Page 119 of Storm Caller

While I’m at it, I shoot yet another text to my dad, who’s been ignoring me since our dinner.

When the night of the party arrives, it’s in full swing by eight o’clock. The gym is packed with people, and the speakers are blasting music. Some arrived in their Amery uniforms, but most people opted for their party clothes, happy for a change.

Rook and I are hanging out in the corner where we normally spar, watching as people come and go. Some spill into changing rooms and bathrooms, where I’m sure all kinds of stuff is happening. The alcohol is flowing, and plenty of people are starting to get drunk.

Perfect. This is exactly what we need.

I spot Domino across the room with her friend, Calloway, who she’s been spending more and more time with. She stretches up to whisper something in his ear and then makes her way over on her own. “When is she supposed to come?” she asks.

I check my phone for a text from Trinity, but I haven’t heard from her since this morning. “She said Garret gets off duty at eight and then they’re heading down.”

Domino snorts. “I love how you always say Garret like that, as if it’s allegedly his name.”

“Ugh,” I say. “He’s vile.”

“They should be here soon,” Rook says. “Are we all ready?”

“Are we really poisoning him?” Domino asks, dropping her voice to a whisper.

“Only sort of. It won’t kill him,” I say. “Just . . . knock him out and give him a little headache. That’s all.”

“He deserves worse,” Rook says. “They all do.”

“I know,” Domino says. “I’m just new to this whole causing-trouble thing.”

Rook grins. “Once you start, you’ll find that it’s hard to stop. Just ask Poet.”

I roll my eyes, and Domino snickers. We decide to mingle, trying to look casual until Trinity and Dire arrive.

We squeeze past various pieces of exercise equipment, where people are using the benches as seats, while others make out in corners and against the walls. Everyone is having a great time.

Journey looks over from where she’s chatting with her girlfriend, Skylar, offering us a thumbs-up as she checks the door. Her eyes widen, and I glance over, spotting a flash of a bloodred uniform through the crowd. Extinguishers. Several I recognize who have been newly posted at the school and have decided to join the fun.

I search for a familiar head of dark hair. Dire stands with one arm propped on a wall so he can loom over a petite blonde who’s peering up at him with bright-blue eyes. Dire has to be almost thirty. Way too old for any of Amery’s students. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s a pig in this regard, too.

He reaches out and runs a finger across the girl’s cheek before settling a large hand on her hip. At least he did us a favor by arriving in his uniform.

I scan the crowd, wondering where Trinity is, but I still don’t see her.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. She isn’t who we need.

Rook appears beside me, his jaw clenching. “I should go and talk to him,” he whispers under his breath.

He approaches Dire, who now has his nose buried in the curve of the blonde’s throat, while his hand has slipped to her bare thigh.

Rook claps him on the shoulder as a friendly gesture, then offers Dire the bottle in his hand. I watch as Rook leans in, and I know he’s telling Dire that it’s a special vintage he saved just for him. Something he claims came from the Wastes. Really, he picked it up at a corner store and just poured it into a plain glass bottle before dissolving a few sedatives into it.

Predictably, Dire grins and accepts it, popping the cork and taking a long swig while the girl he was talking to slips away. Dire hands the bottle back, and I watch Rook fake a sip. They pass the bottle between them a few times, then Rook retrieves it and says something else before turning around and heading toward me. He grabs my hand and pulls me into one of the bathrooms, where he dumps the rest down the sink and tosses the empty bottle.

“Okay, step one worked?” I ask.

“I think so,” Rook says.

I offer him a grim look. “Now we wait?”

He checks the time. “Shouldn’t be more than ten or fifteen minutes.”

“Perfect,” I say. We return to the party, where we keep an eye on Dire.