We stepped inside.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
9 Hours Until Sunset
When we got inside, Basile, Robetresse, and the other council members were already inside the room, along with Vern, Luce, and Dani in cots. Their arms were bound at their sides and connected to IV drips. Vern’s head sagged on his chest.
I frowned. “What is this?”
Dr. Robetresse cleared her throat. “We might ask the same of you.”
“Yes, Cella,” Basile said, an elegant hand running across his collar, “care to tell us what you’re doing here with a book of experimental spells tucked beneath your arm?”
My eyes darted across the room. Luce’s eyes were shut, but her upper body twisted in the restraints, head whipping from side to side. Magic pounded the ground with such intensity that I could feel it in my spine.
“They shouldn’t all be in here.” Max’s eyes darted toward me; he felt it, too.
The Magic had grown even more powerful with Luce and now Vern being taken. Three conduits generated three times as much power. And we’d just walked into it. We’d submerged ourselves into a pool with a dozen live wires hissing at its surface.
“Why not, Cella? Will it ruin the spell that you’re attempting to do outside the council’s knowledge?” Basile said, the line of his jaw long and sharp. There it was, the only indication of the real Basile, hiding behind the cold stare reserved just for me. His dark eyes glittered, daring me to challenge him.
“You’re one to talk,” I shot back. I might’ve laughed at the irony. All along we thought the monster was Dani, and here was the real one in front of us the entire time.
Dr. Robetresse and the other council members stared. “Basile has recommended we keep the three of them together. He has something he’s been working on that he believes can help.”
“He is the one responsible for all of this. You can’t trust a word he says.”
He cocked a brow and lowered his voice so only I could hear him. “What’s wrong, Cella? Disillusioned with us already?”
“How about you tell me what the hell you did to my brother?”
Basile waved his hand in dismissal of the accusation. “She’s lying.”
Robetresse’s lips drew into a thin line. “If what you say is true, why not tell us before now of your suspicions? Basile has only ever been up-front with us, and you’ve never indicated any distrust of him before. You’re saying now he’s a suspect?”
“It certainly looks suspicious, you only bringing this up now,” Dr. Nguyen agreed. The red spool of thread behind her pointed at me accusingly.
My stomach sank. Of all the scenarios I’d anticipated, I hadn’t expected this—that they would be here already, suspicions whispered into their ears by Basile. But the stark truth stared me right in the face. I’d been gone from the school for too long, had been out of Dr. Robetresse’s confidence. While I was worrying about trusting her and everyone else on the council, I’d never given thought to whethershe trusted me. Basile had had plenty of time to work these people, to make friendships. Now I was just an outsider, blaming one of their own.
“That’s because we didn’t know until now. At least, we weren’t sure. But I have proof.”
“Please, let’s not waste time with ridiculous claims,” Basile said, his smooth voice cutting over mine. “The only involvement I’ve had in this investigation has been trying to find the culprit. And here she is. Just have a look at what Cella is carrying under her arm.”
My fingers scrambled for my phone. I opened the picture of the cave where they did the ritual, and the ravine below it. “We found a body.”
Max stepped forward. “Saw it with my own eyes.”
Robetresse’s eyes darted from Basile to us, no longer sure who to believe. She was clearly unhappy with me springing this on her, but there was no way she could ignore this. I looked at the other council members. Ellendale ran his hand over his chin and took a step closer to Basile. I wasn’t going to win him over to my side anytime soon.
“You think I’m responsible for abody?What evidence do you have to make such an outrageous claim?”
I pointed to Luce, Vern, and Dani. “The same evidence I have that shows you’re responsible for all of this. The body we found was outside a cave that I believe the brothers have been occupying to cast spells in this book. I believe the body is that of a local girl, Emma Garcia, and that she died in a failed attempt at Basile’s Reality Paradox. Basile and the brothers have been experimenting on students, attempting to unbind people from their objects to send them to some other world, all in order to perfect the spell for themselves.”
Basile shook his head and laughed. “Wow.”
I ignored him and continued. “When Dani became unbound, she was left unprotected from Magic, and so it walked straight through her. She had no control over herself when she killed Maya, and she has no control over herself now. Through this spell, the brothers opened a door to the other world. What they didn’t know was the door went both ways. And now they can’t control it.”
Max nodded. “The entire student body is at risk because of what Basile and the brothers have done. The Magic is too strong to control. It stepped right through Luce and Vern, taking over them, too.”
