The Changeling's Fortune (Winter's Blight Book 1)

by K. C. Lannon

  * * *

  After parting with James, Deirdre headed to her new form room. The form tutor arrived shortly and gave them a brief overview of their classes. As the professor, a grey-haired, tall man with a slight lisp described the courses, she began to wonder if she was caught in an elaborate prank of some sort. Almost all the classes were focused on material that she had learned two years ago, save for a couple that covered information she needed to redo thanks to her low grades in particular subjects.

  When they were given permission to leave, Deirdre got up and made a beeline for the professor, introducing herself quickly.

  “Oh, the Trinity transfer, hm?” the professor said as a greeting.

  “Yes, and I think there’s been a mistake,” Deirdre explained. “I know my grades were bad, but I don’t think I’m supposed to be in all these old classes.”

  “So you think the Sisters made a mistake?”

  “Oh, no. No, I think there was some confusion here, you know… like, the history course… all that basic, recent history is for students in their first year of secondary. I just need to retake the very last history class because I had a hard time interpreting some of the source material.”

  The professor’s eyebrows shot up. “Source material? As in primary sources?”

  “Yeah, like diaries and modern records and stuff.”

  He chuckled. “I’m afraid you’ll find that looking at primary sources is… discouraged in this school. The board believes it’s too difficult for anyone until they get to university.”

  Deirdre pursed her lips, then asked in a low, confidential voice, “Is this a remedial school?”

  After blinking twice, the professor straightened and said, half to himself, “You know, I don’t know whether to be amused or offended by that.” He continued more directly, “I assure you this is one of the best state schools in Neo-London, though I suppose it may seem dull in comparison to what a private school has to offer. Now, you’d best be headed to the dormitories; they’re on the far side of the campus. I’ll see you next week.”

  Recognizing the hint, Deirdre turned and trudged out of the classroom, dragging her hands down her face, foreseeing a year of academic boredom ahead of her. But she had little time to mope, as a stampede of students breaking for the exit of the school nearly toppled her over. Immediately she retreated to the side of the room.

  For a while she simply watched the teenagers hurrying past her; they all looked far merrier than they had a few hours ago. It struck her that all of them were headed home; they weren’t staying in the dormitories. They had a mother, father, and siblings to return to.

  No wonder they look so happy, she thought, hugging her satchel to her chest, her throat suddenly feeling tight.

  She looked for a sign of James’s colorful scarf in the crowd, but after a couple of minutes, she began to wonder if he had already left. The hallway was beginning to empty, everyone leaving for home.

  Sighing and quickly wiping her eyes, she turned, heading toward the dormitories when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

  “Deirdre!”

  She looked over to see James waving her over from down the hall.

  Her face brightened instantly, and she waved back before bounding over to him. “Oh, James! I thought you had left already! Everyone else was going home…”

  “Well, I was just about to, but my brother’s late picking me up. I know my way around the city—probably better than he does—but he likes walking me home anyway.”

  “You have a brother? Is he older than you?”

  James nodded.

  “Ohh, that’s nice.” She sighed. “I’ve always wished I had one.”

  James made a face. “He’s not all that great. Bit of a pain, really. Hopefully you won’t meet him.”

  “Really? Why?”

  James just shrugged.

  Deirdre tilted her head, thinking, Is his brother a jerk or something? But I thought everyone in a family was similar… But then again, what do I know? And I remember hearing that there are sometimes “bad seeds.” Maybe his brother is one of those?

  “I should probably go wait outside,” James said, interrupting her thoughts. “It’s a bit stuffy in here. Do you want to come with me? I mean, unless you have something else to do…”

  “Yes!” she replied; his face fell, and she quickly added, “I mean, no! I mean I don’t have anything else to do.”

  James just nodded in reply, looking a bit thrown off by her enthusiastic reaction. He reminded her of one of the oldest, quietest girls in the orphanage who always was unsettled when anyone spoke louder than a hint above a whisper. Deirdre had enjoyed annoying her by refusing to lower her voice.

