RUMOURS
Lysander Sage watched his best friend sulk with a heavy heart.
He was possibly the only human on the planet who knew of Tancred's crush for Emma Tolly. Sure, Emma was pretty—gorgeous, even—but Lysander had already committed himself to Lauren. And of course, Emma could never be much more than a good friend to Lysander. The two had gotten along well in the past, but Lysander hadn't paid much attention to Emma Tolly, and from her reaction, he was ninety-nine percent certain Emma felt the exact same way about him.
Reid Rubix was a nice boy—he was popular, he was attractive, and he was friendly with little effort. Lysander and Reid had been acquaintances—not friends—but Tancred had never really thought much of the skater kid. And now, Tanc had been given just another reason to dislike Reid.
"Tanc?" Lysander tapped his friend's shoulder urgently. "Tanc, come on! It's nearly nine; Matron will already have begun her rounds."
"Forget Matron," Tancred said, his brows pulling together in a scowl of anger. "Reid Rubix has begun his rounds."
"Reid's been a good boy," Lysander said, in a faultless imitation of Mrs Torsson. "Why can't you be more like him, and stop skulking?"
"Give it up, Sander," Tancred snarled in a low voice. "You'll get detention. Go back to bed."
"Like I care," Lysander snorted, rolling his eyes. "Detention's just another afternoon in Bloor's. The building's not so bad, anyhow. It's you I'm worried about, Tanc, not myself. Come on, if you're really my friend, you'd listen to me."
"I'm listening." Tancred's scowl deepened.
"No, you're not," Lysander argued pointedly. "You hear me, but you're not listening to me. There's something important I've got to tell you. Saturday, when we meet at the Pets' Café. So if Matron gives you detention, I'm not waiting another week. It's your choice—would you rather be sadly misinformed, or cooperative and rewarded?"
"What's the reward? And Sunday's as good a day as any."
"Sunday is my little sister's second birthday," Lysander told him. "We'll be taking her to Orson's Orca Ocean; she loves orcas. So if you're expecting a message on Sunday, I hope you won't be too disappointed. I'll be munching Oreos and snapping the killer whales on my dad's brand-new digital camera."
Tancred grumbled and scrambled reluctantly to his feet. "Come on, then."
Grinning with satisfaction, Lysander led Tancred slowly down the corridor. There were no signs of Matron as the boys loped up to their dormitory. They snuggled beneath their sheets, safe and ... still sulky.
Emma counted the hours to Drama class every single day following her Cast Exam. She'd never known of her heartfelt passion for dancing, and as the minutes passed in each Drama class, Emma could feel herself improving. Her endowment was notifying her consistently of the atmosphere change in the room, but Emma ignored these alarms.
At times, she could feel hatred and anger. At others, she could feel the energy and excitement of the hyperactive students as they auditioned for their roles and practiced their parts.
"I think you've got it down, Em," Reid remarked, as he slowed his dancing to a walking pace. The pair strolled over to the corner of the room, where Emma took a quick drink from her water bottle.
Emma smiled appreciatively. "It hasn't been easy."
"Oh, we're not done," Reid grinned. "Mrs Romanovitch retrieved the list of songs from Fidelio only this morning. We've got three more numbers—Live Your Life, Give Me the Music, and U-Turn."
Emma's smile faltered. "By memory?"
"By memory."
Emma looked up into his face, sprinkled with a smattering of freckles and couldn't resist flushing.
"Well, alright."
Reid's grin widened. "That's the spirit, Em."
Manfred's mood had darkened since breakfast.
"Bone!" he barked, fuming. "Focus! Unless you'd like another weekend of detention, you'll keep at it and I'll keep you!"
"No, thanks," Charlie scowled. He bent his neck, concentrating on his work. Manfred's gaze averted to the inventor's daughter. She was working diligently, but Manfred suspected something out-of-place.
