Godfather. It felt strange to hear, after all this time. Gabriel had never really thought about how that might feel. No, that was a lie. He'd thought constantly of it, what it might have meant for his family to have been his family the whole time. What it would be like to have them back. But none of that was as real as this young man who looked like him, almost in the hair and very much in the shape of the nose, the details around the eyes. Looked like him, and called him Godfather.
"So you know, then," Gabriel said.
"I know Magdalena took your place," his godson said, and did Gabriel the dignity of not calling him by that name. Gabriel had left it behind so long ago, even before his death. "I know you want that place back. And it seems you were going to take it by killing me, which I really must object to."
He put a face to Gabriel's ambitions, this godson. A face Gabriel hadn't put to his plotting against Magdalena, his lashing out against the Morley protection squads and goons.
"I won't kill you," Gabriel said, even as he made that decision.
"Glad to hear it." A rolling tap of Mickey's fingers on the table. "What's changed your mind?"
I've never met you before. "Getting sentimental in my old age." A pause, a look to the door from which Gabriel's necromancer Percy had come and gone. "Why are you alive?"
"Got a gift for healing," Mickey said.
"Hell of a gift for healing, surviving a knife to the back."
"Fortunately, it missed my heart." Mickey smiled, like it was some kind of private joke. "Wouldn't be alive otherwise. I wouldn't recommend using your necromancer as a healer for the living, by the way. Nasty side effects."
"You seem fine."
"Because I countered it with my healing. That faerie of yours was not so fine."
A stab of fear through Gabriel. Fear that did not belong there. Gabriel and Rhett had made a bargain, that was all. Rhett was just a faerie. Rhett-the-human had never been real.
And yet. "What happened to him?" Gabriel asked.
"The magic infected his arm and began spreading. Nearly killed both him and me, getting it out."
It broke Gabriel's intent of like-for-like, if the healing he'd provided was actually harm. "Not the fate I meant for him. Thank you for healing it, Godson."
"You can call me Mickey. And you're Gabriel Morley, if I don't miss my mark?"
Gabriel Morley. It had a ring to it, a ring Gabriel had long thought he would never get to hear.
"We stole you here as a corpse," Gabriel said. "But you talk like you meant to be here the whole time. So, what would you be doing here, Mickey, if you'd come here on purpose?"
"Stopping Magdalena, of course. And rescuing Rhett. She's done a number on him already."
Sick feelings twisted inside of Gabriel, dread and regret. "Why do you want to rescue one faerie and kill another?" Posed as a question to Mickey. But, really a question to himself.
"Rhett warned me about Magdalena. Given that mine's the face she's decided to steal, I can't help but feel grateful. And since he's one of your allies, all the better."
"Ally". Complicated word. Certainly not the right one. And yet... Rhett had warned Mickey about Magdalena. Tried to save Mickey, when Gabriel's first thought had been to kill Mickey. This long-lost godson, who'd given Gabriel respect from the moment they'd first exchanged words. The first family member who had ever seen him, really seen him. Who'd called him "godfather", and "Gabriel Morley".
It was not bound by magic, but Gabriel owed Rhett for this.
Gabriel and Mickey talked plans. Gabriel had zombies seeded all through the school's security--every one of Malachi's they'd managed to revive. They were feeding Gabriel intel and serving as a line of communication between Gabriel and Eric. Intel said Greta was fine, just locked away. Where Gabriel planned to leave her until this was done--no need to have her oaths drive them to fighting one another.
Mickey and the suborned security would let the rest of Gabriel's forces into the mansion. They'd kill Magdalena, use its corpse to reveal what it had really been. Gabriel would take his rightful place as family head, with Mickey his heir, and finish the bargain with Rhett.
Mickey, on hearing the last of the plan, watched Gabriel for a long minute. Gabriel could see the gears turning in his head.
"Whether you decide to head the family or not is up to you," Mickey said. "You want to come back as part of saving us from Magdalena, that's your choice."
"Why the hell wouldn't I come back?"
"Because right now? You could do anything, be anything. You come back, you're Gabriel Morley. Trust me when I say you'll get sick to death of every last backstabbing one of us."