  I should be careful to not tease James though, she thought as she followed the boy outside. He is younger than me, after all.

  They stepped outside; the late afternoon sun was bright and almost warm as they sat on the stone steps.

  A few moments passed and James said nothing.

  Guessing he was just shy, Deirdre asked, “Did you have a nice day, with your classes and everything?”

  He looked a bit surprised by the question but answered, “It was ’kay.”

  After a few moments of waiting for more information, she prompted, “Was there a class that seemed interesting?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing special, really. It’s not like they teach you anything that important.” He went quiet again.

  “How old are you?” she asked.

  “Fourteen.”

  He really shouldn’t be THIS shy at fourteen…

  “And you?” James asked, making eye contact for a second.

  “Huh?”

  “How old are you?”

  “Oh, I’m seventeen and a quarter; my birthday is in May. Or at least they think it is. We can’t really say for sure, which is too bad. Still, I like May… the birthstone is an emerald, and I love emeralds! Though I’ve only ever seen a few in town. Though I guess I’ll see a lot more here…” She looked at him. “What month were you born in?”

  “December.”

  “Ohh, that’s a tough one! December has like two… three birthstones,” she said, counting them on her fingers. “I can’t remember the names, but they’re all blue. I think. And I mean, I can remember May’s birthstone, but that’s easy because that’s mine. We had to learn all this for some home economics courses, the ones where we learned sewing and all that.” She laughed at the memory. “I was awful at it! My hand got so cramped when I sewed…”

  “We don’t really do sewing here,” James said, gesturing at the school.

  She looked back up at the tall building. “No, thank goodness. Everything seems like it’ll be pretty easy…” She sighed. “And pretty boring.”

  She rested her elbows on her knees, cupping her face in her hands. The other students had almost entirely dispersed; anyone remaining was hurrying away from the building.

  After a while, James suggested they wait by the gate. Deirdre agreed; on their way over, she spotted one person who was headed toward the gate from the street. The person’s outfit was familiar.

  “Isn’t that a soldier?” she asked, pointing at him.

  James straightened and peered, spotting the soldier. “Yeah, that’s…” He trailed off as another person came into view; a skinny young woman, trailing the soldier, talking loudly at him.

  “Why not, Iain?” the young woman asked. “You’ll get bored of playing pretend soldier eventually, and when you do—”

  “I’m not interested.”

  “Look, if you’re still upset about what you think happened—”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You don’t know what happened because you were too trashed. So you should just forget about it.”

  Instead of continuing to the gate, James veered off course, ducking behind some large clumps of ivy that grew on the fence. “Get down,” he urged Deirdre, gesturing quickly with his finger.

  “Why are you hid
ing?” she asked, frowning and looking from James to the soldier. She realized he was not much older than she was, and she pointed again. “Is that your brother?”

  Hearing her, Iain and the woman stopped talking, heading through the gate and onto the school grounds. James popped up from his hiding place, looking sullen.

  Iain jerked his head. “Come on, James. Let’s go. We’ve got errands to run.”

  James hesitated; Deirdre looked from him to the soldier.

  This must be his brother. But why is James so nervous? Maybe he’s a big bully, Deirdre thought, looking over Iain critically.

  “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, Red,” the young woman said, stepping forward. “I like your outfit. Where’d you get it?”

  “Oh, this?” She briefly glanced down at her clothes. “This is normal for young women at Trinity orphanage. We make them ourselves… Well, except for me. I’m no good with sewing.” She smiled at the young woman. “But the material is good; it holds together, even when you’re hiking!”

  “Right… Well, you might find more nicely made things like that in Ferriers Town. I could take you there sometime.” The woman flashed a smile. “I’m Elaine, by the way.”

  Deirdre was about to give her name in reply when Iain spoke up.

