come back.”
Tiny’s eyes were slits. “Something always goes wrong when you’re involved.” He looked over his shoulder. “There will be several search squads here in a few minutes. Shouldn’t you wait until after they’re gone?”
Will shook his head, already walking toward the building. “Easier while the soldiers have everyone rattled. I can get it, hide, and wait until they’re gone.”
“If you say so.”
He was too far away to continue the conversation. Will strode through the entrance with casual confidence. He walked past a couple of students and down the main hall, wondering where he would find the basement stairs. A young man at the front desk stopped him with a question. “What are you looking for?”
“Professor Dugas,” said Will immediately.
“His office is over at the Engineering building.”
“Sorry, I meant Salsbury—Professor Salsbury.”
The other student, who Will didn’t recognize, shook his head. “Sorry, he isn’t in today. All the staff are in a meeting at Administration.”
God damn it, just leave me alone, thought Will. He didn’t want to have to start disabling people before he even got started. “I’ll just leave a note on his door. Do you know where it is?”
“Second floor. You’ll see the signs.”
Will thanked him and headed down the hall, breathing a sigh of relief. He wanted to be out of sight before the soldiers entered and chaos ensued. The main stairs were off to the right, halfway down the main corridor, and now that he thought about it, they were probably the best place to start looking. They provided access to all the upper floors, so it seemed logical that the basement stairs probably originated in the same area.
Once there, he decided it was less than obvious. The stairs were wide enough for three students to walk abreast, and they led upward only, stopping solidly on the ground level. On either side of the stairs were side doors that led into maintenance areas and closets respectively. A man looked up at him curiously as he looked into the maintenance room. Will nodded and ducked out. “Wrong turn.”
There were two other doors, but neither of them led to anything. Maybe the basement stairs start in the maintenance area. If it’s only used for storage, that might make sense. Moving back to that door, he cracked it until he caught sight of the man within. He seemed to be working on something. Will’s sleep spell sent him sagging to the floor. He stepped in and closed the door behind him. Down the hall, he could hear a commotion as the soldiers entered the front doors of the building and made their announcements.
Shit, if they find him sleeping, that will arouse their suspicion, he realized. Glancing around the room, Will took stock. On the opposite side of the room were two double doors leading somewhere. On the left side were lockers and a rack for storing cleaning implements and supplies; to the right was a cluttered desk and an old ratty chair. Perfect.
Sleep spells didn’t keep the target in an enforced slumber, but right after the spell took effect the subject tended to be very hard to wake. Will got a grip underneath the worker’s arms and dragged him over to the desk. Lifting him up high enough to settle into the chair was difficult, but he managed it, though he was grateful that the man was relatively skinny. From there he simply arranged the fellow with his head on his arms, leaning over the desk. The soldiers would hopefully assume he had fallen asleep on the job.
He could hear loud steps in the hall, so he moved on to the double doors, since there was no other obvious exit. It was a relief when he saw a modest stair behind them, leading downward. There was no light, so once he closed the doors behind him, he had to adjust his vision. Simply increasing his light sensitivity wouldn’t do, for there was no light. He had to change to heart-light before he could brave the stairs.
Will was halfway down the stairs when he had an unsettling thought. How often does anyone come down here? If the answer was almost never, and the area was unlit, well that made it