Confessions of the Magpie Wizard Book 3: Dissolution (Chapter 75, 76 & 77)

Art of Maggie and Soren in their Holy Brotherhood uniforms by the wonderful and talented Guilherme Dias Leite (@ilustreguilherme) • Instagram photos and videos

Chapter 75

I had missed the first elevator; Maggie Edwards wasn’t a patient woman at the best of times. When I arrived in her classroom, she was already halfway through doffing her teaching clothes.

“My dear, do we really have time for that?” I asked.

“Very funny. Where were you?” she asked, her hand on her shapely hip.

“I was making some calls,” I said. “Brother Ratte is on the way, and I have Brother Bald Eagle, Sister Shoebill, and Sister Macaw in on standby. It will all go as planned; we capture the Headmaster, freeze the student body and make our demands.”

“I suppose that’s a good reason to be tardy. Don’t make a habit of it.” She was a vision, with a taste in underwear worthy of a devil lady of the evening. I was so entranced that I nearly missed her pointing towards the supply closet. “Go get your uniform.”

“Uniform?” I waved my hand at myself. “I’m wearing it.”

“Not your cadet uniform,” she said. “It’s time for you to become a proper Holy Brother.”

I saw what she meant; there was a white outfit that looked like a more theatrical version of the normal Wizard Corps uniform. It was a similar white fabric, but spruced up with red highlights, as well as a shoulder length cape of a brilliant crimson. I had to give it to the Holy Brotherhood, they had an eye for fashion.

“What’s the mask for?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” replied Maggie. “Hurry up!”

With a shrug, I set about changing. Just as I had removed my shirt, an unfamiliar voice came from behind. “Good God, the Horde did a number on you. I knew it was bad, but more scars than skin!”

I whirled around, ready to start shooting fireballs. The woman standing in the doorway wore a version of the same uniform as my own, though it followed the Wizard Corps convention of women’s clothing having a skirt.

“Who are you?” I demanded, runes springing to life around my hands.

Her delighted giggle was haunting, being completely nondescript. It was like my mind couldn’t process any of the details of it, save the meaning of her words. I could just barely tell it was feminine, but that might have been me filling in details. There wasn’t much to go on besides that; I knew she had hair, a face and a figure, of course, but I couldn’t have described them to save my life.

She raised her domino mask, revealing Maggie’s all-too-familiar face. “Good, my contact in Luzon came through.”

I glanced at the mask in my hands. “That’s a Hell of a disguise fabricata.”

“I’m glad you approve,” she said. “It’s a simpler version of the disguise wands. Instead of making you look like somebody else, it scrambles your image in the mind of any viewer. It even works in recordings. However,” she slipped it back into place, and I still saw Maggie Edwards before me, “it doesn’t work if they see you putting it on, and it won’t change the words you speak. Use codenames only, Brother Mockingbird.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I shot her a cocky grin. “Do you care to give me some privacy?”

“No, I don’t,” she said, leaning in the doorway. “You’ve seen me often enough; it’s time to return the favor.”

“Not on purpose,” I said, sounding defensive even to my ears. “It’s hardly my fault if you can’t lock a door and insist on sending me risqué photos.”

“You can relax now,” she said. “Stop pretending you’re loyal to Ms. Jones. That’s all over now, Brother Mockingbird.”

I stayed quiet as I slipped on the off-white jacket. There was a hard clunk as it jostled around, and I realized it was reinforced with metallic plates on the chest and shoulders. “I haven’t seen this costume before. Your men weren’t wearing it when they attacked Mr. Maki.”

“That was a false flag operation,” she said. “We wanted you to think that help had arrived. This time? We want the world to know we were here. How does it fit?”

I flexed, practicing a few spellcasting positions. “It’s a little snug. Was it designed for… Him?”

“No, Haru was much slimmer,” she said, sidling over. “You just never gave me the chance to measure you. I’m sure I’ll get the chance once this is all over.”

That sounded delightful, even if I intended to be miles away before I could cash in that favor. As always the image of Kiyo ran through my head, her plaintive voice calling out for Magpie.

I steeled myself. I wasn’t Magpie anymore. Kiyo was in the past; I’d seen to that. For now, I was Brother Mockingbird, and he was a free man.

To prove it to myself, I seized Maggie by the waist, drawing her into a kiss. My wandering hands were stopped by her metallic breastplate, damn it all. The armor’s contents shifted at the press of my hands, making me wish I was sticking around.

