Chapter 19: (October 31)

"Are you cold?" Will asked Riley, wrapping his arm around her to shield her from the bitter wind.

She shook her head no, and looked up at him. He'd laughed when she had put the mask on, but it looked nice on her.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked, poking him in the side for an answer.

He said nothing and turned his head to look at the others in front of him. Nomi had a map of Hoyvik, and was speaking quietly with Amanita and Lito. Sun had her arms folded and was walking next to Capheus, who kept talking about Van Damme. She would occasionally chuckle and bump into him intentionally when he made her laugh. On the farthest side of the group was Wolfgang, his black turtleneck making his blonde hair all the more shocking in the twilight. He'd seemed to fall back next to Kala, who never acknowledged his presence. Wolfgang, however, would occasionally steal quick glances her way, and then look back at the horizon. Will felt a pang of sadness as he linked with the two, and remembered Irsa's warning.

They passed through town and on to a small road away from the highway, all the while heading north.

Amanita bent down at one point, holding her hand up for them to stop a moment. "I can't keep walking," she wheezed. "I'm super out of shape."

"You're the one that wanted to come," said Nomi, looking down at the girl in concern.

"Yes, well, excuse me if I didn't realize how much it would hurt. Can't we just call a taxi or get a bus?"

Riley checked her phone. "No transit near here."

Nomi helped Amanita stand again. "A mile is really not that far. We should be there in ten minutes or so."

After what had felt a lot longer than ten minutes, the group finally reached Hvitanes. The road became smaller, and the sound of cars vanished as they came closer to the center of the quiet town.

"Will we make it on time?" Lito asked, gazing up at the starry night sky.

Nomi checked her watch and replied, "It's fifteen minutes 'til nine. We should if we hurry."

Amanita stopped in front of them again, forcing them all to look at her. "Okay, what's the plan here? We just march into this person's home or whatever, confront them, and then leave?"

It seemed that none of them had really given thought as to what they were going to do. Just then, another party of young adults walked past, talking loudly and singing in Faroese.

Amanita went over to one of them, a tall, dark-haired girl clad all in red. "Do you speak English?"

The girl paused and motioned for her friends to continue on. Turning back to Amanita, she nodded her head.

"Awesome. Do you have any idea where 22-24 A Hvitanesi is? I think it's an address. Or maybe a fortune teller's place or something?"

The girl chuckled and pointed down the road. "Yes. You go there, should be on right side. You better hurry, though; it gets busy during this day. Well, as busy as it can get here." The girl winked at Wolfgang and left them, jogging down the sidewalk to join her seven raucous friends again.

Amanita turned to Nomi and raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to say I told you so, but I did, didn't I?"

Nomi said nothing, just turned back to the map and continued walking. As they approached the brightly painted houses and shops, Sun pointed out a small duplex. Outside were wind chimes and a freestanding wooden sign.

"Lagna. It means destiny," Riley breathed softly, moving closer to the building. The window was cloudy and frosted over, so that nothing could be seen from the outside.

The others crowded around, and she slowly opened the door. It creaked as it swung outwards, and they all stepped into the dark entrance.

Dark velvet cloth hung across the ceiling, draping down onto the walls. A smoke machine installed in the corner of the room made it all the more difficult to see, and the strong smell of incense seemed to cover every inch of the space. Straight in front of them was a long corridor with blood red wallpaper, where candles flickered in small alcoves.

"It's a waiting room." Will observed, and his eyes alighted on the seats at the far end of the room. A young couple was sitting in two of them, and the large group moved to occupy the rest. Leaning over to talk to the couple, Riley asked how the fortunes worked.

"What did they say?" Will asked. He could hear haunting music coming from a speaker somewhere in the room.

"You wait until that bell rings." Riley pointed at a dull bronze bell hanging on a wire above their heads. "Then, you go to the door down the hall."

As she finished saying this, the bell sounded eerily and the couple got up from their seats, turning into the corridor.

"What time is it?" Capheus asked, glancing around at the others.

Wolfgang spoke from where he stood against the velvet wall, his hand resting on the back of Kala's chair. "Nine o'clock."

"It's fine, we're fine. We have an hour. We'll be okay," Lito murmured, bouncing his knee. It sounded like he was trying to reassure himself more than the others.

Just as Amanita was growing impatient with sitting in the faux velvet-backed chair, the couple walked back down the hall, whispering. The girl went over to Riley and handed her a card.

"It's for you!" she giggled, and left with her boyfriend, both of them laughing as the door swung shut with a groan.

Wolfgang staredat Riley's hand. "If that is what I think it is…"

Riley tilted the card, trying to read the small letters. "It's the Wheel of Fortune."

Amanita blinked several times, nodding her head. "Of course! Because no Halloween is complete without yet another creepy tarot card!"

