Mark of Four (24 page)

“What are you part of, Daymon? How about we start with that?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

Alayne wanted to scream with frustration. “Daymon—” She halted, searching for a way to break through his defenses. With an effort, she slowly reached out, one hand tentatively touching his arm. She felt the bunched, hardened muscles under his skin. “Daymon, please.” Her voice was softer this time, gentler, although a thread of desperation wove its way through her tone. “I need help. If you have any decency or shred of compassion, please help me.”

He stared in silence at her for an eternity of seconds. At last, he opened his mouth. “I can’t tell you, Alayne.” The words were deep and rough, as if dragged over gravel and shattered beneath a pestle. “I am under oath, and I cannot break that oath on pain of death. Not just my death, either.”

Alayne blinked in confusion at the raw pain that sliced through his sapphire gaze. “What do you mean?” she asked.

He was silent. At last, he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

The earth beneath them shook, just a slight rumble, and a small fissure opened up in the ground between their feet.
That would be Jordyn
, she thought numbly, still confused by Daymon’s confession.

“Isn’t there any way I could make you change your mind? For Marysa’s sake? Anyone I can talk to that would release you from your oath?”

He shook his head, and for the first time, Alayne could read the misery that had been veiled behind his shuttered face for as long as she’d known him.

“No. The oath runs in my family. Breaking it would mean denying history, denying my roots. And I would die, along with the rest of my family.” He slowly shook his head. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

His sincerity bled through the blue pools of his eyes. He’d actually apologized, twice, and strangely enough, Alayne believed him. Despair flooded her. He had been her nearest hope for finding the Vale, and now, she’d come up empty.

A breeze tickled her feet, threading around her calf and thigh, up past her stomach, around her arms to her head. It tickled the end of her braid, feathering the loose strands of her hair that had escaped, and tossed them in its playful gambol.

Daymon dropped his gaze. “Looks like Jayme’s done his thing now anyway, so we can go.” He turned and walked back across the field toward the fence.

Alayne watched him leave. He’d refused to help her find the key to the Vale, and she couldn’t get past him to figure out what it was.

A
layne tiptoed
out of the chute into Tarry’s dark office, glancing around, although she could see little in the pitch-blackness. Only faint starlight filtered through the windows to light the room. Alayne pulled out a tiny penlight. It hadn’t worked for years, but since she’d gotten better at bending the elements, she could get the small tube to shoot a decent beam of light. She wondered what the heat was doing to the inside of the plastic, though. So far, it hadn’t eaten through.

She lit the tube and shone it around the office. Tarry’s desk was empty, as expected. The entrance to Professor Sprynge’s office was closed. Alayne advanced stealthily, listening hard for any out-of-place sounds. The only sound was the distinct thudding of her own heart.

She hesitated as she neared Sprynge’s office door. A year ago, she would never have considered breaking into anyone’s office, much less the Chairman’s. And yet, here she was.
For Marysa. It’s all for Marysa. If I can find Daymon’s connection to the Vale, I’m sure I’ll be able to find Marysa.

She reached the door of Sprynge’s office, turned the knob carefully and eased it open. Darkness shrouded the room. She shone her penlight inside. Nothing had changed much in the months since she’d spoken with Dorner here. The soft gurgle of the massive fish tank’s water filter bubbled in the silence.

She crept over to the filing cabinet and tugged on the drawer labeled H-N. It was locked. Alayne set her jaw and pulled the elements, blasting the lock with the full force of all the heat she could muster. The lock began to glow a fiery red. She kept going, grunting with the exertion. After a minute, she stopped. She didn’t want to set anything on fire.

The smell of hot metal tickled her senses. She grasped the handle once again and pulled. The drawer came open. Alayne eyed the melted lock with satisfaction. It hadn’t even leaked melted metal onto any of the files.

She quickly searched the folders: Hoskyns, Hound, Houser. She yanked Daymon’s file from the drawer and opened it carefully on Sprynge’s desk, scanning her penlight over it.

Daymon Houser, from a City Centre north of Clayborne by about two hundred miles named Havendale. Relocated to Skyden when he was twelve. The note stamped on the bottom in red letters said, “See Confidential files.”

Alayne narrowed her eyes. She slammed the folder shut and stuffed it back into the file drawer. Rifling quickly through the other files, she realized the confidential file, wherever it was, wouldn’t be in with the normal files. She glanced around the office, finding nothing.

She left the filing cabinet, running her hand over the desk and along the sides, searching for a crevice, a hidden drawer, anything. When she hit the far side of the desk next to the fish tank, she paused.

The water element in the tank felt a little off.

