Night School - Endgame (24 page)

For a second, the headmistress didn’t speak. Then, a smile lit up her features.

‘I’ve never been more proud of you than I am right now, Allie Sheridan. And I believe Lucinda would have been proud of you, too. She would have disagreed with you about the bank accounts, mind you. But she would have been proud of where your heart is on this. And you’re right. It’s a bloody good start.’

Allie sagged back in her seat. Maybe she hadn’t sounded completely stupid after all.

‘If we can get the others on board,’ Isabelle said, ‘this could work. It might not be everything you’re dreaming of, but these are good people, Allie. People I believe in. We could make a difference. I really believe we could.’

Allie wanted to feel hopeful. Wanted to believe it was possible. But there was still a huge obstacle to overcome.

‘The thing is, I don’t want to end up just fighting Nathaniel again,’ she said. ‘He’s torn this school apart. Torn Orion apart. Torn my life apart, actually. How do we avoid that? Is there something I could do to make him just… stop?’

Isabelle set down her pen with a thump. ‘It saddens me to tell you this, Allie. But whether you became a high court judge, a cocktail waitress, or a street sweeper, Nathaniel will always be obsessed with you. He will always harass you and threaten you. You see, you have what he wanted – Lucinda’s love. As I had my father’s love. He will never forgive you as he has never forgiven me.’

Leaving her chair, she walked around to Allie’s side and leaned back against the desk.

‘Here are your options as I see them. You can run from Nathaniel for the rest of your life. He will never tire of chasing you, I can assure you of that. Or you can live your life, with me at your side, as part of one of the world’s great new secret societies.’ She leaned back in her chair, still holding Allie’s gaze. ‘Only you can decide what’s best for you.’

There was never any question what Allie’s answer would be.

She’d tried running away from her troubles many times. But that’s the thing about trouble: it’s fast. It’s relentless. It always finds you.

She was through running.

She raised her chin. ‘Let’s do it.’

S
he and Isabelle
talked for nearly an hour, sorting through the details. Getting the plan in place. The headmistress wanted to have it all figured out before she broached it with the others.

‘Julian will have many questions,’ she said. ‘I have to be ready for that.’

The longer they talked, the more feasible it seemed, and the more hopeful they both became.

How could this not work? Everyone got something they wanted.

It was perfect.

There was one wildcard. And Allie brought it up. ‘What about Nathaniel? How do we get him to agree to it?’

Isabelle considered this. ‘We have to convince him it’s something he’ll benefit from. The only good Nathaniel sees in the world comes from power and profit. I think… if the others agree to this, we have to invite him here. And talk to him together.’

‘What?’ Allie couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Isabelle was unbending. ‘It’s not the sort of thing you can discuss on the phone, Allie. If we’re going to do this, we have to be brave enough to look him in the eye. We’re going to have to sell this to him. It won’t be easy. We’ll keep it on our home turf, we’ll call in others to back us up. We’ll do it properly. But there’s no getting around it.’

‘How do we keep everyone safe, though?’ Allie demanded. ‘Carter and Zoe – everyone. How do we make sure he doesn’t try something?’

‘We will take care of that,’ Isabelle said. ‘You worry about making your case. You’re going to have to win Nathaniel over.’ She shot Allie a warning look. ‘It won’t be easy. We need him to want to do this. He needs to believe the battle is over.

‘And that he’s won.’

By the time Allie left Isabelle’s office, the sun was bright and high, almost blinding her when she stepped out of the building on to the front lawn. Everyone was taking advantage of the late summer warmth, and the lawn was filled with students. She found the others, standing in a cluster by the wall of the east wing, talking quietly.

At some point, Carter had joined them. Seeing him there – all dark hair and muscles – made her heart leap.

As if he’d felt her gaze, he looked up. Their eyes locked. She felt that look in every part of her body.

The others must have told him what was going on, though, because as she got closer, she could see the worried lines on his forehead.

‘You know?’ she asked him quietly, and he nodded, squeezing her hand lightly.

‘I’ve got the gist of it.’

