Tower Of Bones

Chapter 8: Something In The Woods

By the time I got out of Varyn's office, the lunch bell toll, and I was off to the lunch room. I was satisfied with the way things went, but I was also a bit angry with Faye. I know her intentions were good, but she couldn't just completely disobey my wishes to handle things on my own and try to take of it for me.

I'm not an Arkan, but I'm not a fucking baby either.

I walked into the lunch room, with a new purpose in mind.

The moment I stepped through, my eyes found Faye in the crowd. She hadn't yet noticed me, but she was looking a bit anxious, the way she picked at her food.

With narrowed eyes, I crossed the lunch room with huge strides, thanks to my long legs. Someone patted Faye's arm next to her and motioned toward me. She turns, and locks eyes with me.

Her shoulders bunch and she scrambles to her feet, wide eyed.

"Faye," I hissed.

"Max, wait, just let me explain," she said, holding out her hands like she was worried I was going to attack her.

"No, no," I say, angrily. "You listen to me now. I told you not to interfere, you did it anyway."

"I was trying to help you," she says, defensively.

My chest flared with anger. "Goddammit, Faye. I am not helpless. I'm not a fucking Arkan, but I dont need magic to defend myself."

"I didn't say that."

"You don't need to. I know I'm at a disadvantage, Faye. But when I tell you I can handle it, I fucking mean it. So let me handle it." I turn to walk away, then she speaks again.

"I want to help you, Max."

I looked over my shoulder at her. "I'm telling you not to."

---

On my way back to the classroom to find my things, I find Echo hanging out in the hallway, with her eyes skimming over a page in a very thick book.

She looks up with her bright yellow eyes and raises her eyebrows in surprise. "Max, hi. I was gonna tell you that I was gonna stay behind in lunch to study. Where did you go?"

"Had a talk with the headmaster. I'm just gonna go grab my stuff, then maybe I can join you." I turned to walk into the classroom, but then Echo spoke.

"You didn't take your stuff with you?"

I froze, looked back at Echo. A spike of anxiety hit me in the pit of my stomach. "No. Why?"

Her eyes widened, and she nearly dropped her book to the floor. Her jaw slacks open suddenly. "Lulu."

"Lulu has my stuff?" I ask, in worry. "Oh, crap. No way, my cellphone, my backpack."

This time, Echo does drop her book to the floor and reaches her hand out to me. "I think I know where she might have gone. Grab onto me and don't let go, okay?"

"Why, are you gonna fly away or something?" I ask, but reach my hand out and grabbed hers.

The moment our hands touched, it felt like I was flying. My feet weren't on the ground all of a sudden, and the world felt as though it had gone upside down. I wouldn't say I couldn't see anything, but it was too hard to describe the strange ripples around me, like reality was suddenly torn in two.

When I felt the ground under me again, my knees buckled. It felt like I had come up for air in the water and my lungs filled with air. I gasped for air as my knees hit the ground outside and my hands tangle in the green grass below me.