by W. J. May
“I told Lanford last year that those construction guys were idiots,” Madame Elpis grumbled. “I knew something like this would happen.”
“Ma’am? We need to take this young girl to the hospital. We need her name and details. Can you come with us?” The man spoke to Madame Elpis. They had strapped and lifted Alecia into a gurney and were heading towards the stairs.
“Yes, yes. I’m coming and I’ll contact the headmaster and dean. They will get a hold of her parents right away as well.” Madame Elpis followed them down the stairs.
Rae watched them leave, her mind swirling with possibilities. She remembered the construction from the previous year. It was how she had met Devon and been introduced to the tatù world at the same time. She had almost been squashed her first day on campus by a beam carelessly shoved out a window by a worker. Devon had saved her, using his fennec fox tatù to run faster than anything she had ever seen and push her out of the way. No one had questioned the incident, or viewed it as more than an unfortunate coincidence that she had been the one put in danger, at the time.
The workers had spent last summer and the start of the school term finishing the renovations. So was this an accident? Or was the frame rigged?
Molly, still holding the dress bags, stepped out of the bathroom. “Wow. I hope she’s okay.” She shifted the dresses to her other arm. “Thank goodness I got these in and zipped before all that dust and building bits flew everywhere.”
Rae stared at her incredulously. “Molly!”
After canceling and rescheduling her group meeting with Nicholas and Kraigan for the following evening, Rae answered a summons sent by Carter. She waited patiently, letting him rant on and on for a full five minutes about conspiracies and her possible importance as the key to her father’s evil intentions to dominate the world with mind control. However, when he started insinuating that the accident in the bathroom had been a targeted attack on her, she had to put a stop to it.
“That’s impossible,” she argued. “How could someone rig the door and assume I’d be going to the bathroom at that very moment? They’d have no idea if I’d even be the first girl to walk out instead of the others. Madame Elpis herself said that the construction workers did a lousy job last year, and that’s certainly correct. Shoot, I almost got decked from a beam falling. You remember that?”
Carter grumbled but finally let her go back to her dorm. She spent the rest of the night worried about Alecia. At least she’s at a hospital where tatù people work. She had learned that much from Carter.
In the Oratory the next morning, Carter informed everyone that Alecia had been seriously injured, but would be alright. “She’s fractured her hip and slipped a disc but is in very good hands. She’ll be home for the rest of the school year but wants to come back to Guilder in the fall. I personally spoke with her surgeon after her surgery, and he said that she was in high spirits. She specifically wanted me to let you all know she will be fine. Between her ability to see the damage and the doctor’s skill, every injury has been addressed and now she just needs to heal.”
Desiree began clapping. All the other students joined in. Rae hated that Alecia wouldn’t be back until September, but was glad she would be okay. The image of the weird twist in Alecia’s back still haunted Rae. That’s some amazing tatù doctor, if he can fix all of that.
“The reconstruction of the bathroom doorframe is already underway,” Carter added. “I’ve been told it will be finished by this evening, leaving no trace of the accident. Rest assured, it will never happen again.”
The afternoon flew by. Rae found herself rushing to get to Aumbry’s library in time for her group meeting that evening. When she peered through the French doors, Kraigan and Nicholas were already waiting for her. She pushed the doors open and bumped into Haley coming out. Despite the fact that Haley had apologized at the end of the previous year for her actions, Rae had still avoided her since returning to Guilder.
“Watch out, klutz!” Haley bent down to pick up a book that had fallen out of her hands. “Where are the bulls?”
“Pardon?”
“With the rush you were in, I expected them to come charging in after you.” Haley rolled her eyes. “Come on. Everyone knows about the running of the bulls in Spain.”
Oh so now I’m stupid? She hasn’t changed at all…
“I’m a bit late in meeting up with my group.” She peered over Haley’s shoulder to see Nicholas and Kraigan watching. She wiggled her fingers at them.
Haley followed Rae’s gaze. “Kraigan? Isn’t he just dreamy?” Haley whispered. She closed her eyes and exhaled a long breath.
