Keeping the book with me was a bad idea. It was evidence that I had been in the locker room, and I knew there wasn’t a chance in hell that Paul wouldn’t come looking for it, looking for me.

Damn. Why does everything always have to go so wrong?

There was no answer to my silent question as I made my way to spell-casting class. I’d briefly considered going to the infirmary for real, but Miss Norton had written down the time on the note excusing me, and I was well beyond it. I figured it better to try my luck with Mr. Carbuncle than attempting to account for my whereabouts for the duration of the last class period to the infirmary nurses.

Mr. Carbuncle was in a generous mood, and I got off with only a verbal reprimand for my tardiness. But despite my good fortune, I was a nervous wreck when I left the classroom to head to third period. I expected Paul to ambush me around every corner. And whenever I spotted the red and black uniform of a Will Guard, I braced for them to stop me. The darkness spell wasn’t exactly illegal, not for Nightmares, but casting it during school hours—and in the boy’s locker room, no less—surely was.

But for whatever reason, everything went smoothly. That was, until lunchtime. Eli had stopped off at his locker before heading to the cafeteria, and one look at his face as he arrived told me he had heard the rumor about the locker room prank and had figured out what I’d really been up to during English class.

“You said you were going to look around Britney’s locker,” he said, holding out his hand for the moonwort key.

I couldn’t bring myself to look in his eyes as I gave it to him. “I did. Like I said, it was empty.”

“Right. But you failed to mention you were checking Paul’s locker, too.”

I began to fidget with my napkin. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to be worried.”

He slid the key into his pocket. “So you were just trying to protect me, huh?”

“Yes.” I dared to meet his gaze.

“I’m not the one in need of protection.” I started to argue but he cut me off. “I understand why you did it, and I also realize that you’re too stubborn to drop this crap with Paul, so I’ll make you a deal. I won’t fight you on it anymore if you promise to be honest about what you’re doing and to let me help.”

I stared at him, unsure how to respond.

“I just want to keep you safe,” Eli said. Then without waiting for my answer, he turned and walked off.

The subject didn’t come up again throughout the rest of the day or at dinner that night, but only because Eli had gone out to dinner once more, this time with his grandma.

“I wonder what Paul wants with that book,” Selene said for at least the tenth time as we ate. I’d told her about the photograph, too, but she’d dismissed it as unimportant by comparison. I didn’t quite believe her, but then again, it wasn’t like she could know his motivations for having it anyway.

I shrugged. “Beats me. But I’m going to go over every inch of it before I put it back in his locker.”

Selene nodded. “And I would like to try the detection spell on it. But we need to do it fast. If Mr. Corvus finds out you stole the book, there’s no telling what kind of trouble you might be in.”

I swallowed, remembering the torturous hours I’d spent deciphering that ancient text. “Good point. I’ll sneak it out on my way home from my dream session with Eli tonight.”

The next few hours after dinner passed maddeningly slow. I spent the time in the dorm with Selene, doing my best to resist the urge to head down to Vatticut Hall and fetch The Atlantean Chronicle. But it was too risky. Until curfew, Paul could be anywhere. He could be out after curfew, too, I knew, but I figured it was a lot less likely.

Absolutely refusing to do homework on a Friday night, I wasted time on the computer, checking and rechecking all my favorite websites and reading through my Spellbook feed. As usual of late, Selene wasn’t proving to be much of a distraction. She was working on some sewing project for the home economics class she was taking this semester. The very idea of such a course made my skin crawl, but she seemed to be enjoying it.

“What are you working on?” I asked, eyeing the black coat draped over her lap and the needle and thread in her hands. The thread was strange. It was silvery in color and oddly textured, flimsy and light like gossamer. If I didn’t know any better I would’ve thought it was spider’s silk.

Selene glanced up. “Just a costume project.”

I frowned, taking a longer look at the garment. She seemed to be making some kind of alteration to the back of it. “For what?”

This time she didn’t look up. “Um, the drama club is putting on a play.”

“Fun,” I said, returning my attention to the computer screen.

Finally, the time came for me to leave. I slipped on my black leather moccasins, said good-bye to Selene, who was in the bedroom changing for bed, and then left the dorm. Eli was sitting at his desk in front of the computer when I arrived, the screen opened to a Spellbook page.

“Hey,” he said, not looking up as I walked in.

“Hey.” I sat down on the sofa, keenly aware of the lingering tension between us. I cleared my throat. “What are you looking at?”

Eli glanced over his shoulder, his smile clearing the air a little. “I’m trying to figure out what this Terra Tribe is all about.”

“Oh, yeah, that. I forgot to tell you in all the excitement of finding the joker card, but I know a little more about it.”