Page 14

I barely managed to squeeze an excuse past my tightening throat before pushing past a confused-looking Fable and stumbling out of the library. The walls of the vast hallway seemed like they were closing in, and I knew there was no stopping the oncoming train.

“Excuse you!” a tight voice barked as I shoved the bathroom door open and nearly clotheslined the girl coming out.

You’re okay. Deep breaths through your nose, out through your mouth.

But I wasn’t okay. Less than five minutes ago, I’d been like millions of other people with an absentee father, a deadbeat, a guy I’d met once. The only name I’d known him by was Nic. A father I’d never thought to meet again.

Now, I was the daughter of the most hated, most dangerous wizard in the Dwimmer world.

I managed to make it into one of the stalls before all hell broke loose.

I latched the door behind me and dropped to my knees to press my head against the cool stone wall. My breaths came in short, frantic gasps, each one a desperate struggle for air. I could feel my heart pounding, an erratic drumbeat with an echo that seemed to reverberate through my entire body.

The metallic tang of fear coated my tongue, a bitter reminder of my helplessness.

For all my rush to get here, now it was like the walls were closing in on me, suffocating me.

My mind raced with a thousand fragmented thoughts, each one more terrifying than the last. The world outside the stall ceased to exist. It was just me, my terror, and the cold, unyielding floor.

Tears streamed down my face, and I let them, consumed by a force I couldn’t see or touch but could feel in every fiber of my being.

I lost all sense of time, but my knees were aching by the time the sound of running water from outside the stall penetrated my panic.

Even then, it seemed like a movie playing in the background, disconnected from my reality.

Toilet.

Lock.

Tiles.

Spider.

It felt like an eternity, but eventually, the panic began to ebb, like a storm running out of steam. The band around my chest loosened, and the pounding in my chest slowed.

Voices in the room kept me from spiralling.

“We just have to be nice to her.”

“Why again?”

“Because she’s new and ... Tarquinius asked us to. You know that’s worth it.”

A heavy sigh. “She can’t do anything though! The others will laugh at us if we stay friends with a girl who can’t even cast a basic rune, Phoebe.”

Sheet, they were talking about Opie.

With trembling hands, I reached for the latch and unlocked the stall door. As I stepped out, the cool air of the bathroom greeted me, a small but welcome relief, but the two girls were already gone. I couldn’t deal with that right now, not when I could barely hold my own sanity together.

I straightened, shoulders and neck stiff from clenching. Then I sucked in a shuddering breath and blew it out slowly. The panic could come back tenfold if I wasn’t careful. Right now, more than anything, what I needed was some space and fresh air.

I leaned against the sink. My face was wrecked, my lavender eyes red and swollen, my hair slicked with sweat.

I splashed cold water on my cheeks and threw my pale blonde locks into a quick topknot.

Then I made a beeline for the door and exited, keeping my face turned down and eyes glued to the floor.

I put one foot in front of the other and didn’t stop moving until I busted out the front doors of the school.

The countless thoughts that had been so wild and scattered only moments before had been reduced to one.

Nocta was my father.

Blood pounded in my ears, and I knew I had to move, or it was another headlong dive into the maelstrom.

I strode toward the main gates that I’d passed through that morning. Strange, how in such a short time everything had changed.

My legs churned and I broke into a run, as if I could outpace the thoughts chasing me.

The gates peeled back, allowing me to exit as I bolted through, sprinting now. I pushed myself as hard as I could, arms and legs pumping.

I took the trail that led around the back of the Nevershoppes. The trees on either side of it blocked out the sun, but I didn’t care that the darkness etched the world around me in shadows. I ran all the way down to the water’s edge, then ran along the bank until my body and mind began to calm.

I finally caught myself on the flat top of a large rock and stared out across the river.

Charon was there in the middle, his boat rocking lightly in the waves.

His head turned my way, and I looked down at my toes, just there where the water met the land.

I took a step back, putting distance between me and certain death as I lifted a hand to him.

“Sorry, didn’t realize how close I was.”

He turned wordlessly away.

My belly snarled and I swiped a hand across my face, taking the worst of the sweat off.

