by John Corwin
"It's rather different, isn't it?" Esma said in a quiet voice. "They say Ezzek Moore designed it himself to prove that order can be found in chaos."
The only orderly thing about it was the square building in the middle. "Maybe he just wanted it to look strange." I looked toward Tiberius Keep. A long four-story rectangular building with a red brick façade and evenly spaced gables, it resembled a Victorian manor that might also serve as an insane asylum.
"Rather plain, isn't it?" Esma said. "I heard Tiberius never was much for creativity."
It looked more frightening than boring, while Moore Keep made my mind run in circles. "I think Graeven Keep looks the best."
"I suppose it is a bit posh." She raised an eyebrow. "Well, perhaps you'll learn better in time." The professor motioned me toward the door. "Go on inside, young Edison. I'll see you in class tomorrow."
I should have been relieved that I would soon see my friends, but instead felt a sickening dread in my stomach. What if Max and I couldn't share a room and I ended up with someone who despised me because of my last name? If I stand out here any longer, Max might have a roommate before I find him. I swallowed hard and turned to thank Professor Emoora, but she had already walked away.
The front door swung inward on well-oiled hinges, opening into a great hallway with dark wood flooring and gray walls. Glass chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling, their candlelight flickering, but somehow keeping the room brightly lit. Haphazardly hung portraits adorned the walls. Not a one of them was lined up evenly with the next, and most hung slightly crooked.
The first image was of a robed man raising his hands in a V shape before two great walls of water. Another showed a group of men sitting around a table, bored expressions on their faces as they presumably waited patiently for the painter to finish. I walked down the hall, trying to be quick about it, but instead allowing the art to distract me. There was a painting of a beautiful blonde angel, blazing wings spread wide, and a frightening scowl on her face, unleashing a spear of white light toward an old man on his knees. I thought back to the memorial at Moore Manor and wondered if the angel was Daelissa and the man was Jeremiah Conroy, the last incarnation of Ezzek Moore.
On the other wall hung the painting of a fantastical landscape with floating islands of land hanging above a brilliant vortex of energy. The next one, of a pretty blonde woman and a girl about my age, caught my eye. I looked at the bottom and found a small notation: Alysea and Ivy. The girl had to be Ivy Slade. I wondered where she had gone after defeating my parents. I could really use her help right about now.
The next image caught my attention because it was so plain compared to the others. It was the painting of a stone door with a curved triangle engraved in the center. Only the initials S.M. gave any indication of the artist. S.M. certainly had a love for doors, judging from the fine lines and attention to detail. The closer I looked at the patterns on the door, the more they resembled a maze.
I backed away and glanced down the row of paintings, suddenly aware I'd been taking far too long to go inside and find Max. I hurried down the long hall to the end and nearly tripped over my own feet when I saw the last portrait.
A huge green moon hung in a starry sky above a craggy mountain peak and before it, broken islands of land hanging in a sea of stars. It's the Glimmer. The initials at the bottom were the same as the one for the door painting. I wondered who this S.M. was and how he'd painted the Glimmer. It was doubtful he still lived, but he might have left behind journals about his travel into that strange land. It was definitely something I wanted to look into, but first, I had to find Max and the others.
I sprinted up the curving stairs and heard voices emanating through a door on the third floor. Peering around the corner, I saw Gideon Grace in a long rectangular room, a fire crackling in a huge hearth behind him. The boys were lined up on my left and the girls on the right. With the fire flickering behind him, he looked like a demon lord overseeing his minions.
Two curved couches hugged either wall. Small round tables surrounded by plush leather divans and lamps looked like good places to study or gather with friends.
"This great room is for common use," Grace said. "Females shall not go up the stairs to the male rooms and vice versa." He walked down the line of boys, eyes boring into them. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir!" the boys shouted.
I spotted Max on the far end of the line, his eyes wide and nervous. Ambria stood in the middle of the girls, her mouth turned down in a frown.
