Chapter Fifty

There was a package waiting for Lexi in front of her door when she stopped by her room during her break period. Curious, she used the small throwing knife she kept hidden on her person to cut open the small box. A short letter was waiting for her on top. Lexi easily recognized Servilia's elegant handwriting. Picking up the letter, she glanced at the actual contents. Inside were four blood-red stones that Lexi vaguely recognized, but couldn't quite remember where from. Frowning, she glanced down at the letter.

'Please pick one up.'

Lexi followed the request and waited. After a moment she felt a pulse of magic emanate through her hand and the stone gave off a dim red light.

"Alexis?" Servilia's voice drifted through Lexi's mind. "I trust this is you."

"Servilia?" Lexi stared at the stone in her palm, finally remembering. "Phoenix stones?"

"Yes. The Mistress recently remembered we had quite a stockpile of them. It took us a while to find them, and even longer get them working without breaking. I assumed they could be of some use to you. Quite a convenient form of communication, don't you think?" Servilia said.

"I have no doubt," Lexi said, looking down at the three remaining stones, the possibilities already working through her mind. "Thank you."

"It would do you well not to let anyone else see you using those, at least for the time being. They will be common in a few months, but for now they are still quite novel."

"Understood."

"So, how goes the mission?" Servilia asked. Lexi heard loud purr from Dante. "You've been there longer than I expected. Is everything alright?"

"I have hit some... issues." Lexi said after a moment.

"Issues." Servilia repeated. "Well, have there been any more attacks?"

"Not since we arrived."

"Have any of your identities been compromised?"

"No, everyone seems to be blending in quite well. Makina in particular has come to greatly enjoy the academy and has become quite friendly with one of the girls. Banksy is not completely pleased with his living quarters, but he hasn't aroused any suspicion and has preformed in his duties as expected."

"And Cross? How has he been as a professor?" Servilia asked.

Lexi hesitated to answer for a moment too long.

"Ah, so it is less issues and more, issue." Servilia said quietly. "Would you like to discuss the matter?"

"No," Lexi shook her head. "I can handle this."

"I'm sure you can. Though it may do you well to remember that the Mistress only awarded you your position after seeing that you were able to communicate and listen to those around you." Servilia said lightly. "It would be a shame if you were to forget that."

"I am not the one who isn't communicating. It's not my..." Lexi's fist tightened around the stone and she went silent.

"You are the Leader of your team now, Alexis. You now have responsibilities that extend far beyond your own feelings or ego." Servilia said. There was no judgment in her tone. "If there is a problem, you are the one who must solve it. That is your duty to your team, your guild, and to yourself."

"I..." Lexi slowly unclenched her hand and gave a single nod. "I understand. Thank you, Servilia."

"Good. Now, get to work. I expect you home soon." Servilia said, cutting the communication.

xXx

"Alright, I'll see you all next week, Monday. Be sure to have your paper proposal ready for submission. Late work will not be tolerated," Cross called out as he walked behind his desk and fell into his chair. The students from his final class of the day quickly shuffled out, ready to begin their weekend. Cross sighed at the final student slipped through the door and let it click shut behind them.

Banksy was going to break into the counselor's office tonight. Cross has managed to make contact with his target. A young, attractive woman named Eliza, but he was still completely unsure what he was going to do. He reached up and rubbed his eyes, skewing his glasses.

"Cross." A firm hand reached out and caught him by the shoulder. Cross nearly leapt from his skin, sure he had been the only one in the room.

"Damnit Lexi." Cross swiveled his chair to face her. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

Lexi blinked and held out a closed hand. Cross warily extended his own. Lexi uncurled her fingers and dropped the phoenix stone into his hand. Cross held it up to the light, eyes widening up in surprise.

"Is this...?"

"Yes. Servilia sent them this morning."

"So they got them working," Cross murmured. "That should make things easier."

Lexi didn't reply and the room went silent.

Cross could feel the weight of the silence. The weight of Lexi's gaze as she stared at him, a spark of expectancy in her eyes.

It made him feel sick.

"Lex-"

"Have you come up with a way to distract Miss Eliza?"

Cross frowned at the interruption and shook his head. "Not yet."

"I thought as much." Lexi said. She perched herself on the edge of Cross's desk and went silent for a moment. "After some... reflection, I realized you might have more trouble with this than I anticipated. I am sorry for putting this burden on your without offering sufficient aide."

