Seth’s punishment had been much less severe: one thousand lines repeating “I must not mirror the idiotic whims of my delinquent accomplice.” Similar to his treatment of Gabriel’s lines, Bysonn had promptly torn up Seth’s effort right in front of him. Seth had also left the office after his encounter seething.
Daws on the other hand, was a very kindly old man who, after his many years of service, had amassed a wealth of knowledge about Wingtail Academy and all who had passed through its doors during his time there (which turned out to be most of the population of Sanctuary). Gabriel’s parents, he was informed, had both served time in detention aiding Daws in routine jobs around the school as Gabriel, himself, was now doing. In his discussions with Omari, Gabriel had learned much about his parents. Yet he still knew little of their academic lives. From Daws, for the first time, Gabriel felt that he was gaining a more rounded view of them. He would ask about them constantly, even if it meant Daws repeating the same stories of them over and over again. In hearing these stories, Gabriel felt a deeper connection and affinity to the parents he had no memory of.
The jobs Daws had him help out with varied as much as the appearance of the classrooms they visited. On alternate days they would refill the lanterns with grizzly-oil. The rest of the time the jobs could range from basic maintenance and repair of leaking waterways to preening and watering the strange and unusual plants in the school garden to chasing off invading caveworms.
The latter was no mean feat and probably the least enjoyable of all the duties they had to complete. Gabriel had wondered about caveworms since he had heard of them on his first day. They were quite a common pest as it turned out. Similar in appearance to earthworms, but much hardier, caveworms were able to burrow through solid rock and often grew to lengths of up to eight feet long and almost a foot in diameter. A persistent and resilient pest, the only way Daws had discovered of dealing with them was to wrestle them into the river that flowed through the gardens and let the current whisk them away. This, he revealed, was only a temporary solution and they almost always found their way back sooner or later.
By the end of the week, the long nights of detentions coupled with his heavy workload at school had absolutely exhausted Gabriel and he was overjoyed when the weekend finally rolled around. He was so tired that he slept until late in the afternoon on Saturday. He awoke with a start and after realising the time, threw on his clothes and raced along to Wingtail Lake. Unfortunately by the time he arrived there, Marina had long since departed.
He had missed their rendezvous.
Gabriel felt his stomach drop. He only hoped she would understand.
Sunday was no better. He overslept again and was late in meeting Seth and Tamera at the library. As he ploughed through the doors of the library he nearly bowled over Mr Nibbler who was carrying a tall stack of books at the time. The shock of the near collision made Mr Nibbler leap up in fright and drop all of the books, to which he admonished Gabriel for being ‘a young hoodlum who should watch where he was going.’
Seth and Tamera had already completed their Anthropology and Ancient Creatures homework and were midway through their essays on the divergence of the winged Wyvern from its Reptilian roots, when Gabriel slumped down into a chair at their table, apologising profusely for his lateness. Graciously his two friends helped him catch up on his homework so that they could complete the final few assignments together.
The next day, the week began anew, but for Gabriel it was much the same. Master Procyon continued to teach Heightened Senses Physical Potential lessons in place of Survival Studies and the still absent Master Tigris. The amount of homework continued to pile up relentlessly and every day after school, Gabriel’s time was taken up by serving his time in detention with Daws. After an initial coolness on the part of Marina towards him for missing their rendezvous on Saturday afternoon, much to the pleasure of Finn, Gabriel finally managed to steal a moment to apologise to her. After a spot of grovelling and much apologising, Marina wholeheartedly forgave him, much to the annoyance of Finn.
By late on Thursday evening, Gabriel was once again feeling physically and mentally drained as he traipsed towards Bysonn’s office dragging his aching feet along sluggishly, to report that all duties for the evening had been completed and to ask if he was permitted to leave. He rounded the corner into the darkened passageway leading to Bysonn’s office and stubbed his toe on a jagged rock protruding from the floor. Gabriel leant against the wall and rubbed his throbbing foot, cursing wildly under his breath. Hobbling on toward the Grandmaster’s office, he stopped again after only a few steps and looked round. He could have sworn he had just heard voices. But where had they come from?
