At my question, she flipped the page and then looked up at me. “I don’t know. But I’ve been thinking. Why Vayvin? Was it really because of the band leader thing?” she asked.
After glancing around to make sure we were alone, I went over and sat down on her bunk. “I think she knew who the killer was,” I told her. “At least she suspected. And apparently she turned out to be right.”
Esmeralda’s eyes were huge. “How could you possibly know that?” she demanded.
I scanned the room again to be certain no one was listening. Just in case.
“She told me so. She said she had some sort of weird suspicion about who it might be. At first I didn’t know what she was talking about, but later on she confirmed that she had a suspicion about who the killer was,” I said. “When I pressed her on it, she backtracked and pretended she really didn’t.”
“Crazy. And she got killed for her trouble?” Esmeralda asked.
“Yeah, it looks that way,” I said.
“We have to find out who the killer is,” said Esmeralda urgently. “We can’t do another year like this. I don’t think they’ll let us come back if the killer isn’t brought to justice. I have a feeling that if this goes any further, even the king will want to close the academy.”
“Maybe. Maybe you’re right. I’ve wanted to know who the killer is all year, not least because I was expecting to be a target,” I said.
Esmeralda grimaced. “I think the answer is to make us all targets.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
All of the students were eating dinner in the atrium one day when a figure came stumbling in. The guards let him pass, and I saw that he was wearing the colors of King Deffy. He was dirty and breathing hard from his long journey to reach the academy. All of the teachers were there, and a whole troop of the guards as well.
With such a short time left in the year, everyone was on edge. Instead of subsiding as time passed, our fears festered. We all expected another attempt at murder before the year ended. The guards, of course, wanted to stop that from happening, as did everyone else.
The messenger came in and instantly collapsed. Paddy stood up and swept over to him. From a distance we saw him take something from the messenger and carry it over to the principal.
The principal opened it, scanned it, and shook his head. Several of the other teachers went over and whispered together.
Then the principal stood up and cleared his throat. Most of the conversation had already died to a whisper, so there was immediate silence while everyone waited to hear the news.
“The king intends to announce his successor at the conclusion of this academic year,” the principal announced. “Obviously, his choice is likely to be between the two princes, Prince Orlando and Prince Reidar, who are the remaining options. As you all know, both young men attend classes here. The king has announced that it is urgent that he pick his successor, so he will do so in short order. He doesn’t want to interrupt the conclusion of the study period, however, so he will wait until after the term is finished.”
The principal sat back down among his fellow administrators, having apparently said all he was going to say on the matter.
My eyes found Prince Orlando. He was paler than usual and had bent his head.
That evening Prince Reidar, his guards, Lewis, and I were asked to return to the kitchen for extra cleaning.
“This feels like a lot of work,” Batham complained.
“It’s part of our test,” said the prince. “A lot of students are being asked to work more this week while we study. You’re supposed to be able to multitask.”
“I think this doesn’t happen at the fabled shadow academy,” Lewis muttered.
“Of course it doesn’t happen there. Everything is perfect there. It’s all sunshine and bright flowers,” I muttered.
“There’s no reason to be dramatic about it. I would settle for there not being any murders,” Lewis said.
“Help me with these boxes?” Colly asked.
I of course did as he asked. There was a stack of large, empty egg cartons waiting to be moved. It was amazing how many eggs the academy went through every day.
Colly had started to stack the cartons into piles to take to the other room, after which they’d be left on the doorstep to be picked up and filled again.
I went over to pick up an armload, then followed Colly out back. Surprisingly, he didn’t say anything as we worked. Even though he was so quiet, usually when we were alone he was willing to chat at least a little. It wasn’t until the last armload, as we were standing outside in the cold night air for a moment, that he spoke. “What are your plans for the summer?”
“I guess I’m going to stay here in the high mountains. It’s apparently allowed. You just do more work. Some students do it. Most don’t. But the principal said I could stay. I don’t think any of the other prisoners are going to, though,” I said.
“Most of the other prisoners didn’t make it to the end of the year,” Colly pointed out. “None of them were targets of the killer. It would seem that bringing bait to the castle wasn’t the best idea.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “It did get me here. I guess I’m glad about it. I don’t think the other prisoners had much support,” I said.
Colly looked out at the cold landscape, where the midnight hills blended into the black grass and sky.
“That’s not surprising. I don’t think it was a well thought out plan. Unfortunately, the king views life as expendable,” he said.
“The current king does. Do you think Prince Reidar will be chosen as the next?” I asked.
Colly’s jaw tightened. “I have a feeling that he will be, yes. He comes from the biggest province. It would be crazy for the king not to pander to the prince’s family. They are the most powerful family at court. And I know the prince’s father wants him to be the crown prince. He will make a kind king,” he said.
“That’s exactly what I think. I think Prince Reidar would make a good king. But I didn’t know his family was so powerful,” I said.
Colly gave me a rueful look. “Yes. They are powerful. They’ve been a strong ally to the king. The king’s decision isn’t far off now,” he said.
