The Sorcerer Heir (Heir Chronicles) by Cinda Williams Chima Page B

here since”—Jonah checked the time—“since nine thirty, all right? I came in, all upset, because Emma and I had a big fight.”
    “You did?” Kenzie raised an eyebrow. “Just so you know, I’m on her side.”
    “You should be,” Jonah said wearily. “You definitely should be.”
    “And if you’ve hurt her, we are history.” Kenzie seemed to be reviving, regaining his usual snarky attitude.
    “No!” Jonah said. “I didn’t hurt her! I just—I don’t think I did...” His voice trailed off.
    “Stop it!” Kenzie snarled. “I was joking. You know you didn’t hurt her. You wouldn’t.”
    You’re wrong, Jonah thought. I already have.
    “Have you been back to your room?” Kenzie asked, with that distracted expression that said he was already working the problem.
    Jonah shook his head. “No. I didn’t want to be time stamped when I went in.”
    “Actually, I think you do want to be time stamped. You have been back to your room. Before you came here. When do you want to be there?”
    “You can do that?”
    “Have a little faith, bro,” Kenzie said. “Rudy and I designed most of the architecture when Gabriel upgraded a few years ago. He didn’t want to go outside to have that work done.”
    “Don’t you want to know what happened before you become a coconspirator?” Jonah asked dryly.
    Kenzie shook his head. “Let’s take care of the alibi first. I assume Gabriel’s on the outside in this?”
    “Yeah,” Jonah said. “He is.” As he said it, he couldn’t help wondering: when was it that he’d stopped trusting Gabriel?
    “Then we need to keep him out of the system until I get things set up. Which means I need to do this sooner rather than later, so he doesn’t get suspicious.” Kenzie turned back to his workstation. “Harry, go to Facilities Systems.”
    “Is there anything I can do?” Jonah asked.
    “Get us both something to drink and turn on some tunes. There’s drugs in the lav if you want.”
    Jonah swallowed two ibuprofen, then grabbed drinks from the refrigerator. He handed a bottle of fruit juice to Kenzie and settled back into his chair as Kenzie murmured orders and code to Harry.
    “Harry. Access Building Security Systems. Oxbow number 457.” Kenzie’s eyes scanned the screen. “So if the first set was over at nine, and you came straight back...we’ll put you in your room about nine thirty, right? And you came here about ten, and you’ve been here since.”
    “What about the surveillance cameras in the corridor?” Jonah said.
    “Damn cameras!” Kenzie said, slapping his hands on his desk. “They went down this morning and haven’t worked since.” He raised his eyebrows at Jonah.
    “Will anyone be able to tell you’ve been into the system?” Jonah asked. “I don’t want you to get into trouble.”
    “Gabriel’s smart about using technology to do the things he wants, but his knowledge of these kinds of systems is superficial at best.”
    “What about Rudy?”
    “I don’t think so.” Kenzie eyed Jonah. “Is Rudy in or out?”
    “Everybody’s out right now,” Jonah said.
    Jonah’s phone pinged again. He scanned the screen. Text from Gabriel. Jonah. Call me right now. Urgent.
    “Gabriel’s on the case,” Jonah said. “Won’t be long now.”
    Two more texts from Gabriel, and then his phone rang. Jonah allowed voice mail to pick it up.
    Kenzie’s eyes narrowed at some activity on the screen. “Gabriel’s trying to log into the system right now, but he’s off-campus. I’ve put a few roadblocks in his way.”
    Finally, Kenzie sat back. “We’re good. I can pretty it up later, but this should do the job. Gabriel’s in, but he’s seeing what we want him to see.” Using both hands to steady the bottle, he took a long swallow of juice. “So. What’s going on?”
    “I don’t know what’s going on. I passed out and woke up covered in blood.” When Kenzie raised his eyebrows, Jonah added, hastily, “It wasn’t mine.”
    “Where did