The Academy (Perrault Chronicles Book 2)

by Cordelia Castel

  “I know this is the last place I should put you,” she whispered to Bruna, placing her on the autopsy table. “But I need my arms to take a few things.”

  She gathered up her possessions, adding the energy-stealing torque in case she could use it to give Bruna back her life force. The heavy stone the chancellor put on her chest to break a troll’s enchantment lay on a side table. She took that, along with a glowing jar and other strange-looking artifacts for later study.

  After securing her satchel across her chest, she threw Professor Engel over her shoulder and lifted Bruna off the autopsy table. She pushed the door open with her foot and walked back to the staircase.

  The moment she reached the fireplace, she inhaled fresh, forest air. It only took seconds to walk through the stone hut and into the clearing. The moon provided dim illumination through the haze of clouds, but she could see that all the women were gone. The trolls, too. Lord Florian had probably arrived and taken them away.

  “You can let me down, you know,” said a feeble voice. Professor Engel writhed in Rilla’s grip.

  She dumped the man on the floor and stepped back.

  His white hair shone in the moonlight. It took over a minute to get up, his limbs were so shaky, but Rilla kept out of his way just in case he was faking. He rubbed his lower back. “Oh, that’s better. Thank you, Cendrilla. I can call you Cendrilla, can’t I?”

  Rilla didn’t answer. She took another step back, in case the man would attack while she was holding Bruna.

  He dusted himself off. His newly sunken features looked more exaggerated in the moonlight. “What a day it’s been!” He stared at her for a moment and beamed. “Come along, my girl. We don’t want to be late for breakfast.”

  Rilla gaped at the man. He was clearly addled. Her shoulders relaxed a fraction, and she said. “Lead the way, Professor.”

  The Chancellor shuffled through the clearing. Rilla followed, still suspicious.

  A bluebird flew into Rilla’s face, making her jump. It wasn’t any bird she recognized. It flapped its wings and flew toward a thicket of trees. Rilla followed and stopped when it landed on the ground. She pulled out the glowing jar to see what it wanted to show her.

  It was Marie-Anne’s rag doll.

  Rilla picked it up and put it in her bag.

  “Did Lord Florian rescue the women?”

  The birds did not reply. A dread colder than the night air settled over Rilla’s shoulders, and she wondered what the birds couldn’t or wouldn’t tell her. She returned to the path and followed the stumbling old man back towards the Academy. Although she had found Bruna and triumphed over her foe, an apprehension as deep as the Well of Despair filled her thoughts.

  Explaining what had happened would be difficult. In times of trouble at the Academy, she relied on the Chancellor to step in and be the voice of fairness and reason. However, with him proving himself to be a madman, this left her at Madam Florian’s mercy. The vindictive woman would probably try to blame Rilla for Bruna’s injuries and for having assaulted Professor Engel.

  Rilla wouldn’t let that happen, so she wrote one last letter under the light of the glowing jar. She sent it off with a bluebird with the instructions to peck its recipient until it was opened and read.

  Madam Hessen

  Holding her jar of glowing flies aloft, Rilla trudged through the forest. The canopy hung over both sides of the path, obscuring the sight of the cloudy sky. A damp scent of wood hung in the air. Feeling the twigs crunching underfoot, she kept to the path, so she wouldn’t trip over a root and hurt her unconscious friend.

  Professor Engel tripped and stumbled ahead. “You know, you’re the best student I’ve ever had at the Academy. Your swordsmanship leaves a lot to be desired, but apart from that, I would say you are the perfect female warrior.”

  Rilla rolled her eyes and hiked Bruna further into her arms. It seems that no one, not even the addled Chancellor, would let Rilla forget about that disastrous first Armed Combat lesson.

  “Yes, yes,” said the man. “It is a shame I had to swap your grades with Pinocchio’s.”

  Rilla stopped. “Who’s that?”

  “You know. The boy who can’t stop telling lies.”

  She frowned. “Jacques?”

  “Or puppet.” Professor chuckled and clapped, then tumbled into a thicket of gorse, releasing a cloud of vanilla and coconut-scented flowers.