“How do they feel about their son’s life being put at risk?” I asked.
He glanced at me and thought before he spoke. “Well, I haven’t exactly asked them. But I do know that Prince Reidar’s family believes in honor and bravery. Running away from the academy with a killer on the loose would not be the brave thing to do. On top of that, I do believe they expect the prince to catch the killer. If he’s to be king, he cannot leave his subjects to die.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You know, there are some flaws in that logic,” I told him.
He grinned. “You don’t say!”
“He would have an easier time catching the killer if he weren’t always being dragged away whenever the killer shows his face. If the killer is caught, everybody will be safe,” I said.
“Maybe,” said Colly, “but if we close the academy and the killer hasn’t been caught, there’s a chance he’ll just follow students and kill them in their home provinces.”
“We don’t know that for certain,” I said.
“Of course not,” said Colly.
But he didn’t complete his thought, because just then we heard a crashing sound. Colly jolted around. He stiffened and his eyes went wide, and the next instant he was gone.
Colly was fast and powerful, but I had never seen him move so quickly before. I raced after him, but we were several corridors away from the kitchen, so it was a trek to get back there.
I couldn’t even see Colly when he went crashing back into the room where we’d left the prince, Batham, and Lewis. When I reached what I thought was the kitchen door, all I saw was darkness. The kitchen lights had been extinguished.
Waves of cold melted over me, and I dove into the kitchen, hoping Colly was just in front of me. Inside me, the wellspring of bright light was flarin
g. I dropped my shoulders and put my hands palms up, willing the sparkling to come out.
I had fought hard against the killer when he attacked at band practice. I had also tried hard to keep Vayvin from going off on her own, but she had died, and her death was partly my fault.
No more of my friends were going to die.
As I raised my palms, two bottles of sparkling magic appeared in my hands. I felt my muscles lengthening, my back stretching, my feet becoming more nimble. I was turning into one of the powers whom everyone feared.
With the lights in my hands, I could see a little way ahead. I heard water crashing, then I saw a pale head grappling with a shadow. Batham had attacked the attacker.
Just then the prince appeared behind the Shadow holding a large crockery pot in his hand. He slammed it over the Shadow’s head, but the Shadow ducked out of the way just in time and the prince and Batham nearly collided.
The Shadow was gone, but only for a moment.
When I saw him again, Colly had materialized next to the prince and Batham with his sword drawn. The Shadow immediately drew his own sword and made for Colly, who started to circle.
I reached for my hip, but I had no sword. I wasn’t well enough trained to carry a real one.
The prince spun around and saw me. “Eddi, run!” he yelled.
Colly gave the tiniest flicker at the sound of my name, and the inattention cost him.
The Shadow darted forward.
Colly danced back, but he was now within inches of death. Then Batham drew his own sword and managed to put his own body between the prince and the Shadow. Now it was two against one.
The Shadow drew another blade.
I swallowed hard. The Shadow was turning out to be terribly hard to kill, even against skilled warriors. I raced forward and joined Batham and Colly to put myself between the prince and the Shadow.
“Everyone has to stop protecting me,” the prince yelled.
For a second I wondered where Lewis had gone, but I didn’t have time to find out. The Shadow slashed out at both Colly and Batham. They were trying to get him into a corner, but the Shadow was working his way along so he’d have his back to the door.
The Shadow slashed at Batham, who was clearly the weaker swordsman. In fact, he wasn’t very good at all.
Colly, on the other hand, was incredibly skilled. Only some of the oldest students at the academy were as good with a sword as Colly was.
He kept moving forward, forcing the Shadow to move continuously in response. Meanwhile, I was trying to get a handle on how big the Shadow was.
Was he a particularly large or small student? I couldn’t tell. Somehow I couldn’t get a read on him, and I told myself I had to pay attention to what was going on in this moment, or I was going to get killed myself.
The Shadow stepped back once more, then lunged forward. His swords started to shimmer red in his hands and fire poured out of the blades as he slashed forward again. He was putting deadly magic into vicious strikes. Then his body shifted and he slashed one more time.
I wasn’t certain which were magical images and which were real. Colly appeared to be unsure as well. He hesitated now, and his movements slowed, then his own sword burst into black flames.
I gasped and tried desperately to think of a way to help. I started to creep around the side of the room, where there were buckets of water at the far end of the wall.
I had an idea, but I had to be careful that Colly and Batham weren’t in harm’s way when I carried it out.
Moving along the wall took me away from Prince Reidar, who had drawn his sword but was still staying out of the fray.
As I moved along the wall, a vicious power exploded around us. Several knives flew out of the killer’s grasp and darted for Prince Reidar. Someone screamed just as I reached the basins of water. I grabbed one and tipped it over, doing my best to make sure the water would only go where the Shadow was standing.
The rest of the kitchen had been plunged into darkness again, and that helped my cause. In all the confusion, the killer had forgotten about me.
