When the Shadows Fall by Elise Noble
CHAPTER 37 - EMMY
“WE NEED TO go in for a closer look,” Alaric said. “It’s time.”
“How?” Nate asked. “I’m not doing jail time for paedophilia.”
“I’m talking about going undercover.”
“As what?”
“Schoolgirls?” I suggested, twirling my hair. “Me, Dan, and Sofia? From the back, we’d look the part. Just don’t ask us to turn around and show off our wrinkles. Or do maths.”
Sofia was sitting on my lap, and I had my hand on her thigh. I was ninety percent sure Black knew I was only doing it to annoy him, and I was one hundred percent sure I didn’t care. When he scowled, I let my fingers creep higher. Sofia just giggled. I had an inkling she was edging towards one of her manic phases again, but that sure beat her being miserable.
We’d all congregated at the rented house near Shadow Falls this evening. The little clues Sky had been finding… It felt as if this was building up to something bigger. And I might have been snarky about it, but I did agree with Alaric. We needed to go into the school for a closer look.
“Beth and I could visit Sky,” he said. “Say we’re checking up on her.”
And what would they do? Wander around the gardens again?
“Maybe I’ll go and have a mooch,” I murmured, half to myself.
“When?”
“No time like the present.”
“We’re in the middle of a storm.”
“Perfect. Everyone else’ll be tucked up inside, watching TV.”
“I’ll come with you,” Black offered.
“Ace. Then if there’s lightning, it’ll hit you first.” Another scowl. This was almost like a sport, and I’d scored twenty-seven points already today. I reached out a foot and nudged Ryder. “What’s Sky doing? Is she busy with that dude?”
Now Rafael scowled too. Interesting. Did it run in the family?
“She’s gone quiet. The last thing she said was that she was heading over to the main building. Probably took an opportunity to sneak around.”
“Can you ask her?”
“Hey, Sky. Whatcha doing?” His forehead creased into a frown. “She’s not answering.”
“Perhaps she can’t,” Alaric said. “Are there people about?”
“I can’t hear any voices.”
A tiny bud of concern formed in my gut. “I’ll try texting her. Maybe the storm screwed with the comms? Could that happen?”
“Thunderstorms can cause disturbances in the partially ionised plasma of the ionosphere and distort radio signals.”
“Is that a yes? I didn’t understand anything you just said.”
“It’s a yes, but it would be more of an intermittent crackle, not total silence.”
Two minutes passed, but Sky didn’t answer. I began to get a bad, bad feeling about this.
“I’m going over there.”
“Wait.” Ryder held up a hand. “There’s something coming through on one of the bugs.” His frown deepened. “This…this is odd.”
“Put it on speaker.”
Ryder switched it over, and yes, there were some crackles, but the words were clear.
“Hey… Is this…? Hi? Is this working? I have no idea… Sky people? Dammit! Uh, if you can hear me, my name’s Vanessa, and I’m Sky’s roommate.” More static. “…went into a cellar with Asher. Like, we found this secret door in the music room? Behind a bookcase? And now it’s closed, and I can’t open it again. And I heard… I don’t know… I think maybe it was a gunshot? But muffled, like, far away? Hello? Hello?”
Fuckety fuck. I was already strapping on my weapons before Vanessa finished speaking, and when I looked around the room, I saw everyone else was too. Guns, knives, Nate was stuffing a bunch of explosive charges into a backpack, and Sofia had enough shit in syringes to off an entire Death Row.
“Go ahead with Alaric,” Black said softly into my ear. “I’ll follow on behind.”
“Why? What are you planning?”
He was up to something, I knew it.
“Just do as you’re told for once, Diamond.”
“Asshole.”
Yet another scowl. Make that twenty-eight points.