‘Something’s happening,’ she told him, raising her voice so the others could hear. ‘Isabelle’s got a plan and I think it could work.’

‘What’s going on?’ Rachel asked. ‘You were in there for ages.’

‘We’re going to try…’ Allie stopped as a skinny, dark-haired boy dashed up to them.

‘Come on Zoe,’ he said. ‘We’re going to play football.’

It took Allie a second to recognise Alec, the junior student from Night School. His glasses were crooked and his tie hung loose, and he looked at Zoe with a tenuous mixture of admiration and hope.

She could see the temptation in Zoe’s eyes, as she looked from him to Allie then back again. Finally, she sighed.

‘Allie has to tell us something boring,’ she explained. ‘Then I’ll come. I don’t want to be on your team.’

He looked only slightly crushed. ‘OK.’

‘Zoe,’ Nicole chided her. ‘Remember what we said about too much honesty.’

‘Yes.’ Zoe’s brow lowered stubbornly. ‘Honesty is good.’

Rachel interceded. ‘But you have to balance it with niceness.’

‘No I don’t,’ Zoe said.

‘My God, enough,’ Katie said, raising her voice. ‘I don’t have time for young love. Allie, just tell us what’s going on, for heaven’s sake.’

But there were too many people around. They needed somewhere to argue in private.

‘Let’s go to the summer house,’ she decided. ‘There won’t be anyone there.’

‘Oh good,’ Katie said, her tone heavy with sarcasm. ‘Secrets. We don’t have enough of those around here.’

‘Cimmeria,’ Lucas said, draping an arm across her slim shoulders, ‘is Greek for “Place of Secrets”.’

‘No it isn’t,’ Nicole murmured to Rachel, who smiled at her.

They struck out across the soft green lawn. Zoe was in the front, as usual. Carter was talking to Lucas and Katie a few steps away. Rachel and Nicole were walking hand in hand.

All around them laughter and excited voices swirled in the summer breeze. From somewhere, Allie could hear the thwack of a racquet against a tennis ball. The cheers of participants in some unseen game.

It felt like the start of summer, not the end.

Suddenly Sylvain appeared at Allie’s side. His gaze swept the group. ‘Something’s happening?’

Guilt coloured Allie’s cheeks with red. She hadn’t even thought about looking for Sylvain to include him in this meeting.

‘Yes. Come with us,’ she said, over-compensating with eagerness. ‘You should hear this, too.’

‘Intriguing,’ he said, and strode away to walk with Rachel and Nicole.

Carter cast a curious glance at Allie, but she kept her gaze straight ahead, tightening her grip on his hand as they left the smooth grass to move into the velvet shadows of the trees.

The sun fought its way through the thick branches, shooting shards of light here and there. Thick emerald ferns covered the forest floor, brushing softly against their knees.

The steep, peaked roof of the summer house rose out of the treetops ahead of them like an elves’ castle – the pale stone, adorned with elaborate, colourful mosaic tiles gave it a fairytale look, especially from a distance.

Up close, there was nothing to it, really, except the roof, and, up a few steps, a circle of stone benches and ledges, where they gathered.

Rachel sat close to Nicole, Katie, as usual, was almost in Lucas’ lap. Zoe sat on the steps, looking out into the trees. Sylvain sat alone in the shadows. Carter sat across from Allie, giving her space.

She took a breath. ‘Nathaniel was elected the new leader of the Orion Group yesterday.’ A murmur swept the group as she continued. ‘That’s why he was away when we went to St John’s Fields to get Carter. He was being “elected”.’ She made air quotes around the last word. ‘This school is the lead institution of the Orion Group. It is funded by the Orion Group, which is now run by Nathaniel. And they don’t want us here.’

She could see the awfulness of this news on their faces.

She had them right where she wanted them.

‘We thought we were going to have to leave,’ she said. ‘But now we have a better idea.’

She told them about the plan, watching as their sadness turned to doubt. Then hope.

Her gaze kept returning to Carter. She needed him to back her on this. This was her school but it was his home.

His face was hard to read. She knew he’d need time to think this all through.

