“Why?” asked the Agent.
Gaius answered without hesitation. “I respect Vlad more than I respect any of the tutors.”
“And why is this?”
“Dread does not let anything pass without investigating it,” Gaius answered. “He’s dedicated to protecting the school, to the Knights, and to the rule of law. Plus, he is smart, powerful…and kind of scary.”
Rachel listened intently, twisting the polished shaft of her steeplechaser between her hands. Rogue strands of her hair floated in her face, tickling her cheeks. She batted them aside. Several things occurred to her to say, but she said nothing. The excitement of spying on the Agents and her desire to hear what Gaius truly thought was too great.
The princess frowned disapprovingly. Her hand strayed to touch her forehead, her expression thoughtful, as if she were remembering something. “I told you that boy was not to be trusted. Von Dread certainly is untrustworthy.”
“Really?” Siggy asked. “I thought you were going to marry him.”
“Von Dread! Certainly not.” The princess looked uncharacteristically irate. “My father said to stay away from him. Only Von Dread…” Her voice trailed off.
She touched her forehead once more and frowned, clearly dismayed.
“Shh!” Rachel hissed, leaning forward to hear better. “We can argue about how evil Dread is later. I want to hear what they are saying!”
Below, in the disenchanting chamber, Agent MacDannan was asking, “And do you recall anything from the last three days that you did not before?”
“No. Yes!” Gaius’s eyes grew wide with astonishment. “That little lion, the one from the infirmary? When we were trying to find a way back into Drake Hall, it was as big as a house! Bigger! It was as big as…” He spread his arms. “It was huge! Enormous. Bigger than the universe.” He gave his head a hard shake. “Which doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“No. It doesn’t.” Agent MacDannan shot a wary look toward the other two Agents.
They stood in identical poses, leaning against the wall with their arms crossed. Standish gave a little shrug. Darling shook his head, indicating that he did not know, either.
Upstairs, Rachel swallowed convulsively. Gaius had seen the Lion during the moment when it was greater than the universe and holding the world on his paw? She had thought that was a vision. A shiver crept down her spine. What did it mean that someone else had seen it, too?
More intriguing, what did it mean that the little lion was a deception and the bigger-than-the-universes one was real?
Below, Agent MacDannan asked, “One last question: how did you know about the geas?”
Gaius blinked in surprise, but his voice answered obediently. “Vlad told me.”
The Agents dismissed Gaius and called William Locke. Rachel would have liked to ask Sigfried to follow Gaius out into the foyer and see what he said or did, but she was too shy. Instead, she watched as bagpipe music raised the tall, lanky college junior into the air. Rachel marveled that Locke managed to keep his calm, detached, scientific demeanor even when floating and surrounded with sparkles. A couple of times, he twitched and looked at his arm or leg curiously; perhaps a spark or two had burnt him.
When William Locke had landed on his feet again, Agent MacDannan lowered her instrument. “What do you remember from the past week that you did not previously?”
William Locke shook his head. His dark hair flopped into his eyes. “Nothing.”
“Do you work for Dr. Mordeau?”
“No.”
“Do you work for Vladimir Von Dread?”
“Yes.”
“What do you do for him?”
“I work with Dread to discover the secrets of the universe.”
“Interesting. Tell me about your father’s company: Ouroboros Industries. It is one of the largest corporations in the world. It caters to both the Wise and the Unwary. Is it dangerous?”
“No.” He paused and seemed to struggle slightly. Absentmindedly, he brushed the hair from his forehead. “I do not believe your jurisdiction extends to asking questions about my father’s company. How is that related to the matter at hand?”
The Agents exchanged glances, looking disappointed but impressed.
“So, nothing they are doing is a danger to this school?”
Locke paused again. “I am not one-hundred-percent sure.”
“That’s creepy!” Sigfried muttered.