  “Elaine, you’d better get going. You have no reason to be here. If I catch you again—”

  “You’ll have me arrested?” she asked in a teasing voice. Deirdre noticed that her gaze was never focused; it shifted constantly, as if it was impossible for her to focus on anything.

  “That’s right,” Iain said firmly. Elaine’s teasing smile faded slightly. Iain continued, “The Iron Wardens will be receiving a tip about a sketchy figure lurking around the school, around kids.”

  She laughed. “I don’t know if I can resist, as seriously as I take your threat. Just look at her.” She gestured carelessly at Deirdre. “She looks like she could use a good time, especially after being raised by nuns.”

  “What does that mean?” Deirdre asked, feeling as though she may have been insulted (but not quite sure).

  Elaine ignored her and kept going. “I could take her around, show her what the city is really like. Or I could just take you around instead, and you could keep her from all the fun.”

  Iain’s expression grew dark. “I mean it. Leave her out of this.”

  “Sure you do, love. When you get bored of playing soldier, you know where to find me.”

  “Don’t try to reach me through my brother again. If you have something to say to me, then go to me directly.”

  “Got it, officer.” Elaine began to head off, saying over her shoulder to Deirdre, “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon, Red.”

  “Okay,” she replied a little uncertainly. She wondered if she had missed something important.

  “Don’t count on it.” Iain jerked a thumb at the exit. “James, we’ve got to run errands and then get you home before my shift starts. Let’s leg it.”

  James immediately replied, “I thought you were going to run errands after your nap. Did you get lazy?”

  “I was going to run errands, but I discovered that someone didn’t finish his chores, and I had to finish them.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh.”

  James turned to Deirdre. “Thanks for waiting with me. I’ll see you next week, I guess?”

  She immediately nodded. “Yes!”

  He hesitated, then asked, “You… won’t be going to Ferriers Town, will you?”

  “Like Elaine said? Well, I didn’t think normal people were supposed to go in, if you didn’t have any business. That’s what the grocer said, the one who drove me here.”

  “But there’s a lot to do!” James eyes lit up. “I mean, it’s filled with faeries, so there are all kinds of unexpected things. They have all sorts of things to do and buy…”

  “That sounds nice. Have you been there before?”

  “Well… no…”

  “So he doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Iain cut in, pushing his brother on the back of the head. He looked at Deirdre. “New to the city, yeah? Stay out of Ferriers Town. It’s no place for humans. Just… keep to yourself, familiarize yourself with the train systems, and you’ll do all right here.

  “James will be sure to show you around the city sometime, make sure you know your way around. He knows all the decent places to spend one’s time, and he knows all the city laws and how to follow them. Don’t you, James?”

  “Uh, well, yes. I suppose so.”

  ”Right. Say goodbye to your girlfriend. We’ve got to go.”

  Deirdre laughed loudly at the “girlfriend” remark while James protested, blushing like a tomato. Iain ignored them both, beginning to head toward the gate.

  “He’s kind of weird, isn’t he?” Deirdre giggled, pointing at Iain’s back. “First he chases off that nice Elaine girl, and then he’s telling me what to do!”

  James shook his head. “No, Elaine is no good. You should stay away from her.”

  “Why? I mean, she seemed a little odd, but it was nice of her to offer to show me around…”

  “No, she…” He bit his lip. “She just wants to sell you stuff.”

  “Oh.” Deirdre folded her arms, thinking for a moment before guessing, “She has her own clothing store or something? That’s why she was complimenting these old things…”

  “No, I mean… like stuff that isn’t good for you. Stuff you eat… and get addicted to.”

  Deirdre blinked a few times. “Like old moldy food? But that’s not addictive—”

  “James, let’s go!” Iain barked.

  “I mean like drugs,” James hissed in a low voice. “I got to go.”

  “Oh… bye!” She waved weakly as he rushed through the gate and down the street after Iain.

