Rooming with the Wicked

5 | in the clear

"Tell me again how you ended up in...a strange forest with soporis poisoning and a vynari hot on your tail?" Professor Flamel asked, pouring two cups of steaming chamomile tea. Messy blue-black hair standing at odd angles and round spectacles askew, he looked just like the mad scientist he proclaimed not to be.

"I wish I could, professor," I said, running a finger over the immaculate bandage covering my upper arm.

According to Professor Flamel, the cut on my tricep—a cut I hadn't even noticed thanks to all that adrenaline and my arm being numb—wasn't deep, but vynari claws were jagged and it had taken ten stitches and a good amount of water rua ointment to seal it. As grateful as I was for the healing effects, that part of my arm would probably be sky-blue for a good week due to the herb's distinct coloring effects.

"You have to give me something here." Professor Flamel placed one of the cups in front of me. "Soporis is kept under lock and key. If anyone accessed the university's supply, we need to know. This is serious." Holding up a small box of indigo candies, he added, "Dew drops?"

"Thank you." I dropped two into my tea and watched pale purple steam rise from the cup. "I... I didn't realize until I was well into the forest that something was wrong with me. I don't even know how the powder got there."

"You understand how lucky you are, don't you?"

"Lucky isn't exactly the term I would use to describe nearly dying twice," I grumbled, "but sure."

"Vynari encounter aside—the amount of soporis I found on your jacket could have killed you ten times." His ice-blue eyes flashed as he gripped the handle of his teacup. "You really have no idea who could have put it there?"

"No," I lied.

Four names danced around my head but all I had were suspicions. Suspicions that would get me nowhere. But it had to have been one of them, right? My jacket had been sitting on my desk for a good ten minutes while I'd been sorting my things in the bathroom, plenty of time for any of them to drop a little black powder on a black jacket.

Still...they barely knew me. I probably knew even less about them. So why would my roommates or their shifter friend want me dead? Could the grudges between humans and supernaturals run that deep or was this more of a personal matter?

Professor Flamel quietly sipped his tea, studying the mess of herbs, flasks, and tomes on the table between us. The remnants of the antidote were a cruel reminder of how close I'd come to just ceasing to exist. A peculiar thought. Would anyone miss me? I didn't exactly have friends, even less now that the fake ones had dropped me for good.

Dad would miss me though. Right?

"I informed the chancellor about the...vynari incident," Professor Flamel said. "I imagine the ambassadors will be notified, but not to worry, I made sure to keep your name out of it."

I inclined my head in thanks and lifted the cup to my lips. The faint dew aroma added a pleasantly sweet taste to the tea, and I felt myself relax. My limbs were no longer numb, but soporis and the unexpected physical exercise had taken a toll on my body. Everything hurt. Almost dying sucked. Zero out of ten stars.

"Professor Renis checked the portal," Professor Flamel continued, "and it seems that the crystals were tampered with."

I lowered my cup. "How is that possible?"

"I'm not sure." He frowned. "The sentinels are programmed to react to any unauthorized entry or manipulation, but in this case, they didn't. Either—and this would be quite alarming—someone found a way to bypass them, or whoever messed with the portal was authorized to access it."