‘You’re really going to let Nathaniel come here?’ Zoe was standing next to Carter now, her gaze fixed on Allie.

‘We’ve got to get him to agree to sell the school to us,’ Allie said. ‘Isabelle says he’ll only do that if we meet him in person.’

‘Will the others support this?’ Sylvain stepped into the light. ‘Has anyone spoken to my group?’

‘It’s all happening now,’ Allie said. ‘Isabelle’s on the phone with Lucinda’s supporters within Orion. If they agree, she’ll take it out to the other groups, including Demeter… your group.’

Sylvain’s father was technically the head of Demeter, the European equivalent of Orion. But he was still in the hospital, recovering from an assassination attempt.

‘What do you think?’ she asked, searching his face. ‘Would your group be willing to support us if we did this?’

He looked into the distance, his brow furrowed. ‘I’d need to talk to my father. After what happened to him – what Nathaniel did… I think he’ll be looking for any way to undermine him. He would support this, I think.’ His gaze flickered off hers. ‘I can speak to him. I’ll be returning to France in a few days.’

Something about the way he said it made it sound permanent.

‘You can’t,’ Zoe argued. ‘Nathaniel’s coming.’

He studied her soberly. ‘I’ll stay for that, Zoe. But then I must go back – my family needs me.’

Katie’s judgemental gaze swung from Sylvain to Allie.

Look what you’ve done,
 
it said.

Allie’s emotions were confused. She hated for him to go – hated the idea that, whatever he said, it might really be her fault. And yet…

It made sense that he should go. He was an exchange student of tremendous wealth. If being here made him unhappy he could literally go anywhere.

After all, he had his own jet.

The others, perhaps not attributing the same permanence to Sylvain’s announcement, had already gone back to talking about the new group.

‘We’re actually going to start our own secret society.’ Rachel marvelled. ‘It seems so strange. New world order.’

‘We just need to not make the same mistakes our parents did,’ Katie said. ‘Otherwise, what’s the point?’

‘We must make it fairer,’ Nicole said. ‘I hate how unfair Orion is. It treats ordinary people like cattle.’

The others nodded.

‘Can we have more real people at Cimmeria?’ Carter looked around the group. ‘Does it have to be people from the same background all the time?’

‘Everyone’s real, Carter,’ Katie reminded him tartly. ‘I didn’t ask to be born into my family, believe me. No one would ask for that. And I want to make things better, too. Just like you.’

He winced. ‘Sorry. That came out wrong. But you know what I mean, don’t you?’

‘Yes,’ Rachel agreed, dispelling the tension. ‘We want good people. And your bank account is just your bank account. It’s not your worth.’

Allie looked around the circle of familiar faces and wanted to hug everyone. For the first time in a very long time, her heart felt light.

‘This is what Lucinda always wanted,’ she said. ‘She thought Orion was messed up because it was so unfair. Obsessed with last names.’

‘Can we really do this?’ Nicole struck a note of caution. ‘We’re just kids. Will they listen to us?’

‘I can’t promise we’ll get everything we want,’ Allie admitted. ‘But we’ll be part of something. We have a chance.’

Rachel glanced at Allie. ‘If Nathaniel’s keeping Orion as a name, I wonder what the new group will be called?’

‘We need a cool name,’ Zoe said. ‘Like the Avengers. Or the Sisterhood of Pain. We could do it in Latin or something. For the old people.’

Allie opened her mouth to argue but Lucas got there first.

‘I like the Avengers,’ he said unhelpfully.

Katie shot him a withering look. ‘I think it’s taken.’

‘That doesn’t matter,’ Zoe argued. ‘It’s not like there wasn’t someone called Orion before.’

‘All the other groups are like Greek and Roman gods, aren’t they?’ Rachel tapped her forefinger against her lip. ‘Orion, Prometheus, Demeter…’

‘How about Medusa?’ Katie’s tone was dry. ‘I think that one’s free.’

Rachel ignored her. ‘There must be one. A good one…’

Nicole leaned over and whispered something. Rachel’s eyes widened. ‘Oh my God, that’s perfect.’