  After puzzling for a second, she folded her arms. “She sells drugs… Why didn’t Iain just tell me that? He told me all that other stuff…” She tilted her head, remembering how James had whispered the truth to her.

  Her eyes widened, and she gasped, beginning to pace back and forth. “Iain must not want people to know… Maybe he likes Elaine. Or maybe he’s in on it too? But he’s a soldier! But that’d explain why James was so nervous… but wait.” She stopped pacing. “Iain did stop Elaine from maybe trying to sell me some… Ooh, this is so confusing! It still doesn’t explain why he didn’t just tell me about her. Maybe he just doesn’t like people selling drugs in front of his little brother? I don’t know…”

  She walked slowly back toward the school, groaning in frustration. “The city is so WEIRD! I wish I was back at the orphanage.” She glanced back once at the street.

  I hope James doesn’t get sucked into this mess. If I were his sister, I wouldn’t let Elaine within two hundred meters of him!

  Chapter Five

  James hurriedly followed his brother over the road, darting around parked cars, the fragments of the overheard conversation between his brother and Elaine still rattling around in his mind. He struggled to catch up to Iain, who was seemingly unaware as he walked out in front of moving vehicles and barely avoided getting clipped by a side mirror.

  James reached Iain when he stopped inside a convenience store to shop.

  “Iain,” James said, trailing behind him as he browsed the shelves. “Sorry ’bout the chores.”

  James wondered briefly if Iain was ignoring him but quickly remembered that Iain was never the type to ignore anyone when he was cross; that was their father’s habit. Iain was always upfront with him and rarely stayed angry for long.

  “What?” Iain turned around, looking confused. Then recognition flashed in his eyes. “Already forgotten.” He clapped James on the back. “Just don’t get used to me doing them for you, Lazy.”

  James smirked. “Got it.”

  Iain began grabbing items from the shelves and handing them to James to hold as he shopped. Mostly bread. They always needed bread. He remembered his mother served bread with every me
al, and they had not stopped doing so even after she left.

  “Maybe I’ll cook for us again one night this week, yeah?” Iain suggested. There was excitement in his voice, though James suspected some of it was forced. “I could make stuffed cabbage. I’ve wanted to modify the original recipe to give it a little kick. What do you think?”

  It was rare that Iain had the time to prepare a homemade meal since joining the Iron Wardens. But when he did cook, the house always felt warm and familiar like it had when their mother was still around. Iain learned from her how to cook traditional meals and her own unique recipes. Iain always seemed happier when he was preparing meals. The house always smelled wonderfully of paprika and garlic on those nights.

  “That would be great,” James replied distractedly. He wondered if Iain was going to mention his conversation with Elaine. As Iain began grabbing items from shelves methodically, James knew that was not the case. “About Elaine—”

  Iain fumbled and dropped the jar of peppers he’d been balancing on his arm. Mercifully, it didn’t break, but that didn’t stop the shop clerk from swearing at them loudly. Iain seemed unusually jumpy.

  “James.” Iain’s voice was firm. “Don’t worry about it. She won’t be hanging around the school anymore. And I won’t be seeing her either.”

  James nodded reluctantly. He supposed Iain was right; he had never seen Iain so cross with Elaine before. It seemed that he really meant his warning, which seemed odd to James, as Iain had previously just been ignoring Elaine. He wondered what had been different this time.

  It must have been because she was trying to get Deirdre involved, James realized.

  It was a rare occurrence that James caught glimpses of the person he remembered his brother to be from when they were younger: someone who often cared too much about everyone else. It was rare that Iain cared about anything anymore.

  “So,” Iain said after a pause, “you killed it today, yeah? You introduced yourself to every professor, and you—” He cut himself off, his eyes narrowing on the bright yellow floral scarf around James’s neck. He sighed. “You wore the scarf again.”

  James fiddled with his scarf, absently twirling one of the loose threads between his fingers. “So?” he asked a little defensively.