Unlike Kiyo, Maggie Edwards was no shrinking violet. Where I could count on Kiyo to freeze up for a moment, Maggie joined in right away. To my surprise, she wasn’t much of a kisser. She had always left an impact before, but that was due to the forbidden nature of her advances, coupled with the surprise. I supposed it came from mostly targeting inexperienced young men who would love anything she did.

Ah, well. A hamburger is as good as a steak to a starving man, and it was another step away from Soren.

She broke off first, shoving me back. She grabbed a short sword and scabbard from the closet before striding into the main classroom. “I see why Ms. Jones was so obsessed. You aren’t half bad.”

“Not half bad?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. We have work to do.”

“No worries there, my dear. I’ve seen to that.”

Her shoulders straightened. She was prone to mood swings, but even this shift from flirty to cold caught me by surprise. “Yes, you did, didn’t you? It sounds like you’ve been a busy boy this morning. You’ve been dealing with Sister Macaw and Brother Ratte.”

“We were in a hurry, after all,” I said. “Getting contact with them was what delayed me.”

Her suspicious gaze bored into me. “Yes, it sounds like the plan is going off without a hitch, and I didn’t have to lift a finger so far.”

“Except for Ms. Yamada stumbling upon the phone, of course,” I added. “That was an unexpected wrinkle, but we were able to overcome it.”

“Don’t patronize me,” she spat. “That was part of your plan, too.”

My nose was still half-dead from my run in with the Flower Arrangement Club’s room, but there was definitely a whiff of magic in the air. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Not even man enough to admit it, are you? I almost thought you weren’t like Alan,” she said, using Brother Maus’ real name. “He snuck around behind my back with a bunch of wand wenches.”

“Wand wenches?”

“Mundane sluts who loved the idea of being with a wizard. I almost thought I could trust you, with your talk of us being tied together!”

“I don’t know what-”

All at once, all the windows in the classroom warped and bent, forming spikes that could have gored a healthy orc. They went every which way, or so I thought at first. I realized that each had been aimed perfectly to shred one of Maggie’s overly cute posters.

“Don’t bother lying to me,” she snapped, the remnants of the motivational posters raining around her like confetti. “I wondered where you ran off to after we initiated Paul and Rei. You were plotting with Ratte, weren’t you? I shouldn’t be surprised; you sold out humanity, and you betrayed your little pet girlfriend. Why shouldn’t you backstab me too? None of you respect me!”

“Now listen here,” I said, stepping forward. “Alan was just out to have a roll in the hay. We… I did this for your own good.”

“How in the heck is this possibly for my own good?” she demanded.

“The time to strike is now,” I said, preparing to dodge an attack if it came my way. “We don’t know when we’ll have the student body in the peace bonds all at once. And ever since what happened at the Serving Wizard’s House, you’ve been a laughingstock with the Holy Brotherhood. You’re too cautious because Haru’s loss tore you up inside.”

“Oh, we think we’re a mind reader, do we? You were obsessed with attacking right away! You just took what you wanted.”

“Helping you is helping me, you stubborn woman! I keep telling you, you and I are bound together. I want to see you advance, because that’s my salvation too!”

“That would all be true next quarter.”

“You don’t know what it’s like,” I said. I could feel something burst inside of me, and the unvarnished truth flowed out. “I’m not myself anymore! I’ve been another man for months on end, and I’m at my wits end! I can never truly relax; you ended my security when you revealed you knew what I was. Anybody from England could stumble across me and I’d be a dead man. If you win here today, if we bring down the Tower and restore the Holy Brotherhood to its rightful place in the world, I’ll be too powerful to touch!”

She regarded me coolly for a moment, before a humorless chuckle escaped her ruby lips. “That I can believe. See? You didn’t have to pretend to give a darn about me. I can understand self-interest.”

I almost wanted to disagree with her, but I stopped myself. I had to remind myself she didn’t deserve my care or pity. Maggie Edwards was a wrench in the works of my life. I shouldn’t have felt for her at all.

Yet, I couldn’t help but feel a touch of remorse for the hurt I had caused her.

“Regardless, the die is cast. There is no going back for us. However I did it, your squad is assembled, Holy Sister Shrike. Are you ready to lead them, and show the world what you’re made of?”

“Humanity first!” she shouted, grabbing my hand and holding it between both of hers.

I gestured towards the door. “That’s the spirit, my dear! Now let’s get going!”

“Hold on,” she said. “You almost left the most important part of the plan behind.”

“What’s that?”

