The Nightmare Charade (9 page)

She cut me off. “No. The moment you're late they'll come looking for you—and then me.”

I gulped, fear starting to bubble up inside me. My mom had been in trouble with the police before, especially in her younger years. She'd been arrested dozens of times, mostly for social activism stuff like protests and rallies. And back when it was still around, she'd been charged with minor violations of The Will spell. The nature of our Nightmare magic made her immune to the spell, an advantage she liked to flaunt. But none of those run-ins had ever resulted in serious trouble for her.

It seemed things were different this time.

“Mom, what did you
do
?”

She jerked her head at me, her glare hot enough to sear flesh. “I didn't do anything. At least, not what I'm being accused of.”

“And what is that?”

She shushed me again and glanced over her shoulder. I mimicked the gesture, spotting nothing following us except the flow of the canal water.

Mom turned back. “They're saying I killed Titus Kirkwood.”

I stumbled to a halt, shock making me clumsy. “Are you serious?”

Mom hissed at me. “Come on. Before someone sees us.”

I fell back into step, my heart doing a double-time beat in my chest. “Why do they think you killed him?”

Mom hesitated. “I … I don't know. There's some new detective on the case. He took over when the trail went cold a few weeks back. He brought me in for questioning right after we got home from our trip. I didn't think it was serious, but it seems he's since found some new evidence.”

“A detective?” The weird, weightless sensation of coincidence came over me.

“Yes,” Mom said, gritting her teeth hard enough I could hear it. “He's part of D.I.M.S. Detective—”

“Valentine,” I finished for her.

Mom stopped so abruptly, it took me several steps to do the same. I turned toward her, seeing concern furrow her brow. “How do you know that?”

I ran a hand over my hair, smoothing the curls for half a moment. “Lucky guess. He came to see me and Eli last night. We're supposed to be finding … something for him.” I stuck out my tongue, trying to fight off the encroaching spell.

Mom pinned me with her gaze, her mouth a sharp line with its strangely colorless lips. “What something?”

I shook my head. “I can't say. We signed a nondisclosure agreement.”

The line of Moira's mouth broke as she began to worry at her bottom lip. “Come on,” she said, beckoning me forward. “We need to hurry.”

I fell into step with her once again. “I can be a few minutes late without raising any alarm. It is the first day of school.”

Mom ignored the comment. “I'm going to have to disappear for a while. I don't know how long it's going to take to get this sorted out. But in the meantime, Destiny, you have to do something for me.”

I blinked, wonderstruck. My mom needed something from me? Surely this was a sign of the apocalypse. “What's that?”

“Remember that question you kept asking me all summer?”

I glanced sidelong at her, trying to determine which one she meant. There'd been so many:
When can I have my phone back? When are we going home?
“Do you mean the one about who freed Marrow from his tomb?”

“That's the one.”

Curiosity staved off my worry. The mystery of who freed Marrow was one my mom had been trying to solve for months now. It was half the reason for our trip to Europe in the first place. My great grandmother Nimue imprisoned him in a dream centuries ago, the only way she could think of to stop a man who could not stay dead.

Not just any man
,
but her dream-seer.
She and Marrow had once been like Eli and me.

A wrench went through my stomach at the thought.
The curse
.

I pushed it away and turned my attention to my mom, still eager for more. Every time I'd asked her about the search she shut me down right away. Mom didn't want me to get involved. Whoever had freed Marrow was dangerous, his most powerful follower. I couldn't believe she was about to tell me now. Breathless, I asked, “Do you know who it is?”

Mom shook her head, her expression pinched. “I've thought I've had him over and over again, but each time I've been wrong. And now I'm out of time.”

We rounded a corner, and I spotted my exit just ahead. My pulse began to pound in my ears. Was this really happening? Was my mom going on the run?

“Here, take this.” Mom thrust her hand toward me, and I felt something small and hard press against my palm. I glanced at the object, surprised to see it was a flash drive.

I frowned up at her.

