Allie made an impatient noise – she knew all this already. Lucinda paused. When she spoke again, her tone was more urgent.
‘Allie, so far we’ve failed to keep you safe. We failed your friend Jo most of all. And I am truly sorry about that. But if I promised you nobody else will be hurt, I’d be lying. This is a dangerous situation.’
Her words rang true. Allie’s heart speeded up and she squeezed the phone tight, as if afraid it might escape.
‘I know exactly what Nathaniel’s thugs did to her and to you. If I were you, I’d want to run as far and fast as I could to put all this behind me. But no matter how fast you run, Nathaniel will find you in the end.’ Lucinda’s tone intensified. ‘So don’t run, Allie. Stay. And fight back with me.’
Allie was stunned. Was her grandmother asking for her help?
‘Fight back?’ she asked. ‘How?’
‘Nathaniel is out of control, Allie, and I want to see him suffer. I want his plans crushed. I want his hired guns in prison. I want to find out which of our friends is helping him, and I want to deal with that person myself.’ Lucinda’s words were as cold and precise as an ice-pick. ‘I want everything Nathaniel cares about destroyed. But to do that, I need your help. If you stay at Cimmeria, I promise you, Gabe will suffer for what he did. And so will the person who opened the gates that night and let him in.’
The venom in her tone left Allie with no doubts about whether Lucinda was serious.
Revenge. The idea grew in her mind until it blocked out everything else. She could avenge Jo’s death. Pay her killers back for what they’d done.
But to do that she’d have to trust Lucinda. And could she do that? On what would she base this trust? A word. A feeling. The delicate, twisting strands of DNA that connected them.
It wasn’t enough. She needed to be certain that Lucinda was trustworthy. She needed to know more.
‘Why can’t we just call the police?’ she asked. ‘If we tell them what’s happened they’d arrest him. Wouldn’t they?’
Lucinda’s hesitation was slight, but Allie noticed it. ‘I’m afraid that at the moment the government minister in charge of policing finds Nathaniel very convincing.’
Puzzled, Allie frowned at the phone. Why would a government minister listen to Nathaniel? He was utterly mad. But then she thought about the way the local police officers had acted this morning and her heart went cold.
Her voice was plaintive. ‘But the police should arrest him. How is this even possible?’
‘It’s all about power,’ Lucinda said. ‘And control. I have it. Nathaniel wants it. It is that simple.’
‘No, it’s not simple,’ Allie said sharply. ‘Because I don’t understand it at all.’
‘Yes you do. Think it through, Allie.’ Lucinda’s response was low and dangerous. ‘After all these months, don’t you know what you’re part of? In your heart, don’t you already know?’
The phone felt hot in Allie’s hands as her mind flipped through the last few months – the things she’d been told. Bits of information like puzzle pieces sliding into place.
Night School is part of a much larger organisation… Cimmeria is more powerful than you know… The Board of Night School is also the Board of the Organisation… The board controls everything… The prime minister… Several ministers are coming to the ball… Lucinda is in charge of the board… The government… Lucinda…
How can you not know?
‘Night School controls the government.’ Allie’s words came out in a whisper, but as soon as she said them she was certain she was right.
‘Not Night School,’ Lucinda corrected her. ‘But the organisation.’
For a long moment Allie sat still, trying to absorb all this information. It was too much to grasp. Too horrible to accept.
‘I don’t…’ she said. ‘I mean… how?’
Lucinda’s reply was brisk. ‘The important thing is that it does. And if Nathaniel defeats me, all that power will be his. He will be unstoppable.’
Imagining a world in which Nathaniel ran everything, Allie bit her lip so hard it bled – the coppery taste was bitter on her tongue.
‘You can’t let that happen.’
This was what Lucinda was waiting for. She pounced. ‘I want to stop him. But I can’t do it without you. So… will you stay and fight with me?’
There was no doubt in Allie’s mind any more. It was so much worse than she’d thought – so much more dangerous and frightening. She didn’t have a choice… did she?
‘Yes,’ she said tiredly. ‘I’ll stay.’
‘Good.’ Lucinda sounded grimly pleased. ‘But now that you know what’s at stake I expect you to be part of this. You’re in danger no matter where you are – even at Cimmeria. We don’t know who the spy is among us so you must be constantly alert.’
‘I will be,’ Allie said numbly.
Lucinda continued, ‘Do everything Isabelle asks without question; I trust her completely and you should do the same.’
Allie’s eyes were drawn to where the headmistress sat watching her, a pen forgotten in her hand. Perhaps she could hear Lucinda’s voice through the phone; her gaze was sharp and knowing.
‘OK.’
‘It won’t be easy,’ Lucinda warned her. ‘You have a great deal of atoning to do for last night’s incident. Isabelle will punish you and it won’t be pleasant – she is very angry with you. I expect you to do every piece of menial, exhausting, pointless labour she hands you without complaint. Also, there must be no more running away – I can’t protect you if I don’t know where you are. In fact, there can be no more breaking of The Rules whatsoever – those Rules will keep you alive. And finally, even with all this happening, you are still in school so you must catch up on your coursework and excel in your lessons. Are we agreed?’