The smell of freshly printed paper was oddly satisfying, though Cal could do without the deafening sound of the printing machines.

A heavy door was shut and he could once again hear himself think.

"You seem to be holding up well."

Anne stated while rounding the desk and taking a seat opposite him. On her request, he was back in the bowels of the newspaper club's bunker.

"And you don't." The slightly dark circles under her eyes didn't escape his notice, despite what looked like attempts to conceal it. His words caused a dower expression to overcome her and he realized he'd put his foot in his mouth. "Sorry, didn't mean to say that. I meant…you know what let's just pretend I didn't say anything at all."

There was a bit of irony that while she looked to be lacking it, Cal had been getting sleep for the first time in a while. Since the slip-up after their night out, he found himself easing up on his paranoia. Out here, in the middle of foreign territory, there was no one out to get him. Sure, some might be after Callum Ardere but they weren't after him.

And he could be a pain in the ass to deal with.

He wasn't making a habit of it but dozing off during a class or two? It didn't sound that bad.

"Lets." She took a sip of the mug cradled in her hands, closing her eyes to savor the taste. Cal had set his aside after a single taste. It was the worst cup of coffee he'd ever had. "I know it's not the most popular of brews but it reminds me of home."

Were they making small talk? When she texted that they needed to talk he thought it would be some urgent thing like the Justiciars grilling her.

"That's nice…"

To be polite he should probably ask about 'home' but he would rather get the point of why he was here.

"It's to the north of here. Normally the colder climate wouldn't allow them to grow but my older sister managed to design a method to accomplish it." In his opinion, she might want to revisit the drawing board. "The land is reclaimed but my family has put a considerable amount of resources into its development. We expect to continue at a sustainable if aggressive pace."

Reclaimed from the Waste that is. If what Olivia told him about the Empire's track record for dealing with Beast Waves was correct, they were in a precarious position.

Was that something he should say? It felt like pointing out the obvious.

"It's a large endeavor but my father was granted title on his own merits. People like to talk about the disadvantages younger families endure but there are benefits as well. We're far less rigid than our older counterparts, able to embrace change at a much quicker pace."

Apparently, they liked to brag just as much as the old ones.

"You're a martial house then?"

From what Claire had crammed in his head, the most common way to be raised to a noble title was from military accomplishment. However, unless her father was older than most he would have been too young to be in the last war.

"No, we were granted our Barony due to meritorious contribution to the Empire."

If he recalled correctly, that was code for 'they bought their title'. Which meant they probably weren't fighters. Did they have any idea what their money got them or was this a giant grift?

The Empire was essentially receiving cash for useless tracts of land. Either the land was fixed up and produced tax revenue or the new house gets washed away in the next wave and the Empire gets to sell it to another sucker.

He was probably being too cynical here. On the off chance he wasn't, he could spare a word of advice.

"I grew up in a village bordering the Waste." It was the truth if you swapped out the village for a cabin and bordering for damn near the center of it. "It got wiped out by a wave. I'd rather not dwell on it but I managed to see something interesting. There were some beasts that acted almost as instigators. They weren't necessarily the strongest but they steered the rest of the host forward."

While he couldn't take credit for its discovery, he had independently reached the same conclusion as Federation researchers. There was always a handful who worked like sheepdogs, nipping at the heels of their herd to drive them where they wanted. Given that beasts were prone to attack each other as much as humans, it wasn't a simple task.

Try as they might, no one had been able to come up with a compelling reason for this behavior.

"Most of them charge towards the nearest threat but if you look at the outskirts, you might see one skirting the edges constantly. It was weird, even shied away when some soldiers confronted it."

It was easy to be surprised that such a basic idea could be hidden knowledge but it wasn't like many people had a chance to think about anything besides survival when facing down a wave. He wasn't sure if it was privileged information but figured it was the sort of thing everyone was better off knowing.

"Killing it probably won't stop it outright but their cohesion should fall apart."

