“And I’m not allowed to discuss anything about the events that occurred this morning, I’m afraid. Or the proceedings thereafter.”
“But he is still here,” Alex said. It was more of a statement than a question. His voice that she’d heard earlier—it wasn’t far. Her intuition felt even more accelerated than her new eyesight.
“I think Alex might make your life a little easier, Romey,” Gabe said quietly.
“So I’ve heard. Unfortunately, I’ve done a very poor job of making her feel at home today, which is why I opted to wait here so she could actually gain entrance to Brigitta Hall.” Romey hadn’t taken her eyes away from Alex. She gazed at her fondly, though a bit sadly. “You should be able to get in from now on. We’ll talk more tomorrow, yes? Good. Boys, can you show her to the seventh floor?”
“Seventh, huh? Interesting,” Kaleb remarked, and Alex wondered why.
Before she could ask, Ellington placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “A word of caution. If I were you, I wouldn’t disclose any information about your mother.”
“I second that,” Romey added. “Oh—the Bonds weren’t with you guys, were they?”
Jonas snorted. “Of course not.”
“Did you see them tonight?” she asked with concern.
“Let me think. No.”
“Oh, bother,” she mumbled.
“They didn’t check in?” Ellington asked.
“They may have just wandered off again.” Romey twirled a finger around one of her tight ringlets in thought. “Or they may be tied to a tree somewhere. I’d better go find out.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ellington offered, following her into the darkness.
“Who are the Bonds?” Alex asked quietly. “And why would they be tied to a tree?”
Kaleb made a face. “Don’t worry about them.”
The doors to the Hall swung open, and Alex stepped inside. A creak escaped from the hinges, apologizing to her for being so unwelcoming earlier. Entrapped within the dark marble flooring, a blue fire waltzed and twirled beneath her feet. She lifted her gaze to avoid stumbling from its dizzying effect. Square columns lined the walls, stretching all the way up to the glass ceiling, with tiers of stone balconies twisting around each floor. The bottom level housed long tables and vacant chairs.
“I didn’t expect it to look so … ”
“Elegant?” Gabe laughed. “I thought the same thing. The outside looks kind of like Hannibal Lector’s prison cell, doesn’t it? And then you walk in and find this palace.”
At the end of the fire walkway stood a peculiar fountain. A bridge crossed its spout, giving it the appearance that a sword had sliced it down the middle. Oddly, the fountain held no water.
“It’s quiet in here,” Gabe noted with a frown.
When they reached a desk, a girl suddenly appeared, rigidly perched like one of the gargoyles outside. Everything about her seemed to be pointy; her sharp nose, her narrow chin, and even her hair rested on her shoulders in perfectly perpendicular edges.
“Oh great,” Jonas grumbled. “What’s Tess doing here?”
Kaleb cupped his hand over his mouth so his words wouldn’t travel far. “That explains the empty room.”
“You guys are late.” Tess’s mouth twitched in an attempt to smile, but the expression never seemed to reach the other features of her face. She was like a stone.
“That’s because we were talking to Romey outside,” Kaleb said. “So you don’t have to worry about blabbing to her, Tess.”
“Romey’s outside? Did she say how long I have to stay here?”
“You weren’t exactly on our minds,” Jonas said. “Besides does it matter? You’ve already missed all the fun tonight.”
Alex didn’t think this girl looked like the type who knew how to have fun.
“There was plenty of commotion to keep me entertained. Did you guys hear about the fountain?”
“What about it?” Gabe asked.
“The contamination? I’m sure you’ve noticed there’s nothing in the fountain. But, oh, I guess your family has been rather preoccupied today.”
“Contaminated, huh? Did you have something to do with it?” Jonas asked.
A corner of her lips jolted upward. “Funny you say that. Weren’t you questioning Romey about the fountain last week?”
Jonas looked uninterested. “What are you getting at, Tess?”
“I don’t know. I just think it’s a little sketchy, especially since you were asking about how it filters our air. My brothers say—”
Jonas cut her off. “I really don’t care.”
“At least my brothers follow the rules.”
“Follow the rules?” Kaleb exclaimed with a loud laugh. “Since when is throwing people in the fountain following rules? Maybe that’s how it got contaminated!”
Jonas was scowling. “And for your information, I asked about the fountain because I had to clean it during detention last week. So maybe you should check your facts before opening your ugly mouth.”
Tess’s rock hard expression didn’t waver. If anything, she seemed pleased. “Maybe you could just inform me of some facts then. What happened to Chase this morning?”
Alex didn’t like the accusatory way she said his name. She hadn’t thought so many people would know about his predicament.
“Why do you care?” Kaleb asked.
Tess shrugged innocently. “Jonas was just saying I should get my facts straight. Who better to ask than his own brother? Did it have something to do with the fountain?”
“Actually, no, it didn’t.”
“Then why is he in trouble?”
“No offense, but that’s really none of your business,” Kaleb said calmly.
Tess let out a small hmph of laughter, and even that was sharp like a spur. “So Alex, do you have any ancestors here?”
Ellington’s advice was fresh in her mind. “I don’t think so,” she said quietly.
“Why are you such a nosy—” Jonas began but Gabe shoved him to shut him up.
“Be nice.”
Tess smiled. She seemed to like that her spurs were getting under their skin. “You boys wouldn’t understand. You’re first-generation spirits,” she said, indicating this was a stigma. “What is Alex short for?”
“It’s short for shut the hell up,” Jonas interjected.
“That was so clever,” said Tess. “Honestly, Jonas, I cannot leave my seat, which wasn’t such a punishment until you arrived. But if I bother you so much, why are you still here?”
“Excellent point. We were just leaving. It’s been such a pleasure seeing you, Tess.” He spat the words as though the taste of them was wretched.
As the Lasalles pulled her through the vestibule, Alex peeked back over her shoulder at the icy girl. The aggression of the conversation didn’t seem to faze Tess.
“She was charming,” Alex said sarcastically.
Kaleb made a face. “Tess-the-Pest thinks she can say and do whatever she wants.”
Jonas seethed. “Did you hear the scorn in her voice when she called us first-generation spirits? I hate that girl.”
“Why did she ask about my family?”
“Get used to it. Everyone asks about it when newburies arrive.”
“She was trying to see if she should invite you into her little cult,” Gabe explained.
“Huh?”
“Legacy kids. They think they’re superior because they have ancestors here.”
“They do get special treatment.” Kaleb led the group to a narrow opening in the far corner of the room where a wavy ramp spiraled around a black pillar like an Archimedes’ screw.
Alex kept a hand on the pillar to support herself while she followed the boys around and around. At each floor, the darkness broke to reveal beautiful stone balconies with chairs and tables overlooking the vestibule. At the seventh floor, the boys stopped.