Good vs. Evil High (28 page)

“If you bring me some tape.” I unrolled the
poster and smiled at my sinfully hot boyfriend. I was sure he was
innocent. But either way, I was so in love. I would do whatever it
took to prove Luke’s innocence if it came to that, even offer
myself in his place. Let them throw me out into the cold instead of
him.

Harmony opened the curtain and handed me some
scotch tape before she sat down beside me. “I’m sorry,” she said as
I tore off a long piece of tape to stick a corner of the poster to
the bottom of her bed. “If you say Luke didn’t do it, then he
didn’t. I don’t know him very well, but I know you. And I trust
your judgment. Will you please forgive me?”

“Yeah. I’m not really mad at you. I’m mad at
whoever stashed all that stuff in his room.”

The other curtain opened and Sassy sat down
beside me. “Then you can forgive me, too?”

“You didn’t say anything, Sassy.”

“I know, but I thought it.”

We giggled and hugged each other as Nadine
sat by my feet, not looking as sorry as the other two had. “I’m
sorry you’re upset, and I’m sorry that you got dragged into this.
But I think it could’ve been Luke.”

“He didn’t do it,” I said, shaking my
head.

She shrugged and went to lie on her bed.

I sincerely hoped this wouldn’t drive a wedge
between friends.

Chapter
Thirty-Four

~ Guilty ~

I hardly slept that night. Any sleep I did
get was the restless sort, only making me feel worse every time I
woke up. When I finally fell into a real sleep, it felt like I only
blinked before Harmony was shaking my arm because my con was
bubbling and it wasn’t enough to wake me up. My head throbbed as I
pulled it out from somewhere under my blanket.

“Headmaster wants us in the dining hall,”
Harmony told me as it opened.

“Good morning,” Connie said. “Headmaster
requires the presence of every student in the dining hall
immediately. Tobias Veziamo will be making a very important
announcement shortly and won’t be waiting for late-comers.”

“Come on, girls—Up, up, up,” Miss Tripside
came calling from the end of the room. “Out of bed and downstairs.
You can shower and get dressed later. Come on, let’s go.”

Harmony helped me get out of bed and kept a
hold on my arm as I stumbled down the stairs.

I forced my mind to wake up enough to search
the room for Luke when we got there. Nothing. My stomach churned as
I took my seat.

We sat nervously in our usual spot for a few
minutes before Luke’s headmaster walked into the room and went to
stand behind the teachers’ table, where our headmaster already sat.
The noise died completely, as did any hope I had for Luke. The look
on his headmaster’s face was far more dangerous than usual,
something I wouldn’t have even thought possible.

“Your minds may be put at ease in knowing we
have discovered the young man guilty of attacking North Havener
Rose Jennings, attempting to murder Cinder Titus, and destroying
the North Haven girls’ quarters last night,” he began. “While these
things are not uncommon for a Cinder and usually would not be cause
for such drastic measures, he has broken a sacred trust between
schools and nearly destroyed our greatest tradition, the Winter
Competitions. There is no greater crime and there is no
forgiveness. Cinder Knight will be expelled from this school
tomorrow.”

I gasped and put my hands over my mouth. Warm
tears began their descent. This couldn’t be happening.

“He will be taken somewhere far from here and
left to fend for himself. Unfortunately, he should have no trouble
with this. That is all.”

“No, it’s not,” I said, rising from my seat
as he took his. I trembled with fear as I made my way to him and
stared across the table into his hellish eyes. “Luke Knight is
innocent. Didn’t you check the evidence for fingerprints or hair or
something?”

Tobias gave me his most hateful look as he
rose to his feet and leaned against the table. “This is not
America, and its laws do not apply here. When I say one of my
students is guilty, he is. End of story.”

“But what about the cameras you put up
everywhere? Did you even bother to check out the footage?”

“I don’t have to; Knight’s guilty.”

“That’s not fair—Where is he?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“Tell me!”

“No. Leave this table or I will have you
removed.”

The desperation that had been rising since
the night before pushed me to breaking as I realized I might never
see Luke again. “Please—I have to see him. This can’t happen again.
You can send me away instead—please.”

