The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin (Books of Unexpected Enlightenment Book 1) (32 page)

Vladimir Von Dread strode to the practice area, away from the rest of the group, and stood in of the dueling strips, waiting. Cydney Graves and Wanda Zukov joined him. Salome took her time. She walked over and whispered in Ethan’s ear, causing him to snicker. Rachel briefly waited for her and then went to join the others. To her relief, Gaius accompanied her. He stayed close, smiling down at her side, his hand gallantly supporting her elbow.

The dueling strips consisted of long foam mats covered with white canvas set off from each other by a section of wooden floor delineated by posts at either end. Rachel knew that these posts were used to hold protective enchantments which would keep the magic used in the duel from harming people outside of the strip. The back wall, behind the dueling area, was also padded up to five feet, which was chest height for many, but over Rachel’s head.

The three girls and Gaius waited quietly on the dueling mat, while Vladimir Von Dread stood, arms crossed, awaiting Salome. When she finally arrived, Dread glared at her, something he did extraordinarily well. Salome hardly acknowledged the admonishment, except to look a little more bored.

Von Dread flexed his black gloves. “Ladies, I wanted to share our rules here in the Knights. First of all, we are expected to conduct ourselves according to the rules of the school. If a member is repeatedly disciplined for any reason, the leader can put your expulsion from the group to a vote.”

Rachel’s face remained calm, but inside she could not help being amused.
Yeah
, she thought wickedly,
better not break the school rules because being expelled from school isn’t so bad, but one wouldn’t want to risk getting thrown out of a club!

“Second,” he continued impassively, “while we are not a secret society, we do expect a certain level of decorum. I would be disappointed to hear of a member going around repeating everything she heard here to her friends. Such behavior would most likely get you challenged and possibly expelled.”

Rachel’s heart instantly rebelled. Her loyalty was to Sigfried and Nastasia. Of course, she would share everything with them. She had only agreed to attend one meeting, not to join the Knights and become a mindless minion of Von Dread. She resolved to repeat everything to her friends the instant she got back to her dorm.

“Third,” he continued, “you have to have been a member for at least two years before you can invite a new member. And then you may only bring in one per year. If your member makes a fool of him or herself, it will reflect badly upon you.”

Vladimir seemed to be speaking directly to Salome. Salome still looked bored, but her cheeks were a shade redder than normal.

Poor Gaius
, Rachel thought suddenly,
my behavior is going to reflect upon him
. Sighing, she gave up any plans to cause chaos for chaos’s sake.

“Fourth,” Von Dread continued, “we expect our members to be civil to each other. If you are violently opposed to another’s membership, you may challenge him to a duel. If you win, the other person will be expelled for the remainder of the year. If the other party wins, you will be expelled for the same period. If you feel the need to challenge someone, let me know, and I will explain our dueling rules.”

Rachel did not glance toward Cydney Graves, but she could feel the other girl glowering. A tingle of excitement crawled across her limbs.

Cydney was going to challenge her to a duel.

She could not say how she knew, but she was certain, as inexorably certain as of the rising of the sun. A little smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Let her come! Last time, on the stairs, Rachel had been taken by surprise. This time, thanks to Gaius, she felt strangely confident, as if their training session the night before had prepared her for anything.

“Are there any questions?” Von Dread asked, searching each of their faces.

The girls shook their heads. Von Dread nodded once and departed, returning to the table. Wanda followed him. Cydney threw Rachel one last dirty look and headed back to her seat. This left Rachel standing with Salome and Gaius. Salome grinned, practically thrumming with eagerness. Gaius leaned casually against the post that marked the end of the dueling strip upon which they stood. He looked pleased.

“So.” Rachel leaned forward with a conspiratorial smile. “How do I prepare for my duel with Cydney?”

She glanced at Gaius, expecting him to object. To her surprise, he grinned encouragingly.

Salome jumped up and down with gleeful delight. Turning her back to the long table where Cydney again sat, she spoke in an exaggerated whisper. “I am more than willing to act as a double agent here. I can convince her to challenge you right away. Or you could challenge her. We should decide soon though, so she doesn’t have any time to plan.”