“Dreamy? Uh—” She liked Devon and hadn’t looked closely enough at Kraigan to even consider if he was cute. Plus she was more interested in his tatù than anything else. She stared at him now.
He was athletic, but bulkier than Devon’s lean build. His curly brown hair seemed familiar but she couldn’t place what it reminded her of—maybe chocolate or something. His brown eyes were the same color as his hair. His face seemed pretty serious most of the time, and when he did smile, it never reached his eyes. Nothing about him drew her in as attractive.
Kraigan lifted his arm level with his face and tapped at his wristwatch.
“Haley, I gotta go. Our presentation’s tomorrow. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Whatever.” Haley slipped through the door, throwing one last flirty glance at Kraigan.
Rae rushed over to the table where the boys sat. “Sorry I’m late.”
“You looked like you could use a bit of saving,” Kraigan grinned and stared past her at the door Haley had disappeared through. “Who’s the hottie with the million-dollar body?”
“That’s Haley,” Nicholas replied. “She’s also got the million-dollar family.”
“Nic!” Rae rolled her eyes.
“What’s her tatù?” Kraigan ignored her.
“She can make wind.” Nicholas reached into his bag to pull their presentation out.
Rae saw him try to hide a smile as he bent over.
“Huh?” Kraigan raised an eyebrow.
Rae rolled her eyes at Nic’s unfortunate attempt at humor. “What Nic means is Haley can create breezes or big gusts. Stuff like that.”
“Boring.” Kraigan mumbled.
Rae caught his single word and couldn’t let it go. “Is it boring because you’re not interested in the school’s females unless they match specific criteria? Looks, money and certain tatùs?” No wonder she didn’t find him attractive. He’s totally different than Devon..
“Whoa! Slow down. I didn’t mean that at all.” He tilted his head to the side and watched her. “Why’s it matter? We can’t date.” He chuckled. “You know the worst part? I get dumped from an all-boys orphanage to a school where you’re not even supposed to look at the girls.” Kraigan shrugged. “What I meant to imply was; if I’m going to get caught breaking the rules, the girl had better be worth it.”
Devon crossed her mind. Is he worth getting caught for?
“If you base it on tatùs, you’d have to date Rae. She’s the only girl with rare power.” Nicholas winked at her.
Rae cringed. Yuck!
“No thank you.” Kraigan glanced at her, then Nicholas, then back at her. “I got enough on my plate. I think I’ll avoid any form of trouble if I can.” Kraigan glanced at Rae with a look in his eyes that she couldn’t quite figure out. She was beginning to feel like Kraigan had a labyrinth around him, a giant, twisting wall that separated him from everyone else. The only way to truly understand him would be to find a way through. He needs a mentor. Devon helped me last year. “Dating Rae would be like dating a sister.”
“Pardon?” Nicholas asked.
“You know, like a sister at the orphanage. Rae’s on every teacher’s good books. She doesn’t do anything wrong. No offense, Rae.” He chuckled. “I’d be more interested in hanging out with that Desiree girl. Now there’s a tatù with talent.” Kraigan gave Nicholas a knowing look, which
Rae pretended not to see. Typical guy, act stupid when you show a moment of vulnerability.
“Desiree’s the one with the expensive body. I’d pay to touch that,” Nicholas said.
“Body and tatù.” Kraigan smirked and nodded in agreement.
“You guys are gross. And sad. Really, really sad.” Rae bent down to hide her smile and grabbed her binder out of her bag. “Can we please talk about our presentation? I’d like to get out of here without throwing up.”
Kraigan sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Fine, let’s get this done. Last night, after you called, Rae, and told us about Alecia, Nic and I researched in Joist Hall’s library.” He pointed at Nicholas. “Why don’t you start the presentation by telling the class King Henry VIII started the Council as his private chamber of men. Everyone assumed they were advisors. We tatùs know the truth. Explain the Council had more members then, but now has only five.” Someone’s been doing their homework.
