Secret of the Sevens (18 page)

Thirty-one

Rumors spread all morning, but the announcement at lunch makes it official: “Due to recent events and widespread vandalism, the Board has canceled all extracurricular activities for the fall season, pending investigation of these incidents.” Moans rise up across the crowded room. “In addition, the Board of Directors is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those involved.”

Kane said he could make things hard for my friends. Score one for the bad guy.

So why do I feel so guilty when I'm innocent? I stare at Laney's table and tug my ear when she glances over. She nods toward Kollin, but I shake my head. I really want to talk to her alone. My head is spinning about Marcus and the Sevens and Kane. Laney has a way of slowing the world down.

I scoop my lunch up. “Where you going now?” Marcus asks. There's an edge to his voice.

I'm too flustered to think of an excuse. “I've got a meeting with my counselor. I'll talk to you later.” I rush out and head down the hall.

I collapse in a chair in Solomon's room, tapping my fingers to the pounding in my head. The door slowly opens and I finally exhale. But it isn't Laney.

Marcus crosses his arms on his chest. “Meeting with
your counselor, huh? Does Ms. Bennett rent space from Solomon now?”

“What are you—”

“No!” Marcus says. “No more bullshit. I want to know what's going on. Why are you blowing your friends off, and where do you keep sneaking off to?”

He's pissed and he isn't gonna let this go. I can't tell him the truth, and my mind is racing too fast to come up with a lie.

“Tell me what the hell is up or I'm going to Boyle. I don't care if you are my best friend. If you have anything to do with this Sevens shit, you're screwing a lot of people. It ain't right. You're headed for trouble, Tal.”

I stare at him, emotionless.

“This is your last chance. Tell me who you're sneaking around with.”

“Me.”

Marcus twists toward the voice in the doorway. His jaw drops lower than mine when Laney repeats herself. “Talan's been sneaking around with me. We're hooking up. I didn't want Kollin to find out.”

Marcus glances between us, clearly not convinced. “Laney Shanahan—a cheat? No way. Plus, that doesn't explain the night of the dance. He lied about why he left early. You were there the whole time, Laney. You stayed later than anyone. You guys weren't hooking up that night.”

I walk around the desk to buy myself some time to think. “I was … jealous. Watching her with Kollin was bugging me, so I told Taylor I didn't feel good so I could go home.”

“But why wouldn't you tell me? It's not like I'd tattle to Kollin.” Marcus has this hurt look on his face—the kind you see on abused kids who know better than to trust people. “We've never kept a secret from each other before. I asked you a few weeks ago if something was going on with you and Laney. You straight up told me, ‘No way.'”

“He wanted to tell you, but we didn't have a choice,” Laney says. “We can't risk my parents finding out. Mom already caught us once. Remember when she called us into her office?” Marcus nods. “Mom caught me in Talan's bedroom. We made up an excuse, but now she's really watching us. If they learn Talan and I are in a relationship, they'll remove him from our home. There aren't any openings in any of the senior houses, so Talan would be referred out of Singer. He's eighteen now—too old for foster care placement. He'd be out on the street.”

Marcus shakes his head, then shrugs. “I don't know. It doesn't add up. You two sneaking around? You drive each other nuts.”

“Oh for Pete's sake.” Laney shoves Marcus aside, grabs the collar of my shirt, and pulls me into a knee-buckling kiss. With our lips locked, her hands slowly glide up my chest and around my neck. She kisses so good, I forget to breathe. All I can think about is how great this feels. How soft her hands are running through my hair. How warm her chest is against mine. How sweet her mouth is, and how great she tastes. She must have had strawberries for lunch. It's all better than I imagined.

Oh hell, who am I to waste an opportunity like this? I cup my hands around her bottom and scoop her body closer. Before you know it, I've forgotten Marcus is even there.

“Well, I'll be damned,” he says.

Laney pulls away to catch her breath, staring up at me with her face and lips all red.

Marcus shakes his head. “I never thought I'd see the day when Talan Michaels was whipped by a girl. What the hell is going on at this school? Grave robbings. Secret societies trashing campus. And Talan Michaels and Laney Shanahan falling for each other? I'm scared to drink the water.” He plods out of the room with a stunned expression.

“Thank you,” I tell Laney. “Really. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

She yanks her arms off my neck and backpedals. “I did it for the Sevens.”

“Sure you did.” I wink.

“What's with the tongue? And did you have to grab my butt?”

