Galdoni Read Free Page B

restrictions. I gripped the
blanket beside me until my knuckles ached.
    Her voice quieted. “There’re a lot of groups
out there making waves, saying that it’s unethical. I think that’s
one of the reasons it got shut down; that and a rumor about some of
the big wigs skimming money off the top to pad their own
pockets.”
    I nodded silently. When they had shut down
the Academy, all we had been told was that we were to be given a
chance to make our own way in life; but if what Brie said was true,
they must have lost millions, if not billions, just by letting us
walk out the gates. Exhaustion clouded my thoughts. I closed my
eyes.
    “ You should sleep,” Brie
said quietly. I felt her weight rise from the mattress. “Do you
need help lying down?”
    I wanted to tell her no, but I was already
too far into the void to respond. I rested my head back against the
wall and gave in to the fog that swarmed through my thoughts.

***
     
    The next time I awoke, my limbs burned with
fever. Chills wracked my body even though blankets had been piled
on top of me. I could barely make out the voices that spoke around
me, strangers in the dim room. I couldn’t hear Brie’s voice among
them; I wondered if she had finally realized how dangerous I was
and left.

***
     
    I had no idea how many days had passed when
I finally opened my eyes and found the fever gone and my blurred
vision somewhat lessened. The room was blissfully empty and my
throat burned with thirst. I pushed up slowly to a sitting
position. The movement made my wounds ache, but it also verified
that I was alive. I could take pain.
    The blurred shadow of a pitcher stood on the
dresser a few feet away. I moved my bad knee to the edge of the bed
and rose carefully, keeping my weight on the good leg. My wings
throbbed with the movement, but whoever had bandaged them had
wrapped them securely to my back to keep them immobile. I leaned on
the bedpost, then limped along the wall to the dresser.
    My body shook with fatigue by the time I
reached it. I couldn’t do more than laugh weakly when I picked up
the pitcher and found it empty. I turned to go back to the bed; low
voices caught my attention. I limped the few steps to the door and
opened it carefully so the hinges didn’t creak. The conversation
grew louder.
    “ They’re arresting anyone
who hides them. We’ll be thrown in jail as accomplices,” a male
voice said in an urgent tone.
    “ Accomplices to what?” Brie
answered, her voice defiant.
    “ Do you really want to
know?” he demanded.
    “ Okay, Jayce, calm down.
It’s not like we have to decide anything now,” another male replied
calmly.
    “ And wait for the police to
come pounding on your door? Everyone’s at risk here; you know that,
Nikko!”
    “ Did he look dangerous to
you?” Brie asked. “We’re lucky he made it through the last few
nights, and he acted surprised when I told him about the
show.”
    “ You told him?” Jayce let
out a chortle. “That’s rich. Way to clue him in on his role
here!”
    I gritted my teeth, but kept my mouth
shut.
    “ That’s enough, Jayce,”
Nikko’s voice cut in. “He’s not dangerous right now, and we can
restrain him if we need to. There’s just too much going on for us
to make a hasty decision. Dad said he won’t even be strong enough
to leave the bed for another few weeks if he survives the fever.
We’ll make a decision then if things become too
intense.”
    The sound of someone sitting down not so
gracefully was followed by Jayce’s slightly calmer voice. “Fine.
And until then, I’m sleeping with my knife under my pillow.”
    I smiled, but Nikko’s next words wiped the
smile from my face.
    He spoke quietly. “Did you see the scars he
has? What do you think that means?”
    “ Probably that he kills
people. I don’t believe his story about the boy in the alley,”
Jayce commented darkly.
    “ We saw the brown and white
feathers,” Brie told him in an exasperated tone as if they had gone
over