Akarnae (24 page)

“It could be a textbook.”

“It’s not.”

“So, it’s a novel?” Alex guessed.

D.C. sighed and put the book on the table, marking her place. “No, it’s not a novel,” she said, her voice tight with irritation. “If I answer your question, will you shut up?”

Alex took another bite while she pretended to think about it. “Maybe.”

D.C. made an annoyed sound and pushed her chair back, ready to leave.

“Hey, don’t go!” Alex still needed her people-repelling buffer around until she finished eating. “I promise I’ll be quiet.”

The other girl eyed her warily before slowly taking her seat again. She then did something totally unexpected and slid her book over so that Alex could see the cover.
The Lost City: What Really Happened
by A. N. Onymous.

Alex snorted at the author’s name, but then she focused on the title again. “
The Lost City
?” she asked, handing the book back. “What lost city?”

D.C. looked at her strangely. “Meya, of course. What other cities have just disappeared?”

“Oh, right,” Alex said. “Meya.”

Alex remembered what Darrius had told her about the missing city. She would never forget the image of the enchantingly beautiful Meyarins, but she was pretty sure he’d said they were kind of a taboo subject. She wondered how her roommate, of all people, had managed to get her hands on such a book.

“What does it say really happened?” Alex asked, curious.

“I thought we agreed you’d shut up once I told you what I was reading?” D.C. said, opening the book to start reading again.

“Right,” Alex murmured. Conversation over.

She picked at her salad and gulped the rest of her water before standing and saying, “I guess I’ll see you later?”

“You’re deductive skills are astounding,” D.C. replied, not looking up from her book.

Alex clenched her teeth and walked away before she could say anything she would regret. She headed straight for her dormitory and, after a much-needed shower, she ventured down to the Rec Room in search of Jordan and Bear.

“Finally!” Jordan greeted Alex when she found both her friends hanging out with Connor and Mel. “Where have you been?”

“Karter decided it was time for me to start pulling my weight,” she said, collapsing onto a beanbag in front of the fire. “He kept me back late and I had to visit Fletcher afterwards.”

“That sucks,” Connor said. “I’m only Gamma for Combat, but I don’t think that matters to Karter. It’s almost like he can smell weakness.”

Alex wasn’t sure how to take his comment, so she just smiled at him and gave what she hoped was a supportive look. “Yeah,” she agreed. “Listen guys, sorry to be lame, but I’m wrecked. I pretty much just came here to find out what’s happening tomorrow.” She addressed her comment to Bear and Jordan since she was leaving with them in the morning.

“Mum sent over a Bubbler earlier in the week so we can take off whenever we want,” Bear told her, referring to the vial of liquid that, when smashed on the ground, opened a Bubbledoor. “The sooner we’re out of here, the sooner our holiday starts, so I say we aim to leave early-ish.”

“What about the wards?” Alex asked, confused.

“They’ll be deactivated tomorrow so students can leave,” Jordan explained, “and they’ll be taken down again at the end of the holiday when we all come back. It happens at the beginning and end of every break so we can come and go easier.”

“Oh,” Alex said, seeing the logic in that.

“Do you reckon you’ll be okay to leave straight after breakfast?” Bear asked, bringing the conversation back around.

She nodded. “Sounds perfect. I’m really looking forward to meeting your family and seeing somewhere outside the academy.”

Alex noticed the strange looks the cousins sent her way and realised that she hadn’t been careful enough with her words. “It’s been so long, I mean,” she covered, “since I arrived and all. It feels like I’ve been here forever. It’ll be nice to get away… again.”

She’d never been a very good liar, but thankfully Jordan came to her rescue.

“Yeah, it does feel like forever,” he said. “I think we’re all pretty excited for the break. I can’t wait to have some of Gammy’s apple pie. Mmm.” He smacked his lips and rubbed his stomach. Alex thought he might have even been drooling a little.

“We go home every weekend, so it’s not such a big deal for us,” Mel said. “But still, it’ll be nice to not have classes and homework for a fortnight.”

