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“We’ve still got a couple of hours left to go,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “We don’t have to wait long before the night is over.”
I’d been glad to hear this morning that Silas was fine, not currently in trouble, and would be going to the dance location ahead of time with North and Dr. Green. I had asked a lot of questions, but it came down to Silas and Charlie admitting to the police that Theo suffered from an addiction to lighting fires.
At first, there was more excitement as other homecoming things were announced, the king and queen had a dance. When the mood change to allow the dance part to continue for all, the lighting around us changed. I didn’t realize what was different, until I looked around and saw glowing cat faces and some other costumes lighting up under black lights.
“This should make things interesting,” Silas said. “Kids could sneak kisses.”
“We’ve already caught one...young couple in the bathroom together,” Mr. Blackbourne said.
Silas sighed.
Suddenly, behind Silas, I spotted something, and at first, I thought I was losing my mind.
I blinked to make sure, but it was clear. Gabriel and Luke were facing away from us as they were checking out the photographers. On each of their backs, glowing a light green, was a mask.
Resembling Volto masks.
Stunned, I grabbed Silas’s arm and pulled him around. “Do you see that?”
“What?” Mr. Blackbourne asked in my ear. “There’s a lot of video feeds. What do you see?”
Silas had turned by then, taking several moments to stare. “Volto,” he said.
“Where?” Mr. Blackbourne said.
Silas turned around, trying to look over his own shoulder to check out his back. He was glowing, too. A big mask on his back. I felt the material. There was a distinct difference, some sort of paint that only glowed under the black light.
Some people were pointing, laughing.
“It’s on me, isn’t it?” Silas asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Mr. Blackbourne, we’ve got a problem. Volto painted his mask on the backs of the costumes.” I turned, showing Silas my back. “Do I have one?”
“No. Must be just the guys,” Silas said.
“Didn’t the costumes get mixed up?” Mr. Blackbourne asked.
They did. It struck me all at once then. The masks at Tissu being left behind. Later, after Gretta made her costumes, it must not have been the assistant who messed things up, it was Volto, painting his masks and tucking the outfits into the wrong bags.
I caught North and Dr. Green turning their backs to each other, catching on. Kota, Victor and Nathan were crossing the tent, charging at me.
Suddenly, through my earpiece, a voice spoke.
“I helped you once,” said the electronically distorted voice. “I’ll help you twice, but you owe me.”
I waited, assuming Mr. Blackbourne had heard what was said, and perhaps Victor, Kota, and the others, but neither of them changed course. Silas didn’t acknowledge that he’d heard anything.
“What?” I asked, my heart pounding.
“Tell Kota the next time I leave a sign for them, he needs to pay attention. I tried to tell him his car was being stolen.”
“Did you steal it?”
“Not this time. By the way, the thing you were waiting for? It’s happening now. Take your dates out to the parking lot. Don’t let them talk you out of going. You need to see this. Don’t let them keep you in the dark.” Then there was a distinct click: a phone hanging up.
I grabbed Silas’s arm. “We have to go.”
“What?” Silas asked. “Why?”
“You didn’t hear?” I asked. “Volto was talking to me. Through the earpiece.”
“Miss Sorenson,” Mr. Blackbourne said now through earpiece. “You can hear me now?”
“We have to get everyone out to the parking lot,” I said. “Something’s happening out there. Maybe we can stop it.” I checked for the exit, and started to hurry as fast as heels would allow.
“Sang,” Silas took my elbow, pulling me until I nearly fell, but he caught me. “We can’t just run in. It might be a trap.”
“What’s going on?” North asked, coming up next to me.
“We have to hurry,” I told them both. “We’ll miss it. We need to know. And we have to go quietly, or else we won’t find out...”
“You can’t trust him,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “Whatever he’s told you.”
“Some need to stay here and watch over the students,” I said. “But don’t we need to investigate and make sure this isn’t going to be a trap sprung on anyone else? And what if...”
