“Yeah, what you learned last year in Elementary Elementals, but I've got a feeling you're going to need more than that to pass the class.”
“Stop worrying about me,” Daymon growled, irritated. “I'll be fine.”
Alayne rolled her eyes. “Okay, well, let's get started.” She walked toward the riverbank where several other students were already squatting, running their fingers through the water. She could feel the coolness of the water already in her senses. At the same time, she could feel the heat build in her hand as she thought of warming the liquid. With an effort, she calmed the impulse, determined not to draw unwanted ire from the other students by doing the whole project herself.
“What did Professor Pence say after I left?” Marysa interrupted Alayne's thoughts. “Did she seem really mad?”
Alayne sighed. “Not with you, Marysa. I think—she's just got her own personal issues, and she was taking it out on everyone today.”
Marysa's eyes widened. “Why? Did she ask anyone else to leave?”
Alayne shook her head. “No—o, not exactly.”
“What do you mean, not exactly?”
“I left, too, before the class was over.”
“Why?”
“I don't know. The whole class was kind of messed up. She wanted to make an example of me, I think, so she made me come up to the front, and then she brought Kyle up. She told me I had to use the elements to make him break his own finger.”
Marysa's mouth dropped open. She stared at Alayne. “But—but that's—Shadow-Casting. You would have had to take his mind to do that. I'd hoped that, somehow, Sprynge wasn't being completely serious when he said they'll be incorporating Shadow-Casting in some of the classes.”
“Seems he was.”
“So what did you do?”
“I told her I wouldn't do it.” Alayne dropped to one knee and plunged her hand into the water. The familiar tingling shock raced up her arm, straight to her brain.
Marysa went speechless for a moment. She regained her breath. “But she'll expel you, Layne. You—you can't leave.”
“I'm not planning to leave, Marysa. I'll just go—talk to Manders, I guess.” She wasn't sure what Manders could do for her. He was one of the Guardians, for sure, but she didn't know if he had any say in whether or not she was expelled. At least she could trust him, something she was increasingly sure she couldn't do in Sprynge's case.
She raised her gaze to the opposite bank of the river. The trees obscured most of the view, but Alayne liked their shadowy coolness over some of the deeper parts.
A movement flashed among the branches, a glimpse of tawny, smooth fur amid the foliage. Alayne froze where she knelt. She narrowed her eyes, searching the leafy hedges. A moment later, her heart stopped and then restarted again as she stared into the golden, feline eyes of a mountain lion.
Chapter 6
Alayne sucked in a sharp breath.
“What?” Marysa searched the area where Alayne stared so intently.
“Marysa,” Alayne whispered. “Use your leadership skills and see if you can't get the rest of the class to move downriver a bit.”
Silence greeted Alayne's request, and then, “Oookay.” Alayne could hear the confusion in her friend's tone. Marysa raised her voice. “Hey guys, let's move down to the bend in the river. It's shallower there, and we can walk in the water while we warm it up.” Her voice moved farther away as she talked.
Slowly, a general movement rustled around Alayne, and soon, she was the only one still near the dock. She had only momentarily flicked her attention away from the mountain lion all this time, but the animal didn't seem interested in moving.
Alayne looked downstream where the rest of the students congregated. Daymon stood about halfway between them and where she knelt, and his gaze was fixed on her. Professor Lye had moved down with the rest of the students.
Alayne turned back to the mountain lion, recalling the previous year when she'd stumbled on the mountain range, nearly falling over a great cat just like this one. Was it possible that this was the same one? She doubted it. Perhaps she should move away, but visions of the cat leaping across the river and embedding her with its razor sharp claws filled her mind.
She remained absolutely still, holding the cat's yellow stare.
The cat didn't blink. Instead, it stretched lazily, one paw reaching far forward and gripping the branch and then the other.
Alayne had hummed a calming melody the year before when she'd approached the cat; she'd been terrified, pulled toward the cat by some unseen draw, unable to resist, but the melody she'd hummed had calmed the injured mountain lion. Now, she allowed the same haunting notes to fill her throat again, increasing their volume as they issued from her mouth and smoothly crossed the river.