  Rilla rolled her eyes. He should have fallen into stinging nettles. She stood to the side, waiting for the man to extricate himself from the foliage.

  “Yes, Jacques told me he was your puppet.” And when she reached the Academy, she would have him exposed for a fraud and a conspirator, and get her real grades reinstated.

  “His name is hilarious.”

  “Get up,” said Rilla. “Tell me what you mean.”

  Professor Engel rolled out of the thicket and took even longer to stand. “Dubois.” He gave Rilla an expectant stare and slumped as though disappointed. “I thought being from Serotin, you’d be familiar with the old language. Du bois means wooden.”

  “I know that.” Rilla gestured for him to keep moving. “I just don’t know what’s so amusing about his name.”

  The Chancellor walked ahead, swaying as though he’d spent all day at the tavern. “Pinocchio is a block of pine. A wooden marionette, enchanted by fairy magic.”

  Rilla gaped. Certain things about Jacques now made sense. Those perfect, even features, the odd way he dodged punches. She thought back to the time she’d watched a puppet show with her old friend. “What did you do to Jack Galloway?”

  “Him?” he mused. “After your little outburst on who really killed the giant, I retraced your steps. Found the unremarkable young fellow at his inn and decided against conscripting him. There were enough people fawning over you. I didn’t want another one at the Academy making a fuss when you disappeared.”

  “Why are you telling me all this?”

  He stopped and turned around, cocking his head to the side. “My boon said I would do anything you asked.”

  Rilla sucked in a breath. While she knew boons could grant you a specific request, she had no idea a poorly worded one could make someone obedient. “Was anyone else apart from Jacques working with you to capture the girls?”

  “Oh yes, but everyone thought they would go to government holding cells. No one knew my true intentions.”

  “Not even General Cazador?”

  The Chancellor stopped to lean his back against a tree and catch his breath. “He sees threats everywhere. I let it slip that I’d been watching Bruna for evidence of witchcraft. Dino jumped to the desired conclusions.”

  Rilla scowled at how easy it had been for such an experienced soldier to be hoodwinked. A soft groan escaped Bruna’s lips, and she squirmed in Rilla’s arms. Rilla shifted Bruna to her back, which lightened the load, and she turned to the Chancellor. “Are you ready to go?”

  Professor Engel nodded, and together they trudged through the woods until they reached the clearing of the dragon pit.

  “And what was the point of luring me into the dragon’s lair?” She snapped.

  “I wanted to be sure you were as magnificent as I’d thought.” He shrugged. “If you hadn’t survived the dragon, there would have been little point in setting you up for a session in my testing room.”

  Irritation ran up and down Rilla’s spine. She wanted to thrown him into the pit just to watch him flounder, but she’d already stolen his youth and vitality. That was punishment enough. They continued through the path and to the bridge that linked the forest to the east gate of the Academy.

  At this time of night, the lanterns on the Academy wall posts shone like beacons. Rilla adjusted Bruna once more for the final stretch of their journey.

  Rilla’s boots clomped over the cobblestones of the bridge, while Professor Engel’s feet scraped along the ground as he shuffled. As they approached the East Gate, Rilla became aware of a throng of people milling around outside the Academy wal
ls. Many of them held spears. From the distance, she could make out their long handles. She instantly recognized them as the Soldiers of Fortune, and assumed that Madam Hessen would be with them, ready for her interview.

  A bird settled on her shoulder, and Rilla turned to see it was Robin. “Where have you been?”

  Robin twittered back. Since the tone wasn’t panicked or reprimanding, she relaxed and continued walking over the bridge.

  As soon as they crossed, the Chancellor sprinted ahead. “Selma! Cendrilla hit me over the head with her staff.”

  “Hey!” Rilla followed, holding onto Bruna as she ran. “That’s not how it happened.”

  Madam Florian stepped out from behind some of her own soldiers. “Cendrilla Perrault, you are under arrest for assaulting Chancellor Engel. Guards, take her to the cells.”

  Soldiers wearing the steel gray uniform of the Anti-Magic Army stepped forward, all brandishing swords. Professor Engel ran behind Madam Florian, clutching her arms like an overgrown child peeking out from behind his mother.