Slowly, she straightened and watched the fish as they swam through the dim backlights of the tank. She reached out, brushing her hand over the water element, and hit an air pocket.

Ingenious. Awe flooded her as she pulled the element apart, and in the middle of the tank, the water cracked and then parted to reveal a secret compartment. Three sets of small, flat file drawers stood in the compartment, alphabetized like the other files.

“Wow,” she breathed. Reaching up, she flipped the tank’s lid open, plunging her free hand into the water toward the files. Her fingertips entered the secret compartment, barely reaching the files. She carefully held the water element away as she fingered the folders, searching for Daymon’s name.

Some of the names she didn’t recognize. She flipped quickly through them and found Daymon’s file halfway through the H’s. She pulled it out and laid it aside for the moment, moving to the W’s. She wanted to see if Dorner had kept any information on her Quadriweave status.

She found two files under the W’s. Alayne’s finger parted the tabs, pulling both up for a closer look. Her mouth opened in disbelief. Her own name stared back at her from the first folder, and on the folder directly behind hers, the name Wynn Prynce had been carefully printed.
Worth
had been added later in parentheses.

A
layne felt sick
. She thought back to the times where she’d remembered, clearly, asking her mother if she was an Elemental.

No, Alayne, I’m not.

Liar. Liar, Liar, Liar!

Alayne wanted to throw something, to rage and scream, to destroy her mother’s file, to shred it to a phantom of a memory. Her jaw ached from holding in her emotions.
Why, Mom? Why did you lie to me?
She took a deep breath and pulled her mother’s file out through the tank, careful to hold the water element free of the folder.

Flipping the cover open, she held the file closer to the light that filtered from the fish tank and glanced over the pages inside. The normal information filled the first page: name, date of birth, place of origin. Nothing new there.

Alayne turned the top page over, glancing at the next paper in the stack. Her mother was a Water-Wielder. A lump formed in Alayne’s throat.
Like mother, like daughter.
A hand-drawn circle caught her eye on a clipping from a memorandum that had been highlighted near the bottom. It read:

Be advised that we are placing Wynn Prynce Worth, her husband, Bryan Parker Worth, and their baby daughter, Alayne Catherine Worth, under protective custody. Case files will now be classified. Any related information is to go directly to Manderly Manders, who continues as Professor of History at Clayborne Training Facility.

Alayne narrowed her eyes. She wondered to whom the memo had been addressed. Dorner? Who had written it? She flipped to the next page. School records and work history. Her mother had been a straight-A student. She had worked at Clayborne as a groundskeeper from her graduation until her abrupt departure almost a year after Alayne had been born.

The next page was a court-ordered referral of property rights from Clayborne to Skyden, the City Centre where Alayne grew up. Alayne leaned closer over the file. Clayborne had bought property and
given
it to her parents in a deed of gift when Alayne had turned one.

Alayne played with the end of her braid as she stared at the page. She would talk to her mother, and soon. She’d demand answers, and no amount of Wynn’s evasion would work.

Seventeen years, and Alayne didn’t know her mother at all. And what was Bryan’s role in all this? He should have told her if Wynn hadn’t.
Someone
should have mentioned something. The foundation of her family had stewed in a heap of lies for seventeen years.

Alayne snapped the folder shut, intending to return it to the compartment, when a palm-sized jagged triangle of glass fell out and bounced off the back of one of Sprynge’s chairs and onto the carpet. Alayne snatched it up, preparing to shove it back in the folder, when her hand movements slowed. She stared at the glass. No, it couldn’t be. But—why? Why would it be in her folder?

“Let me see my mother.”

The mirror darkened into a swirling mist, clearing almost immediately to show her mother, in the familiar bedroom at home. She lay in peaceful repose, one arm slung over her forehead, the other across her stomach. Bryan dozed beside her, one knee resting on one of Wynn’s legs. The early light of dawn crept in the window there.

“It’s the missing piece of my mirror.” Alayne slid the piece into her pocket, glancing at the clock by the wall as she did so. Too much time had passed. It was almost six o’clock in the morning, and Tarry would be coming soon.

Alayne slid her mother’s folder back into the drawer and turned to gather the rest. Her fingers tingled with anticipation as she picked up her own folder, but she was out of time. She had to look at Daymon’s.

Stuffing the rest of the folders back into the file drawer, she reached for Daymon’s and flipped the cover open.

Something fell in the outer office.

Alayne froze, immediately releasing the water element she’d held in the fish tank. The secret compartments swished closed, mildly jostling the fish. The footsteps paused in Tarry’s office. Whoever it was would have felt the element bend for sure. With any luck, they’d write it off as a student practicing before classes started for the day.