‘Share, please.’ Katie crooked her fingers.

‘Aurora.’ Rachel took Nicole’s hand. ‘The goddess of the dawn.’

The others fell silent.

‘I love it,’ Allie said.

Even Katie looked pleased. ‘It could be worse.’

Zoe stared at them in disbelief.

‘You think that’s better than the Sisterhood of Pain?’

B
y the time
they got back to the school building, work was already underway. Isabelle and the teachers met to discuss the plan and decide how to proceed, while, in London, Julian agreed to take the idea to the rest of Lucinda’s supporters within Orion.

Everything seemed to be happening very quickly, fuelled by concern about Nathaniel and what he might do now. So far, there’d been no word from him. And his silence was somehow chilling.

No one doubted how furious he must be.

Dom was still making sure his communication system was monitored at all times.

They were, in a way, in a race against his revenge.

Despite all this, Allie found it hard to stay on edge. With Carter back and everyone together again, she wanted to let herself be happy. She wanted to go to class and study. To get back to normal.

She wanted it all to be over. It just wasn’t, yet.

That evening, she was walking down the wide main hallway to meet the others in the common room, when she saw Christopher turn into the library.

She followed him in, but kept a distance away, watching as he sat down at a table covered in books. He didn’t notice her standing by the door, as he pulled a book from atop it, and sat down to read it.

After a second, she walked over. ‘Hey,’ she said. ‘Can I join you?’

He looked up and smiled. ‘There you are. I was looking for you earlier.’ He gestured at the seats across from him.

She slid into one.

Christopher wore a Cimmeria uniform now, a white button-down shirt and navy trousers. Seeing her checking out his clothes, he flushed self-consciously.

‘I know, I’m too old to be a student here, but I took what I could find.’ He brushed invisible lint off the leg of the trousers. ‘It’ll do for now, anyway.’

‘It looks good,’ Allie said, honestly. ‘You would have been an awesome Cimmeria student.’

‘Maybe.’ He changed the subject quickly. ‘Hey, I heard everything went well last night, and your friend’s back. Well done.’

‘That’s what I came to talk to you about,’ she said. ‘I wanted to just… thank you. For helping us with the guards, and telling us all you did.’

He held her gaze. ‘I’m glad it helped. And I hope you believe I’m on your side now.’

‘I do,’ she said. And, to her surprise, she really did. Her doubts about her brother had faded every time his information had proven right. Now she was certain he really was trustworthy.

‘What are you going to do now?’ Allie gestured at the books on the table. ‘This is a lot of reading, by the way.’

He looked down at the books as if he’d just noticed them.

‘Well, to be honest, I was thinking of taking my A levels. After I left home, I kind of missed out a year of lessons. So I’ve been studying, a bit.’ He gave an embarrassed laugh. ‘Finding out how thick I am.’

Allie tried not to appear as surprised as she was. She’d never thought about what running away meant to her brother’s life. She’d been focused on how it had impacted her and her parents. But, of course, he’d missed his last two years of school, and had never taken his exams.

‘That’s really great,’ she said, meaning it. ‘Are you thinking of going to university?’

‘Maybe,’ he said, a bit shyly. ‘I’d like to, if I can get through this stuff. I kind of want the chance to find out what it’s like to be you guys.’ He gestured at the vast library, where rows of bookcases soared to the ceiling. ‘To study some place like this.’

Somehow, this was flattering. Before he’d run away, Allie had always looked up to Christopher. He was everything she’d wanted to be.

Now maybe she could help him.

‘If Nathaniel doesn’t do something crazy,’ she said, ‘maybe you could stay and study for a while. Until you take your exams. I could ask Isabelle, if you’d like.’

The hope in his eyes broke her heart.

‘I’d really like that,’ he said. ‘The thing is, I’m not really sure where to go from here.’

She couldn’t suppress a grin.

‘Don’t worry,’ she assured him. ‘None of us are.’

That night, Nathaniel called.

The students were gathered in the common room, when Isabelle summoned Allie and Carter to her office. When they walked in, Raj, Zelazny and Dom were already there.

