Phoenie pushed the handle down with her elbow and nudged open the door with her shoulder, making sure not to spill her coffee. She hated it when the office was left unlocked, and the fact that Inquisitors had been spotted prowling the school only made her feel more uncomfortable. At any moment they could barge into the Veritas office and steal a horde of valuable research data Phoenie had complied on the insidious cult.

When she saw the state of the room, her fears were manifest. Tables and chairs had been knocked out of alignment, while the secure filing cabinet had been left open and files scattered across a desk for anyone to browse. The most telling sign, however, and the one that struck dread into Phoenie’s heart, was the lonely plush cat sprawled out on the floor, as if discarded by an unloving owner. Phoenie fell to her knees and clasped the vacant-looking toy to her chest, uttering curses against Godhand under her breath. They could be standing behind her listening to her every thought for all she cared. It wasn’t like Phoenie to get angry about anything, but this reminded her too much about her past, too much about how powerless and ineffective she’d once been. She was the editor of Veritas for a reason! Get a grip, Phoenie Rogan! You’ve got to take reasoned action!

Phoenie’s march to the staff area took far longer than she would have liked – with each wasted second, Katrina would be taken further away – but she kept Kit held tight in her arms and paused for no one, even when Theseus came running up to her, still sweating from the midday sports club.

“They took Kat,” he said, “Shelley Edwards too.”

“They won’t get away with this,” growled Phoenie.

“You’ll get no argument from me,” replied Theseus “Makes a change, huh?”

John and Andromeda joined them outside the offices, sharing their stern faces. As always, news travelled fast.

“CCTV picked them up,” said John, “Looks like both girls were drugged,”

“The staff tried to reason with them,” added Andromeda, “But the Inquisitors just ignored them. Joel Gibson and Lyra Byrne are being treated for by Ms Clarke right now. Apparently they took a bit of a beating protecting Kaori Shimomura.”

“They took Kaori too?” said Theseus, “The hell they can get away with four arrests in a day! This is madness! We gotta do something!”

“All you students can do is wait.”

Mr Payne had appeared at the door to his office with a grave look on his face.

“Sir, this has gone too far!” protested Phoenie.

“I’m doing all I can, Ms Rogan,” he replied, “Continue with your day until further notice.” The casual tone Mr Payne always took around his students had vanished – this wasn’t advice, this was an order.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me…” he continued, “We’re in a delicate situation and can’t afford a single mistake.”

He disappeared into his office and the door locked behind him.

***

Chapter 15
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