The footsteps came nearer. Alayne looked frantically around the office. The only place that offered any protection was under Dorner’s desk. She wedged herself in as best she could, hugging Daymon’s file to her chest and listening to the thudding of her own heart.

The doorknob turned and the door brushed the carpet. The overhead light flicked on. Alayne tried to make herself smaller.

“Tarry?” Sprynge’s voice asked. “Are you here?”

Alayne bit her lip. If Sprynge came any farther into the room, he would be able to see her. The angle of the desk didn’t offer much protection.

After a moment of silence, Sprynge’s footsteps retreated, though he left the door open and the light on. She heard him rustling around in Tarry’s office.

Great. Now how am I going to get out of here without getting caught?
She racked her brain for a way that she could use the elements to her advantage, but other than giving Sprynge a ride on a tidal wave or blowing a hole in the wall or burning down the spire, she couldn’t think of much.

Distraction. Something to distract. She closed her eyes and reached far up the spire, close to the classrooms. She looked for the bathroom closest to Sprynge’s classroom and set all the faucets running. She iced over the drains and notched the bends. Whatever Sprynge was doing in Tarry’s office was distracting enough that he didn’t notice the bends this time. She heard him shut a drawer and open another. The small whir that accompanied the secretary’s MIU had been running since Sprynge had entered Tarry’s office.

The minutes ticked by. Alayne had just about decided to do something more drastic when the intercom on the phone above her buzzed. Alayne jumped.

Manders’s voice cut across the quiet ticking. “Professor Sprynge, you’d better get upstairs. Your classroom is flooding.”

Tarry’s chair squeaked, and Sprynge’s footsteps hurried toward the office. “I’ll be right there,” his voice called. The phone connection went dead. Sprynge ran toward the chute. Alayne heard the doors open and close and the car fly upward.

Alayne quickly unnotched the bends in the upper floors of the spire, and she crawled out from under the desk. She yanked the water element in the fish tank apart and flipped the cover open, sliding Daymon’s file back in its slot. Closing the flap, she looked around to make sure she’d left everything just as it was, and then she hurried out through Tarry’s office to the chute. The car flew back down to claim her, and she hit the button for the common room, shivering as the adrenaline finally sunk in. How close had she come to getting caught? She would have to find another time to sneak in and read Daymon’s file. She’d been tempted to bring it with her, but if someone knew about that secret compartment and opened it to find it gone, she could have been in serious trouble. Probably expelled.

Not while Shadow-Casters held Marysa and it was up to Alayne to find the Vale on Clayborne’s campus. She couldn’t afford to go home.

Rather than climbing the eighteen floors to her room, Alayne lay on a couch at the back of the empty common room and closed her eyes. She’d been awake most of the night, first planning her foray into Dorner’s old office and then carrying it out. Her mind was sleep-fogged; she wasn’t sure she would make it through classes today.

The silence of the huge hall had a cloying effect; almost immediately, she slipped into sleep.

A warm hand gently shook her shoulder. Jayme leaned over. “Mornin’, sleepyhead.”

Alayne jerked upright. “How long have I been here?”

“You’re all right. You still have an hour before classes.”

Alayne groaned. “That means I only got forty-five minutes of sleep.”

Jayme slid smoothly onto the end of the couch. He reached over and stroked loose strands of hair away from her face. “May one ask why?”

Alayne rubbed sleep from her eyes. “Why what?”

“Why you only got forty-five minutes of sleep? And why you’re not in the comfort of your own bed?”

Alayne glanced over her shoulder, checking to be sure no one else was nearby. She lowered her voice. “I broke into Dorner’s office. Sprynge’s office now.” She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the moving strands of hair as his fingers played with them.

His hands paused. “You what?”

Her eyelids snapped open at the tone in his voice. His brown eyes were wide with questions.

Alayne checked the common room again. It was fairly empty, although some of the students had started to group together near the chute. “I went to look at ... for … the secret files.”

His fingers started moving across her bangs again. “Why were you looking for secret files?”

Alayne opened her mouth in a jaw-cracking yawn. Then she described everything that had happened in the office, including her close call. She skipped mention of Daymon’s file, concentrating only on finding her mother’s.

“Al,” Jayme breathed when she’d finished. “You were really lucky.” He paused. “So your mom
did
go here. That’s interesting.”

“Yeah.”

At Alayne’s bitter tone, Jayme shot her a sharp glance, but she ignored it. She didn’t want to talk about another break-in, although of course, she intended to go back a different night. She knew Jayme would be against it. Her mind had already started to set up detailed protests for any objections he had when he surprised her with his abrupt change of subject.