"It's my family."
A wan smile. "I know that old tune. I sing it myself."
The gears in Mickey's head were indeed turning. Being heir had technically been Mickey's initial goal, when he'd accepted the Test of the Serpent from Magdalena. But Gabriel was an unknown entity. He might turn out to be even worse than Magdalena. And even if he didn't, he was an ageless zombie who didn't exactly sound like he had imminent plans to retire. Being stuck waiting in the wings, indefinitely, would throw a wrench into Mickey's plans.
But, Mickey had painted himself into a damned corner, and, even if he would tell everyone else it was all in the plan, he had to admit that much to himself. He had allies, but the ones within the family wouldn't necessarily back him against Magdalena.
The Holloways' grip on power relied in large part on their Sighted. Great-Uncle Dorian hadn't been a Magdalena loyalist, but he'd also died mysteriously long before Mickey was born. Dorian's grandson Reynard was sure to be on Mickey's side, they'd always been close, except Reynard was committed permanently to a mental health facility and not exactly influential these days. Great-Aunt Greta might not personally like Magdalena, but, she was compromised by oaths, and was aiding Gabriel besides. Noraline--Mom--had weaker Sight than all of them, and might not even know. Hopefully did not know, since she'd spoken to Magdalena personally to try and convince her to select Mickey for the succession test. And Grandma Ava... had Sight equal to Great-Aunt Greta, but apparently not a heart equal to Great-Aunt Greta, because she hadn't done a thing to prevent Mickey's succession. All of which summed out to Mickey needing his family's most prominent members for support, and effectively having none of it.
His allies within Lucía's faction could not afford to be seen offering risky, traitorous support right now. That faction was sure to blame Mickey for Lucía's death and the destruction of the lab. Moreover, any support he did get from them would not come without cost. And given that he wanted to shift the nature of their drug trade away from the addictive, life-ruining shit that was the Lynwoods' bread and butter... A deal with them risked wrecking half of why he wanted power.
His allies within Malachi's faction were more than likely suborned by Gabriel's zombification strategy. Which stripped Mickey of firepower even as Gabriel's control of them created the need for firepower. Mickey's intelligence and influence network could only get him so far in this endgame.
He did have allies outside the Morleys and their connected families... but bringing in outside forces might wreck the power balance of the mobs and would certainly be unpopular within the family. He could very well end up with a lot of corpses, but not a lot of power. Worst of both worlds. Gabriel had the advantage here--he was a long-lost prominent family member, and his subordinates were his own, not borrowed from anyone else.
The resources Mickey had left would be difficult enough to employ if Gabriel weren't in play. But now that Gabriel was in play? Might well be impossible. It would certainly be the harder road to take.
Right now, the most feasible move Mickey could think of would be to go along with Gabriel. Help the man rise to power and name Mickey his heir. And then Mickey could explore his options. Backstabbing. Suborning. Maneuvering Gabriel to an early retirement. Manipulating Gabriel into puppet leadership. Using opposition to Gabriel--because surely there would be some--to collect loyalties offered out of spite.
Or, hell, even actually being the man's ally for a few years, if he turned out to be a good leader. Maybe Gabriel could at least be persuaded to end their grace operations? Zombies didn't like grace, right? Nasty drug. Lucía had wanted to use it on Rhett, because she was a terrible person.
Maybe Mickey could leave the "Gender? Several, please" closet under Gabriel, though, who could tell? Too risky and too early to even think about.
For now, Mickey was stuck trusting Gabriel. To take back the family. To rescue Rhett. To stop Magdalena.
Time to carry out their plans.
Ms. Abercorn tortured a faerie in front of them for class. If Michelle had been alone, she would probably just have shut down, seeing that. But instead, she had to keep Jenna alive, because Jenna had been furious and had nearly gone up to Ms. Abercorn to stop her. Which was, god, not what you did with a woman capable of cold-blooded torture for an audience, much less a mobster's mistress appointed as teacher in an institution where the principal had written torture into the curriculum. Jenna could have died. Or worse. So, so much worse. So in the class, Michelle reached out with her shadows and physically kept Jenna in her seat, even as the horror show played out. It was like a nightmare Michelle couldn't wake up from, cold and terrible and endless.
