I wasn't as surprised as I maybe should have been to find a green centipede about the size of my arm on my door Tuesday afternoon. I didn't know if that said more about me or my friends.

It had a note in its mandibles.

"I assume that's for me?" I asked it. Not that it could respond. With the curse and all.

It nodded and held its head out for me to take the note.

Emergency meeting in the woods, it said.

"You couldn't have told me this in class Fethris?" I mumbled. Didn't we have dinner in like an hour? Couldn't this wait?

I looked at the centipede. It looked back at me. The carapace was Fethris Green and looking a lot like glass.

"Unless there's something else, shoo."

It curled up into a tight spiral on the door before vanishing in a shimmer.

Fethris' handwriting was much neater than mine. Not cursive, thankfully, but cleaner print than I could ever produce. Though the lack of keyboards had made my handwriting progressively neater during my time here.

Mom and I had spent time on it, back when we were preparing me to take the entrance exam.

The hand cramps were worth it, I think.

Especially since with telepathy out of the picture, notes might be my only form of communicating with people. I would have to deal with this until the curse was gone.

Might as well go see what they want.

(*********)

In the woods was terribly vague. And I didn't understand why we couldn't have this meeting, whatever it was, in Dragon Tower. Sure it could tell on us, but to who? And it wasn't like we got a bunch of other visitors.

It was like dealing with Mom. I'm sure there were perfectly explainable reasons for whatever was going on. Even if they didn't tell me those reasons.

I was almost to the outside of the school when I felt that something was following me.

I stopped outside the doors and turned around to be sure.

Only to come face to face with a Russel Orange human skull. Up close like this, it kind of reminded me of Halloween decorations I'd see at pop-up seasonal stores. Unlike the glass-like appearance of Fethris' handiwork, this was opaque and resembled something far closer to plastic.

"Hello," I greeted. Expecting it to not respond back to me. At least not verbally.

It stared for a moment.

I stared back.

It couldn't blink, being just a skull and all.

I did and let out a sigh before and trying to not think about how I got to this point. "Did you want something? Did Russel give you orders?"

It continued to just float there.

"Where exactly are the others meeting?" I tried. This was either the right question or close enough to prompt a reaction. It floated slowly to in front of me.

It rattled as it floated off slowly.

Yep. This was my life, following a floating skull into the woods. I silently apologized to every horror movie lead I ever made fun of. If this was a movie someone would be yelling at me for sure.

I recognized the trail it led me down. It was the same one that led up to Spina Deorum, which I hadn't been to since the bet with Celica.

Then it veered off, slowly enough that I could follow though.

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After only another moment of walking I could hear familiar voices. More than the four I was expecting.

Finally stepping into the clearing confirmed my fears. What were Albenion, Jade and Angelina doing here? And why did they all look…upset?

"Um…sorry I'm late?" I offered.

"We have a problem," Jarec started.

"Problem's a bit of an understatement," Celica scoffed.

"We don't know that yet," Albenion responded he kept looking at Jarec. Who's entire body was tense and stiff.

"Something happened," I concluded.

"Death's Echo has gone missing from the Gallery Hall. They don't have the specifics yet," Fethris said. His voice was even, but it was fake. A façade of calm.

"He means stolen," Russel added.

"We don't know that," Albenion said.

Museums don't just lose exhibits. Not ones they would put out on the floor for everyone to see, right? But maybe they had taken it out for like cleaning or something. An overworked intern could have misplaced it. "We can only know what they tell us. If they thought it was really stolen wouldn't they be working to get it back?" I asked.

"Please. That goes missing and you two are here. And right after the long lost Hearth heir comes back out of hiding? That's too suspicious." Jade was wringing their hands.

"Last time it left the Gallery a teacher here was murdered and several students were kidnapped right off of campus," Celica said it even though I certainly didn't need a reminder.

"It could be a coincidence. There's no proof that we're in danger or involved, is there?"

"You mean beyond the terrible timing?" Jarec asked.

Angelina was silent and frowning.

"Thoughts?" I prompted.

Her head snapped up, like she'd just remembered where she was. "I…I don't think it's an accident. I think someone here at the school is in danger. And I think it's someone we know."

Well there goes my one hope of optimism. How do I navigate this now? I really needed to figure out how to people. Think Serafina.

