Conspiracies (Mercedes Lackey) - By Mercedes Lackey Page 0,89

sending the Shadow Knights a message. I’m pretty sure it’s all to make us think things are normal. They’re probably laying traps. Breakthrough seems to do psychological things like that. Like, the way they changed the classes—okay, it’s like a military academy, and they’re telling us we’re getting ready for the war, but they’re also telling us that it’s okay, they’re protecting us and some things can still be the way they were.”

“Which they aren’t!” she exclaimed, throttling down the edge of hysteria in her voice as best as she could. She sat back on her heels. “Nothing is normal—”

“Tell me about it. Even for Oakhurst. Even this thing. They want us to go as couples. Girls are supposed to ask guys.” He laughed bitterly. “If I went as half of a couple, I wouldn’t want to go with a girl anyway.”

She turned to look at him, blinking. “You—what?” Then what he actually meant dawned on her. “You’re gay?”

He nodded, and flushed. “And there’s somebody I really like, a lot, but—can you imagine what would happen if I came out? Here?”

She grimaced, and he slumped. “Uh … yeah. This place isn’t exactly—open.” Suddenly she remembered something Loch had said to her a few weeks ago and barely kept from gasping out loud. “… he said since I cared so much about them and so little about him there was no reason for him to go on anymore…” Loch’s friend David at Carnarvon Academy. The one who’d killed himself in front of Loch. He’d been bullied—Loch had been bullied—because they were gay.…

She thought hard, and the only reference to anyone being gay here she could remember had come from her History courses, where they were always referred to as “ho-mo-SEX-u-als.” Yeah, nothing but Rainbow Pride here, she thought bitterly. She gave Loch a sympathetic smile. “Dylan would probably prank you—if you were lucky. As lousy as things are now, it wouldn’t take much to make your life complete misery.”

“Besides, I’ve got no idea if he likes me back, not like that. And I don’t want to screw things up. I just thought … I like you, Spirit. I just don’t like you.”

She smiled again, and it was more real this time. “Friends are harder to get than boyfriends. I like you, too, Loch. That won’t change,” she promised.

Loch’s answering smile was beautiful. He dusted off his hands and stood up. “That’s it. We’ve been through absolutely everything. If there’s something about another Oakhurst, it’s not down here.”

* * *

They all got together for lunch the next day; Burke sported a bandaged wrist. He didn’t comment on it, and Spirit didn’t ask, but even under the bandages it looked swollen. “I’ve got to get out of here,” he said numbly. “I just—”

They all looked up as David Krandal and Ms. Corby came into the Refectory and headed straight for their table. Burke’s back was to the door, and he didn’t notice they were staring at anything until Mr. Krandal was right there.

“Mr. Hallows, Doctor Ambrosius would like to see you immediately,” Ms. Corby said, just as Burke looked up.

Burke went flush, then a little pale. Ms. Corby didn’t say anything else. She gestured toward the door, so he got up quickly and followed her out, with Mr. Krandal following both of them.

As soon as they cleared the door, the room began to buzz with speculation.

The others exchanged looks, and even Muirin was unusually sober. “That can’t be good,” Addie said, slowly. “And I don’t think it’s because he punched someone or something.”

Spirit nodded, a feeling of dread coming over her. “I—I think something is really wrong. I think maybe we should go wait for him.”

Addie nodded, and they all got up, even Muirin leaving her dessert half-eaten, and headed for the Entry Hall.

It was a good thing they did, too; just as they got there, they saw the doors to Doctor Ambrosius’s office open, and Burke stumbled out. “I’m very sorry, Burke,” Doctor A. was saying. “Very sorry indeed.”

The door closed behind him, and they all converged on him. Before any of them could ask what was wrong, he looked up at them with a dazed expression. “It’s—my mom and dad. They’re—they’re dead.”

“What?” exclaimed Loch, going white.

“How?” demanded Addie at the same time.

“House fire,” Burke said. He was as white as paper. “There was just barely enough to identify. He won’t let me go. He won’t even let me go to the funeral. I—” He stopped, and stood there looking like a