Where Monsters Lie (The Monster Within 2)
I don’t reply. This is what I wanted … isn’t it? To be apart from him, to watch him suffer, even. Watching him poke his spoon into his bowl and staring down at the food in front of him as if he’s not seeing it, I wonder what got into me.
That pang settles in the pit of my stomach, and this time, it won’t go away.
I finish my food and stand up. “I’ve gotta go see a professor,” I tell them. “I have some questions about the new semester.”
No one questions this, much to my relief—because what I really want to do is talk to Helsing. He was the one bolstering my confidence, egging me toward revenge. Maybe I just need my perspective shifted. At the very least, I need advice.
At the door to the dining hall, I pause to watch Piers, Owen, Bennett, Erin, and Luiza at the table. They’re talking and laughing together. It dawns on me that this is the first time we’ve all been friendly with each other.
My feet take me to Helsing’s office, but it’s dark and locked up tight. Helsing is nowhere to be found. I glance around and spot Professor Jaxton’s office with its door open.
I knock on Jaxton’s door and poke my head inside. He glances up from his well-organized desk.
“Miss Black?” he says softly.
“Um, I was just wondering where Professor Helsing is?” I ask.
Jaxton cocks his head at me. “He’s not back from winter break yet.”
“Oh. When will he be back?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Oh.” I look around awkwardly. He’s got a lot of model skeletons in his office. “Why isn’t he back yet?”
“That’s Professor Helsing’s business,” Jaxton replies crisply, “and none of your concern.” He glances at the clock on his desk. “You’d better go get prepared for class.”
I know when I’m being dismissed, and I don’t know Jaxton well enough to press him for more information. I walk back to my dorm in confusion, hoping to ask Erin instead.
Chapter Seventeen
The start of the semester makes Erin so busy that I rarely see her. We’re never in the dorm at the same time anym
ore, and we don’t have time to talk during class. It doesn’t help that she’s usually somewhere with Luiza, and I don’t want to interrupt their time together.
A week passes without me being able to ask her about Helsing. One Saturday, however, after spending the morning with Piers, Owen, and Bennett—who have been wonderfully friendly ever since we got back from our hunts—I see her in the corridor with none other than Roland Skinner.
Skinner doesn’t seem to have a new contract for me, so Erin must be talking to him for her own reasons. I walk up, confused, but hoping to talk to both of them.
“Ah, Miss Black,” Skinner says brightly when he sees me. Erin grins at me.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I’m going to be studying with Mr. Skinner during my free time!” Erin replies excitedly.
It doesn’t exactly sound like the sort of thing I’d like to do in my free time, so I have to paste a fake smile on my face and try to look happy for her.
“She’s got quite the mind for monster law,” Skinner adds. “She may have a bright future as a lawyer.”
“I was kinda hoping to talk to you, actually,” I say to him.
He grins. “Oh?”
“Yeah. I may need some help with something. Can I talk to you sometime?” I glance over my shoulder. “In private?”
“Of course, Miss Black. I’ll help in any way I can.” He pulls a business card out of his pocket and hands it to me. “Regrettably, I’ll be out of the country for the next month for an important case, but I’ve been staying in the village. My address is on the card. Come see me when I get back. As for you, Miss Helsing,” he says, turning to Erin, “I’m delighted to have you as an assistant. Perhaps you’ll surpass even me when you decide to become a lawyer.”
Erin laughs. “Oh, I know I’ll surpass you.”