Grace spun on his heel and marched to the girls. "Very well, then. Go claim your rooms."
The sighs of relief were audible across the room. The boys vanished up the stairs on the left and the girls went up their stairway.
Swallowing nervously, I stepped into the great room and walked toward the professor. A quick glance out of the window on the right gave me a view of the large round turret protruding from the side of the tower where the girls' rooms were.
Grace spotted me coming. "What are you doing here, Edison?" He spoke my name as if it were poison.
"Galfandor told me to," I explained. "He said the selection spark glitched by not choosing me."
The professor's upper lip curled with distaste. "How unfortunate for us."
"Does Max Tiberius have a roommate yet?" I asked.
"I have no idea, boy." He jabbed a finger to the stairs. "Why don't you go find out?"
His harsh attitude hurt, but it also made me angry. What had I ever done to him? I didn't think defying the professor would help matters, so I simply nodded and went upstairs. A round room with wood paneled walls and another lively fireplace lay through the door at the top. A curved leather couch in front of the hearth looked like a cozy place to read a book while wooden tables and chairs offered more practical places to study. It looked like a smaller version of the common room below.
A group of older boys sat on the couch laughing and talking while the younger kids huddled nervously in other parts of the room. I didn't see Max anywhere, so I walked through the room while carefully looking for him. A lanky boy with curly black hair made eye contact with me and did a double-take.
He said something to his friends and stepped in front of me. "Look what we found here. It's Conrad Edison himself."
"Yeah, Rory, it sure is," said a short tubby boy. "What're you doing in our keep, Edison?"
I tried to step around Rory, but his wide friend stepped in the way.
"Gregory asked you a question," Rory said. "You're in our keep and I know you didn't get selected for it."
"He didn't get selected at all," said another boy with thick glasses and a mop of brown hair hanging over his pimply face. "I saw him crying all by himself when we left."
The boys burst into laughter as if it was the funniest joke they'd ever heard.
My hands clenched and a tremble ran up my body. "I'm looking for my friend, Max."
"Oh, that's right!" Rory grinned. "His best friends are Cryberius and that Rax girl."
"They're like a tri—a tri—uh trilogy of evil." Gregory smirked.
I couldn't help correcting him. "Did you mean trifecta?" I hated having parts of my parents in my head, but at least it helped my vocabulary.
He snapped his fingers and grinned. "Yeah, thanks!" Gregory suddenly realized he'd thanked the person he was insulting and squinted with confusion.
"Edison thinks he's smart," Rory said, and bumped his chest against mine.
Caught off balance, I stumbled backwards, much to the amusement of the others.
Gregory chortled. "Maybe we should bag him up and take him to Harris Ashmore."
Rory's eyes brightened. "Yeah. That's a good idea."
The curly-haired boy gave me a wondering look. "Maybe we can hang out with Harris and his friends then."
I remembered how popular Harris was thanks to his big deal status. I reached into my pocket for my wand. They're not taking me without a fight.
Someone else shoved Rory so hard he plowed
into Gregory and the pair tumbled against a table.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave Conrad alone." Stephan, one of the boys my friends I had saved from the Goodleighs, stepped in between me and the other boys.
I was so surprised, I could hardly stop staring at this unexpected ally.
Rory bared a fist, but looked at Stephan's stocky frame and reconsidered. All the time on the orphanage farm had put some muscle on Stephan.
Gregory recovered and didn't think twice about lunging at Stephan. The other boy stepped out of the way and kicked Gregory in the seat of his pants, sending him sprawling to the floor with a loud clatter of chairs.
A cry of "Ooh!" went up around the room, while others broke into laughter.
Rory got the point and backed away, his hands up in surrender. "You must be crazy, siding with Edison."
Stephan looked a little unsure of himself, but shrugged. "He saved my life once, so I'm just returning the favor."
"Huh?" Rory looked at the other boy as if he'd sprouted an extra head. "Saved your life?"
