From the transcript of the interrogation of Florian Quinn by the Academy Prime: “I first met Hayden just before the Ye Evergreen break, I believe.”

  The effects of the bellaw and the subsequent Saberwine hit Madeline on the carriage ride back to the castle.

  “Is the world supposed to spin this late at night?” she asked when the carriage took a particularly harsh right hand turn onto the Saberwyn Academy’s property, the cobblestone pathway not helping bring down their blood alcohol levels.

  “Not normally,” Florian said gently. “If you’re going to throw up, do it outside the window.”

  “I’m fine,” Madeline said, then belched out some of her nausea.

  “We’re here. You need help getting out?”

  “You’re the one that needs help,” Madeline replied, unsteadily exiting the carriage, falling to one hand and scrambling up. They walked to the castle, Madeline keeping her hand possessively on her pocket where she’d kept the dossier of her parents as though she feared someone attempting its theft.

  “Let me walk you back to the Warrior Wing,” Florian said, with no intention of letting her pass out in a hallway and have a Professor wake her up. He knew from stories the older students told that the Professor’s typically looked the other way on town weekends, with all but the most extreme transgressions forgiven or outright ignored. Still, he didn’t want to push it.

  “You don’t know where it is,” Madeline accused.

  “That’s true, but you do.”

  “Oh. Right. It’s this way.”

  They made it fifty paces and almost directly into the castle before Madeline spewed. Great heaving eruptions of vomit landed directly into the nearest bush, finishing up with her spitting the last bit of puke from her mouth and shaking her head, Florian secretly glad Lane wasn’t there to make a crack about spitting versus, well, the other option. Talia, either, for that matter.

  “I’m definitely not kissing you now,” Florian joked, having absolutely no intention of making a move with her in this state and after she expressly told him she wouldn’t be smooching, but finding the opportunity for a barb too good to pass up.

  She just stuck her tongue out at him and led him on the way to their common room, hand over her mouth trying to hold back more vomit until she made the restrooms.

  Before long the giant statue of the fireball tossing Warrior came into view and Madeline offered sincere thanks and a goodbye. Florian nodded and watched her cross the threshold.

  Except, she didn’t cross the threshold, bouncing off an invisible barrier and drunkenly stumbling, falling to her butt doing an uncanny imitation of a newborn calf failing to find her balance for the first time. She giggled, unhurt.

  That was also the moment Florian heard the voice for the first time.

  “HAHAHAHA,” it cackled, somehow transmitting a deep, urgent despair despite the laughter. “DRINK THE POTION YOU MUST BE STRONG YOU HAVE TO BE STRONG SHE’LL NEVER SURVIVE DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK IT DO IT NOW NOW NOW!”

  Florian spun around in search of its source, alcohol fading in place of the adrenaline bubbling to the surface to help him in what was sure to be an attack of some sort. “Who said that?” Florian called in a strong voice. The voice he learned from his father. “There are two of us and one of you, show yourself!”

  “What are you talking about, you dork?” Madeline hiccuped from her position on the ground. “Help me up.”

  “Did you not hear that?”

  “Hear what?”

  “Listen,” he told her.

  A peculiar silence answered him and he eased the tension of his stance, shaking his head in a vain attempt to clear the cobwebs of the voice the alcohol must have caused.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Um, earth to Florian,” Madeline said, holding her hands out toward him. “I am spinning. No, wait, the world is spinning around me.”

  Florian helped her up and softly leaned her against the stone castle wall until he felt completely confident she wouldn’t fall. “Did you lose your talisman?”

  “Of course not,” Madeline argued, offended at the mere suggestion she’d misplace such an important object. Their talismans were their unique identifiers, its how they sent letters, checked in for attendance to classes and importantly, how they accessed their common rooms. Without the talisman, well, what happened to Madeline would happen.

  “Can I see it?” Florian asked gently.

  “Of course, duh.” She checked the pockets of her thick cloak, her pants and even her breast pocket of the shirt she wore. “It’s gone.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She took off her cloak and thrust it toward him. “It was in here, I didn’t put it in my pants because it would make a stupid looking lining and I don’t like it in between my boobs so it goes into the cloak. Go on, check.”

  Florian checked every pocket of her Academy issued black with red tinged cloak and besides the typical items girls kept on them - pocket sized makeup, lotion for her hands, some sort of jelly for her lips and sanitary pads - her pockets were well and truly empty. No talisman.