“We need a way to actually bring down the Tower,” she replied.

Chapter 76

“Hurry up, Brother Mockingbird,” barked Maggie as she held the elevator open.

“Easy for you to say,” I replied, darting in as quickly as I could. “You aren’t carrying an explosive fabricata on your back.” I shifted my shoulders, failing to fix the crick in my neck. “This thing is damned heavy.”

“It’s not made to be portable,” she replied, pressing the elevator button. “It’s a designed to affix to something you want to fall down, and that takes a lot of materials. Maybe if I’d had more time to prepare, I could have miniaturized it. But, since today just had to be the day, you can be my pack mule.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” I muttered, glancing around nervously. “I don’t like parading around in these uniforms, though. What if somebody sees us?’

“Nobody’s around,” she replied. “Everybody’s gone off to the field for the commencement speech.” A playful grin spread across her face as she checked her watch. “In about fifteen minutes, they’ll wonder where the Headmaster went.”

“That’s all well and good, but what if somebody were to see us?”

“Then they would have no idea who we were,” she said. “And if we think they’re going to oppose us, well, the saying is Humanity First. The value of any individual human is on a case-by-case basis.”

“My, aren’t we bloodthirsty?”

“The world has a lot to answer for,” she replied. “They’ve resisted the truth for too long, carrying on like the old world never ended. We’ll make them see.”

I smiled and nodded. That’s the safest approach when a zealot starts rambling.

As we exited the elevator, I almost swore that I heard it chime twice as the door opened. Not seeing anybody else around, I chalked it up to the echoing of the pristine main hall.

The school often felt like a ghost town, but this was at a new level. There wasn’t a single soul about. It gave our journey through the administrative offices an eerie quality, like we were invading a tomb.

Maggie was about to say something, but I covered her mouth. “Do you hear that?”

She shoved my hand away but perked her ear. “This way, the teacher’s lounge.”

As we got closer, I immediately recognized Paul’s voice. It was faint, but we could hear it through the partially opened door.

“…ice-water for blood? You’re way too calm about this.”

“What? I am completely wired! Today’s the day we save the world!” said Rei.

“Not if you keep bellowing about it,” snapped Maggie as we entered.

I had to give them credit, they were primed for a fight. They’d been sitting on one of the excessively plush couches that lined the room, but they leapt right into action. Rei levitated one of the metallic bullets between her hands, while runes orbited around Paul’s hands.

“Who the heck are you two?” demanded Paul.

Maggie and I exchanged a confused look. The realization dawned on us both at once, and we raised our masks with a chuckle.

“Is that any way to speak to your commander?” asked Maggie.

Rei snatched her ball from thin air, shoving it back into her pocket. “Oh, it’s you!” She bowed politely. “Good morning, Ms. Edw-”

“That’s Holy Sister Shrike,” she said. “Codenames only, Sister Shoebill.”

“Sorry, ma’am,” she said, saluting reflexively once, and then again after a short pause. It was like she couldn’t decide what to do with her hands. I swear, I had never seen somebody so obviously excited without it showing on her face.

“That’s a neat trick with those masks, Sister Shrike,” said Paul.

“I got the idea from a psychology class I took when I got my teaching certificate,” she said. She nodded to the duffel bag over my shoulder, and I issued Paul and Rei their enchanted scarves and masks. “There are some poor souls out there who can’t recognize a face or voice to save their life, and I spent a summer figuring out how to induce that.”

“It’s gotta be some powerful magic to keep me from recognizing you, Ms. Edwards.”

“Very smooth, Brother Bald Eagle,” I muttered to myself.

Maggie laughed coquettishly as she retrieved matching masks from her bag. “You flatter me.”

Paul raised his eyebrow as he finally put on the scarf. “There’s some magic in there, right? Doesn’t seem like scarf weather.”

A tug freed the woolen fabricata from my neck, and a light magical current formed it into a red and black blade. “It’s a backup weapon, courtesy of your ex and Sister Macaw.”

“But we’ve got real swords too, right?” asked Paul, sounding skeptical. “Those things look like they’d use magic I’d rather put into spells.”

“Of course,” replied Maggie, dropping her own duffel bag to the ground with a clatter. “Arm up; we need to get moving. Brother Mockingbird, check in with Brother Ratte.”

I had wanted first crack at Maggie’s collection of swords, but I didn’t see an artful way to avoid the request. To my annoyance, Rei grabbed the rapier I’d had my eye on while I pulled out Brother Ratte’s commlink. I ran magic through the ensorcelled device, forcing the irritation out of my voice. “Brother Ratte, report.”

