under control,” Humphrey said. “Sleep it off. We’ll talk in the morning—there’s plenty of time for everything.”
As it turned out, he was wrong—but Thea happily snuggled back down into her pillow until late the next morning, when she finally woke up feeling much more like herself—ready for yet another day that threatened to dissolve into crisis.
It was a Saturday, and Tess and Magpie both came to spring Thea from the infirmary, walking on either side of her like a pair of human book-ends. The three of them ran into Ben and Terry on the steps of the infirmary.
“They’re at our heels,” Ben said, “and I don’t know if I should tell you to stand your ground or turn around and flee back to bed, Thea.”
“It’s probably just as well you’re near the infirmary,” Terry said. “Back to bed might not be a bad idea.”
“Talk sense!” Tess said. “What are you going on about?”
“Her,” said Thea with an economical toss of her head in the direction of Luana Lilley, who was striding toward them with a sense of doom-filled purpose, closely followed by Mrs. Chenand a couple of other people who might have been the principal and Keir Adama.
“Where’s Humphrey?” Tess hissed. “He said he would be here to protect you….”
“He’s on his way,” Terry said. “I swear, I don’t ever want to get that guy angry at me. He sent us here, and he was mad .”
“At whom?” Thea said, just as Luana and Mrs. Chen both arrived at the foot of the steps, flushed and breathless.
“All right, you’re awake,” Luana snapped. “And I want some answers, now.”
“I don’t care who you are, I will not have you terrorizing a student in this manner,” Mrs. Chen snapped back. “The principal is on his way, and you can be sure that I will make a report directly to Washington if I have to….”
“You don’t. I’ve already done so,” said a familiar voice from behind Thea.
Humphrey May, who had just rounded the corner of the infirmary, was coldly and fiercely angry, his blue eyes chips of diamond-edged ice. “She knew better, as always,” Humphrey said, and his voice, too, was low and cold. “What were you hoping Thea could tell you, Luana? That she could lead you to Signe?”
“What happened to Signe?” Thea asked. She liked her Environmental Studies teacher, aside from being honestly intrigued by her exotic Faele origins.
“Thea Winthrop should come to Washington with us right now, Humphrey—you know that,” Luana said, lifting her chin defiantly. “You have to admit she’s been close to every one of these spellspams when they happened. She was in the library when the first one hit the school. She was there when the long-word spellspam became an aural spell and started spreading by the spoken word. She was close by when we were all hit by the language spell at the Nexus—”
“And she was still practically unconscious when you opened the one that sent Signe away,” Humphrey said. “You’re reaching, Luana.”
“Thea and Terry both,” Luana said obstinately, keeping the focus off Signe and what had happened to her. “We should take them both back with us. I think we all agree that they know more than they are saying. They can help us figure it all out.”
“They are kids , Luana,” Humphrey said. “Your entire case rests on two kids from the Last Ditch School for the Incurably Incompetent?”
They all winced at the deliberate use of those words. It was a name Thea herself had used once, but that seemed a very long time ago. Mrs. Chen looked honestly appalled that the phrase had been uttered out loud, right in the heart of the Academy, within hearing of its students.
But it had not been Humphrey who had used those words first. It was obvious that it had been Luana’s snide dismissal of the place, not his own.
“Well,” Humphrey said, ignoring everyone else’s reaction, “you’ve learned better, haven’t you? We will discuss later, in much more detail, whose
As it turned out, he was wrong—but Thea happily snuggled back down into her pillow until late the next morning, when she finally woke up feeling much more like herself—ready for yet another day that threatened to dissolve into crisis.
It was a Saturday, and Tess and Magpie both came to spring Thea from the infirmary, walking on either side of her like a pair of human book-ends. The three of them ran into Ben and Terry on the steps of the infirmary.
“They’re at our heels,” Ben said, “and I don’t know if I should tell you to stand your ground or turn around and flee back to bed, Thea.”
“It’s probably just as well you’re near the infirmary,” Terry said. “Back to bed might not be a bad idea.”
“Talk sense!” Tess said. “What are you going on about?”
“Her,” said Thea with an economical toss of her head in the direction of Luana Lilley, who was striding toward them with a sense of doom-filled purpose, closely followed by Mrs. Chenand a couple of other people who might have been the principal and Keir Adama.
“Where’s Humphrey?” Tess hissed. “He said he would be here to protect you….”
“He’s on his way,” Terry said. “I swear, I don’t ever want to get that guy angry at me. He sent us here, and he was mad .”
“At whom?” Thea said, just as Luana and Mrs. Chen both arrived at the foot of the steps, flushed and breathless.
“All right, you’re awake,” Luana snapped. “And I want some answers, now.”
“I don’t care who you are, I will not have you terrorizing a student in this manner,” Mrs. Chen snapped back. “The principal is on his way, and you can be sure that I will make a report directly to Washington if I have to….”
“You don’t. I’ve already done so,” said a familiar voice from behind Thea.
Humphrey May, who had just rounded the corner of the infirmary, was coldly and fiercely angry, his blue eyes chips of diamond-edged ice. “She knew better, as always,” Humphrey said, and his voice, too, was low and cold. “What were you hoping Thea could tell you, Luana? That she could lead you to Signe?”
“What happened to Signe?” Thea asked. She liked her Environmental Studies teacher, aside from being honestly intrigued by her exotic Faele origins.
“Thea Winthrop should come to Washington with us right now, Humphrey—you know that,” Luana said, lifting her chin defiantly. “You have to admit she’s been close to every one of these spellspams when they happened. She was in the library when the first one hit the school. She was there when the long-word spellspam became an aural spell and started spreading by the spoken word. She was close by when we were all hit by the language spell at the Nexus—”
“And she was still practically unconscious when you opened the one that sent Signe away,” Humphrey said. “You’re reaching, Luana.”
“Thea and Terry both,” Luana said obstinately, keeping the focus off Signe and what had happened to her. “We should take them both back with us. I think we all agree that they know more than they are saying. They can help us figure it all out.”
“They are kids , Luana,” Humphrey said. “Your entire case rests on two kids from the Last Ditch School for the Incurably Incompetent?”
They all winced at the deliberate use of those words. It was a name Thea herself had used once, but that seemed a very long time ago. Mrs. Chen looked honestly appalled that the phrase had been uttered out loud, right in the heart of the Academy, within hearing of its students.
But it had not been Humphrey who had used those words first. It was obvious that it had been Luana’s snide dismissal of the place, not his own.
“Well,” Humphrey said, ignoring everyone else’s reaction, “you’ve learned better, haven’t you? We will discuss later, in much more detail, whose
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