Marysa's mouth had fallen open. After a moment, she recovered. “Layne, this is amazing! You have a ring with protective properties, and you're not even taking advantage of it!”
“I don't want to mess it up,” Alayne protested. “After the attack last year, I took it off and put it away; it scared me. Plus, its value has got to be insanely huge, and what if it slipped off my finger while I was in the shower or something?”
Marysa straightened and reached for the ring box. She slowly opened it and took out the tiny circlet. The diamond sparkles threw a sheaf of dancing lights across the ceiling. “Layne,” she said slowly, “if this ring will warn you when someone means to hurt you, you need to be wearing it. Out of all the people at this school, you're the one whose life has already been targeted, and I doubt the bull's eye is off your back just yet.” She looked Alayne in the eye. “Please, Alayne, it'll make me feel loads better if I know you're wearing it. Daymon is around, I'm around, but we can only do so much.”
Alayne glanced at Marysa. “You didn't mention Kyle.”
Marysa snorted. “Fine, Kyle's around, too. Unfortunately, for my poor, excitement-loving brain, but yes, he's around.”
“You think he's boring?”
“I know he's boring, Layne, and a bit of a narcissist and too full of himself, and the list goes on. The only good judgment I've ever seen him show is developing a crush on you. We've been over this. Jayme was obviously the right...” she trailed off, horror washing over her face. “I didn't mean—Layne, I'm so sorry.”
Alayne swallowed hard, not quite meeting her friend's eyes. “You're probably right about the ring. I've felt guilty for not wearing it, since it was a gift from my parents. I know they've noticed.”
Marysa's gaze searched Alayne's face, but at last, she flipped the ring through the air, and Alayne deftly caught it. She slid it easily onto the middle finger of her left hand and made a fist, getting used to the feel of it.
“Is it hot?” Marysa asked.
Alayne stared at her. “No.”
Half of Marysa's mouth slid upward. “One less thing to worry about.” She crossed a line through an imaginary check-list. “Make sure Alayne's not currently in danger of getting hurt, possibly dying. Okay, we're good.” She dusted off her hands. “Come on, Layne, you need some supper before the commissary closes. We'll clean up this mess later.” She motioned to the pile of assorted clothes on the floor between their beds.
Alayne followed her friend out of the room into the corridor. The ring felt foreign on her finger.
* * *
Alayne spotted Kyle playing pool in the common room. Two other girls leaned against the table, watching the balls bounce together after Kyle's cue-stick sent the white ball spinning across the table. Four striped balls rolled into various pockets.
“He's cheating. You're cheating, right?” One of the girls looked up at Kyle in wide-eyed curiosity. “You had to have used air; how did you get four of yours to go in the pockets?”
Kyle shrugged and winked at Alayne and Marysa as they approached. “Did you feel an element bend?”
The girl looked startled, then puzzled. “You really are good.”
Kyle chalked the end of his cue-stick. “Where are you girls headed?” he asked Alayne.
“Down to the commissary. I need to get some supper.” She flipped her braid over her shoulder. “And then I thought I'd go down and try to talk to Professor Sprynge.”
“Chairman Sprynge,” Marysa reminded her. “And I already told you, I don't think he's letting Tarry bring anyone in to see him right now.”
“Won't hurt to try.” Alayne turned toward the chute, and Kyle handed off his cue-stick to one of the girls. He and Marysa hurried to match her strides.
“Let's see, what did Tarry say?” Kyle asked Marysa over Alayne's head. “Oh, yeah.” He pursed his lips and planted his hands on his hips, his voice a high falsetto. “Chairman Sprynge is attending to some pressing matters regarding Clayborne Training Facility's well-being, and he won't be seeing anyone until these matters are securely in hand.”
“Well-being?” Alayne arched an eyebrow as she entered the chute and pushed the button for the commissary. “What could she be—” Her eyes widened. “I wonder if he's heard something about Malachi, and he needs to figure out what to do?” She twisted her ring nervously in circles on her finger. The cool metal still felt strange on her hand.
