Almost

Chapter 36: Doodles

Angelina refused to leave Katherine that night as she sat by Crawley's bedside. Katherine sent Nestor to tell George where she was. He offered to come, but Katherine worried about having too many people there hovering over Ezra.

Katherine didn't sleep a wink—an odd combination of needing to ensure Crawley continued breathing and being unable to put on the tempering. Angelina dozed off at some point, curled in the bed across from Ezra. But Katherine stayed in a small armchair they'd brought her, folded legs covered by her red knit blanket. She hadn't thought to dissipate Nestor, who sat on her knee and kept watch alongside her.

Hollinghunt and Picquery were still outside talking, and though Katherine wanted desperately to know what about, she couldn't bring herself to take her focus from Ezra. He seemed to be sleeping as normal. Mister Velern had found him a spare set of blue and cranberry pajama pants so that his suit could be laundered, washed free of the blood that had coated him. Other than the pants, he looked like he always did when he slept—sprawled haphazardly, snoring softly, all of the blankets kicked onto the ground.

"Are you sure you're ready for a lifetime of that," Picquery said quietly, pulling up a second armchair to sit next to Katherine. He looked tired, but Katherine knew he'd stay with them until morning at least, if not longer.

"I like the way he sleeps," she muttered as he let out a particularly loud snore, making Picquery laugh. "Unbothered."

Picquery nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Hollinghunt went home."

"Good," Katherine said, no bite in her voice. She didn't have the energy for it right now. "Can you tell me now? What you've found out?"

Picquery looked at Angelina, ensuring she was really asleep before continuing.

"The students who are gone were seen together in the library the day before. It's the only time anyone can remember them speaking. They shouldn't have crossed paths, really. They were pretty animated, apparently, looking at some old book. But no one knows what it was, just that it had brown leather binding."

"So nearly every book in that library" Katherine asked, getting a short, defeated nod from Picquery.

"Apparently, both had withdrawn from their friends in the weeks before, so none of them are much help. We've collected their things, but there isn't much to go off of in their textbooks."

"Can I see them?"

Katherine was suddenly desperate for a task, anything that would keep her hands busy while she listened to Crawley's breathing.

"I can bring them here," Picquery agreed, much to her surprise. "They're in my office, but—"

Katherine cut him off, waving her hand and summoning the door as easily as she could a memory. He sighed but waved his wand until two stacks of books came floating through the opened door, landing at her feet.

She picked up the closest book, a Potions text. The front cover was clean—too clean, almost as if the book had never been opened. When she opened it, the title page read, in small script, Talia Abbot. But the pages bore no other indication that they had been read. The same was true of her Defense Against the Dark Arts and her Transfiguration books. It wasn't until Katherine reached the Charms text that she learned anything about the girl.

Notes littered the margins, giving tips and tricks beyond the text for a perfectly cast spell. Amidst these, however, were tiny drawings. They weren't that different than the backs of tests Katherine had finished early. Small line drawings, swirls, song lyrics, and detailed depictions of what Katherine assumed was a Quadpot exploding filled out the image of Talia. She could even tell what lesson they had been on during the last class the girl had attended, because the drawings stopped. But, down in the far corner of the final page she'd marked, was an ornately decorated "R."