Bloodrage - Helen Harper Page 0,101

get something right today. I reached out and smoothed his hair down, then straightened his robes and pulled him out from the threshold of his room. Then I gave him a gentle push down the corridor. “You’ll be fine. Do it now before you lose your nerve.”

He nodded to himself. “Okay. Yes. I’ll just tell her that I found it now.”

He continued on muttering away to himself as he slowly walked towards where the girls’ dorms were situated. I looked over at Aqmar, who was watching me with a grin on his face and winked at him then held up my hand.

“Fingers crossed.”

He mirrored my gesture, then reached out and high-fived me. “I have every faith in the boy,” he stated solemnly. “He will do us proud.”

I gave him a mock salute, and then left.

Chapter Twenty-three

I was just leaving the dorm room area, when Alex bounded up to me.

“Mack Attack! Dude, I was just looking for you, where have you been?”

I chose not to answer that. I didn’t think that Alex would care all that much about the love lives of my fellow students at this particular point in time.

“Um, just wandering around,” I demurred. “What’s up?”

“The Arch-Mage wants to see you right away. I think he and Lord Shifty have concocted up some kind of plan.” He shrugged. “It might work.”

“And Thomas? The Dean? What’s going to happen to them?”

Alex’s mouth twisted. “Thomas is being taken back to the Ministry headquarters. The Dean is still in charge for now, but I’m not sure how long that’s going to last.”

Heat sparked up inside me. “They can’t blame Thomas for what he did. He was just standing up for me.”

“Yeah, I think they get that. I reckon they’ll go easy on him. But his career as a teacher is probably over.”

Damnit. Something else I had to feel guilty about. “Okay. Where’s the Arch-Mage?”

“In the Dean’s office. You should head there straightaway.”

I peered at him. “And you? What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving right now. I don’t really have time to explain because I need to shoot off. The Arch-Mage will tell you.” He leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek then turned round and darted off.

I watched him go for a moment, then slowly walked over to the office. The staircase and corridors were conspicuously empty. I wondered if all the other mages were now in hiding, hoping to avoid the fallout from what had transpired outside. My thoughts tripped over one another as I tried to think of something that I could do to help Thomas’ situation. I’d fall on my sword in a heartbeat if it didn’t mean damning Mrs. Alcoon at the same time. Fuckity fuck fuck.

When I reached the door to the Dean’s little room, I paused for a second, then took a deep breath, and knocked on it. Squirming tension was fluttering away inside me. A voice from inside called out for me to enter, so I twisted the doorknob and walked in.

Both Corrigan and the Arch-Mage were seated on a small striped sofa to the side of the Dean’s desk. Fortunately, of the Dean himself, there was no sign. The Arch-Mage gestured to me to sit down on the chair opposite them.

“So,” he said finally, after I’d seated myself and was gazing expectantly over at them, “as much as we want to keep the circle of people who are involved in this as small as possible, it appears that you are inextricably linked to the fate of the Palladium. This would be a lot easier if you and Mage Florides had come to me in the first place.”

Somehow I doubted that, but I kept my thoughts to myself and stayed silent.

“Mage Florides has left already. He is going to continue to track down the whereabouts of the wraith’s original body. Once those have been located then we can easily rid ourselves of it.”

I cleared my throat. Both Corrigan and the Arch-Mage stared at me.

“What?”

“We’ve already established that the Palladium has no powers,” I said carefully. “It’s the Ancile that ‘s the worrying object. So why don’t we just give the Palladium back to Tryyl and be done with it.”

Corrigan smirked. “That’s the plan. You and I are going to travel to the place where your mage friend found the thing in the first place. We’ll leave it there and let the wraith retrieve it.”

Oh joy. More alone time with the Lord Alpha. I ignored the little trip and flutter of bloodfire inside me.

The