“Layne, you've got no basis for that,” Marysa said. “When we talked to Tarry, there wasn't even a hint about Malachi or anything even relating to him. There's no way to tell if that's the case.”
The car lurched to a stop, and they all staggered to one side. The doors opened a moment later, and they walked into the empty commissary.
Kyle glanced around. “Everyone's done eating, I guess. Or they didn't want it. It was potato soup, and I think a batch of the potatoes they used was bad or something.”
“Kyle,” Marysa scolded, “way to ruin Alayne's appetite before she even starts eating.” She looked at Alayne, but Alayne didn't respond.
She stared at the commissary, which a moment before had been completely empty, but was now filled with people. Official-looking people. Several wore the black robes of the High Court Justices. She could see others there—most of the professors lined the wall, Lye, Hannigan, Brinks, Sartley, Craven, and more whose names she didn't know. On the wall hung a banner with a symbol blazed on it in bright colors, three interlocking circles. Over the symbol, the event title was transposed in bold black letters across the banner: Ring of Three Symposium. A date was printed underneath. Sprynge sat near the stage, his face the color of old putty. He stared at his hands as they twitched in his lap. Tarry sat near him, scribbling words on a notebook as the speaker on the dais at the end of the commissary finished his speech.
The sound was off—the speaker's mouth moved, but Alayne couldn't hear a voice. Everything felt as though it were underwater. The speaker turned expectantly toward the back of the stage and began clapping. A moment later, a figure approached the podium, and Alayne's mouth dropped open. Her knees started to buckle, but Kyle's strong arm grabbed her around the waist.
“Alayne, what's the matter? Hey, wake up!” He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, and suddenly, the commissary was empty again. A draining feeling, a slow seeping of cold substance, flowed from Alayne's brain, down her arm, through her hand and disappeared into the ring around her middle finger. She stared at its innocuous diamond crust, unable to shake what she'd just seen.
She glanced up. Kyle and Marysa looked thoroughly alarmed. She swallowed, attempting to put some strength back into her legs, but failed utterly. Kyle lowered her gently onto a bench.
“Layne, you look like you've seen a ghost. What just happened? You kinda spaced out on us there for a minute.” His hand gently rubbed her back.
At last, Alayne found her voice. “I—I think I just saw...” She shook her head. “But no, that's crazy.”
“What did you see, Layne?” Marysa's quiet voice called Alayne's attention to her friend's face. “I...” She swallowed and tried again. “I think I might have seen... the future. But, it couldn't have been that. Because I also saw...” She almost couldn't form the word, her tongue felt like a limp fish in her mouth. “I saw—Jayme.”
Chapter 4
Marysa and Kyle stared at Alayne, speechless. The silence in the commissary was broken only by the distant clinks of dishes as the crew worked in the kitchen.
“Come again?” Marysa finally managed.
Alayne drew a deep breath, her mind already compartmentalizing her experience. The ring. Its properties would not only warn her of intention to harm, but could it also show her blips of the future? But somehow, her wishes must be interjected into the vision, because Jayme was dead.
“I think my ring showed me a vision of something that's going to happen.”
“How do you know? I mean,” Marysa sank down on the bench next to Alayne, “how do you know you—you're...” She stut
tered to a stop, looking embarrassed.
“How do I know I'm not having delusions?” Alayne cocked an eyebrow. “I don't really. Except that when Kyle yanked me back, I felt this—thing—drain from my head, down my arm, and into the ring.”
The warmth of Kyle's hand pressing against Alayne's back slowly melted into her consciousness. She stiffened, and Kyle immediately removed his hand. After another silent moment, he spoke. “How do you know it was the future?”
Alayne cleared her throat, her mind already disbelieving some of the things she had seen. “It was a gathering,” she began, “and Leader Blankenship was here. There,” she pointed to the far end of the empty commissary, “on the dais. He was speaking, but I couldn't hear anything. It felt like I was underwater. There was sound, but it was muted and not at all understandable.” She glanced up at Marysa's concerned eyes.