“Excellent timing, Brother Mockingbird,” he said. “We are on the school grounds, and will be arriving at the ground level shortly.”

“Jeez, this thing’s tall,” I heard a muffled Brother Maus say in the background. “Are you sure it’s just a school?”

“It’s why it’s the perfect target to show the Brotherhood’s power,” said Maggie, leaning in. “Brother Ratte, Mockingbird brought me up to speed. How many mundanes do you have with you?”

“Six,” he replied.

“That isn’t much,” I said.

“They would miss more than six,” snapped Ratte. “We’re lucky to have this many. Your screwup didn’t give us much time to prepare.”

“Screwup?” said Maggie, her voice dripping with offense.

“They should do fine,” said Maus, more clearly than before. “They served with us in Sumatra. They’re used to aiming high for orcs and low for goblins, but they should figure out humans pretty quick.”

“If we did our work right, we shouldn’t encounter any resistance,” I said, almost as much to convince myself as them.

“Stand by until we arrive,” said Ratte. “We’ll give you your orders then.”

“This is my operation, Brother Ratte,” said Maggie.

The fabricata microphone robbed none of the bite from his sarcastic laugh. “Absolutely not! We’re cleaning up your mess. I’m assuming command.”

“No, you listen here,” said Maggie. “This is my cell’s plan, so you’re going to do as you’re told!”

“We’d best let her call the shots, Brother Ratte,” I said, not eager to be in the middle of their squabble. Maggie’s voice had grown rather shrill, and she was right in my ear. “You’re not in position yet, and it won’t be long until they notice the Headmaster isn’t giving his speech. Sister Shrike, there are two main entrances for us students, right? Perhaps Ratte’s group should guard those, to make sure we don’t have any uninvited guests.”

There was a long silence.

Finally, Maus’ voice broke through. “Stop pouting, Ratte. Sister Shrike will do just fine.”

“Thank you, Maus. Get out of sight; you’ll know when it’s your time to act.”

“You got it. We’ll do our part so you can do yours, baby.”

“Baby?” she whispered. “Where do you get off calling me baby?”

I pocketed the commlink again, depriving it of magic and cutting the argument short. “All the more reason to succeed and rub it in their faces, my dear.”

“You call teachers that?” asked Rei.

I looked down covetously at her rapier. “I think I’ve earned the privilege.” The arming sword I found left over wasn’t quite my style, though it would do well enough. “A katana, Brother Bald Eagle? I thought you had more sense than that.”

He had been testing it with a few practice swings, but stopped to scowl at me. “What’re you talking about? All that folded steel and the fabricata makes this the best sword on the planet.”

“We don’t have time for your sword measuring contest,” said Rei.

“Men,” muttered Maggie with a roll of her eyes. She pulled her mask down, and we followed suit. “Alright, Holy Brothers and Sisters, it’s time to go out there and prove that we are still a force to be reckoned with! Humanity first!”

“Humanity first!” we all replied, Rei the most enthusiastic of us all.

Chapter 77

“What’re you smirking about, Mocks?” whispered Paul. His words carried further than I liked down the deserted hall, but a quick glance showed we were alone in the building.

“The last time I was in the Headmaster’s office, it was so he and Mr. Maki could chew me out about my dating habits. It feels nice to get a little payback.” I sniffed the air. “I smell chocolate. Mrs. Perera’s really pouring on the magic.”

“Then let’s not keep her waiting,” said Maggie. She kicked the door down, which struck me as a tad excessive. It didn’t even seem locked.

The office hadn’t changed since the last time I had seen it. It was still minimally decorated, save for his potted plants. The air shimmered with golden magic in a dome over Tachibana’s desk, with a bored looking Headmaster listening to a seated Mrs. Perera. True to her boast, they seemed to be moving in slow motion, and the wall clock within showed nearly an hour earlier than the outside world.

“Mockingbird, signal Sister Macaw,” replied Maggie.

“I…” Well, blast. We had left something out of our planning. I hated to look foolish in front of Maggie, though. As always, the best plan was to improvise. “Svalinn’s Mercy!” This time, I shaped the energy structure into a blunt cylinder. I wasn’t out to slice him to bits, but giving his bell a good ring seemed reasonable.

The blue cylinder hit the barrier of energy, and a few things happened in slow succession. My attack decelerated once it was fully out of our normal flow of time. A minute later, Tachibana’s eyes gradually flicked up to track the disturbance, and his mouth gaped as my attack flew straight for him.

