The Arch Stone: Foxway Academy: Book 1

by Adam Faulkner

  ‘Leigh’ sighed.

  “Fine. Sit around moping all day. But you’re not going to be able to act like that forever. Fix your shit, Emilie George.” She walked away into the forest as I heard footsteps moving towards me. I turned around to see the priest walking towards me.

  “Miss George?” he called to me. “Are you alright? You ran off, and your mother was getting worried.”

  “I’m fine.”

  The priest came and sat down next to me.

  “I understand, you know.” he assured me. “People your age... They shouldn’t be made to see anything like this, in my opinion. A relative is one thing, but to have to see your friend like that...” He trailed off. “On second thought, maybe not the best thing to remind you about. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “So, what’s the problem?” he asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

  I hesitated for a moment, but eventually I relaxed myself.

  “I’m... I’ve got...” I stumbled over my words. “A few months ago, I was in an... an accident... Whatever happened there, brain damage or trauma or whatever... But I’ve got... I hear things... Voices... And, what happened with Leigh... It’s made it worse... I keep seeing her... And I don’t know how to deal with it...” I started crying.

  The priest sighed.

  “I can’t say I really know how to help... But I can at least listen. If you want to talk about it, that is.”

  I looked up into the trees.

  “It was my fault. I didn’t kill her, but she was there because of me. If I hadn’t gotten her mixed up in all of my mess, she’d still be alive.”

  “Maybe. But in my experience, that rarely matters. You can’t change what’s happened, no matter how horrible it might be. It’s not worth spending all of your time fixating on the past. It’ll drive you insane, and that’s not going to help you at all.”

  I laughed.

  “It’s easy to say ignore the past when you’re not seeing it every time you try and sleep...”

  “I have no doubts. But it will get better, if you give it time. Though, I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you that. But it is true.”

  “I know... I just...”

  “It’s hard, I get it. I really do. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying.” The priest stood up. “I’ll tell them that you’re safe, if you want to be left alone for a bit longer.”

  “Thanks...” I quietly replied as he walked out of the forest.

  *

  About ten minutes later, I finally walked myself back to the church.

  “Sorry about that. I...” I trailed off. “I’m just sorry. This was all just a bit too much. I shouldn’t have worried everyone.”

  “We get it, Em.” Mum walked over and hugged me. “You don’t have to apologize.”

  I tried to say anything else but all that came out were tears. I cried into Mum’s shoulder, oblivious to everything around me.

  We finished the funeral and gathered in Matt and Leigh’s house for the wake. It was exactly the sort of place you’d expect from a relatively well-off family (Which the Silvemists definitely were). It was large and old, and I couldn’t work out where I stood with anyone there.

  I did the rounds giving condolences to Matt and Leigh’s family, but I didn’t have the willpower to spend time talking to anyone else. At the first opportunity, I slipped out a side door and sat on the doorstep.

  “I feel you.” I looked up to see August leaning against the wall. “I couldn’t stand it in there.”

  “I just… I can’t…”

  “Honestly, I can’t say I quite get what you’re going through. Not exactly. I liked Leigh, I admit, but I never really got that close to her. She was a friend, I guess, but that was it. You two were… close.”

  “I picked her, just like I picked the rest of you. She was one of the people I felt I could trust more than anyone… And she trusted me... I promised her we’d all be okay, but… but I couldn’t do that…”

  “You keep saying that, over and over again, but that doesn’t change anything. Leigh knew what she was going into. We all did. You didn’t force us to do anything. Elijah Blake killed Leigh. That’s all there is to it. It’s not your fault.” August sighed. “I’m gonna go back inside. I’ll see you later.” She patted me on the shoulder and walked back inside of the house, leaving me on my own.

  For a moment. I heard more footsteps coming out of the house. I turned around to see a middle-aged man. I recognised him straight away.

  “Mr… Mr Silvemist…”

  “Daniel, please,” Mr Silvemist corrected. “Miss George, isn’t it?”

  “It’s… Emilie…” I said. I felt sick.

  “You know, Leigh… She was so happy, these last few months. I mean, she was always a cheerful girl, but… something changed these last few months.” he explained. “The two of them…. They didn’t have any friends at Foxway. Their secondary school was a good school, and they both achieved very well, but they were the only Magicals in the school. They always said it was fine, but I knew that they felt lonely. But they just carried on, they never let it affect them. I’ve always been proud of them for it. But it meant that once they started at Foxway…”

  “They had no one…”

  “They hadn’t found any friends yet, and I was worried that they were going to be on their own for the whole time. And then, one day, they came home at the weekend and told me that they’d found some poor lost soul who didn’t know how a lock worked, floundering on the floor outside of the school, “he chuckled.

  “Me… God, it feels so long ago…” I sighed.

  “And it didn’t stop. They told me they’d made friends with you, your sister… and let us not forget the daughter of Isiah Flamel…” He smiled.

  I clenched my fist.

  “I… I’m sorry… I’m sorry I couldn’t… do anything to protect her…” I started crying again. Daniel put his hand on my shoulder.