The Cinder headmaster looked past me.
“Hanghard, Ripper, take this North Haven child away.”

“Good gracious, Tobias,” my headmaster said,
letting the red liquid he was drinking spill out all over his
clothes. “I can take care of her myself.” He wiped at his shirt as
he stood up and came around the table.

That’s it,
I realized.
My
headmaster can rescue Luke.

I hadn’t realized until Headmaster put his
arm around me and began walking me to his office that the room was
still deathly quiet. Every single occupant was now wide awake and
staring at me.

The second his door closed behind him, I
said, “Can you help him?”

“I’m sorry, Miss Fayre, there’s nothing I can
do for Luke Knight.”

“But he’s innocent.”

Headmaster sat behind his desk and pressed
his aged index fingers together under his chin. “Innocent or not,
he isn’t my student. His fate does not lie in my hands.”

I dropped into a chair. How could this be
happening? Luke was such a good guy, deep down. He was the one who
saved Rose’s life, for goodness’ sake. In the midst of the abysmal
darkness, I had a tremendously bright idea. “Couldn’t you adopt him
into North Haven? He didn’t attack Rose. He saved her. And he saved
me from Roman when he attacked me.”

He pointed to me with both fingers as he
leaned forward. “Roman attacked you?”

“He hit me the night I broke up with him—and
he would have done more if Knight hadn’t been there.”

“Why haven’t you informed me of this
before?”

“Because I thought it was over after the
break up.”

“I will certainly have a serious discussion
with Mr. Armstrong, but I need for you to understand that there is
nothing I, or anyone else, can do for Knight. You’re going to have
to let him go.”

“I can’t...I can’t go back.” He’d phrased it
perfectly in that letter. This made me cry even harder.

“I’ll do everything I can to help you get
through this, but you have to be more careful when you speak to my
brother. The penalty for disrespectful behavior toward him is being
locked in a giant oven and cooked alive. Hanghard and Ripper are
his personal bodyguards. These are demons of men—the biggest,
brawniest, most merciless ones he could find. They are men of no
remorse. They’re always with him, hiding behind those suits of
theirs. They were probably right behind you when he called on them,
ready to take you away.”

It sounded absolutely, horrifically, inhuman.
“He really kills his students when they’re disrespectful?”

“Yes, but he’s never tried to kill one of
mine. I’ll have to speak with him about that. But you see, he cares
nothing for anyone but himself. His only purpose in bringing youth
to this school is to try and beat me in our competitions. It seems
we were born this way, always having to be better than the other. I
can’t explain it. But aside from everything I’ve said, my brother’s
pride alone is enough to keep him from changing his mind. He
declared Knight guilty and he won’t take it back. Even if someone
else admits to all those misdeeds, he will never say otherwise. I’m
sorry.”

“Can’t you at least tell me where he is, so I
can see him?”

“I don’t know where he is. There are things
my brother will only allow Cinders to know, and where he keeps
prisoners is one of them. It’s against Cinder code to share certain
things with anyone else, including the navigation of the unknown
parts of their school. If you managed to convince one of them to
reveal this to you and it was discovered, Tobias would let Ripper
and Hanghard have them. I would strongly advise you against
this.”

I pulled my knees to my chest to cry against
them as utter hopelessness set in. “Headmaster—I can’t just do
nothing. He’s all the family I have. What would you do if someone
said you would never see your brother again?”

He took a deep breath. “Family does
complicate things. That’s why those recruited have none
whatsoever...I doubt I would be able to sit back if Tobias was
being sent away, though. I just can’t tell you what to do here. I
have no answers... Why don’t you go have a shower and think on it?
It may clear your mind enough to help you find your own
answers.”

I nodded and got up to leave, somehow
managing to hold the tears back as I walked through the dining hall
and girls’ quarters.

After grabbing some clothes and shower stuff,
I headed for the bathrooms and stopped dead in front of one of the
mirrors. I was a mess. I’d fallen asleep in my dirty dress, so I
still had it on. And my hair and makeup were all over the place. A
lot of kids had been forced to go downstairs with a bit of
‘bed-head’, but no one looked as torn up as I did.