Except this mountain lion is no longer hurt or scared. It's healthy and quite possibly hungry.
A flick of her gaze downriver showed the students at a good distance. Fear crawled up her throat. She wondered now if she should warn them somehow. She stared back at the cat. Her legs cramped beneath her. Please, just go away.
Immediately, the cat rose to its feet, turned on the branch and leaped to another branch behind the tree, and then down to another. The leaves swayed as the mountain lion's weight hit each bough.
Alayne released a gasp of air. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath. She'd seen wild animals frequently, especially in the mountains around Skyden, but this was the first time she'd actually stared one down with unaware potential victims so nearby.
A footstep sounded behind her, and Alayne jumped. “Daymon,” she snapped. “Don't do that.”
“Do what?”
“Sneak up on me like that. I could have killed you.”
A chuckle sounded deep in his chest. “The funny thing is, you probably could have.” He nodded his head toward the group of students. “Come on, you're gonna get a bad grade if you stay over here.”
Alayne stood stiffly, shooting one more glance across the river, searching for any more flashes of fur. The trees were an unrelenting guard.
“So, did it threaten you?”
“What?” Alayne snapped to attention.
“The mountain lion.”
“You could see it?”
“Caught just a glimpse of it in the tree.”
“It was nearly invisible!”
“Layne, I've gotten pretty good at what I do. I see lots of things, especially if they concern you.” He shrugged. “Want to name the mountain lion? How about Monty? Monty the mountain lion?” A rare dimple peeked in his cheek as he flashed a smile at her.
Alayne's mouth dropped open. He was actually trying to calm her down—make her feel comfortable. Heat crept up her neck and settled in her cheeks. It was the first time he'd gone out of his way to do anything of the sort. A tiny feeling of gratitude slipped through her.
She cleared her throat. “Let's go join the others.” Alayne neared the river bank where the rest of the students stood, some in the water, and some stepping through the mud that lined that section of shore. She squatted to test the temperature.
Professor Lye straightened at that moment, flushed from bending over the water. She raised her voice. “Congratulations, class, you've done it, and might I say, you all showed exceptional teamwork. Miss Blakely, your leadership skills were well-executed. Miss Worth and Mr. Houser, neither of you will receive any credit for today's class. You can see me later for extra credit to try to make up for it. Class dismissed.”
* * *
The rest of Alayne's classes on the first day went more smoothly. Marysa's mood seemed to improve after Throw-Casting, and her chatter was as continual as ever. Beyond a few minor mistakes as Alayne worked with her “primary” element, she did well, and Professor Manders called her to his desk after his history class.
“I'm glad to see you've been improving, Miss Worth. You've come a long way in a year's time, and it's a good sign of the hard work you've been putting into crafting your element. Elements,�
� he amended hastily.
“Thank you, sir.” Alayne glanced behind her. Kyle and Marysa waited for her at the door.
Manders lowered his voice. “Listen, Alayne, I've talked to your parents, and they are aware of my concerns, but I wondered if I could ask you to encourage them to keep an even lower profile than what they've been doing. The people I've got posted to their watch are having a more difficult time keeping Alliance personnel under control.”
Alarm slammed through Alayne. “Are they in danger?”
“No, no, no.” Manders hastily shook his head. “At least, not more so than normal. But they would do well to be more careful, I think. Your father accepted an invitation to be a speaker at a meeting of the Last Order, and while it's a good cause, he doesn't need to be drawing attention to himself like that.”
“I thought the Last Order was an underground group?”
“And so it is, but the Alliance has spies everywhere. And with General Shane Beckyr becoming more prominent... It would just be well for your father not to let himself get into any high-profile situations, even if it's where he considers himself 'safe.'”
Alayne nodded. “Thanks. I'll mention it to them.” She turned to go.
“Alayne.”
She stopped. “Yes?”
“Really, don't worry. They're safe enough right now. I'll let you know if it becomes unsafe for them at any time, okay?”
“Yes, sir.” She pulled a smile onto her face and turned for the door.