“So I’ll do the opener and explain the history of the Council and basically finish by saying the Council now has five,” Nicholas said.
Kraigan flipped through his hand written notes and handed Rae a sheet. “Then you can step in and add that the council now has one member from each of the countries within the United Kingdom. These four, maybe along with some others, elect a fifth member as president.”
She had read the notes Nic had emailed earlier. It made sense, but it also seemed like they were doing some guesswork. “We don’t know how a president is elected. You’re – we’re just speculating”
“Just make it sound convincing and the class won’t know the difference. Who cares if it’s true or not?” Kraigan gave her a slightly annoyed look. “It’s not as if the Council’s sitting there watching.”
Nic laughed. “Rae, Carter’s going to believe anything you say. He’s going to think you have some tatù to find the answers.”
“If we’re wrong, Carter’s going to dock points,” Rae argued. He works for the Council, dummies. He’ll call our bluff and then blame me for it.
“I got a feeling it’s right. It seems so logical. We’ll be fine. No one’s done a fantastic presentation yet. They all sound like they have no idea what they are talking about.” Kraigan stuffed his notes into his binder.
Rae played with her earrings. How did you even find this information? Maybe Kraigan knew exactly where to look. Or, more than probably, being the new guy, he did stuff ahead of time to look smart. And spent twenty hours researching every library here at the school. The day he found out about tatùs he’s probably been digging for any kind of information.
“What’re you doing?” Nicholas broke her concentration.
“Sorry, what?” Rae sat straight, darting her gaze back and forth between the boys.
“What’re you doing?” Nicholas repeated. “You seemed lost in some deep thought and mumbled something incoherent.”
“I did?” Her face began to burn. She shot a glance at Kraigan and brainstormed fast, biting her lip.
“What were you doing?” Kraigan fidgeted with the zipper on his bag.
He’s embarrassed because I figured it out. He doesn’t want anyone to know he’s working his butt off. He wants to be the goodie-two-shoes he called me out on earlier. “I…I was wondering what you planned on doing for our presentation. You’ve got me and Nicholas doing all the work.” Rae talked fast. Great. Now I sound like the super-nerdy kid.
Kraigan leaned forward excited. “I’ll get the picture Nicholas and I found last night photocopied onto laminate. I can close and cover anything that gets forgotten.”
“Works for me,” Nicholas said. “Let’s get outta here. Couple of the guys want to have a Wii tournament and it starts in like ten minutes.” Nicholas grabbed his bag from under the table and stood. “You want to play, Kraigan?”
“Sure. I’m supposed to see Carter first.” He rose and hooked his backpack over a shoulder.
“’Night, Rae. See you tomorrow.” Nicholas patted the top of her head as he walked by.
Rae nodded, watching them head out. She remained seated after the doors clicked shut. Good thing I don’t work for the Privy Council. I’m a lousy liar.
Releasing a long sigh, she grabbed her bag and debated heading outside for some fresh air. Pulling the door open, she paused, then spun right, deciding a quick walk would help her sleep.
She nearly hit the roof when someone coughed. Kraigan stood leaning against the wall almost camouflaged into it.
“Crap, Kraigan! You scared the heck out of me.”
He laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone jump that high.”
“When I’m surprised, sometimes my tatù kicks in and reacts with whatever seems best.”
“That’s cool. Kinda like fight or flight.” He continued standing, making no attempt to head for the exit.
“Aren’t you supposed to be meeting Carter?”
He shook his head. “Actually no. I only said that to Nicholas so I could have a chance to speak with you alone. I need to ask you something.” He glanced around and whispered, “I don’t want anyone to know – not even Carter.”
Chapter 12
Blood is Thicker
She didn’t believe him. “So help me, Kraigan. If you and Nicholas are trying to play some stupid joke on me, I will seriously cause mental and physical harm to you both.”
“It’s only me, I promise.” He turned toward Aumbry’s front doors. “Just give me five minutes.” He held the door open for her to go through. “We can walk to the football fields, or to Joist Hall, or wherever you want. You seemed like you were about to head outside anyway.”
