An Academy for Liars

Becker takes Lennon to Dante’s office, and he warns her that her attack on Ian makes her appear more dangerous and puts more of a target on her back. Lennon pulls out a loose molar and then goes to the infirmary to have it put back in. Afterward, she asks Blaine to go get drinks with her off campus. They take an elevator into downtown Savannah and go to a touristy bar. Blaine says she almost has romantic feelings for Lennon, but a relationship between them wouldn’t work because they’re too similar—they both like to play with people’s feelings but don’t want to be played with.

Lennon questions Blaine about her past, and Blaine finally reveals how she came to Drayton. Blaine was married to an abusive man, and one night, as he attacked her, she defended herself and hit him on the head with a brick. As he bled out on the floor, she received a call from Drayton in her husband’s voice. When she interviewed, the interviewer promised to take care of the attack if she was accepted, and Blaine was accepted. She thinks her now ex-husband is in a care facility.

Lennon appreciates Blaine’s honesty and feels she knows her better. Blaine invites Lennon to enter her mind, and Lennon sees that Blaine wants her to run. Blaine asks if Lennon would come with her if she ran away from Drayton. Lennon doesn’t answer, and Blaine decides they need to take a walk to sober up. As they walk back to Drayton, they are followed by a group of intoxicated men. The gates to Drayton refuse to open for Lennon and Blaine, which is strange. Lennon subdues one of the men, nearly killing him until Blaine tells her to stop. Lennon then summons an elevator, and they leave.

When Lennon and Blaine get back to Logos, they find the house empty and the first years in the courtyard. They ask Nadine what happened, and she says there was a quake and the gates went down. Nadine treats Lennon poorly because of her relationship with Ian, especially after Lennon publicly asks Dante what happened, and he dismisses her. Nadine accuses Lennon of vacationing with Dante in Amsterdam, hinting at an inappropriate relationship. Blaine defends Lennon while Ian just smiles maliciously.

The rest of the spring semester goes well for Lennon, other than the difficulties she has in Becker’s Persuasion II course. As Lennon studies for finals, she finds herself in a trance in the middle of the 25th Square. Ian appears, having persuaded Lennon to meet him there. He forces her to kneel and then drags her to the chapel. He brings her to the top floor and tells her that he’s going to make her jump, though the height won’t kill her—it will just maim her. Lennon begs him to stop; her body is in complete terror and she loses control of her bladder. Ian continues to taunt her until she calls an elevator and manages to get inside. He follows her, but she hits the close doors button. He screams as he’s trapped between the doors. He reaches for her, but instead of begging for her help, he tells her that she’s nothing. Lennon makes the elevator drop into free fall, ripping Ian in half.

Lennon wakes in the infirmary with Dante at her side. Dante asks her what happened, and Lennon tells him the truth. She knew what she was doing when she closed the elevator doors, but she’s not sure why she did it. Dante tries to comfort her and tells her that she’s in trouble, but he’ll get her out. She refuses to summon an elevator, so Dante tells her to go to his car in the parking lot. He persuades the men guarding the infirmary and even Becker to let them pass, then he drives off with Lennon.

Lennon and Dante reach Dante’s South Carolina beachfront house at sunset. Dante guides Lennon to the guest room and tells her to shower and rest. When she wakes up screaming, Dante is there to hold her hand. She asks him why he lied and told her she wouldn’t hurt anyone. He tells her that he didn’t want to lose her or her potential. Lennon demands to go back to Drayton and face the consequences, but Dante refuses to take her. He says her power and her life are worth more than Ian’s, and she shouldn’t throw away her life out of guilt. No one from Drayton can get her at Dante’s house. He tells her it isn’t the first time a student has killed another student at Drayton, but he refuses to say more.

Lennon spends the first few weeks with Dante in a depression, having constant nightmares of Ian’s death. Dante comforts her and cooks for her and tries to remind her of her worth. One day, Dante decides to take her camping on an island near his house’s coastline. They load a skiff boat with tents and supplies and make camp on the shore. Dante coaches Lennon into persuading the fish to relax as he spears them with his speargun. They cook the fish and boil the crabs they catch over a homemade fire. Dante tells Lennon to go easy on herself, reminding her that she did what was necessary to protect herself, as Ian would never have stopped tormenting her. He takes Lennon to the water’s edge and shows her how to use persuasion to calm the water and calm her mind. He lets her into his memories to show her how to do it, and Lennon is shocked by the intimacy and the breadth of his power.

When Lennon exits her tent the next morning, she sees nine figures waiting on the beach in front of Dante’s house. Dante tells her to stay quiet and close to him. They go to the beach and see Becker. Dante invites Becker in alone and serves him eggs. Becker tells Lennon that Ian was laid to rest and the school fed his family a lie about him dying brutally in a drug-related incident. Lennon feels guilty, and Dante asks Becker if he had any other reason to come other than to taunt Lennon about Ian’s death. Becker then wishes Dante happy birthday and gives him a gift from Eileen: a giant moth pinned in a display case. Becker asks Dante if Lennon knows who he is and what he’s done. Dante takes Becker outside to talk for an hour, before telling Lennon he has to go away for a few hours and not to open the door. While he’s gone, Lennon bakes him a birthday cake. She then opens the card from Eileen, which reads: “This moth reminded me of you. I know that this has not been an easy summer. But I so appreciate the work that you do. I think of you often. Stay the course” (331).

Lennon is disturbed by the note, as she feels a hint of a threat behind Eileen’s words. She calls Carly and asks her to look into Dante. Carly is worried, but Lennon assures her that she’s not in danger. Dante returns and as he and Lennon eat the birthday cake, Lennon asks him what he did when he was gone. Dante reveals he spoke with Eileen in a productive conversation about Lennon’s future at Drayton. Dante wants her to return to Drayton and graduate by the end of fall semester. He tells her that the gates are falling, and Lennon can create a new gate around Drayton. He says Drayton is a living thing moving through time and space. Lennon is dangerous because she’s capable of raising gates through both time and space. Eileen had reservations about Lennon because she didn’t want to share the spotlight with her, but Dante convinced her to give Lennon a chance. Lennon decides that raising the gate is her chance at redemption, and she wants to do it.

Dante begins teaching Lennon how to raise a door to the past. Lennon asks about going to the past and changing things, but Dante explains that interference in the past may create the outcome of the present. The future is impossible to travel to, as it does not yet exist. Dante says he can raise a gate to the past, but only to one specific moment, though he doesn’t explain what the moment is. After several weeks of grueling practice, Dante instructs Lennon to siphon power from him. She does, and she’s able to raise a gate to the past.

As the sun sets, Dante and Lennon talk about their families. Dante has two older sisters, one of whom died a few years ago of colon cancer. He hasn’t seen his other sister in years. The last time he saw her, she was passed out under an overpass, intoxicated on drugs. Dante tried to use persuasion on her for years to keep her stable and sober, but he eventually realized that the best gift he could give her was her freedom; then, she chose to get sober on her own.

Lennon and Dante shift closer before Dante abruptly pulls away. He tells her that if they’re going to escalate their relationship, they need to talk about it. He tells her that romance will change their dynamic for the worse, and he has unfair leverage over her as her advisor. Lennon tells him their relationship is not one-sided, and that they should be together if they both want it. Dante worries he can’t give Lennon what she wants, and Lennon tells him to give her what he can. They go into his bedroom, and as Dante undresses, she sees more tattoos across his chest: the Logos emblem, a heart with a dagger, more moths, and the word “August.” This throws Lennon, who now realizes August was a person and not a reference to a month. They have sex, and Lennon holds her hand over the August tattoo.