  “Ugh, I’m going to have to go to Hutton and get a new one, Herbert said he could be difficult about it,” she sighed. “Things just keep getting better, don’t they?”

  Giving her a soft smile, he replied. “Hutton isn’t that bad. Let’s solve the immediate issue and get you inside. Somehow.”

  “Someone will come out or have to go in at some point,” Madeline said, staring at the stone ceiling. “All we can do is wait. Do you think the school was hand built?”

  “Thad must know the answer to that,” Florian said. “We can ask him later. I’d say some parts are yes, but some look too perfect or too similar to be hand crafted.”

  Florian took a spot leaning against the wall next to Madeline while they waited for someone to enter or exit and take her across the threshold.

  “Hey, Florian?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Did the Lockhands tell you stuff?”

  He frowned. While not necessarily forbidden to discuss, the Lockhands conversations were deeply personal and not often repeated outside that room. Still, Madeline took the first step by sharing the dossier with him, he could at least feel the conversation out. “Like what?”

  “Like, things that confused you or scared you even?”

  Florian looked around again, the echoes of the voice still rattling his brain, and again found nobody. “Yes,” he answered honestly.

  “Me too.”

  “I also thought it had a flair for the dramatic, telling me something that couldn’t possibly happen,” Florian added.

  “Me too,” Madeline smiled, revealing her perfectly aligned teeth in an expression of confusing joy. There was just too much to learn about women before beginning to scratch the surface of understanding them. His own fault for picking the most confusing one he’d ever met.

  “Ah what does an old hunk of metal know, anyway?” Florian offered.

  “I kicked it,” Madeline confessed.

  Then it became Florian’s turn to smile. “Me too.”

  She laughed.

  “You know, you’re not so bad when you’re not giving me a death stare or snipping at me,” Florian said. “Madeline Michaud has a soft side. Who knew?”

  “If you tell anyone I will literally fireball you to death,” she threatened. “I know how to do that now. Well, I will after the Ye Evergreen break. And you can’t call me by that name.”

  “Right, no, good point.” Florian said, throwing his hands up.

  A paler than usual Hayden was the first one to come out of the Warrior Wing, messy hair tied into a ponytail though she’d missed a noticeable amount of curly dark strands when she’d tied it. She yawned.

  “Hayden!” Madeline called gratefully. “I’m so glad it’s you.”

  “Maddy?” Hayden rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

  Florian introduced himself, sticking out his hand. “I’m Florian Quinn. Don’t think we’ve officially met.”

  Hayden shook warily, small hand disappearing inside Florian’s larger one but that didn’t intimidate her in the slightest, making strong - almost accusing - eye contact. “Are you okay?” Hayden asked Madeline directly, ignoring Florian.

  “I had too much to drink and lost my talisman. Can you help?”

  “Did he?” Hayden asked, voice trailing off.

  “Who? Florian?” Madeline howled in laughter, almost falling over. “Rot, no.”

  Hayden softened noticeably. “Sorry, I know you saved her that night but never can be too careful. Especially since what that thief said about her and the fact that they never caught him. I was just heading down to the kitchens for some mulled wine to help me sleep but it’s not that important. I got her from here.”

  “I completely understand,” Florian said. “We should all be so lucky to have friends like you, Talia and Willow. I’ll let you get her inside. Nice to meet you, officially.”

  “You too,” Hayden replied, warmth in her voice now. “Ugh, Maddy you smell like alley wine and vomit.”

  He offered another goodbye to Madeline, stifling a laugh at the accuracy of Hayden’s observation, watched them lock hands and then disappear past the statue.

  Florian walked through the completely empty torch lit castle hallways toward the Death Dealer common room, noting the utter lack of Professors roaming and finding himself in a damn good mood. What an excellent, excellent day.

  “THE POTION DRINK THE POTION SHE’S GOING TO DIE IF YOU’RE NOT STRONG FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT LET ME FIGHT I CAN FIGHT I CAN FIGHT LET ME OUT DRINK THE POTION DRINK THE POTION OH ALBIONA I FAILED YOU I DID MY BEST OH ALBIONA MORE POTION MORE POTION NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW LET ME OUT!!”

  Except for the voice.