The Agents must have agreed, for they eyed each other warily, but MacDannan did not ask any follow-up questions. She released him and asked that he send in Mr. Von Dread. Siggy’s viewpoint followed Locke as he walked back into the foyer, where he spoke to the Bavarian prince and then went to stand by Gaius. They spoke to each other in an unknown language.
“I wonder what they are saying,” Rachel murmured wistfully.
The princess looked faintly surprised. “I can understand them.”
“What language are they speaking?” asked Lucky, cocking his head, his long golden tail with its tuft of flame-red at the end snaking back and forth. “I can’t understand a word.”
The princess shook her head. “I do not know, Sir Dragon. I was not even aware that they were not speaking English. I understand all languages. It is called the Gift of Moira. According to my father, this talent was a gift from my grandmother.”
“Wicked brilliant!” Siggy peered at the picture eagerly. “What’s Valiant saying?”
Nastasia inclined her head, listening. “He just said: ‘I would really, really like to be a fly on the wall while they interview Vlad.’”
Siggy grinned. “He can’t…but we can.”
The viewpoint returned to the disenchanting chamber. Von Dread hung in mid-air, his arms crossed, his face impassive. If the sparkles felt cold or hot to him, he gave no indication.
When his feet were on the floor again, Agent MacDannan lowered her bagpipes. Von Dread gazed down at her imperiously. He towered over the short Agent. He was half a head taller than Standish and Darling as well.
Agent MacDannan took a nervous step backward, but her voice was calm. “What do you remember that you did not before?”
“I am a citizen of the sovereign nation of Bavaria.” Von Dread’s voice was even, but his brows drew together into a fearsome scowl. “To question me, you need permission from my embassy and my father, the King.”
“He…didn’t answer the question,” said Sigfried, his mouth agape. “When it was my turn, stuff poured out of my mouth without consulting me!”
Below, the Agents looked equally startled. Rachel’s mouth hung open, too. She remembered what it had felt like. She had answered without being able to stop herself. Von Dread could resist that? Even Nastasia looked grudgingly impressed.
In the thinking glass, Von Dread spoke. “Go ahead. Ask your questions. I am not afraid of them.”
“Do you work for Dr. Mordeau?” Agent MacDannan’s voice only wavered slightly.
“No.”
“Do you work for anyone else…other than your father?”
“No.”
“How did you know about the geas?”
“My father’s intelligence agents informed me that such a danger might exist, and that I should be wary. You need not bother asking me how they learned of it. They did not tell me.”
“Do you mean harm to this school or anyone in it?”
“Certainly not. This school and its students are under my protection.”
The Agents exchanged glances. “Do you remember anything that you did not before?”
Von Dread flexed his heavy dueling gloves. “Nothing that bears on the matter at hand.”
Agent MacDannan frowned, again clearly surprised at his ability to resist the Spell of True Recitation. She glanced at the other two Agents. They exchanged looks and shrugged.
Turning back to the prince, she said, “Very well, Mr. Von Dread. That is all at this time.”
Vladimir Von Dread inclined his head and strode from the chamber.
Chapter Seven:
The Prince of Foul Play
“It may be less than polite of us to eavesdrop.” Nastasia Romanov turned away from the thinking glass, a thoughtful frown creasing her lovely brow.
A breeze blew through the Watch Tower, carrying the scent of pine smoke. It stirred the princess’s pale locks; they curled around her head like a shining cloud. She looked so beautiful, like a fairytale princess. Of course, Nastasia was a princess and a magical one at that. Sometimes, it was difficult to comprehend that real life was now as marvelous as stories.
Siggy stuck his pinky finger into his ear and turned it back and forth as if to clean it. Then, he leaned that ear toward the princess, cupping his hand around his ear. “What’s that crazy moon language coming out of your mouth? I understand the individual words. But, grouped together, they fail to convey any discernible meaning.”
Rachel giggled, but she clapped her hands over her mouth when she caught a glimpse of the princess’s sour expression.
Nastasia stated crisply. “We would not want people to spy upon us.”
