The Order of Shadows

by Tess Adair

  “Really? Do they know we’re not donors?”

  “Atherton,” said Knatt, the slightest touch of suspicion coloring his tone. “This might be his idea of sucking up to you.”

  “You mean us?”

  “I meant what I said.”

  Logan grunted in reply. Jude could practically hear her crossing her arms. Finally, she forced herself to tear her eyes away from the impossible door standing in the middle of the eerily shining field behind them.

  When she turned back around, she saw that the figure coming down the hill was nearly upon them now. The first thing Jude noticed was her crisp uniform of black pants and a military jacket with a black torso but red sleeves. After that, she took in her long, jet-black hair, pulled into a tight ponytail, her bronze skin, and the commanding swagger of her walk. She looked like she couldn’t be much older than Jude. For just a moment, Jude found her gaze hopping between her and Logan, automatically forming a comparison.

  As she got a little bit closer, however, Jude also took in her dark, almond-shaped eyes and full lips, and the comparison in her mind ceased, like the flip of a switch. With some effort, she forced her mouth closed.

  The figure stopped just short of them, coming to stand strictly upright and offering them a salute.

  “Henrietta Logan and Hugh Knatt, I presume?” she said earnestly, then paused for a moment as her gaze fell on Jude. She glanced at the small card she had tucked in the palm of her hand. “And—uh—guest.”

  “This is our apprentice, Jude Li,” said Logan. Her voice was stiff and impatient. “And you can just call me Logan, thanks.”

  “Understood,” the uniform said quickly, with a tight nod. Jude could just imagine her clicking her heels together, like a perfect soldier. “Logan, and…Judely?”

  “Oh, uh. It’s two names,” said Jude, hoping she sounded more helpful than offended. “Uh, you can just call me Jude.”

  The chaperone girl gave her a small smile and nodded.

  “Got it,” she said, then turned her gaze on Knatt. “And that would make you Mr. Hugh Knatt?”

  He inclined his head in reply, his expression inscrutable. The chaperone paused as he did so, possibly to give him a chance to say something out loud. When he didn’t, she cleared her throat.

  “Excellent! Well. My name is Eliana Blake, and let me be the first to welcome you to the headquarters of the Order of Shadows.” At that pronouncement, she gave a shallow bow and gestured at the grounds behind her. Jude got the distinct impression that she was running through a script someone else had written for her.

  “As one of the Novices competing in the tournament this year, I have been assigned as your chaperone. That means you can ask me any questions you have or make any requests you may need to make. Basically, I’m here so you can order me around to do your bidding.”

  At that, she gave them a cheeky smile, and even though she knew it was something of a performance, Jude felt a smile spread over her own face in return. She did her best to stifle it as soon as it began.

  “More seriously, though…I’ll be there to escort you to each of the big events, and any of the smaller ones you request my presence for. Unless it takes place during my time in the tournament, of course.”

  Jude saw her first chance, and she jumped at it.

  “What if we want to go to the tournament?” she asked, the words coming out a touch stronger than she’d intended them.

  Logan had explained the basic concept of the tournament before they’d left, and if this girl was going to compete in it—well, that was something Jude wanted to see.

  For the first time since she’d greeted them, Eliana Blake looked almost shy. She ducked her head a moment, then raised her gaze to meet Jude’s with a small but triumphant smile.

  “In that case, since you’ve been assigned to me…you’ll be given the viewing box assigned to my party.”

  “Cool,” said Jude. She cursed how breathless she sounded, even with just that one word. For a moment, she thought that Eliana smiled right at her, but the moment was gone so quickly, she couldn’t be absolutely sure.

  Beside her, Logan took a careless sip from her coffee, boredom writ large on her face.

  “Sounds great. Should we head inside?”

  “Oh, of course!” Eliana exclaimed. She clasped her hands behind her back and straightened up her spine. “Follow me, please!”