“If you challenge her,” Gaius drawled, with an airy wave of his hand, “it will catch her off guard. Also, we’ll know exactly when it will happen. However, there are a number of benefits to waiting for her challenge.”

“Indeed?” Rachel liked the approval she saw in his eyes. “Like what?”

“If she challenges, you get to be the first one to pick your second,” Gaius explained expansively. “She cannot pick a second who is of a higher year than yours. Also—and this is important—you can call for your second to champion you and duel in your place. If you do so, she can do the same. Or she can choose to fight your champion. She cannot challenge you and then decide to have her second champion her. You have to call for that first.”

“Then, I definitely don’t want to challenge,” Rachel decided. “Why give up an advantage like that?”

“Good. Good.” Gaius nodded. “If the contestants do not choose to have their seconds fight, then both seconds get to cast one protective spell on their primary before the duel starts. What I would highly recommend you do,” he leaned toward Rachel, grinning, “is wait for her challenge. Then pick me as your second. I can beat any of us in my year, and I can crush any of the younger members. Of this, I am rather sure.”

Rachel stared at Gaius starry-eyed. Tingles of excitement ran up and down her arms.

He could beat anyone his age or younger?

He was
rather sure
?

She reviewed what she had learned about him tonight—this comment, his nomination, the respectful way other students here acted toward him, the looks girls kept sending his way.

Gaius was not an outcast. He was not friendless. He was not trying to escape a bad crowd. He was not even a poor sorcerer. If his recent statements were to be believed, he might actually be an excellent sorcerer. More than that, Gaius Valiant was
popular
.

She had been completely wrong about him.

Rachel glanced surreptitiously toward where Von Dread stood by the long table in private conversation with William Locke. What else might she have been wrong about?

“But I wouldn’t even need to fight,” Gaius laughed confidently. “I have a spell I can cast on you that I am ninety-eight percent sure none of the other people my age know. It will pretty much instantly win the duel for you.”

Salome danced with excitement. “So, what do you want to do? Shall I go do my stuff? I guarantee she will challenge you when I am through!”

Rachel glanced at Gaius. He grinned encouragingly.

“Okay,” she said, “Go do whatever it is you do, Salome. I am sure you are a natural.”

“Oh, I am!” Salome gave Rachel a thumbs-up. She giggled, “I love doing this sort of thing!” With a wink, she sauntered off towards Cydney.

Rachel turned to Gaius, who was watching her with amusement. “What else do I need to know?”

Gaius rocked backward on his heels, thinking. He tapped his fingers on the top of the dueling post. “Well, there are rules against any spell that could cause permanent damage. No exploding her or turning her permanently into a toaster.”

Rachel pressed her hand over her mouth, giggling.

“I’ve only seen two official duels,” he continued, “In both, relatively light spells were cast. Vlad beat Simon with the petrifying spell you used on me. Before that, Naomi Coils beat Samantha’s psycho brother with Glepnir bonds. You know, those bands of golden light that constrict people? If you can’t continue casting, you lose.”

“Samantha’s psycho brother…that would be Jonah Strega?”

Gaius nodded.

Huh
, Rachel thought,
him again
.

“So. Think you are ready?” Gaius had not tied back his hair. His silky chestnut locks fell around his face. Rachel longed to reach up and run her fingers through them.

This impulse took her by surprise. She had never experienced a desire like it before. She was not sure how she felt about it.

“I don’t know many spells.” Rachel forcibly drew her attention away from the boy, who was standing too close to her. “The only useful spell I know is the petrifying one we practiced.” Recalling what had followed, Rachel fought not to blush.

“As I said, I can place a reflection spell on you,” Gaius promised, his eyes dancing. “It will make it so, if you wish, you can just stand there and win. That would be slightly amusing.”

Rachel pictured this and giggled. “Standing and doing nothing and winning would be funny…but I don’t think that’s the right approach for me.”

Over by the long table, Salome sat down next to Cydney, who was scowling at her puke green hair. Rachel watched Cydney go from mistrustful, to curious, to serious, to furiously angry. This took Salome approximately thirty seconds.

It was almost as if Salome had a skill in annoying people.

Or a magic power.

Or both.

Cydney stomped over to another section of the table and sat down by herself. She glared at Rachel angrily, very angrily.