“My tongue wasn't rolling around by itself in there.” She's cute when she blushes. “And the butt grab? I did it for the Sevens too.”

“How noble of you.” She punches me hard. “So is that why you called me here?” She peeks out the door to make sure we're alone. “To tell me Marcus was suspicious of you?”

“Right. He accused me of being involved with the Sevens. Some of our tests happened the same nights as the vandalism, and I didn't exactly have good excuses for where I was. Then last night, I promised Marcus we'd practice drills and I forgot. I told him I was at the library, but my shoes were caked with mud from the woods. And, well, I guess you heard the rest of it.”

“That was close.”

“I hate lying, Laney.” The pounding in my head returns. “You heard that they're canceling all fall activities. Thank you, Stephen Kane. He told me he'd make things hard for my friends.”

“I know. Everyone here was already pissed at the Sevens for getting our curfew moved earlier. I heard them talking after the announcement today. They're also canceling senior night and the winter awards banquets. I've been looking forward to that since I started high school.”

“Marcus and some of the athletes will probably lose their scholarships over this.” I collapse in a chair. “I don't know what to do, Lane. It's my fault for opening my big mouth in the first place. Maybe we need to tell an adult.”

“You can't,” she barks. “We don't know who to trust. I mean it. I don't even want you telling my parents.”

“What about Solomon? If he's sending the clues, he needs to know what Kane is up to.”

“We don't know for certain it's him. You said it didn't sound like him on that phone call. And how could he navigate the tunnels at his age? Right now, the best thing we can do is finish these tests and find that Trust Protector Document.”

Thirty-two

There's a black envelope inside my locker the next morning. Ever since Marcus' interrogation, I'm paranoid people are watching me. I bury the note in my backpack and sneak to the bathroom to read it.

Fifth Test
-
Faith:

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't

see the whole staircase.”
-
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Time: Sunday, 7:00 P.M
Location: Even angels harden over the loss
of innocence.

Laney and Kollin are the only two in Solomon's room when I get there early for class. Kollin moves to stand watch by the door. “Did you get the note?”

I nod.

Kollin pokes his head into the hall again before grabbing the seat next to Delaney. “So Lane and I have been talking about this. We think the location refers to the mausoleum. The test will probably be waiting there for us on Sunday.”

“That's what I figured, too. We need to be extra careful,” I add. “Now we've got Kane and Boyle and most of the school after the Sevens.”

“About that … ” Kollin says. “Laney told me about your predicament with Marcus and with her mom's suspicions, and I came up with this great idea.”

“I can hardly wait to hear it.”

“I think you should fake like you're going out with Emily. It's the perfect alibi for Mrs. Shanahan. Emily's the perfect cover since you'll be together anyway for the rest of these tests. You can tell Marcus you're hanging with Emily so Mrs. Shanahan doesn't get suspicious of you and Laney.”

I hate to admit Kollin had a good idea. “Maybe. I don't know.”

“Too late,” he says. “I already told Emily and she agreed. She wasn't thrilled, but she's willing to do it for the Sevens. You're two happy lovebirds from here on out.”

Before I can ask who made him boss, we hear voices in the hall. I slip into my desk in the back row. Kayla and Cameron come roaring in the room, laughing and bragging about the hot tub Kane is having installed at the Winchester House. I'm disgusted that Kane would waste money on something so stupid at the same time I'm wondering how I can sneak over there and use it.

The rest of our class gradually finds its way in, including Emily, who makes a show of saying, “Hello, baby! How's my hottie today?” She plops a loud smack on my lips. I wipe my mouth and notice the entire class staring at us. They're all snickering at me. All except Laney, who's looking a little peeved. And Jose. Who for some reason is looking even more pissed off.

Then I notice the looks passing between the Pillars. I just thought of a reason why Kollin's plan might
not
be a good idea: guilt by association.

Days pass, and our canceled after-school activities are gradually substituted with extracurricular bitching and moaning. Not that I blame anyone. I still can't believe I'll never get to play football again.

Almost as sickening is Emily's constant lovefest. Patting my rear in the hallways and showing up at our doorway just 'cause she “needs a little taste” of me. It might make Mom feel better seeing us together, but Emily's fun and games are ticking me off.

It's 6:30 on Sunday night when Chris comes to find me in Dad Shanahan's office. “Emily's here,” he snickers. “She says she came to pick you up”—he makes air quotes—“ ‘because you're taking too long and she can't stand to be apart from you anymore.'”