“I think we should listen in.” Rachel jumped to Sigfried’s defense. “They stole our secrets and gave us rubbish in return. This is our chance to find out the proper truth.”
Lucky nodded along in agreement.
“They stole?” The crease in the princess’s forehead grew deeper. “They who?”
“The Agents.”
“It is our duty to help those who enforce the law.” Nastasia touched her forehead, the same spot as before, adding darkly, “At least, the Agents are on our side.”
Rachel did not answer immediately. She had to acknowledge the wisdom of the princess’s words; however, it did not lessen her feeling of having been ill-used. She decided to try a new tack. “But the whole world may be at stake! Dr. Mordeau admitted she was a member of Veltdammerung. The word means Twilight of the World!”
“We must save the world at any price,” declared Sigfried. “Today, the price is spying!”
Princess Nastasia drew herself up, eyes flashing. “The ends never justify the means. We must always do what is right. No matter the threat.”
“That’s just stupid,” Siggy snorted. “If there’s a threat, we should eliminate it. No matter what the cost.” He slipped his hand under his robes—presumably grabbing the handle of his knife—and looked right and left, as if expecting an attack.
Rachel nodded in agreement. That was the kind of thing her grandfather would have said. Defeating the powers of evil required terrible sacrifices. Only a general who did not flinch when called upon to make the difficult decisions could hope for victory.
“That is a very unknightly attitude, Mr. Smith.” The princess’s voice was low with warning. “Virtue must be our first concern.”
“Watch if you want to. Leave if you don’t.” Sigfried turned away with a shrug. “I’m watching either way.”
From the pocket of his scholar’s robe, he pulled a pancake he had stolen from the dining hall during breakfast. It was covered with lint and stained with something red, possibly jam. He broke off a piece and offered it to the two girls. They held up their hands and shook their heads firmly. Siggy shrugged and began eating the pancake.
His mouth still full, he mumbled, “You can’t trust adults. They’re out to get you. They take away your food and lock you in closets. If anything is going to be solved, we’re going to have to do it on our own.”
Rachel frowned uneasily. Siggy’s attitude was not helping. If he kept this up, the princess would leave.
But would that be such a bad thing?
The idea shocked her, but she paused to consider it. She felt so overwhelmed after all that had happened. On top of it all, did she really need a friend who could not grasp the importance of what was at stake? Something terrible was afoot, yet the princess still seemed to think that their efforts to stop it were the actions of a social club.
Nastasia was so blessed. She was immensely talented, astonishingly beautiful, widely popular. Yet, during an emergency, when Rachel—who could barely manage even simple cantrips—had cast a spell Nastasia did not know, the princess had responded by pouting with envy.
Never mind that Rachel had learned that spell because another girl used it to attack her!
Then there was the question of a friend who had betrayed the most important person in Rachel’s life. True, the dean knowing that Gaius knew about the geases was not going to get him in trouble now, but the princess had no way of knowing that when she tattled. Recalling Gaius’s look of surprise when the Agents asked him how he knew about the geas, Rachel’s stomach knotted. What if he thought that she, Rachel, had told on him?
Maybe it would be better if the princess left.
Then a thought stopped her, a very ungenerous thought: No princess, no visions; no visions, no new secrets to replace those stolen. The thought of someone else befriending the princess and becoming privy to her visions frightened her. How could Rachel help save the world, if she did not have enough information to figure out what the threat was? How could she keep Gaius’s attention if she did not have secrets to reveal?
These thoughts embarrassed her. Wanting something from a person was not a very good reason to be their friend. There was even a term for that, and it wasn’t a pleasant one. And yet, she could not shake the thought: No visions, no secrets. She tried to swallow but could not.
If she wanted the benefits of the princess’s friendship, she would have to be a good friend to her. If Rachel were willing to do the difficult things, then one of those difficult things was to be a real friend.