  “Someone take him to the infirmary,” the Vice Chancellor snapped. She wriggled free from his grasp.

  “Are you getting this, Lenny?” asked Madam Hessen, her voice an excited squeal. “Warrior Woman arrested.”

  “Yes, Madam.” The artist made quick strokes on his easel, holding a candle between his lips like it was a pipe.

  The soldiers advanced on Rilla. One of them, whom she recognized as being the guard who was on duty the day of the dragon attack said, “We don’t want no trouble, Perrault.” A slight tremor in his voice betrayed his nerves. “There’s twelve of us and one of you. Put that staff down, like a good girl and no one will get hurt.”

  Rilla snorted, and the soldiers stepped back.

  “Did you attack the Chancellor because he refused your advances?” asked Madam Hessen. “You do have a taste for powerful men, after all.”

  Bristling, Rilla yelled, “He tried to kiss me, not the other way around. And I didn’t call you here to witness my arrest. I have a story for you.”

  Madam Florian growled. “What are you idiots doing? Grab her!”

  The soldiers advanced. One of them held up his sword as if to strike, but Rilla knocked it out of his hand with her staff. The others stopped and stared at her, open-mouthed.

  “What’s this story?” Madam Hessen stepped forward. “Hold these soldiers off, boys, while I get my scoop.”

  To Rilla’s relief, the Soldiers of Fortune advanced, creating a wall of people between Rilla and the Academy guards. They stood with their backs to Rilla and marched forward, forcing back the guards until they had cleared a path for Rilla to approach the reporter.

  Lenny leaned forward, clutching his easel. “Who’s that behind your back, Miss Perrault?”

  Rilla adjusted Bruna to make her visible to the others. “A student who was falsely imprisoned. Professor Engel locked her up with two dozen others and performed experiments on them.”

  Madam Florian walked up and scoffed. “Preposterous. Where are the witnesses? The evidence? It is rather convenient that you failed to inform the constables of this den of iniquity and torture.” She turned to Madam Hessen. “You will find, Trude, that Perrault here has failed her final assessment, and her outlandish accusations are a mere ploy to stay in the Academy.”

  “You want evidence?” Rilla turned, exposing Bruna’s face. “This is what he did to Cadet Hulda.”

  Madam Florian gasped and clapped her hand over her chest.

  Madam Hessen frowned. “I don’t see any bruises on the lady. Who is she?”

  “The Chancellor arranged to have Bruna arrested on trumped up witchcraft charges. She isn’t much older than me.”

  The reporter’s eyes gleamed. “Were you part of the conspiracy to steal girls’ youths, Vice Chancellor?” She turned to the illustrator. “Lenny, make sure you capture her guilty face.”

  Madam Florian spluttered. “Of course not.”

  “Can we stop squabbling and go inside?” asked Rilla. “Bruna needs medical attention.”

  Madam Florian called off her soldiers and Madam Hessen did the same, but got four of her men to accompany them to the infirmary. Rilla refused their offer to carry Bruna. It just didn’t seem right to hand her over to a strange man, not after what her poor friend had suffered.

  In the infirmary, they found the Chancellor lying on a cot with Doctor Morgen frowning over him. He turned when they entered the room. “I see evidence of sorcery on the Chancellor. It is unclear what this bracelet does, but the magic runes engraved in the silver are unmistakable.” He parted the man’s thin, white hair, revealing deep, moon-shaped indentations. “And these claw marks here? There are ten of them. On first glance, they would appear to be gouges made by the claws of a bear-sized creature, but there is no blood or bruising, so I can only conclude Professor Engel was attacked by a puka.”

  Rilla held her breath. She’d read about those creatures in Magical Fauna and Flora textbooks. They were fairies whose powers were limited to shape shifting. They could turn themselves into beasts, but their human form always retained an animal characteristic, such as cloven feet, or a tail. Apart from her superior strength and being abnormally tall for a woman, Rilla was no different from any other human.

  “Anyway, he’s coherent enough to talk. If you can get him to stop babbling about Cadet Perrault’s obvious charms. Ha! Good luck with that.”

