I’ll spare you the other details of our plans for the War Games. I don’t remember them well, besides that they showed Hiro’s love for flanking attacks. He’d have been a fine cavalryman in the age when soldiers rode on horseback.

I slipped off after class. I had nailed down most of the details of my scheme, but there were two major obstacles who could scupper the whole plan. One was Maggie herself, but I couldn’t very well do much about that. I thought I knew the impulsive woman well enough to guess her reaction when I sprang things on her, but there was always the chance she could surprise me.

The other threat, though, was more within my power to deal with. I needed Mrs. Perera’s approval and cooperation for a key component of my setup, so I couldn’t sideswipe her with it like I could Maggie.

So it was that I strode into room 2-C with a smile on my face and a few leftover cookies in my bag. I had frozen them, hoping to keep them fresh until the right moment. A few seconds in the microwave had them smelling fresh baked, and I set them on the edge of her desk.

“Mrs. Perera! You’re looking especially lovely today. Do you have a moment?”

The wizened teacher looked up from her work, which looked to me like the exam papers from the week before. She flipped up her glasses, her warm smile missing a few teeth. “I always have time for you. It’s my business, after all. Speaking of, is this school business or you-know-what business?”

“You-know-what business,” I replied.

The world outside warped for a moment, before coming to a complete halt, and my Mimic Scent reported a strong, chocolatey odor. Without waiting, Mrs. Perera grabbed one of the sugar cookies and it vanished so quickly that it almost seemed magical. “Tastes like that pacifist’s work,” she said.

“Observant as always, ma’am.”

Her heavy-lidded gaze was a reproach in itself. “Alright, you’re really trying to butter me up. How bad is it?”

“I wouldn’t call it bad, exactly. It simply requires a bit of discretion.”

Her expression didn’t change. I had to resist flinching away from her. “I was a founding member of the Holy Brotherhood and haven’t been caught in fifteen years. I think I can keep a secret.”

“Wait, fifteen years? But the Holy Brotherhood was only declared a terrorist organization this year.”

She smirked at me. “We’ve never been popular. I like to set policy in the shadows. It’s dangerous being the face of anything.”

I sat on the desk and slid over. “Your wisdom is only matched by your beauty. I-”

She slammed her fist on the table. “Quit stalling and spit it out!”

I gulped. “Alright. The attack is Saturday.”

Her eyebrow raised. “Oh, is it? Funny, I thought we agreed with Holy Sister Shrike that we weren’t moving until the next school year was in full swing.”

“If I can speak frankly?”

“Of course.”

“I think Ms. Edwards’ judgement is compromised. She’s being too cautious after what happened to Brother Magpie.”

Mrs. Perera’s cackle echoed through the ball of slowed time. “You mean after you happened to Brother Magpie.”

I ignored the pang of regret. “Yes, after he didn’t give me much of a choice. He was a disagreeable little worm.”

“He was Maggie’s type, though. Dumb and loyal. Makes me wonder why she seems fond of you.” She leaned in, whispering. “You aren’t banging her, are you?”

“Perish the thought,” I replied.

She straightened back up, nodding for emphasis. “Good, good. Keep your business and pleasure separate.”

“Seems Maggie and Maus are the only Holy Brothers who didn’t get that memo,” I replied. “It’s why I can see that she’s leaving a prime opportunity on the table. The whole scheme relies on being able to capture the whole student body at once, right? We know that all of the classes will be having their war games at the same time this weekend. What’s to say they don’t start staggering the schedule next year? What if the Anti-Demonic League forces the Headmaster to switch back to using practice spells and to stop wasting magical energy on his Peace Bond? We know it can work on Saturday. We may not have another chance.”

Mrs. Perera didn’t respond right away. She snapped up the last cookie, nibbling thoughtfully as she paced back and forth. “Why aren’t you having this conversation with the leader of our cell?”

“Because she needs to either think it’s her idea, or she needs to be trapped in it. I tried the former, so I’m resorting to the latter. Besides, you might have the most important part to play in my plan.”

She reached out her hand, runes snapping into place. “To me.” Her cane flew into her hand. I had seen Tachibana cast the spell before; I wondered if they reserved that trick for second year.

“Why do you want to move things up? You’re awfully gung-ho about this.”

I had anticipated her being suspicious. Probably how she stayed undetected all those years. “Did she tell you about my background? My true background?”

I felt her eyes drilling into me. “Reformed demonkin? Yes.”

Slumping my shoulders, I tried to look as penitent as I could. “We are a small band against a school of wizards. I have much to make up for, and I don’t want to let the opportunity slip by.”

Mrs. Perera closed her eyes, letting out a long breath. Her outline blurred, and I realized that she had sped up her own little pocket of time without dropping her control of mine. I was only glad that the Enemy had wasted such a horrifying talent on that old crone.

I felt a hand brush across my ass, which told me that she wasn’t taking things too seriously. She came back into easy view a few feet from where I had last seen her.

“And you call Maggie impulsive,” I grumbled. Something else I wouldn’t miss back in Pandemonium.

“It’s the toll,” she said. “Alright, Soren. I’ll go along with it. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep teaching. Not as spry as I used to be. I want to live to see an Anti-Demonic League that is willing to take the Horde seriously.”

“If you retire, you could devote yourself to the Brotherhood completely,” I offered.

The sharp slam of her cane against the ground made me flinch. “No! If I can’t teach, I’m a waste of resources, and I’ll free them up for the next generation. I’ve lived long enough; if I wasn’t a wizard, I’d have done it ages ago.”

That gave me pause. A radical who was actually consistent with her creed? It was almost refreshing. “You won’t regret this.”

“You’d better hope so,” she replied. “Alright, what do you need me to do?”

“More of the same,” I said, waving my hand at the bubble of distorted time that surrounded us. “Do you remember that time at the Serving Wizard’s House?”

She didn’t need to snort so derisively. “When I slowed down time in the kitchen so you could bake? Why do you ask?”

A grin spread across my lips. “I need you to waste somebody’s time. Also, you have something else I’ll need to borrow.” All of that time spent knitting was about to pay off.