Alex agreed wholeheartedly. Two weeks with no PE sounded heavenly. She was about to respond but her words were cut off when she yawned.

“You should go to bed,” Jordan said. “You’re going to need your energy for the next two weeks.”

“Holidays are meant to be relaxing,” she informed him.

“You’ve never been on holiday with us before,” Bear said, grinning. “You might even need a holiday from your holiday.”

Just the idea of it made Alex feel even more tired, so she bid them goodnight and stumbled up to her room.

She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

Twenty-Two

“Excuse me, Alex, may I
have a word before you leave?”

Alex quickly swallowed the last of her breakfast and looked up to find Administrator Jarvis standing at the head of her table.

“Sure,” she said, leaving her friends and following him outside and around the corner for some privacy.

“Firstly,” he began, “I’d like to apologise for not contacting you before now. It’s been some time since we last discussed your transition into academy life and I should have paid more attention to you, especially considering your unique circumstances.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, waving aside his words. “I’m sure you’ve had a lot to deal with, what with the headmaster still gone and everything else.” She didn’t mention the Lockdown, but she was sure it was still causing Jarvis some concern, if the bags under his eyes and his pale complexion were any indication. “And besides,” she continued, “you know what they say about the whole sink-or-swim concept. Sometimes it’s good to be thrown straight into the deep end.”

“From what your instructors have said, you’ve become quite adept at treading water,” he said with a smile.

Alex snorted in disbelief. “They’re lying.”

He chuckled before turning serious again. “There’s something else I’d like to talk to you about.”

She nodded, prompting him to continue.

“I understand that you’re staying with the Ronnigans for the holiday, is that right?”

“Yeah. Jordan spends Kaldoras with them every year and Bear invited me along this time. They didn’t want me to be left here on my own.”

“Of course, of course,” Jarvis said. “Very kind of them.”

“Is there a problem?” she asked when he trailed off into silence.

He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “No, no problem. I’d just like to caution you—while I know you’re a smart girl, and I’m sure your friends and the Ronnigans will take good care of you, you must stay on your guard. It’s still vitally important that no one discovers where you’re from, especially now that you have access to the Library and its secrets.”

“You know about that?” she asked, surprised.

“Professor Marselle contacted me as soon as you were Chosen,” Jarvis explained.

“
He
knows about that?” she asked, even more surprised.

“He’s the headmaster—of course he knows,” Jarvis said. “His position affords him the responsibility of knowing the truth about the Library, much like yourself.”

“And you?” Alex asked, wondering how Jarvis fit into the picture.

“Much like your friends—who I presume you’ve told—I’m not Chosen, nor do I have the access granted to a headmaster. All I know is that there are some who are able to discover the Library’s mysteries, and that you are one of them. Again, it is vitally important that you keep this secret.”

“I know,” Alex said. “I’ve already been given the lecture.” When he looked at her sternly over his glasses she tried to take back her flippant remark. “I mean, yes, I’ll be careful.”

“Good,” he answered, apparently satisfied. “Now, there’s one last matter I need to speak with you about. I’ve never mentioned
it before, but your enrolment here lists you as a scholarship benefactor due to your… unorthodox circumstances. As such, you’re entitled to certain benefits.”

Jarvis reached into his pocket and pulled out a leather pouch, handing it to her. It was heavier than expected, and something inside jingled with the movement.

“Akarnae’s scholarship students receive a monetary support supplement in addition to having their educational fees waived,” Jarvis said. “I’ve been keeping track of your allowance since there was no point in giving it to you before now, but it’ll likely come in handy for you over the next couple of weeks. Especially with Kaldoras just around the corner.”

Alex’s eyes widened. He was giving her
money?
She’d never actually thought about how she would support herself outside of the academy. She hadn’t even considered how she would afford to buy Kaldoras gifts for her friends. But now she didn’t have to worry about any of that.

“The pouch is self-updating and accessible only by your DNA fingerprint,” Jarvis said. “Your allowance is deposited weekly and anything you don’t use will remain in a networked savings account for when you have need of it. Just be sure not to let anyone else put their hand in the pouch, as they’ll find themselves without their fingers.”

