The Deck of Omens (The Devouring Gray #2) - Christine Lynn Herman Page 0,26
“I’ll help you.”
May nodded, satisfaction flickering through her. “Good.”
She tried not to think about the other reason she wanted him to come back. The secret she’d kept for a long time, about just how much Ezra had uncovered during his research. He could help her understand exactly what she’d done beneath the hawthorn tree. He could help her figure out this new dimension to her power.
Her palms itched again as she thought of her long-healed scars, of blood and bark and the scent of earth. She lifted her coffee cup to her mouth and downed the sludgy, sickly sweet liquid inside.
PART TWO
THE THREE OF DAGGERS
CHAPTER SEVEN
Isaac couldn’t stop thinking about his family. The Sullivans always haunted him, but seeing the Beast imitate his mother had dredged up an endless well of memories. Her image had reminded him of the way she’d protected him on his ritual day, the sacrifices she had made to try to keep him safe. It was why Gabriel’s insistence that they let her go had offended him so much?—she’d done everything in her power to save his life. He would do the same for her. His focus drifted as he floated through another day at Four Paths High School, distracting him even further from the backlog of homework piling up in his room and the tests he’d forgotten to study for.
His teachers generally went pretty easy on the founder kids?—it was the only possible explanation for Justin’s solid B average, considering Isaac had never seen him crack a textbook?—but Isaac could feel himself slipping even by their lenient standards.
There was also the issue of the whispers. People had stared at Isaac a lot over the last few years thanks to all the rumors his ritual had set in motion, but lately those stares had been… pointed. Isaac was used to the town acting hostile toward him. This felt different?—he just didn’t understand how.
He was determined to focus, to put his family out of his mind. And that was going just fine until he walked into the high school courtyard during lunch and saw Gabriel leaning against the concrete wall, scrolling through his phone.
Isaac’s stomach lurched. He wanted it to be the Beast again, or his own imagination. But he knew it wasn’t.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, closing the distance between them. His gaze darted to the other students milling around. He didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to this, but surely someone would figure out what was going on before long. And if news of another Sullivan in town got around, well… Isaac didn’t know what would happen, but he knew he wouldn’t like it.
Gabriel looked up from his phone, his face utterly impassive. “I am an alumnus, you know.”
Isaac scowled at him. “You’re still trespassing.”
“I have a visitor pass,” Gabriel said mildly. He slid his phone into his pocket. The tattoo on his inner forearm?—a wolf—bared its teeth at Isaac. “Also, people have been reporting suspicious activity in a woods clearing where a recent police investigation took place. The people at the Pathways Inn had a lot to say about it last night. There are quite a lot of rumors about us founders now, did you know that?”
Isaac froze, his heart thumping in his chest. So this was why Gabriel was here: to talk to him about the ritual he and Violet had tried to do.
“I…” he began, unsure what to even say. “I was trying…”
“I told you not to come out here.” The voice was so loud, Isaac was sure it was addressing him. But when he turned he saw that Cal Gonzales, one of Justin’s track friends, was standing at the other end of the courtyard, speaking very loudly.
Beside him, the clear target of his ire, was Justin Hawthorne.
Isaac had walked through many hallways with Justin over the years. He knew how people reacted to his friend: a mixture of awe and friendship that he’d never managed to earn for himself. Today though, Cal was staring at Justin with obvious disdain. Isaac looked around at the rest of the courtyard: Their expressions matched his.
Unease coursed through his stomach. He’d known things had worsened at school for Justin after the truth about his lack of powers had spread, but he hadn’t realized it had gotten this bad.
“Hey.” Justin’s voice sounded strained. Isaac had never seen him alone like this: no friends beside him, no powers to shield him, just a backpack and a feigned smile. “Just trying to eat lunch, man.”