Traitor (Creepy Hollow, #3) Read Free Page B

the land of Poisyn.”
    Silence follows Ryn’s statement. I flick my eyes to the side; his friends’ mouths are hanging open. Eventually Dale speaks. “She was at Poisyn?”
    “ You were at Poisyn?” demands Aria. “What were you doing Underground, Ryn? You could have been killed if anyone down there had found out you’re with the Guild.”
    “ And how exactly would they have found that out, Aria?”
    “ I don’t know. Those Undergrounders have their evil ways. And stop avoiding the question. What were you doing down there?”
    Ryn steps closer to her, leaning toward her ear as though to share a secret. Gently, he places a hand on her cheek and says, “It’s funny how you think I’d actually tell you my business.”
    She swats his hand away. “You’re such as ass, Ryn. It’s a wonder there are any people left who like you.”
    “ Oh, I don’t think there’s anyone left who likes me,” says Ryn. “But being an ass seems, oddly enough, to attract people. Look at you, for example. I’ve been an ass to you for years, and yet here you are. Still hanging around.”
    Aria flips her hair over her shoulder and marches back to the target area. After a moment’s hesitation, Jasmine follows her.
    “ I don’t believe you,” says Dale. He glances over at me, and I quickly point my gaze forward once more. “Little Miss Perfect would never go Underground, especially to a place like Poisyn.”
    Ryn laughs as he kicks his bag and shoes off the mat. “There are many things you don’t know about Miss Perfect Pixie Sticks, Dale. Like the kind of company she keeps, for starters. And her complete disregard for the Law.”
    Anger flares hot within me.
    “Come on, let’s fight,” says Ryn before Dale can ask any questions. “This session’s almost over.”
     
    *
     
    I push myself for another furious fifteen minutes before bringing the running rectangle to a stop. I sit down, pull a towel from my bag, and wipe it across my face and neck. People like Aria and Jasmine use spells to dry themselves off; I don’t see the point in wasting energy.
    “ Vi, you’re back!” I look up to see Honey limping across the hall toward me. Honey and I might actually be called friends if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m always too busy with extra assignments, and she’s always too busy with her Seer-in-training boyfriend.
    “ Yeah, my return couldn’t come fast enough.” I remove my sound drops and gesture toward her leg. “What happened to you?”
    She lets her bag slip off her shoulder and onto the floor. “Ugh, I tripped over Nigel.”
    “Nigel?”
    “Yeah, you know, the stray vine that always sneaks down the second floor corridor?”
    I raise both eyebrows. “You named the vine?”
    “ I didn’t. It was that guy who visited last week, the one from the London Guild Council.” She sits down, loops her straight blonde and blue hair behind her ears, and pulls the shoe off her injured foot. “Anyway, the name seems to have stuck.”
    “ Great,” I mutter as I search inside my bag for a bottle of water. “Not only did I miss a week of assignments, I also missed the visit of some important Council person.”
    “ He was boring,” says Honey. “And what are you worried about missing assignments for? You’re probably still miles ahead of everyone else in the rankings.”
    “ Not Ryn.”
    “ You can’t know that for sure.” Frost appears on her fingers, and she wraps her ice-cold hands carefully around her ankle. “The rankings are secret from now until graduation. And we’ve still got a few more assignments—plus the big final—before then. I’m sure you’ll still come top.”
    “ Thanks, Honey.” It seems weird to me that she doesn’t really care where she stands in the rankings. But Honey’s always been like that, not really bothered by points. I look down at her hands; the layer of frost is thick now. “How’s your ankle doing?”
    She rotates it. “I can feel it healing, but it’ll take about