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Erasmus paced in the grass. His hands were balled into fists, the tendons in his slender arms standing out in stiff lines. “Who do you think?” he snapped.
“If you don’t stand up to them, they’ll never stop.”
“Easy for you to say!” Erasmus fumed. “They don’t even bother you anymore. Look at you!” He waved an angry hand. “You’re practically a whole different person.”
“I’m still your friend,” Elix said gently. “And as your friend, I am telling you that you are never going to see the end of it if you don’t stand up to them.”
Erasmus took a moment to breathe, every inhale ragged. “They’ll kill me,” he whispered.
Elix did not deny it. Instead, he said, “They might try.”
Voices bounced across the dark school grounds—the same male voices Erasmus had hoped not to hear again for a while. Ever, even.
His face paled in the moonlight. “They’re coming!” he hissed.
Elix pulled his friend toward the chainlink fence. “Quick.” He let go of his arm so he could pry up the broken bottom of the fence, and waved him under. “Get inside.”
Erasmus ducked under the chainlink, and Elix followed.
They hurried up the steps and into the shadowy building, past the rows of old desks that were covered in dust and cobwebs. They wheeled a chalkboard aside and pushed open a hidden door in the far wall.
The girl and her dog followed them inside, slipping through the door as Elix pushed it shut. Down a pitch-black stairwell they walked, the walls lined with cold torches that hadn’t been lit in years. Upstairs, male voices shouted out in anger at the sight of the empty building, but the noise was soon swallowed up with distance as they gave up their search.
In the basement, there was more storage, including an old clawfoot bathtub with solid gold faucets, the porcelain riddled with cracks. The room was lit with candles dripping hot wax into brass holders, the assortment of flames casting flickering orange light on the dank walls.
Something in the bathtub stirred—
It was a young woman.
Erasmus and Elix froze as she startled awake. She sat up with a soft gasp and spun to face them, clutching a ratty blanket to her chest.
Her long hair was tangled, the strands too dirty to tell the color. There was dirt on her freckled face too, and her eyes—a shade between blue and green—were bright with fear.
Erasmus was the first to speak. “Who are you?” His whisper traveled far, like the hiss of a serpent.
She didn’t reply.
“How did you get in here?” he tried again.
Still, nothing.
Elix said, “Are you a student here?”
She just sat there, clutching the blanket to her chest, her eyes wide and unblinking. She was very pretty, and…human? She looked human, but there was something…off about her.
The two friends leaned in close to whisper.
“I think we should tell someone,” Elix said.
“No.” The rebuke came from the dirty, trembling girl in the bathtub. “Don’t.” In a softer voice, she added, “Please.”
It was the boys’ turn to be silent.
And then Erasmus stepped forward—slowly. “My name is Erasmus Sophronia. And this is my friend, Elix Danik.”
“Friend.” She tested the word on her tongue, as if trying a new piece of fruit for the first time.
Elix said, “Do you need help?”
