spot.
‘Maybe that’s why the Elders kept your knack a secret so long,’ said the boy. ‘They were worried we’d make you answer for Ezra Squall’s crimes.’
Heloise grinned maliciously. ‘Maybe we should.’
Morrigan felt a little tingle in her fingertips, and while she was sorely tempted to summon Wunder and give Heloise something to really be frightened of, the ironic truth was that she wasn’t entirely sure what she’d do with it.
Dangerous, Morrigan thought. Sure.
She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Cadence.
‘Yeah, she is dangerous.’ The mesmerist took a very deliberate step forward. ‘So am I. Wanna have a go?’
Morrigan was surprised, but Heloise and the older scholars jumped in alarm; it was clear they hadn’t noticed Cadence standing there at all (which, incidentally, was part of what made mesmerists so dangerous).
‘Me too.’ Thaddea stepped forward, hands on hips. Morrigan had to stop a gurgle of shocked laughter escaping her throat. ‘I know six different martial arts and I can swing from a sledgehammer like it’s a yo-yo. Shall I demonstrate?’
‘Yeah, and I know dragons,’ said Hawthorne. ‘Lots of ’em.’
Morrigan couldn’t help giggling for real at that. She felt suddenly filled with warmth as the eight other members of her unit crowded in around her. The words of the Wundrous Society oath they’d taken at their inauguration rang in her ears: Sisters and brothers. Loyal for life.
‘I have poisonous mushrooms at home,’ added Francis ominously.
‘And – and I could cut out your liver with a SCALPEL!’
This last, nervy declaration came from the most unlikely source.
‘Anah!’ Morrigan cried in shock.
‘Well … I could,’ Anah insisted, and there was only the tiniest tremor in her voice. ‘In sterile conditions, obviously, and only if they were under a general anaesthetic.’
The rest of the unit burst into laughter, Thaddea clapped Anah on the back and Mahir shouted, ‘Brava!’ and just like that, all the tension of the confrontation had dissipated. Unit 919 pushed past the older scholars as one, leaving their shocked assailants behind on the marble steps.
Morrigan grinned at Anah as they marched across the grounds towards the Whinging Woods. ‘Not supposed to use your knack on other students, you know.’
‘Oh, shush,’ was Anah’s slightly shaky response.
But she looked quite pleased with herself.
Not long after Morrigan got home, there was a knock on her bedroom door.
She knew instantly who would be standing on the other side when she opened it. For a moment, she considered yelling at him to go away and that he could come back only when he’d decided to stop keeping really rather important information from her.
But she changed her mind when a slightly fretful voice from the hallway called out, ‘Mog? Mog, are you there? I come bearing cake.’
Sure enough, the door swung open to reveal an enormous ginger beard, a pair of sheepish blue eyes and a smile that was at least seventy per cent wince. Jupiter was struggling to hold up a truly enormous rectangular cake, covered in pale yellow buttercream with words written in bright pink icing. He seemed to have sacrificed punctuation and legible print to fit the whole message, which read:
SORRY I DIDN’T TELL U ABOUT C&D BUT THE THING IS I CAN’T ALWAYS TELL U EVERYTHING & I KNOW THAT’S NOT IDEAL BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS SOMETIMES THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE I HAVE TO PROTECT & OTHER PROMISES I HAVE TO KEEP BUT I PROMISE I WILL NEVER LIE ABOUT ANYTHING THAT MIGHT ENDANGER U BECAUSE EVEN IF TELLING U ALL MY SECRETS CAN’T BE MY TOP PRIORITY I PROMISE THAT PROTECTING U ALWAYS WILL BE. KINDEST REGARDS JUPITER P.S. HAPPY LAST DAY OF TERM
Morrigan read the entire message, her lips forming the words silently, then read it again. Jupiter’s arms were shaking with the effort of holding up the gigantic cake, but she didn’t invite him to put it down and to his credit, he didn’t ask.
‘Kindest regards?’ she said finally.
‘I was going to write “lots of love” but I thought it would embarrass you.’
‘Hm. What flavour is it?’
‘Lemon butter raspberry ripple layer cake with crumbled meringue pieces and raspberry cream filling,’ he said, looking hopeful. ‘Your favourite.’
It was her favourite.
‘All right.’ Morrigan nodded once and stepped aside to let him in. ‘I hope you brought plates.’
CHAPTER FOUR
Dangerous Levels of Cheer
‘Ohhhhh, he took up his bag with the toys inside and he snapped at the reins of his magical ride and the reindeer took to the sky with pride and the elves sat right by Saint Nick’s side