'He intrigues me,' I admit, feeling the urge to explain myself further. 'There's more to him than meets the eye.'
Lorna nods thoughtfully, her eyes darting. 'He's an Auctorita, of course he intrigues you. But he has a history. A complex one at that.' She says vaguely. It occurs to me that Lorna's loneliness, her solitary roaming of the Institute, may make her privy to a world of information; secrets she ought not to have overheard. Perhaps even Sir Alec tells her secrets he shouldn't.
It seems wrong and out of place to ask, though, and I fear losing her trust and new found openness. They are, after all, the key to persuading her to change.
'And that's why I should stay away from him?' I raise an eyebrow. 'Because he's an Auctorita?'
'It's a pretty good reason,' She smirks. 'I know I wouldn't want to get caught up in Malachy Beighley's life.' She shrugs, breathing condensation onto the window.
I wonder if she knows of her father's plan to change her. It seems unlikely she doesn't, why would any Immortal – even one as powerful as Sir Alec – keep an under age human for any other reason?
I suddenly feel a wave of guilt wash over me; here I am, having an interesting conversation with a defenceless, lonely woman, pretending to be her friend – her confidante as Sir Alec had put it – and it's all based on false pretences, revolving around my – Sir Alec's – ulterior motive.
'I know why you're here.' She states, reading my mind once again. I cock an eyebrow and lean confidently back against the wall, interested to hear of her theory.
'Go on...'
'Alec sent you.' She replies instantly. I stand up a little straighter, a chill shivering down my spine.
'What do you mean?' I frown, keeping up the pretence, aiming to look baffled and instead appearing scared.
'Please, Eve, you didn't think I'm that naïve did you?' She laughs, tossing her silky hair back across her shoulders. 'He's tried it once before,' She shrugs as violent fear grips me.
'He sent a girl, a student, to persuade me to change of my own free will. It didn't work then and it won't work now. He'll have to drag me kicking and screaming to my transformation.'
There's no point in protesting, no sense in trying to lie; Lorna Gray has a canny ability to read people, like an open book. It seems an insult to her intelligence – and mine – to pretend otherwise.
'You realise that's what he'll do?' I ask her, choosing my words and tone carefully but she shrugs carelessly.
'Of course I do. But better that than give in and go willingly. That's what he wants. I'm not giving him anything he wants.' She says resolutely, folding her thin arms across her chest.
'You hate him that much? Hate our kind that much?' I frown. I'm unable to put myself in her position, to understand her way of thinking.
Of course Immortality isn't appealing to everyone, but it's not the worst that could happen. She had acknowledged herself our need to survive, if it isn't the slaughter of humans that bothers her, what is it?
'Hate isn't the word,' She replies, shaking her head slowly. 'I despise him. I despise all of you, but especially him.'
'Why?' The question is a simple and innocent enough one, but with it her eyes glaze over and her body stiffens.
'I have to go,' She mutters monotonously, turning on her heel. 'I realise the repercussions for you, failing in your little mission, won't be too pleasant. Sorry about that.' The remark is sincere, not spiteful, and with it, she stalks along the corridor, rounding the corner and disappearing into her beloved shadows.
*
'She what?!' Tia cries, springing from my bed and landing on her feet, poised as a cat, her hackles risen.
'She knew.' I repeat wearily, blowing my half-fringe out of my eye.
'How could she possibly know?'
'She said he tried it before. Sent a girl to convince her to change. It didn't work.' I shrug.
'Obviously,' Tia cocks her head sarcastically. 'I bet the girl got carted off to the Confine as a result of that.'
'I don't think he'd send someone to the Confine just for failing to change his daughter's mind about her imminent Immortality.' I roll my eyes, barely noticing Tia's morose expression, one that says: if only that were true.
'You know something, don't you?' I frown, realising as I speak that it's true. 'About Sir Alec, about this place? There's something you're not telling me...'
'Wait a minute – Katy!' Tia spreads her hands in excitement.
'What?'
'Katy Branch! There's a girl in my year, Katy, she was an exceptional student, excelled in Practical, Theory... everything really, the best in our class. But last year she started spending some time with Lorna Gray. We all noticed it, hanging about in corridors, walking together in the grounds. It was weird because in the whole time Lorna had been here, Sir Alec hadn't let her utter a word to anyone...'
My eyes widen as suddenly, everything clicks into place. Tia's story sounds scarily familiar and a strange girl's image flashes in my mind.
'She came to me just before I saw Sir Alec the other day. She warned me to stay away from Lorna.' I speak quickly as my mind works overtime, processing information.
Of course Katy had been the girl Lorna had spoken of. Sir Alec had asked of her the same task, but she had failed.
But why had she warned me to stay away from Lorna?
What had happened in between?
At least she hadn't been sent to the Confine, she was still walking the Institute a free woman.
'When?' Tia frowns, sinking down next to me on the bed, her large, amber eyes fixed on mine.
'I was walking to his office, she and Malachy stopped me in the corridor. Well, Malachy was more an unwilling spectator. She warned me to stay away from Lorna. What was it she said? Trouble, that was it, she said Lorna Gray was trouble. What happened between them?'
