Gloria Oliver (26 page)

The regular uproar in the kitchen had died down by the time she made it back, the staff shutting things down for the night. Weighed down by her troubled thoughts, she put the empty tray in its regular slot and then left without looking at or speaking to anyone.

She just couldn’t believe it. She’d honestly thought Lareen’s words were about Talia herself taking revenge on Kel if she wanted it. But maybe she heard it wrong—maybe Lareen really was talking about someone else wanting to do them harm. Or could she have meant both at once? With a heavy heart, she rose up the stairs toward her room.

To her chagrin and dismay, she found several of her classmates and a few others she didn’t know milling about her doorway. Sonsan spotted her first. “There she is!”

Daltan was there, hanging in the back as usual, and so were Yllin and Mandee. Why were they here?

“So, what happened?” Sonsan asked eagerly. “Surely something did this time.” She was almost jumping with her excitement.

The eagerness she saw in most of their faces and the fact something did happen combined to make Talia feel ill. “Nothing. Nothing happened. Nothing is going to happen. Now leave me alone!” Roughly, she cut past them, ignoring their shocked expressions, and opened the door to her room. She slammed the door behind her, and slipped the bar across it so they couldn’t get inside. “Good night.”

Tears rose in her eyes as she flung herself on her bed but she roughly wiped them away. Things were supposed to be getting better, not worse. What was she going to do?

No answers presented themselves to her. When the tears came again, she let them fall. After a while, she got up, cleaned her face and rubbed ointment on her aching arms. She opened the balcony doors to let in some air and then tried to write another letter to her parents. The words became jumbled in her mind and she didn’t know how to fix them. It wasn’t long before she gave up and did nothing at all.

She was seriously thinking of just taking a bath and going to bed, when a soft knock at her door bid for her attention. With dread coursing through her, she walked over to answer it. Removing the bar, she opened the door just a crack only to find a solemn-faced Mandee and Yllin standing there.

“Hi.” She didn’t look at them directly, recalling her earlier behavior toward them.

“Hi, Talia,” Mandee said quietly. “May we come in?”

She opened the door further. “Sure.” She stepped out of the way so they could do so, keeping her eyes on the floor.

“Talia, are you all right? We were sort of worried about you.” Mandee sounded unnaturally subdued.

“You haven’t been acting like yourself.” This came from Yllin. The concern on her face actually softened her normally severe features.

“I’m okay,” she said quickly. “I really didn’t mean to be so rude to everyone. I’ve no excuse.” She looked up at them and saw them trading glances.

“You know you can confide in us if something’s wrong, don’t you?” Mandee came up close. “Unlike some of the others, we don’t think everything is everybody’s business.”

Talia saw the sincerity in Mandee’s face and it made her want to cry. “I-I know that. And I appreciate it, I really do.” She looked down at the floor again. Should she tell them? Maybe they could help her figure out what to do. But if she did confide in them, how much should she tell them? How much was she willing to let anyone know? “I’m just not used to people wanting things from me this way. I don’t understand why everyone is so obsessed with Kel. Can’t they just leave him alone?”

“Sonsan and some of the others, they come from big cities,” Yllin said. “Things are happening there all the time. Spectacles are a way of life,” she added with a touch of disgust. “And at the moment, the squire is the biggest spectacle around.”

“I guess we’re all just looking for some excitement,” Mandee admitted. “Studying all the time does get somewhat boring. And none of us was really thinking about what others felt.”

Looking at it that way, she figured they were both right. Anything or anyone new back home was big news. The village would soak up anything the strangers said the same as a dry cloth on water, and at times it was as if they could never get enough. Though she didn’t like it, this was the same. Except this time, she was in the thick of it. “But it still wouldn’t explain why someone would want to starve him.”

”
What
?”

Startled by the double exclamation, her head snapped up as she realized she inadvertently spoke her thoughts aloud.

“Talia, what aren’t you telling us?” Mandee sat on the edge of the bed, looking grave.