He dismissed it. He was exhausted and it had clearly been his imagination playing tricks on him.
But then a second later there they were again. Only this time it was clearer than before. He thought he had heard his grandfather’s name uttered but it had been barely more audible than a whisper. He looked around again. The corridor was dimly lit but he could still see well enough to observe that there was nobody else in the passageway with him.
Slowly, cautiously Gabriel crept back towards the entrance and peered around the corner. It was deserted. Where had the voices come from? Then yet again he heard an indistinguishable whisper of something, much quieter now. If the voices were only audible in the passageway, he thought to himself, then that can only mean... Stepping as tentatively as he could, taking extra care not to disturb any loose rocks or stones he began to creep towards Bysonn’s office, straining his hearing as much as he could. He reached the door and still operating in total silence, pressed his ear against the thick wood. He considered the possibility that if the Grandmaster opened the door at that point to find him eavesdropping, then he would more than likely slaughter him on the spot or, at best, put him in detention for the rest of his natural life. Still he had heard Omari’s name, he was sure of it. He had to discover what was being said about him.
As best as he could tell, Bysonn was inside talking to someone whose voice he did not recognise. He could not tell at that time who it was that had mentioned his grandfather. He listened out intently and at first caught only brief snatches of what was said, but gradually the conversation became clearer and clearer. After some time the talking ceased and once again all was silent.
Gabriel waited for a few moments but the owner of the mystery voice did not exit the room. Confused and albeit troubled by what he had heard, Gabriel decided he needed to find out who the mystery person was. He lifted one of the large, circular door knockers, rapped it twice and called out, ‘Grandmaster Bysonn?’
‘Enter,’ Bysonn replied flatly.
Gabriel heaved the great door open and stepped inside. ‘Umm...’ Gabriel began, his eyes quickly scanned the room and found no sign of anyone other than the Grandmaster. ‘All duties are completed for today, Grandmaster.’
‘Congratulations,’ Bysonn said sarcastically, not looking up from the documents he was reading, ‘You may leave.’
‘Thank you,’ Gabriel said, bowing slightly. He paused momentarily and continued to scan the room. There were several shadowy alcoves dotted around the office. Whoever Bysonn had been speaking with must be hiding in one of those, he thought.
Aware that Gabriel was still stood in the room, Bysonn looked up. ‘Was there anything else?’ he said coldly.
‘No, Grandmaster. I was just... um... leaving.’
‘Then be quick about it, cub, before I find some other menial task for you to slave over.’
Without another word, Gabriel slipped out of Bysonn’s office and closed the door softly behind him. As he headed home, he did so with renewed vigour, forgetting all about his exhaustion. He was troubled by what he had heard and knew he needed to investigate further. A plan was already forming by the time he reached home and there were only two people at that moment that he trusted enough to share it with.
The house was empty when he arrived. Omari was working late again as he had
been doing for the last several days. He had been home briefly, that was clear, as he had once again left out food for Gabriel and an apology note to excuse his absence. Gabriel quickly shovelled back the roast beef and potatoes, which had long since gone cold, and retired to his room to perfect his strategy.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
PREPARATIONS
The very next morning, Gabriel awoke earlier than normal; the events of the previous evening were still fresh in his mind and he needed as much time as possible to discuss his plans before school began. Entering the kitchen, Gabriel found it exactly as he had left it the night before. He placed the previous night’s dishes in the sink and went back into the hallway. The door to Omari’s study had been left ajar. He called out to his grandfather as he knocked on the door. No answer. The room was deserted. Clearly Omari had not returned home last night. Whatever business was taking up all of his grandfather’s time of late was obviously pressing. He wondered whether he should confide in him what he had overheard.
