It’s bad. Come 2 planetarium.
Not exactly a text I was prepared for at 6:26 a.m. Especially not from Bradley when I was walking underground with his sister.
“Crap.” I stopped and looked down at my phone. Naomi turned around, concerned. “I forgot my Econ essay at home. I have to go get it before first bell.” I turned to head back toward the headquarters. “I’ll exit at the gardens. It’s closer.”
“Oh, okay. I’m sure I’ll see you at Open,” Naomi said, buying my lie. I just prayed her brother hadn’t sent her the same text. “But Kate?”
I stopped walking and turned back toward her.
“You knew about Bethany and Liam, right? The last thing I need is to start something with Bethany.” She looked uncomfortable.
“Yeah. Yeah. Of course. It’s not a big deal. Liam and I…” I stopped short, having no idea what needed to come next. I waved my hand instead. “I’ll see you at Open.”
As soon as I heard the hatch shut with Naomi behind it, I rushed back toward the planetarium because it was faster. Huge mistake. It was cold and dark, and I kept expecting to feel someone’s clammy hands grab me by the shoulders. I might as well have walked backward, I spent so much time twisting around, but then I worried what was behind me or in front of me or…you get the idea. My footsteps reverberated off the surrounding stone, tricking me into thinking I was being followed, sending shivers up and down my already freezing arms and legs. This better be worth it.
The hatch was heavy as I pushed up and emerged from underground. As my eyes adjusted, I realized the Sisters weren’t the only fools to call a predawn meeting. Most ex-members of the Brotherhood stood around the vast room, grimaces stretched across their cocky faces, insults hurtled toward Bradley, who wore the saddest look of all.
“I know you think this is my fault after Conventus, but Dorian’s in a coma. We’ve got to stop this.” Bradley’s voice shook as the words tumbled out. Dorian. Dorian. Did he mean Clayton Dorian? Second-year soccer star, green-eyed, blond-haired, sexy surfer-esque Clayton Dorian? My air supply seemed to have been cut off all of the sudden, and my throat closed. I needed an inhaler or a shot of epinephrine or a new life.
“Dude, you got us shut down,” a fourth-year called.
“My brother was suspended,” a smaller kid in the back shouted.
After a few more minutes of accusing Bradley of being an incompetent fool, most of the guys just walked out, leaving a desperate-looking Bradley pacing at the front of the room. Only a couple of kids lingered.
“I heard Granger got a card like Alistair. But he refused to take the bait. And so they went after Dorian,” one of them said.
I sat back and did my best to process. Clayton Dorian was in a coma because Michael Granger had refused to perform a Factum Virtus. Whoever was behind this was making good on their threats.
“Please, if any of you get a card, come to me. We’ll figure this out together,” Bradley was begging.
“Whatever. You’re not in charge anymore, Farrow. The Brotherhood is dead.” They all started to walk out after that. I waited for the last of the guys to leave before approaching Bradley.
“What now?” Bradley’s entire face sagged. His eyes were bloodshot and his complexion waxy. He just shook his head slowly back and forth. I could tell he hadn’t nearly begun to grieve the loss of his best friend, let alone digest the fact that another Brother was barely clinging to life. In that moment, I could read his mind. It was easy because there was really only one question left: “Who’s next?”
Bradley silently walked out the doors of the planetarium and back toward main campus. Dew scattered across the endless manicured greens of Pemberly Brown like tiny diamonds. I almost expected them to crunch under my toes as I chased behind him.
If the tone permeating the halls of Pemberly Brown was somber before, it veered into dangerously depressing territory after the news about Clayton spread. The counselors had been busy enough after Alistair; now they were inundated. It was clear that something bigger was at play.
I trailed Bradley in the hall as students moved aside to let him through, and I was reminded of the days following Grace’s death, after I’d returned to school to find clear paths in the hallway, averted eyes, and whispers following me around like a second shadow. I hadn’t missed any of it. And at first, I thought it was happening all over again. I thought they were all looking at me. Whispering about me. I had to assume my new flaming-red hair was whisper worthy. But it was Bradley they tracked. Bradley they whispered about. Bradley’s eyes they couldn’t quite meet.
My pang of relief felt like a betrayal.
Bradley turned his head slightly but never stopped walking. I could barely keep up. “We raid her office. Tonight. Bring that kid who works there.”
“Wait!” I slowed. “Ms. D.’s office?” I whispered her name and stopped in the hallway even though Bradley kept walking. He needed to slow down. He needed to wait for me. He needed to stop. “And Seth?”
He didn’t even bother turning around this time. Just nodded his head once and turned the corner, leaving me standing very much alone. Kids filled the path they’d cleared minutes before, and life at Pemberly Brown went on. Because like it or not, that was just how life rolled.
***
I climbed into Seth’s mom’s gigantic white van with its ridiculous stick figure family affixed to the back windshield, featuring a stick mom with an apron (gag), a stick dad with a briefcase (lame), and a stick boy kicking a soccer ball, even though I was 99 percent sure Seth hadn’t played soccer a day in his life. They must have been all out of the stick figure geeking out in front of a computer screen. I glanced over at Seth and saw nothing but a shock of red hair and a pale white face. He was covered in some sort of head-to-toe black suit. Footies? I didn’t ask.
“Camo,” Seth said as he backed down my long driveway. As if I didn’t know.
“Comfy,” I replied, choking back a laugh. I turned around automatically, muscle memory, looking for Liam, waiting for one of his ever-present one-liners. But his captain seat was empty, and my heart sunk a little. He was probably on his date.
When we made it to Station 1 at the entrance of the school, the closest entry point to Ms. D.’s office via the underground tunnels, Bradley came into view. His perfect features were lit by the glow of the surrounding street lamps, and I let myself forget Liam for the time being. Bradley offered me his hand and I took it. Maybe this was better. Maybe I was supposed to be with someone who was able to understand me and my grief. Maybe Liam was better off with Bethany.
“You know the code, right?” he asked, running his fingers over the bronze plaque fixed to one of the large brick pillars that flanked the school’s main doors.
I nodded and counted four (the number of original sisters) bricks over and eight (the number of sisters invited by the original) bricks down from the plaque. I pulled at the loose brick to reveal a small keypad, the bronze keys green with time. Something rustled behind us, and the rhythm of my already pounding heart jumped, thrumming throughout my entire body.
“What was that?” I whispered, jerking my head toward the sound. Seth assumed a ninja-like position against the wall, and Bradley’s ears had perked up, his eyes narrowed on the great expanse of black behind us.
We all saw movement at the same time. Two bodies, one slumped against the other.
This was it. The Sisterhood had me. I’d be excommunicated. I was fraternizing with the enemy and I’d be punished.
“Um…help?”
The soft voice was not Taylor’s and definitely not Bethany’s. It was Maddie’s, and when she came into view, she practically carried one very drunk Liam Gilmour. Seth darted over, catlike in his little black suit, and offered a shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I found him in his car and I was afraid he’d drive, and Seth mentioned you’d be here, and I had nowhere else to go. I’m sorry.” Maddie pushed a strand of her crazy hair away from her face after she’d been relieved of the Liam lump.
Bradley rolled his eyes. My cheeks were on fire, and Liam smiled, big and sloppy. Perfect, just perfect.
“Guess the big date went well.” I tried to look annoyed, but my heart wasn’t in it. Better to have him here than out with her. It was selfish and nasty, but that’s how I felt. Bradley caught me staring at Liam and laced his fingers through my own. When I yanked my hand away, I told myself it was because we needed to hurry and I was the one who had to punch in the code.
We were going in.