma’am.”

“Excellent. We can prepare.”

“And release Grain?” I asked.

“We have to prove his innocence first,” Niamh said regretfully.

“Finding my belongings on Edgar should be sufficient proof, right?”

“Correct.”

We were led into a small room with a window into an interrogation room.

“Wait here,” Niamh said. “We’re going to bring him in there to debrief. If he has your grimoire, he’ll try to use it right away. It’s much easier to leave from this room than it is once he’s locked up.”

She left us, closing the door behind her, and all we could do was wait.

“How much longer, you think?” Aiden asked, bouncing his knee impatiently.

“Soon,” the professor replied.

It wasn’t long before the door inside the interrogation room opened, letting Edgar and his guards into the room. They uncuffed him from the travel cuffs before leaving him alone in the room.

Niamh entered before he could do anything. “Welcome back, Edgar,” she said, throwing a file onto the table and sitting opposite him, her back to us. “I trust you had a nice vacation?”

He sneered at her, but didn’t reply.

“I hope you enjoyed your little escapade, because you’ve just gained an extra fifteen years on your sentence, no chance of parole.”

“What?” he exclaimed. “I didn’t even try to escape! I was taken out of jail against my will!”

“Be that as it may, you didn’t exactly try to return.”

“They thought I was their professor. I was treated well. Fed three times a day. I could use my magic?—”

“Which you used to steal other’s belongings,” Niamh interrupted sternly.

“You have no proof,” he spat in reply. “That stupid giant, Grain, was put away for that.”

“Hmmm,” she said non-committedly. “He won’t be here much longer.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Why not?”

“New evidence has come to light,” she said breezily. “Pinning the thefts to you.”

“Impossible,” he snarled.

“Suit yourself.” She got to her feet. “Make yourself comfortable.” Niamh left the room, closing the door behind her. She left the file on the table.

Edgar watched the door for a long moment, long enough that Niamh was able to join us in the observation room.

“Doesn’t he know he’s being watched?” I asked.

“The wall looks like all the rest,” Niamh said. “Come on, thief. You’re about to be put away for longer than you were originally incarcerated. Look at the file.”

As if he heard her, he reached out for the file, flipping it around so he could read the contents. Whatever was in it made his eyes open wide, and his face pale.

He returned the file to its original place and chewed his lip in thought.

“Come on, you slimy little villain,” Niamh muttered. “Tip your hand.”

His gaze darted to the door again, and he began digging in his pocket with one hand.

He pulled out a dust bunny and put it on the table, poking through it for a moment. Then he muttered something and my grimoire and ring became full sized.

“ That’s where he was hiding them?” I gasped.

Niamh shook her head. “He’s a clever one, I’ll give him that.”

Edgar closed his eyes in concentration, and suddenly, there was a copy of myself sitting at the table.

I squirmed uncomfortably. “Is that enough? Can we get my things now?”

“No, we’re going to wait until he actually escapes. I want to know how he does it so I can plug the hole.”

“Okay. You’re sure you’ll be able to nab him? I really don’t want him walking around with my face on.”

“Don’t worry.” Niamh patted my shoulder. “Everyone’s on high alert.”

I blew out a long breath.

Edgar slipped the ring onto his finger and opened the book. He chortled with glee when its pages filled with my family’s magic spells.

It was creepy to see a smile that wasn’t mine on my face. I really didn’t like it. I also felt super violated, having him paw through my grimoire.

He turned a few pages before he got frustrated and closed the book, letting it fall open to a random page.

I knew he must have asked it for a key spell or something, because that was what it revealed; the skeleton key page.

I had never used it, but I had seen it in passing.

He plucked the skeleton key from the page, closed the book, and strode to the door.

“All units, out of the hallway. He’s heading out,” Niamh said into her microphone. To us, she added, “We’re going to let him leave the building before we pick him up. Then we can put him away for longer because he made an escape attempt.”

Edgar used the key in the lock, and the door swung open.

Niamh tapped the hallway wall and it turned transparent to our eyes.

He held onto the grimoire and strode confidently down the hallway.

“That’s my walk?” I asked Aiden.

He winced. “Yes.”

“My hips don’t sway that much, do they?”

“He’s not exaggerating.” Aiden squeezed my hand. “I like the way you walk.”

“Once the redhead leaves the building, pick her up and return her to the holding cell, please,” Niamh said into her mic.

Edgar disappeared down the hall, out of our sight.

“How long do you think it’ll take?” I asked.

“Not long.” Niamh put her hand to her ear, listening to the radio chatter from the other guards. “They got him.”

Soon enough, shouts and screams were heard preceding Edgar’s reappearance. He was still wearing my body, and was putting up quite the fuss about being detained.

“What are you doing? You can’t do this to me! I’m innocent!” he kept saying, before he finally burst into tears.

I crossed my arms. “Rude.”

The guards put Edgar in the same holding cell, placed my grimoire and ring on the table in front of him, and stood guard on either side of him.

