Free Diabolical by Cynthia Leitich Smith Page B

could maintain my secret identity through an entire crisis. I want to try that first.”
    “All right,” I reply. “But remember, Scholomance is like the serpent in the tree of knowledge. It promises to reveal great mysteries. For Lucy, what happened to Miranda is the ultimate question. You can give her the answer. Scientia potentia est. ”
    He sets his mug on the desk. “Come again?”
    “Knowledge is power.”
    We hear a knock on my door. From the other side, Vesper calls, “Kieren!”
    When I answer, she’s standing there with Bridget and Evelyn.
    “Do you have cell reception in your room?” Bridget asks.
    I fish my phone out of my pocket and try it. “Apparently not.”
    Vesper’s sigh borders on dramatic. “I cannot believe this! What are we, prisoners? Don’t the Geneva Conventions guarantee access to —”
    “The school is remote,” Bridget puts in.
    “Vermont remote, not Antarctica remote,” Evelyn counters.

ON A HUNCH , I unzip Kieren’s bag. His axe is missing. I brush past him and the girls into my own room. When I check my hanging garment bag, my holy sword is gone, too.
    Crap. Would I recognize Lucifer? I don’t know. Probably not. Would his minions recognize a sword forged in heaven? Maybe. No matter that I’m immortal. Michael will find a way to kill me for this. I glance at the devilish print over my fireplace.
    I’d swear it’s grinning wider.
    Back in the hall, Kieren shakes his head at me. It’s bad news. Our weapons have been confiscated. The holy symbols, too.
    The girls are still fixated on the phone issue.
    “I can’t log on to the Web from my laptop either,” Bridget says, “and I’m supposed to call my parents tonight before I go to bed.”
    Vesper counters, “Big deal. I’m supposed to call my boyfriend.”
    “Well, I’m supposed to call my girlfriend,” Evelyn says, “and you don’t see me having a meltdown over it.”
    Kieren frowns at Vesper. “You have a boyfriend?”
    She winks at him. “He knew I was a flirt when he fell in love with me.”
    I decide to talk to Lucy first, alone. Then I’ll confront the other students. After a quick shower, I’m dressed and ready to go.
    “What are you doing?” a voice asks. “You had to fake being a student to get through security. Sure. But why are you still here? Grab Kieren, find Lucy, go, go, go !” Joshua has materialized on the recliner. His feet are propped up. He’s painted his toenails silver and gold to match his fingernails and sandals.
    I rub my temples. “You know it’s not that simple. We can’t kidnap her. I have to find the right words. I have to convince her. Then she has to choose —”
    “Normally, I’d agree with you,” Josh says. “Rules good. Kidnapping bad. But oh yeah, this isn’t a normal situation.”
    “No,” I agree. “In addition to Lucy, I’m also dealing with these other kids who —”
    “Are not your responsibility!” Josh exclaims, standing. “Your interference could make things worse for all of them. Did you think of that?”
    What is with him? “At Drac Radford’s castle, you not only supported my rescuing the prisoners in the dungeon, you demanded to know what was taking me so long.”
    “That was different! Michael ordered you to go to the castle. You were supposed to be there. It was your principle assignment, and it was vague. You had wiggle room. Right now, Quincie is your specific, principle assignment, and she’s cooling her heels solo at Norma and Harry’s B and B, watching Dead Poets Society, and counting the minutes until you and Wolf boy return. Go guard her.”
    “But —”
    “Dude, look at where you are, what you’re doing!” Josh points to the Codex Gigas illustration hanging above the fireplace. “Freaking Beelzebub is your interior decorator!” He pauses, taking in the art. “I didn’t realize he had a sense of humor.”
    “So does the Big Boss,” I say. “Consider the platypus.” I move to clasp Josh’s shoulders. “Look,