Tainted (The Soul Chronicles Book 1)

by Morgan L. Busse

  Kat sat still as he prepared the slides again. Marianne sat at her left, along with the twenty other ladies who had completed the Academy of Science two-year program. Behind them were the male students.

  The photographer disappeared again behind the cloth. He held up his hand. One. Two. Three.

  Another poof and smoke.

  He came out, his hair on end from the static electricity. “Good. Very good. This will be in the Herald tomorrow.”

  Kat caught sight of a man near the edge of the stage. She gripped her skirt, her heart pounding inside her ears. She turned her head slightly and searched the shadows again out of the corner of her eye.

  Yes, it was him.

  Her father.

  He wore his Tower uniform—a deep green overcoat embroidered in gold, deep green vest, and dark pants. His wavy silver hair was combed back, exposing his hawkish face. He stood beside two of her professors, talking.

  She gripped her skirt tighter. Could he have come for her?

  “Kat? Is everything all right?” Marianne whispered beside her.

  “What?”

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “I . . . uh . . .” She let go of her skirt and smoothed away the wrinkles. “Yes, everything is fine. It looks like Father came for my graduation after all.”

  She glanced at the front row. Had Ms. Stuart known her father would be coming today?

  “Your father is here?” Marianne craned her neck and searched the crowd.

  Kat nodded to her right. “Yes. Off stage. Talking to Professors Flintlocke and Margrave.”

  Marianne turned and stared. “Cogglesfoot, you’re right! I can’t believe he cam—”

  “Shhhh.” Kat’s face grew hot. “Please, Marianne.”

  “Oh, yes, right.” Marianne sat back in her chair, her head high. “Do you think he’ll choose his apprentices today?”

  Kat licked her lips. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything my father does.” Was that why he was here? Not to see her, but to choose his apprentices? Her stomach hardened. What if he didn’t choose her?

  Professor Flintlocke left her father and walked across the stage, his black robes swishing with each step. He stopped before the podium and the auditorium grew quiet. “Welcome. Today is a special day, one that will go down in history. Behind me is the first women’s class to graduate from the Tower Academy of Sciences, along with our men. And here to celebrate today’s historic occasion is Dr. Alexander Bloodmayne, Head Scientist for the Tower. Please welcome Dr. Bloodmayne.” He waved toward the right.

  Her father walked past the curtains and made his way across the stage, his head high, his posture regal. The auditorium broke out in enthusiastic applause. The people of World City respected Dr. Alexander Bloodmayne. After all, his latest invention—a healing serum—saved many of the soldiers on the front lines of the war with Austrium. Who wouldn’t revere a man like that? A hero of the people.

  But Kat knew better.

  He never glanced at her, never looked her way as he crossed the stage to the podium. He had to know she was here. After all, he had been the leading scientist to push for women’s admittance into the academy, and he had paid her tuition. She swallowed the lump inside her throat, her eyes prickling with tears.

  Dr. Bloodmayne stopped in front of the podium. “Thank you, Professor Flintlocke.” A few seconds passed as the crowd quieted down. “Today is indeed an important day . . .”

  Kat stared at her father’s back. Why did he treat her so coldly? She twisted her skirt between her fingers. She did everything to please him. Everything! Even when he wasn’t around.

  The blood whooshed through her veins.

  He never came to visit, not once, during the two years she was here at the academy. Yet he shows up today, the celebrity speaker for her graduation. He had no right to be here!

  Her fingers began to tingle.

  And yet she still wanted his approval. To have him just once look at her and smile and tell her, “Well done.”

  Her vision grew red.

  A movement in the front row caught her eye: Ms. Stuart’s white feather, waving back and forth in concert with her shaking head. The plump housekeeper stared up at her, her face tight and pale, as if she intended to calm Kat by force of will alone.

  Kat’s eyes went wide and she sucked in her breath. No one seemed to notice. She concentrated on her breathing and flexed her fingers. Not now, I can’t lose control right now . . .

  She took another deep breath and the iron band around her chest loosened. The tingling vanished from her fingers and her vision returned to normal.

  She had almost lost it, right here in front of everyone.

  A cold sweat broke out across her body.

  Ms. Stuart continued to stare at her, but now her gaze held compassion and concern.

  Kat looked away. She hadn’t come that close to losing control since that first morning two years ago.

  I can’t do this anymore.

  “. . . Mr. Blaylock Sterling, Miss Nicola Tremaine, and Miss Marianne Fealy.”

  Marianne gave a small squeal next to her. “I made it! I can’t believe I made it! I—” She looked over at Kat and her face fell. “Kat . . .” she whispered, her face going from elated to stricken.

  Kat looked from her friend to her father still at the podium. Wait, had he just announced . . . his apprentices? The bottom of her world vanished, and she felt as if she were falling. The applause of the audience echoed inside her mind.

  Father never called her name.

