Ryketune strained in her arms, tugging and wailing inarticulately. Shay held him back, afraid he’d fly off the table abd hurt himself. Sweat glued hair to her face and eyes. She tried to wipe it away with her shoulder.
“What was that? Where is she?” Zaksar was spinning in circles, eyes darting around wildly.
“Deep Flashstep,” said Ella. “That was Luminary. You saw her guidegift.”
“Ryke, c’mere, c’mere.” Shay held the shuddering boy close. He seemed to collapse inward, and gave up his struggle as she rocked. Once he was stable, Shay brushed the rest of her hair out of her face and brought herself back into the moment.
The mindtether was back.
‘Affsol? Are you guys okay?’ she sent.
‘About as alright as you can be surrounded by a lot of angry Stateguards and Chillcrafters. Banged up but no one’s rendered too bad. They’re coming down to you now.’
Shay let out a huge breath. Everyone was okay.
Almost everyone. She refused to give in to the urge to look again at the thing that used to be Rekness. She tried not to think about what she knew Ryke was thinking about now either.
Instead, she let her grief settle on Tutor Stoneworth, who they had found collapsed beside Zaksar in the drainworks. There had been tiny ice spikes lined all up and down her side – still somehow frozen despite being lodged in a warm body. Zak said she had spoken to him briefly, before stopping his bleeding with the last of her strength.
“They’re okay up top,” Shay said.
“We need to get out of here.” Ella tugged gently at her elbow.
Zak came over, still glancing around as if he expected Sila to pop out of thin air at any moment. He held out his arms for Ryke.
Shay passed the boy over with shaky arms, then slid off the table. She moved to the waterway. She did not want to go back out into the icy ruins of the drainworks, nor walk past Rekness for a third time.
“The top might not be stable,” warned Ella, but Shay had already stepped through. The rushing feeling was just a tickle now, but it was better than nothing. She stepped out of the closet and found the way blocked by Head Tutor Minyel, Advisor Risper-us-Along and a dozen or so Fistsheilds.
“Deekek?” said the Advisor, stepping forward.
The look on Feducity’s face broke her. She shook her head, trying to fend it off, but the insanity of it all washed over her like a tsunami. Somebody caught her from behind – Ella. Shay buried her head in the other girl’s shoulder and gasped, screamed, shook.
Eventually someone big gently picked her up – it looked like a Stateguard – and walked out of the office. People were talking hurriedly, but all she focus on was Rek’s last two shards. She kept her eyes shut.
Eventually, she found herself in a chair. The bustle of officials and guards and chatter filtered away, and wherever she was grew quieter. Fragements of hushed conversation came to her.
“She needs to rest.”
“Yes, but presently, we need some prompt answers.”
“We were there, you can ask us.”
“I intend to ask all of you.”
“Is it even safe up here?”
“The spire is stable. Thanks to you. Thanks to her.”
“He’s here.”
Shay peeped open her eyelids. She was in a lush and very untidy office. A bookshelf had spilled all its contents on the floor, there were several overturned plants and the window was shattered.
She saw Krickgree entering the room. Head Tutor Minyel was there, along with Ellawek, Zak, Headmentor Tanglemire, a bald Fistshield that she vaguely recognized as the Head of Security, and a severe looking woman that she didn’t know. Minyel was tending to Zak’s head.
The Crown Guide came to her and she threw her arms around him. “Is WeeSeu okay? And Affsol?” she asked, needing to hear it again.
“Shaken up, and a little bruised. It got rough up there, but no one’s rendered beyond repair. It looks like Zaksar here got the worst of it.”
“Three people are dead.” She pushed out of the embrace and sat back in the chair. The haze in her head was replaced with that simple statement. She had spent the tears, and underneath it she found a deadly need to understand. And a deadly need to make someone pay.
“Shay, I-“ began Krick, but Minyel moved him aside and knelt before her. His eyes danced.
“Pupil Cliffland. You must tell me more about the Foxet. And the book-quest that you mentioned. This calamity was no simple assassination attempt. You felt the Daxish Artwork. Tell me, was there more? More to it? How did the overcycle start?”
Minyel had that same look Zaksar had, back when he was so eager to tell her about Rek’s little hook up with Fae. The Head Tutor didn’t give a shit about her dead friends. He was hungry for something else. Shay quickly scanned through the shard that Sila had sent her a moment before disappearing.
“I can’t remember,” she said.
The severe woman took a step forward. “Was the Foxet after the Tether Stone? How did you know to use it?”
“I don’t know!”
“Will you all let her be?!” Ellawek’s voice pierced the room, and the severe woman actually took a step back.
“Seriously,” added Zaksar.
Minyel scowled furiously and made to protest, but the Fistshield spoke first. “Minyel, Tanglemire – this is no way to go about this.”
“What do you suggest?” asked the Headmentor.
“The questions can wait. We will close off the academy. But let them be with their families and friends for now. You’ll get your chance to talk to everyone, once they’ve had a chance to recover from this ordeal.”
“The experience is fresh now! What if-“
“No Minyel, he’s right. Pupils, you are dismissed. We will discuss this later.”
Shay got up and pushed past them all without saying a word. She wanted to find Ryke and Affsol and WeeSeu and Monarec. She needed to know that they were all okay.
As the Fistshield fell in step behind her, she made a quick decision and erased the shard from Sila.