Reining in his own rage so that he could at least appear calm, Dragos asked Liam, “What really happened?”
Liam said, “Well, first she said, you couldn’t have read all those books, you’re a liar. And I said, I did too read them, but she never asked me about learning methodology or first-grade literacy, or anything about what was really in the books. Then she said, it’s against the rules to have a cell phone, so you give it to me right now, young man, and I said no, I can’t do that, it’s against the rules. So she grabbed me, and I tried to fight her off, and she shook me, and that’s when I got toothy, and she said, Don’t you dare bite me, you little animal.” He was breathing hard, and his eyes flashed with dark violet fire. “And she got my phone out of my pocket, so I said, give it back. And she gave it back. That’s when I called you.”
When he finished, a stark silence fell as everyone stared at Elora Teaberry, who stood with her back pressed against the wall. “That’s not what happened,” she said faintly. “He growled first. He snapped at me. He thought the rules didn’t apply to him!”
Dragos could hear the lie in her voice. It was so apparent he felt sure the other two women could hear it too.
The principal’s expression was appalled, while Pia looked more murderous than Dragos had ever seen her, and he knew fully well that he had the teacher’s death stamped in the lines of his own face.
“This is so far beyond anything appropriate or acceptable, I have no words,” breathed the principal.
“Well, you’d better come up with a few,” Pia snarled as she surged to her feet. “And ‘I’m so desperately sorry’ and ‘We’re going to press charges’ better be some of the first words out of your mouth.”
It was so charming how Pia’s thinking went straight to the justice system, while he thought of things like vivisection and dismemberment.
Dragos’s gaze dropped to Liam. Now that he had told his story, the boy looked completely calm, even analytical, as he regarded Elora Teaberry. He had stopped shaking, and all signs of his previous upset had vanished.
What was going on in that brilliant, unpredictable, dangerous young mind of his?
Dragos decided to find out. He asked telepathically, What do you think should happen to Mrs. Teaberry?
Liam’s gaze lifted to his. Other kids warned me she would be mean. I want to know if she’s hurt anybody else.
Dragos lifted his eyebrows. That’s an excellent point, he said. I think we should find out, and if she has, we need to contact those children’s parents.
Liam nodded. He had slipped his arm around Pia’s waist, and he leaned against her again. His expression was serious. We need to make sure those kids are okay.
Liam had been hurt, and he’d been upset and frightened enough that he had partially shapeshifted, but his first thought afterward had been for other children.
A powerful wave of pride conquered Dragos’s rage. Already, his son was a far better man than he would ever be.
Walking over to Pia and Liam, he asked gently, Are you all right?
The boy gave him a faint smile, and Dragos got a glimpse of the older soul inhabiting that young body. Yeah. I didn’t let her keep my phone.
He stroked Liam’s bright, silken hair. Good boy.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Liam said aloud. He looked up at his mom and gave her a crooked grin. “I’ve got a girlfriend.”
Dragos wished he could have taken a photo of that moment, because the look on Pia’s face was priceless.
*
Maybe things didn’t completely and totally suck after all.
A couple of the guards who had been watching over the school with Hugh came to take Mrs. Teaberry away, but not before Dad stood in the corner with her for a long time in silence. Liam never found out what Dad said to her, but whatever it was, it turned her skin pasty white and made her hands shake.
Briefly, Liam thought he might feel bad about that, but then he didn’t. Sorry, not sorry.
After the guards took Mrs. Teaberry out of the room, Mom, Dad, Mrs. Chambers and he talked. Mom asked, “How do you feel about school now?”
“I like it!” he told her. It had been a busy first day, and going undercover was every bit as interesting as he thought it would be.
“Do you want to come back tomorrow?” Mom watched him closely.
“Yeah. Does that mean I get a new teacher?”
“It absolutely does,” Dad said.
The adults talked for a while, and Liam lost interest. He wandered over to the bookcases that Mrs. Chambers had in her office, and he read a couple of books until they were finished. Mrs. Chambers said, “There’ll be a substitute teacher in his class until I can hire someone else. Again, I can’t tell you how sorry I am that this happened. Elora worked here for years, and I never heard a whisper of anything like this before.”