There was no sign that he saw the water coming, but Batham and Colly both did. Colly made a dive for Prince Reidar, leaving Batham to fend off the Shadow. But Batham was no match for the killer, who took one dangerous step forward and effortlessly disarmed my friend.
The Shadow still appeared to have several swords to work with. As he took another step forward, Batham tried to back up, but his back was now against the wall and the Shadow just kept coming.
Then, just in time, the water I had dumped on the floor reached the Shadow’s feet. As he took the final step to come within reach of Batham, he slipped. The last thing I saw was the Shadow tumbling backward as I darted forward.
Then the light dimmed again and I lost sight of him.
I searched the floor frantically, but the Shadow had disappeared.
Someone was yelling, and someone else was screaming. In all the confusion I called upon my wellspring of magic, and it burst out of me in lights that scattered everywhere. The kitchen was suddenly bathed in color.
What met my eyes was the scene I had never wanted to see. Colly was cradling the prince as he lay motionless, with blood on his tunic. Batham had sunk to his knees on the other side of his fallen friend.
Under the table was Lewis, apparently unconscious.
The Shadow was nowhere to be seen.
The killer had attacked and we had lost.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Is he dead?” I gasped.
“No. But he’s injured,” said Colly, his eyes never leaving Prince Reidar. “We have to get him help quickly.”
I didn’t wait. As I went dashing after the Shadow, I heard a door close. The Shadow had gone the way Colly and I had come from when we’d taken the egg cartons out of the kitchen.
I ran through the stone tunnels, watching for a window I had taken note of before because I knew it would be a shortcut to the outside. I just hoped it was unlocked.
It was, so I flipped up the glass and shoved myself out.
As I stood next to the castle, the darkness was alive all around me. It would have been a beautiful scene if the Shadow hadn’t almost succeeded in killing the likely future king.
I raced around the side of the building. Just as I reached the door where Colly and I had been standing a short while ago, I saw a flap of black disappearing into the night.
I pelted after the Shadow, trying to use my magic to go faster, to be quieter. My hearing was sharper now, helping me follow the Shadow.
But where was he going?
I saw the pond in front of us, shimmering in the moonlight that was streaming down. The mild spring would come soon, but not tonight.
Once we were on open ground it was easier to see the Shadow flit across the flat lawns. Given that he was dressed all in black, I couldn’t tell if he was turning to look over his shoulder or not.
Then I realized where he was headed. He was already above me, heading for the climb to the waterfall. He was going to make that long and deadly ascent in the darkness. Why, I wasn’t sure.
But I had no time to think about it right now, because I was going to follow him no matter what his reasons were. He might be a good climber, but I was better.
I looked over my shoulder and saw that the castle was filled with light, a bright candle in the darkness. When I turned back toward the falls, the Shadow had increased his pace. He must have realized that I was following. He had now reached the base of the waterfall and had started to climb.
Just as I reached the base myself, something burned past my head. I looked up to see the Shadow sending spells of power down at me. My wellspring pulsed in response.
“I hope you’ll defend me when the time comes,” I muttered to my magic. My wings of magic would have been useful right now, but unfortunately they were nowhere to be seen. I grabbed hold and started to climb as more hot air shot past my head and fire rained down on me.
“Can’t you do any bette
r than that?” I yelled.
The blasts of fire increased.
“Great idea. Goad an accomplished killer into being angrier,” I muttered to myself. But I couldn’t help it. Rage mixed with fear had turned me feral.
My hands squeezed the rock as I pulled myself upward. Methodical and precise, I chased after Vayvin’s killer. Never in my life had I climbed so quickly.
The Shadow was at the top of the waterfall now. Once I got up there, I would have him, and I wouldn’t let him get away again.
By the time I was nearly to the top, the Shadow had disappeared. My arms and legs were screaming from how fast I had climbed, and now I had to be ready for anything.
Bracing, I looked back toward the castle again. I thought I saw someone streaking in my direction over the open ground, but in the darkness I couldn’t be certain. Then, just as I pulled myself onto the top of the ledge next to the crashing waterfall, something slammed into my chest and I went flying.
Air rushed past me as I tumbled downward past the falls, not knowing of anything that would prevent me from dying at the bottom. Then, with no conscious effort on my part, my back exploded and wings of magic burst out of me.
For a few terrifying moments I kept dropping like a stone, while the massive wings tried to get hold of my body to stop my fall.
I was halfway down the length of the waterfall when the wings gained control and pushed me forward and upward again. I screamed. I felt strong and powerful as I scanned the scene looking for my enemy.
And there he was, still at the top of the waterfall, his back to me now. He didn’t have to worry about me, because he thought he had killed me and was already walking away. I wondered where he thought he was going.
Was he going to follow the river up through the outcroppings to the hills? Okay, maybe he had a secret place in the mountains. I, of course, had no idea.
Perhaps alerted by some slight movement of mine, the Shadow spun around, his face still obscured by a mask of black mist cast by an elaborate spell.
“You’re going to have to do better than that,” I commented.
Noble Fae Academy: Year One Page 23
