Above, the roof had long since disintegrated, leaving the interior open to the elements. Our boots crunched on leaves strewn across the floor and we passed the stone pews that lined either side of the room. At the end, and behind the altar, a worn and crumbling statue of the Lady of the Lake crowned the entire room. Three large windows loomed behind her, now cast with a dense curtain of ivy and ferns. I imagined they’d housed elaborate stained glass at some point, but now this was a place of nature—and it seemed fitting.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, staring up at the structure.
“Religious worship was important to the Naturals of Camelot,” Aiden said, his voice echoing off the stone. “We still adhere to the same beliefs, but we don’t see prayer as an important part of our lives today. We uphold our personal devotions as we see fit.”
“Much like the rest of the world,” I mused.
I sat on the pew at the front, the stone cold on my arse. Aiden stood awkwardly, staring up at the statue.
“You know a lot,” I said.
“I always liked knowing things,” he said as he sat beside me. “I always struggled with the more physical aspects of being a Natural.”
He wasn’t like his brother at all. There was no other way of putting it, Thompson was harsh, prejudiced, and a arsehole. But Aiden… he seemed intelligent, kind, and kind of shy.
“You never wanted to be a fighter?” I asked.
“No. It took me a long time to realise it,” he replied. “I come from a family with a long line of decorated warriors. My brother’s the Natural. I’m the disappointment they sweep under the rug.”
“I doubt it,” I said, attempting to console him. “Knowledge is just as powerful.”
He didn’t reply, and I supposed lots of people had attempted to convince him of the same thing to no avail.
“Islington said you came from the London Sanctum,” he said finally. “That’s where my brother’s assigned. Do you know him?”
“Yeah, I…” I twirled a strand go hair around my finger, my cheeks flushing, “I kind of beat him up.”
Aiden burst out into laughter. “Good.”
I straightened up. “Good?”
“He’s always lording it over me. It’s poetic justice.”
“Uh… glad to be of service?”
“Were you worried it was going to dent my unwavering pride in my family name?”
“No.” My gaze shifted to the side, a smile tugging at my lips. “Of course not.”
Aiden smirked and leaned against the altar. “So what is it?”
“What’s what?”
“What you wanted to ask me?”
“Oh, I…”
“You can trust me, Scarlett. I know you’re looking for Arondight. Everyone does, so it’s not that much of a secret. You want my help, is that it?”
He was right, but my other mission was burning a hole in my proverbial pocket. Someone at this school may or may not have been compromised by Human Convergence. I didn’t sense anything demonic about Aiden, but that didn’t mean much. Jackson’s mutation went undetected for a long time before it became an issue and Wainthrope… Well, he was one step away from becoming a Vessel—a willing host—in order to achieve his ambitions.
“What would you do?” I asked. “If you found Arondight, what would you do with it?”
“I’d probably give it to you,” he replied without hesitation.
“Why me?” I studied his profile, trying to puzzle him out. He didn’t know me, and he’d just give our most sacred and powerful relic to me without thinking twice about it?
“Because it belongs to you.”
I frowned, turning my gaze to the stone floor of the chapel. How did he figure that? I always thought the sword belonged to all Naturalkind, not just one person. I carried a part of its power within me, but that didn’t automatically mean I owned the whole thing. The idea was absurd, and besides, I didn’t want that kind of responsibility.
“Have you studied much of the Codex?” Aiden asked.
“A little,” I admitted.
“Well, I don’t know if you got to the part about Lancelot, but it tells the tale of how his bloodline was bound to Arondight, much like Arthur’s was bound to Excalibur.”
“Hold on,” I said, straightening up and holding up my hand. “You think I’m descended from Lancelot?” I shook my head. That was too much, even for me.
“Perhaps,” he replied, “or sometime in the last thousand years, your bloodline was also tied to it. That means Arondight is yours.”
“Anyone can wield it,” I argued.
“That’s true, but no one else will be able to unlock its true power.”
I grunted and suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. “Well, that’s a bridge we’ll cross if we ever come to it.”
Aiden scuffed his toe against the stone floor. “So… did I pass your test?”
A laugh escaped from between my lips and I nodded. “A-plus, teach.”
“Good. I haven’t lost my grade point average.”
I fished in my pocket and took out the coin, keeping my fist closed. “I found something and I—”
“Can I see?” He held out his hand and waited.
Something flared inside me and I knew I could trust him. Was it my Light? I didn’t know, but I handed him the coin.
I watched him turn it over in his palm and he studied it closely, his expression changing. He worried his bottom lip and my gaze followed the movement. Women looked over him for the muscly warrior type? What was wrong with them?
“It’s not like any coin I’ve ever seen,” he said, holding it so close I thought he was going to go cross-eyed. “I think it’s more like a seal, or a token of some kind.”
“A token?”
“It could be a number of things. A good luck charm, a symbol of membership, a seal placed on a shipment of goods. Those are called bale seals. They have the same kind of arrangement like on the back here. Four symbols denoting where the shipment came from and where it’s going. Origin,” he pointed to the first symbol, “sender, destination, receiver.” Then he flipped it over. “This could be the symbol of the merchant or organisation to whom the shipment originally belonged to.”