“Everything I've found out about the person is on there. I need you and Eli to take up the search while I'm gone.”

My mouth fell open. Not only was my mom trusting me with this information—finally—but she was also giving Eli and me her blessing. At least, that's how it felt, even if she didn't exactly use those words.

“I'm more certain than ever before that the person is at Arkwell,” Moira continued, quickening her pace down the tunnel. “I just don't know who. It's most likely a member of staff, a teacher, administration, a lunchroom worker, someone like that.”

“That's a pretty big pool of people.…”

“There are clues on the flash drive.” She stopped and swung toward me, all pretenses of being a student disappearing. This was the mother I'd known all my life. Her nostrils were flared, her eyes blazing—hard and beautiful. “You've got to find him. If we can get to him, we might be able to stop Marrow from coming back for good this time.”

I dropped my gaze to the flash drive, doubt churning. “You mean if he isn't back already,” I said, remembering the Death's Heart. I inhaled, desperate to tell her about it.

“We have to hope not,” Mom said, setting her teeth together in a grimace.

I balled my hands into fists, grappling with frustration. “Are you really going?”

“I have to.” Mom started walking again. “There won't be any talking my way out of it this time. From what I've heard of Valentine, the only thing he's going to accept is absolute proof of my innocence. And even then I'm not so sure.”

“Are you saying Valentine is out to get you?” I hurried to keep up with her.

“It's possible.”

“What did you do to him?”

Mom scowled. “Nothing. Contrary to your belief, I'm not in the habit of making enemies of police officers.”

“You mean except for Sheriff Brackenberry.”

Mom snorted. “Brackenberry's grudge is personal. He never got over me dumping him.”

My eyes widened. My mom and the Sheriff?
Ew.
“Well, that explains a lot.”

“Never you mind.” Mom waved the subject away. “There's no telling what Valentine's motives are. He could be just one of those cops ego-bound on closing cases no matter what, or he might be one of Marrow's followers trying to stop me from finding out who set him free.”

“And arresting you for murder would be a pretty good way,” I said, coming to a halt. We'd reached the base of the stairs that led up to Jupiter Hall.

Mom stopped and faced me. “Undoubtedly. I'm just fortunate I had warning before he could.”

“From who?”

“A friend in the police department. One of the few people I still trust. Which reminds me…” Mom cupped my hands with hers and forcibly closed my fingers around the flash drive. “Don't trust anyone but Eli and Selene with this. Not even Lady Elaine can know I gave it to you.”

I arched an eyebrow. “You don't trust Lady Elaine?”

“I don't trust the people around her. Too many of the magickind government have turned out to be Marrow supporters. How many more are there? Titus Kirkwood, Bethany Grey—I'm certain they're just the tip of a very deep iceberg.”

“Do you really think Val—” I broke off as the bell for seventh period sounded.

Mom flinched. “Hide that flash drive. You've got to go.”

“Mom—” I started to protest, but she pulled me in for a quick hug. The gesture was so unexpected, so out of character, that a great whoosh of fear soared through my chest. Mom was in real trouble this time. She was scared. Somehow the reality of that frightened me far deeper than anything else.

Mom let go of me and turned away from the stairs, back to the tunnel. “I'll contact you when I can.”

“Wait,” I said. “How are you going to get out of Arkwell from down here?”

Mom glanced over her shoulder. “The same way I got in—by boat.”

“You boated in here?”

Mom started to answer, but a noise reached us from down the tunnel and we both turned toward it. Heavy footsteps were coming this way. A second later, I spotted three Will Guards. One had a wand at the ready, another a staff. The third was naturekind, his pointed ears and outstretched hand marking him a fairy.

Mom spun the other direction, ready to flee, but she froze as two police offers appeared, blocking the way. There was nowhere to go but into the canal or up the stairs.

“Come on, Mom,” I said, choosing the steps. She didn't hesitate but charged after me.

“Don't you do anything to help me, you understand?” she said, panting. “You stay out of the way. I don't want you in trouble, too.”