  With a quick about-face turn, Eliana Blake began to climb back up the way she had come. Logan, Jude, and Knatt followed a few paces behind, keeping just enough distance between them to create a small bubble of auditory privacy, but not quite enough to raise true suspicion.

  After a moment, Knatt spoke.

  “How generous of Mr. Atherton,” he said, sotto voce, “to lend us his best and brightest during our stay.”

  “Why do you say that?” asked Logan, with a brief glance at the girl they followed behind.

  “While I don’t have many inroads to the gossip within the Order, I do have a few,” he said. “Miss Blake’s name has come up more than once.”

  “What did you hear about her?”

  “It was about the tournament, as a matter of fact. Miss Blake is favored to win.”

  Jude glanced up again, at the girl striding ahead of them with such earnest confidence. There was something about her demeanor that reminded her, ever so slightly, of the most athletically gifted boys at her high school. There was at once a confidence and an uncertainty about them, a feeling that they could do any task assigned to them—as long as someone else assigned it.

  After a moment, Logan picked up her pace to close some of the distance between them, in order to address Blake directly.

  “It was gracious of Atherton to assign us a chaperone, when we aren’t even donors,” she said, approximating earnestness herself. “Perhaps you could extend our thanks, the next time you see him.”

  “Oh, I don’t get a lot of one-on-one time with the High Prophet,” said Eliana with a chuckle. “And honestly, I doubt he had anything to do with my placement. He’s got more important things on his mind than scheduling Novices, I think.”

  “Right,” said Logan. She peered briefly at Eliana out of the corner of her eye, but otherwise gave no outward sign of her disbelief.

  “But I’ll admit, I was pretty excited when I found out about my assignment,” Eliana added, pausing for just a moment to toss Logan a meaningful glance. “You’re kinda famous around here, you know.”

  “Am I?” said Logan, looking unimpressed. “You all know there are actual famous people out in the world, right?”

  Eliana tossed a brief and charming grin over her shoulder. Jude couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw her wink at her.

  “I just mean I’ve heard about you, that’s all. People talk, you know? Hey, is it true you took down a rekal last summer, all on your own?”

  At first, Logan merely shrugged in response, but Eliana, back to keeping her eyes on the ancient steps they were climbing, missed it. Logan seemed to realize this and sighed.

  “Not without casualty,” she said, reluctantly, “but yes.”

  “I mean—does the perpetrator even count as a casualty?”

  Jude could hear the cavalier smile in Eliana’s voice, and she felt strangely unsettled. Her mind flashed to an image of Kurt Redmond, raising his hand in her English class. Sure, she had all but hated him: he was creepy, and he said creepy things about women in rooms that were full of them. But he had been a person, hadn’t he? A pathetic, angry kind of person, but a person nonetheless.

  Logan cleared her throat.

  “I count them all,” she said.

  Eliana stopped walking, turning to face Logan as she came up the step behind her.

  “I didn’t mean any offense, of course,” she said quickly. “I just meant—we can hardly be expected to cry over every criminal summoner who gets themselves killed, can we?”

  Logan said nothing in response. Her right eyebrow was raised.

  “I don’t know wh
at I’d do if I ever encountered a rekal on my own,” Eliana said as she began climbing the stairs again. She seemed to take Logan’s silence as agreement. “I think I’d just…run. And pray.”

  Their party remained silent as they finished their trek up the hill, the castle before them looming ever closer into view. Up on the hill, with the sun just beginning to dip behind it to the west, the building looked hulking and dark, and the closer they got to it, the more certain Jude became that it was of ancient construct, though apparently well-maintained enough to have survived into this century in good condition. She considered asking Eliana if she knew anything about it, but one look at the sullen expression on Logan’s face told her it might be best to let conversation alone for a few more minutes.

  Eventually they reached an imposing marble staircase leading up to the double front doors. Eliana rushed ahead of them up the stairs, pushing one heavy door open wide and holding it open for them as they came up behind her.