Eyes narrowing, Manfred chanced a step forward. The Tolly girl seemed to be immersed in her textbook, and yet Manfred sensed a smile. Was she scorning him?
"Tolly, wipe that smile from your face!" Manfred crowed.
"Why?" Emma seemed unusually cheerful.
"Why don't you stop asking questions and return to your work," Manfred sneered mockingly, as he turned away. Shrugging, Emma obeyed. Manfred experienced a feeling of uneasiness. Was he losing his authority over the endowed?
"Billy Raven, why aren't you working?" Manfred demanded.
The small albino's eyelids fluttered. "I'm a bit drowsy, Manfred—I mean, sir. Could I please see the nurse?"
"The nurse shan't be bothered with trivial matters, Billy Raven," Manfred stated coldly. "Now, if your situation involved a fever, or a contagious disease, I would most certainly allow your absence from the King's Room. But seeing as that isn't the case, kindly sit down and continue your work."
"Yes, Manfred." Billy obeyed.
Claaaang! The brazen sound of the bell startled Manfred, but he struggled to remain impassive as the children leapt from their seat, elated to leave. As soon as the endowed had filed from the chamber, Manfred locked the door and strode across the room to a bookcase. He removed a leather bound book containing the stamped silhouette of a goddess on the cover, and was instantly transported to the other side. The 'other side', hidden from the students and the staff. None but the Bloors knew of the secret passage Bloor's Academy housed.
Manfred followed the dank, dusty tunnel through to another bookcase. Another leather bound book with a silhouette—this of a god—and he was immediately flipped to face his great-grandfather and father; the bookcase had swapped sides to become the solid brick wall of Ezekiel Bloor's cozy, overheated 'nest'. That was the newly-appointed title for Ezekiel's bedroom. Manfred had heard the students whispering when they had assumed he hadn't been listening. The Wax Man's nest, they called it. He lures little students inside and experiments with them.
Not true—well, partially. Ezekiel did experiment, and at times he had used guinea pigs when none had been available, but luring? Ridiculous.
"Manfred." His father acknowledged his presence with a single nod.
"Father—Ezekiel—Billy Raven may be a problem."
"How come?" Ezekiel screeched. "The albino boy? A problem? He's never been a problem. He's listened to me through the thick and thin—I thought he was our spy."
Old Ezekiel. Manfred sighed heavily. Sometimes, old men frustrated him. Their short-term memory and lack of information was downright unbearable.
"No, Gramps," Harold Bloor insisted, "Billy Raven's a turncoat. He's been hooked by Charlie Bone. He's their responsibility, now."
Ezekiel hissed in displeasure. "Curse the Lord, what is happening to us? Harry, Manfred—we're Bloors, for bloody Jesus' sake! First we've lost Dorothy, and now Billy Raven—"
Dr Bloor exhaled calmly. "Not now, Gramps."
Ezekiel quieted, waiting patiently for Manfred.
"Billy Raven—I think he's going to die."
The buzz around the school intensified.
Billy Raven was going to die.
Girls, shrieking shrilly, arrived at class nearly fifteen minutes late, pale and scared. Boys, meanwhile, taunted Billy and grinned heartily throughout the day. Billy Raven, his face as white as his hair, endured the first four hours, but wasn't to be found in the cafeteria at lunch.
Emma searched the entire tables, scanning for a certain head of snow-white hair. No Billy. She joined the lunch line, her intentions not set on food, but on answers.
"Cook," Emma whispered, leaning forward as tactful Gabriel from behind struck a loud conversation with Rupe Small, a boy from his dormitory. "Do you know where Billy is?"
"Yes, dear." Cook's reply was heartwarming and gave Emma relief. "He's inside the kitchen, weeping his eyes out. Would you like to see him?"
Emma nodded. She nudged Gabriel, who had been eavesdropping, and ducked out of sight. Gabriel created an attention-drawing fiasco with the mustard bottle.