"Max is upstairs," Stephan said, and pointed to another staircase on the curved wall at the end of the room.
"Thanks, Stephan." I felt as though there were no words to express how grateful I was that someone who wasn't Max or Ambria had stood up for me. I hadn't even realized Stephan was in this keep, but it made me feel better knowing so.
He nodded. "I owe you." Gone was the boy who'd relentlessly made fun of me at the orphanage. In his place was someone who'd survived a nightmare and maybe matured a little bit because of it. Stephan gave me an apologetic shrug and spoke in a hushed voice. "Just don't expect us to be best friends, okay?"
I managed a wan smile. "Wouldn't dream of it." I made my way past a simmering Rory and went to the staircase. The next level up offered several rooms, none of which held Max. I went up another level and another, finally locating him in a large round room at the top, staring forlornly out of an open window.
"Already daydreaming?" I asked.
He jerked and spun around, eyes wide. "Conrad?" Max's face fell. "Did you talk to Galfandor about where you're supposed to live?"
"Yeah." I put on a sad face. "I have to live on a cot in the basement where the university janitorial staff keeps their equipment."
His mouth fell open. "What? Why would Galfandor do that to you?"
"He said it would only be for a few months." I couldn't hold back a snort at his horrified face.
Max's eyes narrowed. "Are you kidding me?"
I nodded. "He told me it was a glitch in the selection spell and then told me to choose whichever keep I wanted to stay in."
"Brilliant!" He clapped me on the shoulder. "We're going to be roommates."
"Well, I actually chose Graeven Keep, but I wanted to come tell you the news."
"I'll throw you out this window if you're telling the truth." He grinned and I reflected it back.
It felt good to be back with my friend. "Did you talk with Ambria?"
He nodded. "I'm supposed to meet her in the common room in twenty minutes."
"Good. What else is on the schedule today?"
Max leaned against the window sill. "Once we get settled in, we're supposed to meet back in the dining hall for lunch. Then we go pick up our textbooks."
I noticed Max's suitcase sitting on the bed next to the window and tossed my backpack on the bed next to his. "This building sure is strange." I looked out the window for a marvelous view of Graeven Keep and the former Greek Row where Moore Manor resided. Colossus Stadium rose in the distance, and to its left, I could make out the mansion ruins near the crack in the world.
Looking at it only reminded me that my parents were still up to something. I wanted to feel safe and protected now that the entire plateau all the way up to the security gate was protected by a magical barrier. Instead, I had a feeling that was a false hope.
Chapter 21
Max unpacked his suitcase and put folded clothes in the trunk at the foot of the bed. "Yeah, I heard this place is filled with secret tunnels in the walls and all sorts of cool stuff."
Pushing unpleasant thoughts of my parents away, I looked up at the tallest spire of the keep far above. "Hey, want to go exploring?"
Max stood beside me and looked up. "Definitely, but we don't have time before lunch."
I heard Grace barking orders downstairs and grimaced. "Sounds like we're already being summoned."
"I can't believe we got him for our advisor," Max groaned.
I blew out a breath. "He's not an advisor, he's our warden, remember?" I grabbed the piece of Trouble Bubble gum Max had given me the other day and put it in my pocket, thinking I might annoy Professor Grace with it.
"Yeah, everyone else gets a friendly advisor while we get an army sergeant."
We tucked our brooms under our beds and went downstairs to the great room. Gideon Grace was nowhere to be seen, but the other boys were sullenly filing out of the room and down the stairs to the common room. Max and I followed the crowd below and saw Grace ordering the girls to line up across from us.
The professor marched down the line raking his gaze from side to side. "I want a volunteer liaison from each group. You will be in charge of keeping order among your peers and reporting any deficiencies to me."
Rory immediately stepped forward. "I'd be honored, Professor Grace."
"Not him," Max hissed. "I hope someone else volunteers."