  Jude bit back on a gasp as she crossed the threshold. Briefly, her eye took in what appeared to be one half of a circular symbol inscribed on the open door before she was distracted by the interior: a vast, echoing entrance chamber, lined with painted tapestries on the side walls and a high balcony along the far wall where several armed, black-clad figures turned to stare down on them as they entered.

  “Right this way, please,” said Eliana as she steered them over to the far corner on their right, where a corridor seemed to lead deeper into the castle.

  Jude glanced at Logan before she followed, and she found that Logan was staring up at the people in black, watching them from the balcony. She raised her surely empty coffee mug in their direction in a mock-salute before heading after Eliana.

  Eliana led them down two hallways before steering them up three flights of stairs and down yet one more hallway, this one lined with numbered doors, like a hotel or a dormitory. Finally she stopped at one of the doors and turned to them.

  “This is your suite,” she said, gesturing to the door. “You’ll find the necessary ceremonial vestments inside. They’re only required at the opening and closing feasts, but you’re welcome to wear them at any other formal events, if you wish. We’ve also provided you with maps of the castle and grounds, which have marked a few off-limits areas you would be wise to familiarize yourself with. Do you have any other questions at this time?”

  Knatt cleared his throat.

  “Shall we be getting keys to the room?”

  “Of course,” said Eliana with an easy smile. She reached into her pocket and pulled out three identical, somewhat old-fashioned keys and handed them over to him. “Any other questions?”

  “Not really,” said Logan. She glanced around the hallway, her face still stamped with boredom. “If we come up with anything, I’m sure we can find you.”

  “Understood,” said Eliana. “Shall I return in an hour to escort you to the feast, or would you prefer I meet you there?”

  “I’m sure we can find it on our own,” said Logan dismissively.

  “But thank you for offering,” Jude added quickly, catching Eliana’s eye and giving her a smile.

  For half a second, Eliana graced her with another small, shy smile. Then the smile was gone, and in its place was her obedient professionalism.

  “Very good,” she said seriously, pulling her heels together and straightening her back again. Jude wondered if she was fighting the urge to salute. “I’ll be on my way, then, to give you some time to get settled.”

  With an unnatural crispness, Eliana Blake bowed at the waist, made a concise ninety-degree turn, and departed down the hallway. Jude watched her as she went, her confident stride propelling her away with surprising speed.

  She couldn’t help but wonder what their chaperone might be like when she wasn’t beholden to the Order’s timetable.

  Eventually, Eliana disappeared around a corner, and Knatt used one of the keys to open up the suite. They went inside, and Jude took in a slightly cramped common room, complete with three armchairs and a low coffee table. To their right, an open door revealed the entrance to the bathroom, also on the small side. Three other doors stood closed, presumably leading to the bedrooms. Like Eliana had mentioned, the coffee table boasted three parcels of white cardboard, each tied with a black ribbon, and a few folded up brochures, which were presumably the maps of the grounds. The parcels, Jude guessed, were the “vestments.”

  Logan shut the door behind them and immediately threw the bolt and the chain, too. When she turned back around, she had a purposed look about her.

  “So, what are they odds that one is here to spy on us?” She tossed a thumb over her shoulder toward the door, as if Eliana still lingered just beyond it.

  “It’s certainly not impossible,” said Knatt, setting his bag gently on the ground near the table. “Either way, I think we ought to cooperate with her. We don’t want to make the Seers Council think we’re suspicious.”

  Jude blinked, her head slightly spinning. She could tell that Logan wasn’t charmed by their chaperone, but did she really think she was a spy?

  “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I thought she seemed cool.”

  Logan let out a short sigh.

  “Whether she’s cool is beside the point,” she answered brusquely. “Her intentions are what matter. Hers, and Atherton’s.”

  Knatt’s expression was skeptical. “We must not jump to conclusions, of course. I believe Atherton has his reasons for assigning her to us, but we have no proof that said reason is espionage. If she’s known to be the best fighter in her class, then choosing her draws attention. It’s ostentatious. It would seem more likely that Atherton is trying to woo you, as it were, and he doesn’t care who knows.”