Kyle eyed her with concern as she pushed herself through it. “You okay? What did Manders want?”
Alayne shrugged. “Nothing. It—it was just about my parents.”
“Are they okay?” Marysa gasped, alarmed.
Uncertainty traced through Alayne. “For now.”
* * *
Kyle blew his whistle, and the sound bounced across the arena. Alayne skidded to a stop, sending a spray of shaved ice against the wall, and then skated with the rest of the team to center ice. “Okay, enough warm-ups,” Kyle spoke when everyone had gathered. “We're going to split into teams now and scrimmage. I want to see how well you work in different positions.” He tossed a puck onto the ice. “Layne, Sprynge wants to see you in his office.”
Alayne jerked to attention. Her mind immediately flew to her morning class with Professor Pence, and her stomach dropped in dread. She pulled off her helmet. “Did he say why?”
Kyle shook his head, his blue eyes sympathetic. He skated backward down the ice. “Blue jerseys down here with me.”
Alayne took a deep breath and skated to the door of the rink. She clomped her way to her locker and quickly stripped out of her skates, replacing them with her dirty, worn running shoes. Her mind was a mix of confusion. Last year, Sprynge had been so different, a kind and knowledgeable professor. This year, there was an edge to him, a shadow that lay behind his smiling exterior. Dorner had warned Manders of a Shadow-Caster within the school. And yet, with so many checks and balances within the system of faculty and staff appointments, how could it be Sprynge?
She jogged down the long walkway, past the other hockey rinks, the weight rooms, the swimming pools, the track and the basketball courts. Finally, she reached the chute doors, hitting the button for Sprynge's floor. She'd hit that button too often. She wondered if any other student had spent as much time as she had in the Chairman's office.
The car lurched to a stop in front of Tarry's desk and the doors flew open. Alayne stepped out and nodded at the secretary. “Chairman Sprynge wanted to see me—” she began, but Tarry had already stood.
“Right this way.” She crossed the carpet and opened Sprynge's office door.
“Thanks.” Alayne bypassed Tarry's desk and approached the room. She could see Sprynge standing at his window, gazing out at the landscape lit by the golden afternoon sun.
“Ah, Alayne.” He glanced over her shoulder. “Thank you, Tarry. Please close the door.”
Tarry pulled the door closed, and Alayne was left alone with Sprynge.
Sprynge gazed at Alayne, but didn't say anything. At last, Alayne began, “You wanted to see me, sir?”
“Yes, yes, thank you for coming.” His lips thinned, and he sat down. A moment later, he stood again and paced to the massive fish tank that took up the entirety of one wall. He opened a box of fish food that sat on a nearby shelf, and sprinkled the flakes across the surface of the water.
Alayne wondered if he had discovered Chairman Dorner's hidden compartment in the middle of that tank.
Sprynge flipped the lid closed as the fish swarmed the water surface, and then returned the fish food to the shelf. He turned and gripped the chair with both hands as he seemed to search for words. “Things are happening, Alayne, in the political sphere, that affect what we do here in our academic institution. As you know, the Elemental Alliance has lately gained great influence and will soon reach the majority. You heard the announcement about Justice Kinley Kramer, the EA member who is overseeing the Shadow-Casting additions to the curriculum at Andova and Clayborne. As it is, only two more seats on the High Court bench need to be filled with an Elemental Alliance member before the EA obtains the majority in the High Court. In view of these things, there are some questions I'd like to ask you. This year, Andova Training Facility, our sister school, has seen fit to limit its student enrollment to only full-blooded Elementals, first to help implement the Elemental Universalism amendment, and secondly, to help weed out the Natural subversion.”
“Natural subversion?” Alayne's pulse pounded in her ears and fury heated her veins. “Yes, I agree that Jeb Smyth's murder of an older man was wrong, absolutely, but you can't for one second believe that Jeb Smyth stands as the example of all Naturals!”
