INTEGRATION (Bonfire Academy Book Two) (Bonfire Chronicles) (32 page)

Mason’s eyes whipped open, and he gaped at me. He transformed and flew at me. His beak hit the invisible cushioned wall, stopping less than an inch from my nose. I laughed to provoke him further.

He went nuts, flapping his wings, trying to fly in the enclosed space.

“Here she comes,” Colton said when the door buzzer went off.

“Hey, guys,” Faustine said cheerily, striding into the lab. “What’s up? Your boils are seeping. Blech.” She stopped dead and stared at the chamber. “What’s that?”

“It’s Mason,” I explained.

“Faustine, walk over to Cordelia and try to get Mason’s attention,” Colton said.

She scrunched up her nose. “Really? Why?”

“Testing something,” he said, using his curt teacher voice.

Faustine moved to stand next to me and put her face to the glass. Mason didn’t react, still in a frenzy from my taunts. I tapped on the glass, getting his attention. His beady eyes quickly moved over to Faustine, who waved at him.

He threw back his head and let out a blood-curdling screech while pounding on the glass with his powerful wings. I was glad it had been reinforced with the invisible, cloudy soft stuff, or Mason would’ve been injured for sure. He went into a complete rage, flying around and body thumping the walls of the chamber until he somehow misjudged his balance and fell backward, landing on the floor with a crash. He passed out.

I transformed back and turned to Colton.

“He’ll be fine, but I’ll go and check up on him. You guys can leave. It’s probably best if you’re not here when he comes to.”

“Yes, and he didn’t turn into a vulture anyway,” I said, disappointed.

Colton nodded. “I’d like a chat. Can you do lunch with me?”

“Yes, sure.”

“Faculty lounge at one?”

“Sounds good.”

“What was that all about?” Faustine asked as we walked out of the lab.

“Oh, just part of Mason’s test sessions.” I didn’t want to worry her about the note. “Do you have to be somewhere, or do you want to head back to the room?”

“I was planning to catch up with Audrey and Viola. They’re off to New York tomorrow.”

“They are? Aren’t they staying for graduation?”

“They may come back for the ceremony, but they don’t want to stay. They both finished with their Integration sessions and can’t wait to get out of here. Frau Schmelder asked if they would consider the Enrichment program—apparently, their maker requested it—but they don’t want to stay. They’re heading to Manhattan to do a bit of modeling before high school starts. It sucks. I’m going to miss them.”

“Yes. But hopefully, they’ll make the ceremony. Why are they going to New York and not back to London?”

“To get away from their maker; they hate him.”

“Yeah, well, can’t blame them for that. Wish them the best from me; I’ll see you later.”

I went back to my room and lay down on my bed. I slid the note out of my pocket and read the haiku again.

One princess shredded

Eagle must turn to vulture
.

And kill the right one

Even though he hadn’t transformed during the test, the haiku sure seemed to point to Mason being the one who murdered Martha. But why would he go after her? The only commonality between Martha and Faustine was that they were demon royalty, just like me. Was someone on a mission to take out all demon princesses? That seemed a bit extreme. Did they have anything else in common?

I got out my iPad and looked up Martha’s information in the Academy database. When her picture came on the screen, I stared at her gorgeous raven-hair-framed face, bright red eyes, and pink full lips set in a mischievous smile. Underneath the picture was the date of her birth and death. I skimmed through the Academy data, looking for her background information. As usual, that was pretty scarce. Paranormals, in general, were very secretive about their backgrounds. Her mother was listed as Joplin Wills, the sovereign demon of Dallas. Her father’s name was Lyndon. I remembered Faustine telling me that he was a writer. I cross-referenced for Martha and Faustine, but the only hits showed they’d been in the same Initiation group and that they’d been assigned to share a room.

I really needed to know if there was a connection between their two families, something that would make her death not completely random. It wasn’t as if Martha could have been murdered by mistake. Could Mason have been so out of it in his vulture form that he couldn’t tell Martha from Faustine? That seemed unlikely; they were so different.

I got out my phone and called King Sebastian.

“Hey, Cordelia. I’ve just spoken with Colton.”

“Good. So what do you think? The note sure seems to point at Mason. I don’t know any other shifter eagles. However, even as rankled as he was during the test, he still didn’t transform into a vulture.”

“Colton and I talked about that. We keep going back to the possibility that a witch cast a masking spell on him for the occasion. It would have to be a very powerful witch. That kind of spell couldn’t be cast by just anyone. I can’t think of any witch at the Academy powerful enough, other than Professor Bern.” He paused.

“King Sebastian?”

“Cordelia, I will need you to start working for me now, even though you are attached to the Academy until your apprenticeship is completed.”

“Um. I’m really looking forward to working for you, but I don’t know that I can take on any extra work right now. I don’t seem to have a minute to myself as it is. I haven’t even made it to tennis one time this year.”

“You misunderstand me. I mean that you will need to pledge your alliance to me. I’ll expect your complete loyalty at all times, no matter what.”

I kind of felt as though I’d done that already, but I guessed he needed my reassurance so he could put full trust in me. “King Sebastian, you have my complete loyalty.”

“Thank you, Cordelia. As you know, I have been investigating things at my end. The older lady who attacked you at the Waldorf is one of the most powerful witches in the world.”

“I thought you said she was family. Is she a hybrid?”

“Yes, she’s a demon-witch hybrid, one of the most formidable of her kind.”

I fought my nosy instincts, wondering how he was related to her. He’d have told me if he wanted me to know. “What are we going to do? I mean, she’s already tried to kill me. And now it looks like she was probably involved with Martha’s murder. We know she’s had contact with both Mason and Quinn. Did you figure out if it was Quinn for sure on that recording?”

