a tablet and scrolled through the pages on the screen. “She’s not in school.” She looked past us down the hall.
“We need to get some people and find her,” Jackie said.
“Don’t be a fool,” Wendy said in a clear voice. “We need to tell President Foster.” She marched out of the room, bumping into me and not slowing.
We rushed after her, but she didn’t offer any more explanations. After jogging across the empty commons, we filed into an elevator under the president’s egg-shaped home that jutted out of the side of the wall.
The elevator sped upward and then stopped. We exited on a large landing with a single white door carved into a curved wall.
Wendy darted to the door and touched the digital panel next to it. A siren sounded, like a smoked detector going off. The door was flung open to reveal a confused-looking President Foster. He was wearing a similar white uniform, with brown slippers poking out from the bottom of his pants.
“Wendy, what’s going on?” Foster said, looking over each of us. “Who are these students with you?”
“No time for that, Nick. A wolf took one of our sheep.”
His face paled. “Please, come in.” He motioned. “How did this happen? Did they get through the tunnel again?”
“No. These kids here went for a midnight stroll into the city.” She looked back at us. “Go on and tell him about it.”
Foster’s stern gaze passed over us and no one talked. The words choked in my throat. I couldn’t tell the man how badly we’d messed up.
Kylie broke first, going into detail about our journey and ending with Iggy’s kidnapping. She left out the part about people being after me. Maybe she’d forgotten, or maybe she was trying to protect me. Either way, at this point it didn’t matter. A life was at stake.
“There’s something else I have to tell you, President Foster. The reason we came here,” I jumped in. Once he’d nodded, I continued to tell him about the Dark Academy, Verity, Red versus Blue, all of it. It spilled from me as an uncontrollable river of information. No one dared interrupt the flow, and when I finished, I felt breathless.
I dared a few glances at them and each had a shocked look mixed with some skepticism. I didn’t know if I would believe it myself, if I were them. Hearing it spoken out loud, it seemed ridiculous, but if the information could help get Iggy back, I had to share it. I would just have to ignore the stank-eye Jackie was throwing my way.
Foster rubbed the stubble on his chin. “If they have her, there’s little we can do about it here, but I’ll alert the proper people to take care of this.”
“The Intrepid?” I asked.
“No, I’m not in direct contact with them. Besides, we have a more civil group of people to handle these matters. They’ll contact Quinn within the hour. If she was taken by Axiom’s men, he’ll be able to help.”
Shot down, I slumped back. Two of the names he had mentioned stirred up new questions. “Who is Axiom?”
Foster winced at the question and preceded with caution. “You already know his sister, Verity. He watches over much of L.A. While he’s not the best of character, he has helped us from time to time.”
Not only did I know his sister, I was dead sure he’d been the man chasing us through the construction yard. He was a male version of Verity.
“Or this could escalate things, Nick. We’re at the edge right now,” Wendy said.
Nick took a deep breath and looked around his foyer. A pair of white chairs flanked a large picture of a simple house in need of repairs. I couldn’t see much farther into the house, but the white-on-white motif seemed to be carried throughout.
“We will be judicious in this matter,” Nick said with authority.
“And you think this Quinn guy is going to help out?” I asked.
“If anyone on their side can help, it’s him.”
“Who’s Quinn?” Jackie asked.
“He rules over the alchemists of L.A., including Verity and Axiom. You’ve
“We need to get some people and find her,” Jackie said.
“Don’t be a fool,” Wendy said in a clear voice. “We need to tell President Foster.” She marched out of the room, bumping into me and not slowing.
We rushed after her, but she didn’t offer any more explanations. After jogging across the empty commons, we filed into an elevator under the president’s egg-shaped home that jutted out of the side of the wall.
The elevator sped upward and then stopped. We exited on a large landing with a single white door carved into a curved wall.
Wendy darted to the door and touched the digital panel next to it. A siren sounded, like a smoked detector going off. The door was flung open to reveal a confused-looking President Foster. He was wearing a similar white uniform, with brown slippers poking out from the bottom of his pants.
“Wendy, what’s going on?” Foster said, looking over each of us. “Who are these students with you?”
“No time for that, Nick. A wolf took one of our sheep.”
His face paled. “Please, come in.” He motioned. “How did this happen? Did they get through the tunnel again?”
“No. These kids here went for a midnight stroll into the city.” She looked back at us. “Go on and tell him about it.”
Foster’s stern gaze passed over us and no one talked. The words choked in my throat. I couldn’t tell the man how badly we’d messed up.
Kylie broke first, going into detail about our journey and ending with Iggy’s kidnapping. She left out the part about people being after me. Maybe she’d forgotten, or maybe she was trying to protect me. Either way, at this point it didn’t matter. A life was at stake.
“There’s something else I have to tell you, President Foster. The reason we came here,” I jumped in. Once he’d nodded, I continued to tell him about the Dark Academy, Verity, Red versus Blue, all of it. It spilled from me as an uncontrollable river of information. No one dared interrupt the flow, and when I finished, I felt breathless.
I dared a few glances at them and each had a shocked look mixed with some skepticism. I didn’t know if I would believe it myself, if I were them. Hearing it spoken out loud, it seemed ridiculous, but if the information could help get Iggy back, I had to share it. I would just have to ignore the stank-eye Jackie was throwing my way.
Foster rubbed the stubble on his chin. “If they have her, there’s little we can do about it here, but I’ll alert the proper people to take care of this.”
“The Intrepid?” I asked.
“No, I’m not in direct contact with them. Besides, we have a more civil group of people to handle these matters. They’ll contact Quinn within the hour. If she was taken by Axiom’s men, he’ll be able to help.”
Shot down, I slumped back. Two of the names he had mentioned stirred up new questions. “Who is Axiom?”
Foster winced at the question and preceded with caution. “You already know his sister, Verity. He watches over much of L.A. While he’s not the best of character, he has helped us from time to time.”
Not only did I know his sister, I was dead sure he’d been the man chasing us through the construction yard. He was a male version of Verity.
“Or this could escalate things, Nick. We’re at the edge right now,” Wendy said.
Nick took a deep breath and looked around his foyer. A pair of white chairs flanked a large picture of a simple house in need of repairs. I couldn’t see much farther into the house, but the white-on-white motif seemed to be carried throughout.
“We will be judicious in this matter,” Nick said with authority.
“And you think this Quinn guy is going to help out?” I asked.
“If anyone on their side can help, it’s him.”
“Who’s Quinn?” Jackie asked.
“He rules over the alchemists of L.A., including Verity and Axiom. You’ve
Similar Books
