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“Sheriff, what is this?” Verla asked.
He relaxed a little, like he expected her to deal with me so he could leave and get this over with.
“I believe Professor Wykoff is perfectly capable of escorting herself off school property,” Verla said. She looked sad, like she hadn’t wanted this to happen, but didn’t have any other choice. The school board must’ve voted against her.
“This public display is unnecessary,” Professor Warren added.
“The priestesses have requested I remove her before charging her for trespassing,” Sheriff Baker sneered. “If you have a problem with it, bring it up with the other priestesses.”
“I will,” I said simply. I pulled out my phone and brought up Priestess Margaret’s number.
“Drop the phone!” Sheriff Baker demanded.
Verla’s eyebrows shot up. “I believe she’s well within her rights. She is a priestess, after all.”
Sheriff Baker wasn’t interested in listening to me—priestess or not—but he respected Verla. He muttered under his breath. “Going against the priestesses’ orders proves you’re corrupt.”
I ignored him while I spoke with Priestess Margaret on the phone.
“Nadine,” she sighed. “Do we really have to do this?”
“Yes,” I stated. “I demand an explanation.”
Priestess Margaret didn’t sound pleased. “We’ll be right there.”
The priestesses must’ve been close by, because they arrived minutes later. The main doors burst open as the three priestesses strode into the school. Claudia followed behind them. Though she didn’t wear a cloak like the priestesses, she had a confidence about her that made her seem like she belonged. My stomach instantly twisted at the sight of her. I didn’t like Claudia any more than I liked any of the other priestesses.
“What is the meaning of this?” Lilian demanded.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I said.
No one had moved. The crowd of students watched on quietly.
“What exactly has Professor Wykoff done to justify this?” I asked.
Priestess Margaret turned her nose up at me. “Perhaps you can take that up with the school board and stop wasting our time. The board is the one to decide who works here.”
“Yet the Imperium Council has influence over them,” I pointed out. “The coven owns the college. You can hire and fire whoever you want. Professor Wykoff was already packing her things when she was arrested. Why persecute her for going peacefully?”
“She is spreading lies!” Claudia burst.
“If that’s the way you feel, then the Miriamic Messenger never should’ve published her piece in the first place,” I shot back.
“Headmistress, please,” Priestess Charlotte said. “You must control your students.”
“I’m perfectly capable of managing my students,” Verla stated confidently. “But Nadine is a priestess, and like all priestesses, she governs over me.”
Verla spoke innocently, like she wasn’t taking one side or the other. The priestesses still liked her, and we weren’t prepared to give them a reason otherwise.
“Nadine is a single priestess,” Margaret said. “She does not speak for the entire Imperium Council. Professor Wykoff has proven herself unfit in a teaching position for reasons I daresay she may not want to be made public.”
She was lying. Professor Wykoff was nothing more than an example—a display of what would happen if anyone dared to speak up.
“Sheriff Baker is well within his rights to escort her off campus,” Margaret added, before turning to me with a heavy sigh. “Nadine, why do you insist on being so difficult? You know you’ll be outvoted.”
She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. She was purposely trying to discredit me publicly, as she’d done many times in the past.
“I want the coven to know that every innocent person you persecute will have someone behind them who will stand up to you—so that they can stand up to you, too,” I said.