“On the wall over there was a banner that read 'Ring of Three Symposium' in black letters, and the date—the end of next May.” She paused and then spoke again, haltingly. “Then Leader Blankenship introduced... J—Jayme. I must have somehow slipped into a dream or something.” She swallowed. She had no words to describe how agonizing it was to see Jayme again in such clarity. That's not strictly true. She shook her head. You see him in your dreams every night.
“And then you woke up?” Marysa asked.
“That's it,” Alayne said shakily. She rubbed her finger lightly over her ring. “I wonder how to make it work? Did I do something that triggered it to put that in my mind?”
Neither of her friends answered.
“Anyway,” Alayne sat bolt upright, “Sprynge was in that meeting, and Tarry too, taking notes. I'm going to go ask him what the Ring of Three is.”
She started to rise, but Marysa caught her arm. “First, eat. Then we'll go with you to his office.”
Alayne frowned at Marysa, but sighed and put her hand in the air. “House salad with dressing, please.”
A moment later, a plate sailed from the vents near the ceiling and hovered over the table. It slowly lowered, and Alayne snatched it as soon as it was within reach. A fork lay on the side of the plate, and Alayne immediately began stuffing forkfuls of lettuce into her mouth.
A total of eight humongous bites later, Alayne wiped her lips. “Let's go.”
“Ugh.” Marysa rolled her eyes.
Kyle hid a grin. Alayne pivoted her legs over the bench and stood. “Sprynge has a lot of questions to answer.”
* * *
The doors of the chute opened, revealing the Chairman's circular office. Tarry sat at the massive walnut desk in the reception area, busily swiping files through the air in front of her. When she looked up, she pushed the images down into the MIU and smiled. “Ah, Mr. Pence and Miss Blakely, back already. Miss Worth, it's good to see you again.”
“Thank you, Tarry.” Alayne glanced at Sprynge's double doors behind Tarry. “Is Chairman Sprynge here? We'd like to talk to him.”
Tarry gave an almost inaudible sigh. “As I've already explained to your friends, Miss Worth, the Chairman isn't available at the moment. He's got some pressing matters, and he has no time to speak with students.”
Sprynge's door cracked open, and Sprynge himself poked his head out. “Alayne. Come on in. Bring your friends.”
Tarry's lips thinned. She fiddled with a pen lying on her desk. Alayne caught an angry glance back toward Sprynge's door. Drawing a deep breath, she crossed to Sprynge's office, Kyle and Marysa following.
“Come in, come in.” Sprynge opened the door wider and motioned toward the cushioned chairs in front of his massive desk. “Sit down, please.” He circled the desk and sat in his own chair. “Alayne. How was your summer?”
Alayne almost snorted, but restrained herself. “Once I got over Jayme's death... oh wait, I didn't. Never mind. Summer sucked.” She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I'm sorry, that was rude.”
“No, no,” Sprynge leaned back and removed his glasses. He snatched a tissue from a nearby box and wiped them nervously. “No, my question was insensitive. I'm sorry.” He replaced his glasses and regarded Alayne carefully. “When did you arrive?”
“Today,” Alayne answered. “A few hours ago.”
“Ah.”
Alayne opened her mouth to ask about the Ring of Three that she had seen in her vision, but Sprynge spoke first. “Mr. Pence, I suppose you know that your mother is taking on the role of our Throw-Casting professor this year.”
Kyle lowered his gaze to the floor and shook his head slowly. “No, sir, I didn't know that until just today.”
Momentary surprise glimmered in Sprynge's eyes. It quickly disappeared.
Alayne broke in. “Why did Professor Grace have to go, sir?”
Sprynge swiveled in his chair to look out the picture window behind him. “Some things needed to be taken care of. I gave her some time off as a result.”
Alayne narrowed her eyes. Professor Grace had mentioned nothing about taking time off the previous year. Something must have come up over the summer. “Chairman Sprynge?”
“Yes, Alayne?” Sprynge turned his chair back around and leaned forward. He reached for his glass of water sitting on a nearby coaster and took a sip.
