by Brenda Drake
I made it to my room. The air in the hall turned syrupy. My breaths grew shallow—lungs crushing from the pressure around me. “Help…” came out, weak and powerless. My fingers fumbled to get my room key into the lock.
An ominous energy surrounded me. It was like invisible creatures slithered across my skin. Concentrating hard on keeping my hand steady, I slid the key in and then quickly turned it. My head spun and my knees shook. I leaned against the door to steady myself. I wheezed. Spots flickered across my vision.
Panicking, I threw my weight against the door, stumbled into the room, and slammed it shut behind me.
The heavy curtains covering the windows made the room as dark as a cave. A gust of wind came from the window on the right side of the bed, causing the curtains to billow into the room. Just then, the bathroom door flew open, and I screamed. “Shit. Holy fu—” I covered my mouth at Nana’s stern glare.
Faith sprang out from behind the curtains and then landed in a crouching position between Nana and me.
Nana was wearing a fancy floor-length dress the color of her soft gray eyes. For her age, she had a rocking body. “Gia, what’s wrong with you? Slamming doors and swearing like a construction worker.”
“Sorry, Nana. But you scared the crap out of me.” I slumped onto the bed. My hands and legs still shook. Something had pursued me from the Sentinel’s rooms and tried to suffocate me outside this door. Or had it? I really needed to get a grip. This whole other world thing and spooky castle was getting to me.
“We’re late for dinner,” Nana said. “It’s a formal affair and you’ll need to wear a dress.”
“I didn’t bring a dress.”
“There are some in the wardrobe.” Nana fastened an earring.
“Faith, it’s still daylight,” I said. “What were you doing in the curtains?”
Faith straightened. “I felt something was wrong, so I was checking it out.”
“But I thought you couldn’t be in sunlight?”
“I only burn in direct sunlight. I was perfectly safe. Our side is darkened by the castle’s shadow at this time of day.”
“Well, I’m fine now, so you can go back to bed.”
Faith pounced into bed and flung the covers over her head.
“Why are you so jumpy?” Nana asked.
“I can’t tell you…”
“We’ve never had secrets before.”
“Really? I would say all this was a huge secret on your part.” I raised my palms for emphasis. “Wouldn’t you?”
“Besides this.” She frowned. “We’ve always been truthful.”
“You mean I’ve always been truthful.”
Her nose twitched. It’s what happens when she’s trying not to cry. I felt horrible for being snotty. “Forget about it,” I said. “I can’t tell you…um…not until I perform a truth globe on you. It’s like the light globes, but it shows if someone can be trusted.”
“You don’t say?” Nana puckered her lips. “That’s a curious globe. We best do whatever it is in my room.” Her gaze flicked to the Faith pile on the bed. “We don’t want to disturb her.”
Hunger pains hit me, so I grabbed a handful of strawberries, tiptoed after Nana to her room, and shut the door. I performed the globe on Nana, and she checked out.
Nana smiled. “Never doubt my love for you, dear.”
“I’m sorry.” I studied my hands. “You know I love you. It’s just that everything”—I glanced up—“all this. It’s just so much to take in. I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
Nana gave me a tight hug, which helped calm my nerves and kept me from hyperventilating. “Now, now.” She patted my back. “I know it’s scary, but you’re a strong girl. You can handle this, and I’m here to help.”
I pulled back and nodded. “Okay.” I put on a brave face for her even though I was terrified.
“Now, go get changed.”
I washed my face in the bathroom before returning to my room, and then searched for a dress to wear. Each hanger I dragged across the wardrobe bar held one gaudy dress after another. Whoever had stocked it didn’t know teen girls at all. I stopped at a brandy-colored dress with cap sleeves, a corseted bodice, and a slight bell skirt. The dress was more modern than the others. I wiggled it on.