'No-one knows,' Tia shrugs. 'One minute they were best pals, the next minute, no-one ever saw them together again. Of course, no-one ever saw Katy with anyone again, save Malachy or Lucrezia.' Tia shakes her head sadly.
'What do you mean?'
'Well surely you know?' Tia stares quizzically at me. I shake my head. 'Katy's in isolation. She's forbidden to converse with anyone save Sir Alec, her tutors and her escorts.'
'Just because she couldn't change Lorna's mind?' I stumble over my words, feeling a vice clench around my throat.
'Well, I didn't know why before, I didn't exactly question Sir Alec about it and I'm not allowed to speak to Katy or Lorna Gray. But now it makes sense.
Isolation is about the worst punishment an Institute student can receive. It won't just affect her life here, she'll be in trouble from the moment she leaves the Institute. She won't be fully trained, she'll have no contacts, no connections, nobody to call on if she needs help or a favour. She's isolated from every other Immortal for the rest of her life.'
'So that's the fate that awaits me if I fail in this task?' I stand up, feeling my breathing quicken. I knew the consequences of failing would be no picnic, harsh even, but isolation? To have the rest of my eternal life slandered because I failed to change Lorna Gray's mind?
'What are you going to do now?' Tia asks, her voice quiet, morose.
'There's only one thing I can do!' I throw my arms up in the air, feeling helpless. 'I've got to change Lorna's mind.'
Chapter Sixteen
I've started to really look forward to my Theory classes. Though Will's teaching techniques are more unique and informal than the Institute is used to – perhaps that's part of the reason why. I'd always liked history at school, and Theory is a chance to learn the history of another world, a hidden world – the world I now belong to.
My place at the front of the class helps to keep my focus on the lesson, and – after my tardiness back in that first lesson – Will's temperament towards me has thawed out. He now regards me as his star pupil; he constantly calls on me for answers and sometimes his lectures are directed almost entirely at me. Most of the time I'm okay with this, in fact, I quite
like it. It reminds me of a time when I was more than just a dumb druggie; a time in high school before I'd fallen into the wrong crowd, when my grades were all A's and my teachers adored me. But sometimes it garners me the wrong kind of attention.
'Move back, let the star of the class take her seat first.' Tomos O'Brien calls as I pass, a lop-sided smirk on his face. Despite his initial faux pas at the very first meeting with Ms Fall, Tomos has settled into the Institute quickly and is a recognisable character even to the older years. He's known for being a bit of a wind up, the class clown – a protégé of his Mentor, Richard.
'You're just jealous, O'Brien, 'cos your tiny mind can't cope with this class.' I grin as I take my seat. Tomos clutches his chest dramatically.
'You wound me, Miss Ryder. It shouldn't be allowed.'
'She can do what she likes, she's Sir Alec's pet.' Logan sneers from his seat next to mine. I roll my eyes, ignoring him. Logan Marshall has seen it as his mission in life to taunt and mock me wherever I go since that fateful Practical lesson when I out-did him in front of Sir Alec. Students like Logan make the Institute feel more like a high school than ever before.
'Settle down please, settle down.' Will's distinctive voice calls over the heads of twenty students. Most of the students like Will – especially the girls – but there are the odd few males whose jealousy gets the better of them. Sexual desire works the same way for Immortals as it does for humans. In fact, like our other instincts, it's heightened.
'Today we will be familiarising ourselves with the Rebellion. Also known as the 1800s Rebellion, or the French Rebellion.' Will perches on the edge of his desk, as he always does, to signal the beginning of a lecture.
I take out my notepad and pen as the rest of the class groans. For most first year students, Practical – and in gifted students' cases, One-To-One – are the only lessons worth attending. They don't have the patience for thought-provoking discussions, nor the concentration for lengthy historical lectures. But I secretly love it; the chance to discover new places, new events and new people I previously didn't even know existed.
'As you all know, there are five Institutes situated in different parts of the world,' Will continues, tactfully ignoring the groaning. 'Each Institute's location is a precious secret, guarded from everybody save the Auctoritas and trusted members of staff. Students enter and leave the Institutes unaware of their exact location – '
'Hang on a minute,' Tomos' distinct Irish accent shouts rudely over Will's lecture. 'How the hell do we leave the Institute without knowing where it is? We'd know how to get back to it, wouldn't we?'
'No, Mr O'Brien. As per usual, you've underestimated Sir Alec and the Auctoritas. Exactly how you'll leave the Institute doesn't concern you yet. You're not permitted to know. This is – as always – for the safety of the Institutes.' Will concludes. Tomos shrugs, sighing heavily and slumping back in his chair. We're used to our questions going unanswered here at the Institute.
'In the mid-eighteen hundreds, a small group of students – after a year of living in the outside world – came together and decided they wanted to take revenge on the Institutes. They were angry at the Auctoritas, and the heads of the Institutes, for taking away their former lives.
They hatched a plan which took years of dedication to carry out. They bribed and manipulated a young Auctorita secretary into passing them information about the Institutes – including their locations.
