spilling their contents; books and stationery molded in musty piles of yellowed paper. I nabbed a few ballpoint pens and stuffed them in my pockets. They were rare and always useful.
“I never knew his exact address,” Tobias said, pushing his shoulder against a door until it groaned open. “But the office must have kept records.” He yanked on the desk drawer, but the handle snapped off in his hand.
“Let me,” I said. I bent down on my knees, pulling out the metal file cabinets carefully. The paper was old but in decent shape. I scrolled through the student roster until I found the right file.
Damien Hartman. I glanced through his academy history, noting the grades and performance reviews, even his extracurricular schedule. Orchestra, AV club and something called lacrosse. I held it up and showed Tobias.
He nodded, studying the address as he walked back outside, nodding to a grassy path through the trees.
“Take this street for four blocks. Turn right at the gas station, then left at the park. That should be the right road, then just look for this address; the houses should be numbered.”
“You’re not coming?” Penelope asked.
“I can’t,” he said, holding her hands. “Richard can compulse me to tell the truth. Or at the very least, he’ll know if I’m lying. I’ll stay away from him as long as I can, but eventually, if he asks the right questions, he’ll find out. You have to be gone by then.”
“Let me come with you?” Penelope begged. His face contorted with regret, but he shook his head and stepped away slowly.
“Find what you’re looking for, then get out. In three days, meet me at the abandoned amusement part outside of town. Ten miles north, you’ll recognize it.” He pointed towards the distant mountains, barely visible through the ash.
“What about Damien?” I asked. “Will he help us?”
“I don’t know,” Tobias said, tucking a golden strand of hair behind one ear. “It’s not that easy. What you’re planning, it’s treason, it’s worse. But if the antidote works, and we have a chance to defeat King Richard, then we won’t have to hide. I can get close enough to him to use it. Damien will take over. Things will get better, for everyone. He’ll forgive you, in time. I’m sure of it.”
“And if we can’t find the antidote?” Penelope asked.
“Then the kingdom is lost to us. The king will continue to hunt down the rebels. We won’t be safe here, but there are other kingdoms; more bloodthirsty, and not so great for humans, who are basically slaves. But we can be together, live together.”
“In a foreign kingdom that treats humans like wine boxes?” Penelope asked with a shudder. I knew she’d never agree to that.
“We’ll do our best,” I promised.
Tobias kissed Penelope goodbye, ignoring the dried blood on her chin and neck. He took off his long, tailored jacket, and lifted it over her shoulders, folding it tight around the thin, bloody nightgown.
Then he unbuckled his sword belt and strapped it around her waist, cinching it tight.
“You’ll need it more than me,” he said when she tried to protest.
“I haven’t used a sword in years,” she said softly. “Not since I was a girl, and you chose me from that stage.”
“The training will come back to you,” he said, kissing her forehead. “You’re stronger now, and twice as beautiful. Stay alive. I’ll see you in three days.”
We headed up the deserted street, sticking to patches of thick grass and piles of rubble to leave less of a footstep trail in the smooth layer of ash.
I actually felt better having Penelope with us, though I knew Trevor and Luke didn’t share my sentiment. Depending an elite to protect them went against everything they believed.
When I thought of Penelope, I remembered us sipping coffees together in the citadel, relaxing under the clean air and open, filtered skies, with clean clothes and few worries. She’d told me once I needed to find a philanthropic cause to keep myself busy. That all seemed like a lifetime ago. But I also had another vision of her; fighting the king’s guards beneath my window, wielding dual pistols. I knew she could fight. And she’d be three times faster now that she was an elite.
I pulled my mask tighter around my face, my mouth and nose already warm and stuffy. I hated the way it amplified my breathing, drowning out ambient sounds. Though it protected my lungs from the ash, there were worse things to face in the wilds.