Izzy exhaled, her mouth pursing to the side at Riley’s uncertain answer. As unpromising as it was, her shoulder rose a fraction in a shrug. ‘Probably’ was good enough for her curiosity. Placing a thumb under a strap of her backpack, which she had taken with her, just in case, she looked down to the stairs.
	Noticing Riley’s footwear as his sandaled feet slipped out from beneath the robe, she just managed to suppress a snigger. She glanced up to him, wondering how much of this was just a game for him, if he had put on his priestly garments just for show, or if they were actually required. Perhaps he really [i]had[/i] had a hand in all of this.
	“[i]Really?[/i]” She looked at him, surprised at his chosen study, meeting his gaze when he looked back at her and Holden. “No!” she exclaimed with an airy, overexaggerated sense of shock, a grin pulling at her lips as she made a [i]tisking[/i] sound and shook her head. “Their loss.”
	When Riley led them into one of the classrooms, Izzy stopped just inside the doorway.
	“Whoa.” She looked around at the setup Riley had prepared, shifting her gaze from the cross to the fetishes and talismans on the floor, some casting long shadows that danced to the silent music of the candlelight.
	It all looked rather… [i]mysterious.[/i]
	Her attention drew to the corner as Riley downed the wine. She took the cup he offered her a bit more tentatively than Holden. She swished the contents around as Holden voiced her own thought about being underaged, and shared his glance at Riley’s response.
	As Holden drank his, Izzy took a little more than a cautious sip of hers. She tried to hide a cough at the slight sensation somewhere between a burn and a tingle of the alcohol that accompanied it down. Trying to make it sound like she was just clearing her throat, she looked into the cup as if its contents had deeply offended her.
	“So,” she began as Holden handed over his drained cup, “what’s this ‘ritual,’ then? What’s he,” she jerked her head toward Holden, “supposed to do? And where should I be so I don’t get in the way?” She glanced around the room, seeking out the best possible spot to potentially not get mixed up in or ruin anything, while being capable of still seeing everything there would be to see.