Inferno Read Free Page B

boring you, Gautier?”
    Nick blinked as he realized Grim was talking to him. He chose to ignore the snickers and snide comments from the peanut gallery who were so easily amused, as most mindless creatures were, by his lack of attention. “Excuse me?”
    “We’re going over the periodic table. I’ve asked you, four times now, what is R-U, and what’s its element category and atomic weight.”
    Like he knew that? Who in their right …
    His thought trailed off as the answer popped into his head. “Ruthenium. It’s a rare transition metal. The atomic number is forty-four and its weight is 101.07. It has a melting point of 2334 degrees Celsius and 4233 degrees Fahrenheit and a boiling point of 7502 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything else you want to know about it?”
    Wait … Did he understand any of that?
    Yeah, weirdly he did.
    But how? Was this another power that would come and go, and that would never work properly?
    Grim nodded with a grudging light of respect in his eyes. “So you can learn by osmosis.”
    That was one theory. ’Cause he had no other way to explain how he knew something he couldn’t remember ever seeing. It had to have seeped into his skin while he slept on top of his chem book. That made sense to him. “Apparently.”
    “I always knew you were a freak, Gautier,” Stone muttered.
    Nick’s temper exploded.
    And so did Stone. One second he was mocking Nick and the next, his shirt caught fire. Nick jumped up with Caleb and half the class. Some of the girls screamed and ran for the door while Grim stood back with an evil gleam of hope in his dead eyes.
    Brynna Addams grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall and tried to work it.
    Nick ran to her and held his hand out for her to surrender the red canister. Given the propensity of their old stove to spontaneously burst into flames whenever they used it, Nick had a ton of experience using these.
    Brynna surrendered it without question.
    Nick quickly moved to Stone and doused him with a giant burst. White smoke filled the room, and it wasn’t until after the fire went out that it dawned on Nick how wrong he’d been in the past.
    Guess I would put you out if you were on fire, Stone.
    Who knew?
    He was a bigger humanitarian than he’d ever thought. Then again, given Stone’s typical behavior, he wasn’t really doing anyone a favor by saving the jerk. He should have let Grim have him.
    Nick held the fire extinguisher in his arms as several students cheered. Stone was soaking wet and covered with goo. For once, he looked at Nick with something other than disdain. If Nick didn’t know better, he might even think that it was gratitude.
    “Are you okay, baby?” Casey shrugged Stone’s letterman’s jacket off and wrapped it around Stone’s shoulders. She wiped at the residue on Stone’s face. “Speak to me…”
    “Yeah, I’m all right.”
    Sobbing, Casey threw herself against Stone.
    Grim took it all in stride. “Guess you’ll be needing a pass to the nurse’s office.”
    Could he sound any more disappointed? But then, Death didn’t really blend with normal people, and most likely he’d been hoping for another body to claim.
    Mason clapped Nick hard on his shoulder. “Quick thinking, Gautier. Didn’t know you had an actual brain in you.”
    The urge to turn the fire extinguisher on Mason was so strong that he wasn’t sure how he kept from doing it.
    Brynna stepped forward and touched Nick’s hand. “You better let me have it before you give in.”
    Nick scowled. “Huh?”
    She smiled up at him. “I know that look, Nick. I figure you’re only seconds away from dousing Mason or using it to bash him in the head.”
    Nick let her take the canister from him. “Some people would consider that a public service.”
    “But not our principal.”
    Unfortunately, she was right. Mr. Head would have a conniption, and then Nick would have detention. And that was something he wanted to stay out of for a while.
    Stone and Casey left the room