“I’m not seeing anyone out in the parking lot,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “Wait...my feeds. Victor, the feeds have been diverted somehow. The timestamp is frozen. He’s cutting through the signal.”
“It was the risk we were taking going wireless,” Victor said, looking around at the other boys as they gathered around. We were probably causing a scene and with the masks on their backs, they looked intimidating. “Anyone can jump on the lines.”
My heart was racing, and I kept trying to pull away from them. Maybe I sensed it in the air, and in the way Volto had spoken, but we were running out of time. We were going to miss whatever he was trying to warn us about.
That’s what it felt like: A warning.
“Please,” I begged. “We need to go see.”
“No,” North said. “We have to...”
There was thud in the ear piece. Mr. Blackbourne was saying something, but it wasn’t into the microphone.
Suddenly, the earpiece gave off a piercing squeal. Instinct took over, and I covered my ears, but since the earpiece was inside, I quickly scratched at it until I could pull it out, leaving it hanging off the side of the mask.
The boys had all done the same. Kota spoke into his mask, “Hey, you there? There’s a...”
“That’s not feedback,” Victor said. “That’s a disruption to the line. He’s cutting off communication.”
“He might be in trouble,” North said. He snapped at me. “Stay here with Silas. We’re checking out the parking lot. Some of us may need to go after Mr. Blackbourne.”
“But...”
North pointed a finger at my nose. “Don’t,” he said.
Kota started directing the others. Kota, Victor and Luke were going to head to Mr. Blackbourne and find out what was going on. Silas stayed with me. North and the others were going to circle the parking lot.
I hovered where I stood, indecisive, but wanting to obey the boys. The urge to get involved was overwhelming, especially knowing Mr. Blackbourne could be in trouble, and that whatever Volto had done, it was happening right now. Whatever favor he’d planned, we were missing it.
I swallowed every ounce of wanting to disobey Kota and North. Trust.
Silas stood by me while the others ran off. There were c
urious looks from other Academy members around us. Some looked like they were talking into earpieces. Everyone was trying to figure out what was going on. There was a flurry of movement as the music blared a little louder. They were possibly masking their movements. The Academy was on the move.
It all happened at once. There were people on the floor offering food, people taking photos. Everyone was checking what the students were doing. I suppose if anyone was on a cell phone, or acting weird, they were looking for those people.
“Sang,” a voice said. It was faint. I realized it was coming through the earpiece. I put it back in again. “Mr. Black—”
“Now that they’re gone,” Volto’s voice rang through. “Go inside the estate. I’ll guide you from there.”
“Silas,” I said.
“What?” he was putting his earpiece back in. “Is he back?”
“Volto is,” I said. “He said go inside the estate.”
“Oh shit,” Silas grumbled. “Why?”
“Better hurry up,” Volto said.
I tugged at Silas’s arm. “I don’t know,” I said to him. “But listen, Volto hasn’t hurt us, right?”
“Are you kidding?” Silas asked.
“Please,” I said. I’d had enough of being told to stay behind. “We’re the only ones here, and maybe he’s diverting their attention or whatever, but... please, Silas?”
“We should stay,” he said.
“We need to find out what’s going on. Isn’t that what we’re doing now? If we’re going to catch up with him, we have to find out what he’s doing. We can’t just stand here.”
Silas looked longingly toward the exit that the others had disappeared behind. He looked toward the other Academy members, all seeming to scramble in different directions, giving orders. “I don’t know.”
“We’ll go slowly,” I said. “Together.”
Silas groaned and then tucked his hand around my elbow and started out. “If we end up kidnapped, I’ll kill him.”
“Down, doggie,” Volto said in my ear. Silas didn’t react, so I guessed Volto could hear what they were saying, but I was the only one who could hear him.
I followed Silas out, and then around the tent. My heels sunk into the grass, and I kicked them off and picked them up to walk barefoot. The dance was over for us in the Academy. We needed to hurry.