Just then the small bell chimed, and the sensates froze. Riley was the first to stand after the bell chimed again, and she slowly made her way down the corridor as the others followed. Stepping out from behind her, Will opened the door and entered into the large room, lit only by small candles on a table.

"Hello, everyone," called a youthful voice, as the nine teenagers moved into the room cautiously. "I knew it was just a matter of time before you found this place."

/

As there were not enough seats in the room, they all stood and looked around. A woman suddenly walked out from behind a red drape that ran across the large room, splitting it in half. Nomi judged her to be about their age, perhaps a year or two older. Her blonde hair was cut to the nape of her neck, and the lights from the candles were reflected in her large green eyes. She smiled and pulled up her purple gowns to sit comfortably in the armchair across from them.

Amanita was the first to speak.

"Wait. You? You're the one who's been sending us on this fucked up wild-goose chase?"

The woman sighed and placed her hands palms-down on the wood. "I know I have a lot of explaining to do to all of you."

Kala grabbed on to Wolfgang's arm as she realized whom the woman reminded her of. "Ms. Alvira?"

The fortuneteller turned her piercing gaze on Kala, searching her face. After a moment she said, "That is my mother. My name is Taika."

Nomi raised her eyebrows, and stepped forward. "I'm so sorry… we didn't know she had a daughter." The other sensates felt the same surprise run through them.

Taika rubbed at her jewelry-adorned fingers, the sound of her bracelets ringing through the air as they tangled with one another. "I should hurry, but there is a lot I must say. I suppose first, I should tell you what happened that day my mother disappeared. I was upstairs, where I make my home. This business has never been very large, but the tourists come during the spring and summer, and I make enough to live. My phone rang. I picked it up and heard my mother on the other end. She sounded frantic, and I heard a pounding of fists against a door, almost as if someone was trying to enter her house down in Hoyvik. I've always known what my mother was. I also know she wasn't meant to have me. But she was scared and very young and had not been rebirthed when she did. Anyways, she told me what had happened. That she had made another cluster, and she believed you to be at the school. It was destiny, I should think, that brought you all to the Board."

No one said a word until Wolfgang finally broke the silence. "Why do you believe in destiny? You're a fake."

Taika seemed to be taken aback, although there was a hint of a smile around her lips, as if she were also amused. "I'm a professional card reader and spiritual entrepreneur. Or are you saying that real magic exists?"

Wolfgang was about to reply with a snappy remark when Nomi placed her hand on his shoulder for a second, quieting him.

"But," she started, "is it really so hard to pick up the phone and just say, 'Yes, hello? I need to talk to you about something very important.'"

"It would also be nice to know what is so important," Amanita muttered under her breath.

"Listen, I know it would have made much more sense just to call all of you, but they are listening." At the blank stares from the others, she continued with a sigh, her voice lowering to a whisper. "There are people that hunt others like you. Scientists. I think they may have been the ones to take my mother."

Will thought back to his first week at the Board. "That's what Irsa told me. That there was a person hunting us down."

Taika frowned and cocked her head to the side. "I don't know an Irsa."

"And we don't know who you are." Amanita interjected. "For all we know, this could be some trap."

"I already told you, I'm Laura's daughter. When she called, she told me to never let you out of my sight. I didn't know your names, but it was easy to figure out when someone at the school mentioned your birthdays. And that you all fainted the day my mother disappeared. It couldn't have been a coincidence."

"The person that told you… that was the person who placed these cards for us to find, correct?" asked Sun, watching Taika carefully.

The fortuneteller looked back at the red curtain that separated their room and the unseen one. "Yes…" she said hesitantly, the curtains moving as though someone were pushing behind it. "But perhaps you should go home now."

"Taika," Nomi started, looking at the woman in concern. "What else did you need to say? Because 'be careful, kids' we've heard plenty of. Did you want us to find your mother?"

Taika turned to face them, still distracted. "What? No, no. My mother wouldn't want her students involved, or anyone. It's dangerous. And I have a feeling she's already gone."

"But then why would we find an email from our headmaster to-."

There was a slamming of a door, and the group turned again to look at the curtain. A figure stood behind the fabric, and its movemet caused the curtain to move back and forth a few inches, sweeping the floor with every motion.

Taika turned again to the curtain. "They already know you're back there. You don't have to come out if you don't want to."

The fabric moved as someone pulled it aside and stepped into the dim candle-light, red hair made all the more dramatic in the darkness.

Kala bit her lip forcibly, but sat still as the girl came to stand next to Taika.

"Holy shit." Amanita stared in awe at the girl. "Myra?"

The redhead nodded sheepishly, pulling at her hands as though she were trying to physically remove something. She seemed at a loss for words but finally said, "I know this may seem extremely unnerving. Especially since I know some of you." She glanced at Kala quickly, and then at the others. "But I didn't mean to make it threatening-."