“That’s my cue!” Niamh said cheerfully. “This will be my treat for the day.”

“Not getting engaged?” Professor Reynolds teased.

She pretended to consider it for a moment. “That was my meal. This is my dessert.”

Professor Reynolds laughed. “You go get your man.”

She kissed him lightly. “I already have him,” she whispered.

I glanced shyly up at Aiden. He grinned down at me and lightly traced the back of my hand with his thumb.

Niamh left the room and headed straight into the containment cell. “Hello, Edgar,” she said.

“My name is Siobhan,” Edgar said, tossing his hair over his shoulder, and thrusting his chest forward. “I’m concerned about your eyesight if you can’t see that fact.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Do I talk like that?”

“No,” Aiden said adamantly.

“If you’re the real Siobhan, how did you get here?” Niamh said, almost bored. “I look forward to this tale of woe.”

“I... I... When I sat in Edgar’s lap, he switched places with me! He cast a spell on me to look like him, and then he took on my appearance! It wore off while I was in here.”

Niamh nodded. “Almost plausible,” she said. “Good job thinking on your feet. Where did you get these?” she pointed at my belongings.

Edgar had the gall to look ashamed. “I only reported them stolen because I wanted the attention. I hid them in my pocket.”

“That’s a lie!” I gasped.

“Of course it is,” the professor said absentmindedly, patting my shoulder.

“That’s how I know how to use the book,” Edgar continued. “Grimoire, I mean.”

“Go on then,” Niamh said. “Show me.”

As if expecting a trick, Edgar cautiously reached out and picked up the ring.

“He doesn’t know that the ring isn’t needed,” I pointed out.

He then opened the book to the first page. “See? It shows the spell I want.”

“Very good,” Niamh said. “Show me a spell for speaking the truth.”

“I... I’m not sure there is one,” Edgar hedged.

I shrugged when Aiden looked at me for confirmation. “It hasn’t come up before. I’m not sure either.”

“Try,” Niamh insisted. “Speak out loud when you ask the book.”

Edgar swallowed. “Okay,” he said hesitantly. “Show me a truth spell,” he said, closing and letting the grimoire fall open.

The grimoire fell open to the middle. I couldn’t quite make it out.

“I guess there isn’t one,” Edgar said, relief coloring his tone.

“That’s fine,” Niamh said consolingly. “Because I have one right here. If you’re Siobhan, you’d want to prove it to me, wouldn’t you?”

Edgar hesitated. “Yessss,” he said hesitantly.

“You don’t sound so certain. How come? Don’t you need to get back to Aiden so that he doesn’t die from being apart from you?”

Edgar’s eyes widened. “What?” he whispered.

“You know that you are mated to Aiden, don’t you?” Niamh continued. “If you’re away from him, he starts to die. You don’t want that to happen. The sooner you return to the academy, the better. He’s already struggling to breathe without you there.”

Edgar dropped the pretense of being me and became himself. “That’s impossible! What’s wrong with him? It’s not because of me! Siobhan should be with him!”

“That’s interesting,” Niamh said, resting her palm on her hand. “You care about what happens to Aiden?”

“He took good care of me,” Edgar said, pouting at the table. “They both did. I wouldn’t want him to die.”

“Ring, please.” Niamh held out her hand for it. “What exactly was your plan?”

Edgar shrugged. “Sneak the book in, use the magic within it to get out, and then hide away from the world in a little cottage somewhere.”

Niamh rolled her eyes. “Well, you can hide away from the world in a jail cell.” She picked up the grimoire. “You know this wouldn’t have worked for you once you were in your cell, right? We have power dampening spells all over the jail.”

“That’s why I used it here,” he said.

“And if I hadn’t left you alone?”

He shrugged. “I would’ve figured something out.”

She sighed and looked up at the guards. “Take him away. I need to return these to their owner.”

The guards were mostly out the door before she stopped them.

“Get Grain, please. He needs to be released from our custody, and since one of the teachers of the academy is here, it’ll be easier on everyone.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the guard said, saluting her.

Niamh rubbed the bridge of her nose before returning to the observation room.

I gratefully took my belongings back. “All my thesis notes are in here, not to mention every spell my family has ever built.”

Niamh smiled. “I’m glad you are reunited with your property.” To the professor, she said, “Will you take formal custody of Grain, to return him to the academy to complete his probation?”

Professor Reynolds frowned. “I thought only the headmistress had control of custody?”

Niamh wavered her hand in the air. “There are loopholes. In this case, you’re in control only until you return to the academy, where it will shift back to her.”

“In that case, I formally accept custody of Grain to transport him back to the academy.”

“Thank you,” Niamh said. “I wasn’t looking forward to going back to Northumberland Island twice in one day, and it’s unfair to ask Grain to stay in his cell for even one more minute now that his innocence is proven.”

“Thank you ,” I said fervently. “I’m glad he can come home.”

“We try not to punish the innocent,” Niamh said, a quirk to her lips.