She turned away, not sure how she would get out of this. A part of her insisted it’d be best if she at least told them some of what was going on. “The Administrator joked with me the job was important, because the wrong person might decide not to feed Kel for a few days—it didn’t occur to me someone would actually want to.”

“Are you saying somebody asked you to do this?” Mandee actually appeared horrified.

Strangely, it made Talia feel a little better to see it. “Yes.”

“Who?” Yllin sounded angry, but kept her voice low.

“I don’t know. I’ve not seen this student before.” And she hoped she never would again, but she knew better.

“Maybe the old fart put him up to it.” Yllin’s eyes closed to narrow slits.

Talia shook her head. “I don’t think so. He just didn’t…” Nertak just didn’t look upset during Kel’s trial.

He didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed at what he’d done, let alone look as someone who wanted revenge. If he’d pushed the point, she was sure he could have easily made Kel’s punishment more severe than it ended up being.

“Maybe you should tell someone in authority about this,” Mandee suggested.

Talia tried hard to smile. “I’m sure I’m worrying over nothing. It was just strange, that’s all.” She had no proof. It would be her word against the student’s. And if the news of this got out, how much worse would things become?

“Well, if it happens again, you should go find a watcher immediately. I’m sure the Administrator wouldn’t be happy about this at all.” Yllin’s expression showed it didn’t sit well with her, either.

“I’m really sorry about before,” Talia told them.

Mandee smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’d been way crankier myself. But do let us know if you need any help.”

“Thanks. I will. But nothing will happen.” She smiled back realizing for the first time how much these two very different girls were coming to mean to her. “You two are great.”

“Yeah, and don’t you forget it, either.” Mandee stood up.

“Not that we’d ever let you,” Yllin added as she headed toward the door.

Talia returned their smiles, more at ease than before. She thanked them for coming and then bid them goodnight. With a lighter heart, she bathed and then went to bed for the night.

[Back to Table of Contents]

TRYING TO GET a jump on things, Talia rushed to get downstairs to do her morning errands. She entered the empty dining hall, then headed straight for the kitchen. The heavy scent of fresh muffins coiled about her as she opened the door and entered the stifling heat. Some of the kitchen staff acknowledged her presence as she went by and she even traded a few good mornings.

She reached the back door and gratefully stepped outside, sweat already gathering at her armpits.

Shivering at the sudden change in temperature, she found the barrels were already filled as she’d hoped they would be.

“All right, let’s do this.” She stepped forward and reached for the dolly to get started. The sun was just peeking up over the horizon as she struggled to get the dolly over the dew-covered grass and make her way to the dragons’ dormitory.

Unlike before, the large doors to the habitat were closed. Not sure she was strong enough to open them, she pulled on the closest one and to her amazement it opened easily. More magic, she was sure. With that done, she took command of the dolly again and dragged it and its cargo inside.

A lone globe shone close to the ceiling of the dormitory, lighting the inside just enough to let her see by.

Walking quietly down the center of the wide aisle, she made her way to Clarence’s stall. She peeked through the slats of his door and saw he was curled in upon himself, his eyes closed. She set down the barrel with care, trying not to wake him.

Good morning
.

“Oh!” Talia glanced up but Clarence’s eyes were still closed. “Good morning.” Clarence said nothing else. Quickly, she removed the dolly from beneath the barrel and left to get the rest of his breakfast.

When she returned, she found him exactly as she’d left him, but the first barrel was empty. She saw him open one crooked eye as she set the second barrel down. As she switched the dolly to the first one, he stood up and stretched, making the walls of his stall creak with strain. By the time she took the first empty barrel back and came for the second, the dragon was up and looking alert. As she set up the second barrel on the dolly, Clarence swung open his stall gate.

I must go make fertilizer now
, he said.
I’ll see you at lunchtime. Thank you for your efforts. I do
appreciate them
.