Using Nana’s cosmetics, I tried to replicate Afton’s smoky eyes and then pinned my hair up before examining myself in the bathroom mirror. Not bad. I reached for Nana’s lipstick and decided against it, grabbing my root beer flavored Lip Smacker instead. I imagined Afton’s protest as I swiped my lips with the waxy stick. The thought of my friend painfully squeezed my heart, and I hoped she and Nick were safe. She would enjoy dressing up for a formal occasion like this. I sucked back the emotions threatening to ruin my makeup and flicked off the light, then joined Nana in the corridor.
“I feel silly, and I can’t breathe in this thing,” I whispered to her as we approached the dining hall. I adjusted the bodice and scratched under the itchy material.
“Stop fretting. You’re stunning.”
Nana glided into the dining room. I huddled closer to her. The hundred or so people—and a few creatures—sitting around the many tables glanced up at once. There was a man so hairy he reminded me of Big Foot. Many Laniars were in attendance. A man with slimy looking skin and gills on the side of his head wore a curious suit with clear tubes snaking around it, circulating some sort of liquid. He had to be the Aqualian Faith had mentioned before. Not wanting to stare at the unusual beings, I kept my gaze forward.
Was it a special occasion tonight or was this how they always dressed for dinner? The men wore nice suits with tartans of all colors draped over their shoulders, as cummerbunds around their waists, or as neckties hanging down their starched shirts. Two men actually wore tartan skirts. Unfortunately, their knees were entirely wrong for the look. The women wore Renaissance-style dresses. It was like being in a time warp or at a medieval-themed dinner show. At least my tacky outfit blended in.
I almost tripped when I spotted Arik sitting beside the French girl from the hallway earlier.
C’ambermaid my ass.
Chapter Twelve
The French girl’s dress had easy written all over it. With one good cough, the rounds of her cleavage would pop right out the top. There was nothing medieval to the dress. The black sequins belonged on stage with the Pussycat Dolls.
Merl met us. “Wonderful, I see you found your way.”
“Is Professor Attwood here?”
“He is. I’m glad you could join our celebration this evening. It’s been six hundred years to date since the wizard havens formed their alliance.” He offered Nana his arm and led us toward the tables. “Philip has informed me about your globe. I’m very pleased, indeed. No one has possessed a truth globe for centuries. There are so many things we can learn from it, but matters like this should be discussed in private, don’t you agree?”
I opened my mouth to answer but shut it, realizing he didn’t require a response. He was simply giving me an order.
Professor Attwood and the other men at the table stood as we approached. He pulled out the chair beside him and motioned for me to sit. Merl and Nana continued on to a nearby table.
“This is my niece, Gianna,” the professor said.
The women around the table smiled at me from their seats.
“Gia,” I blurted, and then added, “It’s nice to meet you all.” I returned nods as Professor Attwood introduced each person.
“I hear you’re Marietta’s child,” an older woman, whose name I had already forgotten, said.
I shifted in my seat and smiled.
“Auntie Mae, I just told you she’s Marietta’s daughter,” Professor Attwood answered for me.
“Oh yes, that’s right. At my age, I can hardly remember my own name.” Auntie Mae and I had the whole forgetting names thing in common.
A plate was already waiting at my setting. There were some sardines and green mush stuff artfully arranged on it. I wrinkled my nose
. I hated fish—well, just dead ones. I grabbed a few crackers from a plate in the middle of the table and stuffed one in my mouth. When the waiter came by, I handed my untouched plate to him, smiling nervously when he raised an eyebrow.
After searching the dining room, I leaned over to Professor Attwood. “Where’s Carrig? I don’t see him anywhere.”
“He went to Tearmann, the Irish haven. He’ll return later tonight.” He slanted closer to me. “You will have your first lesson with him at eight in the morning. Try not to be late. Carrig isn’t as understanding as I am.”
“Yeah, right, he must be a monster, then,” I said.
He winked. “I wasn’t so awful, was I?”
“Oh. No. Not at all,” I said with a sarcastic laugh.
As I listened to the overly English conversation at my table, my attention kept homing in on Arik and the French girl. He caught me staring and smiled. I sucked in a sharp breath and adjusted in my chair, bumping into the soup bowl a waiter was placing in front of me. The soup slopped over the sides and landed on the saucer underneath it. “I’m so sorry,” I said.
