Bloodrage - Helen Harper Page 0,99
“Your Magnificence,” he said quietly.
“Huh?” The Dean looked confused. I, however, knew exactly what he meant and grinned, simply because the Dean had pulled this trick on me himself.
“When you address me, Dean Michaels, you will show me the respect that I deserve and use my title.”
Something flared and then abruptly died in the Dean’s eyes. “I apologise, Your Magnificence,” he muttered.
“Very well,” replied the Arch-Mage evenly. “Lord Corrigan, if you would be so kind as to come with me to the Dean’s office and we can reach some kind of solution for what to do with the Palladium now that the vampires have decided to dump it back with us after all. We appreciate your continued support in this matter.” His eyes flicked to me for a moment. “I believe you can let Initiate Smith go.”
“I will just have a few words with her first,” drawled Corrigan from behind me. “Then I shall be happy to join you.”
The Arch-Mage nodded in acknowledgement, then jerked his head at the rest of the mages. As one, they all hiked up their robes and scuttled off towards the main doors, quickly disappearing inside with just a few picking up the unconscious body of Thomas and a couple of others helping the Dean to his feet then walking him inside, shoulder to shoulder. Slocombe stared hard down at the Palladium, then blinked several times until it began to rise in the air, and float its own way forward. Clearly he had decided that touching it with his bare skin would not be a particularly good idea. I didn’t blame him. The Arch-Mage followed them all in at the rear.
When the heavy doors thudded shut behind him, Corrigan finally let me go. I turned to face him.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
He raised his eyebrows at me. “The Arch-Mage needed a bit of help. The vampires were threatening to return the statue that you’d so stupidly swapped, and he thought that I might be able to exert some influence upon them and help rid them of the wraith problem at the same time.”
I spluttered. “That I’d so stupidly swapped? You should get your facts right. All I did was give them what they’d wanted in the first place. I took back a completely different statue and gave it to the sodding Arch-Mage so that he wouldn’t have a mutiny on his hands within the Council.
Corrigan’s green eyes held mine. “And that worked out so well, didn’t it?” he murmured.
“Fuck off,” I said. “I’m not responsible for other people’s actions.”
“And yet somehow you remain at the root of them. I swear, kitten, sometimes you are more trouble than you’re worth.”
That stung. I growled at him, and then turned on my heel, leaving him standing alone on the driveway. Bloody shifter.
*
Still cursing him after I’d stomped theatrically inside, I made my way to the infirmary to check on Thomas. He was lying down on a small bed, moaning softly as I craned my neck around the door. Another mage was bent over him, murmuring something calmly to him. She turned when she sensed my eyes watching her, and shot me a look of malevolence, so I hastily left her to it. At least Thomas seemed to be coming round and the Dean’s cold-blooded shot of magic hadn’t done him any apparent lasting damage.
I stalked down the corridor, anxious energy balled up inside me. I was sorely tempted to head straight to the Dean’s office and confront the Arch-Mage, and force him to acknowledge that the extenuating circumstances of three undead vampires on the academy’s grounds meant that Thomas couldn’t be held responsible for his actions. Instinctively, I knew that I probably wouldn’t help matters at this point. Besides, I didn’t think I’d be able to face Corrigan again and keep hold of my temper if he continued to insist that all this was somehow my fault. I was at a loss to know what else I could have done given the situation that Alex had confronted me with.
Curling my fingers into my fists, and gritting my teeth, I had no idea what to do next. Until some decision was made regarding the Palladium, the Dean and Thomas, I was in limbo. I needed something to keep me occupied or I’d go insane. I considered for a moment heading to the library to see if some reading could take my mind off everything that had just happened, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to