"Marisol Culpepper reporting for duty," said a short girl with wavy brown hair and a bright smile on her face.
Ambria stood next to the girl, a scowl on her face. She glanced to the over and spotted me. "Conrad!" She clamped her hands over her mouth.
Grace stormed over to her. "You have something to say, Miss Rax?"
Ambria looked down. "No, sir."
"Look at me when I'm talking to you." Grace tapped his foot until my friend raised her eyes.
"I don't have anything to say," Ambria said, an edge in her voice.
"Very well." Grace motioned Rory and Marisol to step to the head of the lines. "Unless and until they prove they are unworthy, Rory and Marisol Culpepper are the resident keepers for the novice group."
"They're related?" Max whispered through clenched teeth.
Rory and Marisol grabbed each other's hands and thrust them into the air in a victory pose.
Ambria palmed her face.
"We expect the best behavior out of each and every one of you," Marisol said, addressing the boys and girls.
"We will tolerate nothing that breaks Professor Grace's rules," Rory added.
Grace's lips curled up slightly. Apparently, he was quite pleased with his new keepers. "Very well." He took out an old pocket watch and looked at it. "Lunch begins in twenty minutes. Afterward, you will report to the library for your textbooks." He marched away and didn't look back.
Ambria rushed over to us and gave me a firm hug. "Did Galfandor let you stay here?"
I nodded and told her what he'd said.
"This is wonderful!" She clasped her hands together and grinned. "Shall we go eat?"
Max put a hand to his stomach and opened his mouth.
"Yes, yes, we already know you're starving," Ambria said.
Max and I laughed.
It felt so good knowing I'd be in the same keep with my friends.
We went to the dining hall and had lunch. Thankfully, Harris and his friends stayed away from us and we didn't have problems with anyone else. I watched the door carefully in case Blue came in so I could invite her to sit with us, but she never came.
"I still can't figure how Harris found out our real names," Ambria said. She looked toward the head table where Galfandor and the other professors sat. "Do you think the headmaster told them?"
I screwed up my lips and looked around the room. "What if it's someone from the orphanage?"
"Stephan is in our keep," Max said.
"I know, but I don't think it's him." I told them how he'd come to my aid against Rory.
"Alice, Beth, and Catherine are here as well." Ambria pointed to a table where the three girls sat, wearing matching blue and silver scarves. "Looks like they're already wearing the colors of Graeven Keep."
"Colors?" I asked.
"Every keep has its own crest and colors," Max said. "Once we get our uniforms, we'll have to wear something identifying our keep so any trouble can be reported to our advisor."
"Spectacular," I said. "What are our colors?"
He held up the end of Ambria's scarf and showed it to me. "Black and white."
"Tiberius is purple and red," Ambria said. "Rred for strength and purple for royalty."
"My family isn't stuck up or anything," Max said with a wry grin.
"I thought you said it didn't matter which keep you lived in." I now noticed more people wearing their keep colors. "But it seems some people take it seriously."
"You have to remember the keeps and crests have been around for centuries," Max replied.
"Well, it's a good thing they got rid of the Greek system," Ambria said sarcastically. "Soon we'll need to learn gang signs."
After lunch, we picked up our textbooks and took them back to the keep then decided to do some exploring around Moore Keep. I showed them the painting of the Glimmer in the main hallway.
"Professor Grace brought us through in such a hurry, I didn't even notice," Ambria said. "It looks like the lair of an evil witch in a fairy tale."
"What's this door painting about?" Max asked.
I shrugged. "I wondered that myself."
Ambria peered at it. "I've seen that symbol somewhere before." She backed away, eyes narrowed in concentration. "I can't remember where."
"I want to find out who made these paintings." I pointed out the initials S.M. at the bottom. "They must have been to the Glimmer to paint it. Maybe they left behind journals or something."
"It's worth looking into," Ambria said.
Max wandered off the hall and into a room. "Oh, cool."
