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There was an echo of voices on the other side, at least three, but there could have been more. All male.
Gabriel and Luke stood together at the door. I slid behind them, ducking behind their shoulders. This wild day was just getting crazier by the moment. My courage was draining fast. I thought up excuses as to why I might want to wait in the car.
Looking at them together, it was the first time I realized Gabriel was taller than Luke. Didn’t he used to be shorter? He must have grown.
There was metal scraping against metal as locks were undone. The door opened, creaking almost as much as the stairs.
I had a hand on both Luke and Gabriel, my palms to their backs, ready to run.
At the door was a middle-aged man, maybe late thirties, thin, with a scar from his chin all the way to his lip. He had dark eyes and dark hair. He studied us carefully before opening the door more. He was taller than Silas, wearing jeans and a dark sweater.
“We don’t need our lawn mowed,” the man said in a low rumbly voice with the equivalence of get-off-my-property venom in his tone. “We do it ourselves. And we like our leaves where they are, thank you.”
There was a silence. I swallowed the thickness in my throat, ready to apologize and leave. Gabriel tensed under my palm, and backed up a step. He must have felt the same way.
“We’re from the Academy,” Luke said, tense but steady.
The man’s eye twitched. “You say...” His voice drifted off.
Silence filled the space. Was he not from the Academy? Did we have the wrong house?
“What are you three doing?” A female voice rang out from inside the home. “Who’s at the door?”
The man in the doorway cringed, like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He backed up and opened the door wider.
A woman finished walking down the steps to stand near two other men. She had blond curly hair cut to her shoulders. She was taller than me, with a shapely body and a couple of faded scars along her arms. She wore black pants and a bulky sweater that clung to her shape and hung off her shoulders.
Beautiful.
There was something else about her, too. Her eyes. Her face. Something wasn’t right about it. I couldn’t pinpoint it. Sadness?
Haunted. Like a doll, only spookier. Kota once said my face was haunted. It didn’t look like that. Hers was far more delicate.
She smiled faintly at seeing us clustered on the porch. The men that stood beside her stepped out of the way as she came forward. “Are you the new neighbor children?” she asked.
“They say they’re from the Academy,” the man who answered the door replied.
Her eyes widened and she waved a hand at him. “Then let them in, William,” she said to him. She looked over to one of the other men, the one with black hair slicked back on his head. “Henry, fetch the lemonade and that tin of cookies we got in the mail the other day.”
“Are we having tea?” the third man asked. He had strawberry-blond hair, bright blue eyes, and fair skin with freckles on his face and arms. He frowned, like he didn’t like this scenario. He was an inch or two shorter than the woman, but he stood tall, and wore thick-heeled boots, so he was even shorter than he appeared. He was bulky, though, with broad shoulders and muscular arms. He studied us with caution.
The other men were just as tense. They moved stiffly, but did what she asked. William, the man with the scarred face, waved us inside.
My arms stiffened at my sides. My eyes were wide. My hand crept up to the dip at my neck. I’d go back in a heartbeat and talk to Mr. Blackbourne about anything after this experience. We should have asked him first.
Luke and Gabriel were shoulder to shoulder as they entered, moving to adjust only to avoid a potted plant on a stand. I kept right behind them. The foyer was dim, but beyond it, the hall was lit up well, as if making up for the gloom outside. There was a tile floor and a wooden staircase leading to a second floor, and ornate objects on tables. Portraits and plants took up a lot of space. There was a living room to the left, and an open door on the right revealed a room with bookshelves and an unlit fireplace.
William closed the door behind us and then turned, took one look at me, seeming to see me for the first time, and then placed a hand over his chest. “Oh god,” he said as he closed the door. He turned a couple of locks, but kept his eyes on me. “Don’t tell me this is about a bird.”
There was a groan from Henry and the blond man. Henry marched away, through the living room and pushed at a swinging door that opened to reveal a kitchen. Henry disappeared, the door shut closed behind him.
The third man, the fair one, approached us, his hands up and stepping protectively in front of the woman. “Listen,” he said carefully, “just tell us why you’re here.”
“Actually we are here about Sang,” Gabriel said.
“You’ve been talking with North Taylor about her,” Luke said. “We’re here to find out what was said and what we need to know.”
“North Taylor?” the woman said. She looked at the others in confusion. “Who’s been talking to him?”
“Henry has,” William said through gritted teeth.
“How come no one’s told me?” the woman asked. She turned to us, reached a hand out to Gabriel in offering. “My name is Lily.”
“Gabriel,” he said. He took her hand and shook it.
She moved on to Luke who shook her hand and said his name.
She moved again to angle herself between Luke and Gabriel. They parted, revealing me behind them.
She held out her hand.
I lifted mine to meet hers.
I said my name, but my voice was gone.
“Pardon?” she asked.
“Her name is Sang,” Gabriel said.
“Nice to meet you, Sang,” she said quietly. She moved with an air of grace like what I had seen in Victor’s mother, however, this woman…Lily…. She moved more smoothly, like it was natural rather than taught.
“No wonder they’re asking about you,” William said, who was standing by the living room opening. The blond man reached out, punching him in the arm. William winced and shook his
head. “I just mean I understand it. I didn’t say anything about...”
“Just shut up,” the blond man said.
“Don’t mind them,” Lily said. She waved her hand delicately toward them. “They get overprotective of me around new people.
The blond man mumbled something but I couldn’t understand it.
Lily studied me for a moment and then smiled, the unsure glint still on her face but she masked it behind warmth. “Sang,” she said. “How about you and I go into the library and chat? If you feel comfortable, I’d like to talk with you.”
No, no, no! My eyes went wide, and I looked at the boys, afraid to leave them. There was nothing wrong with Lily, but this was a creepy house and the men didn’t want us to be there.
But North came here. He hadn’t told me. They’d asked about me? Talked about me? Why?
Gabriel and Luke shared a look and then stared back at me, waiting. They waited for me to voice my own opinion if I wanted to go off with Lily or not.
Maybe it was better if we split up. Looking around, there weren’t any other girls. Just the three men and the woman. Boys with a single girl.
If they were in the Academy, then it obviously was allowed. North had come here to ask about me, possibly to see how I could join with them?
I nodded, relenting to the request, but I pulled my phone from Gabriel’s pocket. I’d hold onto that. Just in case.
Gabriel let me without looking at what I was doing. He knew.
Luke touched my arm briefly, encouraging.
I moved forward, feeling a knot tightening in my stomach. This was more than I’d bargained for. North had talked to them; I had to believe if he talked to them about me, then I should be able to trust them.
Why hadn’t North told me?
LILY’S DOG TEAM
Moments later, I was sitting on a clean sofa in a library. I’d never been in a formal library in a home before. This one was better than I’d ever dreamed to have for myself.
There were rows of paperbacks and hardbacks alike stacked on built in bookshelves surrounding us. The windows were stained glass, depicting characters from different fairy tales. The couches were plush, cozy. The fireplace, even unlit, was painted white and carved and beautiful, the marble mantle cluttered with photographs.