“Time to go tackle Elementary Elementals. Exams are coming quicker than we think, and we need to make sure we’re ready.” He sat her up, and stood. Curling his fingers through hers, they walked toward the front of the common room.

In the meantime,
thought
Alayne, her spirits sinking once again,
I have yet to figure out where the Vale is. Marysa’s still out there, and I’m not any closer to finding it than I was at Cliffsides.
The steady tempo of time took its toll on Alayne, and desperation clung to her thoughts.

A
layne approached
the Chairman’s door, glancing sideways at Tarry. The secretary smiled at her and whispered, “Just knock. He’s inside.” She continued working on a spreadsheet posted in the air in front of her. Alayne nodded and rapped on the door.

“Come in.” Sprynge’s voice sounded muffled across the thick carpet.

Alayne entered the large room. She still couldn’t think of it as Sprynge’s office. It was Dorner’s office, though he wouldn’t be returning ... ever. She shuddered again at the memory of what she and Kyle had found in the post office back in January.

Sprynge looked up from a textbook he had spread in front of him. “Alayne.” He smiled. “Come in, come in. Have a seat.”

Alayne automatically glanced toward the fish tank as she sank into one of the chairs in front of the desk. She hadn’t had another opportunity to sneak in yet, but soon. She waited for Sprynge to break the silence.

Sprynge tapped his MIU, bringing a spreadsheet of Alayne’s grades into the air. He pointed to a number at the bottom that he’d circled in red. “Miss Worth, I’ve been watching your grades, and I’m afraid I don’t like what I’m seeing.”

Confusion traced through Alayne as she looked at the number. “I know, sir, but—”

Marysa.
Her friend was always present, even when she wasn’t.

“But you’ve been worried,” Sprynge eyed her speculatively. “I understand, Alayne, I do. You’re not getting your rest. You’ve got some deep shadows under your eyes.”

Wow, thanks.
“Yes, sir.” She looked down at her hands and tried to speak. Her voice failed her, and she cleared her throat. “I’m terrified for Marysa. What if she’s suffering? I know she
is
suffering. The Casters’ demands are too high.” Her hands blurred as tears shimmered in her vision.
She needs more help from you!

Sprynge slid her grade spreadsheet back down into the MIU and switched it off. He rose and came around the desk, sitting in the chair next to Alayne. He reached over and patted her hand. “Alayne, we’re still doing everything in our power to find her. The entire Continent knows her picture now. They can’t possibly hide her much longer, and I’ve got Elementals who are searching for her around the clock. We’ll find her, Alayne. We
will
.” He leaned back in the chair. “But you flunking out of your classes here at Clayborne is not going to help Marysa.”

Alayne nodded. She read her sentence in the spreadsheet. If she flunked out, she’d go home. If she went home, she wouldn’t be able to look for the Vale, and if she couldn’t find the Vale...

She couldn’t finish the thought. It was too painful.

Sprynge meticulously cleaned his glasses. “Meanwhile, keep your chin up, Alayne. Something’s bound to break soon. She can’t remain hidden forever.”

Anger ruptured through Alayne’s careful boundaries. “You’re the one with connections, Professor! You have a million people out there you could call! Why under the blue skies aren’t they doing something?”

Sprynge’s lines around his mouth deepened as she finished her rant. He waited in silence, his steel gaze fixed on hers. “Are you finished, Miss Worth?” Ice coated his tone.

Alayne managed a jerky nod.

“I’ve just finished explaining that I am doing everything in my power—”

“But it’s not enough!”

“Alayne! Please let me finish.”

Alayne swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

Sprynge straightened his glasses. “We’ve continued our searches at Cliffsides and have now expanded outward. The High Court has set aside a contingent of their spies to assist. The spies have brought in several leads, and we’re still following up on those. Thus far, no new leads have turned up, but there’s still hope. We’re not giving up, Alayne.”

“The High Court is really helping?” Alayne was awed. She knew Sprynge had some connections, but she didn’t realize just how high those connections went.

“Certainly.” Sprynge tapped his fingertips together. “I don’t know if you’re aware, Alayne, just how important Clayborne Training Facility is to the High Court. Andova and Clayborne are the
only
training facilities on the Continent, and certainly the best ones in CommonEarth. The students we graduate from both of these facilities are highly accomplished and knowledgeable,
and
the High Court relies heavily on the graduates to help maintain the functionality of our civilization. The fact that Clayborne is missing a student is extremely disturbing to them, and they’re using all their resources to help find her.” He stood, returning to his side of the desk. “It probably also helps that I have some very close friends who sit as Justices on the bench.”