She should be grateful to have a friend at all. Her first efforts to make friends here at Roanoke had gone horribly, and she continued to make blunders. Having spent so much of her life by herself, reading, riding, flying, she had not developed the skills other people had that let them interact with one another so easily. Everyone liked Nastasia. Everyone looked up to her. While she, Rachel, continued to rub others the wrong way, and she had no idea what she did wrong. She felt lost.
Carefully, she recalled what she knew about Nastasia, searching for good traits. She thought of the kindness the princess had shown to students who came to her for aid, how she had protected Rachel from the teasing of the Drake girls, how many common experiences the two of them shared, one having been raised as royalty and the other as nobility.
Besides, she liked Nastasia.
Resolving to overlook the princess’s past actions, Rachel drew herself together and returned to the conversation. “We do all agree that we must stop Mortimer Egg, right?”
“The guy who tried to kill my G.F.?” Siggy’s eyes flashed, and Lucky opened his mouth, belching a huge gout of dragon-flame. “Yes! Without question! He goes down!”
“Egg must be stopped.” The princess nodded firmly. “I agree absolutely.”
“Wonderful.” Rachel sighed happily. “We are agreed on something.”
“Not by us, of course,” added Nastasia. “We are but children. So, there is no need for us to spy. Wiser minds, such as my father and the dean, will tell us what we need to know.”
“But…” cried Rachel. “Nastasia, we students are the ones in danger. What if I had not known that Mr. Egg was not an Agent when I met him on the docks? Valerie Hunt might be dead. Don’t you think we need to know as much as possible?”
“Ah,” Nastasia mused. “That is an important argument.”
The princess crossed to the window and tapped her fingers pensively on the stone sill, looking out over the campus. Rachel came and stood beside her. Together, they stared down at scurrying students; fallen trees, knocked over by Dr. Mordeau the Dragon; and burning pines—the fires of which glowed brightly in the deepening twilight.
To the southeast, through the trees, stood the imposing edifice of Drake Hall. A crack ran through the granite of the dormitory, from its roof to its foundation. It had been damaged during the battle between the dean and Dr. Mordeau. Ordinarily, the building was surround
ed by a moat. Now, the water spilled down into a chasm in the earth, leaving an empty muddy channel.
“You make a good point, Rachel.” Nastasia’s voice sounded as weary as Rachel felt, but her gaze was firm. “It is the responsibility of royalty to look out for the commoners. To that end, we must be prepared. I do not know why I am having visions, but I must take responsibility for them. If I am to help those who appear in my visions, I need to understand the situation.”
“Rah-ther!” Rachel nodded emphatically.
“Besides,” the princess continued, her voice lighter, “my father always says that nothing is as valuable as good intel. He would greatly admire Sigfried’s amulet. He is always complaining about the poor quality of his spies.”
Opening her purse, the princess pulled out some needlepoint and a straight-backed chair from the house that Rachel knew was hidden inside. She placed the chair over by the thinking glass, sat down on it, and placed the needlework on her lap.
“Yes. You mentioned that before.” Rachel came up beside her. “Something about fruit bats and kookaburras?”
“So, I did.” Nastasia nodded in sad agreement, as she picked up her frame and needle. “It is entirely possible that my father chose his intelligence staff by randomly glancing out the window into the garden and appointing whatever happened to be in sight. It wouldn’t be the first time he had done something like that. He does govern in his own style.
“Very well, Sigfried.” The princess inclined her head regally. “Show us more.”
• • •
Sigfried touched the thinking glass again. The golden glass swirled and cleared, so that it looked as if they were peering through a window into the disenchanting chamber below. Agent MacDannan had slung her green plaid bagpipes onto the stone bench. She plopped down beside her instrument and then jumped up again. Retrieving her now-crushed tricorne hat from where it had rested on the bench, she sighed and touched her forehead to its battered felt.
The Raven, The Elf, and Rachel (A Book of Unexpected Enlightenment 2) Page 7