She and Jenna fought after that class. In Jenna's dorm, behind Jenna's ironclad wards.
"You don't get to tell me what I can do!" Jenna shouted. "What she did was wrong!"
"You couldn't have stopped her!"
"Yes, I could have! I could have warded them or something. Ms. Abercorn is terrible at wards, she couldn't have taken it down."
"What if she'd brought the principal over?"
"I don't... I don't know."
"Or Mr. Morley?"
"Maybe he would have helped me stop Ms. Abercorn. I've heard him talk about her views on faeries. He doesn't agree with her."
"Jenna, you don't understand. Look, he plays nice for us, but Mr. Morley isn't..."
"Isn't what? Is he lying to us about not agreeing with her? Even with what he taught you about lying, I don't see why he'd have a reason to--"
"Because she's his girlfriend and you would have been seen as attacking her and he isn't like you." Michelle wanted, so badly, to grab Jenna's shoulders and shake her until she understood. "Mr. Morley is a mobster. He kills people. And I don't want you to be one of them, okay?"
"You don't get to decide what I stand up for."
"I--Jenna, I--"
"No, Michelle. Okay? I like you a--" Jenna flinched away from whatever she'd been going to say next. "But if you aren't willing to help me, at least get out of my way."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to Ms. Abercorn's office hours. And I'm going. To ask. Questions."
The second heart in Thairn's chest began pounding in a sudden, terrible rush. Was Magdalena trying to kill and replace Mickey already? Had something else happened?
But it calmed, after a moment, to a quick-but-steady rhythm. Better by far than the sickening lurches she'd received while in the classroom with Illa, the ones that had slowed to soporific adagio by the time the class was done. This, instead, eased over minutes into a normal beat.
Reassured, Thairn risked a glance at Illa. At those flickers of movement that set Illa to pained gasp, that let her see the holes through his translucent veil. She fought down her gorge, the urge to look away. She had to preserve Alanna's calm mask. And she couldn't let herself forget: she had done this to him.
She wanted, badly, to heal him. But Alanna wasn't supposed to have healing powers, in part to excuse her hands, and she had to keep that damned cover yet. All she could do for now was leave the collar off and refrain from giving orders. She wasn't sure either of them could withstand her orders right now.
A knock came. She rose, making sure as she did that her mask continued to hold perfect. Had to evade suspicion. Couldn't show mercy. Not even on her face. If she let the slightest flaw through now, her mask would break entirely.
Please, let this be Mickey.
She opened the door.
Lucía stood in the doorway.
"You're alive?" Thairn-as-Alanna asked. All of Alanna's deep-felt worry, none of Thairn's sharp and bitter disappointment. Thairn had liked Lucía, somewhat. But now, Thairn couldn't shake the memory of being led to a suffering Illa. Of being handed that chainmail veil.
If Lucía was already dead to everyone else, would it harm anything to kill her again?
"Come in," Thairn said, hastily. Closing the door behind Lucía. Mind stretching to strategy. How to end this. The wards on this room were terrible, so, someone might scry and see... could she claim she'd pegged this scarred, glowing creature for a changeling? Lucía had "died" in a lab explosion, after all. This clearly couldn't be her. Airtight, wasn't it?
"It's good to see you," Lucía said.
Thairn contemplated the knife in her desk drawer. Would she be fast enough to outpace Lucía's evocation? Perhaps Thairn could conjure a distraction, to simplify the matter.
But then Lucía continued. "Mickey's dead, and we need to talk strategy."
A shiver coursed down Thairn's spine. Only Mickey's heart, still beating in her chest, kept her grounded. "He's dead?" Best to gather information, much as it delayed Lucía's dearly-deserved demise.
"He's dead," Lucía confirmed. "I know you didn't want this, but I wasn't the one responsible. For all he was responsible for what happened to my lab, and what nearly happened to me."