  His gaze fell upon Rilla, cerulean eyes sparkling. “I see you’re disheveled again. Do you need medical assistance?”

  Rilla walked past the physician and laid Bruna on the cot next to the Chancellor. “Can you do anything for Cadet Hulda?”

  Doctor Morgen’s smile dropped. “Oh dear. Let me take a look at her.”

  While Madam Hessen and Florian bickered in the background over who should question the Chancellor, and the doctor examined Bruna, Rilla stalked over to Professor Engel. “I’m using the boon to command you not to reveal any of my secrets. And don’t expose anyone you abducted as magical foes, either.”

  He nodded and closed his eyes. Rilla walked back to Bruna’s cot and observed Doctor Morgen’s examination of her friend.

  “A neutral third party must conduct the interrogation,” said Madam Hessen. “We’ve already established that Professor Engel has been taking women for nefarious reasons, but there’s nothing to suggest that you aren’t his accomplice.”

  Two spots of color bloomed on Madam Florian’s cheeks. “I am nothing of the sort!”

  Lenny poked his head out from over the easel. “Lady F? Can you do that pose again, where you hunched your shoulders and clenched your fist? You make a perfect villain.”

  “Draw the faces first and fill in the details later,” snapped Madam Hessen. “I want something that matches the headline, ‘Vice Chancellor Covers Up Director’s Dastardly Deeds.’”

  Madam Florian grimaced and stepped aside, and a soldier pulled up a chair next to the Chancellor’s cot. With a triumphant smile, Madam Hessen sat primly in her seat and pulled a quill and huge roll of parchment from a bag held by a waiting soldier. “How long have you been abducting and performing experiments on the innocent?”

  The Chancellor revealed that he’d been experimenting on women since he’d been cured of Wolpertinger cough with water from the Well of Wellness as a boy. He continued to tell a gruesome tale of the spoilt youngest son of an Earl, whose misdeeds were covered up so as not to disgrace the family. He revealed that he’d become obsessed with power and had turned to alchemy and sorcery in order to steal life force and magical powers from others.

  “Was Cadet Hulda the daughter of a witch?” asked Madam Florian from across the room.

  “Her mother was a washerwoman and her father a farmhand.”

  “Then why did you have her taken?” The Vice Chancellor sounded more like a screech owl than human.

  “I wanted to see if there was any magic left in that furred birthmark of hers. I theorized that the witches who kept her captive transm
uted her skin in order to make it mouse-like.” He shrugged. “It wasn’t a complete failure, as I perfected my life force extraction process.”

  Madam Hessen’s lips pinched, but she offered no comment. “And who were your accomplices in this endeavor?”

  “I offered to swap Cendrilla’s grades with Jacques Dubois to convince the boy to help me.”

  Rilla sucked in a breath. While she had no qualms about Jacques’s magical status being exposed, she was surprised Professor Engel had only focused on the grade swapping. But then, the wording of her command had been specific to protecting the magical status of those whom he had abducted. Perhaps the Chancellor had taken Jacques from his home and forced him into the Academy.

  Madam Florian stepped forward. “Why—”

  “No more interruptions!” snapped the reporter. “If you have a question, write it down and hand it to a soldier, or you will be removed.”

  The Vice Chancellor bowed her head and retreated to the back of the room.

  “Very good.” Madam Hessen leaned back in her seat. “Do you have any other accomplices in any other illegal activities?”

  “I’m a member of the Order of the Alkahest.”

  She leaned forward. “Tell me more.”

  “I cannot.” He gulped. “A boon prevents me from speaking about them.”

  “Not even a few choice details?” She smiled, wriggling her quill.

  “Madam Hessen!” Doctor Morgen’s voice was stern. “Anyone under a boon not to speak of specific things will die if they give even one detail. Please refrain from killing my patient with your incessant questions.”

  Rilla’s mouth fell open, and she stared at the doctor. She’d never seen him looking so serious.

  Madam Hessen stiffened, but kept a neutral face. “How do we know anything you’ve told us is the truth?”

  “I made a boon with Cendrilla to do anything she asked.”

  Her eyes grew bigger. “And why is that?”

  “She hurt me when I tied her up and tried to kiss her.”