No. Not yet, he thought, not until he had confirmed his suspicions. But that was going to take some work.
He returned to the kitchen to wash the dishes. He dried them, put them away then picked up his school bag and left the house. Before long Gabriel met with Seth and Tamera who were on their way to meet him.
‘Morning, Gabriel,’ Tamera said.
‘Hey, Gabe,’ Seth said chirpily, ‘you’re up early. How was detention?’
‘Intriguing.’
Seth scoffed, ‘Yeah, I’ll bet.’
‘No, really.’
Tamera said, ‘Gabriel, what are you talking about?’
‘I overheard something in Bysonn’s office last night as I was about to leave.’
‘You were eavesdropping?’ Tamera said in shock, ‘Gabriel, if Bysonn had caught you, or finds out...’
‘I know, but he didn’t. Anyway that’s not important right now.’
‘So tell us then, what did you hear?’ said Seth.
‘Well I’m not completely sure,’ Gabriel admitted, scratching the back of his neck slightly perplexed, ‘I mean it was hard to make it out at first. I only heard brief snippets, but then it was like my ears cleared or my hearing improved or something ‘cause I was able to make out more.’
‘Who was it?’ Tamera said.
‘I could make out Bysonn, but I’m not sure who he was talking to. Whoever it was spoke much quieter, as though he was afraid the office was bugged or something.’
‘Bugged?’ Tamera asked quizzically. ‘What have insects got to do with anything?’
‘No, I mean like there was recording equipment in the room.’
Tamera shook her head in bewilderment.
‘Great herds of Africa, Whiskers! Will you let him finish his story?’ Seth said in exasperation.
Tamera looked pained. ‘I was only asking a question.’
‘Yeah about stupid, pointless stuff. Ask questions when he’s done!’
‘Well I’m sorry that we’re not all as well informed in human terminology. I personally think there are more important subjects in school to focus on-’
‘Good for you,’ Seth turned to Gabriel, ‘So what were they talking about?’
As the trio continued on towards school, Gabriel retold the secret conversation from the previous night.
The mystery voice had said, ‘Omari and the Council are still absolutely livid about what happened on the field trip. He wants answers, but Tigris is still comatose. He has a guard posted by his ward twenty fours a day in case he wakes up.’
‘It has been a disaster. They came to see me, demanding answers. To appease them, I had no choice but to cancel all future trips to the surface,’ Bysonn had replied.
‘You made the correct choice. We need to allay any suspicion.’
‘You think they are suspicious?’
‘Not currently. But we must tread carefully.’
‘Which doesn’t help us in remedying our most pressing problem.’
‘Agreed.’
Byson fumed, ‘Those Reptilian incompetents! They were gifted the perfect opportunity!’
‘The Reptilians are but a blunt instrument – they need to be directed towards their quarry in order to achieve any sort of success.’
‘He was out in the open, defenceless!’
‘Agreed.’
‘We will have no such opportunity again...’ Bysonn sighed.
‘Never say never. We simply move onto Plan B.’
‘I... cannot agree. The Harvest Festival... there will be so many people present, the risks are far too great.’
‘Collateral damage. The ends justify the means.’
‘But the Reptilians entering Sanctuary... that is a betrayal to everything we are fighting for, everything we hold dear... it may even result in the loss of Council members, or even Omari himself!’
‘Our success takes priority over all else. No one is irreplaceable.’
Bysonn sighed deeply again and was silent for several moments. ‘Actually... there may be another way. What if it were made to look like an accident...? I have an idea, but it will take some further planning...’
‘We are running out of time.’
‘The Harvest Festival is still over three weeks away, we have that time to seek viable alternatives. However we may need help from someone with... an additional skill set.’
‘I may know of another who believes in our cause that can aid us and if necessary, take the blame. Prepare your plans. I shall be in touch,’ the mystery voice said and then had spoken no more.
Gabriel explained that when he entered, Bysonn was the only one inside.
