Academy for the Strange

Chapter 23: Revenge

            Robin waited until she could sense that Fiona was in bed before she turned to look at her twin, her eyes hard. “I’m not going to let this stand,” she hissed. “Someone broke her.”

            Henry’s gaze was no softer than his sister’s. “You know the other guardians won’t let us into their dorms, especially not when we intend to do something to one of theirs.”

            “I don’t care. She’s one of ours. She made…Fiona made her happy. She’s been working hard to bring her back, and she’s done her best to help us since. The other guardians have more people, they shouldn’t mind us interfering with only one, not when they hurt one of the two we have left.”

            He’d known that this is what his sister would plan as soon as they’d realized that Fiona had been hurt by someone. He knew Robin as well as himself, just as she knew him and knew he’d back her in anything she did. “I picked up a scent,” he said. “One I know.”

            Robin’s lips thinned upwards into a vicious smile. “Who was it?”

            “The spark bird,” he replied.

            “Then we go to Air,” she said, already turning towards the door.

            Henry didn’t bother to ask if she had a plan. She rarely did. But that was fine by him, since his sister did her best work on the fly. And this needed to be some of her best work. He wanted Fiona avenged just as much as she did.

            They paused at the door’s threshold, both looking back at the dorm. Henry concentrated on raising the protections that they had laid, making it so no one could interfere with their home without them knowing. Beside him, he could feel Robin deepen the sleep on Fiona so that she wouldn’t be disturbed. They already knew that Asahi was out drinking with the other teachers and wouldn’t return until late.

            Robin led the way towards Air through the shadows, their passage silent and all but invisible, even to any Phasms looking. They were people who did best around other people, whether they be human or Phasm. Henry allowed the idle thought that it might have been Fiona’s humanity that had attracted the two to her to flitter across his mind. They didn’t get to spend much time around humans now they were at school and they both did like them. Well, some of them at least.

            Henry stopped beside his sister, just outside the sphere of Air dorm. They both eyed the building. The protections were down, which was good. They weren’t expected. Robin’s sneer told him that she thought they should be. He wasn’t about to argue with the lack of defenses, not with what they were about to do.

            They circled the whole of the dorm, keeping well out of sight of the people who hovered around, literally in some cases, and outside of the dorm’s sphere. There was no point in alerting Air’s guardian that Flesh’s had come calling. The sight of an open window had both of them stopping and exchanging identical grins. It was almost too easy.

            Henry’s nostrils flared as he sorted through the various scents that wafted out from the building. It was easy enough to pick out the spark bird’s since the only other scents he recognized were Air guardian’s and that of a handful of their classmates. He looked at Robin. “Third floor.”

            She bared her teeth. “Nowhere to run then.”

            He nodded, though he thought that applied to them as well, not that his sister would think of it, not with her blood hot in her veins. Then again, he always had been the more practical one. “On the count of three,” he said.

            “No counting, we go now,” Robin said, already running towards the open square of light.

            Henry growled a little, but followed hard on her tail. He could feel the second they passed into Air dorm’s sphere and hoped that the guardian was on the other side of the building. Henry hauled himself onto the ledge just behind Robin, leaping down to join her in the stone of the hallway. No one was around, which made things easier.

            The dorm looked much like theirs, but felt different, almost wrong. Henry guessed that it only made sense, since they were intruders. “Stairs,” Robin said, nodding towards the set that lay just down the hall from them.

            Running footsteps announced the arrival of one of Air dorm’s residents. His brown hair a mess, his hazel eyes locked onto them, Howard glared. “What are you two doing? Why on earth would you sneak in through a window?”

            Henry shifted forward, his eyes on Air dorm’s guardian. “We’re here to avenge one of ours,” he said, his head held high. “She was broken.”

            Howard stared at him for a moment before his eyes came together in a glare. “You aren’t touching one of mine,” he growled. “I don’t care what your reason is.”

            “You have plenty of charges,” Robin snapped. “We have but three. Don’t act as if you’d even notice if you lost one.”

            “You’re not going any further in,” Howard said, stepping towards them, raising his hands.

            Henry knew what was coming. “Go on,” he told Robin over his shoulder. “I’ll hold him off.”

            “But-”

            “Go!” he shouted, his eyes already back on the guardian.

            “Be safe,” his twin whispered before she raced towards the stairs.

            “You’re not touching my charges,” Howard said, sweeping his hand in Robin’s direction.

            But Henry was used to protecting his sister’s back. He reached to the earth below the stones of the building and brought it rushing up in a shield. The white liquid that Howard had turned his building’s stone into was slowed enough that Robin was able to safely make it up before it splashed against the stairs.

            Rather than try to fight with earth, which since they were in Howard’s building would give him the clear advantage, Henry dropped his human form, changing into a pillar of fire. He could see the other guardian’s eyes narrow. He knew Henry was serious now, and already the kobold could feel him reach into the hallway around both of them.

            Things were about to get interesting. Henry only hoped he could keep Howard busy long enough that Robin could find the spark bird and make him suffer.