Original Souls (A World Apart #1) (73 page)

"Llave!" Corinth shouted out loudly, he hadn't even noticed it before the tiny guy pulled it from behind himself.

"This is for you, young one," the withered face pixie with a scratchy voice said to the stunned silly boy. Cory felt a new wave of shock come over him. He had no idea it could speak in addition to walking. "We silver pixie know that most use the gold pixie dust for their pretty llaves
,
” his begrudging tone expressed loud and clear his sentiment
.“
Yes, the gold is plentiful and beautiful, but it's not so sturdy. As you may know, young one." The pixie nodded like he had some certain insider information. Corinth frowned slightly, but the shine of the llave caught his eye again, and the discomfort melted away. "But we silver pixies are very proud of our, unfortunately waning product, just as well as the gold tribe is of theirs. We haven't grown as much as the bronze and gold pixies in the last decades, but we commissioned this, special for you ...
anyhow
. Though we're low in supplies of our dust, we want you to have it." He handed Corinth a shining beacon of a llave. "It's crafted completely from silver dust. No mixed metals
,
” he insisted
.“
It will not break, I can assure you of that," he informed the wide-eyed child, but more importantly, he was informing The Well Read Walker.

"Thank you!" Corinth knelt on his bed, holding the intricate key close to his chest. "Thank you so much!" he shouted again with joy.

Walker looked on, very pleased with the outcome of events.

"May
I—
"

"Here!" Walker abruptly snapped to the impatient pixie.

Older silver pixies were not the kindest. Or most gracious. But this one played his role well, so Walker tossed him the price that they bartered to get Corinth this prized possession. Silver pixies had used so much of their dust over the years that they exhausted themselves. They didn't create as much as they sold. Eventually, they were left with very little of their only sustenance to sustain life outside the Fairy-Lars. This made it more than expensive to everyone. Even when the silver pixies themselves, tried to buy back the dust from people they'd already sold it to. Walker gave up a precious amulet to the tiny, troll-like man. Walker did this in order to feed his greedy nature. With that, the elder pixie turned and walked clear through Corinth's dorm door, back into his own land of fairies.

Walker turned to a beaming Corinth, with a sobered expression. His brow tightened immensely. He didn't know how Corinth would respond to his next few statements. "I know that Sena. Hendrix insisted that you get rid of this, but I insist that you keep it close at all times." He tried to hand Corinth the green whistle that he first passed off as a simple dog caller for Oliveto. "I understand how misleading my words may have seemed when I told you of this trinket's attributes, but I only wanted your safety to be secured with me, and me only. If others knew of your whereabouts the wa
y—
" his speech was cut off by a simple gesture from the reluctant youth.

Corinth rolled his eyes. Walker closed his own, taking a deep breath. He feared that Corinth would attempt to go through this process alone ... again.

"Please . . . please take it."

"My dad and my mom can protect me," Corinth said while staring down at his new llave. "I appreciate your help back at the temple, but you have too many
secrets
, Walker."

"Take it anyway." His brown eyes seemed so kind and warm as Corinth looked, from the edge of his bed, up at him. He melted in their presence.

He reached out and retrieved yet another gift from the well read fellow. "I'm only doing it because I want to, not because you say so," Corinth stated defiantly.

"Of course," Walker smirked and held his hands up, like a captured thief. "And it shouldn't be any other way."

<*>

The hard heels of Sena. Hendri
x’
s shoes clanked down on the stone floors of South hall. She quickly passed the torches mounted to the walls in a fierce, felicitous romp. "Just this way, dear!" she cheerfully beckoned the woman following close behind her. "He'll be so elated to see you." She entered the Main hall that curved around the entire twelfth floor, and struck the door marked #23 with a rhythm that expressed in full effect her glee. Walker answered the door, much to her disgust. "Why are you here, yet again?" her vile tone didn't set well with him.

"I could ask you the same question," he shot a steely glare at her, "but I won't out of respect for Corinth."

"Well, it's good to know that many ministrants have my son's best interest at heart."

Walke
r’
s mouth hung open wide. He couldn't believe the sight. So much so, that he slid from between the door, out into the halls, and gently closed it behind him without alerting Corinth. "What is this I see with my very own eyes!" he exclaimed. "Julia, how! By what magik?" he could barely speak. Out of breath from the shock of seeing his old friend and old flame.

Julia extended her hand, now standing next to an unusually bright-hearted Sena. Hendrix. She was wrapped in a scarf that hid most of her appearance, but Walker knew who she was even through the garbs. Even if she hadn't spoken, her appearance would have been obvious to him. "I
t’
s so nice to meet you," she said in earnest.

Walker's expression collapsed. He was horrified that she didn't remember him. How could she not? They went to school together. She chose Criston over him. Several times, in fact. She told him, at the tender age of sixteen, that the athletic boys were more her style. Though she'd love to continue being his friend. She actually followed through, and he thought they were truly friends. Sadly, he understood that it apparently was never the case. He took her hand into his, and shook. Staring bewilderedly into her green eyes.