"Well, it seems more like a Romeo job, if we're being honest," Cross said, slipping down a few inches in his chair. "I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem being the distraction. He'd probably already be dating her or something."

"I have faith you can manage this just as well."

Cross looked up at her. "I take it you have a plan for me then?"

"Yes."

"Is it a good plan?"

"Yes."

"Am I going to like it?"

"No."

"Right, then." Cross sighed and spread his hands wide. "Whatcha got?"

"Ask her out to dinner," Lexi said simply.

"I'm sorry?" Cross tilted his head to the side, sure he had misheard her.

"Ask her out to dinner." Lexi repeated.

"I'm not sure-"

"Miss Eliza is a single woman and you are single man. You are roughly the same age, at least by your cover story. I'm sure you can convince her to give you a single night of her time. I made you reservations at a restaurant in town," Lexi said handing him a piece of paper filled with her neat handwriting. "The ride to town and back by itself should give Banksy more than enough time to complete his job."

"You made that sound so easy," Cross grumbled. "I hate it when you do that."

"You're attractive enough, Cross. I'm sure that she will be flattered to receive your attention. I'm confident this plan will work," Lexi said, her tone indicating the time for argument had passed. "Banksy shouldn't need too much time, but the more that you can buy him, the better. So try to make the date somewhat interesting for her."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Cross said as Lexi turned around and headed towards the door. As he watched her walk away, Cross realized this was the first time he had been alone with her since that first class. He felt his stomach twist as she reached for the door to leave. Gritting his teeth he stood up. "Hey, Lex."

Lexi paused at the door, her hand resting against the handle. She did not turn around to look at him. "Yes, Cross?"

Cross swallowed hard. He always hated this part. "About... about the Void Walking and everything. Look, I know-"

"We can talk about that later, Cross," Lexi said softly.

"Lexi, I just... I want to explain."

"We can't do this right now Cross. I... We can't afford to become emotional, anymore than we already have been." She finally glanced over her shoulder and back at him. There was a hardness to her eyes that made Cross's chest grow tight. "Right now, our main concern is the completion of the mission and the safety of the students... Anything else has to be put aside for the time being. Do you understand?"

Cross hesitated but only for a moment. Very slowly he nodded his head. "I understand."

Lexi held his gaze for a moment longer before turning back to the door. "Good luck tonight, Cross."

"Yeah," Cross said lamely as the door swung shut behind her and he fell back into his chair. He placed the phoenix stone down on his desk. "Thanks."

xXx

"So, we all set?" Banksy asked softly as he cracked open the door to his room just enough to allow Lexi to slip in.

"Cross will remove Miss Eliza from the academy ground for at least an hours, possibly two tonight."

"More than I will need. I've got everything all set, even checked out the lock on her door earlier when I was repairing a broken light fixture nearby. I could get that old piece open with my eyes closed." Banksy grinned. "By the way, how's Cross going to get her off academy grounds?"

"He's taking her out to dinner tonight."

"Really?" Banksy filed that piece of information away in his mind to tease Cross about later.

"Yes, he should be asking her right about now."

"Are you sure that is going to work?" Banksy said. "Cross isn't the most suave of people."

"I have faith in Cross," Lexi said softly. She pulled out a list from inside her pocket and slid it over to Banksy. "These are all the students that have suffered injuries over the last few months, and a few that went unreported but I've been able to learn about."

"Alright. I'll get them." Banksy scanned down the list. "I guess now, we're just waiting on Cross?"

"Yes. He will let us know when to make our move," Lexi fished out another phoenix stone and tossed it to Banksy. "You know what that is?"

"Looks like something I stole once," Banksy said, holding it up to his eye. "Looks expensive."

"It's a phoenix stone. It allows long-range communication. Servilia sent them over."

"Right, right. Man, she's always on top of things, isn't she?" Banksy said with a small smile as Lexi exited his room. "Alright Cross, just tell me when."

xXx

"This is a stupid plan." Cross grumbled as he reached up and knocked on Eliza's door.

"Come in?" A voice called out with just a hint of a Dumas accent.

Cross grit his teeth and pushed the door open, forcing an easy smile on his face. "Hello."

Eliza looked up from her desk and flashed him a dazzling smile. "Oh, Christian. Can I help you with something."

"Ah, Eliza." Cross resisted the urge to reach up and rub at his temple for comfort. Honestly, where the hell was Romeo when you needed him. "I was just wondering..."