Emma could distantly hear Manfred ordering Gabriel to clean up the mess, despite the droopy boy's staged protests. Gabe was no expert, but he would do until one came along.
Smiling, Emma quickly wriggled through a narrow hallway and down into the kitchens. She spotted an angry Mrs Weedon, and hid inside a nearby store cupboard until the grouchy lady had disappeared around the corner. Sighing, Emma dodged through the sacks of grain, bags of potatoes and serving carts. She made a beeline for Cook, who indicated a back door.
Billy was inside, alright, and was bawling silently. He brushed his watery eyes when he noticed the door open, but he lowered his hand as Cook's features swam into focus. His nose was red, his eyes were puffy, and his cheeks were pale. He had definitely been crying long.
"Billy—are you alright?" Emma tentatively knelt on the ground beside Billy, resting an encouraging hand on his arm. "Pull yourself together, Billy. You're not going to die. You're a Child of the Red King."
"The Red King died," Billy said pointedly, sniffing. Emma glanced dubiously toward Cook for assistance, but the kindly chef merely shrugged.
"He hasn't died, Billy," Emma reminded him. "His spirit is still here—he's a tree, don't you remember? He'll always be here, now and forever."
Cook nodded approvingly as Billy gave a weak smile. "I remember."
"Lighten up, Billy." Cook had come to his side with a handkerchief. "Here, take this. I'll excuse you from the King's Room today. You, too, Emma. I have much to tell you."
Emma seemed astonished, but remained silent as Cook sent a hurried telegram to Madame Tessier and Mr Derivere. Emma hadn't wished to skip Drama with Reid, but she brushed off the matter and forced herself to focus on the urgency of the situation—Cook had something to tell her.
"What is it, Cook?"
Billy and Emma settled eagerly into a pair of reclining armchairs by the far wall, as Cook wiped her grubby hands on her chocolate-smeared apron and tousled her grey hair busily.
"It's been a hectic day, children—let me rest for a while, first."
Emma and Billy exchanged glances and nods. Less than two minutes later, Cook flinched, and seemed to realize she was daydreaming.
"Oh, dear. Sorry, Emma and Billy. I have something to say about the truth of your 'death' rumor, Billy, dear."
Billy's eyebrows shot up. "Yes?"
"You aren't going to die, Billy," Cook reassured him. Billy relaxed, wiping his eyes again. Emma noticed the back of his hand was drenched in teary water. "You're simply going to lose a part of you."
"Huh?" Two pairs of eyes bored into Cook, pressing for information.
"Billy—as you both know—was gifted with double-talent blessing. But he was the oddball of the four double-talented. He was the juggler; and Manfred said that when your body, emotions and mind chose to reject the new gift, you would 'melt away'."
"Cook, how do you know this?"
"Students come to me every year after each Cast Exam, looking for pity," Cook smiled. "But Billy's melting right now. Since he's been gifted with the ability to juggle two endowments, he'll only lose one. But he'll be vulnerable, Emma. Protect him."
Emma nodded obediently as she led Billy from the room. Cook, moaning as her servants began to complain about her baked goods, hollered a hurried goodbye.
Emma stood outside the door, watching as students ran by in slow motion. Suddenly, noises and sounds whipped by her ears, and everything began to whizz by, as though somebody had accidentally hit the Fast-Forward button on a remote control. Dragging Billy along, Emma shoved through the swarm of anxious students to see a limp body wriggling on the ground.
"She's having a seizure!" Gwyneth Howells, an unbelievably whiney second-former, bellowed the words at the top of her lungs. Shrieks split the air, frightened wails echoed through the dining hall.
Suddenly, the body became motionless. Emma squinted through a gap of girls for a better view. She recognized the low-cut profile immediately.
Inez Branko was dead.
Jacky - How was that, huh?
You - Yay! The creeper twin is dead!
Jacky - Mhm, she died for a reason. It comes later on in the plot. Possibly next chapter.
ps. Review for more updates, please!