The Thorn of Dentonhill Read Free Page B

and staff under her bed. “Now, get.” He opened her door a crack. No one was out there. With a last wink at her, he dashed out to the stables.
    The Spinner Run was an abandoned underground passage that ran from one of the stables of the carriage house to Holtman Hall, where the students’ dining hall was. Veranix had no idea what its original purpose had been, but as far as he knew the only ones who still used it, other than Kaiana and himself, were rats and spiders.
    He pulled open the trapdoor and dropped into the Run. It was completely dark, but he didn’t care. He had enough of his strength back to make a small glowing ball appear. The ball hung in the air, providing enough light to find the hole in the wall, a space where the bricks had been chipped out of the mortar, down near the dirt floor. Reaching in, he pulled out his spare school uniform. Taking the papers out and putting them to the side, he stripped off the dark wool pants he was wearing, and shoved all his fishy clothes into the hole. He’d have to deal with those later.
    Not knowing how much time he had, he raced to put on his uniform. He never liked wearing it. The wool of the dark blue pants and jacket was scratchy and stiff. He couldn’t move, couldn’t stretch, while wearing it. The worst parts of the whole thing were the cap and scarf. Every time he put them on he felt foolish, even though every other student wore the same thing. His were striped red and gray, which marked him as a magic student.
    He folded up the stolen papers and shoved them in the jacket pocket. Wiping off the bits of loose mortar from his jacket, he dashed down the passageway, reaching the other end in less than a minute. Other students in his House would be arriving shortly in Holtman for breakfast. If his luck held, no one would notice that he hadn’t come from Almers.
    He climbed up through the trapdoor, emerging in one of Holtman’s storerooms. As usual, no one was there. He snuck from the room, went down the hall, and joined in with the uniformed students from Almers who were heading toward the dining hall.
    He felt a tap on his shoulder.
    â€œWhere have you been?”
    â€œWater closet,” he said. He turned to see Delmin Sarren, who shared sleeping quarters with him in Almers. Delmin was tall and rail-thin, with stringy, light-colored hair that never stayed contained under his cap, which had the same red and gray trim as Veranix’s.
    Delmin chuckled. “Don’t treat me stupid. Your bed wasn’t slept in.”
    â€œSure it was.”
    â€œPlease. I won’t tell the prefects or anything. But if you get caught, you’re going to be in trouble.”
    â€œCaught?” Veranix asked in his best innocent voice.
    Delmin wrapped an arm around him and whispered conspiratorially. “Look, mate. That dark girl is a pretty one, so I don’t blame you for sneaking into her bed. But you can’t be staying with her until dawn, no matter how good it is.”
    â€œYou’re right,” Veranix replied. “Thanks.”
    Delmin sniffed at Veranix. “Also, you need to give yourself time to clean up. You smell like a freshly rolled doxy.”
    â€œI’ll keep that in mind,” Veranix said. He bit his lip to keep from laughing. “What’s our course today?”
    â€œWe’ve got lecture with Alimen today.”
    Veranix sighed. Alimen on no sleep would be a challenge. He went into the dining hall, hoping for some very strong tea.

Chapter 2

    T HREE CUPS OF tea and two bowls of porridge later, Veranix stumbled behind Delmin as they went to the Western Lecture Halls. Bells up in the High University Tower rang out the time. It was already nine bells. Delmin broke into a run. Veranix realized that they were about to be late for lecture and bolted after Delmin. The two of them skidded into the hall just as the ninth bell rang.
    â€œWell, Mister Calbert. Mister Sarren. You managed to make