Walker always wanted to get to know Criston, so that he could make sure that Julia was in good hands. He did get that chance, when he met their son, but he and Criston did
n’
t start off on the best of terms. True, but Walker trusted Corint
h’
s judgment still. Corinth obviously believed in his paren
t’
s relationship. Walker figured there was no reason to interfere with something so pure. Though he wanted to, very much so, now that Julia was standing right in front of him. "It's wonderful seeing you too, dear," he sullenly moved away from the door, traveling down the Main hall toward Oeste Walk. He had nothing more to say to Corinth Gambit or his mother, Julia. He needed time to process the hurtful throwing away of his longstanding affections for Julia.

Sena. Hendrix bid Julia to go in alone and reunite with her boy. She did it predominantly because she needed a word with the school's head librarian. She walked briskly up behind him, though he heard her heels, he didn't bother to stop.

Both of them stood stiffly, now hovering over the Diamond Atrium, as the skywalk slid across on its track. They swiftly glided from one building to another. As the coils of the machine rotated, pulling them along, neither needed to move their own legs any longer. Still, she stepped out in front of the bibliophile, and used her striking blue eyes to peer into his muddy brown gaze.

She then turned her stare from him, looking down at the students and staff moving about the atrium below. "A beautiful sight, isn't it?" He didn't respond, nor did he look down. "I helped build this, for future generations. For today's generation even more so. I won't let you destroy it with your ill-advised bouts on school grounds, Walker!" She quickly turned up to look at him again. He wasn't the least bit fazed by her opinion of his decision making process.

"I don't destroy, I endure. Something a woman like you will never know anything of. You have a lot of self-examination to do, don't you, Silvia?" His smooth tight skin and deft perceiving eyes spoke volumes for the secret knowledge he possessed about everyone around him.

"I entrusted to you to perform a simple task, and yet you poisoned my grandson, and nearly got him killed." Her eyes were lit with a dark rage. Walker knew this rage was misplaced.

"
Wait!" he was perplexed by her statement. "I did no such thing. I figured you knew that by now."

"Knew what?" she shouted to high heaven. "You won't let anyone in on your little schemes. How am I to trust any of your actions as genuine?"

"The fruits I feed him, yes, they were of the tree of deceit." Her expression stiffened, but his softened. "But they were to guide Corinth away from the temple. I tried with all my knowledge to keep him from overindulging those thoughts planted in his mind by Sebastian's thugs. I failed, but I stalled as long as I could
.
” His pained expression revealed to her the inter-workings of his mind. She very well knew he wasn't a good liar. "You're the one who attempted to confiscate the tracker I gave the boy. Had you done that, Sebastian would have ended his life for sure!" Walker was hurt. He tried to lift the guilt from his mind, and toss it into hers.

"Why?" she said intently while grabbing his shoulders. "Why couldn't you have told me any of this? If I had known, Walker, just imagine the difference in the outcome."

He straightened up, pulling away from her grasp. "Well, I'm quite satisfied with the outcome, despite your attempts to ruin it all."

She was well aware of his spiteful side too. She took it on the chin as the skywalk deposited them on the twelfth floor of Concordia Nova dorm building. "Whatever helps cancel out those ever haunting dreams you must still have every night, dear boy
.
” Hum, her chin mustn't have been sturdy enough to handle it after all.

The gloves were off. They could have been great allies to one another, but with one subtle gesture, she wiped that possibility clear off his radar, for now at least. He virtually sprinted over to her, viciously hopping the four or five feet she was from him. Frightening her enough that she put her hands up in defense of herself. Walker chuckled at this.

"Do you really think I'd strike you?" He knew she responded on reflex alone. She didn't think he would do something so disgusting anyhow. Still, he pushed his face so close to hers that she felt the warmth of his breath on her nose. "I just need you to know that my childhood is not something you'll ever use against me again. I'm no longer a student of yours, Silvia. I'm as much a part of this institution as you, my dear!" He looked her up and down. "As the naive little person you are, you've underestimated my well versed knowledge of all things." His eyes widened as he boasted of himself. "But as the days lengthen, you won't make that mistake again. They don't call me -
The Well Read Walker
for nothing. So please, don't soon forget who you're truly dealing with." He raised an eyebrow, and looked her up and down before disappearing down the fire torch lit halls.

She watched as he walked with a not so cool demeanor that befits him for the geek that he is. She smiled gently, as she knew that he was firmly in the game. That's all she wanted to know in the first place, considering his allegiance issues. He knew so many people, and what they were up to, that it was hard to place where he fell in the grand scheme of things. But now, Walker had her trust, what little of it she had to give.

<*>

After Julia opened the door into Corinth's room, readily removing her scarf, Oliveto started to growl. Corinth's deafening screams drowned out the sounds of the agitated pup, but Julia took note.

"That's a strange animal you've got there," she scoffed at the continual growler. Corinth's eyes lit up as she pulled him away from their embrace. "It's been much, much too lon
g
… honey!" She squeezed him again in another hug. His eyes welled up with tears. He stood there in the middle of his little dorm clinging tight to his mother. Never wanting to let go ever again.

They talked at the edge of his bed for only a short while. During that time, Corinth showed her his new llave and scolded the continuously growling Oliveto. He told his mother that the pup would warm up to her eventually. She looked down to Oliveto disparagingly, as if that warming process wouldn't be necessary.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that animal can come with us, honey."

"Huh?" was all Corinth could manage to get out. "Where are we going?" he asked quizzically.