Celica reached over to her girlfriend and tugged at her hand.

Leader. Representative. What were they supposed to do in times of crisis?

I took a deep breath.

Come on Serafina, you have to say something.

"Speculating won't do us any good," I settled on. "We're all going home in what, a couple of weeks?" It was so close, yet we still had time. "There's not a lot of point in worrying now. If it was stolen, and it sounds like we haven't confirmed that yet, that doesn't mean it's going to put anything or anyone in danger."

Or anyone.

Except…that might not be true.

I took another deep breath and looked around. My attempt had failed.

"I don't…I don't know what my future holds. And I don't know what to say here. The world does what it does. The best we can do is adapt."

"Wait and see is the best you have?" Jade commented.

"I'm not a leader type. I just…do we even have any proof that whoever took it intends to do harm here?"

"It's Death's Echo. That thing can only do harm," Jarec countered.

"Assuming whoever has it can even get into the school," I told him. "Which they probably can't."

"I'm not putting my faith in probably," Russel scoffed.

"What would someone have to do to break into the school?" Albenion turned to Jarec who was frowning.

"If they're over nineteen and don't have special permission charms, they'd have to break the repellent shields. Which would set off alarms," Jarec explained. That sounded familiar. Something in the information the school sent us could have mentioned it. "They can be disabled, but only Tower Heads and the Headmaster can do that."

I remembered Mom's words of Merripen having potential inside help. Now was not the time to mention them for sure. But perhaps something worth remembering.

"Which I can't imagine any of them doing," I commented instead. Aetos might hate me, but it didn't seem the 'murder/risk getting someone killed' type of hate.

"Since you're the only one here's who met all the Tower Heads, I'm inclined to trust you on that," Fethris backed me up. So reliable.

"Thank you," I told him before turning back to the others. "Look. I think if any of the staff thought there was a real threat, they'd tell us. Right? And if there hasn't been then we have nothing to worry about. If they aren't worried, there's no reason for us to be."

I didn't like the look on Fethris' face.

But Jade seemed to be convinced. They clasped their hands together in a way I'd seen Mom do a few times. "She's probably right."

Finally.

Angelina frowned deeper.

"I'm not saying that it's nothing. That would be a lie and I've had my fill of those. I just…panicking until we know more won't help. And maybe by then it will have been found."

I hoped. But they probably didn't know that I had no idea what I was doing.

Or maybe they did. I couldn't read their minds, just as they couldn't read mine.

"Blind fear will do us no good," I continued as I finally gathered my thoughts. "But we can still keep ears out if anything else happens, okay?"

Was it a compromise or just me grasping at straws? Would they even know the difference?

"I suppose there's nothing else we can do. At least for now," Angelina conceded. She didn't look happy about it though.

"And if that changes, we'll figure this out. No one do anything stupid, promise?"

She nodded and after a moment there was a wave of affirmations. Okay. I hadn't completely mucked this up. Probably.

But perhaps that was good enough for now.

(*********)

I stared down into the teacup. A green blend of matcha and mint.

I needed to think. Or maybe think less? I told the others not to panic but…

My own thoughts felt too loud. Too many pieces.

Red. The Wraith. Jantres. The Echoes. My curse. Dragon Tower.

Death's Echo. Jantres' knife that turns victims into wraiths. Like the one in the attic of Dragon Tower. And the only way anything undead can enter school grounds. The Scarred Wraith. Red's killer. This could be bad, but what could we do about it?

"Do you think we can do this?" I asked. Not that I knew what 'this' was. And wasn't that the issue? So many things around me but what did I have to do with any of it? What could I do about any of it?

Silence. Somehow, worse than if it just said no.

"I wanted a fresh start. I got that. I thought I knew the price I would have to pay. And I was okay with that. But I think the price tag for this might be bigger than I ever expected. But I have to get through this. For all our sakes. If anything happens…they'll all be stuck in other Towers, won't they?"

More silence.

"They chose me to represent them. And that seems to have bled into me being some kind of leader. I have to do my best. I have to. This, they, are too important. Whatever is waiting for me, I have to conquer it."

Behind me, on the wall by the stairs, was the knock pattern again.

Once. Three times. Pause. Twice.

"I'm a Dragon too. That means something. I just have to make sure it's a good something."

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