There's a stapler a foot away from me I'd like to nail her with right now. Oh well. At least she gets me out of this never-ending meeting with the Shanahans. Mom follows me out to the foyer, where Emily stands grinning like a troll.

“So where you kids going?” Mom asks.

I was gonna say “rec center” when Emily answers, “The English department is doing poetry readings from a woman's perspective.”

My housebrothers are in the adjacent family room, and I swear they all bust out laughing at once.

“Knock it off, boys. It wouldn't hurt you all to get in touch with your feminine side once in a while,” Mom says. She's clearly not helping.

I whisk Emily out the door, tugging her to the street by the elbow. “Why do you keep doing that? We're supposed to be a team, remember?”

“Just having fun.”

“You're just pissed because I wasn't interested in hooking up that night in the graveyard.”

“Trust me, you're not the Seven I want to hook up with.”

“What?”

She walks faster. “Nothing.”

“No, what'd you say? You're interested in Kollin, aren't you?”

“It's none of your business.”

“Has something happened between you two?”

“I don't have to tell you anything.”

“Are you and Kollin hooking up?”

“Stop bugging me. You keep your mouth shut or I'll tell your friends you like to wear my underwear. Got it?”

We head for the student center, but veer toward the woods as soon as we're sure we're alone. “Did you bring all your clues?” she asks.

“Of course.” Thankfully, Laney reminded me of our plan to bring all the Sevens papers to stash in the secret room for safekeeping.

Emily and I make it to the mausoleum in five minutes, and the three other Sevens are there waiting. Kollin presses the button and the secret door in the casket slides open.

Laney taps her foot on the floor. “Of all days to be late,” she says to me.

“It's your fault,” I tell her. “Mom and Dad held me hostage in their office all afternoon with a long, pointless discussion about my ‘promising' future. The only way I got them to shut up was by filling out some college apps. What a waste of time.”

“You'll thank me one day,” Laney says before heading into the stairway. I'm the last, so I clamber inside and push the button to seal us in. The first thing I notice is that the stairs are darker than usual tonight. There's hardly any light seeping out from the secret room.

The muscles in my neck tighten when I turn the corner and see why. The room is illuminated entirely by candlelight. Dozens of lit candles sit in the center, forming the shape of a seven. It's awesome, but also kinda eerie.

The candles have barely burned down, which means whoever lit them was just here. Are they waiting under the stairs or listening to us somewhere?

Emily bends down and picks up a black envelope. She takes a deep breath and slides out a letter. “Here goes test number five,” she says, and reads the note aloud:

The success of the Sevens requires unconditional trust between members. Tonight's challenge will test and build that bond, for each pledge must reveal their most intimate secret to the group. No one leaves until all have confessed.

Allow me to go first: Eighteen years ago, six other students and I were chosen as Sevens and given virtue tests almost identical to yours. Upon completion, we were to learn the Great Revelation
-
the location where William Singer hid the Trust Protector Document.

With one final test to solve, William Singer
summoned us to meet at the cemetery chapel. But there was to be no meeting. Two of us arrived late, and the
horror that greeted us there would change our lives
forever. Our friends and founder had been murdered
-
victims of the same dark fate that had befallen Mr.
Singer's own wife. We feared for our own lives, and,
later, for being framed for crimes we did not commit. For two decades we have remained anonymous, ashamed that we failed our vows of courage and sacrifice. That ends now.

The actions of Stephen Kane threaten Singer School. The Society of Seven has been resurrected to solve the mystery of that night and to locate the Trust Protector Document. If we fail, our school and your home will be destroyed forever.

Beware, brethren. There are murderers among us.

Emily slips the letter back in the envelope with shaky hands. She slowly lifts her eyes to the four faces gawking at her.

“Laney was right,” Kollin says. “The Sevens were innocent, and they need us.” His eyes linger on Jose. “This isn't about a secret gang or a way to get something for ourselves anymore. It's about our families. A lot of people are depending on us.”

I'd like to be so noble, but I can't. I keep thinking that we're being watched or listened to. The dark room has me edgy and the candles burning down aren't helping.

Laney speaks up from where she sits at the end of the 7. “All right then, let's get on with it,” she says. “This test requires us each to confess our innermost secret. We can do this.”

She glances at Kollin and Emily, and they drop their gaze. She lifts her eyebrows at me and I shake her off. When she looks at Jose, he's wearing an expression of panic.

