Do As I Say

Chapter Twelve

Her eyes whipped open, like the blinds of a home seeing light for the first time. Early light revealed the warm room around her, with its uneven dresser and tousled bedspread. Cree got to her feet, fingers massaging her forehead. "What the hell..." She whispered to herself. "Just...just a dream,"

It wasn't the school. That building wasn't the school, Cree thought. What was it then? If Nix wasn't planning to attack the school where else would he attack?

"Come on, Cree," Thimble yawned, his yellow hair messy from a fitful sleep.

"No, I'm serious; it's going to happen here. I had a dream about it," Cree glared at the two boys in front of her. "We can't waste time going to the school while we should be guarding here."

Jules folded his hands on the table, "How do you know if the building wasn't the school? All you saw was it on fire, you can't be sure,"

"It was the orphanage, I'm positive,"

Jules sighed and slowly chewed his toast, "You said it yourself; you didn't see exactly what building it was. Just don't worry about it, okay?"

Cree frowned, "Could I see the rest of the spell, then?"

Jules looked at her, "Why do you need it now?"

"You don't even have it on you, do you?" Cree glared as Jules swallowed, "Don't act like your both so on top of your game here. I was just trying to help,"

"Shouldn't you be looking after it?" Thimble murmured.

Jules stood from his seat grumbling, "Fine, I'll go grab it,"

Little to none time passed when he had returned, face flushed and palms sweaty.

"Tell me you're not serious," Thimble whined.

Jules pressed a palm to his own forehead, "I can't find it anywhere," He cursed repeatedly. "Maybe we can catch him if he's still in the building."

"Yeah right," Thimble scoffed, "He's a ghost, hello invisibility? Remember that?"

"Okay, shut up already," Jules growled, his veins pulsing.

"Sorry, sorry," Thimble hurriedly backed off, not wanting to see Jules shape shift. "I'm just freaking out a little, okay?"

"Calm down, Jules," Cree motioned for him to take a seat.

"God, I'm so sorry, I have no idea...when did..." Jules paused, holding two fingers to his wrist, checking his pulse. "Going too fast..." He murmured under his breath.

Calm, Cree whispered to his mind. After a few tries Jules's breathing noticeably slowed and relaxed.

Nix had the final pages for his plot. It was only a matter of time until everything went to hell. Cree folded her hands on her lap, squeezing each finger individually, trying to calm herself down now. Thimble glanced at the cheap watch he bore on his wrist and narrowed his eyes. "Time for class?" Cree asked casually, trying to change the focus.

"Yeah," He muttered and stood from the table, pushing his half-clean plate to the centre of the table. "Should we go now?"

Cree nodded and stood as well, following the boys uneasily out of the building and towards where she knew the attack would not take place.

The day moved sluggishly, like it was being dragged through mud. Cree wasn't paying attention to her classes, despite still being at times overwhelmingly (at least for her) excited about them. All she could concentrate on was any sudden movements, any musty smells similar to that of smoke, or loud noises. Nothing caught her attention, and she continued lethargically waiting out her classes.