Mrs. Perera must have noticed my attack, since the yellow energy popped out of existence and she collapsed like a discarded puppet.

My attack struck home, and I heard the familiar sound of crunching cartilage. How long had it been since I’d broken a nose? It had to have been back in England; it was almost nostalgic. The Headmaster was driven back into his wheeled chair, slamming against the wall.

“Be careful!” bellowed Maggie. “We need him alive!”

I’ll give the tubby wizard this, he recovered quickly. His hand glowed intensely, but he didn’t cast any spells. I wondered what he was wasting his time on, until I realized the sun no longer shone through his window.
 The potted bamboo plant burrowed deep into carpet, turning artificial fiber into real wood, shooting towards me like the kudzu from Hell. Branches sprouted and twisted unnaturally, seizing my wrists and ankles. My stomach sank as I was lifted off the ground. I couldn’t cast, and the strong wood didn’t budge an inch as I thrashed against it.

“And you tried to downplay your powers, you charlatan!” I shouted.

“Put him down!”

One of Rei’s iron balls put an end to Tachibana’s plant, shattering into so much kindling. Tachibana winced like he’d been struck himself. I supposed it was some sort of feedback.

Paul took advantage of the Tachibana’s dazed state and roughly seized him with his affinity, pulling him out of his chair and over his desk. I couldn’t help cringing even as I collected myself. I didn’t know what it felt like to have somebody haul you into the air by your body’s water content, but I was pretty sure his eyes hadn’t been so bloodshot before.

Yet, Tachibana kept fighting. He thrust a hand at Paul and let out a Fireball without so much as a word. The runes flew about his hands thick as a swarm of gnats to make up for the lack of speech to shape the magic.

“Shit!” Paul fell back, patting down his uniform, the runes of the fabricata laced fabric flashing to life, using Paul’s magic in a vain attempt to protect him from the attack. Rei hopped back, casting a Svalinn’s Mercy to protect herself in case she was the next target of the Headmaster’s ire.

He had bigger plans, though. Tachibana’s affinity’s magic flared to life again, forcing the bonsai tree on his desk into action an instant before an arrow of shaped glass embedded itself in his shoulder. He stopped casting, desperately trying to dislodge it.

“I swear to God, I have to do everything around here,” said Maggie as she stepped forward. Her sword, a katana like Paul’s, sang through the air, lopping off Tachibana’s artificial leg.

He cried out in pain. His hands twitched, seemingly unsure of which wound to tend to.

“Oh, did I get a little meat with that?” Maggie’s throaty chuckle was at once terrifying and enticing. “Good.” Her blade dug into his fleshy throat. “Brother Mockingbird, the shackles?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Sister Shoebill, do something about Brother Bald Eagle.”

“I’m good, Sister Shrike,” said Paul. I wondered where Paul had gotten the water to put out the flames, until I saw a goldfish flopping uselessly in an empty bowl near the door.

I knelt down next to him to carry out Maggie’s order. “Now, let’s not do anything rash, shall we?”

I must admit that my heart pounded a bit as I came into arm’s reach. I had always thought of Yosuke Tachibana some ineffectual administrator. I had fallen right into the trap and underestimated him. Not many wizards bothered to learn to cast silently, but those that did never just knew one spell. My Mimic had catalogued the silent Fireball, adding it to my temporary repertoire.
 “You won’t get anything for me,” he said as I seized his wrist, slipping it into the magical bonds. “Anti-Demonic League policy is that they don’t negotiate with the Holy Brotherhood. You all are below the level of the Horde in their eyes.”

“We’ll see how they feel when they hear our demands. I think they’ll make an exception for their foremost wizard,” Maggie replied. She frowned after inspecting her blade. “Bald Eagle, dear, my sword?”

Paul nodded, wicking away the thick liquid right onto a pristine, white throw rug. It seemed he wanted payback for being lit on fire.

“Mockingbird, see to his wounds,” she said, striding over to his desk.

“I’m fine too,” muttered Mrs. Perera, hopping down from her chair. “Thanks for asking.”

“I figured you’d never stop whining if something was wrong,” said Maggie. “Good work keeping him occupied.”

The Headmaster finally noticed the stooped teacher. “Neci? You’re with them? Since when?”

“I always have been,” she spat. “It’s easy to overlook things when you’re fat and comfortable.”

“We could have talked this through,” he said.

