Dark Abandon by Nicole R Taylor

Author:Nicole R Taylor [Taylor, Nicole R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

11

I was becoming intimately acquainted with the tick tock of the grandfather clock in Islington’s office.

I stared at the hands as they flicked to midnight, the chimes filling the tense air with their metallic clanging. Turns out deep shite was pretty deep in these parts. Behind me, I felt Islington’s enraged stare burning a hole into my back. Adelaide sat in an armchair on one side and I sensed Wilder somewhere.

Outside, the night seemed darker, but it might’ve just been the lights of the office dampening everything on the other side of the wibbly-wobbly glass. I wondered if anyone else thought the cold, damp, mothballed stench of this place was annoying. I supposed they got used to it after a while.

I didn’t know why they were so angry. If I didn’t go after the Infernal, that boy would’ve died and who knew who else it would’ve infected. I also got visual confirmation that something was trying to infiltrate the Academy. A ‘good job, Scarlett’ wouldn’t go astray.

“You could’ve gotten yourself possessed,” Islington said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “Then our only connection Arondight would’ve been lost.”

I swallowed my anger and turned. I looked to Wilder, but he gave a soft shake of his head—he hadn’t found any trace of the shadow.

“You’re lucky Greer isn’t here,” Islington fumed.

I sucked in a sharp breath. “She’s gone?”

“She went back to London this afternoon,” Adelaide explained.

Nice of someone to tell me. But then again, I wasn’t exactly a priority when it came to need-to-know information. I guess I’d have to find another way to decipher that Codex page.

“The wards—” Adelaide began.

“Are intact,” Islington declared. “They always have been.”

“Whatever you saw,” Wilder said, keeping his focus on me, “has gone to ground.”

“If you saw anything,” Islington stated.

“I know what I saw,” I seethed. “Did you see the gash on that kid’s throat?”

“The alarms haven’t sounded,” Wilder said, cutting in before I got myself in even more trouble. “Which means it’s still here.”

I scoffed, “I think you mean it’s still on the grounds since the first time.”

“If it’s a student who’s come into contact with the mutation, they’ll have come back to maintain their cover,” he went on. “For now, we take care of the injured and continue with our mission. We can’t raise any suspicions until we flush them out.”

“There has to be a way to detect them,” I said. “The alarms…”

Adelaide shook her head. “We’ve already looked into this. Apart from putting wards on every doorway and window in the building, we don’t have a way to test someone without their knowledge. We don’t have the Light for the first option, or the technology for the second.”

“So we have to go back to watching and waiting?” I complained. “Kayla’s in the infirmary.”

“We don’t have any other option,” Adelaide said. “Unless you can shed some light on the students, Scarlett.”

“Do you know anyone who’d want to attack her?” Islington asked. “Since they’re inviting you to their illegal parties, I assume you’ve gathered some actionable information.”

“Everyone has it out for Kayla,” I retorted.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.