“It’s not your fault,” the waiter said. “I apologize for startling you. I’ll get you another.”
“Oh, no, please, leave it. It’s fine.”
He bowed his head slightly and backed away.
I tasted a spoonful. It was delicious, so I slurped it down. Before long, another plate landed in front of me. I studied the stuffed pastry. “Okay, what’s this?”
“It’s Beef Wellington. Eat it. You’ll like it.” Professor Attwood dissected his with a fork and knife.
I took a bite and was pleased. But the yummy food hadn’t removed the bad taste in my mouth. My run-in with that French girl earlier kept annoying me. With everyone around our table distracted in conversation, I took the opportunity to talk to Professor Attwood.
I whispered, “Arik wasn’t there when I went to his room earlier. In the hallway, I ran into that French girl who’s sitting beside him now. She said he was gone on a mission, and he wouldn’t be back for weeks, but he’s here at dinner. Isn’t that suspicious?”
“He was on a mission this morning. There’s nothing to be suspicious about, no one knows how long a Sentinel will be gone.” He cut a piece of beef and stuffed it into his mouth.
“She said she was the chambermaid.”
He swallowed. “Her name is Veronique Lefevre. She’s a Sentinel. She probably wondered why you were snooping around the Sentinel chambers. Anyway, she’s here from the French haven.”
“Who invited her here?”
“No invitation is needed. We move freely among our allies, and last I checked, France is our ally.”
Auntie Mae’s dinner knife slipped and clanked against the plate as she tried to cut her beef. I glanced up and spotted Arik heading in our direction, wearing a black suit with a purple and black tartan cummerbund. He flashed me his dimples, and my breath caught. My knife slipped from my fingers and clunked onto the table.
Auntie Mae gave me an amused look. Another thing we had in common—klutzy hands.
Arik addressed the table, his gaze landing on me. “Good evening. May I have a word with Miss Kearns in private, Professor Attwood?”
The sound of my name off his lips melted me.
Professor Attwood wiped his mouth. “Certainly. It’s entirely up to Gia, of course.”
“Sure.” I bolted out of my seat and instantly regretted it, hoping I didn’t look too eager. I took a calming breath before saying, “Excuse me,” to the table. Arik led me to the patio.
He gave me a sidelong glance. “You look lovely this evening.”
His comment startled me. “No, I don’t.”
He smirked, his cheeks dimpling again. “I assume you’re the type who doesn’t know how to respond to a compliment. All you have to do is say ‘thank you’ and blush a little. Try it.”
My cheeks were burning, so I definitely had the blushing part down. “Thanks. You look pretty hot yourself.”
Something whizzed by my head. I spun around, searching for what I hoped wasn’t some big, disgusting flying bug. Hovering in midair, right in front of my face, was an oval black stone the size of my fist. It slowly rotated until a yellow eye stared at me.
“It’s only a surveillance eye,” Arik said, placing a hand on my lower back and guiding me to the stone wall that encircled the patio. “There are several of them throughout the castle. The eyes connect to the Monitor.”
The warmth of his hand on my waist sent a jolt of excitement through my body. I stepped away from him and placed both my hands on the cool stone banister to steady myself. “You mean Pip?” I glanced back at the floating eye.
“Yes. He reports any suspicious activities to Professor Attwood.”
“What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked.
“How are you coping?” A strand of dark hair fell across his brow, and I wanted to smooth it back.
The night was chilly, so I wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm. “It’s definitely been strange, but I’m adjusting.”
“You’re cold.” He took off his jacket.
“No. Don’t do that. I’m—”
He ignored my protests and draped his jacket over my shoulders, his fingers brushing my arms. Were the goose bumps dancing across my skin from him or the chilly air?
“Thank you,” I said, inhaling his aroma on the jacket. There was a hint of some sort of cologne and the outdoors scenting the fabric.
“Veronique said she came across you at my door today. What did you need?”
“She told me she was the chambermaid.”
