Page 97 of Group Studies

Ashe thrust his elbow into Nitis’ ribs. Beryl’s friend grunted but didn’t go down. Before Ashe could do more, his eyes rolled up in his head. Nitis helped him fall to the floor without injury.

Beryl released his grip on me. I sprinted to Ashe’s side and knelt. A slightly blackened powder discolored Ashe’s face, but his chest rose and fell evenly. When no one moved to hurt him further, my heart rate slowed.

“Sleeping like a baby,” Nitis said. “Those who can’t see can’t tattle.” The lanky Native American turned to Mercedes, another dose of black powder in his hand. “Sleep or no?”

Mercedes swallowed and glared daggers at me. “I can’t frick’n hide from you and the MA, so I guess I’m spending some time in Saff’s Golem.”

I turned away from my fuming ex-roommate to hide my smile. Maybe a little revenge was okay.

I focused on Ashe again. The Gentle Giant’s pulse beat steadily under my fingers. I kissed him on the cheek before standing. “What’s the plan?”

* * *

Beryl and I stood at the top of the stairwell overlooking the large foyer of the Institute. Although the lights were dim, at least fifty mage balls hovered at various heights, lighting up the space. Students milled about below us.

I once again looked at Beryl’s viral Mêler post.

Going out of business sale. Up your butts, with your stuff, don’t be late. An image of a clown pooping ice cream accompanied it. Because, of course, it did.

“You’re just walking it in through the front doors?” I tried to ask, though the word doors might have had a few extra ‘o’ in it as it went up in pitch.

I wiggled my hips and hugged my needy over-sensitized body, gasping as I accidentally caressed my hardened nipples.

Beryl pulled me to him and kissed the top of my head. “Keep it in your pants, my Goddess. And yup, it’s like the trojan horse, except not.”

I blinked.

Between Derek, Beryl’s contacts, and Saffron’s friends, who, unlike Mercedes, didn’t seem upset by the disbanding of his harem, the details of where and when spread by word of mouth. A unique collection of the Institute’s best and brightest milled together with its most opportunistic.

I spotted Alrick standing with the crowd. I hadn’t given him many opportunities, but he hadn’t even tagged me in a negative post on Mêler. A piece of me giggled in delight, while another filled with guilt.

I clasped Professor Garnet’s crystal. We already had a short chat where I lied to him again. I told him I had nothing to do with whatever was going on and was safe in my tower. Like Ashe, I couldn’t let him get involved.

Heavy footsteps vibrated the ground. I released my necklace and squinted toward the front. The murmuring voices echoing off the walls of the foyer decrescendo into nothing, as the booms stopped right outside the building. The doors shook once, before flying open with a screeching bang, metal hinges protesting the unnatural speed.

Whispers of confusion filled the air. Without pausing, Saffron’s Golem lumbered through the double doors. Standing tall, the humanoid shape towered above even Beryl. At least six MA agents surrounded it. A few ropes hung off its white painted metal frame along with the dregs of a few potions they’d used to try and stop it. A transparent dome, rimmed with runes, took the place of its head.

“Freeze, all of you!” One of the officers shouted. “You’re all out after curfew.”

I didn’t see who blasted who with magic first, but the scene below dissolved into chaos as surprised students both ran from and charged the MA. Exactly as we planned.

Beryl gave me a side hug. “Stay here.”

I bobbed my head as he threw himself down the stairs, landing with ease at the base. He joined a group, including Saffron, of muscle pushing through the clashing mages. Three MA agents held their positions around the Golem. My friends were on them in moments. One of the officers drew his firearm while the other threw a potion bottle. Saffron’s spiky-haired friend dropped. The sound of a gun firing echoed off the hard stone walls, momentarily quieting the remaining fighters.

Saffron yelled and shot forward, striking at the gunman’s elbow, sending his next shot wide. I gripped the railing, willing him to be okay, as he and the gunman rolled out of my view. Outnumbered, one of the other two MA agents put up his hands while the other flung a potion which missed its target.

I hear Mercedes’ angry scream from her spot in the middle of the wall of muscle. With Beryl’s ring of invisibility on, I couldn’t see her, but the agent who threw the potion fell, his stomach dented by an invisible force.

Just like that, we had control of the Golem.

Steam came out of the clear bubble as it flipped back. Saffron’s banana yellow magic sparkled with rainbows as the Greek God appeared from behind it, giving it another round of juice.

I didn’t see Mercedes climb in, but as the top of it sealed shut Beryl’s ring lost its remaining magic and her scowling face appeared through the clear top. The Golem went completely motionless, dead center of the foyer.

“Yes!” I cheered, bouncing on the balls of my feet, before I willed everyone else to run for it. A rush of blood tingled up my neck before a popping sensation left me hanging onto the railing to keep standing.

Shouting rang from the main halls. A second wave of dark red and blue uniforms swarmed every entrance. I clung to the railing waiting for the dizzy spell to pass so I could find my guys again. I hadn’t expected the MA to regroup so quickly. Every agent in this place seemed to be here right now.