It turned waves from a wall of bloodthirsty beasts to a mosh pit of bloodthirsty beasts, which was a marked improvement but still pretty bad if you happened to be in the middle of it.

Prior to his arrival, the Federation already had it down to a science. It was deemed too risky to engage deep inside the Waste so the defense was closer to the border. Their military would dig in based on the wave's trajectory and draw most of its ire while special teams or a single able individual would be tasked with taking out the instigators. Once they were killed, a specialized form of bait was deployed in the rear of the horde. That usually halted the rest of its momentum. After that, it was a grind until the last of them was eliminated.

The new method was vastly cheaper in terms of resources. It involved firing him into the center of it and saturating the area with artillery. Had it not been his idea in the first place he might have been offended by it.

With the chaos heavy ordinance caused, it was easy for him to move about and find his targets. He ripped through anything in his way and if they happened to get lucky? Well, he still got the last laugh.

Now why they thought concentrated shelling would work against him was truly a mystery. He imagined some analyst had been canned for coming up with that part of the contingency.

"Hmm," Anne set down the mug, sending him a searching look. "then you could say my house's lands could feel like home then?"

Had he just wasted his breath? It was as if she'd not heard a word he said.

"I guess?"

Cal decided it must be the sleep deprivation getting to her.

"I'm glad," Heedless of his internal criticism, she spared him a faint smile. "There is another reason I requested a meeting here." He was beginning to wonder about that… "Ryan told me what you saw."

That was a loaded statement, he gave a non-committal shrug.

"That makes this next part, straightforward."

Anne produced a key and unlocked a drawer, placing a folder on the desk. She tapped it once before sliding it over.

Cal reached out, pausing to look at her and receiving a nod. He flipped it open, examining its contents.

He refused to believe this to be a coincidence and he couldn't help but release a chuckle.

"Recreational drugs and performance boosters, that's what you called." Part of him felt played but he hushed it. "That's not how I would describe modified cores."

When he first asked about suspicious clubs, the Beasts Husbandry Club had been mentioned but it was one of several. Cal hadn't placed any particular importance on it. It was on the 'do eventually' list.

"Yes, well I didn't know you." Anne didn't seem put off by his slight accusation. "These aren't allegations I can afford to throw around."

And he was suddenly trustworthy? Then again, he did owe her.

"Is this the investigative work you talked about? How long were you planning this?"

It wasn't a thick folder but it didn't look to be a day's work.

"You make it sound sinister. I was just curious about what you could dig up. Now that we're on the same page I don't have to mince words. I've been looking into them ever since they got their hooks into Gregor."

He hummed in acknowledgment, that was solid reasoning. Going through the pages, he methodically absorbed every piece of information. When he was finished he calmly closed it and addressed the girl waiting for him.

"You think they're sourcing them from outside the city and smuggling them in with their club supplies?"

She had cataloged what aerial beast they had on hand and what directions they flew out of.

"It's a theory." She got out quickly, brushing her hair back. "I write puff pieces. Something like this is the best I can do."

He wouldn't get tunnel-visioned on that angle then. Not that he was planning on it, the cores themselves weren't the concern. It was the knowledge and means of summoning. He couldn't see them being able to smuggle everything they needed via the air.

"Shouldn't you drop this on the laps of the Justiciars? Doesn't make sense to give it to me."

It worked out for him to be given it directly but he had to wonder about the stability of the country if its future leaders didn't trust their basic institutions.

"If it was more concrete I would do just that but all I have is theories and hearsay. I also don't want my name in any way associated with it, the Justiciars have a spotty record with that. You already proved yourself capable of this type of work."

He was happy to avoid the specifics of how he had done that if she was.

"Still seems a bit much to heave on a student, I mean there's not much I can do."

Cal mused out loud, more for his own amusement than anything. His suspicion spiked when she found the window to be suddenly worth her avid attention.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"There's another reason you're giving this to me, isn't there?"