  Kat worked her mouth, her cheeks hot while the rest of her body grew cold. The tingling came back along her fingertips, and for one crimson moment, she wanted to see the whole auditorium erupt in a blaze: see each and every red velvet chair catch fire and listen to the people scream. But most of all, she wanted to see her father turn and look at her, really look at her, for the first time in her life.

  Then she sank back into her chair.

  “Kat,” Marianne whispered. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

  Kat shook her head slightly and gave Marianne a rueful smile. She would not take away from her friend’s moment. But inside, she felt as though she had been stabbed by a thousand knives.

  Her father said some closing words and then the rest of the professors joined him at the podium. Each graduate’s name was called and each one stood and accepted a rolled piece of parchment, tied up in a bright red ribbon.

  When they called her name, Kat stood stiffly and took the piece of paper, a small smile plastered across her face. She barely heard the applause of the crowd. Instead, a steady hum filled her mind and only strength of will kept her standing.

  Then they were dismissed.

  Marianne turned toward her and grabbed her hand. “Kat, if I could do something, anything . . . It’s not right. You should have been named, not me. You were one of the Tower’s best students.”

  Kat gave her a weak smile. “It’s all right, Marianne. I am very happy for you.”

  “But I know how much your father’s approval means to you.”

  “And right now he believes I would be better suited for another position.”

  “That’s not true. You were the top of the class in biology.”

  “And Father works a great deal with chemistry. There was no one better than you in chemistry. You’ll make a great apprentice.”

  “But what will you do?”

  Kat clasped her hands together. “I don’t know. Perhaps one of the steam factories will have need of me. Or maybe the military.”

  “You don’t really mean that, do you? You’d join the war?”

  Kat shrugged. “I don’t know. But what I do know is that there is a gala tonight and I’m not going to think about my future any more today.”

  “But—”

 
“Your father is coming.”

  A robust man approached the stage, his orange hair swept to the side, a large grin on his face.

  The sharp pain came back, right there above her heart. If only she could see Father look at her that way.

  “My girl!” Mr. Fealy opened his arms. Marianne gave Kat one last look, then joined him in a hug.

  Kat turned away. Her father stood to the left of the stage, reporters and fans around him. He wore a regal smile and used his hands as he talked. Would anyone notice if she slipped away? Maybe she could leave and take a walk in the park before the gala tonight.

  “I’m proud of you.”

  Kat turned.

  Ms. Stuart stood on the top stair, her purse held between her gloved hands. “So proud of you.”

  Kat sucked in her lips and nodded. She didn’t want to cry, not here, not in front of everyone. Ms. Stuart seemed to notice. She cast a look at the other side of the stage and her face tightened.

  “Come, Kathryn. I need some fresh air.”

  She nodded and followed Ms. Stuart down the stairs and along the side aisle toward the door in the back. Outside, the sun shone brightly across World City.

  But inside, she was cold as ice.

  Ms. Stuart led the way to Centennial Park a block away. “Kathryn, it’s time you made your own way in the world. You’re a woman now, and an educated one.”

  Kat nodded. Ms. Stuart was right. World City had a lot to offer a young woman. Everywhere there was progress. It was time for her to step away from her father’s shadow and become her own woman.

  They passed the iron fence and entered the park, where couples were strolling along the gravel paths between the gardens and trees. Men in suits and dapper hats. Women in dress suits with wide brimmed hats and a feather on top. The flowers that lined the paths were just starting to bloom, and green leaves sprouted along naked branches. A cool breeze blew across the park and Kat shivered. If only she had her cloak with her.

  “Perhaps you will also find what you are looking for.”

  Kat glanced at Ms. Stuart.

  “It happened again. On stage. Am I right?”

  Kat rubbed her arms. “Yes. But that’s the first time since . . . Well, it never happened at school.”

  “I know. You would have told me if it had.”

  Would she have? Kat wasn’t so sure.

  “Did seeing your father trigger it?”

  Kat let her breath out her nose as they passed beneath an oak tree. Ms. Stuart understood all too well. “Yes.”

  Ms. Stuart gave her a firm nod. “Another reason to move away. Women no longer stay home.”

  “But where would I go? What would I do?”

  Ms. Stuart waited until they passed a young couple. Kat glanced back. The couple looked like they were courting. They held hands and the young man was leaning down toward the young woman with a smile on his face. The young woman beamed back.

  What would it be like to be a normal young woman? Would she have a beau? Would she be walking in some park, her arm linked with a young man’s?

  She shook her head and turned back. The only young men she knew were the few she had met at the Tower Academy. They were either smart and dull, or looking for trouble. She wasn’t interested in either type.

  What was her type?

  Ms. Stuart clasped her handbag between both hands. “What about finding a cure for your condition?” She said the last few words quietly.

  Her heart sank. She had secretly hoped whatever was wrong with her would finally vanish once she reached womanhood; just a lingering effect of her changing body. But today had put that hope to rest for good. She was still a danger, a ticking time bomb that might go off any moment. And more than Ms. Stuart might be there to witness it. “I studied some of the Tower’s scientific journals during school. There wasn’t much of use, but there might be a doctor who can help me.”