She slipped the other strap of her backpack over her shoulder just as Madame Elpis stepped out of her room. “Sure, let’s go before we get a lecture.”
They speed-walked out of the building and both started laughing when they glanced back at the same time to see Madame Elpis’ face smushed against the glass door, a disapproving glower making her features seem more hawkish than usual. They broke into a run.
When they slowed, Kraigan looked around and up at the night sky. “I don’t trust this place. Too many extra ears.”
At least they agreed on one thing. “Let’s head around Aumbry House. There’s a path we can follow.”
They rounded the corner and continued along the path in silence. After about three minutes, Rae couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “So what’s going on?”
Kraigan stuffed his hands into his pockets, sighed deeply. “This whole tatù thing, don’t you ever find it frustrating?”
“All the time. It was worse last year though.”
He glanced around and pulled on his ear lobe. “Do you think anyone can hear us?”
Rae paused in her walking and tilted her head. “I don’t think so.” Be careful. You don’t know who he is or if you can trust him. She played with her tatù strings inside her head. Which one would I use if he tried something? Devon’s? Nah, I’ll stick with Molly’s. The moment he touches me, I’ll fry him and send him flying back a good fifty feet. Krispy Kraigan—that has a nice ring to it.
He leaned toward her, but not close enough to touch. Rae forced herself to relax a bit. She wasn’t getting any unfriendly vibes from him, and while it was odd that he would be trying to be friendly with her, it didn’t seem to be dangerous. Odd, definitely, but not dangerous.
“I don’t want anyone to know this,” he said, “Not Carter, or Wardell, and definitely not the Privy Council. Do you think you can keep a secret?”
Wardell? The dean or Devon? Rae was immediately and intensely interested in whatever he wanted to say to her. She chewed on her fingernail and began tapping the ground with her sneaker. They stood a few steps away from an outdoor light on Aumbry’s old brick facade. “I can keep a secret, if I think it’s worth the trouble.”
He glanced around again, even looking up. Seeming satisfied, he leaned his upper body slightly closer again and mouthed, “Can you hear me?”
She flippe
d through her internal collection until she found the needed tatù, and nodded.
“I heard the school has a tutoring program. I checked it out on the student’s webpage. I went through the list of kids and didn’t recognize anyone.” He stared down at his shoes. “You’re name’s not on the list.”
“I’m not in the program actually.” Is that all? Poor guy, he’s too embarrassed to ask for help. “Devon, the dean’s son, tutors me. Well, it’s more like mentoring. He helped me last year and again this year. Being thrown into this world with no knowledge is hard.” So is finding out you’re the daughter of the one person everyone’s terrified of, but we’re just going to leave that alone.
“Tell me about it.” He reached out, as if to touch her arm, then dropped his hand to his side. “Do you think you could mentor me?”
Rae’s brows went up.
“I’m still trying to absorb the fact that I’ve got this ability – which I have no idea how to use. I feel like I have to pretend that I’m actually figuring things out, when I’m not. I heard how people freaked out around you last year. I don’t want that to happen to me. This is all too new to me.” He shrugged. “I figured, if you could make it look this easy, you could help me more than Carter or anyone else.”
That’s kinda sweet...but—“You should talk to Carter. He’ll find someone who knows more than me. I don’t think I’ll be much help.”
“You’re wrong. I think you’d be more help than anyone else. Everyone here seems to be in awe of the Privy Council and never questions anything. You do. I can see it when stuff goes on in class. I appreciate that. You don’t act all powerful with your ability either. You’re actually pretty cool. I admire you.” His eyes grew big and a horrified look crossed his face. “I’m not trying to hit on you. Please don’t think that!”
She laughed. “The thought never even crossed my mind. I’m so glad Devon helped me out last year. I think I would have been totally lost without him. I just don’t know all the tatù history or where to look for answers. It might be better to have Nicholas or even Julian mentor you.”