“Oohhh,” I groaned as I climbed into a shower
stall. My rigid muscles relaxed as the warm water washed over them
and I tried to think straight, put all emotion aside and search
logically for a way out of this.

Who could I turn to when there was nothing
Headmaster could do? Luke. He was always the first one I went to
about anything. I felt helpless without him. I’d gotten accustomed
to him always looking out for and taking care of me. Of course that
got me crying again. My friends can’t help me. No one can...
“Connie!” I said out loud when an idea came to me.

I grabbed my towel as I climbed out of the
shower and wrapped it around me. My con was lying on the bench with
my other stuff, just on the other side of the curtain. I turned it
on and waited impatiently.

“Good morning, Kristine,” Connie finally
said. “What can I do for you?”

“I need to know where Luke Knight is being
held.”

“Held?”

“Yes, I need to know where Cinders are kept
when they’re in enough trouble to be expelled.”

Connie looked so human as she gave me a
sympathetic look. “It isn’t in my database. Any part of Southland
Cinder High School that I’m not aware of will only be known to a
Cinder. Is there anything else I could help you with?”

“No...Kristine Con, return.” I set it down on
the bench and climbed back into the shower.

So—only a Cinder could help me now, but I
doubted any of them would risk their lives to help out a Havener.
How could I convince them? Luke said that Cinders like to make
deals, I remembered. So, if I could figure out what I could offer
one of them...I closed my eyes and let the water rinse my shampoo
and soap away as I pictured each of the Cinders I personally knew.
Nothing came to mind until I got to Thorn. My eyes opened wide as
it came to me, the shred of hope that all was not lost. I would let
her win. If she would get me to Luke so he and I could figure
something out, I would let her win the next race.

I breezed through the rest of my shower and
pulled my clothes on just long enough to go grab my shadow
suit.

Chapter
Thirty-Five

~ They Know ~

Once I had the suit in hand, I stopped beside
my bed, thinking of the safe pressed against the wall underneath
it. Someone would have to take care of it for Luke if I didn’t make
it back, and I knew there was a very real possibility I wouldn’t.
When I looked up and down the middle of the room and didn’t see
Harmony anywhere, I went to the rec room and found her sitting by
Sassy in a corner, looking at a magazine.

“How are you feeling?” she asked when she saw
me approaching.

“Listen,” I said, ignoring the question and
crouching down in front of them. “That small safe I had last night
is under my bed.” I looked behind me to make sure no one was
nearby. “It’s Luke’s, and you have to look after it for me, okay?
Don’t let anyone else have it.”

“Why us?” Harmony leaned forward, looking
really worried. “Why not you? What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to try and get to Luke, but you
can’t tell anyone.”

“Aw, it’s like Romeo and Juliet,” Sassy
said.

“Romeo and Juliet died,” Harmony said hotly,
“and that’s exactly what’s going to happen to Kristine if she goes
looking for Luke. You can’t do this, Kristine. It’s too
dangerous.”

“I know that, but I’ve got a shadow suit,
remember? And I’ve got a plan. Just keep his stuff safe if anything
goes wrong.”

Harmony stared at me with big pleading eyes.
“Please, please don’t do this.”

“I have to. Try to understand. I’d do it for
you two if you were locked up, and I know you would do it for
me.”

Harmony nodded sadly, assuring me that I
could count on her.

I stood up and ran back to the bathrooms,
where I put on the suit and turned my arms inward to activate it
before I left the stall.

First I looked in the dinner hall for Thorn,
but that didn’t turn up anything. So I crossed through the Cinder
gym and into their hallway. I went in each room I passed just long
enough to get a good look at every face, but this also turned up
nothing.

I followed the hall to an empty stairway and
took my con from my pocket. “Hello, Kr—”

“I need to know where Thorn’s room is.”

“All right.” The screen went black and showed
me the layout with the same neon green lines that had shown me how
to find Luke. “Go up two flights of stairs and follow the hallway
through the Cinder girls’ quarters. Take your first right. She and
Mystery are in the seventh room on the right.”