by Nixon, Diana
Where the night meets the day,
Where the darkness absorbs the light,
Where the sun goes into the shadows.”
We all frowned.
“It can mean anything,” Evan said, when we returned to my father's office.
“No, Evan. This means the one and the only place where all that Eric has mentioned happens.”
“Yes, but what he said, could happen almost everywhere!”
“Things are getting worse and worse,” I shook my head tiredly. “Let’s call it a day.”
“Yeah, let's go and save, finally, my room from the women capture,” Evan nodded. “See you all tomorrow.”
“Do you think Eric’s going to give us more prompts?” I asked, walking down the road to the dormitory.
“I think so. Frederick says that one prompt is always followed by others.”
“Maybe we should warn the Keepers, who are watching him, to get in touch with anyone of us if he speaks again.”
“I thought about that too. We can go there right now. You never know, whether our friend would like to share some new crazy ideas in the middle of the night.”
We went down into the dungeon. Eric has been already asleep, but the number of the Keepers in his chamber was the same. All ten people were there. We left them our request and left.
Eileen, Amanda, and my mother were clearly getting impatient when Evan and I came in. One look at their faces was enough to understand that we had forgotten to tell them about our return, and they were still waiting for some news.
“Where the hell have you been for so long?” shouted my sister.
“Amanda! Do not swear, please,” my mother said. “Christian, when did you come back?
“Just recently,” Evan said. “We found Eric and brought him to Dever.”
“Really?” Eileen asked in surprise.
“Yes, come with me, I'll tell you everything on the way to your room,” I said.
“Where is Patrick?” mom asked.
“He was still in the office when we were leaving, so I don’t know.”
“It’s okay, I'll find him,” she said. “Good night, guys.”
“Good night, Amelia,” said Eileen.
“Amanda, would you like to join me for a cocktail?” Evan asked.
“Of course. I don’t have other plans for the rest of the night.”
“My goodness! Have I lost my charm? The girls agree to stay with me only in despair!” Evan protested.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean anything like that,” Amanda said blushing slightly.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I will come over this somehow. Here,” said Evan, giving her a glass.
Eileen and I left them to enjoy their drinks and each other's company.
“So you still don’t know anything about the Cup?” she asked as soon as we got out into the hall.
“Not, but Eric is trying to get us on track.”
We talked a bit, until we reached her room.
“Will you come in?”
“I'm afraid if I stay, Amanda will have to kick me off in the middle of the night,” I replied with a grin.
“Since when does your sister stop you?” Eileen asked, opening the door.
I stayed in the doorway.
“It's not about her…”
“Then what is it about?” she asked again coming to me.
Despite all the anxiety and hours of waiting, she looked amazing. I liked everything about her, and I wanted to touch this beauty so much. I remembered that evening in the gazebo near the Great Hall, and became nervous.
“I can’t be so close to you and not to touch you,” I said.
Instead of saying something, she stood up and kissed me. I didn’t need any other words. I pressed her to my chest, trying to close the door. We both didn’t notice being in her bed in each other's embraces. Those rare moments of intimacy evoked waterfalls of emotions in both of us. I could feel her, she could feel me. Maybe that’s why our feelings seemed stronger, our embraces closer and our kisses hotter.
“You are torturing me,” I whispered trying to gulp some air.
“No,” she smiled. “I just like to feel the way our bond reveals in such moments.”
I knew what she was talking about. Every time touching each other, we felt a slight tingling on our shoulders and saw a gentle light reflecting our feelings on the lacy patterns on our backs. It was a real magic that we both were unable to control, that we both were unable to resist. I knew that I would have never loved anyone more than the girl in my arms. When she was with me it seemed to me that there was nothing around - just the two of us in the whole world. And every time parting with her even for a few hours, I couldn’t help thinking about her, couldn’t stop missing her, and couldn’t wait to see her again. Time seemed to pass aimlessly when she wasn’t there.
“Stay with me,” she said quietly. “I promise not to torture you any longer,” she smiled looking into my eyes. “I like falling asleep next to you.”
I didn’t answer, I touched her hair with my lips and embraced her tighter. After a few silent minutes, I heard her steady breathing, and realized that she was asleep. Neither she nor I thought about the discomfort of falling asleep being dressed, but I didn’t want to wake her. Those rare moments of good sleep were too important for her. So I closed my eyes relaxing on the waves of warmth and intimacy, and fell asleep too.
It seemed as if only a few minutes had passed instead of hours, when I heard Amanda’s angry voice.
“Christian, you are shameless creature! You will live in our room soon, and I will have to move out of here!” she shouted standing next to Eileen’s bed. To my surprise, Eileen wasn’t there.
“Great idea, sis,” I said turning to the other side.
“Hey! He has enough insolence to turn away! Christian, I’m talking to you!”
This time her words were accompanied by almost weightless blows on my back.
“Leave him alone,” Eileen laughed coming out of the bathroom. I turned to face Amanda. “I asked him to stay, so don’t be mad.”