Anne watched him from the corner of her eye, not quite meeting his stare. Cal crossed his arms, content to wait her out. Seconds turned to minutes and he was reconsidering whether or not to give the coffee a second chance when she spoke again.

"I figured when something went wrong your sister would burn down their operation."

Huh. It was funny how often history repeated itself.

—

"Where are you going?"

Cal hadn't even left his chair before Lily's sharp voice interrupted him.

"The bathroom?" He tried his best to convey the essence of truth with the blatant lie. It might have worked better if he hadn't already used it before.

"Nice try, sit down." She said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Cal settled back down, looked at the study materials for a moment, and then at his current warden.

"Is this really necessary?"

It wasn't whining if he had legitimate grievances. There were a lot of better things he could be doing right now.

"Do you think I want to be here? Maybe don't fail next time."

Cal didn't know how to feel about Lily being the supposed 'tutor'. She had never struck him as the studious type.

"I didn't." He'd gotten the results of his exams last week and he had high enough marks. He was only finding out now their definitions didn't match up. "I only got a couple wrong. It's not a big deal."

And it was a couple, maybe one or two on each. They were probably worded horribly or he had just read them too quickly.

"You're ignoring the one you skipped out entirely on." She waved a hand in his direction, preempting his retort. "I know, I know. But the why doesn't change your average from tanking."

Whatever happened in magical engineering wasn't going to help with it. Hopefully, Wyatt's laziness would translate to the time it took for him to score things.

Cal sighed, grabbing the stack of flashcards Lily had made and flicking one across the table. He knew that one pretty well anyway. Looking at the next one, he discarded it like the last. It was hard to pretend to care about this stuff.

"What is with you two," Lily murmured and he detected a hint of exasperation. "Fess up. What shit are you getting into?" She flung a card back at him, leveling an unimpressed stare his way. "I can see you're antsy. Spill."

Cal wasn't sure what she was talking about. Wanting to blow off studying seemed like the most normal part about him.

"I prefer being outdoors. No need to start an inquisition."

Frankly, as long as there was something going on like the rustling of leaves or the tic of a clock, he didn't much care where he was.

A buzz of a phone would also work, like the one he just heard. Lily fished in her pocket, her expression souring upon reading something.

"One of your new friends is here. In the lobby." He could see her scrolling until she gave up and placed it facedown on the table. "And there's the second. Want to bet if one of them is heading up here?"

The room's reservation was on the books so it wasn't like they were hiding. That being said…

"I'm not sure about you but I don't feel like dealing with them. What do you say we call it early."

If they were deadset on speaking then they'd track him down at the dorms. But that would be a problem for future Cal and fuck that guy.

"They're not dumb. If they're here for us they'll be covering the entrance. We can't leave without causing a scene."

True, jumping out a window or running past them would cause a stir. However, there was another option. One he'd been meaning to take a closer look at.

"Sure about that?" He gathered his belongings quickly and made for the door, looking over his shoulder to see Lily hadn't yet moved. "C'mon, I got a secret."

"Just one?" Lily muttered, following after him. It was quiet enough to be discreet but loud enough for him to know he was meant to hear it. He didn't humor her with a response.

He navigated towards the staircase and made it down two flights when he took an abrupt detour. Slinking behind a staircase, he was happy Lily didn't need to be prompted to mirror his actions. Footsteps tapped their way past and he gave it a few more seconds before emerging again and motioning to his partner in not-crime.

He was reasonably confident that had been one of them walking by.

They made it to the basement without further issues. He paced slowly through the corridors.

When Mia had led him down here he wasn't thinking of secret passageways and so hadn't committed to memory the path they took. Either way that would slightly defeat the purpose, the point was to find new routes. Not wanting to be caught in the tunnels was great and all but with a group in mind he wanted a firmer grasp on how they could sneak the materials needed for a summoning on campus.