  Ms. Stuart glanced at her with one raised eyebrow. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

  “I had hoped . . .” Kat looked away. They walked past a small pond with koi and ducks and large lily pads bobbing along the rippling surface. “I had hoped it was all over.”

  “I understand. Do you know how to reach this doctor?”

  “No, I only know his name. There was no contact information. I even asked around.”

  “Well, it sounds like a good first step. In the meantime, I’m sure your father will be fine with you coming back home. At least until you find a position. And I am looking forward to enjoying your company again.”

  The sharp pain came searing back inside her chest. Just another reminder that her father had not chosen her to be his apprentice. Kat bobbed her head, but going back was the last thing she wanted to do. If she went back, all her work, all her struggles at the academy would be as if they never happened. It would be as if she never left.

  They reached the iron fence again. The Tower stood before them, the pinnacle of achievement for World City. Kat glanced at it half-heartedly.

  “I’ll send Reginald to pick up your things tomorrow.” Ms. Stuart turned and faced her. “For now, put all of this out of your head. Have fun tonight, my dear. The World City Gala is an opportunity to be a young woman. It doesn’t last long and before you know it, you’re an old spinster like me.” She gave Kat a wink. “So enjoy now.”

  Kat smiled, the first real one since that morning. “I will.”

  “Perhaps you’ll even meet a young man.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I doubt it.”

  “Well, at least dance.”

  “I will dance once, just for you.”

  “Good.” Ms. Stuart motioned to the black carriage waiting down the street. “I want to hear all about it tomorrow.”

  10

  Kat ran a gloved hand along the deep blue folds of her gown. Silver thread laced her bodice and the edges of her sleeves. Her dark hair was pulled up and held back with a silver comb in a style so elegant even Marianne wouldn’t complain. The blue from the dress accented her pale skin, and her eyes appeared dark and full in the candlelight.

  Ms. Stuart had chosen well. If only she were here to see her tonight.

  “Kat, are you read—?” Marianne gasped and her eyes widened as she stood in the doorway. “Kat, you look . . . you look . . .”

  “Like a socialite?” Kat laughed and brushed her gown. Only a tinge of hurt hung across her heart from earlier. Tonight was her night, not her father’s. In fact—she straightened up and lifted her chin—tonight marked the first day of the rest of her life. She would no longer live for her father.

  She looked up and gave her friend a wide smile. “You look lovely. I told you that color suits you.”

  “You really think so?” Marianne lowered her fan. She wore a deep green gown with gold accents. Her thick red hair was piled high on her head and a diamond necklace sparkled around her neck. Probably another gift from her father. This time, however, Kat noticed with no tinge of jealousy.

  Kat smiled even wider, her heart light. “Yes. Now come, let’s head downstairs.” She walked across the room and reached for Marianne’s hand. Yes, Marianne would be one of her father’s apprentices, but she still loved her friend. And she was free to pursue her own studies, namely, a cure for—

  No, I’m not going to think about it tonight.

  She gripped Marianne’s hand and held her dress up with the other as they left their rooms and joined the other students waiting for the carriages that would whisk them away to the World City Gala.

  Twenty minutes later, they arrived before a three-story alabaster structure adjacent to the Capitol building. Rows of windows glowed from the light within, and soft music trickled across the street.

  Kat stepped out of the carriage, careful to keep her dress up, away from the pavement. Marianne joined her a few moments later, and the ladies merge
d into a small crowd of well-dressed people that made their way inside and down a long hall to a set of interior doors that opened up to the ballroom. The room was three times the size of any classroom at the Tower—larger, even, than the library. Crystal chandeliers hung along the ceiling, bathing the room in warm light. Rich white paneling lined the walls and thick, luxurious green velvet drapes hung across the windows.

  Kat stood in the doorway, her hands clasped, her eyes wide. At least a hundred people were gathered in the room: men in dark suits, women in elaborate, colorful gowns. The air hummed with conversation and laughter, with the soft undertones of music streaming from the musicians on the far side of the room. The aroma of perfumes and colognes wafted through the air as people waltzed by.

  Everyone who was anyone in World City was here tonight.

  Including her father.

  He stood with a group of somber looking men to her left.

  Kat looked away, her chin tilted upward, her fingers entwined. Time to make her own way in the world.

  Marianne and a couple of the other academy ladies came to stand beside her.

  Eleanor readjusted her thick wire-rimmed glasses across her nose. “So this is what we’ve been missing the last two years.”

  Nicola sniffed and fanned herself. “Personally, I would rather have attended the academy than have been presented to society.”

  Eleanor sighed. “Well, at least you’ll be staying on at the Tower as one of Dr. Bloodmayne’s personal apprentices. I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She sighed again, then gave herself a little shake. “Yes, I do. I’m going to dance.” She headed right, following the wall toward another group of men and women. A couple of the other young women trailed behind her.

  Across the room stood most of the male students, glancing around or straightening their neckties, except for Blaylock and his cronies, who had already found dancing partners and were twirling around the room with women in brightly colored gowns.