Alanna would, of course, be horrified. "He's the reason you--" Right, keep in mind Lucía's order of priorities. "He destroyed all your research? Almost killed you?" And now to slip the line in, to fish for information. "I--please, tell me there's no chance he's coming back. Is he really dead?"
"As far as I can tell. I scried two of Malachi's former minions carting his body off somewhere, while the guard on that zombie's prison room was cleaning up the blood."
Malachi's men seeking vengeance, perhaps, for the drugging. But Thairn needed information on where the body had gone, so, she spun up a wild theory. "What if that zombie is responsible somehow? Could they revive him?"
This took Lucía by clear surprise, but she looked contemplative rather than dismissive. "I'm not certain."
"How long ago?" Pushing the idea that Alanna's concern was keeping Mickey "dead". Digging for information.
"Partway through your class."
When the heart had first lurched. "They could have taken the body anywhere by now."
"We could torture the guard, perhaps? He stayed behind."
Thairn perhaps could not blame Lucía for not getting interrogation training from the DOOR. "Lucía, I treasure and respect you, but you have to know that's ineffective? Unacceptable accuracy levels."
"Torture? What makes you say that?"
Well, you see, the fae have conducted research studies... "I certainly never told the fae anything true. And neither have other victims I've seen."
"That does comport with the neuroscience. Good to know. What do you propose?"
Not much in the way of good solutions, for the moment. Malachi's people did not favor either Alanna or Lucía. "Scrying on the guard and the zombie, perhaps. See if they talk to each other, or if the guard goes anywhere."
"The zombie is too well-warded in that prison room, but I can do the guard."
"That should w--"
Interrupted by the door opening. The weak wards assigned to Thairn's office flickering completely off.
Jenna Huáng stepped into the room, fists clenched, expression determined. "Ms. Abercorn, I need to talk to y--Dr. Morley? You're okay!"
"Good to see you, Jenna." Lucía's voice indulgent in a way that set Thairn's teeth on edge.
"I'm so relieved," Jenna said. "How did you--I heard the lab exploded, and you look like you're hurt, can I help at all?" She looked at Lucía's glowing hands. "Is that thiefsgild? Mr. Morley showed me how to dispel that."
"Of course he did," Lucía muttered. She held out her hands to Jenna. "Show me, then."
Jenna dispelled it with quick, neat motions of her hands and careful syllables. The glow disappeared. Impressive for a student. Then again, thiefsgild was used in wards--Jenna's finest affinity--to mark the hands of those who breached them.
Lucía watched Jenna carefully as she cast, all focus. "Good," Lucía said, when Jenna was done. "Now, what have you come to talk to Ms. Abercorn about?"
"She... she tortured that faerie today in class, Dr. Morley." Jenna pointed at Illa. "It wasn't right."
Thairn felt as if someone had knifed her in the gut. Torture. Completely accurate. And yet Thairn had to stay completely composed. She couldn't bring herself to argue in favor of what she'd done to Illa, as Alanna might be expected to do. She let Lucía take the reins on this one.
Lucía asked one very simple question. "Why?"
Jenna, flummoxed, but trying all the same. Brave girl. "Because--because the faerie was in pain, that's not--there wasn't any reason to do that."
Thairn needed people like this to exist in the world, and she couldn't say a damn thing.
"The faeries put Ms. Abercorn in pain," Lucía said. "You've seen her hands, haven't you?"
"I--I have, but that's--is this the faerie who did that?"
Alanna was at least allowed to answer that much. "No. This is not that fae."
"Then I don't understand."
Thairn had to shut out the feelings that threatened to spark, had to keep her calm. To not shake Lucía and everyone else in the whole damned mansion and shout Jenna is right! She's right! Listen to her!
"Jenna," Lucía said, "there's not much to understand here. It's an enemy. That Ms. Abercorn is using it for education instead of causing permanent damage--which the fae did do to her--is Ms. Abercorn being generous."
Jenna looked up at Lucía. Another question about to come, surely. Thairn might need to stave these off to protect the girl--
But all Jenna said was, "Oh. Okay." As if Lucía's argument had made all the sense in the world.
There was a pit in the core of Thairn's stomach as she watched the girl turn to her.