“We could have. But, talk’s cheap. I only have time for results.”

Maggie knocked on the Headmaster’s desk. “Bald Eagle, you nearly destroyed his intercom! You need to be more careful.” She reached over to the nondescript white box. “It’s time to flush out any stragglers in the building.”

“Wait,” I said, stopping mid-heal. Tachibana hissed in pain as nerves were jostled about.

“What?” asked Maggie with obvious annoyance.

“The fabricata disguises your voice too,” I said. “If you don’t take it off, you’ll sound like a bloody robot, and that’s going to draw more attention than anything else.”

“That’s a good point,” said Maggie. “Hey Headmaster, who do you think I am? Do you want to guess?”

“What do I care?” he barked.

She glared daggers at him. “You’re no fun. Then again, you never were.” She raised her mask and shot him a saucy wink. “Do you care now?”

All of his righteous fury evaporated. “Ms. Edwards? What in God’s name are you doing here?”

Should Maggie have gone about her business? Yes, but her sadistic streak would not be denied. “Oh, you didn’t suspect me at all? I guess I was better at hiding than I thought. I was sure you’d figure me out, after you caught Haru.”

He struggled against his bonds. I put a hand on either shoulder. “You’ll rip open your-”

“You think I give a darn about that?” I finally saw the steel in the man’s spine, his hard eyes that brooked no argument. Thank goodness he turned his anger on Maggie. “What happened? This isn’t you at all. The Margaret Edwards I mentored would never do this!”

Maggie weighed his words. “You’re right, but she isn’t here anymore. I left her behind a long time ago. I’d rather be somebody people actually respected. Spectral Web.” The strands of blue energy sealed his mouth shut.

Tachibana tried to cast another silent spell, but a good singe from his shackles dissuaded him.

I flashed him a smug grin. “Nothing quite like Horde engineering, is there?”

“Hush, they’ll overhear you,” hissed Maggie. She tapped a few buttons on the console, selecting a broadcast that would be heard in the Tower, but not at the sports arena. “This is an alert. A small fire has been detected near the roof. It is under control, but for your safety, please evacuate the Tower until you are told otherwise. I repeat, please evacuate the Tower. Use the stairs or elevators as needed. I repeat, the fire is under control, but please leave the Tower until you are told it is safe. Thank you.”

Maggie released the button, sighing with relief. “I figure we should give them five minutes. Anybody still in here after that deserves what’s coming to them.”

“What’s next, ma’am?” asked Paul.

“We are just about ready to spring the trap,” said Maggie. “Brother Mockingbird, we are ready to activate the Peace Bond, right?”

“Of course,” I said. “You need only give the word and I’ll go plug it in.”

“Soren Marlowe!” Tachibana spat out the fading remnants of the magical threads. “That’s you, isn’t it? Nobody else knows where I set it up!”

“Guilty as charged,” I said, forcing a devil-may-care lilt into my voice. “I’ll take my leave, if it’s all the same to you, Sister Shrike.” I didn’t care to face the brunt of Tachibana’s seething anger an instant longer than I had to. It clashed so much with my whole vision of the man.

“Give it another minute,” she said. “We wouldn’t want anybody else to see you. At least, not until we’re ready.”

Mrs. Perera coughed into her hand. “How are they going to see him, exactly?”

“We can borrow the AV club’s room in the library,” Maggie replied. “They’re set up to broadcast everywhere on campus, and I know the passwords. Being their club advisor finally paid off.”

Tachibana stopped glaring at me, tilting his head to the side. “You’re taking me to the AV Club’s room? In the library?”

“Yes, you fool, that’s what she just said,” barked Mrs. Perera.

Tachibana laughed, coughing up a nice stream of blood. “I’m at your mercy, Margaret. Do you know what that means?”

“Oh? Teach me one last time, Headmaster,” said Maggie, her voice oddly chipper.

“You cut off my leg and you need me in the library.” His satisfied smirk was missing a canine. “Have fun carrying me.”

Maggie’s brow furrowed for a moment before she spun on her heel. “I have people for that. Shoebill! Bald Eagle! Figure it out.”

Paul looked at me. “Mocks, we-”

“Nope, sorry,” I said. “I’d love to help, but I have a job to do.” I was out of the room before anyone could tell me otherwise.

It’s so delightful having underlings. I didn’t know how I had done so long without it.

****************

As always, thank you for your continued support. I've been really enjoying writing all these dominos I've been setting up starting to fall, and I hope you're having fun with me.

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