“What does the Ring of Three mean?”
The water went down the wrong pipe. Sprynge coughed, deep racking hacks that split the air. The office door swung open, and Tarry appeared. “Chairman,” she spoke loudly over the coughs, “General Beckyr is waiting on the conference call you have scheduled.”
Sprynge hacked out the last of his spasms. “Thank you, Tarry.” He sat in his chair and mopped his forehead with a tissue. “Hold him for me for a moment.”
“Yes, sir.” Tarry closed the door softly behind her.
“Alayne, you and I need to discuss what happened at the end of last year. I know you don't want to, and I know it will be painful for you, but the more I understand about what happened to you, the more it will help in our investigation of Simeon Malachi.” Sprynge eyed her closely. “Come back sometime soon to talk, yes?”
Alayne dropped her gaze. “Yes, sir.”
“Thank you.” He stood. “And now if you three will excuse me, I have a conference call I need to take.”
Alayne followed Kyle out the door, Marysa right next to her. Her normally talkative friend hadn't said a word the entire time they'd been in the office. As the three entered the chute, Kyle pressed the button for the common room.
The car rocketed upward. Alayne eyed her friend. “What's the matter, Marysa? It's not like you to be so quiet.”
Marysa shrugged as they stepped out into the common room. Abruptly, she halted, and the other two stopped with her.
“What?” Kyle asked.
“Did either of you two notice his contact list he had typed up and taped next to his MIU?”
Alayne narrowed her eyes. “No. Why? What did you see?”
Marysa scuffed the toe of her shoe on the worn carpet. “I don't know—it's probably nothing. But on the number two slot were the letters SM.” She glanced up again. “Simeon Malachi?”
Alayne's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. “Are you saying Sprynge can't be trusted?” She'd wondered last year. She'd gone over and over the scenes at Cliffsides when Sprynge had gone with her to look for Jayme, and Marysa had been kidnapped. She'd suspected him of Shadow-Casting, even of somehow perpetrating Dorner's death, but every lead she'd followed had turned up clean. Eventually, she'd accepted his innocence. Yet, there was a Shadow-Caster loose inside of Clayborne, one who had planned Malachi's takeover during the final examinations last year, who had even been responsible for the former Chairman's death. Was it possible that Sprynge had been the one to plan it?
Marysa shrugged again. “All I'm saying is be careful what you share, with anybody, Alayne, not just Sprynge.”
* * *
Alayne's meeting with the registrar this year went stale quickly. The list of classes she was required to take was new, but Alayne's excitement
for learning new things lay under a thick blanket of depression. Last year, she had been so excited to go to her various classes and sit with Jayme and Marysa. This year, Jayme's absence was like a pain-filled black hole that followed her wherever she went.
It will get better, she reminded herself continuously. You can't see it now, but someday. Jayme's death had immortalized him in her memory. While he had been alive, they had been merely exploring the beginning stages of infatuation; when he had died in such a tragic manner, she could no longer think of him without the aura of hero-worship surrounding his memory.
Marysa was thrilled when they met in the common room after Alayne's trip to the registrar. “We'll be in all our classes together, Layne! I'm not sure how Advanced Throw-Casting is going to go; Kyle's not excited about his mom being the professor, and now he's got me worried, but the concept is still good. Fire & Ice sounds good; I like the idea of taking two elements and making them work together to create things. Oh, did you know Daymon’s going to be in that class, too, even though his element is Air—how do you suppose he rigged that?”
Alayne shrugged. “His uncle, maybe. Manders is a professor; he might have thrown something in the works.”
“But what good is he going to get out of Fire & Ice class? I don't know. It's the same period as Earth & Air, so he's going to be missing out on that class. I'm glad he takes his Guardian responsibilities seriously, but honestly, he should trust me more. I'm watching out for you, and Kyle, too. I mean, really, who would get past me? Kyle maybe, but me?” She winked at Alayne.
Shadows of Uprising (Guardian of the Vale Book 2) Page 4