‘Nathaniel is insisting on coming here, tomorrow night,’ Isabelle said. She looked preternaturally calm – as if she’d ordered herself to be unafraid. ‘I tried to get him to give us a week so we could get everything in order, but he refused. He threatened to send the bailiffs to evict us if I didn’t.’ She paused. ‘The publicity from such an eviction would be devastating to anything we might want to do with the school in the future. He knows I can’t allow that.’ She glanced at Raj. ‘So he’s making his move.’

‘Yes, he is.’ Raj’s expression was dark. ‘We’re not ready.’

She held up her hands. ‘We’ll have to get ready.’

‘How could he send the bailiffs?’ Allie asked, looking around the room.

It was Zelazny who explained. ‘Technically, Orion has ownership of the school. Nathaniel now has control of Orion. So we are trespassing.’

Allie glanced over at Carter. He looked as worried as she felt.

Nathaniel must suspect they were planning something.

‘Do you think word got back to him somehow?’ Allie asked. ‘Someone Julian talked with?’

‘It’s possible,’ Isabelle said. ‘We need to move quickly now.’ She turned to her security chief. ‘Raj, I know there’s not enough time. But do all you can.’

He nodded. ‘I’ll bring in some extra guys, secure the grounds. We’ll be as ready as possible.’

She turned to Zelazny. ‘August, I’ll need your help to prepare the staff and students.’

‘Whatever you need, Isabelle.’ He spoke with uncharacteristic gentleness.

They all knew this was the beginning of the end, one way or another.

Isabelle turned to the students. ‘Allie, you will need to prepare with me, as you’ll be meeting with Nathaniel directly.’

Allie nodded. Her mouth had gone so dry, she didn’t trust herself to speak.

‘Carter.’ The headmistress gave him a sad smile. ‘I want you to stay as far away from Nathaniel as you can. All of this could be a ruse to try and get you back.’

He didn’t argue, even though Allie knew he’d hate that. He wouldn’t want her to be in danger if he wasn’t there, too.

‘We have a lot to do and very little time.’ Isabelle looked around the room. ‘We’d better get started.’

Nobody got much sleep that night.

Word spread quickly among the students about what was happening.

Senior Night School students spent much of the night working with Raj, Eloise and Zelazny, concocting an elaborate security plan.

Allie tumbled into bed with her uniform still on at half three, and was up again just after six to start again. Everyone looked as tired as she felt. But nobody talked about stopping.

There was an overwhelming sense throughout the school that this would be the end – one way or another. When Nathaniel left that night, either he would have Cimmeria, or they would.

It was a fight for everything.

For Allie it was all too soon. They hadn’t had time to gather support for their plan – hadn’t even begun to iron out its weaknesses or identify its strengths. It was still just a fuzzy idea.

Maybe that’s why Nathaniel was doing this, she thought. If he’d heard what they were planning – if word had somehow got back to him – he’d want to stop them early. Cut them off at the knees before they learned how to walk.

The thought made her angry. And anger gave her energy.

Just after noon, Allie and Isabelle were working in her office when her mobile buzzed.

‘Isabelle,’ she answered shortly, her eyes still on the document in front of her. Then her tone changed. ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘How odd. Yes. Open the gates.’

Allie, who was seated on one of the chairs in front of her desk, looked up in surprise.

‘It’s Julian.’ Isabelle was already heading for the door. ‘This can’t be good news.’

‘What? Here?’ Allie scrambled after her. ‘Why can’t it be good news?’

‘Why would he just show up without calling first?’ Isabelle said as they half-ran down the hallway. ‘Good news can be given any way you like. But you deliver bad news in person.’

Allie’s stomach flipped. Would Julian Bell-Howard actually drive all the way from London to Cimmeria just to tell them he wouldn’t help them?

It seemed cruel. But anything was possible. She didn’t understand adults, sometimes.

Julian pulled up a short while later in a glossy silver sports car.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Isabelle exclaimed as he climbed out, all long legs and elbows in a Savile Row suit. ‘You didn’t have to come all this way.’

