The Book of Miranda | gxg | ✔︎

(35) Forgive Us Our Trespasses

We eventually leave the judged students with their bodyguards outside the school walls, where they won't be visible from any of the building's windows. I'm glad we lay them out under a blue sky, dotted with puffy white clouds like some old lady's ornamental wig. The last thing we need is a bunch of unconscious, freshly exorcized students catching colds and needing medical attention. We don't have the means yet to transport them to any towns nearby.

I don't even know if there are any towns nearby. All maps we've seen have a blot or gap over this area, and the only exception predates the Sectant Expulsion. Not exactly an up-to-date record of local human habitation. I resign myself to the fact that that's probably a question for after the demon's defeat. If we win, we'll have all the time in the world. If we lose, where we flee won't matter anyway. Those who make it out alive will be more concerned with just getting as far away as they can.

"Won't the teachers notice that these guys are missing?" I ask Exie, with a nod towards the students we've left to guard the judged.

She shakes her head. "We're hoping to hide people all over the school. Well, in places that will divert teachers away from the staircase, at least. You two will need to get to the second floor."

I groan. In ye olde fairy tales, people simply climb walls of ivy to reach the upper floors of ancient buildings, but we're in no such luck here. Even if Melliford Academy had a convenient vegetative sweater, I wouldn't have the arm strength to climb it. I'm no waif, either, and I've heard ivy is less robust than people give it credit for. That leaves the only second-floor entrance we've ever found: the secret staircase that claimed Colson II.

"Getting you in is the bigger problem," says Exie. "We found the tunnel entrance in the library, but that's a long way from the staircase. We'd have to sneak you both in, and I don't like the chances of getting caught somewhere along the hallway."

"Wait."

I squint at absolutely nothing, not because it helps me remember anything, but because it feels like it should. It doesn't take much thought to confirm what I've realized anyway.

"Exie? Don't worry about us getting in. I have a way, and it's only a few doors down from the staircase. If no one's found it, that is."

Exie gives me a look of trepidation.

"We'll figure something out if they have," I say. My time in that prison cell might have converted me from complete whirlwind to at least partial planner, but I've never been one to adhere to any particular worship system. I'm just not as committed to the Church of Chaos as I used to be.

"Alright," says Exie. "Where do you need us to divert the teachers from, then?"

"North wing."

"The classrooms?"

"Yeah. If they're out of sight of the staircase, that's good enough."

Exie nods slowly. "Okay. Once you're on the second floor, you'll have to move quickly, though. There are a lot of rooms up there."

I expect her to press me for more of a plan, but she doesn't. I'd almost forgotten what having someone's trust felt like.

I elaborate anyway. "If a teacher comes upstairs, we can just hide in one of the rooms. If they're bedrooms or offices, there's probably plenty of furniture."

Closets, bedframes, tables, and desks, not to mention behind curtains or into secret bookshelf passageways. We're not going to find the latter in the non-time we have for exploration, but going to ground is one thing I feel I can manage on the fly. I locate Barnabas to check how he feels about this, but he's stepped back to let the two of us keep scheming. I guess we've garnered a bit of a reputation.