"Thank you, Ms. Abercorn," Jenna said, "for being generous to the faerie." Generous somehow a worse word now than torture. "And thank you for teaching us. Dr. Morley's always telling us how important it is to learn."
In some distant place, Alanna's voice came, pitch-perfect. "Of course."
"Now, Jenna," Lucía said. "You've destroyed the wards here, and there's work I need Ms. Abercorn to do for me. Could you go get your spellsage and start putting new ones up? And tell the other students Ms. Abercorn is holding office hours. I want them to bring her any information they have on security in the mansion and where my assistants are. You understand?"
"Sure thing, Dr. Morley. And I'm sorry, Ms. Abercorn." Jenna hurried off. No further questions.
Only one conclusion from all of this. "Lucía," Thairn said. "How many of your students have you dosed with your new potion?"
"Clever as always, Alanna. The whole lab section, of course."
"Not the whole class?"
"It unfortunately requires repeat doses and positive interactions. My lab section was amenable, but the rest of the class is... frustrating." Which really meant that Lucía had lost her patience with them, then blamed the negative responses to that on the students. Mickey really was better at charisma. "And now the lab explosion's taken all the remaining doses, and my notes."
"A shame." Truly was. Without that potion or the notes, Thairn wouldn't be able to figure out how to reverse this. "Do we need to worry about the effects fading?"
"Fortunately, no."
"Good." Damn. "Did you at least get the opportunity to dose your lab assistants?"
"Yes, and Dara."
"And me." A damned good thing Thairn had swapped that spoon. Otherwise she'd be offering up Mickey's heart right now.
"Clever Alanna. And you, of course."
"Normally, I would protest..." Thairn rubbed her gloved hands. Alanna, were she real, would have a deep horror of mind magic such as this.
"Only to ensure the fae couldn't draw you away again," Lucía reassured. Which was curious. There wasn't a reason to reassure Alanna--Lucía believed her potioned to loyalty. But then, Lucía did like Alanna. Enough to have come to Alanna's room at night and brought her to see to Illa's torment.
Thairn had to play this very carefully. Pretend to be potioned, but smart enough about it to justify things she did outside of expectation. Show admiration and fondness for Lucía, but not too much. Thairn had spent ages analyzing how to handle Lucía, both using her own interactions and conversations with Mickey. She'd concluded this: Lucía liked Alanna, but, she would think less of Alanna if Alanna ever tried to act on it. It was why Thairn had ruled out a seduction approach.
"That is a kindness," Thairn said, calculated. "And Mickey's dead, now." The reassurance of Mickey's heart in her chest the one thing letting her pull that off with perfect poise. Though Alanna would be a bit more anxious, yes? She let out a long, deliberate breath, like she was releasing some taut tension. "I have nobody with a hold on me other than you anymore. You, I trust. And I don't think that's only from your potion."
"Good. Mickey was so certain of you, he almost worried me."
"Bluffing. It's his favorite pastime. Was."
"A chapter well-closed, as long as we make sure he doesn't become a zombie. But he's dead enough to win me the succession, and that's what matters right now. As long as Magdalena accepts it. With my research in flames... but I have a backup plan, if she does deny me my rightful place."
"What's the plan?" Thairn asked. "Have you put it in motion yet?"
"I've set up--"
The door slammed open.
In walked Magdalena. Her eyes flickered over the people in the room. "Lucía. You're alive." And, straight to the point. "Why did your lab explode?"
"Mickey."
"And where is he?" Magdalena looked to Thairn, whose romance with Mickey was well-known, and whose conspiracy with Lucía to poison him was not.
A chance, here, to set Lucía up for Magdalena to murder, for all Thairn would rather do it personally. "He's dead. Two of Malachi's men were seen taking his body from the mansion." Left out who had seen it. Lucía would have no reason to lie to Alanna, but Magdalena didn't know that.
Magdalena's hand gripped her cane until her gnarled knuckles turned white. This had to be frustrating. All she'd wanted was to take over someone's life under the guise of heirship's legitimacy. Poor thing.
Thairn would make sure she died and would spit on her grave, if she got one.