My beloved sister didn’t find anything to answer, so she just went into the bathroom slamming the door behind her.
“Good morning,” said Eileen, sitting on the bed next to me. “Sorry for making you sleep in clothes.”
“Yeah, I would prefer to sleep without them,” I smiled back. “What time is it?”
“Half-past nine.”
“That late!”
“Don’t worry. Neither anyone was looking for you, nor called. Evan came about thirty minutes ago to say that Eric talked again. In a dream.”
“What did he say this time?”
“Something like - How I wish to be a cat to have so many possibilities. Some nonsense.”
“It sounds like some nonsense just for us, but for him it is an understandable expression. What did he mean by that? What opportunities do cats have?”
“Well… nine lives maybe,” Eileen said standing before the mirror.
“Nine lives... nine...” I muttered to myself.
“Christian, what are you thinking about?” she asked turning around.
“Maybe you're right, and he really wanted to tell us something about number nine. What did Evan say about this?”
“He said that there are as many nines in our world as much water in the sea.”
I fully agreed with him. Number nine was often mentioned in our textbooks and in practice. For example, to create a rain of fire, you needed to clap your hands nine times. In order to get the serum of life (the exact recipe of what no one knew) it was necessary to combine nine roots of some very rare plants. There were thousands of such examples in fact. Just as Evan had said - the whole sea.
Eileen and I agreed to meet in the dining room. Fortunately the food was served there during all the day round, regardless of what time someone could come for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Some special menu was prepared for those whose classes began at night, or at dawn.
I went to my
room to take a shower and change clothes. On the way there and back, I continued to scroll all known mentions of the number nine in my head.
“Judging by the expression on your face, now you're somewhere between nine spells of happiness and nine days of immortality,” pointed Evan, whom I met on the way to the cafeteria.
I nodded continuing to build all sorts of assumptions. Nine spells of happiness meant that to become completely happy, a person needed to know nine cherished phrases and manage to pronounce them during the first minute of a solar eclipse. The problem wasn’t only to train you speech properly but also to know those very words. Because just as in the case with the roots for the serum of life, no one knew them.
Nine days of immortality, however, were quite a real desire. They could be given as a reward for the invention of new magic spells, new medicinal infusions, or a new way to find out the truth. In the history of Dever, only a few people awarded such an honor and a nine-day self immortality meant merely having the enchanted amulet, such as the one made by Frederick for my mom in Norfield, that was able to protect its owner from any encroachment on his life. In the case of my mother's amulet, the spell was intended to be in force only for a few hours.
“Looks like you have already thought about that,” I said to Evan sitting at one of the tables.
“And not just once,” he noted. “Damn all these riddles! They ruin all my night’s sleep!
“Do you want me to make you happier a little?”
“I’m not alone in my sorrow. Yes, I know that,” said Evan rolling his eyes.
“Is there any news from Eric?” I wondered.
“Not yet. I hope, however, that his stream of verbal nonsense won’t stop there. I want to know his secrets.”
A little later we were joined by Eileen and Amanda, who was still trying really hard to seem angry.
“God, please, help her and Lucas come to understanding!” I prayed silently. To tolerate her usual perpetual dissatisfaction - is one thing, but her bad mood - is quite another.
To our surprise we spent more than an hour in the dining room, and came to our senses only when it became clear that before the second qualifying test there were just ten minutes left! We went again to the administration building through the back door, where excited Beatrice was already waiting for us.
“Tonight we will know the winner!” she sang going up the stairs. “I’m anxious for that moment to come!”
We sat on the same couch as yesterday, with the only difference – this time we were joined by Darcy and Lucas. My sister was ignoring the last one, even though he could hardly hold a smile watching her hard efforts. I mentally applauded Lucas, who sat next to Amanda making her even more nervous. All the present noticed that too and now were barely holding back laughter. Especially Evan, who simply couldn’t restrain himself in the presence of my sister. However, he succeeded more often recently. Whether it was due to the fact that now Amanda spent almost all the time with Lucas, or because their own relationship had changed a lot, I couldn’t understand.
“It begins,” Beatrice announced, making the TV sound a little louder.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!” greeted the Keeper. “Now we are going into the final stage of the qualifying test for the presidency of Dever. Each of you will be given a picture the meaning of which you have to decipher. Use your talents and intelligence to succeed in this test. I wish you good luck. You have one hour.”
Both pictures given to the candidates were shown to the audience. On the one that was prepared to Lavender, was a couple, sitting on the stone back to back. At the background there was the sea and the sunrise. On the one that my father got, was a huge oak tree in the middle of an empty green field. And above it, at the background a rainbow could be seen.
“Nature, power and magic,” suddenly said Eileen.
All looked blankly at her.
“This is what the picture says,” she explained. “The oak means power, the green field - nature and the rainbow - magic. Although it’s a natural phenomenon, but such a magical one.”
We continued to stare at her in silence. Personally I thought that I would never describe that picture from such point of view.
“She is probably right,” said Evan thoughtfully.