"Yes?" Eliza tilted her head, her long, brown hair cascading around her heart shaped face. For a moment, Cross was struck by how stunningly beautiful she and nearly lost his nerve.

"Are... are you busy tonight?" Cross said, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. He greatly regretted not planning this entire exchange out ahead of time, or at least practicing what he would say in front of a mirror a few times. Though, he had once caught Banksy doing that and had no intention of ever being caught doing the same.

"Busy?" Eliza's smile widened. "No, I don't believe so. Why? Do you need something?"

"Not exactly." Cross said, hand coming up to rub at the back of his head. "Well, since you aren't busy maybe... we could..."

"Are you asking me out?" Eliza asked, leaning forward. She had a glint of amusement in her eye that made Cross want to melt away into nothingness. How did Romeo do this all the time? This was terrible. This was exactly what he didn't deal with people. Just deliver package from point A to point B then go home. Honestly, where the hell was Romeo the one time he needed him?

Cross let out a heavy sigh. He would just have to go with it. "Well, I am trying to, but I don't think it's going so well."

"Oh, I don't know." Eliza leaned back in her chair and lifted a finger to her chin. "I think the fact that you're nervous is kind of endearing."

"Well, I do try."

"So then, what did you have in mind?" Eliza asked.

Eliza's easy nature was infectious and Cross relaxed somewhat. "I was hoping I could take you out to dinner tonight, in town. I heard about a nice restaurant."

"I would like that very much." Eliza glanced at her desk. "I need to finish this report and get ready, so how about you meet me in front of the academy in two hours?"

"Perfect," Cross said with a genuine smile. "I'll see you then."

"I can't wait." Eliza gave him a cheeky wink.

Still smiling, Cross pulled out of her room and headed back towards his own living quarters. When he reached an empty stretch of hallway he pulled the phoenix stone out of his pocket and clearly pictured Lexi in his mind. After a brief wait he felt a small warmth from the stone.

"Two hours," he said softly.

"Good work," Lexi replied and Cross could swear he felt her smile as she added, "Romeo would be proud."

xXx

"Did you finish your assignment for calculus assignments yet?" Lara asked, looking over at Makina who was lounging on Lara's bed.

"I finished it during the class it was assignment," Makina said with a yawn. "I've found math to be a very simple subject to pick up."

"Found," Lara repeated. "You have an odd way of speaking sometimes, Makina."

"I would blame my upbringing," Makina said with a small wave of her hand. "Furthermore, I don't believe you have any room to speak about... well about speaking."

"Ho-how do you mean?" Lara twisted her hands back and forth. It was a habit Makina had long since come to realize Lara did whenever she was nervous, along with biting her nails and chewing on her lip.

The girl was nervous a lot, yet Makina had yet to decipher why. She seemed to have quite a few friends in the academy, a strong sense of academic merit, and no bullies to speak of, yet even with all that she always seemed like she was waiting for a hammer to fall. It was maddening in a way and left Makina with a strange, nearly uncontrollable desire to protect the girl at all times. That feeling in itself was just as annoying. She was a Spirit Goddess, not some ethereal guard dog.

"That!" Makina spun around and pointed at Lara, temper flaring for a moment. "You just hesitated when asking me."

Makina's small outburst made Lara inch back and Makina instantly deflated.

"I am sorry, Lara," Makina sighed, reaching up and rubbing at her temple like she had seen Cross do. Another thing she had yet to understand the point of, yet she did it nevertheless. Despite herself she actually did feel some strange sense of relief. "I did not mean to be rude."

"It's alright," Lara said softly. "I know that sometimes I can be... I'm sorry, too."

"As I have told you before, if there is something you need to talk about, you can tell me," Makina said, lowering herself off the bed and onto Lara's level and scooting towards her. "I am very influential, even more so than some of these other nobles. If someone is causing you trouble, just say the word and I shall have them dealt with."

"There is nothing wrong." Lara gave her a weak smile. "I'm okay, Makina. I promise."

The words felt genuine, and Makina felt a slight sense of peace from Lara's smile, but deep in her gut there as still a stone of unease, weighing her down.

After a moment Makina finally nodded. "Very well, then. I'll help you finish your calculus assignment. Then we can go do something fun. I've grown bored with this room. Perhaps we should go to town? I have heard there are quite delicious treats to be had."