Twilit Mage

Chapter 34: Observing the Observing

Raoul didn't show up for breakfast. Mercury waited for him until the last second, but there was no trace of him, and the messages she sent to him remained marked as unread. Georgiana remained by her side in silence. She ate breakfast next to her and stayed in her seat until Mercury herself got up, and she walked her through the school building as far as their different ways allowed. When they had to part she didn't say a word, simply disappearing around the corner as if they had only happened to be walking in the same direction.

Mr. Salvatore, at least, was as nice as ever. He didn't defend her, but he did shut down the whispering, and something about his expression told her that he had been on the scene last night, even if she couldn't remember. But she couldn't pay attention either way, even less than she usually did, not when all her thoughts continued to stray back to last night, Georgiana's words, and Raoul.

He didn't respond to her messages, not during this class, and not during all the others either. There was nothing. No one seemed to know where he was or what he was doing. The teachers sighed when they noticed him missing and wrote him down as absent. No news. Nothing.

And then lunch break arrived, and still there was not a single trace of him.

"He has not appeared, has he?" Georgiana asked her in place of a greeting, sliding into the chair next to her that should have been Raoul's. There was disdain in her eyes, the same kind of disdain that she had once reserved for Mercury, and it didn't comfort her at all that she was supposed to be on her side now.

"No," Mercury said quietly, avoiding Georgiana's eyes to stare at her lunch.

"I thought so."

Silence. The buzzing of voices around them filled the air like white noise.

"You know," Georgiana said after a while, "is there a chance that he may have left the school entirely?"

Mercury dropped her fork and knife. Of course not, her first instinct wanted to say. That's ridiculous. But...was it really?

Memories came flashing through her head, little moments she had never paid too much attention to. Raoul's words replayed in her mind. I already got what I came here for anyway. I don't care if I get in trouble, it's not like I wanna fit in with people here.

Could Georgiana be right? Had he...planned this? Had he meant to leave the school after this from the beginning?

Had she been fooled? His friendship, his kindness, his neverending willingness to help...had it all been a lie?

No. She refused to think that. She wasn't Georgiana, who always suspected people until she was proven wrong. Raoul wouldn't have left without telling her something. He had simply overslept, or perhaps he was sick or just plain afraid of going to class after this fiasco. There had to be an explanation, just like there had to be an explanation for everything. And even if there wasn't, she would never do Georgiana the favor of agreeing with her.

"I don't think so," she said, still not looking at her face. "He's not the kind of person who'd leave me alone with this."

"Evidently, he is."

"How do you know?"

Mercury barely noticed that she had jumped to her feet. Emotion erupted inside her, so sudden and explosive that she couldn't even try to contain it. Balling her hands into fists, she glowered down at Georgiana, ignoring the hot tears boiling up in her eyes.

"Stop it!" she shouted, her shoulders trembling with frustration and rage and all the stress that she had bottled up since the evening. "You always suspect everyone and spread hate about them for no reason! First it was me and now Raoul! Do you always need someone to pick on? Not everyone is bad just because you can see a few signs that they're suspicious!"

Georgiana straightened in her seat, visibly taken aback. Her eyes were wide and startled, and flickering over her face was confusion, shadowed with the tiniest hint of remorse.

"I know Raoul," Mercury said a little more calmly. "He's always with me. He got into this whole mess for me. He'd never leave me alone without a good reason! And what do you know about him? You can't jump to conclusions about somebody you don't know at all!"

"That...was not my intention."

Georgiana didn't look at Mercury as she spoke. Her tone was still proud and defensive, but it was quiet, quieter than Mercury had ever heard her speak, almost a little soft. "I only voiced my suspicions based on my own personal observations. And unfortunately there is a good amount of evidence against him at the moment." She crossed her arms. "But if he is innocent, I want to know too. Whatever it is that happened, I want to know the truth."

Mercury's anger faded. Shame took its place, and she shrank, backing away and glancing frantically from side to side, instinctively searching a way out of this place and out of this situation. "I, um..." she mumbled. "I...overreacted, didn't I? Sorry, that wasn't...I mean..." Please don't leave me alone. You scare me, but...until Raoul comes back you're the only ally I have.

"Never you mind." Georgiana brushed it off with a pointed gesture. "Tell me your side of the story, help me find out what happened, and I will make sure to stop this misinformation. And until then I will try not to...jump to conclusions, as you called it. At least concerning this case."

She still didn't trust her, Mercury knew. And Mercury didn't trust Georgiana either. But she was an ally. She knew something the others in this school refused to acknowledge, and she wanted to solve this mystery and stop the lies and rumors. Prove Mercury's innocence, and hopefully Raoul's too. It was for the best if they teamed up and worked together.

"Okay," she said slowly, sitting back down. "Um...thank you." She swallowed. "Again."

Georgiana waved it off, but there was a tiny smile on her face.

~ ~ ~

"My, what a beautiful mess."

Sullivan Blake sighed, leaning back in his chair and stretching. "Chaos all morning. Even worse than I thought last night," he said over his shoulder to Nero. "These poor kids. Looks like they really could use some help fitting in now, could they?"

"Don't joke about this," the hellhound replied from the corner. "This is your fault."

"Maybe so." Sullivan smirked wryly and shrugged. "That doesn't mean I can't feel a little sorry for them both. Any news from the Warden boy?"

Nero shook his head. "Nothing. He's still locked up in his room, from the looks of it."

"Hmm, bad for his record. And Miss Day?"

"The target of all hatred and mistrust, as expected." Sullivan knew his familiar too well to miss the accusing edge in his tone. "But Georgiana DeVille took her under her wing. That girl is an issue."

Sullivan closed his eyes, recalling Nero's report from the previous night. "She's smart," she said. "Well, that's to be expected. With her father and her family library...We need to keep an eye on her, or she might just solve this whole mystery all by herself." He chuckled. "But she of all people, helping Miss Day...She really is taking after her old man in the most unexpected ways, isn't she?"

Nero raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you know something."

"Me? I have never known anything in my life. All guesses, just guesses." Sullivan caught sight of his familiar's skeptical expression and smiled. "Come on, Nero, no one's omniscient. Not even me."

Nero was suspiciously silent. Sullivan gave a sigh. He knew this silence; it was the blank silence of disappointment, one that Nero had been employing suspiciously often since he had set him on this task. Well, not that he hadn't expected it. His familiar had always been a little too serious and rule-abiding for his taste.

Turning back towards his desk, he picked up his half-eaten lunch that had to be cold by now and continued eating. "Well, Nero," he continued on like nothing had happened, "you know what to do, right?"

Nero gave a heavy sigh. "Of course," he said mechanically.

"Good. Watch them more closely than ever," Sullivan said as Nero turned invisible and moved towards the door. "And remember...tell me everything."