The Legend of the Eight: The Gifted

16: Bartemius Thawne

SIXTEEN: BARTEMIUS THAWNE
FEBRUARY 2
NICOLE BRADLEY

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND," NICOLE SAID as she placed a notebook from her Magical Beings class into her bag. It was Tuesday afternoon and while most of her classmates were finished with schoolwork, Nicole had plans in the library with Alex Hummel. "What does Cam have to do with anything?"

"He's involved too," said Kate, who was sitting on the edge of her bed while Wil and Phoebe sat in the window. Phoebe was a few entries deep in Queen Clarion's journal while Wil had a camera with her and was busy taking pictures of everything from the snow outside to her friend quietly reading.

Nicole's thin brows knit together. "How do you know? Did you see him with a tattoo?"

"No," Wil answered for her sister, squinting through the camera lens. "But his dad is the Big Bad Wolf and we know how to connect the dots."

Kate glared at her sister and Nicole was quick to join her.

"Wil-ness aside, she's right," Kate said before turning to Nicole. "Remember that voice on Pravus Street? I think it was talking about Bartemius. And he wants what we have—this magic that links us. If Cam is one of us, his father can use him to track us all down."

"Which is why I have a plan," Wil was all too eager to announce, flicking a piece of Phoebe's hair behind her freckly ear and then snapping another picture of her, taking careful note of the way the sunlight played with Phoebe's violet eyes.

"In twelve days," Wil said, carefully adjusting the focus. Nicole found it fascinating how she could remain so aloof during such an important conversation. "Cupid's Comet is going to pass."

Nicole looked at Kate and then back at Wil.

"The comet? That's when Bartemius is going to come for us."

"Well it also happens to be the only time my mom will be out of her office long enough for us to sneak in," Wil continued after the interruption. "During which time, you two—" She gestured to Nicole and Kate. "—will stay in the ballroom and keep an eye out for Mom. You'll need to text us if she goes anywhere so we can make sure we're out. Meanwhile, we—" That time, she gestured to herself and Phoebe. "—will be in the Headmaster's Wing. There's bound to be information about us in there."

Granted, as far as plans went, Wil's didn't seem like a terrible one. And just as Nicole was about to ask for more details—for instance, how Phoebe and Wil would even know where to look in that big Wing for information—she heard her phone chime with a new text.

ALEX HUMMEL: Just got to the library... Are you almost here?

Nicole exhaled a frustrated breath and then began typing her response.

"I have to go," she told the girls, quickly gathering her things to study. "But we're not done talking about this."

She was out of the dorm before anyone could stop her.

THE LIBRARY WAS FULL BUT quiet and when Nicole saw Alex, he was sitting at a table in the corner with his notes. She smiled and then joined him, dropping her bag onto an empty chair beside her.

"I thought you were going to stand me up," he joked once she was settled. "Which, just so you know, would've been very damaging to my ego."

Nicole giggled and shook her head. "Sorry, I was with my friends and lost track of time." She peered up at him through her lashes and then said, "Besides, if you're supposed to help me catch up, remember? I'd never stand you up."