"You were only doing what I asked," Taika added, her hoop earrings catching the light as she shook her head briskly.

"What, so you two know each other?" Will asked in disbelief, his voice sounding strained as he spoke.

"Ever since I started at the school, a few years ago." Myra whispered, folding her hands to gain composure. "Streymoy is kind of enchanting, when you think about it. The surroundings, the people. I wanted to know more about the life here. And then, a few days after the semester started, Taika asked me to help all of you by finding out who you were, so that we could warn you…" Her voice trailed off and Kala let go of Wolfgang, stepping back suddenly.

Looking around, she saw that everyone's eyes were on her, and she flushed at the attention.

"Excuse me, I need to leave." Walking out of the room, she moved down the long red hall, and pushed the creaking door into the air. It was fresh of incense and choking heat.

She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, breathing in slowly and then exhaling to release the tight ball of stress that had been living in her stomach.

Opening her eyes again, she heard the door groan loudly as the others walked out, accompanied by Myra. The redhead came over to speak to Kala, who held up her hand to stop her from getting any closer.

"Listen, please. I understand that you wanted to help us, but this is just a very… It is not a good time to talk. I need to be alone, thank you." Kala moved away from her friend, and walked further down the street, wrapping her scarf tighter and tighter to expel the cold.

She turned and felt someone at her side. Looking over she saw that it was Sun, standing next to her quietly. Neither girl said anything for a few seconds.

"Thank you for earlier today, with Camille," Kala murmured, tugging at her dress's sleeves.

Sun shook her head, her hands folded neatly behind her back. Nothing ever seemed to bother her.

"When I want something, I fight for it. I don't like mean girls like Camille, and I don't let them stop me."

Kala glanced over at Wolfgang who stood deathly still, watching the slope of the hillside as the others bickered over the fastest way to get home on time.

/

The large group had just entered the Board's gates when the security guard stationed there yelled to all the latecomers, "You have five minutes. You all better get signed in and go to your Houses!"

There was a long line at the Administration building, and Amanita tapped her foot impatiently as the clock on the other side of the wall ticked by.

"That's right Margaret, spell your name as slowly as possible." She sighed and looked up at the ceiling, wondering if she'd be able to count all the gray tiles in the time it took to get everyone signed in.

Nomi placed her hand on Amanita's shoulder. "Relax. At least we're here on time. Sort of. What did you think about all of that?"

Amanita didn't need to be reminded what "that" was, it seemed pretty clear with the night's events. "I have no idea. It's so bizarre that it was all just to find out that our teacher has a daughter. How old does that make Alvira?"

Nomi shrugged and pushed her glasses up. "I don't know. She seemed pretty young to me. But did you hear what Taika said at the end? She thinks her mother is gone. For good. Do you really think it has to do with the Headmaster?

"It definitely does, that guy is shady as hell. What I'm wondering is, what do we do now?"

Will, who was standing behind them with Riley, replied. "Now we do what we were apparently meant to do when we came to the Board."

Amanita flipped her hair back and scratched at the itchy fabric of her tights. "Don't worry, Will. I want to graduate just as much as the rest of you."

The students in front of them moved out of the room, and they all signed in. Myra hung back, however, nervous about walking any longer with the group.

As the others all left for their own houses, Kala placed a hand on Wolfgang's arm, pausing him at the fountain.

He turned back to face her with a heavy sigh, but did not shrug her off.

"I was curious. Which one did Myra give you? The card. You never said which one was yours."

Wolfgang didn't seem to like this question, as he shook his head and tried to move past her.

"I just want to know. I didn't mean any harm."

"Why does it matter? Leave it, Kala."

She stared up at him, refusing to move. Without glancing away from her, he took out his wallet and the card inside, holding it up in front of her face.

"There. You wanted to know."

"The Devil? But it doesn't mean anything. Myra wouldn't…" She looked at the ugly card and winced.

The frustration in Wolfgang's expression melted away into sadness, or perhaps humiliation.

Kala felt this change in him and tried to find something to say, but it was too late, Wolfgang was already set on leaving.

"Goodnight, Kala." He gently moved past her and walked up to his House, entering his dorm room a few minutes later. The image of her face lingered as he closed his eyes and fell asleep that night.

*End of Part 4*

A/N: Oh my goodness, it feels like it's been forever since I last updated. My vacation, unfortunately, is coming to an end as September rolls around. Next chapter coming on Saturday the 29. We've almost reached 20 chapters! That's crazy! I'm so excited, and I'm deciding on how many chapters are left, depending on where the story goes past the ones I've already written. Probably not nearly as many as I had hoped, since I've been writing lengthier parts lately. We'll see. I hope all of you have an awesome rest of the weekend, and next Saturday may or may not be Thanksgiving… hmmm. The mystery continues!

~C.o.D.