  Logan grunted, arms crossed tight over her chest. Jude shook her head, confused.

  “Wait, the Order is trying to woo you? I thought we didn’t like them. What’s going on?”

  “We don’t like them,” said Logan firmly.

  Knatt coughed and shot Logan a look.

  “Well, we don’t.” Logan shrugged, obstinacy written into her features.

  With a patient sigh, Knatt folded his hands behind his back and began to explain.

  “Charles Logan used to work with the Order quite closely,” he said. “When Charles…retired, they made repeated attempts to get him to reconsider. To no avail, of course. Returning to work was quite out of the question at that point. And when Miss Logan resumed her father’s business, word of her early successes renewed their interest.” He sighed again. “Not a month goes by that we don’t get a request from them to take up some contract on their behalf. It helps that they’re particularly understaffed on the West Coast, of course.”

  Jude nodded, letting that information sink in. A number of questions floated through her mind: if the Order offered to give them work, why did they refuse it? Even if they didn’t like the Order, surely it would be a net positive thing to help them help other people? And why was the Order so interested in them, anyway?

  But instead of asking any of these things, Jude stared down at the coffee table, hoping one of the other two might simply offer the information without any prodding. They did not.

  Eventually Logan stirred to action again, bending down to glance at the card stuck to one of the parcels.

  “Looks like they’ve each got our names on them,” she said. She lifted the package she was looking at and handed it over to Jude. “Here you go, Guest. Let’s get dressed, shall we?”

  Without another word, Logan picked up another one of the parcels, checked it, and carried it off to the door opposite the bathroom, closing herself in immediately.

  Jude couldn’t help but notice she’d chosen the room closest to the front door. If Logan had any desire to slip out without either of the others knowing, that would have been the best room to pick.

  Chapter Eighteen

  A Glimpse into the Shadows

  In the end, it turned out that a chaperone to the feast might not ha
ve been such a bad idea. By the time they reached the right room, after making their way through a maze of twisting corridors and converted conference rooms, the opening ceremony had nearly begun.

  Like Logan, Jude had taken her parcel and picked out a room to change in. She assumed the other rooms were just like hers: slim, with just enough space for a twin-size bed and a sliver of wood floor to walk over, a small chest of drawers set at the head of the bed, beneath a tall window with a heavy curtain.

  The lights, though electric, were set in elaborate sconces on the wall, each emblazoned with a symbol Jude didn’t recognize, though she had the vague feeling that it was familiar somehow. Her bed had been made with heavy blankets of a dark burgundy color. She couldn’t help but feel like the decorations were a little strange, somehow. It almost felt more like she were staying in a kitschy magic-themed hotel than an actual castle, despite what the rest of the building looked like. If Logan were to be believed about the dual purposes of the Summit, she supposed that feeling might have been somewhat intentional: perhaps the Order had chosen to exaggerate the flimsy mysticism to entertain the donors without unnerving them.

  When she’d opened her package, she found a plain set of hooded black robes inside. They looked like a graduation gown, only longer and with a hood attached. Logan had told her about this part: everyone in attendance had to wear plain black robes to the opening ceremonies. The Order members would be wearing black robes, too, except theirs would be adorned with markings near the collar and cuff to denote their rank.

  She stripped off her jacket and strapped on one of the letha satchels (just in case, she told herself) before pulling the robe on and fastening the buttons in the front. Catching sight of herself in the mirror that hung on the back of her door, she cringed a little bit. The robe wasn’t her style, and it was so big on her that it put her favorite sweatshirt to shame. Nevertheless, she gritted her teeth and headed back out into the common room to join the others.

  Nearly an hour later, the three of them burst into an enormous, semi-circular room, hoping against hope that they had, at last, found their destination. The room had a high, vaulted ceiling and no windows to speak of. The floor sloped gently downward toward the center of the room, and it was lined with hundred of pews, nearly all complete, full of black-robed figures who clearly hadn’t had the same trouble they had finding the right place to be.