At least that makes one of us.
Finally, when I find Professor Jaxton to ask him about my next assignment, he gives me a tired smile and dismisses me. He takes my coveralls and my gas mask and hands me a sharp-smelling bar of soap.
“You’ll want to scrub yourself with this in the shower. It’s the only thing that gets rid of the smell.”
“Thanks,” I croak. My throat is raw, and my voice is hoarse from misuse and hours steeped in toxic air.
I don’t realize how late it is until I leave the menagerie. The lighting in the hallways has been dimmed so much that there’s barely any light at all. Darkness presses against the windows. The school is deserted, and my footsteps echo eerily in the silence. Numb and weary, I make my way back to the residence wing.
But one hallway is still well-lit. The hallways leading to the djinn’s phylactery still remains bright as ever. I’m surprised that no one stands guard outside. After the events of last year, I thought they’d double the eye kept on it.
I slip down the hall, stopping to gaze through the little window. The phylactery looks like a metal urn, with intricate carvings swirling all around it, meeting in the center to form a closed eye. From experience, I know that the eye opens when the djinn inside awakens, and the only one who can awaken it is me.
A shiver runs down my spine as I remember the encounter I had with the monster last year. It had whispered to me, almost convinced me to release it, before Headmaster Novac had snatched it from me, saving me from myself.
Djinns are ancient, powerful monsters. Powerful enough to kill equally dangerous monster hunters … like my parents.
I feel my fist clench around the bar of soap Jaxton gave me. Somehow, some way, I need to kill this djinn. Avenging my parents is the biggest reason I came to Saint M in the first place, and killing this damn monster is a huge part of that. Of course, there’s also Mason Dagher to sort out, but he’s only human.
I’ve already partly ruined him. He used to be on the board of trustees for the school, but I heard they removed him after his lie was discovered. Seeing him in person has proved to me that he’s been having a rough few months. I feel a kind of savage satisfaction as I think of his thinning face and patchy stubble.
Good. Suffer for your lies.
With one last look at the phylactery, I turn and continue my path toward the residence wing.
I’m surprised when I arrive to run into Professor Helsing. It’s unusual for him to be at the school so late when he has a cabin in the woods outside the nearby village. I spot him pacing by a window, right outside the entrance to the dormitories, a stormy look on his face.
“Helsing?” I say as I approach. “What are you doing here?”
He stops in his pacing, startled, and his expression dissolves into one of confusion for just a moment. Then, just as quickly, he’s back to his gruff self.
“Thought I should keep a closer eye on things,” he grunts. “Y’know—after last year.”
“Oh. Right.” My voice is still croaky. I reach up self-consciously to rub my throat.
“Heard what happened,” Helsing says, noticing the movement. “With you and Dagher. You must be coming back from detention.”
I sigh. “Yeah. Mucking out the menagerie stalls.” I shrug. “You gonna yell at me?”
“No,” he growls. “That Piers boy got what he deserved.” He walks over to me and cl
aps a hand onto my shoulder. “You did good, Black. Show them who they messed with.” His voice is low, lethal-sounding. I can practically hear the monster hunter in him. I’m not used to Helsing sounding this aggressive … but I play Piers’ words back in my head, and my resolve strengthens.
“I will,” I say calmly.
He grins, and for a moment he’s terrifying. “You show ’em,” he whispers coldly. He squeezes my shoulder a little too hard. When he releases me, he melts back into the professor I remember. “Get on to bed, now. I’ll keep you safe.”
“Thank you.” I mean it. It seems like he’s the only one who understands.
He too knows the pain of betrayal. He knows loss.
Helsing nods and I head off down the hallway to find my dorm. Since I’m in my second year, I’ve been assigned a slightly bigger one. I still have to use the communal bathrooms—everyone does, even seniors—but Erin and I have much more space than before.
My head is filled with the idea of showering when I open the door, so I’m startled when I find Erin awake, sitting on her bed, with Cleaver in her lap. Next to her sits Luiza de la Cruz in her pajamas.
I freeze in the doorway and they stare silently back at me. Cleaver leaps off Erin’s lap and rushes over to me, tail wagging violently. I shut the door behind me and lean down to pet him.
“Hey, Avery,” Erin says uncertainly. “I think we should talk.”