Night School - Endgame (10 page)

When she’d agreed to Nathaniel’s demands that night, it had been in direct opposition to what Lucinda wanted her to do. She hoped it would make him leave them alone.

It had been a miscalculation.

She’d never known Lucinda to look at her with such disappointment as she had at that moment. As if she’d failed her.

She wouldn’t fail her now.

Allie stepped forward until she stood close to the gate. Eye-to-eye with Nathaniel. She wanted him to see how unafraid she was.

‘I will sign your papers.’ Her sudden announcement seemed to surprise them both. Isabelle shot her a frustrated look.

‘Excellent.’ Nathaniel reached for his breast pocket, as if to take out a pen.

Then Allie finished her thought: ‘As soon as Carter West is safely back at Cimmeria Academy – and after you agree to leave us in peace – you will have your signature. Until then, I won’t sign anything.’

Nathaniel’s expression darkened. He’d gone very still. Colour rose in his cheeks.

Suddenly, one of the guards arrayed behind him – a muscular man with a baby face and a brush of stubble on his cheeks – caught Allie’s gaze and made a subtle gesture with his hand.

Get back,
 
it said.

Allie took a hasty, stumbling step away, just as Nathaniel reached through the bars and swung for her.

He missed her by inches.

Then he lost it.

‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ He kicked the metal gate over and over again. The fence shuddered from the force of the attack.

Behind him, the guards stood stoic, as if what he was doing was perfectly normal.

Her heart pounding, Allie scanned their faces until she found the one with the baby face. Like the others, he gazed steadily over her head, as if she wasn’t there.

Why had he warned her?

What if that’s Nine? 

It had to be him.

She made up her mind. She would find a way to meet him. To explain.

Allie cast a sideways glance at the headmistress. She was watching Nathaniel’s tantrum with a strange mixture of sympathy and revulsion.

Panting, Nathaniel stepped back from the fence. The night seemed quieter after that burst of violence.

She and Isabelle watched him warily.

‘Listen to me, little girl.’ His voice was a snarl. ‘If you ever want to see your boyfriend alive again, I suggest you sign that document now…’

‘Enough.’ Isabelle held up her hand. ‘You wouldn’t dare. If you hurt Carter West, you lose all your leverage. You need him like you need her signature. You have your answer, Nathaniel. Give us Carter. And you can have everything you want.’

Nathaniel could have no idea how true that was.

Holding the document he’d given her up, Isabelle tore it in half. The pieces fluttered to the ground, scattering around her like flower petals.

Nathaniel’s face was red with rage.

‘You should be careful, Nathaniel.’ Isabelle’s tone was taunting. ‘I hear everyone in Westminster is talking about how Lucinda died. Nobody believes the cover story. A heart attack. Really?’ She shook her head. ‘Rumours spread fast in Parliament. How long do you think you’re going to last?’

Allie expected Nathaniel to lose it again. But his response was chilling.

‘You are sailing,’ he said, ‘too close to the wind, little sister.’

Isabelle just smiled. ‘That is right where I like to be. Big
 
brother.’

For a long moment the two stood, locked in a silent battle. Then Nathaniel held up one hand.

‘Let’s go.’

As one, his guards turned back to their vehicles. Allie searched the crowd but she couldn’t see the baby-faced guard anymore – he’d disappeared into the shadows.

The headlights switched on in a blinding display. Isabelle stood at the gate, unafraid, staring right into the bright light.

Backlit like that, her hair golden and waving around her face, she looked like a goddess. Or like a warrior queen.

The SUVs lumbered around and, one after another, roared away.

When they were gone, the night fell silent. Allie heard birds – disturbed by the engines – grumbling in the trees. Wind rushed softly through the branches of the pines.

The only people left on the other side of the fence were the two returned hostages. They stood helpless, blindfolded, their hands still tied behind their backs.

They lifted their faces, in a curiously animalistic way, trying to see through the fabric that covered their eyes.

Allie knew they were bait.

This was classic Nathaniel. He could have stopped the cars a short distance down the road. He could have left men hidden in the woods, waiting to signal him as soon as the gate opened.

