Free The Nightmare Charade by Mindee Arnett Page B

willing to go through to be with her, I would have to cut him some slack. A lot of it.
    Lunch passed all too quickly, and spell casting afterward way too slowly. So did gym. Eli and I barely got to talk to one another between running laps and doing push-ups.
    But he was waiting for me outside the locker room afterward. I hurried over to him, eager for a kiss, but stopped at the sight of several Will Guards loitering nearby.
    Eli eyed them dubiously and said to me, “Practice for the gladiator team is at four-thirty if you want to come.”
    â€œI’ll be there.” There wasn’t a chance I would miss it.
    â€œGood.” Eli said, and then despite the Will Guard watching us, he leaned forward and kissed my cheek.
    Sighing, I headed down the hallway in the opposite direction, pulling out my course schedule to double-check the room number for my math class—285 Jupiter Hall.
    Spying rain outside the gymnasium windows, I headed down the stairs to the tunnels that ran beneath Arkwell’s campus.
    As I descended, the murky stench of the canal water filled my nose. The smell teased memories of Eli’s dream to the forefront of my mind. The tunnels consisted of a single dirt path of varying width that ran side by side with the canal. There were lots of naturekinds who needed regular access to water. Often, they would slip down here in between classes for a refresher. But right now the surface was dark and undisturbed—far too much like the river in Eli’s dream.
    With prickles dancing down my back, I glanced behind me and all around, worried by how quiet it was, no signs of anyone anywhere. Totally normal, I reminded myself. There were lots of tunnels and Arkwell was huge.
    Nevertheless, I quickened my pace, darting around the corner. The tunnel ahead was just as empty as the one before. Except when I passed by an alcove, a hand reached out from the darkness and closed around my arm.

 
    6
    New Leads
    Shrieking, I spun toward the person. I raised my free arm on instinct.
    â€œ Hypno-soma! ”
    The dazing curse burst out from the tips of my fingers and struck my attacker right in the chest. Too late, I saw the familiar face of my mother. She let out a great gasp of air and then stumbled backward.
    â€œMom!” I dropped my hand and rushed over. “Oh, Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you.”
    She pushed me away. Fury and pain lit her expression. Seeing it, I bit my tongue and waited. Speaking now would just make it worse.
    Finally, she drew another breath and stood up from her hunched position. “Where are on earth did you learn to cast that hard? You’re only sixteen for goodness sake.”
    I put my hands on my hips. “I’ll be seven—” I broke off, finally getting a good look at her. Shock tore through me. This wasn’t the Moira Nimue-Everhart I knew. It couldn’t be the same woman I’d said good-bye to less than a week ago. This person hardly looked like my mother at all. Her blond hair, normally short and styled to photo-shoot perfection, hung lank around her makeup-less face. She looked so old, like one of those movie puppets after having its vital essence drained. I didn’t want to believe that makeup could make that much difference, but apparently it could.
    Mom shook her head, refocusing. She grabbed me by the shoulders. “Of all the good luck, Destiny, I’m so glad I found you. I was going to sneak up to your dorm tonight, but this is so much better.”
    I gaped, still wrestling with shock that was slowly turning toward fear. “What’s wrong? Why are you here?”
    â€œThey’re coming for me.”
    â€œWho?” I took a step back and out of her clutches. My shoulders were beginning to throb from her pincer-like grip on them.
    â€œThe police.”
    â€œWhat?” I groaned. “Oh, geez, Mom, what did you do this time?”
    â€œShhhh.” She pressed a finger to her mouth