A shipment? Could it be from the case that once held Arondight? Why else would the druidess give it to me? I wish she would’ve told me who gave it to her, but knowing her kind, things probably went down exactly how they were meant to. After all, the reward was in the journey.
“It’s very interesting,” Aiden said. “There’s not many of these in Natural history. It’s a predominately human thing. Trading was big business back in the late Medieval period. The world was opening up and merchants were the new nobility. They needed a way to protect their goods and retain ownership en-route to their destinations. Bale seals became as common as regular currency right up until the late eighteen-hundreds.”
“So do you think this is a bale seal?” I asked. “Do you recognise the symbols?”
“I’m not sure.” He turned the coin over and held it up to the fading light. “I’d have to do more research. Wherever it’s come from, it’s old. Where did you find it?”
“I, uh…” I hadn’t thought of a cover story and I cursed my carelessness. The last thing I thought the druidess would want was for her existence to become common knowledge, even after she was gone.
“It’s okay,” he said, slipping the coin into his pocket. “I know we’re little more than strangers, but one day we won’t be.”
I smiled and nodded. One day.
He rose to his feel and brushed off his trousers. “Can I walk you back to the Academy?”
“I think I might stay here for a while,” I replied. “I have a lot to think about.”
“Okay.” He didn’t seem surprised. “I’ll let you know when I find something on the coin.”
“Thank you.”
The sound of his footsteps receded across the chapel, then faded entirely. My Light told me I was alone and I was glad I was b
ecoming more comfortable with using it. Greer was right in that regard—the Academy was hard on me socially, but I needed the guidance to hone my abilities.
I stared up at the crumbling statue of the Lady of the Lake and wondered where she was. She was the bridge between where the twin swords came from and this world. If anyone knew anything about Arondight, it was her, but it wasn’t like she was on speed dial… wherever she was.
All I knew was that I couldn’t count on a mysterious magical entity who lived in a lake to tell me what to do next.
I’d been at the Academy for two weeks before I got the chance to call Jackson.
There was a bank of phones in old fashioned booths by the main office, and I slipped into one at the end. The others were empty, as was the hall. I could hear Adelaide the guidance councillor fussing over something in her office, but other than that, all the students were elsewhere.
I dialled Jackson’s mobile number and scowled when it began to ring. I hadn’t realised how attached I’d been to mine until I’d been forced to hand it over. There was no reason for a Natural to have a social media presence.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” I said, instantly comforted by my best friend’s familiar voice.
“Scarlett? I was starting to think you’d forgotten me.”
“I’ve finally been given my one phone call,” I drawled.
“And you used it on me?” he asked, mocking my tone. “I feel so special!”
“You’re welcome.” I laughed and nestled into the booth. “So, how are things back at headquarters? Any news on the you-know-what?”
“Ramona’s still working on Barry,” he replied, using the nickname he’d given his demon mutation. “It doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon.”
“Oh, Jackson. I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be. Honestly, I kind of like it.” He sounded sheepish and I clutched the receiver. “Is that messed up?”
“No,” I murmured, “not at all.”
“I mean, it’s cool being stronger, faster, and having twenty-twenty vision, but I can do something good with it, too. I can help the good guys fight the bad guys for real.”
“You don’t have to justify it to me, Jackson,” I said, smiling, “I get it.”
“Romy and Martin found one of the names on your list,” he said.
I straightened up. “Seriously? You should’ve led with that, you know.”
“Sorry, but it doesn’t really have a happy ending.”
“Oh…” My shoulders sank, knowing that there was a point of no return. Wilder and I retrieved the information, but there was no way of telling when the ‘subjects’ had been infected.
“They brought the guy in, but he was too far gone for Ramona to bring him back,” Jackson explained. “His humanity was gone.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Every loss of life was a tragedy, and each one was just as difficult as the last.
“How many more are still out there?” I asked.
“Four, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more than that.”
“With the Balan gone and the lab destroyed, no more will be created.”
“Until the alpha site is found. You blew up the beta lab, remember.”
I sighed. The odds just kept piling up with each passing day, which made my anxiety about finding Arondight even more pressing. Not to mention keeping an eye on all these kids.
“What about you?” Jackson asked. “Have you found out anything about that coin?”
“It’s taken a while,” I admitted. “It’s hard to know who to trust. If someone like Wainthrope could be turned, then everything and everyone’s up for debate.”
“But you found someone?”
“Yeah. The librarian, Aiden.” Sweet, awkward, dorkishly handsome Aiden.
“Did I detect a girly sigh in your voice?”
“It’s not like that,” I argued. “He’s nice, easy to talk to. Kind of like you in that regard.” I snorted and rubbed my eyes. “Now that I think about it, you’d probably get along like a house on fire.”
“Na, he’s a book geek. He probably likes Dungeons and Dragons.”
I slapped my palm against my forehead. “Oh my god.”