There’d been no reason for him to bring these men back at all.

The whole situation screamed trap.

She couldn’t imagine what would happen now. It was too dangerous to open the gates. But they couldn’t just leave the hostages standing there.

Like her, the headmistress was staring at the two men. She might have kept her cool throughout the evening, but now she was pale with fury.

‘Are they really gone?’ Allie asked hesitantly. ‘Is it safe?’

‘I don’t care.’ Isabelle pulled a phone from her pocket and pushed a button. Every muscle in her body was tense as she spoke into the phone.

‘Open the bloody gate.’

W
ith a jarring screech of metal
, the gate began to roll open.

Allie stared at the headmistress in utter disbelief. Opening the gates now was insane.

This kind of recklessness was utterly out of character for cautious, protocol-obsessed Isabelle.

The headmistress stood in the middle of the drive, inches from the moving metal.

It was almost, Allie thought, almost like she wanted Nathaniel to come back.

This was scarier than anything that had happened all night. The teachers at Cimmeria had been pushed to the brink by Nathaniel over the last few months.

Maybe this had been a step too far. Pushing the headmistress over the edge.

‘Isabelle…’ she began hesitantly.

Before she could finish the sentence, Isabelle lifted her phone again.

‘Now, Raj.’

As if by magic, security guards in black fighting gear poured from the woods behind them. There must have been fifty of them. They moved without a sound.

In the inky darkness, they were like night in motion.

Allie had known they must be nearby – the guards were never going to leave the two of them out here alone – but she hadn’t seen any sign of them until now.

With silent swiftness, they streamed around the two women and rushed towards the gates.

Raj was in the lead, his face set and focused. He didn’t glance at them as he sped by.

They hurtled through the gate to the two blindfolded men. There they divided in a movement of silent precision. Most headed off to search the surrounding area. The others searched the bound men before hustling them on to the school grounds.

As quickly as it had begun, it was over. The guards raced back towards the fence, stealth forgotten now. Zelazny shouted orders as he ran. The gates shuddered and began to close.

Once safely inside, the guards arrayed themselves in a long, black line in front of the slowly closing gate. They stood poised, ready to spring.

Raj was the last one back, slipping through the bars like a shadow, just before the gate closed with a clang.

Zelazny headed straight to Isabelle, disapproval in his pale, blue eyes.

‘That was risky,’ he said, sotto voce.

Isabelle kept her gaze on the two bound men. Someone produced a knife and sliced the plastic cuffs from their wrists.

‘It is time,’ she said after a moment, ‘for risk taking.’

She strode away to talk to Raj. Zelazny glowered, but didn’t pursue her.

Allie watched the guards dealing with the returned hostages, a hollow, helpless misery growing inside her.

No Carter. It was all a trick. 

She didn’t know what to do.

Everything felt so pointless. No matter what they did, they lost. Nathaniel read them like a book. They couldn’t force him to do anything he didn’t want to. He was just toying with them now.

They were the mouse. He was the cat.

She couldn’t see that ever changing. Especially now that Lucinda was gone. He’d play with them until he was bored. Whenever he was ready, he would take everything. Game over.

‘Don’t worry.’

Allie glanced up in surprise to find Zelazny watching her, a rare hint of sympathy in his expression.

‘Nathaniel will pay for this,’ he said.

If she hadn’t been so dazed by the speed with which events had transpired, she might have been surprised that he’d noticed her pain. Or that he cared.

But that would only occur to her later. Now she just nodded her thanks.

‘Everyone back inside.’ Raj’s voice sliced through the night.

Zelazny whirled, the momentary kindness disappearing.

‘Let’s go,’ he bellowed. ‘Everybody move! Now!’

With one last longing look through the gate to the empty darkness beyond, Allie did as she told.

As soon as they reached the main school building, Isabelle took the two released prisoners to be debriefed.

‘August, Eloise – with me.’ Her tone was so clipped and cold, Allie knew better than to ask if she could come, too.

The small group disappeared into the office underneath the stairs. The door slammed behind them.