Talia nodded, plastering herself and the dolly against the opposite stall’s door as Clarence lumbered past. She watched him go, still surprised by the fact she’d held a conversation with a dragon. His immense size was a marvel enough, but he was also intelligent…

Pulling the dolly behind her once Clarence went out of sight, she passed a sleepy looking older man wearing a leather apron as he shuffled on in. The man returned her softly voiced greeting with a yawn.

She assumed he must be the dormitory’s keeper.

She ditched the dolly and the barrel in their niche by the kitchen door, then braved the heat and made her way out into the dining hall. She searched over the crowded room for her friends, hoping to catch sight of them before one of the watchers made her sit down. Yllin spotted her and waved her over.

Talia happily sat down. “Morning!”

Yllin and Mandee eagerly returned her greeting as did Daltan and a few of the others, though Sonsan seemed somewhat more subdued than normal. Talia also noticed she wasn’t bombarded by questions, either, for which she was very grateful. She smiled, glancing at Yllin and Mandee, knowing they were likely responsible for the reprieve.

She rushed through her breakfast, listening to the conversations around her but not adding much herself.

When she finished, she excused herself and headed for the kitchen to pick up Kel’s tray. She figured she might just be able to get it delivered and make it back before everyone else was dismissed to go to class.

Leaving the drone of voices behind her, she headed for the stairs with the tray and followed the way to the roof. Once she reached Kel’s door, she used her foot to knock as she’d done before. She was startled again when Kel opened the door almost immediately, as if he’d been waiting for her arrival just like the night before.

“Good morning.” Kel gave her a bright smile and stepped aside so she could come in.

“Morning.” She walked inside, questioning again why anyone would want him to go hungry. The rattle of Kel’s chains echoed in the room as he followed behind her. She set his food on the table and then took up the tray from the night before.

Talia hesitated as she turned to go, glancing at him from the corner of her eye, wondering what he’d say if she told him about what happened yesterday.

“Is something wrong?” Kel frowned lightly, studying her, a touch of worry in his voice.

She realized he’d caught her staring. “Ah, no. Sorry, just thinking about some lessons we’re going to cover this morning. Nothing much.”

His face cleared. “I’d be happy to help you with any you might find difficult, if you want. It’s the least I could do.”

She looked away, suddenly feeling guilty about having lied to him. “Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.” She started toward the door. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

Kel followed her to the door and opened it for her. “I’ll be here.”

She felt his eyes on her as she headed for the stairs. She wasn’t sure whether she should be flattered by the attention or worried. It could just be Kel was feeling lonely, though; it might have nothing to do with her, really. He was probably just grateful to see a friendly face.

As she reached the stairs, however, all her previous thoughts totally evaporated. Dread filled her as she looked down, trying to see if anyone was waiting for her. She chided herself as she found the stairwell empty. She hoped it would remain that way.

Hurrying back, she actually made it to the dining hall before everyone was released for their walk through the garden. Happy she’d timed this well, she was even more so when she was able to find Mandee and Yllin and took the walk around with them.

But though she was on time to class, their teacher wasn’t. After several minutes, a low buzz of conversation filled the room as everyone wondered where she was. Luckily, they didn’t have to wait too long to find out.

“Sorry, class.” Helyn rushed in, apologizing to them. “We had an impromptu meeting just after breakfast.” She glanced over at them. “Most of the classes have been drafted into a project, ours included. Luckily, the first shift is going to be handled by one of the more advanced classes.

Unfortunately, all the first year students get to take the second. It will be at ten.”

Mar raised his hand. “What are we going to be doing?” A number of the other students held unhappy expressions on their faces, the last project they’d been assigned to sitting heavily on their minds. They all hoped this new project wouldn’t involve worms.

“Well,” Helyn replied, “for the next week or so, we’ll be helping to clean out the burned store.”

The cave! Talia had forgotten all about it. Clarence had breathed the strange liquid fire into it and caught everything inside ablaze. She remembered the large amount of goods she’d seen in there before and felt a pang of guilt at the fact all of it was destroyed.

“Everyone will be doing their part, so this shouldn’t be too hard on anyone.” Helyn smiled at them. “Now are there any questions on yesterday’s reading assignment?”