He paused in front of a bookshelf, the familiar magic was felt faintly behind it. Sticking out a finger, he injected a sliver of his magic into the spine of a book.

Nothing happened.

Not to be easily dissuaded, he began running his finger across the entire row. And then the next.

"If you're trying to creep me out, congrats." Lily's dry tone was matched only by the ancient books in front of him. "It's working."

"There's a passage behind this thing." Cal stroked his chin in thought. He was doing it the same way Mia had. "I don't know why it's not working."

"You sure about that?"

Cal nodded absentmindedly. Maybe it was light magic he needed to work with? How did that go again?

He was reaching out to try again when a hand patted his shoulder. Lily didn't give an explanation before pulling him back and stepping closer to the disguised passage.

She pointed a finger at it as he did.

Fine, he'd let her fail before showing her how it was done.

The finger curled back and a fist rammed into the shelf, piercing through the wood. She swung her lodged hand up and down before reeling it back and taking the hidden door with her. It dropped to the side with a thump.

"I could have done that," Cal commented, noting the hypocrisy of her calling him a brute.

"But you didn't." She stepped to the side, waving him forward. "Lead on."

Cal stepped into the dark tunnel, walking with purpose. He had no clue where this thing led.

"Soooo," The echoes of their steps were interrupted by a questioning voice behind him. "You're not going to kill me down here are you?"

Cal gave a half-hearted attempt at a villainous laugh, prompting a flame to ignite in his open palm and turning to find Lily looking at him with a blank expression.

"I already made that joke and no." He closed his hand, extinguishing the flame. "For the record, it didn't land."

He blamed the stoic nature of his audience and continued forward.

"Who?"

Ah, he avoided the interrogation upstairs only to end up in another. Typical.

"No one important."

He stated vaguely, tracing his hands on the old stone. Dusty and devoid of markings. Did people just memorize the layout?

"I don't believe you."

Yeah, neither did he.

"For my continued sanity, drop it."

The path forked ahead and he chose one at random. Worst case scenario they'd have to dig their way out.

"If you say so. You know I heard rumors about these things but I've never seen them."

So it wasn't something everyone was using on the side. The fewer people who used them the simpler things would be.

He didn't respond and the conversation lulled. As they traversed, the stale air transitioned into something fresher.

Interesting.

Pushing his senses, nothing else seemed off which only heightened his alert. He subtly looked back at Lily, seeing that her eyes were narrowed and her jaw rigid.

He ducked close to her side and whispered.

"Backtrack?"

As much as he wanted to figure out what was going on ahead, dragging Lily into it sounded like a terrible idea. The problem was convincing her.

"Yes." She muttered back with a focused gaze.

"I don't think-." His carefully worded argument was aborted. "Sorry. Didn't expect you to agree with me."

She shot him a look telling him exactly what she thought about that.

He turned to retrace his steps when Lily's loud voice belted behind him.

"Changed my mind." Without consulting, she let her gait carry down the passage. "Pick your jaw up, places to be."

Cal debated leaving her, she could handle herself. Ultimately, he followed in her wake. If only to throw it in her face when this went south.

They went down a small incline and after some time light could be seen ahead. He slowed and considered deafening his approach before deciding against it. Lily was acting boldly and he was aware there must have been a reason.

There was a corner up ahead and his senses told him nothing was on the other side. That set off all sorts of flags.

Lily rounded it with brazen disregard and Cal trailed behind her, keeping his guard up.

What met them were pillars of bleached stone. The ceiling they held up was obscured by rolling clouds but that wasn't where his attention lay. No, that was reserved for the pentagram drawn on the floor. Cal frowned. He'd come across plenty of summonings and this, unfortunately, didn't look like one.

The clouds parted and a man drifted down. One he'd seen once before.

"I've been meaning to speak with you two."

Lily tilted her head Cal's way and gave him a sly smile before waving at the man. He resisted the urge to hurl an expletive at her. Or something with a bit more oomph.

"Heya headmaster, how's it going?"