To this day, no-one really knows how these original Rebels went undetected by the Auctoritas for so long. It's assumed that our leaders simply underestimated the Immortal population, and believed that a rebellion was completely out of the question. But as the Rebels' plans came together and they obtained more intel, their followers doubled, tripled – until they were in the hundreds.
Of course, the Auctoritas, by this point, became aware of a Rebellion and made moves to stop it, but the Rebels had vast numbers and finally located the first Institute in rural Southern France. They arrived in their hundreds and burned the Institute to the ground, capturing the staff and freeing the students.
They had formed their own make-shift version of the Confine on an abandoned island in Thailand, and transported the staff and the headmaster, Corduroy Percy, to the prison cells where they remained for two weeks, starved, whilst the Rebels fought off the Auctoritas' army.
Thousands of Immortals were against the Rebellion; they believed in the Institutes and understood their necessity. They understood the need to preserve our kind and considered the Institutes a safe and humane way to prepare Immortals for their new and difficult existence.
It was an arduous war – as it will be when none can be killed – but the army's priority was to reach the make-shift Confine and free Corduroy Percy and the other staff members who'd been falsely imprisoned. Then, to capture the Rebels and bring them to the real Confine.
The army were thousands and the Rebels only hundreds, but still, access to the fake Confine took a fortnight. Once Corduroy Percy and the others were safely transported away from Thailand, the capture of the Rebels became top priority and proved a very difficult task.
The two sides fought day and night, running and chasing for a month before the Auctoritas themselves stepped up to the plate.'
'What, they fought themselves?' Logan asks, his curiosity sparked.
Will nods. 'For the first time in recorded history. The Auctoritas are the most sacred of all our kind and must be protected above all others.
Unfortunately, this is a paradox, as the Auctoritas are also the most powerful of our kind and could stop a Rebellion far quicker than any of their army.'
'But the Auctoritas can't die. What are they afraid of?' Logan asks.
'Each other,' Will replies simply. 'If the Auctoritas engage with enemies of our kind, such as the Rebels, there's always a fear that one of them will change sides. And if one Auctorita is lost, it damages the entire legacy.
If that Auctorita had adopted children who changed sides simultaneously, that entire leg of the family is lost and can not be recruited again. At least, not for hundreds of years.
The Auctoritas – though a family in all senses except biologically – are terrified of one another. With so much to lose, they fear treachery above all else.'
'Will we ever meet one?' Tomos asks again, his blue eyes big and sparkling.
'You already have met one, dumb ass; Malachy Beighley.' Logan rolls his eyes.
'Oh. But he's not really an Auctorita...'
'He will be, moron.' Logan reminds him.
'So what happened?' I bellow, silencing Logan's voice.
'I'm glad you asked, Eve,' Will smiles and I ignore Logan's fake retching. 'The Auctoritas took less than a day to defeat and capture the Rebels. Hans Beckerson is a well known Immortal historian and a reliable witness to the Rebel/Auctorita conflict. This is a translation from his fantastic recount of the Rebellion;
'As the Auctoritas came into view, speeding towards the Rebels from the horizon, both parties, Rebel and Army, stood still to watch the descent. The rumours around the camp fires about Auctorita intervention were true.
Knowing the power of the Auctoritas was no match for any one of them, the Rebels turned to flee, but could not outrun the Auctoritas, who rounded them on the coast of Singapore.
With the Army's help, the Auctoritas brought the Rebels back to Thailand, imprisoning them in their own Confine, where they remain to this day.'
'Do they still remain there?' I ask. Will nods.
'The Thailand Confine is dedicated to those Rebels. It serves as a reminder to others not to Rebel against the Auctoritas or the Institutes.
Of course, over the years, other strands of Rebels have attempted to free the originals, to break into Thailand and overpower the guards but none have ever achieved it.'
'Has anyone ever achieved a break in or an escape from the actual Confine?' Tomos asks.
'Not in recorded history,' Will shakes his head. 'They are heavily guarded and patrolled.'
/> 'How many Confines are there?' Max pipes up from the back of the class – it seems even she's enthralled by the tale of the Rebellion.
'Besides the make-shift Thailand Confine – known as Rebel's Hell – believe it or not, there's only one Confine.'
'And no-one knows where it is.' Logan sighs, rolling his eyes.
'Well, yes actually, quite a few people know where it is. Just nobody who's willing to inform the likes of you.' Will snaps. I smirk at Logan the minute Will's back is turned.
'For your assignment, I would like you to read the full version of Hans Beckerson's 'Night of Disorder', which is the full account of the Rebel's uprising and defeat.
Once read, I would like you to submit a paper depicting your own views and opinions on the story. Any attempt at comedy or apathy in these assignments, I will send it straight to Sir Alec himself. Understood?' Will glares at Logan who quickly averts his eyes.
The class files thoughtfully out of Theory. Virtually no-one speaks, as is always the way when we have a particularly interesting or thought-provoking Theory lesson.
The Gray Institute (The Gray Institute Trilogy Book 1) Page 19