‘Leaping lizards!’ Seth finally uttered his mouth agape.
‘I know,’ Gabriel said.
‘So what do you think we should do about it?’ Seth asked.
‘I’ve been thinking about that most of the night. We need to get into Bysonn’s office.’
‘WHAT? That’s suicide!’
‘What other choice do we have?’
Tamera remained silent for several minutes, processing everything she had heard. Finally, she said, ‘I don’t think we should jump to any rash conclusions. I’m sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this. Gabriel, you said yourself, you couldn’t hear everything clearly maybe you just misheard what you thought you heard.’
‘I know what I heard, Tamera.’
‘But maybe you’re taking it out of context, perhaps if you’d heard the whole conversation-’
‘Tamera!’ Seth interrupted, ‘He heard Bysonn talking with someone about replacing Omari and allowing the Reptilians into Sanctuary! In what warped context is any of that a good thing?’
‘You don’t know that for sure! It possibly sounded like that may have been implied! But this is Grandmaster Bysonn we’re talking about. Sure he’s a vile, arrogant monster, but he would never condone working with the enemies of Sanctuary!’
‘OK, suppose that is the case,’ Gabriel said, ‘suppose I did misinterpret what they were talking about. Don’t you think we should investigate anyway, just to make sure?’
‘But what do you intend to find? It’s not like a book will be left out on his desk entitled “My Evil Plans by Validus Bysonn,” is it?’
‘I don’t know what we’ll find. But we could start by finding out where whoever he was talking with went to. I bet there’s a secret door or something in there that nobody else knows about.’
Seth clicked his fingers as a light bulb switched on in his head. ‘I bet that’s why he’s had the map of Wingtail on loan from the library all this time – he doesn’t want anyone else to find out about it!’
‘Don’t you think we’d be better off just telling someone?’ Tamera said.
‘Yeah, right. And who exactly would believe me?’ Gabriel said, ‘It’d be my word against Bysonn’s and he’s already convinced the school that I caused the attack on Master Tigris. Face it, we’re on our own.’
Tamera relented, ‘OK, so what’s
your plan of action?’
‘We get into Bysonn’s office and find something incriminating.’
‘And how do we do that?’
‘Well that’s the bit that I was still working on.’
‘I see... and when were you thinking of initiating this grand scheme?’
‘Tomorrow.’
‘Let’s do it,’ Seth said.
‘Tomorrow? That is the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard!’
‘Why?’ Gabriel and Seth said in unison.
‘For starters, how do you even know if Bysonn will be in there or not? Secondly, how do you hope to explain us being in the school on a weekend? And thirdly, how do you even intend to get into the school? The Boatman only operates during weekdays. You can’t possibly hope to walk around the lake!’
Just then they heard a soft padding of feet approaching from behind.
Aures called out to them, ‘Guys! Hey, guys! Wait for me!’
They each turned to face him. Seth groaned and rolled his eyes.
‘Hey guys,’ Aures repeated as he approached them, ‘I almost thought you didn’t hear me for a second. How’s it going?’
Gabriel said, ‘Not bad, Aures. How are you?’
‘Good, good. I don’t usually see you three heading into school.’ This was true. Apart from a rare occasion where he arrived at the jetty at the same time or, an even rarer case, earlier, Aures was often late.
‘My mum’s got me on a new morning routine,’ Aures continued, ‘She said she’s fed up of having the masters complain to her that I’m late for school. She said if it happens again she’s going to put me on a diet of nothing but cabbage and Brussels sprouts until I learn my lesson. So now I have to get up an hour and a half earlier than I used to.’
‘That’s great, Aures. Really,’ Seth said, yawning and not even trying to feign interest.
‘Did I hear you guys talking about getting into school at the weekend?’
The three friends eyed each other shiftily. Tamera quickly denied, ‘No, no, not at all, Aures. Why would we want to do that?’
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