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My heart felt like it stopped beating I scooped Morgana intountil I reached Healer Hutchins’s office "She needs help!" I said

The healer bolted out of her chair, a wide-eyed look on her face "What is it with you?" she said, directing irl on a bed

"Morgana? Are you still awake?" I asked

The girl nodded, s for air Her eyes ide and terrified She looked at me, as a final breath rattled froana!" I screa hot tears burnme so hard, I alirl’s body The tip glowed bright, and she pressed it against the girl’s ribs Morgana’s body lurched, back arching hard before dropping back She drew in a long shuddering breath, rasping like sandpaper on wood for several seconds, before settling into a shallow, but steady rhythainst my chest with fear and pain

Hutchins turned toLina does," I said without prea in the Burrows, probably near where Lina was going So down therea hand around the roo notice of fiveforms, their sunken eyes and pallid skin tone all the evidence I needed to convince me

"What happened?"

"They found the open entrance to the Burrows, and had been playing hide and seek down there, apparently for several weeks" She sighed "None of the, and their resident adroundinto some sort of epidemic "If I found the source, do you think you can fix this?"

Hutchins wrinkled her face, eyebrows pinching "If you bring it up here youerous If the former administrators couldn’t find it, what makes you think you can?"

I knew the answer alether with disapproval "More than likely you’ll just add yourself to the tally"

"Is Lina any better or"--I took in a deep breath--"worse?"

"About the saood news, however, that she hasn’t worsened"

I nodded, the sliver of hope prying away the dread trying to clamp itself to my heart "Thanks, Miss Hutchins"

I called my secret weapon as I made a beeline for the library where he was hopefully still hiding

"You’re still alive and ticking, eh?" MacLean said, voice thick with Scottish brogue

"Sort of" I told hihed "Truth be told, I’ht be nice to get out for a while" Another pause "Where do you want to meet?"

I chose a nearby hallway, told hi the call

I’d just reached the area, when I felt the hairs on the back ofto act casual, I slipped from the stream of students in the corridor, and took a seat on a bench near aoverlooking a wide plaza with the statue of a person in robes raising their hands overhead

Pulling offit of a bothersolanced around the hall Students, roups as they made their way to other classes, walked and talked I spotted a group of nerdy Arcanes levitating a toad down the hall and a clique of pretty girls changing each other’s hair color with the touch of their wands I iined I could sit and people watch all day if I didn’t have to worry about