Page 67 of Trivium

Loveleena’s mouth shot open. “You stabbed him in the leg!? I gotta see that. Bravo, girl.” She clapped. “Where’s the wound? Let me see!” She pulled at Lennox’s pants.

“Are you well?” Lennox said sarcastically, raising a hand up to Loveleena’s forehead. “What kind of nasty shit are you into?”

“You’ll have to check in with your hot tattooed neighbour across the hall.”

“Roman?” He rubbed his jaw. “That tracks, honestly. Anyway, it’s already healed; the Alchemists fixed me up late last night. Gotta love their quick healing balms. The best remedy for stab wounds, I swear.”

“We have to go,” Zeina snapped, annoyed.

“Where?” Lennox crossed his arms.

“Talamalu,” Loveleena said before Zeina could dodge his question.

“The tea and spice shop? Downtown?”

Loveleena nodded, and Lennox looked at Zeina, inquisitive.

“I’ll come.”

“No.” It was bad enough she had gotten Loveleena involved; she didn’t need another liability stacked on.

“Too bad.” Lennox sheathed an extra dagger and put on his leather jacket. “You two? Sneaking out of the Academy and going all the way downtown? There’s no way you’ll make it without getting caught.” He nudged his shoulder in Loveleena’s direction. “Especially not with this one’s loud mouth.”

“And you’re going to help us how exactly?” Loveleena said, arms crossed in defense.

“I have my ways. Come on.”

47

ZEINA

Behind the greenhouse sat an old decrepit tool shed, and Zeina wondered how she had never noticed it before as they crawled in through the broken window.

“Before they expanded the greenhouse, they kept gardening tools in here, but now no one uses it,” Lennox explained, linking his fingers to help boost Loveleena through. Zeina was used to crawling through windows and did so easily. Loveleena on the other hand, scraped her shoulder which left her cursing at Lennox.

The inside of the shed looked older than its exterior somehow. Dust caked the collection of broken plant pots and wooden boards that covered the floor. The smell of mildew and rust hung in the air, filling Zeina’s nose.

“Did someone die in here?” Loveleena coughed, shielding her mouth with her hand.

“Definitely. At least one person, I’d say,” Lennox said while lifting a floorboard, freeing a cloud of dust into the air.

“You’re not going to make us go down there, are you?” Loveleena said, eyebrows bunched.

“There’s a ladder. You’ll be fine.”

“Oh, a ladder. That makes everything better then.”

Zeina could sense Loveleena’s sarcasm, even though she had turned her attention outside, where she could hear growing voices.

“Students are awake now. Both of you shut up or someone will hear us.” Zeina found the ladder easily and lowered herself into the dark. She could feel the stone wall and the ground below her feet, but that was it. The darkness blanketed her vision.

Loveleena was close behind her, letting out a gag when she dropped down. Lennox followed.

“Lennox, a little li—” A torch flared to life. Lennox was a step ahead. The flame’s warmth met Zeina’s face, and she shuddered away the cold they had descended into. She could now see a stone-framed tunnel ahead, and Lennox beckoned them forward.

“How did you find this place?” Loveleena asked, her eyes tracing the stone patterns as they walked. Lennox simply shrugged.

Silently, they followed the winding tunnel, which occasionally split off in other directions.