Page 44 of Shattered Veil (The Dark Ascendant #2)

Callen

I slide through the halls of Grimstone Academy, my footsteps light as a whisper on the flagstones. The tang of the smoke from extinguished candles mingles with the oil paint smell from the portraits on the wall.

Fiona ’ s office is ahead, the heavy oak door slightly ajar. What I can only assume is her ridiculous lava lamp casts a pink and orange glow within. I pause, straining my fae senses for any sign of movement or presence, and hear the low murmur of voices.

I summon my glamour, cloaking myself in a veil of invisibility as I slide into a dark alcove across from the office, and focus all my attention on the conversation within.

This close, I can make out Fiona ’ s distinctive rasp, laced with an urgency I ’ ve never heard from the overly casual dean before. She ’ s talking to someone, their voice too low for me to catch the words. I lean forward, straining to hear, my breath caught in my throat.

Fragments drift out to me. “ ... accelerate the timeline...” “... move tonight...” “... other players on the board...”

Fuck. This is bad. Really bad.

I have to warn the others. We need a plan, and fast. Because if the Council gets their hands on Brigid... I don ’ t even want to think about what that could mean. For her, for all of us.

I retreat from my hiding spot, and as I hurry back to the suite, disappearing back into the shadows of the hallway, one thought crystallizes with extreme clarity: we ’ re out of time.

I burst into our suite. Lochan, Tiernan and Rory are sprawled on the couch and chairs, but they leap up as soon as they see my face.

“ We ’ ve got a problem,” I announce without preamble. “ A big fucking problem.”

“ What is it?” Tiernan asks, his brows knitting together. “ What did you find out?”

I rake a hand through my hair “ The Council is moving up their timeline. For Brigid. They ’ re planning to take her. Soon, maybe even tonight.”

“ What?” Rory growls, his eyes flashing. “ How do you know?”

“ I overheard Fiona talking to someone,” I explain quickly. “ She said they need to ‘ accelerate the timeline ’ and that there are ‘ other players on the board. ’ We ’ re fucked if we don ’ t act now.”

Lochan curses under his breath, his fists clenching at his sides. “ We can ’ t let them get to her. We have to do something.”

“ No shit,” I snap, my nerves frayed to the breaking point. “ But what? How do we stand against the fucking Council?”

“ We did it before,” Rory says.

“ And look how that turned out, big guy.” Lochan shakes his head. “ They won ’ t let themselves be caught off guard again.”

“ We ’ ll figure it out,” Tiernan says firmly, ever the calm voice of reason. “ We have to. For Brigid.” He goes to answer the door. “ Speaking of—”

Brigid and Eira stand outside, and I ’ m sure she takes one look at our faces and knows something is wrong.

“ What ’ s going on,” she asks, shutting the door behind them.

I fill them in.

To her credit, Brigid doesn ’ t even flinch. This fucking girl. I look at her, unable to hide my admiration. She ’ s come a long way from the scared little wallflower we came across in the woods that day.

I pause, trying to organize the chaos in my head. “ We need to get out of here. Now. Before they can make their move. They don ’ t know we ’ re on to them yet.”

Brigid ’ s eyes meet mine. “ But where would we go? Could we go back to Newton? Where I ’ m from,” she explains to Eira.

“ You ’ re no safer there than here,” Lochan says. Brigid nods but says nothing. I briefly wonder if they hashed anything out. Lochan didn ’ t say a word when he got back.

“ I might have a solution.” I hesitate, not wanting to out the professor, but we don ’ t have time to worry about ethics. “ Professor Azareon set up a meeting for me with some shadow rebels. He knows people who might be able to help us, give us refuge for a night or two.”

The moment the words leave my mouth, I notice Brigid ’ s face go pale.

“ Shadow rebels?” Eira asks. “ How do we know we can trust them?”

“ We don ’ t,” I admit. “ But right now, they ’ re our best shot at staying ahead of the Council.”

Rory nods, his massive frame tense with anticipation. “ It ’ s risky, but staying here is suicide.”

“ Agreed,” Tiernan says.

Eira clears her throat, her large eyes darting nervously between us. “ There ’ s something you all need to know.” She hesitates, wringing her hands. “ I ’ ve been doing some research on that ritual chamber you told me about. The one with the, uh, murals.”

Brigid ’ s eyes widen. “ What did you learn, Eira?”

Eira draws a deep breath. “ It ’ s not just a chamber. It ’ s the chamber. The focal point of the Morrigan ’ s power on this plane. Those murals? They ’ re not just art. They ’ re a key.”

“ A key to what?” I ask, leaning forward.

“ To unlocking the full potential of the ritual,” Eira explains, her voice hushed. “ The Council needs that specific chamber for their plans to work. The erotic energy depicted in those murals? It ’ s not just for show. It ’ s a crucial component of the magic.”

Lochan swears quietly. “ So that ’ s why they ’ ve been so focused on Grimstone Academy. It ’ s not just about Brigid. It ’ s about the location.”

Eira nods.

Brigid ’ s blushes, but her eyes are hard. “ So what, they need to recreate the scenes?”

“ Not exactly,” Eira says. “ According to the lore, the chamber was built on a ley line crossing, making it an extremely potent source of magic. It was used by a cult that once worshipped the Morrigan. They believed that performing certain... rituals... within those walls could unlock a major level of power, one that even the Council couldn ’ t control.” Eira ’ s cheeks flushed as she explained.

“ But we ’ re pretty sure the Council has no idea where the chamber is.” Lochan starts pacing. “ If they did, Brigid wouldn ’ t still be here.”

“ Maybe that ’ s why they haven ’ t tried anything yet. Maybe they ’ re still looking for it.”

“ We need to get Brigid out of here. Now,” Lochan growls.

The room erupts into a flurry of activity. Lochan starts grabbing weapons, while Rory begins stuffing supplies into a bag. Eira ’ s muttering something under her breath? Odd girl.

I turn to Brigid, who ’ s still standing frozen. “ Hey,” I say softly, touching her arm. “ You okay?”

She blinks, coming back to herself. “ Yeah, I ’ m fine. I ’ ll go tell Marius what ’ s happening. I ’ ll meet you near Tiernan ’ s grove, okay? Twenty minutes.”

Before I can respond, she ’ s out the door. I fight the urge to follow her. But there ’ s no time.

“ Everyone, listen up,” I call out. “ We meet at the edge of the forest. Grab only what you absolutely need. If anyone ’ s not there, we leave without them. Understood?”

Eira stands in the middle of our flurry of activity, looking bewildered and out of place. I see Tiernan take her arm and escort her to the door. “ You should go back to your room, Eira. Pretend you were never here, okay?” She nods once and leaves, her feet barely touching the ground as she flits away fast.