Now that some of the initial shock and panic had faded, I had only one destination in mind.

The Black Bear pub, at the far end of the street of Nevershoppes.

Not open to minors, I’d never officially been inside, but I’d stolen enough from the back door of the kitchen that I knew how good the food was.

Greasy and not at all at the high level of Neverthorn’s chef-quality dishes.

It was exactly what I needed right now . .. along with a pint of beer.

I made my way back to the trailhead and ducked through the bushes to the back of the pub. The door was cracked open to let the heat out, and by the sounds of things, the lunch rush was in full swing.

Slipping up to the door, I spun a quick rune with my hand and held the spell lightly on the tip of my index finger. I flicked my finger and magic shot off, straight through the kitchen, hitting the tray of drinks that a waitress had balanced above her head.

The tray flipped and the beer crashed down around her as she let out a blood-curdling scream as if she’d been stabbed and not just soaked with drink.

Every one of the kitchen staff ran out to see what the yowling was about, and I let myself in, grabbing the closest takeout bag, and a pint of something the color of amber that sat beside it, foam spilling over the top.

Working my way around the side of the pub, I found an overturned log and rolled it with another flick of my fingers to settle it against the wall. I took a seat and opened the takeout bag.

Score.

A double order of fish and chips, extra tartar sauce and ... I took a sip from the glass. Beergarita. Perfect. The sip turned into me downing half the glass, the buzz hitting me quickly. Double score for Dwimmer alcohol, it had a bigger punch than the stuff from the Unlit world.

I set the ice-cold drink down beside me and started in on the fish – perfectly flaky halibut, with actual dill in the batter. I almost didn’t need the creamy tartar sauce.

Almost.

I let myself focus on the flavors of the meal, ignoring the whole reason I was out here eating my feelings and drinking like it was the last sip I’d ever have.

Ignoring the fact that I’d just found –

Nope.

Still eating. Still not going there.

“Nice move with that bag.” A figure stumbled toward me from around the corner.

The other shops were closed for lunch hour so I’d hoped I wouldn’t be disturbed, and I let out a sigh.

“Thanks.”

“Ima use that trick next time I don’t have money for –” The man bumped into the wall, slid down into a slump, and promptly began to snore.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one starting on the drink early today. I looked back to my food.

Eat it while it’s hot, Harlow.

A rustle in the bushes a few yards away had me stopping short again, a bite of fish halfway to my mouth.

A flash of movement, and then a small, waddling animal popped out.

White body, black mask, and black rings around his tail, he wasn’t a traditional-looking raccoon.

But then, this was the Dwimmer world. Anything was possible.

The bushy little beggar squinted up at me, making a grabby motion with his tiny claws.

“No way man.” I stuffed the bite into my mouth and chewed. “Go find your own meal, trash bandit. You have no idea what kind of a day I’m having.” Nope, not thinking about what I’d found on the computer. I shook my hand at him. “I was forced to come back here. Frucking gagged!”

It was like ... like they were trying to make me not me. To steal every part of me away from my identity to my actual voice. Emotions bubbled through me and my fingers tingled.

He waddled a little closer and made the grabby hands again, this time doing a soft chitter that was too damn cute to ignore. I sighed. I was a sucker for a sob story.

“Fine. Here.” I tossed him some of the fries.

He promptly scurried closer and grabbed them up, eating them one at a time, the bliss on his face obvious as he chewed, open mouthed.

“They’re good, I know.” I bobbed my head, reached in and found one of the extra tartar cups. I cracked it open and slid it across the ground to him. “Dip them.”

He grabbed the cup and did just that, dipping his fries and then nibbling. A soft purr slid out of him, not all that different from a cat.

Talking to him was easy, and I finally let the words out, in a small whisper.

“How could I have known that he was my father? I couldn’t have. No one here has even seen his face in ... the news lady from the library clip said fifty years or something. He’s been hiding from everyone.” I leaned back against the wall of the pub and dug in my bag for the second piece of fish.

My new friend continued chittering away as he ate, and I slid into memories that I’d tucked away, deep in my mind.

I couldn’t even say how old I was that one time I’d met him. Seven maybe?

“ Belina. ”