‘Don’t be absurd.’ He kissed both her cheeks smoothly, as if they were about to go to dinner together in Kensington. ‘We have important things to discuss. Besides, I’d never let you face Nathaniel alone. Allie, my dear.’

He held out both hands to her. ‘I cannot tell you how happy I was to get Isabelle’s phone call and hear about your plan.’ His mouth was too wide for his face, his dark hair flopped forward into his eyes. There was something wonderfully off-kilter about him. ‘I knew the two of you would think of some way to get us out of our Orion predicament. I think the idea is brilliant. Nathaniel will be backed right into a corner.’

‘How was the idea of the new group received by the others?’ Isabelle asked. ‘We need their support or we have nothing to fight for.’

‘You’ve got it.’ Julian’s reply came without hesitation. ‘You have them all.’

Allie wasn’t sure she’d understood that. ‘Wait. They’re all going to support us?’

‘All of them,’ Julian said. He glanced at Isabelle. ‘It turns out a lot of people are very eager to leave Orion.’

This was brilliant news, but Isabelle still looked worried.

‘But first we have to get Nathaniel to agree.’

‘Indeed.’ Julian tilted his head at the front door, which stood open behind them. ‘Well Izzy? Shall we just stand in the driveway fretting? Or should we go inside and get to work? Do you know, I’m absolutely gasping for a cup of tea.’

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake.’ Isabelle turned on her heel and headed up the steps, her low heels clicking. ‘Fine. Come in. You can join in the chaos.’

Seeing them together like this, Allie got the impression they’d once been a couple. They seemed absolutely at home with each other.

And Isabelle was wrong. Julian had not come with bad news.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of work and planning. Allie spent most of the day with Julian and Isabelle. Occasionally Raj and Zelazny would join them to go over finer points of security planning.

It was decided that the meeting would take place outside the building. Isabelle insisted Nathaniel would be impossible to control if he was actually inside. But Allie suspected she simply didn’t want to see the man who would like to take the school from her within its doors.

They would meet by the front steps. The meeting would be as short as possible.

Raj was placing guards among them, and hidden in the shadows.

Everything had been decided, down to who would do most of the talking.

‘Dealing with Nathaniel is always tricky,’ Isabelle said at one point. ‘I shouldn’t speak much – my presence upsets him.’

‘Hmm, yes,’ Julian agreed. ‘I must say, he and I have always been able to speak with some rationality, so I feel comfortable talking with him, if you’d prefer? I’m happy to stand in for our side, as it were.’

‘Good. And he seems to like Allie.’ Isabelle glanced at her. ‘She can handle some negotiations.’

‘Of course he likes her,’ Julian said cheerfully, ‘she’s wonderful. But I think it would be wise if she stayed out of his… reach. If you will.’

‘Yes,’ Isabelle agreed. ‘I’ll make sure the guards know he’s not to touch Allie. She must be kept away from him at all times.’

The implication of this made Allie’s blood run cold. Everyone suspected Nathaniel would hurt her, given the chance.

Throughout the day, Dom had sent down periodic updates.

At half past nine, Rachel knocked on Isabelle’s office door. She was breathless, clearly having run down from the top floor office.

‘Dom says to tell you they’re coming.’

When they walked out into the hallway a short time later, they were greeted by a group of fifteen guards, dressed in black. Allie saw Sylvain and Nicole among them.

Carter, still in his school uniform, stood a short distance away, just inside the door of the common room.

Relieved, Allie ran to his side. It was the first chance they’d had to talk all day.

He pulled her into his arms. ‘I wish I could go with you. Be careful,’ he whispered. ‘Promise?’

‘I promise,’ she said. ‘And don’t you dare get kidnapped.’

He grinned at her. ‘Like that would ever happen.’

Further down the hallway, the guards had formed a “v”, with Isabelle and Julian in the middle.

‘It’s time,’ Isabelle said, looking at Allie.

‘Good luck,’ Carter whispered.

Allie ran to join the headmistress.

The guards opened the front door, and they walked out into the night.