Burn

CHAPTER 13

Margo rang that night at ten past twelve, her profile image, a photo taken from the day at the beach, suddenly encompassing the screen as Carter's phone began to ring insistently. From his perch atop the desk, Ryu's back stiffened, and his eyes flew to the screen.

Startled from the homework he'd been immersed in, Carter flinched violently in his desk chair and hastened to answer, stomach gripping in fear. His mind flashed back to the night of the demon attack, and he found his hands shaking as Margo's voice filtered into his ear.

"Hello? Carter?"

"I'm here."

"Carter...I've been reading that book." Margo's voice was fraught with obvious tension, further heightening Carter's worry. "Well, I've been trying to, at least. You know, trying to...translate it. And-Well-"

"Just tell me, Margo," Carter begged, dismayed at the evident fear in his voice. "Just...tell me what it says."

Margo heaved a long, heavy sigh, as though bracing herself for a particularly gruesome task. "It's bad, Carter," she said in a rush. "But I don't want to tell you over the phone, so just...meet me in the library tomorrow, okay? At lunchtime?"

Carter tightened his grip on the phone, the case slick with sweat and fingerprints. "Margo," he whispered, his voice suddenly too loud for the dark quiet of his room, "y-you're scaring me."

"I'm sorry." And, perhaps most terrifyingly of all, there was true sorrow in Margo's voice, a sad inner depth that held volumes of unspoken apologies. "Really, I am."

Carter felt his heart clench, and his breath quicken. "Margo-"

"Just meet me in the library at lunch tomorrow," Margo interjected, her tone firm. There was a moment of heavy, tense silence, and then the phone fell dead.

Despite his best efforts, Margo's phone call continued to plague Carter for the entirety of the next morning, weighing across his chest like an unyielding column of stone. It remained present throughout the walk to school, and for the duration of homeroom.

By the time Carter was settled in his usual seat at the back of the History classroom, he had almost completely worried himself sick, and even Ryu, in his current sulky state, expressed concern over Carter's wellbeing.

"Seriously, you don't look well, Carter," Ryu muttered, brows furrowed in concern. He raised a hand, as though to feel Carter's temple, but Carter ducked away and gave a dismissive gesture.

"I'm fine," he insisted, ignoring Ryu's sceptical stare. "Really, just drop it, okay?"

The demon began to object, but then Mr. Cooper swept into the room, a large satchel over one shoulder and a heavy binder balancing against his hip. Carter had never been so relieved to see him.

"Morning, class," Mr. Cooper began, turning to face his students as the satchel slid from his shoulder to the floor. He adjusted his usual checked tie and turned an appraising frown on those nearest his line of sight. "I do hope you've all done your glossary tables. Please bring them up here, and ensure you've written the name of your group on the back."

As people began to filter to the front of the room, Carter spotted Anthony out of the corner of his eye; he was raising his hand and shifting nervously in his chair, eyes darting about nervously. "Sir, Carter and I-"

Carter slid from his seat and moved swiftly between the desks, tapping Anthony on the shoulder before he could continue. Wordlessly, he placed a completed glossary table on Anthony's desk, raising his brows meaningfully.