Chapter 216: Wonderfully Right (Or Horribly Wrong)
Thaddeus
Month 8, Day 23, Monday 10:15 p.m.
Damien remained silent while Thaddeus escorted him back to the dorms and all the way to the end of the walkway between sleeping cubicles, but as soon as they arrived at the far end of the room, the young man stepped forward and ripped back Sebastien’s curtain. As Sebastien bolted up in alarm, Damien blurted, “I told him about the kidnapping attempt and the stranger who saved you. I’m sorry, I just thought it would be better to have someone on your side to keep you safe.”
Thaddeus turned his head slowly to look down at Damien. He was quite sure that he had instructed Damien to keep his mouth shut about their conversation until Thaddeus had a chance to talk with Sebastien.
Damien pressed his lips together until they turned white, but did not remove his gaze from Sebastien, who looked between the two of them, his confusion rapidly morphing into suspicion and anxiety.
Thaddeus sighed. “I would like to talk with you, Mr. Siverling. Accompany me to…my cabin.” He would normally use his office for something like this, but the unconventional setting might remind his apprentice that Thaddeus had helped him with other problems, such as his sub-par Conduit, and suggest that Thaddeus was playing a non-official role and could be trusted.
Sebastien picked up his school satchel, then reached inside and pulled out a small disk. With a twist, it glowed to life, showing a thirteen-pointed star design that he pointed at the ground to provide light for their walk. Sebastien gave Damien a pointed, probing look. “Are you coming?”
“He is not,” Thaddeus said.
Damien pressed his lips even tighter together, opened his eyes wide, and shook his head deliberately, as if he was the one in charge of the decision, and could have tagged along against Thaddeus’s will.