  “I don’t know what went on at the school, not really,” he admitted. “But I know my own daughter. Leigh wouldn’t want you to blame yourself. I know you’ve probably been hearing that from everyone, but it... it’s the truth. She wasn’t one to stay angry at someone.”

  “I… I guess…” I knew he was right. They all were. But it didn’t matter to me. I couldn’t stop seeing the situation as my own failure.

  “Are you going to come inside?” he asked. I looked up. “I think it’s going to rain…”

  “I’ll… I’ll be in in a bit.” I decided.

  Daniel nodded.

  “Okay.” He smiled gently, before he turned around and walked back inside the house, leaving me alone.

  The rest of the wake drifted by like a blur. I barely registered that people had started to leave when my mum came to find me. I didn’t speak to anyone as we left, and was pretty much silent on the drive home, apart from the odd grunt. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing next, but I didn’t really want to think about any of it.

  Half of me wanted to stay as far away from Magic and Foxway and Greyford as possible, and half of me knew that I couldn’t stay away from it all forever. But I knew that that couldn’t be the same forever. I knew something had to change.

  30

  I still didn’t go back to school for the next week after the funeral. The whole thing had helped as far as Leigh was concerned, and I was even hallucinating her a little less, though the voices were still as strong as ever. But I still couldn’t bring myself to even consider going back to school. I was having this constant argument with myself, but neither side felt like they cared enough to try and win. I just kept going around in circles, not really sure what I was supposed to do. I laid on the sofa and stared at the ceiling, trying to work out what I was supposed to do.

  “I can’t go back... Too much has changed...” I argued. “But Elijah... The Syndicate... They’re still out there. And they’re coming back. I know they are... But I can’t... I’m not-” I was cut off by
a knock at the door. I tensed up. People didn’t come to my house at this time of day. I knew that it was probably nothing, but I couldn’t help but feel anxious about the thought of Elijah being on the other side.

  “Archaeus... Invoco... Elementum... Gelus...” I whispered nervously. Ice spread across my arm and an unfamiliar feeling spread across my body. It had only just occurred to me that I hadn’t used magic for over a month. I was basically just running off instinct, to the point where I hadn’t even registered what I was doing.

  I reached out and slowly opened the door. I froze in my spot. I opened the door fully.

  “Hello, Emilie.” Raven stood nervously in the doorway.

  “Raven...” I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t heard anything from her since the attack, and part of me didn’t thing I would ever see her again. “What the hell? You haven’t even tried to contact me for weeks? Where were you?”

  “I... I just...” Raven stumbled over her words. “I’m sorry...”

  “Do you have any idea what it’s been like for me for the last few months? You’re my sister, and you just... you just ran away. I needed you...”

  “I know, I know. I just... I didn’t know what I was supposed to say. I rushed ahead... I got captured... What happened, it was my fault, and I didn’t know what I was supposed to say.”

  That took me off guard.

  “Come in.”

  Raven slowly walked in and sat down on the sofa.

  “Have you been back to school?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “Have you spoken to anyone?”

  “August.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong?” I repeated. “Leigh’s funeral was last week. I was there. August was there. Hell, even Greyford showed up. But you were nowhere.”

  Raven looked down.

  “I didn’t even know it had happened. I... I didn’t even think to find out...” she admitted. “I’m so sorry. I keep doing this to you, and it’s not fair. I keep leaving, keep running away instead of facing what had happened. But I’m not running anymore. I can’t run anymore.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m going back to Foxway. I came today to get you to come back as well.”

  “I... I can’t...” I sighed. “After everything that’s happened, the thought of going back... I don’t know if I can do it...”

  “I get it. I really do. I mean, I’m no different. But there’s a time to run and a time to stand and face what comes. It took me too long to work that out, but it’s the truth. You can’t stay away from what’s happened forever.”

  “I... I know... I’m just not ready yet.”

  “And what if you’re never ‘ready’?” she questioned. “I get it’s hard, but there’s so much more at stake here than just...”

  “Than just Leigh?”

  “The Syndicate aren’t finished. Elijah isn’t going to just give up because we beat him once. He’s going to be back, and there’s still a school there to protect. Foxway needs us, Emilie. It needs you.”

  “I... I’m not strong enough to be any use anyway.” I brushed her off. “I couldn’t protect one person, let alone an entire school.”

  “But you did!” Raven protested. “We fought off the Syndicate. We saved the school, at least for a time.”

  “But we couldn’t save everyone...”

  “Sometimes you can’t. It sounds horrible, but it’s true. You can’t save everyone all of the time. I wish you could, I really do, but you can’t. You can’t change that. I wish I could, more than anything else. Leigh isn’t the first person I’ve lost. But you can’t put life off forever.”

  I sat down opposite Raven.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What?”

  “What do you mean Leigh isn’t the first person you’ve lost?” I pushed. “Do you mean your mother?”

  Raven shook her head.

