But when I made it around the Forge, I stopped hard. Aspen's entire class was there, and no one was struggling or shoving. Instead, a few people were looking up. Some had a hand over their mouths. Others were pale with wide eyes. I saw a girl with her head pressed into a guy's shoulder. Clearly, she was crying.
"What's wrong?" I demanded, scanning the group for Aspen. "Where's Aspen!"
A guy pointed nervously, refusing to look that way.
So I followed his gesture. In two steps, I saw her between a pair of trees, clearly concentrating on her conjuration. Pale light sparkled around her, and Ms. Linden, the botany teacher, was hovering as if worried.
"Aspen? Are you ok?" I asked.
"She's preserving the evidence, Morrigan," Ms. Linden said. "You may not want to look."
Which meant I had to. Closing the distance, I tried to see what so many were staring at, but even when I did, I couldn't make sense of it initially. Brown was the most obvious thing. There was some red as well, a bit of white, and ice was quickly frosting the leaves of the tree it had been hung in.
Not it.Her.
Suddenly, the horror of the situation made sense, because that mess in the tree, far above where a human could climb, was a person - or what was left of one.
"Jack?" I asked, holding up my arm so he could land. "Make sure my zez comes too?"
"Dad!" he agreed before taking off again.
Right now, I really didn't want to distract Aspen. I wasn't sure what exactly she was doing, but it had to be her way of helping. Sadly, I was pretty sure that was merely a body in thetree, not a living person. Thankfully, it didn't take long before Hawke, Keir, the sentinels, and my zez came running over.
"What happened, Flora?" Bracken asked, looking at Ms. Linden.
"Oh, Brack!" she gasped, hurrying over. "We were gathering boughs, and one of the girls saw her first."
"Who?" Hawke demanded, his eyes locked on Aspen.
Ms. Linden licked her lips. "I'm not sure. I only know it's a girl because of the skirt."
Ok, I'd missed that part, but the thing in the trees was a mess. I alsoreallydidn't want to look at it too hard. I was sure it wasn't person-shaped anymore. More like it had been crushed and broken. I had a bad feeling the brown was old blood, the red was new, and the white was probably bones. Some of it had to be flesh, but nope. I was not going to look up again.
Then Aspen dropped her arms. "I've preserved the area," she said, standing a little straighter when she saw us. "Rain! Bracken! Oh, I'm sorry, I was - "
"Busy," Bracken finished for her, gesturing for her to come over, away from where she'd have to look at that. "Flora, I'd like everyone who found this to stay, but can you take the rest of your students..." He paused. "Elsewhere?"
"Somewhere happy," Aspen told her. "There are flowers on the west lawn." She paused, her eyes losing focus for a moment. Then a weak smile touched her mouth. "We'll make sure there are enough blooms for them to be distracted."
Ms. Linden pushed out a trembling but relieved breath. "We are in your debt, Your..." She paused. "Aspen. I don't want to leave you with this..."
"It's ok," Aspen told her, clasping the woman's hands. "There's no debt at all. Think of it like teaching me responsibility - and protecting them."
"I'll handle the kids here," Bracken told her. "I've already sent someone to get Ivy."
"Sadly, she really doesn't need this right now," Ms. Linden said. "We already have the parents in an uproar."
"Because of me?" Aspen asked.
"Because ofthis," Ms. Linden said. "Because they want this school to be completely fae, but as safe as what humans would have. Sadly, we can't have both."
I couldn't help myself; I mumbled, "School shootings aren't safe."
"They are to us," Bracken reminded me. "Now get the kids out of here, Flora. Aspen, we do not need Torian or Wilder. They can stay where they are. Rain, I'd like you to get the sentinels to cordon off an area around that tree." My zez swallowed hard. "Facing out would be preferred."
Aspen just gave Bracken a tired look. "We've seen death before."
"That doesn't mean you should have to see it again," he said. "Also, I have a feeling the guards will be to keep people away, not hold anything in." And he nodded for me to go.
