They were in the middle of dinner when someone rang the doorbell.
“I’ll get it,” Dylan’s mom offered.
A moment later Dylan heard Mr. Johnson’s voice. Great, what now?
The warden walked in with Mom.
“Mr. Johnson would like to talk to you,” she said.
Of course he did. Aiden had told him that Mr. Johnson was staying in Shadow Valley for a few more months at least. Hooray.
Dylan led Mr. Johnson to his mom’s study, which felt like less of an invasion than going to his room. Mr. Johnson closed the door, and Dylan waited for him to use his silence ward. To his surprise, the warden turned and started talking. “I’m not sure if you’re aware yet, but your school now has a warden liaison.”
Dylan snorted. “Yeah, I met the jerk.”
Mr. Johnson frowned. Of course he wouldn’t want to hear bad things about his fellow warden. “You spoke with him? What did you say?”
“He made some threats, warned me he wanted to get me suspended. He tried to make me attack him, but I wouldn’t take the bait.” Thinking about it made Dylan’s blood boil again.
“He tried—?” Mr. Johnson frowned. “Dylan, you have to be very careful around him. Warden Bradley is very… stringent.”
“Yeah, he has it out for me. Thinks I’m dangerous. He called me a time bomb.” Dylan crossed his arms and leaned against one of the bookshelves.
“It’s very important that you don’t do anything to provoke him or break any rules. He won’t hesitate to punish you, and there’s only so much I can do to protect you.”
“Yeah, gotta protect me so I can do whatever creepy thing you want me and Aiden to do for you.” After Dylan had released a dark fae into the world, Mr. Johnson had promised to keep his involvement secret in return for some mysterious favor. Dylan had been ready to accept punishment, but Aiden had pleaded for his sake. Now if Dylan got caught, Aiden might get in trouble too.
Mr. Johnson gave him a look. “I am your best advocate within the wardens. If you speak to Warden Bradley the way you speak to me, he will find a reason to punish you. Suspension is not the worst consequence. He wants to see you in prison.”
“I know.” Dylan wanted to punch something. Or burn something.
“So please control yourself. I know that isn’t your strongest trait, but Warden Bradley is set against you. Don’t give him an excuse.”
Dylan’s stomach tightened as a thought occurred to him. “He isn’t… one of them, is he? The corrupt ones? Or working for them?”
Mr. Johnson made a noise that was almost a laugh. “No, quite the opposite. Finding corruption within the ranks lit a fire under him, and he’s determined nothing like that will ever happen again. Warden Bradley believes wholeheartedly in the treaty and keeping both supernaturals and mundanes safe. He truly considers you a threat to safety, so please don’t provide him with more evidence to support that idea.”
“So what am I supposed to do if he attacks me?” The guy sounded like a fanatic.
“He won’t. He may verbally antagonize you, but he would never attack an underage supernatural in Shadow Valley. Not unless he thought you posed an immediate threat.”
Dylan scoffed. “He thinks I’m an immediate threat just for being alive.” He knew the consequence for attacking a warden was prison time, but would the council consider self-defense a legitimate reason?
“No, he considers you a potential threat and with good reason. If you got in another fight, he would be justified in using force against you. Or if another fight looked immanent. So no more standoffs in the lunchroom.”
“Conner’s not a problem anymore.” There had been several confrontations with him in the past, but that had ended when Dylan kicked his ass without even using magic.
Mr. Johnson sighed, shaking his head slightly. “You must be absolutely blameless as long as Warden Bradley is the school liaison. No justifications or excuses. And if you can’t do it for your own sake, then do it for Aiden’s.”
Dylan glared. The asshole knew Aiden was his weak point. “Fine.”
“Thank you.”
“Why aren’t you the liaison?” If Mr. Johnson was so keen on keeping Dylan out of trouble, he should’ve taken the job.
“Unfortunately I don’t have the time. There’s a lot of work still to be done on the investigation into the dark-fae murders and in preventing such an occurrence in the future.”
Mr. Johnson didn’t have to say it, but this was all Dylan’s fault. “Any sign of Morgan?” That was the dark fae Dylan had released from Faery. A stupid mistake he regretted now, especially after one of Morgan’s buddies killed three people and then came after Dylan and Aiden.
The warden shifted uncomfortably. “I wouldn’t want to worry you unnecessarily.”
“Oh shit.” That meant more people had been murdered.
“There hasn’t been anything definite, but a few people have gone missing. I would appreciate if you wouldn’t mention this to Aiden. If we find any evidence that points to Morgan or another dark fae, I’ll let both of you know.”
“If you don’t want Aiden to know, why are you telling me?” Dylan hated keeping things from his friend.
“Because I know you won’t panic, and I’d like to maintain a level of trust between us.”
Yeah, right. Trust.
Something must have shown on his face because Mr. Johnson said, “I know you’re wary of me, despite all I’ve done for you, but I don’t want to give you reasons to doubt me. Thus, I’m telling you there have been disappearances just in case there is a tie to Morgan.”
Dylan’s anger rose. “All you’ve done for me?”
Mr. Johnson took a step closer, shoulders stiff and face drawn into a scowl. “Yes, all I’ve done for you. Cleaning up your mess after you let Morgan out, keeping it a secret even though I risk my job, my freedom, to do so. Saving you from those hunters. Constantly standing up for you with my fellow wardens and the council. Keeping you from being expelled when you beat up Conner Mays. The list is getting very long, Dylan, so please stop testing my patience.”
That only made Dylan angrier, and he stood glaring at the warden with his fists clenched. Magic tingled inside him, a faint scent of smoke rising from his body. “Yeah, well… Where were you when the dark fae attacked us at Aiden’s house?”
Mr. Johnson stared at him. “Oh, no. Don’t play that game with me. You know I feel guilty about that, but the dark fae wouldn’t have been there at all if you hadn’t let Morgan out. If you want to place blame, this one lands squarely back at your feet.”
Dylan threw his hands in the air with a growl and started to pace. Bad enough that he was trapped in Shadow Valley, but he was also trapped in his own mind with the guilt that was always waiting. People were dead because of him, and likely more would die before the wardens caught Morgan. If they could catch him at all.
“Dylan.” Mr. Johnson’s voice was gentler now. “Not everyone is out to get you. Try to accept that.” He walked out, leaving Dylan to simmer in his frustration.