Page 36 of Class Studies
I pressed the silent icon and looked up at Abe. “The cameras are down.”
Her lips rolled up into a smile. “And with your phone blowing up, it’s safe to assume you’ve not told your contact your location?”
I nodded, my fingers twitching. My stomach chose this moment to growl loudly, breaking the tension between us.
Abe’s smile got bigger. “I can’t let my star student go hungry now, can I?”
She walked over to a refrigerator and pulled out a bowl of pasta salad. “Eat. I need to finish my work. We’ll get started when I’m through.”
I balled my fists a few times to still my fingers. Metaphorical eggshells crunched under my feet. If I was going to put a bead of my will into her, I needed to do it. But she had to know I was capable. Did she have a counter ready and waiting?
I slid to her desk, running my fingers along the thick wood’s smooth edges. My magic tingled my fingertips, ready despite my hesitation.
When I didn’t sit, she tossed a wad of socks next to the pasta bowl. I unrolled the familiar ball with shaking hands to reveal my two scales. My mouth dried out, and I blinked at her in confusion.
“Ashe put a tracking spell on them. He’s smarter than the average MA agent.” Abe chuckled. “But putting them on that tablet got your attention, even if your boy toy made your scales useless to me.”
My jaw dropped. Professor Garnet warned me getting my scales back would be tricky. I even had nightmares about it. Now she just handed them back to me, along with a meal?
“Wipe the surprise off your face and eat.” Abe jabbed a finger at the pasta. “I still know of their existence and traced the tracking spell back to your precious bodyguard, who I can blackmail any time I need.” She made a flippant gesture toward my head. “I also know about the incredibly illegal spell you plan on casting. As long as you do what I need, I’ll keep quiet about all of it.”
I snapped my jaw shut. My fingers twitched, ready to make a Bead of Will. The cameras were down. There was no way to track who I controlled and who I didn’t. With no witnesses, Abe could be my puppet. She would never hurt anyone again.
Abe chuckled. “Your poker face is terrible.” She tisked. “You’re welcome to try what’s on your mind.” She took out a tube identical to the one she’d given her apprentice. “Oswald’s delivering this to Alice as we speak.”
I narrowed my eyes and flexed my fingers, calling on my magic, but hesitated.
Abe popped open the top of the tube. A thick sheet of cloth-like eggshell white Deltalab paper uncurled. Its straight edges glowed silver. Along the top was the full spectrum of colors fading from white to black.
“I made this a few years ago. One of my benefactors asked me to recreate a quite unique potion.” Abe flattened the paper. “I failed. I couldn’t recreate it—for the first and only time in my life.” She clicked her tongue and peered at me. “It’s a simple good fortune potion.” She unwrapped another chocolate and popped the brown kiss into her mouth. “I even tracked down the same region the herbs were from and copied the ingredients as best I could. But my potion was still not as potent. So, I invented a way to check the magic.”
My mouth dried up and I pushed my magic back into me.
“I’m sure you know where I’m going with this.” Her lips curled up in a smile which didn’t reach her eyes. “If I don’t do everything I’ve set up exactly as I’ve set it up, Alice will come here with the Director and test me for my magical components. When it’s your magic controlling me, the Director will kill you on the spot.”
A million questions, including why Alice, ran through my head, but I didn’t ask any of them. Instead, I stayed quiet, letting Abe finish what she started.
She retrieved an old green potion from her secret shelf and spilled its dregs directly in the middle of the Deltalab paper. The liquid turned brown and smoked. Tendrils of magic rose out of the surface, reminding me of messy cables as they stuck into the colorful spectrum across the top. A second group anchored itself to the ruby reds, while a third drained of all their color before spiraling up a few inches. The clear tower swelled before wilting and hardening into a drooping, crystal tree shape.
My magic. I took a deep breath, not looking away from the tree. Abe flicked the too smooth trunk, and the entire thing disintegrated into a pile of dust.
“Now, Aphrodite,” Abe said, a cold smile on her lips. “How are we playing this?”
I took a deep breath, held it, and released. Abe was already a step ahead of me. No wonder she returned my scales. She had leverage and a way to prove I manipulated her.
I rubbed my scales, trying to think.
She had what the Officer Keres’ expected me to invent. The MA locked Abe away here for her dark but genius work. However, she still couldn’t recreate what Damon and I did together.
This couldn’t go anywhere good, but curiosity pushed past every red flag.
The familiar sound of bubbling liquids hummed in my ears.
How was I to play this?
Instead of speaking, I sat in front of her food and dug in. The idea of cold pasta didn’t sound appealing but covered in Italian dressing with flakes of bacon and softened vegetables. It was delicious.
Abe watched me, waiting like a coiled snake.