Quiet fell.

For a while, Allie waited outside Isabelle’s door, hoping for news. Maybe the guards knew something about Carter. Maybe they could give them some clues as to where he was being kept.

But the ornate carved door stayed stubbornly shut.

She leaned against a wall, trying to remain cool and composed, but her right foot tapped nervously against the polished wood floor. She couldn’t seem to make it be still.

‘Allie.’

Sylvain had walked up behind her soundlessly; she’d never heard him coming.

No chance of escape.

‘We need to talk,’ he said.

He was still in his black Night School gear; his expression was thunderous.

Allie’s heart sank.

She tried to affect nonchalance, but tension crept into her voice. ‘Sure. What’s up?’

‘Not here.’ He pointed at the sweeping staircase behind them. ‘Up there.’

He climbed the stairs with a cat’s smooth stride. Allie followed as slowly as possible, gripping the banister.

She had a bad feeling about this.

On the landing, he stopped in front of the towering windows. Resting one hand on the plinth for a marble statue he drummed his fingers briefly – the only sign that he was nervous, too.

She wanted him to say something. But he just stood there.

‘I’m sorry I shouted at you earlier,’ she said. Because someone had to say something. ‘That wasn’t on.’

‘This isn’t about that,’ he said.

He was avoiding her gaze.

‘Oh.’ Her stomach flip-flopped. ‘What is this about?’

His eyes met hers for just a second then skittered away. ‘Don’t you know?’

‘No,’ she said, but it came out as an unconvincing whisper.

His expression told her she wasn’t fooling anyone.

‘Something happened while I was gone. I can tell. I know there’s a lot going on but… Everything’s different now. With us.’

Panic left a fine sheen of perspiration on Allie’s skin. Her heart beat out an erratic rhythm.

He knows,
 
she thought with wild certainty. How does he know? And then: Katie.

The redhead had betrayed her after all. She should have guessed that would happen. Bloody Katie. Always looking for an angle. Always trying to get ahead.

Well, it was too late to fix it now. She had to think. Fast.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she lied.

He smiled at her sadly. ‘Yes, you do.’

At that moment, Allie hated Katie with a white hot rage. She hated her more than Nathaniel.

She couldn’t pretend any longer.

‘What did Katie tell you?’ she asked heatedly. ‘You shouldn’t believe anything she says.’

‘Katie?’ Sylvain’s brow creased. ‘I haven’t spoken to her today.’ He stared at her then, a sudden realisation in his eyes. ‘What should she have told me?’

Allie froze. Now she really had blown it.

She couldn’t think of any more lies to tell.

When she didn’t reply, he waved his hand. ‘Never mind. I can guess. So I was right. About everything.’

This was so awful. So spectacularly amazingly awful.

She’d caused all this with her indecision. And then, at the end, made it even worse by making up her mind.

She took a step towards him but didn’t dare go any further. He seemed suddenly so out of reach.

‘Sylvain, please,’ she said.

He nodded as if she’d just confirmed all his suspicions.

‘I knew before I left things weren’t right between us. I guess I was hoping that – after everything…’ His voice trailed off. His hands clenched and released. ‘But I was wrong.’ He lifted his piercing blue eyes to meet hers. ‘Wasn’t I? You want to break up with me. Don’t you?’

How do you even answer that?

It’s a trick question. The answer is already inside it.

Allie felt as if the floor was shifting beneath her feet.

This couldn’t be happening now. She’d planned to deal with it all later. After everything was resolved. When Carter was back and…

When she was ready.

But when was that going to be? She’d never be ready to break Sylvain’s heart.

The school had gone horribly quiet. Nothing stirred. It felt as if the whole building was watching them fall apart.

His question still hung in the air. Unanswered.

Don’t you? 

‘Yes,’ she whispered.

He let out a quick breath, as if she’d punched him.

‘At last,’ he said. ‘The truth.’ He held her gaze. His eyes were unnervingly steady. ‘Is it Carter? Did something happen with you two?’

‘Yes,’ she repeated, sorrow in her voice.

