Page 65 of Facade

“Well, look at you,” Hannah said teasingly. “Remember how we were both sniveling about our dry spells? Soon, you’ll be rolling in dicks.”

“Thanks for the visual,” Clarke said dryly.

“Anytime. Now I’m seriously considering going back to school,” Hannah said. “Maybe I’ll get lucky, too.”

Talking to Hannah helped Clarke feel normal, even with everything that was going on. They chatted for a bit longer, mostly about Hannah’s job and local gossip. It was comforting.

“Slobby sends his love,” Hannah said.

“I miss that big, goofy oaf so much,” Clarke commented with a sigh. Slob was being well taken care of, and that was what mattered. “Give him kisses from me.”

After doing a couple loads of laundry, Clarke drove into Clementine for groceries. Jace was worried about Mitch, and he had a right to be. But she refused to cower on campus in fear of the psycho elemental who chose to blame everyone else for his own failings.

It should be a quick trip, anyway. Clarke had gotten a haircut from Russell’s barber the week before Mitch was fired. It would be a couple of weeks before she was due for another. Everything she needed currently was available at the supermarket.

She stayed alert, but didn’t run into any trouble in town. Clarke had no doubt that Mitch would try something if he saw her, but he must not have. It was actually peaceful.

The weather was beautiful, sunny with a cool autumn breeze. Clarke drove back to campus with the windows down. She greeted the guards with a friendly wave when they opened the gate automatically, recognizing her car.

Only a few vehicles were in the parking lot. Most of the students with transportation spent the bulk of their weekends outside the dorm.

Leaving the bags of dry cat food she’d purchased by the stairs, Clarke carried the rest of her groceries into her unit. Heath had mentioned that he hoped to have the cats moved to the basement within the week.

Cats were more efficient hunters when they had a steady supply of food. Given the overwhelming number of mice to contend with, Clarke would give the felines as much help as she could. These bags might not last long, but she could buy more.

Jace texted that Heath had invited them to come over mid-morning the next day. They would experiment with her power, and have lunch at his house. It sounded like a good plan to her.

As she put her groceries away, Clarke thought about Russell, and the fact that he hadn’t commented about Jace or her friendship with him once. The more she considered it, the stranger it seemed. Jace had been bristly and protective in front of Russell more than one time when Mitch had thrown insults at her.

It wasn’t like Russell to keep his mouth shut about that. Clarke’s intuition told her that Russell could be trusted, and would be a valuable ally. She had faith in her instincts, but still had to wonder why he’d never mentioned Jace.

Clarke texted that she wanted Jace and Heath to ask some pointed questions about Russell when they tried Heath’s methods of experimenting with her power. If her intuitions about the librarian were validated, Clarke would bring Russell into the loop.

Her phone chimed with an invitation to a group chat that included Heath. She chuckled at the designations of Wizard, 007, and Agent X. That had to have been Heath’s doing.

Heath commented that it was a good plan. Using Russell as the first subject would allow them to verify the accuracy of answers immediately. The same wouldn’t be true of questions involving her dad, Dr. Prentis, or the students.

They needed to know what worked, what didn’t, and how versatile her power was. Having Russell’s brain and knowledge at their disposal would be an asset. The sooner the better.

Clarke messaged that she agreed, but was still baffled that Russell had never brought up Jace in conversation with her. Jace guessed that there was a simple explanation, and she should just ask Russell when they had confirmation that he would be on their side, and guard her secrets. Maybe it would be that easy. Time would tell.

She made a large bowl of potato salad to bring to Heath’s house, so he wouldn’t have to provide all the food. Contributing felt like the right thing to do. Jace had offered to bring drinks. Clarke didn’t want to arrive empty-handed.

The rest of the day, she mostly relaxed. Thoughts of another mate, and who he could possibly be, popped into her head a few times. Clarke pushed them away.

She had enough to contend with as it was. There was no point in speculating about some guy she hadn’t met, and how he would fit in with Jace and Heath.

Heath

Heath spent most of Saturday working on the house. Typically, lunch at Nadine’s was a welcome break. This week, however, it was awkward, and that was entirely his fault.

The friendly discussion faltered when Nadine started talking about how best to protect the students at the tournament. Clarke’s visions would probably be an asset in that regard. Since he couldn’t mention that, Heath made a noncommittal response.

Recent events had him distracted and preoccupied. His sister and her mates repeatedly made efforts to pull him into the conversation, with minimal success.

The mate mark was a few inches above his elbow, requiring a long-sleeved shirt to hide it. Fortunately, the weather was cool enough to justify the clothing choice. Otherwise, Heath would have had to postpone the family get-together.

When Brady asked Heath about his week, he deflected, changing the topic. Nadine realized something was off, and began nagging him for answers. Heath fidgeted, but continued to be evasive.