We were all curious to know what message was actually hidden on the picture. Could Eileen be right? The more I thought about her words, the more I became sure of their truthfulness. Of course, I stopped being surprised about the talents of my girlfriend long ago, but if what she had said really confirmed, it would mean only one thing - she was a true daughter of her father. She wasn’t just about to get all his powers, she deserved them all.
Meanwhile, Lavender and my father continued to make some notes in their notebooks, every now and then looking at their paintings. Each of them crossed something out and wrote again. The time was running out. The Keeper asked Lavender to make her assumptions first. She read her notes, correcting her own words a few times. He wrote something in his notebook and turned to my father who read only one, short sentence:
“Nature, power, magic.”
We all froze. And Eileen was smiling broadly.
“I told you!” she exclaimed jumping up from her seat. “Patrick is genius!”
“We can’t be sure yet,” told Evan stunned. “The results will be announced only in a few hours.”
“’I can already tell you that Lavender was wrong. Her picture meant “Love experience”. It's so obvious! Stone was a “cornerstone”, the young couple back to back meant “a fight”, and dawn at the background – “hope”, belief that their love can overcome all the tests.”
We were staring at her moon-eyed.
“If she is right in both cases,” I said, “I will make her every wish come true.”
“Don’t swear off, Christian,” Eileen winked, “you don’t know what I may wish.”
I smiled.
“We'll see.”
We waited until father came and went to his apartment to wait for the results. As a general rule, the Keepers started a voting procedure if more than one candidate showed the best results. We could only guess about the outcome of these elections. Frederick joined our vigorous debate, bringing a new prompt from Eric. This time, it sounded like: “Seven centuries, seven families, don’t be afraid of height, be brave.”
“Don’t be afraid of height?” Eileen repeated. “Perhaps he was referring to the mountains. To hide the Cup there was a good idea.”
“Yes, but the mountains are everywhere. How do we know which one he meant?” Evan asked.
“We must wait for the next prompt,” Frederick said. “Something tells me that it would be the last one.”
As for the two sevens, which were also mentioned, we decided not to argue. There were even more options than with nines.
Half an hour before the announcement of the results we came to the Great Hall, where by that time all the guests and the Keepers had already gathered. My father took his seat in the front row, next to Lavender and Caroline. The last one, of course, didn’t expect that she could become the winner, but still was obliged to attend the gathering. We took a few empty seats in the second row. The Keepers, who participated in the discussion of the results, were sitting at the big table in the center of the room, facing the audience. The same leader, who attended the two trials, was now preparing his speech. The rest of the Keepers continued to discuss something.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!” in a solemn tone, said the Keeper. “Today we have witnessed the second and the final test for our candidates. People heading Dever have always been worthy of such an honorable status. So today we will find out who will be the next head of this University. According to the results of the first test Miss Caroline O’Brian was out and we all thank her for participation. Only two candidates took the second test. Their task was to decipher some words hidden in the meaning of the paintings prepared for them. I would like these paintings to be brought here. Look closely at these works of art
and think whether some of you are able to cope with this task. Those wishing to share their suggestions with us are invited to come to the center of the room.”
There were not many of them, just four people. Each in turn said his opinion about the meaning of both pictures. Eileen didn’t want to share her thoughts. She just sat there smiling slyly.
“You'll owe me for ages, Christian Fairy,” she whispered.
“Hey, we still don’t know whether you're right,” I said, though, perhaps, my greatest dream was to spend my eternity with her.
“You don’t know, but I already know all about it,” she said confidently.
“And now let us see what the real meaning of these pictures was,” the Keeper said.
The entire illumination was turned off and the silver words lit up in the darkness over those two pictures. Over the one studied by Lavender, it was written “Love experience”, and over the one that my father studied – “Nature, power, magic”. The light lit again, and I saw a triumphant smile on my father’s face. Lavender had failed the test. Just as Eileen had predicted.
“I'm yours forever,” I whispered, smiling at her.
Evan smiled too, but not to her, just to me.
“Not everyone is lucky to have such a treasure,” he said. His voice was filled with sadness. I knew I wasn’t wrong, because my friend wouldn’t mind being in my place. Not exactly next to Eileen, but with someone like her, a kind, understanding, and, of course, beloved one. Such a person had already been in his life, but, unfortunately, those days were in the past.
“Mr. Patrick Fairey, now you become the head of the University of Dever. My congratulations and best regards on this difficult and responsible way,” said the Keeper.
After him all the other Keepers congratulated my father. Not far from us was my mother, with barely noticeable tears running down her cheeks. I knew she was proud of her husband, because I felt the same thing at that moment. We both knew that after the previous failure it was important for him to win this time. I had no doubt that somewhere in his apartment was hidden a cake that my mom had prepared beforehand. Whatever the outcome of today's test could be, we still would have arranged a dinner in honor of Patrick Fairey. He deserved our love and respect, no less than to become the head of Dever. For me he had always been the man I could rely on. Whatever happened, I knew - he wouldn’t let me down.
