Page 119 of Class Studies
I ran down the stairs with a shirt, and Ashe tied it around his superior’s mouth. His stream of information stopped. I expected to see his face flare up in anger, but it didn’t. The same tired, bland expression still covered it.
“What the fuck,” Saffron hissed.
Ashe took a deep breath and turned to me. “You’re magic’s still in him?”
I nodded.
“Give him a fucking order.”
I shook my head. “No, he said he’d kill me if I used my magic on the MA again.”
Tanwyn stepped to my back and squeezed my shoulder. “He’s tied and gagged with two burly mages weighing him down in your kitchen. I don’t think he’ll kill you, right now at least.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “But everything this place is trying to teach me—”
“Is situational.” Professor Garnet scolwed. “Your ability to overthink things when given the opportunity is exceptional. Stop judging yourself. At this moment, this choice is black and white.”
Ashe captured my gaze. “You’re not fucking evil, and someone needs your help.”
I nodded sharply once, the tension in my gut easing. “Officer Keres, stop struggling and lie still.”
Ashe stood, still straddling his ex-boss' legs. Immediately, the mage bucked, desperately trying to dislodge Beryl.
Ashe sat back down.
My heart fell. He didn’t have my magic in him anymore. My AMCM device didn’t work. I shook my head. Except it did. I saw the rainbows missing in my guys. This had to be something else.
Ashe focused on the professor. “Can you look into his mind?”
“I can.” Professor Garnet rubbed the back of his neck. “Though mind reading is still guesswork at best, as you already know. Unless he’s focused on one thing, it’s unlikely I’ll understand what I see.”
Ashe grunted. The professor unfocused his gaze as he entered his mage trance.
Curious, I lifted my mirror and watched. The professor's rainbow, lacking any red, collided with Officer Keres. The dull coloring of my magic in Officer Keres flashed oddly before the reds also vanished.
I chewed on my bottom lip and studied Officer Keres. Maybe dull wasn’t the right word. The colors were almost muddied.
“It’s a jumble of pictures and thoughts,” Professor Garnet said, shaking his head. “But, Tederwinkle’s face appeared over and over.”
Saffron crossed his arms. “Fuck, he’s not said anything about Tederwinkle. That in itself is more suspicious than even his blabbering.”
“Tie him up.” Beryl looked at Ashe, who frowned and shook his head but didn’t argue. “We need to know if someone sent him or he’s here on his own and fast.”
* * *
It didn’t take us long to wrap Officer Keres in a couple of bed sheets, with a third tying him to Ashe’s chair. I sat on my stairs and gently tapped my mirror against the bar in the middle, watching my guys.
Ashe had made a list of all the MA agents, trying to guess which ones he could trust to contact about the situation. Beryl scowled at his phone, where I assumed he’d either gotten in touch with Nitis or had accessed the security feeds.
Professor Garnet paced with his phone to his ear while Saffron and Tanwyn kept an eye on my door and Officer Keres.
I felt completely and utterly useless.
Standing, I made my way to my workstation and took out Damon’s tomes. Something was wrong with Officer Keres' mind. I started scanning through potions, looking for mind magic—but we hadn’t done much. Love potions, a few obsession potions, I slowed to read an allegiance potion, but it wouldn’t change someone's behavior like this.
I kept reading. Two of my scales were listed as supplies in a row, and both sold to the same number. Damon had never shared his code for clients with me, and until now, I hadn’t given it a second thought.
Wrinkling my nose, I continued searching. I’d forgotten how many poisons we made, and my heart sank. I helped kill all those people. Another listing of my scales came up, and I paused, seeing the same sales number. Out of sheer curiosity, I turned on my tablet and opened Ashe’s tracking app.