“I didn't say that. But,” Sprynge shook his head, grimacing, “you know that Naturals are becoming harder to keep under control as tensions mount. This Elemental Universalism amendment will address some of those issues. Up until now, Clayborne has enrolled and housed students who come from non-Elemental or half-Elemental families. We won't stop doing that—for now.” Sprynge held up his hand to ward off Alayne's outburst. “However, the High Court has thought it prudent to—incorporate political advisers at major institutions around the Continent—”
“The High Court is spying on Clayborne,” Alayne burst out. Anger welled in her ribcage. “That's why Professor Pence is here—to make sure that no opposition group challenges the EA's influence.” The blood roared in her ears, making it difficult for her to think rationally.
Sprynge shook his head. “And that brings me to another point, Alayne. Your outburst in class this morning must never happen again. You seriously undermined Professor Pence's authority. You may not know it, but you are quite a hero among the rest of the students after what happened last year. You and Mr. Houser both are regarded with a—well, a mantle of awe, and I hate to see you abusing the privilege you have of being so popular.”
Alayne realized her mouth hung open. She shut it with a snap. “Excuse me, Professor, are you—she—she was asking me to take over another person's mind, to make him work the elements according to my own will, to Shadow-Cast. She—asked me to make her own son break his index finger.”
“Well, Alayne,” Sprynge brushed aside the matter with a light laugh, “she couldn't very well ask you to break any other student's finger; think of the lawsuits! Of course she had to use her son for the example.”
Alayne was so angry, tears stung her eyes. She blinked them away. “Chairman Sprynge, I may not like the rules Clayborne has about not letting parents visit during the school year or no pets in the dormitories, but I go along with them because they're made with good intentions and generally benefit us in the long run. But,” she straightened her shoulders, her anger filling and consuming her, making her feel taller than she actually was, “I will never take over someone's mind or body. It's wrong.” She swallowed. “Sir.”
Sprynge rounded the desk, coming to stand directly in front of Alayne. “And bless you for your mor
als, Alayne.” He put a hand on each shoulder. “But don't you see that sometimes, to understand the enemy better, we must put aside our silly inhibitions and try to fight fire with fire? If the High Court passes a law that makes Shadow-Casting legal, we need to know how to do it. Otherwise, they'll run over us. Flatten us.”
Alayne stepped back, and Sprynge's hands fell loosely to his sides. “Who are 'they' exactly, Professor? Who do you see as the enemy here?”
Sprynge's mouth opened and closed like the fish in his tank. Alayne shook her head. “All I know, Professor, is that to control people’s minds, to take away their ability to think for themselves, to step on their rights to be their own person is wrong, sir. It's wrong. The High Court may be eating from the Elemental Alliance's fingertips right now and taking the Continent down with them,” her hands brushed the door behind her as she grasped the handle, “but I refuse to be a part of it.”
With one last look at Sprynge's lined face, she opened the door and sped past a narrow-eyed Tarry, hitting the button for the chute before Sprynge could call her back.
***
The next morning, Alayne arrived in the commissary before either Marysa or Kyle. Marysa was still in the shower, and Alayne didn't know where Kyle was. Daymon sat at a table with some of the guys on his hall. He met her gaze when she entered the room, but otherwise gave no sign of recognition.
Alayne went to the table where she normally sat. A few other sleepy-looking students slumped on the benches with various plates of breakfast foods. Alayne raised her hand. “Eggs and toast. Coffee.” A plate flew out of the vents and lowered onto the table in front of her. A mug followed. It sloshed a little of the hot liquid onto Alayne's hand when it hit the table. She pursed her lips as she twisted the elements and flung the moisture from her hand. Must be a newbie on the job. She picked up her fork.
The quiet morning chatter was suddenly interrupted. The MIU on the stage at the end of the commissary switched on. A holographic Stanwick Jones, news anchor for Continental Media, appeared in the air, his spectacles winking in the lights of the studio. He shuffled some papers on the desk in front of him. His usual cool, collected demeanor was missing. Splotches of sweat darkened the armpits of his dress shirt; beads glistened beneath his receding hairline.
Shadows of Uprising (Guardian of the Vale Book 2) Page 7