“Wow,” Rachel murmured, taken aback. “Salome is scary. Cool…but scary.”

Only, Rachel was not sure that what Salome had just done was cool. An uncomfortable tightness gripped her chest, as if she had just participated in something unsavory.

Cydney continued glowering at her. Her eyes grew red and shiny, as if she was holding back tears. She also glared down the table at her older brother Randall. As Rachel regarded the other girl’s hot anger, a strange thing happened inside her. As long as Cydney had been cold and disdainful, Rachel had despised her. But the moment she saw pain and uncertainty on the other girl’s face, her hatred evaporated.

Cydney no longer loomed in her mind like a despicable bugaboo. Instead, she seemed like an unhappy little girl—
a girl just like Rachel
.

“Um…” Rachel’s voice faltered. Her lips suddenly seemed uncomfortably dry. “I wonder if Salome went too far. It looks like Cydney’s feelings are hurt. That’s her brother, right? That boy at the end she’s glaring at. I wonder what Salome told her?”

“Uh, didn’t she assault and disfigure you?” Gaius murmured. “She did it, and then she bragged about it. I think it’s acceptable for her feelings to be hurt.”

“Maybe…” Rachel moistened her lips and then pressed them together, “but I wish I knew what Salome said to her. Shall we join the others and learn stuff? I love learning stuff!”

“Indeed, we should get back.” Gaius took her elbow again and escorted her to the table.

Cydney’s cheeks were now poinsettia red. Her eyes bulged. The more annoyed Cydney grew, the more amused Salome became. Cydney leaned over and whispered something in the ear of an older girl who had introduced herself as Eunice Chase. Rachel had heard the name before. Oh, of course! Eunice was the older sister of little Magdalene and possibly her abuser.

Rachel’s stomach clenched with anger and frustration. If only she could do something to help the tiny girl who had risked herself to rescue her! She thought of challenging Eunice to a duel but discarded the idea. Eunice was a junior, while Rachel had been at school for less than a full week. She had more chance of finding a spare aardvark under her bed than she did of winning that confrontation.

Eunice glanced Rachel’s direction. Rachel glared at her. Eunice turned back to Cydney and mouthed the word: “No.”

Vladimir Von Dread stepped up to the table. The other students fell silent. He opened his mouth to speak, but, before he could begin, Cydney stood up.

“That girl should not be here,” Cydney announced loudly, pointing at Rachel. “I’ll duel her for her right to membership!”

Eunice Chase whispered, “I said
NO
. You fool!”

Glancing around the table, Rachel gauged the reactions of the rest of the students. Most looked surprised. Cydney’s brother Randall gawked in confusion. Salome appeared in danger of bursting from sheer, unadulterated glee. Her brother Carl, however, had an expression of exasperation that only repeated irritation can create. It was directed at his sister. Apparently, he knew she was the mastermind here, and he had seen it before.

Vladimir Von Dread also looked annoyed.

Von Dread quickly hid his expression and nodded impassively. “Very well. Do you accept, Miss Griffin?”

Randall Graves started to stand up. “Wait, this isn’t…”

Von Dread glared at him. Randall stopped mid-sentence and sat back down.

Rachel faced Cydney. “I will duel you, if you like. But if I do, afterward, one of us will have to leave the club. If you win, that means that the Knights of Walpurgis will lose any information I might bring in—including its only contact in Dare Hall—the home of Sigfried the Dragonslayer and Princess Nastasia Romanov. They seem to be at the center of a number of the recent happenings.”

Cydney shouted back. “Your stupid, crazy friends can’t keep their dumb mouths shut! We don’t need an in with them!”

Cydney’s brother Randall covered his face with his hand, his cheeks bright red. Eunice leaned away from Cydney, as if she wished she was sitting elsewhere.

“And it’s not like I can’t ask-ouch!” Cydney turned on Eunice, who had apparently pinched her under the table, and shouted, “I wasn’t going to say who. And it doesn’t matter if she knows.”

Cydney whirled back toward Rachel. “One of your dear little friends is a snitch. Good luck figuring out who.” She looked smug. “So are you accepting my challenge or are you leaving?”