“Don’t forget that coin is the one solid lead we have on Arondight.”
“That’s the one thing you don’t have to remind me about,” I replied.
“What about Wilder? Have you told him about it?”
I bristled, thinking about our argument-slash-discussion the other night. Wilder always knew when something was up, but this time I couldn’t cave—it was too humiliating.
Jackson grunted. “Scarlett, you can’t keep pushing him away.”
“I’m not pushing him away,” I argued, knowing full well that was exactly what I was doing.
“You’re constantly picking fights with him to avoid inadvertently revealing your feelings.”
Sometimes I wished Jackson would stop being the voice of reason in my otherwise chaotic life.
“We made up,” he declared. “You didn’t return my feelings, and yeah, it hurt, but if I didn’t get over myself and realise that you can’t choose who you do or do not love, then we’d never have made up. I’d still be out there and we’d never talk again. After all you’ve been through, do you really want that with Wilder?”
I always believed Wilder and I belonged together. As teacher and student. As partners out on the London streets. Fighting demons side by side. I knew I had to push aside the romantic feelings I held for him, but it was becoming too much to handle, especially after we’d merged our Light.
“He’s the tough guy,” I said. “The outcast who never fit anywhere. He’s forever looking over his shoulder and doubting everyone’s motives. He won’t admit to anything.”
“Reel him in, Scarlett,” Jackson urged. “Tell him what happened with the druidess. You need to stop talking yourself out of it.”
I didn’t reply. I didn’t know how.
Jackson sighed. “What are you thinking?”
“It’s romantic, but there’s something else. The way our Light reacts…” I took a deep breath. “Something deeper is going on.”
“Does it scare you?”
My throat began to tighten as I held onto my tears. “Yeah…”
“Then you should tell him. He probably feels the same, don’t you think?”
Maybe. Perhaps. Doubtful.
“Tomorrow,” I said, my stomach churning, “I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”
6
I stood outside Wilder’s room in the south wing of the Academy, my heart galloping in my chest.
What was wrong with me? I used to be able to tell him anything, mostly, so now shouldn’t be any different. I raised my hand, hesitated, then knocked.
There was no answer, so I pressed my ear against the door and reached out with my Light. Immediately, I knew the room was empty.
The teacher’s lounge was upstairs, so I ventured there before I lost my nerve. Movement ahead made my heart lurch and I swallowed hard. Get a grip, Scarlett. This was Wilder. Wilder… who I’d fought alongside. Wilder… who’d saved my life. Wilder… who’s life I’d saved. Wilder… my mentor. I could trust him, despite the things I’d done… and felt.
Ugh. How was Wilder ever going to see me as his equal when I was constantly ranked below him? I could be as skilled as he was, but it wouldn’t matter unless I had the official status to match. It was just the world we belonged in.
I was debating on rushing back to the dorms to do a nervous poo when I saw Greer standing in the teacher’s lounge. Before I could make a hasty retreat, she spotted me lingering in the hall.
“Scarlett,” her smile widened as I reluctantly stepped into the room, “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. How are your studies going?”
“I’m a twenty-five-year-old high school student.” I blinked, leaving the rest up to her imagination.
Her lips quirked and she nodded slightly. “Point taken.”
We were alone, the emptiness making me shiver. The whole Academy had that chilly feeling the moment an area was emptied out of life. Considering demons were a thing, I wondered if ghosts were, too.
“Why are you here?” I asked, looking her over. She was wearing her official pantsuit and silk blouse, her sky-high heels adding a layer of sophistication that I bet men went crazy for. “Come to check up on us?”
“Yes and no. I’m here to give a lecture on the Codex. I do it every year.”
“Oh.”
“Are there any updates?”
I shook my head.
“Are you learning anything?”
I nodded.
“Good.” She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “However, I’m disappointed no progress has been made on your mission.”
“Kids are secretive,” I said. “They don’t like to talk to adults, especially ones who pretend to be one of them.”
“Do you think Islington was overreacting in his assessment of the atmosphere here?”
I shrugged. “I have nothing else to compare it to. My stress could be masking it.”
“Wilder has yet to give me his report. Perhaps he’s had more luck. Have you two conferred?”
I shook my head. “We hardly have time to see each other. Our schedules are busy.”
I could’ve sworn Greer looked satisfied, but it was so fleeting that I wasn’t sure I’d seen anything at all.
“We’re making some progress of our own back at the Sanctum,” she said.
Jackson had told me as much, but it wasn’t the good kind.
“How is everything with Brax and the Regula?” I asked. “I haven’t heard anything for a while now. Not even the students or teachers are talking about it.”
“That’s the way we like it,” she said with a smile. “The less common knowledge scandals like this are, the better.”
“For security reasons? Or to protect young minds from forming their own thoughts?”
Greer narrowed her eyes, but didn’t rise to my challenge. “Brax is making good progress with the Regula as far as I can tell. Jackson has been granted official leave to stay at the Sanctum and a full inquiry has been launched into Julius’ dealings with the Balan demon.”
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