Medoran technology was amazing. Alex felt like she was holding her own little bank—a very secure little bank. “How much is in here?” she asked, weighing the bag between her hands.

“Enough to last you for a while, I dare say,” he responded cryptically. “You’ll find that we’re rather generous when it comes to supporting our students.”

He indicated for her to put the pouch away and when she tucked it into her pocket he asked, “Is there anything else you’d like to discuss before we return to your friends?”

Alex was going to deny it, but she figured it was better to finally get it off her chest even if she didn’t think there was anything to worry about anymore. “Actually, there is,” she said. “You know a few weeks ago when the academy security triggered the Lockdown?”

Jarvis froze and Alex worried if perhaps she shouldn’t have brought the subject up. But there was no going back now.

“Well, after it was all clear and we were allowed out again, I ran into a man on my way to your meeting. It was actually the second time I’d seen him, the first being the day I arrived in Medora.”

“A man?” Jarvis asked, his posture as tense as a brick wall. “What man?”

“He said his name was Aven.”

Jarvis showed no outward reaction, but his next words sounded strained. “Did he say anything else?”

“He was kind of weird both times,” she said, mentally replaying their conversations. “He mentioned that he used to be a student here, and I’m pretty sure he came to see Professor Marselle. I told him the headmaster was away but you were here if he wanted to speak with someone else.”

Jarvis seemed to be concentrating on her intently, and Alex wasn’t sure whether that was a good or bad sign.

“He, uh, said he didn’t want to bother you and that he’d just come back another day,” she told him.

“Is that all he said?”

“Yes,” Alex answered, before remembering something else. “Oh, wait, both times he went on about some kind of power he expected me to have. I thought he was referring to my gift—which I still don’t have, by the way—but he seemed to be talking about something else entirely.”

Jarvis was so still that Alex wondered if he was even breathing.

“And how did you reply?”

“I didn’t,” she answered. “The first time I was completely disoriented and just thought he was a complete wacko, and the second time D.C. interrupted us and he took off before I could say anything.”

Jarvis sent her a sharp look. “Your roommate saw him too?”

“No.” Alex shook her head. “At least, she said she didn’t.”

He seemed to think about that before he relaxed slightly and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner, Alex?”

“I just didn’t want to cause a fuss over nothing. I’d completely forgotten about our first encounter out in the forest since I was so distracted with settling in here, and as for the second meeting… well, I overheard Fletcher telling someone that alumni were always welcome on academy grounds and could get through whatever security wards the headmaster had set up, so I just presumed Aven was telling the truth and wasn’t any kind of threat.”

“Then why bring this to me now?” Jarvis asked.

“Because I did some research and I wasn’t satisfied with the results.” At his questioning look, she explained, “Aven didn’t look much older than thirty and I was curious about him because he was…”

She paused, trying to find a more appropriate description than ‘hot’.

“There was just something about him,” she finally said. “Something that captured my attention.” She shuffled her feet and hurried on to say, “I wanted to make sure his story checked out, so I went to the Archives and looked up the academy records from the past fifteen years. It took some time, but he didn’t come up in any of the class lists. Since I didn’t have any evidence or proof that he even existed—let alone that he was here—I let it go, not seeing a point in bothering anyone.”

Jarvis appeared to be lost in thought and Alex nervously moved from foot to foot while she waited for him to speak.

“Thank you for telling me about this, Alex,” he eventually said. “I’m acquainted with the man you speak of and I’ll be sure to pass the message on to Professor Marselle that Aven was here to meet with him.”

Alex wilted with relief. She’d worried for a moment that she’d made a huge mistake by not going to Jarvis straight away with her report. Fortunately, that didn’t appear to be the case.

“If you ever have any concerns regarding strangers on campus again, please don’t hesitate to bring them to my or another professor’s attention.
Your
safety is paramount,” Jarvis said.

Alex thought his emphasis on ‘
your
safety
’
seemed a little strange, but she presumed he’d meant it to encompass all the students—not just her—despite how it had sounded.