“You startled her when she came from the linen cupboard. She’d never seen you before. For all she knew, you were a spy or a compelled.”
“Do I really look like I’m compelled to you? And besides, I don’t even know what one looks like.”
“You could be one. They are normal people possessed by a wizard and compelled to do whatever the wizard wishes. When the wizard is working his magic through a compelled, the air around the individual is thick with power and it’s difficult for anyone nearby to breathe—”
“Wait.” I said and gripped his arm. “Are you kidding me? I felt that way earlier when I went back to my room.”
“Are you certain? Veronique also felt it in the corridor. She said the feeling left with you.”
“Yes, I’m sure. It freaked me out.” I peeked over my shoulder and spotted Veronique sitting by Arik’s empty chair. She focused on me as if she wanted me gone or dead. My bet was on the latter. “I didn’t feel it in your hallway, though.”
“When you haven’t encountered it before, you might not notice it right off.” He turned so his back was against the wall and he faced the dining hall. “Then whoever was in the corridor was following you, not her.” His eyes searched the room as he spoke. “I think our secret about you is out.”
“About that. Remember you told me to trust no one? I have to be certain you are true…” I trailed off, trying to think of how to ask him to give me a blood sample.
“I’ve had plenty of opportunities to kill you. If I wanted to, I’d have done it in your bedroom.” He gave me a wicked smile, which made me wonder if he was thinking back to my skimpy cami. My cheeks felt even hotter. “You can trust me.”
He was right. He’d had plenty of opportunities to shank me. I gathered my nerve. “Well, I need some of your—”
Gross. Blood freaked me out. In First Aid class, they’d taught us to use gloves to avoid catching diseases. Now, I’d become the official blood handler of the havens—no gloves required.
“Just spill it. What do you need?”
Well, how ironic. I actually wanted him to spill it. “I need a drop of your blood.”
“I assume the good ol’ professor found your globe. I’m impressed. Truth globes were believed to be extinct.” He turned his back to the dining room. “Come closer to me.”
Don’t mind if I do. I scooted to his side.
&nb
sp; He tugged a knife from an inside pocket of his dinner jacket. We stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the dark pastures, to shield the diners’ view. He poked his index finger with the tip of his knife and grabbed my hand.
My stomach turned at the sight of the crimson streak he smudged onto my pale palm. Holding my breath, I performed the truth ritual. When the Arik in the globe said he was truthful, I expelled the air I held in my lungs.
I grabbed the wall, bracing myself. Lights floated across my vision. My arms and legs trembled. Every muscle felt like it had been through an intense workout.
“Are you all right, Gia?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I said. “Excuse me. I should go wash my hands.”
Arik escorted me to the restroom. I handed his jacket to him before I went in. Staring at Arik’s blood drying on my palm, it comforted me to know he was on my side, but I desperately wanted to learn more about him and Veronique. After checking the stalls of the bathroom to assure I was alone, I went to the sink.
“Mostrami la verità,” I said. “Show me the truth about Arik and Veronique.”
I almost dropped the globe when it showed the two kissing in what must be his room. A feverish kiss like that led to other things. Please stop, I pleaded in my head. As if someone had heard me, a loud knock came from the bedroom door in the globe.
“Arik?” A male’s faint voice came from the door. “What are you two doing in there?”
Arik pulled away from Veronique. His voice came through the globe in a high electric pitch. “Bugger, it’s Demos. We can’t…the rules.”
She placed her lips on his again and muttered against them. “I don’t care about ze rules.”
The knock sounded louder.
“Come on, Merl’s in the corridor,” a girl’s voice I recognized called out. Lei?
The globe slipped from my hand and popped against the edge of the sink. Gah. How stupid are you, Gia? Guys like Arik don’t like girls like you.
I was crazy to think he would. I was nowhere near as sexy as Veronique. There was no competition. Game over.
I scrubbed my palm clean under the scorching tap water. As I dried my hands, Veronique walked into the restroom. Her hips snapped back and forth as she clunked in on spiky high heels.