"Lucía," Magdalena said. "Do you have a way to cover those scars?" And then, dismissive. "Never mind. I'll bring you something. Just make sure none of the rest of the family sees you until I do."
There was a flicker of emotion on Lucía's face. Fury. Indignation. It had to be galling, to hear the powerful woman she hoped to succeed fixate on Lucía's looks, when she'd worked so endlessly hard on her research. On accomplishments measured in her skills and smarts.
But to Magdalena? Lucía was nothing more than a face Magdalena planned to steal and live in.
"May I ask why?" Lucía's voice carefully, perfectly polite. She did that so much better for Magdalena than she did for Mickey or for her students.
"You'll need to look your best for the succession announcement," Magdalena said. "You'll be my heir, after all."
Lucía bowed. "Thank you, Madame Morley. I await your offered aid." One hand behind her back, out of Magdalena's line of sight. Fist clenched so hard it must have drawn nail marks into her palm.
If Magdalena didn't kill Lucía promptly, it was entirely possible that Lucía would end up being the one doing the killing.
"Go wait in your office," Magdalena ordered Lucía. "You have better wards there. I don't want anyone to scry you."
Lucía stood up straight. Nodded. Unclenched her fist and held composure all the way out the door.
Magdalena gave her departure nothing more than a glance. "Alanna, I can see why you were delayed. But I'm here for the faerie now."
Sick dread flooded Thairn, though she kept Alanna's face unmoved. "Weren't you going to get that--" couldn't say glamour, though that was surely what it was--"cover for Lucía's scars?"
"That can wait. The announcement isn't for hours. The faerie, I want to talk to now."
"May I ask your intended use? It will help me advise you."
"Nothing too strenuous, now that we're out a healer. If it's able to eat food, drink water, and take a walk in the gardens while I talk to it, that's all I need."
Surprisingly gentle. Was Magdalena changing strategies? Or was there another intention here?
"Do you have an antidote for the Broca Burn, now that the laboratory's gone?" Thairn asked.
"I always keep some. Nothing to worry about there." Magdalena grabbed the collar from Thairn's desk, locked it around Illa's throat. Hooked a leash to it. Illa staring at the changeling, unable to speak and reveal he wasn't Broca Burnt anymore at all.
Thairn thought as quickly as she could. Was Magdalena telling the truth? She didn't have any reason to lie, other than the subject of her planned walk-and-talk. Thairn had already done all the brutality for her. So, preventing this walk in the garden was likely not worth endangering both Thairn's and Illa's lives. But Thairn was scared, still, to have him out of her sight. Especially with Mickey gone.
But if she waited... Jenna would be back to fix the wards. Which might give Thairn an actually safe space for Illa to recover. And Lucía might have the time while they waited for Magdalena's scar glamour to scry on the guard, which might give Thairn a chance to find Mickey...
I'm sorry, Thairn couldn't say to Illa.
"Of course," Alanna said. And let Magdalena take him.
Jenna went for the dorms to get her spellsage. Every footfall landing with the excited relief of knowing Dr. Morley was alive. Alive! She'd been so scared and sad when she'd heard the rumors. Had been asking everyone as much as possible about what had happened. It had sounded so, so hopeless. But, she'd had a feeling... and that feeling had been right. Jenna felt like floating, the vise-like grip of the last several hours loosening.
Maybe that was why she'd been so upset about the faerie? Channeling grief into thinking she needed to stop Ms. Abercorn from doing something that wasn't even permanent. And into a fight with Michelle. A really bad fight with Michelle.
Jenna would have to give Michelle one hell of an apology.
When Jenna got back to the dorm hall, she told as many students as possible about the good news. Her fellow extra-crediters were so relieved, they hugged her, and promised to go straight to Ms. Abercorn's office if they had anything. Other students were somewhere between shocked and relieved. And a few gave disturbingly macabre groans, as if they'd wanted Dr. Morley dead. That creeped her out. She made a note to warn Dr. Morley about those students.