“No. I can’t be one hundred percent sure, but I’m pretty certain. Have you had a chance to talk to Quinn? I still have no insight as to how he’s involved, if at all.”

“No. He’s not talking to me. I could try to find him. He’s hanging out at the skydiving facility, but I think it’d be a waste of time.”

“I’ll try to come up with another way to find out. I’m coming in to see Frau Schmelder tomorrow, so I’ll catch up with you then. I have to attend a meeting in just a few. Good-bye for now.”

“Wait!”

“Yes? Was there something else?”

“I called you to find out if Faustine was connected with Martha in any way. Are your families related?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m just trying to figure out why Martha was murdered.”

“You have a sharp mind. I like that about you. As soon as it was proposed that Mason might have been the vulture, I wondered if it was purely accidental myself. There is no way he would have mistaken Martha for Faustine. Joplin and I, along with a handful of other demon sovereigns, are part of the Circle Coalition. We are bound so that our sovereign chairs are intertwined. All matters relating to the lines of succession have to be cleared by the coalition.”

“What does that have to do with Martha?”

“She was the appointed successor to the sovereign of Dallas, but she had not been told, just like Faustine doesn’t know she is my heir. Martha’s death leaves Dallas in a compromised situation until a successor is appointed.”

“I still don’t understand why Martha would be a target. Why not just assassinate her mother? That would be more effective, wouldn’t it?”

“It was actually a very smart move. Martha was Joplin’s only daughter. They were extremely close. Whoever planned this knew that killing Martha would not only leave Dallas without a successor, but it would destroy Joplin, which in effect means the whole coalition is vulnerable.”

“I’m not really getting it, but I guess at least we know Martha’s death could be political. Any ideas?”

“It seems to me that a global takeover is being planned.”

“Wow. By a member of your family?”

T
he fresh alpine air whipped through the open windows as King Sebastian skillfully maneuvered Jagger’s Range Rover over the narrow, winding mountain roads toward the Academy skydiving facility. I had borrowed the car without asking Jagger’s permission, feeling confident that he’d have no issue with it. I glanced over at Faustine’s dad as he stared ahead, one hand on the wheel, the other rubbing the back of his neck. I was hit by how he was so similar to Jagger—dangerous, but unyieldingly loyal and reliable.

Loyal
. The word suddenly made me feel nauseous. I valued loyalty above everything else, yet there I was, the most disloyal of them all, on my way to see my most trustworthy and devoted friend—Quinn. How was I going to look him in the eye after what I had done to him? Would he even agree to see me?

King Sebastian had insisted I come along even though I explained things were strained between Quinn and me. He said he needed my familiarity with Quinn to determine how best to question him.

King Sebastian had hit a stone wall with The Smelt. Instead of giving us the 4-1-1 on Quinn’s debriefing, she’d denied even meeting with him. She said that when she’d asked him about his time in Manhattan, he gave her the same confidentiality spiel.

As we drove into the parking lot, my stress levels were peaking, and I struggled to keep control of my emotions.

“Okay, here we are,” King Sebastian said as he opened my door. “Mrs. Stone called to let him know to expect us. We’re to meet him at his office.”

“He knows I’m coming?”

King Sebastian smiled. “Yes. I thought it was best to warn him, considering. Say, would you like me to have a chat with him about your synching? I may be able to help him understand.”

“That’s really sweet of you, but no.” It was my job to do that, and if Quinn gave me half a chance, I would.

King Sebastian shrugged. “Okay, but the offer stands.”

“Thanks. Do you know where his office is?”

“No, but his assistant is supposed to meet us by the main entrance and take us to him.”

Tamron, Quinn’s assistant, waved at us as soon as we walked into the metal-clad building. I had met her a few times before.

“Follow me,” she squeaked in her small, high-pitched voice. The plump, red-faced troll waddled ahead of us and stopped to wait at the elevator rather than taking the stairs.

King Sebastian and I stepped into the elevator with her and rode up to the top floor. Tamron pointed us to Quinn’s office before taking the elevator back down, leaving us on our own.

“Ready?” King Sebastian asked before he tapped on the door.

I nodded in spite of feeling sick at the thought of having to see Quinn after what had happened. He’d been so furious when he yelled for me to leave. Still, he knew I was coming, so at least he was prepared. And King Sebastian was with me.

Quinn was sitting behind his wooden desk, but rose as we entered the room. All I wanted to do was throw my arms around him; I had missed him so much. However, he wore a distant, cool expression, only smiling politely at King Sebastian as he invited us to sit.

“What can I do for you?” he asked. He turned his gaze on me, and the hurt was apparent in his eyes.

“I was hoping you could share what you were doing in Manhattan,” King Sebastian asked.

Quinn looked startled. “Um, I wasn’t aware that I had given Cordelia permission to share that with you.”

“Oh, she didn’t. Frau Schmelder told me.”

“Well, she shouldn’t have. That’s confidential information.”

“Look, Quinn. Let’s not get stuck in bureaucracy, shall we? I know you went to New York. I simply need to know why. Can you tell me?”

“No, like I said, it’s confidential.”

“Was your trip approved by the school?”

“If you spoke to Frau Schmelder, you already know it was.”

“I did ask her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t remember the meeting with you. Did you know that?”

Quinn shrugged. “She seemed confused.”

“How?”

“Let me think; it was quite a while back, almost a year now.” Quinn paused. “I guess she seemed detached and…disinterested. That’s the best way I can describe it.”

“Disinterested in your going to New York? Didn’t you think that was strange since she’s the one who sent you on the assignment?”

“I don’t think I ever said that
she
sent me on assignment. Did she say that?”