Domrik’s basement glowed with blue light, the source of which hovered above his desk. He sat holding his forehead in his hands. The day had been long with teaching classes, and he felt like sleeping, but he knew this was the time the real work began.

In truth, the class was also the real work, but only the few students who became adept enough would ever discover that. It was better than nothing, though Domrik felt he was running out of time. Zandith was becoming more aggressive and less subtle with his schemes, yet they still had no discernable pattern.

In the past few months alone, the disappearances became more frequent. First, some doctors never made it home. Then, a farmer disappeared just before he purchased a hemberry field. Several engineers vanished from their construction sites, and the companies were even denying they knew the lost workers.

Domrik called Eleanor on his screen and waited for her to answer. This was about to be the most informative weekly meeting yet. Since she worked with Brandon, so perhaps she knew more than him about Brandon.

She took much longer than usual to answer, over a minute. When her aged face appeared on screen, he bowed. “Madam.”

“Master,” she replied, nodding her head. She was at her desk in her bedroom as usual, though her face had lost some of its serenity. Her attempt at a welcoming smile was valiant but not good enough.

“Lovely earrings,” Domrik said.

“Thank you,” Eleanor said, reaching up to feel one of them. “They were a gift from a friend.”

The hair on the back of Domrik’s neck stood on end. Somehow, that statement was a lie. He just knew it. But why would she lie about something like that? He decided to let it go and get on with the meeting. “I assume you know about Brandon.”

She frowned. “Yes, I do. So sad, but I’m glad nobody was killed.”

“That means you must know about his son, Evan.”

She nodded gravely. “Brandon called me from prison.”

“At least I don’t have the burden of enlightening you,” he said with a smirk. “The police have extracted the security camera footage, and it’s now highly classified.” He proceeded to describe the scene using details from both the security footage and Evan’s own recounting of the event.

Eleanor put a hand on her cheek. “Poor thing. To think that someone would do that to an innocent kid.”

“Unfortunately, even a close encounter with the Scythe didn’t provide much of a lead. He used a very complex illusion, several layers deep. It will take a miracle to find him at this rate. Do you have any of those handy?”

She rolled her eyes at his joke. “I wish they worked that way. Other than trying to find a substitute teacher that is half as capable as Brandon at teaching Aetheric Mechanics, I have nothing to report.”

Domrik narrowed his eyes slightly. That last statement wasn’t exactly true. “Madam, are you hiding a valuable piece of information from this meeting?”

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She looked shocked. “Why would I do that?”

“Does it have to do with those earrings?”

“No,” she insisted. “I said, they were a gift from a friend.”

He could sense the tension in her voice. She had tried to sound irritated, but the fear was still there. He was on to something, but she couldn’t tell him. He nodded in acceptance. “I see.”

“Any news from your students?” She asked in an overly curious tone.

“Not much, though Jase thinks he’s on the trail of one of the Scythe’s Ghosts. His neighbor’s dog was murdered in an empty alleyway after it went sniffing astray. The owner found the dog just in time to see a red flash come from nowhere and pierce the dog’s skull. Since then, the owner has been too scared to leave her home, even for groceries.”

“Where did this happen?”

“Somewhere in old town Ridgemire, near the museum. You will have to contact Jase to get all the details.”

Eleanor nodded and wrote a note for herself. “You know, it would be much more convenient to have them all here so we’re not bottlenecked by time.”

“Yes, but we’ve agreed to keep these meetings as confidential as possible. They don’t even know we meet weekly. They just know that I’m in contact with someone. If they were in on these meetings and the Scythe captures one of them, then it will only be a matter of time before these meetings are compromised and we come under attack. Also, there are things we discuss that they would be better off not knowing.”

“Point taken. I suppose I’m used to board meetings where everyone is always on the same page. I’m not a fan of classifying by rank. It makes everything feel disconnected.”

“We both know it’s more secure this way,” Domrik said. “Though, you are always welcome to suggest someone new I can interview to join these meetings.”

“I have been looking casually, but I haven’t found anyone else.”

Another lie. Domrik shook his head. “Madam, you know I can tell when you are lying, correct?”

Eleanor stiffened slightly. “Yes, I am aware, but consider that it’s for good reason.” She gave him a confiding smile.

“I can only hope so. Is there anything else you are willing to share?” He was careful to phrase the question appropriately. He knew she wanted to tell him things, but that she was unwilling. It was up to him to find out why.

“That’s all I have for tonight,” she said, avoiding eye contact. She managed to straighten herself back up for her parting words. “Stay safe, Master.”

Domrik bowed. “Likewise, Madam.”

Eleanor ended the call quickly. She had never been so eager to leave these calls. He had known her for many years, even before they started their secret meetings. She had always been excellent at compartmentalizing her life, keeping her troubles from interfering from all the other aspects of her life.

Now, something was overflowing, something that couldn’t be contained or controlled. Domrik knew it had to do with her earrings. She claimed they were a gift from a friend, and that statement was a lie, but which part? The gift, the friend, or both?

He picked up an old rubber ball and bounced it off the wall, catching it on the rebound. He sat back in his chair and repeated the action, mulling over the problem in his mind. It probably wasn’t the friend part. A non-friend wouldn’t give her such a valuable gift, or she would quickly consider them a friend. It had to at least be the gift part. The earrings weren’t a gift. But what did that mean? Did she find them lying on the sidewalk and decide they were hers? No, she had more integrity than that.

Domrik caught the ball and let it drop onto the armrest of the chair. His hand stayed open in the air as the ball bounced on the concrete floor. Of course, he had missed the obvious the whole time, but he needed to confirm with her first.

He typed a message into an email to Eleanor. It read “How did the game go today?”

He sent it and waited on the edge of his seat. Seconds later, the reply came. She must have been expecting the email. It read “We lost, horribly.”

Domrik took a deep breath as fear shot through his body. He was right. The earrings were for spying, probably from the Scythe himself. He now realized how humorous his previous statement about his students potentially compromising the meetings was.

He immediately sent a message to each of his Level Seven students, telling them to be careful of what they said or did around Eleanor. For a long time, she had been an asset to his team. Now, she was a liability.