Jenna didn't see Michelle among the people out in the common area, and nobody answered Michelle's door. Jenna went back to her own room, a knot of worry in her chest, and was so relieved to see Michelle still there. Though Michelle looked so nervous that there were shadows doing puppet shows all around the room.
"Jenna! You're okay!" Michelle started to reach for her, then wrung her hands, fretting. "I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stayed here, I--I just..."
Michelle looked so scared and miserable and relieved that Jenna couldn't help but open her arms, offering a hug.
Michelle sank into the embrace, shaking. "I was so scared Ms. Abercorn would hurt you..."
Which sounded completely paranoid. Dr. Morley trusted Ms. Abercorn. So, there was no way Ms. Abercorn would hurt Jenna.
But Jenna couldn't blame Michelle, who'd grown up with so many real threats everywhere. "She didn't hurt me. I don't think she'd do that. All we did was talk."
"Just talk?"
"...well, I did rip apart her wards some?" Embarrassed. "I'm supposed to get my spellsage and go repair them."
"And that's all?"
"Yup. Other than some really, really good news."
"What's the good news?"
"Dr. Morley's alive! I saw her in Ms. Abercorn's office. I even got to help her, the thing with the lab got her enchanted with thiefsgild, and... anyway, the thiefsgild doesn't matter, she's alive. I'm so happy."
Michelle squeezed Jenna tight in answer. She knew how worried Jenna had been. Michelle had even offered to keep an ear out for rumors.
"By the way," Jenna continued, "Dr. Morley talked to me, and... I want to apologize to you."
"Yeah?"
"I was about to attack a teacher over a class lesson. You were right to stop me."
"I mean... you know, it's not like I blame you, that 'lesson' was... it wasn't okay. But, I just... I want you to be safe, that's all."
"I'm glad. But, honestly, though? I overreacted."
"To me stopping you?"
"No, to the lesson. It's not like she hurt it permanently or anything, even though faeries did permanent stuff to her hands. Honestly, she was being nice to it, in comparison."
Michelle's entire body stiffened in her arms. "...'nice'."
"Look, okay, I know it sounds off at first, but, if you really think about it, it makes sense?"
"It does?"
"Sure, it, um... you know, Dr. Morley explained it so much better than I can. If you talk to her, you'll get it."
Michelle pulled back. Her shadows going crazy with all kinds of shapes. Some like faerie wings. She was looking at Jenna like she'd just seen an alien.
Which, okay, yeah, Jenna had definitely 180'd, and Michelle hadn't been there for Dr. Morley's explanation, and Jenna wasn't really delivering it well. "Basically, the faeries hurt Ms. Abercorn, so Ms. Abercorn hurt one of them? Except she was, like, generous, and didn't even give it something that'd scar, and just used it to educate us. So, it's not a bad thing, even though I thought it was. I just didn't understand the logic enough, that's all."
"Did she threaten you? Is that why you're saying this?"
"No, neither of them would ever threaten me. Michelle, I know there's the whole mob thing, but Dr. Morley and Ms. Abercorn are different. Especially Dr. Morley. She would never hurt me."
"Jenna, I'm pretty sure she's poisoned at least one student."
"That's... someone not understanding how the extra credit lab works and then turning it into a nasty rumor. You know the kinds of things people make up. You've told me all about the rumors people have spread about you, and I know those aren't true."
"I... I can see that, I guess. But, what happened to the faerie isn't a rumor. We watched it. And I know how you felt about it. I don't understand how you've--ohhh." Michelle set her hands on Jenna's shoulders, meeting her eyes. "Jenna, if you're trying to get my guard down so you can help the faerie in secret--"
"Nope."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure. I don't want to rescue the faerie. If anything, I want to see if we can learn more from it."
"I... I see." Michelle still looked dubious, but. She would realize Jenna meant it eventually.
"Anyway, I have to go."
"To fix Ms. Abercorn's wards?"
"Yup."
"Can I come with you?"
"Yeah, of course you can. I'm sorry again, about... I really shouldn't have yelled at you."
Michelle nodded, chewing on her lower lip. "It's, um. It's okay."
They left together. Michelle trailing behind Jenna, and shadows trailing behind Michelle. Flickering still.
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