“But, Mom.”

“I mean it, Dusty. If Valentine is working for Marrow, we can't give him an excuse to get at you, too. For once in your life think before you act and do what I say.”

Her words stung. She was my mother, and the men following us looked set on taking her down. How could I just stand by and watch?

We reached the top of the steps and entered Jupiter Hall.

“You go that way.” Mom pointed down the hallway. “Maybe they'll follow.”

“Okay.” I took off at a run, trying to be as noisy as possible. It wasn't hard with the hallway empty of students. I glanced over my shoulder to see Mom had gone out the door onto the commons.

The men arrived a moment later. I turned back around, doing my best to distract them. It seemed to work for half a second, until I heard one of them shout. “She went outside!”

I skidded to a stop, pivoted, and saw all the men headed after my mom, ignoring me completely. I doubled back. Mom might have commanded me not to interfere, but that didn't mean I had to stay away.

When I arrived on the commons, a half-dozen police officers and Will Guards had surrounded my mom. She stood in the middle of the lawn, both arms ready in front of her as she did a slow circle, waiting for the attack. A steady drizzle of rain was slowly plastering her hair, her bangs falling over her eyes.

One of the policemen called, “It'll be so much better for everyone if you come peaceably, Ms. Everhart.”

“Peaceably?” My mother laughed. “It's like you don't know me at all, Matthew.” She pointed her arm at him. “
Ceno-crani
.”

The befuddlement spell struck the man in the head, and he stumbled sideways, doing a slow, awkward fall onto the stone pathway.

“Oh, God, Mom, what are you doing?” I said, fingers curled into fists as I fought back the urge to jump in. She couldn't possibly take on all of them.

Or maybe she could. The moment after the first policeman had fallen, one of the Will Guards behind her cast a jab jinx. Mom spun and countered it as easily as if she had eyes in the back of her head.

The other policemen and Will Guards soon followed suit. One after another, they lobbied spells at her. Mom blocked and countered each one. My jaw slowly fell open at the spectacle. It was more like watching a dance than a fight—my mother partnered with all these people. A spell cast here, a block there, pivot, turn, duck, cast again. There was a fluidity to it, I'd never seen before, not even in the gladiator games.

The fight had drawn spectators, students and teachers alike. I turned to the person nearest me. “That's my
mom
.” I couldn't help it. My awe refused to be contained. Especially as I realized she was going to get away. One by one the policemen and Will Guards were falling to her magic. The few spells that had managed to get past her defenses hadn't slowed her down at all.

But then more policemen arrived, Sheriff Brackenberry and Detective Valentine among them. The former watched the scene with a look of admiration dawning on his broad face. But the latter's soon twisted into a look of outrage.

“Stop attacking at random!” Valentine shouted. Somehow his voice carried over the noise of the fighting. One by one the policemen ceased their attack.

Fear began to twist in my gut. My mother's haughty, confident stance was giving way to worry as she turned in a slow circle, braced for the next attack.

“On my mark,” Valentine shouted, raising his hand.

“You can't!” I screamed. There were more than fifteen of them now. That much magic at once could kill her.

“One, two, three—now!” Valentine's spell reached Mom first, striking her in the chest. More than a dozen followed in the second after. There were too many to block. Even for my superstar mother.

She fell in slow motion, landing on her back in the grass. She did not get up.

 

7

Guilt Trap

I never made it to math class. Or to gladiator practice. Moments after my mom succumbed to Valentine's coordinated attack, a group of Will Guards surrounded me. They weren't quite as hostile to me as they had been to Mom, but close enough. The flash drive felt as heavy as a stone in my pocket.

“Sir, what do you want done with this one?” the nearest policeman asked.

Valentine glanced at me. His angry expression had been replaced with a look of indifference. “Take her down to the station for questioning.”

Oh, crap
. Now the flash drive felt as heavy as an anvil. Mom's warning kept echoing in my mind. I needed to get rid of this. I doubted I would have any right to privacy with these guys.