School of Secrets (The Perkins School for Self Improvement #1)

Chapter 24

I find Derek pretty quickly, and I do my best to fill him in as we jog back toward the gate. Lauren and Creighton are waiting for us there.

Lauren's looking pretty terrified, but she's managing a level of control that I've given up on trying to achieve.

She punches in the gate code, stepping off of the official school grounds and motioning for us to follow. The three of us obey, and Lauren takes us in.

"Hold hands, all three of you."

I take one of Creighton's hands, and Derek takes my other one. Lauren completes the chain, taking Creighton's other hand.

"Don't let go," Lauren warns, "I-I've never done this with other people before, but if you let go I feel like that would be really bad for you."

We all nod, and Lauren raises her free hand. She holds her arm out to the side, her palm facing away from her.

"Air," she calls, as though she's talking to an invisible companion, "I need you. Take us where we need to go to fight the evil."

A small breeze ruffles Lauren's hair, and she smiles slightly. She begins circling her free hand through the air, performing the motion faster and faster until the gentle breeze feels more like a wind storm.

Then she jumps, her feet leaving the ground. Creighton is pulled along with her, me and Derek right behind.

We end up about twenty feet off the ground, and I see now why Lauren thinks it would end poorly for anyone who might let go.

The wind whips furiously around us, carrying us away from the school at an otherworldly speed. There's nothing under my feet, but I feel like I'm standing on some sort of cushion. Despite the impressive height, I feel relatively safe, and somehow the flight manages to soothe some of my nerves.

The hour-and-a-half-long journey to Amber's small hometown is reduced to about ten minutes thanks to Lauren's power. We land in the middle of a side street, about twenty yards from the entrance to the cemetery.

"Whoa," Derek manages, looking around as though he's in a daze, "that was ... whoa."

Lauren nods, drawing a sleeve across her forehead. I notice then that she's shaking, and her face is coated in a layer of perspiration.

"Are you ...?" I wonder, considering the small girl as we begin walking.

"I'll be fine." she tells me, sounding a little breathless.

The cemetery is eerily dark at this time of night, the various gravestones seeming to jump out at us unexpectedly from all directions. I can make out a source of light in the middle of the graveyard, which seems to draw nearer with each step. It seems to take an eternity before I'm close enough to figure out what's going on, but once I do my blood runs cold.

I'm reminded of the ritual I attended, where Marco revived the mouse. A group of his friends, slightly more numerous than that first night, has formed a circle around a grave in the midst of the cemetery. Each of them holds a candle, casting the circle in an eerie glow. Marco is standing in the center of the circle next to the gravestone, his wooden box positioned at his feet. He holds his ceremonial blade in his right hand, prepared to begin whatever it is he's here to do.

Next to him, I recognize one of the upperclassmen who went to the previous ritual. The senior boy looks pretty relaxed, as though this is only a source of entertainment for him. He's holding his own knife, the blade of which is inches away from my sister's throat. He's gripping Tara's wrists with the other hand, keeping her rooted in place.

"Tara!" I mean to shout, but my voice comes out as a whisper.

Derek shoots me a sympathetic glance. We've drawn close enough to pick up Marco's words now, and I watch as he begins walking around the circle.