  “When you’re a part of the Syndicate, people… They disappear. They’ve got their ideals, and if anyone breaks from that… they don’t last long. I’ve lost plenty of friends in my life. And it never gets easier. But you can’t let it destroy you. Not when there’s so much else at stake.”

  “You’re saying the same thing as everyone else. I can’t do it.”

  “You aren’t alone, Emilie. You have Lucy. You have me. We’re here for you. We always will be. You’re not alone.”

  I looked out of the window.

  “You’re right… I know you are…” I admitted. “I… I’ll try. I want to try…” I trailed off.

  I punched the counter.

  “No!” I burst out. “Screw that. I’m not going to try.” I had no idea where the sudden change had come from, but something had clicked. I stormed into my room and pulled something out of a drawer. I tied it around my neck.

  “Emilie?” Raven nervously called in from the living room.

  “You are right. I’ve been a shell this last month… I was too busy spending my time blaming myself for what had happened… So busy focused on forgetting about it… I forgot what I was really here for. What Leigh died for.”

  I walked back into the room, the Arch Stone glowing as it sat on my neck. Honestly, for all I knew, it was the Stone that was changing my mind to begin with.

  “I’m done with the past. It’s time for me to stop sitting around feeling sorry for myself. I’ve been looking down at the floor, ignoring everything that’s around me. But I’m done looking down!” I promised. “It’s time to look up.”

  I stopped when I saw my mum standing in the doorway of the house, tears streaming down her face, and a smile practically separating her face into two.

  “Mum?”

  She dropped her bag and sprinted towards me, throwing her arms around me.

  “What is it?”

  “That… You’re back…” she sobbed. “You’ve been so distant recently… You… You weren’t yourself…”

  “I was struggling for a bit, I know… I’m sorry… But I’m back now… I’m back…”

  “Don’t… Don’t you dare do that to me again…”

  “I won’t. I promise… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” I noticed that I was crying as well. I don’t think I’d ever really seen her cry before; not like that. She was never unemotional or detached, but she was strong. It took a lot to break her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Raven slipping out of the door. I turned my head around.

  Raven!” I called after her.

  “I was going to give you to a moment alone. This is a family thing. It’s not my place to intrude.”

  Mum laughed.

  “You’re not family? Do you really think that?”

  “I… I don’t understand…” Raven stuttered.

  “I’ve told you before. You’re Emilie’s sister. You’re family, whether you like it or not.” Mum smiled. Raven stared at us for a moment. Mum walked over to Raven and put her arms around both of us.

  “Family…” Raven repeated quietly. She felt the tears running down her face. I don’t think I’d ever seen Raven cry either. It was comforting, in a strange way. I let myself really relax for the first time in a long time as I let everything wash over me. I had been lost inside my own head for the last month. With what had happened, I didn’t know how I was supposed to carry on. What had happened had made me question everything. I didn’t want to risk anything else, I wasn’t even thinking of why we were doing it in the first place. But something had changed that day. I’d like to say it was what Raven was saying, and I’m sure that was a part of it. But it was like I’d finally reached the end of a tunnel, cliché as it is. I was out now. I was ready to look forward. Ready to keep moving. Ready to carry on.

  I was ready to live.

  31

  Going back to Foxway was a strange feeling. Everything was back to normal, at least on the outside. Everything that had been trashed by the Syndicate had been fixed up, everyone was back to classes as normal, and it looked like nothing had ever happened. But as me an
d Raven walked through the school’s courtyard, it was clear that something had changed. The school had already been open again for a few weeks, so it made sense that people had started to move past what had happened, but in my head, it felt like they were just ignoring what was right in front of them. I clenched my fist as I walked through the corridors. I knew it was what should happen, people had to carry on; but something about it just pissed me off. Raven put her hand on my shoulder when she noticed.

  “How can they be acting so normal after everything that happened…”

  “It’s what people do…” Raven replied. “When something bad happens, especially when they can’t really do anything to change anything… They just try to carry on as normal. It’s the only way things ever change…”

  “I guess… It’s just... it feels so isolating, being the only person who isn’t going on like normal…”

  “It’s okay, no one’s expecting you to be perfect straight away.”

  “I know…” I sighed. “It’s just going to take some time, that’s all. I’m fine.”

  “Just try not to push yourself too far, okay?”

  I nodded slowly. I was doing my best to keep calm, and I was doing okay, but there was still a feeling in my stomach that I shouldn’t be here. The voices weren’t helping much with that either. They kept trying to tell me that it was too early, or that I didn’t belong back here. I did my best to ignore them, loud as they were, but they definitely put me on edge.

  Raven left as she carried on to her class, while I stopped outside of Artemis’ classroom. I took a deep breath and walked into the room. The entire room fell silent as they saw me, which did miracles for my mental state.

  They’re looking at you…

  I looked across the classroom. There were three empty seats. Matt still hadn’t come back, which wasn’t entirely surprising. And then there was the other empty seat. Leigh’s.

  I froze up for a second, before I caught myself and slowly made my way to my seat. I looked over at August, who just nodded. She seemed happy that I was back, not that she’d ever say it. Everyone else was still staring at me.