Dylan was pissed even before he got there. The pit was his place, and now it was going to be tainted by whatever bad news Mr. Johnson was going to give them. Of course, it hadn’t really been the same since Morgan’s buddy tried to kill Dylan there. Even though that fear had faded a bit, Dylan was always a little wary if he heard an odd noise or thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.
And now that stupid warden thought he could turn it into a meeting place. Dylan knew it must be bad if Mr. Johnson wanted to meet there instead of at his house.
Dylan stomped down into the pit and lit the leftover kindling to burn off some of his anger. Then he sat, then he paced, then he sat again.
Finally Aiden appeared at the top of the hill and slid carefully down the mound of gravel. “He’s not here yet?”
Dylan sighed in annoyance. “No.”
Aiden twisted his hands together. Even in the low light, he looked pale. “Do you think this is about Morgan?”
“Maybe.” Dylan had been focusing on his anger rather than thinking about what Mr. Johnson’s news might be. The school counselor called that a coping mechanism.
“What if he’s killing people again? There aren’t enough wardens to go after him. What if Morgan heard about what happened and he let more dark fae out? And they’re all killing people? Or what if they’re killing wardens because they know they’re vulnerable now? Morgan did say he wanted to kill them all.” The scent of nervousness grew stronger as Aiden talked.
“Chill. Why don’t we wait and see what he says?” But now Dylan was worried about that too.
Headlights flashed, and tires crunched over gravel. A minute later, Mr. Johnson joined them. “Aiden. Dylan.”
Dylan could feel the tension rolling off his best friend, and it made him angrier. “So what is it?”
“First of all, I want to put you at ease that nothing bad has happened.”
Aiden relaxed a little, but Dylan didn’t feel any better.
“So why the”—Aiden waved his arms around—“secret meeting?”
Mr. Johnson shifted, gravel moving under his fancy shoes. “Very well, I’ll get to the point. Both of you swore to owe me a favor.”
Dylan’s stomach dropped. If he refused, what would happen? Mr. Johnson would probably tell the wardens that Dylan was the one who let Morgan out, that he’d done it deliberately. But wouldn’t that get Mr. Johnson in trouble too, for covering it up all this time?
If what Mr. Johnson wanted involved hurting people, Dylan would refuse, whatever the consequences. But what about Aiden? The fae were magically bound when they swore to something. Aiden couldn’t refuse. And the only reason he’d promised in the first place was to protect Dylan.
“What do you want?” Aiden asked in a strained voice.
“I want both of you to become wardens.”
“Wh-what?” Dylan couldn’t have heard him right.
“Wardens?” Aiden stared.
“I was hoping to wait until you were older, but given the circumstances, I need all the help I can get.”
“You want me to be a warden?” Mr. Johnson had to be nuts.
“Yes. That was my intention when I asked for the favor. You’re both extremely powerful and intelligent, and you’ve proven yourselves several times.”
“But we’re just kids.” Anxiety radiated off Aiden.
Mr. Johnson folded his hands behind his back. “You’re nearly legal adults, and you’ll go through training before you’re sent out in the field.”
“But I hate wardens.” Was Mr. Johnson that desperate for help?
“And yet you defended them during the attack. More importantly, you defended the people of this town.”
Dylan pictured Warden Bully lying helpless while Mrs. Rhodes stood over him. “That doesn’t mean I want to be one of them.”
Mr. Johnson’s expression hardened. “This is not a matter of what you want.”
Aiden turned to Dylan, his eyes both fearful and resigned. “We promised, Dylan.”
I got you into this mess. I’m so sorry. “You can’t say no, can you?”
“You mean literally?” When Dylan nodded, Aiden took a deep breath. “No, I can’t. I feel a pull inside me. It’s part of my magic. I guess it’s really true that fae can’t go back on their promises.”
He wanted to punch Mr. Johnson. Strangle him for putting them in this position. But this was all due to Dylan’s stupidity, and he couldn’t run from the consequences. “Guess we’re stuck with it then.” His stomach tightened, and he felt a little queasy.
Him, a warden. God.
“So how… how does this work?” Aiden asked. He looked shaken enough that Dylan patted his shoulder.
My fault. My fault. My fault.
“Tomorrow after school I’d like you to meet me at city hall and fill out some paperwork. Ah… and you’ll need to discuss this with your parents.”
“What do I tell them?” Aiden asked.
“Would they believe you’re volunteering because of the attack?”
Dylan snorted. “My parents sure the hell won’t.” More than anyone, besides maybe Aiden, they knew just how much he hated wardens.
“Then I suppose you’ll need to be creative in coming up with a reason they’ll believe.”
Oh, that asshole.
“We’ll think of something,” Aiden said. As if Dylan needed to feel more guilty, now Aiden wanted to help him come up with a cover story.
“I’m confident the two of you can work it out.” Mr. Johnson’s lips turned up in a slight smile. “You make an excellent team, which is why I’m going to make you partners.”
“Partners?” Dylan looked at Aiden. His friend seemed a little relieved.
“I hope that’s some consolation. This isn’t meant to be a punishment. I’m recruiting you because I believe that as wardens you’ll be a great benefit to the supernatural community.”
Dylan scoffed. Mr. Johnson was forcing him to be a glorified jailer for other kids like him.
“And Dylan, since you believe the system is broken, perhaps you can use this as an opportunity to change it from within.”
Dylan was about to argue, but Aiden gripped his arm. “He’s right. The wardens are basically rebuilding. It’s the perfect time to change things.”
“Maybe.” That wasn’t a bad point. Dylan would rather tear the whole thing down and start over, but the wardens were such a mess that they might be willing to change. Mr. Johnson was in charge and not someone like Warden Bully. At least Dylan could try to make sure the wardens didn’t get worse.
“I’ll see you tomorrow after school, gentlemen.” Mr. Johnson nodded to them and made his way out of the pit.
So Dylan had to fill out paperwork to become a warden and somehow come up with a story his parents would believe. The walls were closing in.