“Oh, for Pete's sake. Fine. I'll go first.” Worry lines cover her forehead like skid marks. Her eyes narrow on the candles in front of her, as if the words she needs are written there. “It's a big one.” She takes a breath and pans each of our faces. “Remember, we're sworn to secrecy.”

The muscles in my face tighten to mirror the seriousness in Laney's.

“Go on, Laney.” Kollin squeezes her shoulder. “Maybe they can help.”

“Wait a minute.” My head jerks around. “You already know what her secret is? She told you?”

“Of course she told me.”

My cheeks burn. “You told Kollin but you didn't tell me? I opened up to you about stuff and the whole time, you were keeping secrets from me?”

“This is different. I had my reasons for telling Kollin.”

My shoulders slump with a heavy thought. “Are you pregnant?”

“No, I'm not pregnant!” She trades glances with Kollin.

My mind is brainstorming all kinds of scenarios. “Did you two run away and get married or something?”

“No, you idiot. Nothing like that.”

“Well, tell us already.”

She hesitates. The candles flicker, making it harder to read her expression.

“Go on, Lane,” Kollin says.

She stares up at the ceiling and says, “I'm adopted, only my parents kept it a secret.”

Oh, that …
Relief pours over me.
I knew that.

My shoulders instantly relax, but Laney's confession seems to bug Emily. “So you're adopted,” she says. “A lot of parents have trouble telling their kid that.”

“There's more to it.” There's a tremor in Laney's voice. “My birth mother was a student here. She was a Seven.”

Wait. What?

Emily and Jose lean forward the same time I do. “She was a Seven?” I say.

“When my parents lied about my adoption, I started looking for information. They went shopping one afternoon and I searched their bedroom and attic looking for my birth certificate or adoption paperwork. I uncovered a trunk with all this weird stuff in it, like a black cape and an envelope just like the ones we've been getting, with a letter in it. I started to read it, but my parents came home. I got out of the attic just in time.

“They caught me in their bedroom, but I made some lame excuse. I don't think they believed me, but they let it go. A few days later, they were at Josh's baseball game so I snuck back into the attic. The trunk was gone. They must have moved it to hide it from me.”

“You think the trunk belonged to your real mom?” Jose says.

“I know it did. The letter said ‘make sure Delaney knows I loved her' and ‘keep my baby away from danger.'”

“How do you know she was a Seven?” Emily asks.

“In the letter … it said ‘tell my daughter that the Sevens were innocent and worthwhile' or something, even though they were ‘destroyed by the lies of evil men'—I remember that phrase. That's all I read before they came home.”

“Lane,” I say, “maybe Mom and Dad are protecting you from something.”

“And maybe they're part of the ‘evil men,'” she says. “Remember, the letter said to be sure I knew she loved me, and they certainly didn't do that. They didn't even tell me she existed. Even after I confronted them, they never said anything about her or the Sevens, much less defended their innocence.”

“I don't think your parents—”

Laney interrupts me. “Here's another thing. Remember how I volunteered in the administration office filing new student applications last summer?
Every student
is required to have a birth certificate and health history on file, but I don't. I searched my own file and couldn't find one. The folder checklist was stamped to indicate it was received, but the certificate itself was missing. Someone took it. My parents aren't the only people hiding this.”

“Listen to yourself, Laney. Do you really think your parents could do something evil?”

“I wouldn't know, Talan, because they won't talk to me. But it makes sense if they're trying so hard to hide this.”

I can't believe what she's saying. “They love you, Laney! They're good people.”

“You're the one who said never to trust anyone. Why would my parents lie if there wasn't something bad to hide? I need to know the truth. I'm keeping their secret, at least for now. I don't want to get them in trouble or break up our home, even if they did steal me as a baby. But what if they had something to do with hurting my real mom? I don't know what I'd do if that was true.”

She rubs her eyes with her palms. “I need to know what happened. That's what I want for my Great Reward. I want to find my real mother and clear her name for good.”

Kollin rubs her shoulder and Jose smiles weakly at her. Emily sits quietly, picking at a hole in her jeans.

“So now you know my innermost secret. Whoever is behind resurrecting the Sevens knows that secret too. There was a message on the white board in the lab room where I found my invitation to join the Sevens. It said: ‘You were born to be a 7.' Only the word “be” was crossed out, like they were also telling me: ‘You were born to a 7.' They knew about my mom.”