He flinched then, although he tried to hide it.

‘I always knew,’ he said. ‘But it still…’

He never finished the sentence. He didn’t have to. She knew what he was going to say.

It still hurts. 

Tears burned the backs of her eyes.

‘You know,’ she said, ‘you told me a long time ago that I had to figure out who I was and then I’d know what I wanted. Well, I figured it out. The thing is, I wanted to be in love with you.’ Her voice grew unsteady. ‘But I wasn’t. I just… wasn’t.’

He kept his eyes on his hands, letting her talk. When he finally looked up, the pain on his face cut her heart like broken glass.

‘You’re in love with Carter.’ He said it flatly.

Allie couldn’t bear this. She couldn’t hurt him anymore.

‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered.

‘Don’t.’ He held up his hand as if to physically stop her words. ‘I don’t want…’

A tear slipped down his cheek. He swiped it away with a look of utter disbelief.

Without another word, he turned and walked away – his steps fast but even – across the landing and into the shadows beyond.

Away from her.

Allie almost made it to her room.

She was on the stairs to the dormitory wing, tears streaming down her face, when she heard angry voices from downstairs. She turned back, hurrying down to the landing.

She leaned over the banister, trying to make out words.

Suddenly Zoe shot out of Isabelle’s office and hurtled up towards her, her ponytail bouncing with each rapid step. She spotted Allie when she was halfway up.

‘Isabelle says for you to come quick.’ She squinted at her. ‘What’s wrong with your face?’

‘Nothing,’ Allie wiped her cheeks with her sleeve. ‘Just… nothing.’ She cleared her throat. ‘What’s going on?’

‘I don’t know.’ Zoe motioned for her to hurry. Before Allie knew what was happening, she was following her down the stairs. ‘She just came out of her office in a bad mood and called for you. And you weren’t there and then she shouted.’ She paused. ‘Isabelle never shouts.’

Side by side, they sped down the curved staircase, hitting the ground floor at a run, skidding to a stop in front of the common room door. Zoe went in first.

‘Where’s Isabelle?’ she said, looking around. ‘I found Allie.’

Rachel and Nicole were waiting by the door.

‘In her office. She said for us to all come.’ Rachel’s eyes scanned Allie’s face, missing nothing. Her eyebrows arched up. Allie hurriedly turned away.

Zelazny stood just inside Isabelle’s office.

‘In,’ he growled. ‘Now.’

The two guards Nathaniel had returned earlier that night sat nervously in the chairs in front of Isabelle’s desk.

Isabelle and Eloise stood behind the desk, looking at something on a laptop screen – it was turned away from the girls, so Allie could see nothing.

Isabelle’s cheeks were pale, her lips set in a thin line.

Zelazny closed the door behind them.

‘Thank you for coming.’ Isabelle’s raised her eyes from the screen. ‘I’m afraid there’s something you need to see.’

Allie’s chest felt tight. She couldn’t breathe in this room. Everyone was scaring her.

He can’t be dead. God, please don’t let him be dead. 

She couldn’t speak. Her lips felt nerveless.

‘What is it?’ Rachel asked, frowning.

The headmistress nodded at the two guards. ‘Tell them what you told us.’

Allie turned to them. Outside they’d just been shadows. This was the first time she’d got a good look at them. The one on the right had blond hair, cut short, and freckles. The one on the left had dark skin and short dark hair; he had a similar athletic build but looked a little older – more like Raj’s age.

‘He said to give you a web address,’ the older guard said hesitantly. ‘He said you should see what you’d done. He said… if you don’t give him the school the boy dies. He said “The clock is ticking.”’

A strange fuzzy sound filled Allie’s ears. She could see the others talking, but it was all muffled, distant.

The headmistress held up her hand, and the room fell silent.

Then she turned her laptop so they could see the screen.

Allie saw a body in a chair, chained, dark head slumped forward. At first, because of how the body was placed, she couldn’t make out his features. But she still knew. She recognised those shoulders. The line of his back.

Then he shifted on the hard wooden seat and looked up.

It was Carter.