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Krauss paced her office, unable to take in all the information as the three girls spewed the events of the night at once.
“One at a time, please,” she begged, rubbing her temples. “Lara,” she said, looking at the raven-haired beauty sitting next to Kat. “How did you break the fight with Angie?”
“I don’t know,” Lara admitted. “I just willed for it to happen.”
Krauss looked Lara up and down. There was something she wasn’t telling them, something she wasn’t even telling Kat and Angie, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“Why does that matter!” Angie asked. “We’re trying to tell you that May Fascinare, Crogsworth, and Arnold Mafesta are three who are behind the plot.”
Kat jumped in. “Mona has the dagger and the book,” she said quickly, hating herself for letting her get away with both. “She needed Angie and me to fight until one took the other’s powers. She manipulated our thoughts and visions to make us try to kill each other.”
Krauss sat down, spinning the small globe on her desk, stopping at the Gulf of Mexico. “As I expected, the Army of the Dead.”
“Yep,” Angie said, surprised that Krauss picked up on that just from them going to that beach.
“It was there,” Krauss explained, “where the Army was trapped by the Sirentis all those years ago. Bringing them back wouldn’t just mean the end of the magick world. It would mean the end of the world.”
Her expression darkened. “We must take extra care on who we tell this information to. Do you understand?” She paused, looking at each of them in turn. “We must keep this between us and certain council members. If it gets out what her plan was, even more could try to follow in her footsteps or join her side. For now, she’s gone. She won’t come back yet, but when she does,” Krauss said, circling the Gulf with her finger on the globe. “We will get rid of her once and for all.”
Lara nodded and stood up.
***
ANGIE SLUMPED DOWN on her bed. “I can’t believe we’re being forced to see a counselor. How can we sort out our feelings if we can’t even tell them the truth?”
Kat shrugged and stroked a purring Sebastian. “I know. It’s stupid.”
“And we’re supposed to keep this to ourselves? The whole school still thinks we are the bad guys!”
“Rumors will pass,” Lara said and turned back to packing her suitcase.
“You’ve barely said a word.”
Lara put in the few sets of clothes and books she had managed to acquire since returning from the dead into the red suitcase and zipped it up. “We leave tomorrow to go home,” she said, feeling uneasy. “We should concentrate on that and the final exams today.”
Kat scoffed. “C’mon! Seriously? We just fought an evil witch and saved humankind for another day, and you want to talk about exams.”
“That’s why we need to!” Lara said, placing her hands on her hips. “We should not dwell on the past.”
“It’s our present,” Angie said. “It just happened.”
“Look, everyone is looking for Mona’s true body. Krauss and the council members that have been entrusted, they are powerful and have the resources to find her. Now that they know she’s alive, they will find her and Crogsworth and the rest. You need to stop worrying. For now, let’s just focus on the fact that we are alive and appreciate life.”
Kat lowered her head, getting it for the first time. Lara was worried. She hadn’t seen her parents for ten years, she had to go by another name, she just went against a woman who was once her best friend, was almost trapped for an eternity under the Gulf of Mexico, and almost died saving them.
“Ang,” Kat warned as Angie opened her mouth. “Lara’s right. Let’s let them do their jobs and let us focus on what matters. We’re together after all.”
The bell rang.
“Exam time.” Angie huffed. “I can’t believe we’re still being forced to take them.”
Lara laughed for the first time since they came back. “Blame Krauss,” she said with a wink and followed the pair down to the exam hall.
***
ANGIE LOOKED DOWN AT her exam paper and panic fluttered in her chest. “Come on, Ang. Think!” she told herself as she looked at her potions question.
What ingredient is added to SAGE to make a healing potion?
DIAMIANA
CLOVE
JASMINE
She looked over at Kat pathetically who looked just as lost as she did. Looking around the exam hall, she looked on to the other students. Dana had finished her test already and was handing it in.
Great. I’m going to get beaten by a Gorgonio, Angie thought.
Lara looked over at Angie who was only two desks to the side and mouthed DIAMIANA. Begrudgingly, Angie circled the answer and looked up at the huge ticking clock. The room was colder than the rest. Probably to keep everyone awake, she thought, hating that she had missed so many lessons due to Mona. Even now, her mind drifted to Mona and what had happened.
They had barely survived, and Mona would surely come back to finish what she had started.
Kat looked lost in thought, and Angie guessed Kat was thinking the same things.
The clock dinged three times, signaling their time was up. Angie and Kat solemnly handed in their papers.
“How’d you do?” Angie asked.
Kat shrugged. “Poorly.”
“Yeah, me too. At least next year we can play catch-up.”
Lara joined them. “How was it?”
“Awful,” Kat admitted. “How did you do?”
Lara smiled. “I learned all this before so not too bad.”
“Of course,” Angie said bitterly but with a slight smile. After all, saving their lives had gained Lara some respect from Angie. Still, she had a long way to go until the words “trust you” would pass Angie’s lips.