Though I didn’t much like having to put my schoolwork and other urgent errands on hold, I had to admit that peppermint tea with a splash of milk and a generous helping of sugar was quickly becoming one of my favorite things. It definitely helped ease the awkward discomfort that came from having to chat with a strange man like Headmaster Bohin–a man who really liked to talk… a lot.
I let the comforting warmth of the peppermint beverage slide down my throat and caress my insides as Jaeke settled into his chair behind his cluttered desk, stirring his own fresh cup of tea with a slim silver spoon. And the way he settled himself didn’t bode well for how quickly I’d get out of there. He wiggled deep into the red cushions of his chair and sighed contentedly, tucking his double chin atop his chest with closed eyes and a happy smile.
The headmaster took a loud slurp of his drink and released a deep sigh that rumbled all the way to my ears.
“Ah, that is the most refreshing sip.”
“I’m sorry, sir. What was that?”
Headmaster Bohin’s eyelids snapped open, and he glared at me. “If you call me sir one more time, I’ll knock you over your ears.”
He didn’t actually seem mad, though, even as he uttered the threat. A jovial smile remained on his lips as he gave me a knowing wink.
I offered a half-hearted chuckle. “Yes, sorry. I’ll get used to calling you ‘Jaeke.’”
Jaeke tipped his teacup into his mouth again. “The most refreshing sip is always the first from a fresh pot of tea.”
I nodded, taking another drink myself.
“So, how was your first day, Rayden? I’ve been dying to see how you’re getting along.”
I held my teacup right under my face and continued to let the warmth of the drink sink into me. “It went as well as I’d expected. I ran around a little lost maybe once or twice, but I made it to all my classes.”
“On time?”
“Uh, no. All but one.”
Jaeke waved a dismissive hand. “Tardiness on the first day is all too common. What class were you late for?”
“The Study of Essence with Professor Gerves.”
“Oh,” Jaeke clicked his tongue and shook his head as if commiserating with me, “not the most ideal class to be late to if you had to pick one, but I’m sure he’ll get over it.”
“Is Professor Gerves a tough teacher?” I asked, thinking about how I’d agreed to train with Nic one-on-one. Though, considering my personal goals and the fact that Nic could understand me on a level no one else could, I didn’t feel I’d had much choice.
Jaeke tilted his head in thought. “Yes, I would say so. He’s always been an odd one. But he is an excellent teacher and an extremely talented warrior. He used to run with the scouts before requesting a position at the academy.”
“Really?” I leaned forward curiously, careful not to let any drops of hot tea spill into my lap or on the carpeted floor. “When was that?”
“Oh, only five months ago.”
“So recent?” I raised an eyebrow. “What made him want to leave scouting?”
Jaeke shrugged. “I asked him the same thing, but Nic has always been one to keep to himself. I mean, you’ve seen his strange helmet. But I didn’t need to press him. He’s skilled and makes a great addition to the teaching program.”
But it’s odd, I thought to myself. To change a career so drastically… and right before I’d arrived, no less.
Jaeke continued to ask me nonsensical questions about which class I liked best or which professors I liked the most, all of which I found difficult to answer since I had only finished my first day as a student at the academy.
After at least half an hour ticked by, I perked up to see the headmaster finish his third cup of tea. But instead of rising to pour himself some more, he leaned back into his seat with hands propped behind his head.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Well, I know you had some things to do. I won’t keep you any longer.”
I set my empty cup on the short table next to my chair, trying not to allow my smile to grow too big.
“Thank you for the tea,” I said, moving to leave. But, of course, Jaeke rose to walk me out.
Something about having to endure the endless chatter of an exuberant man with no grasp on social cues is really exhausting. Not just mentally but somehow physically, as well. As soon as I stepped out of the room and Headmaster Bohin closed his office door behind me, I shook out my arms and legs with a heavy sigh.
I sped away from Headmaster Bohin and the entire office floor before Jaeke could change his mind and concoct another reason to keep me from the things I needed to do.
***
Finding the second clue I had to retrieve from the mess hall proved much more difficult than finding the first one. And Dex wouldn’t respond to me–most likely because he was running a systems check at my request–so I couldn’t ask him to scan the dining facility to find the clue like I had before. I must have looked crazy, poking my head underneath tables and staring underneath students’ and teachers’ food trays in search of a single sheet of paper.
Finally, after craning my neck up to study the high backs of the mess hall’s kiosks, I caught sight of a white corner not entirely in line with one of the kiosks at the end of the room. The paper’s and kiosk’s near-exact match in color had made it difficult to see.
I bent my knees and, with a sharp inhale, quickly jumped high in the air, arm outstretched to grab the clue. The tips of my fingers only lightly brushed the paper, and I landed on my feet with no clue in hand. I glanced around the mess hall with a grimace. I probably–no, I definitely looked like an idiot. But… I still needed to retrieve the clue.
After mustering all of my strength and willpower into my legs, I pushed myself off the ground again and leaped at least two feet into the air. My hand grasped the paper in a vice before gravity took my feet back to the floor.
I let out a triumphant cry, then quickly bit my lip to quiet myself as more than a few pairs of eyes flicked my way. Head down, I scurried out of the mess hall and found a secluded corner hidden in the shadows near the dining facility’s entrance. I hurriedly opened the clue and read,
THE FIFTH AND SIXTH NUMBERS OF THE COMBINATION TO MY SAFE ARE CARVED INTO THE WALL BEHIND THE HIDDEN DOOR.
I turned the page around, searching for more words, but found only that one cryptic sentence. I had no idea what Professor Bilith meant by “hidden door.” What hidden door? And where was it?
Grumbling, I tucked away the second clue with the first I had still folded in my pocket and decided the next best thing, as I tried to think about where a hidden door could be or at least wait for Codex to tell me if he knew anything about it, was to count the doors on this floor and at least solve the number for the third number of the combination.
With arms tucked behind my back, I walked the length of the hall and passed the entrance to the mess hall three times, careful to follow each turn and ensuring I saw every door on the floor more than once. By my count, there were eight doors, including the one wide door leading into the mess hall.
Now to find out the age of the youngest person who ever attended the academy as a student….
I tapped my chin in thought. I had to subtract whatever that number was from the eight doors to find out what the fourth number to the combination was.
How would I go about finding out the age of that student? Ask Codex when he was finally available? Read it in a book? I had yet to explore the entirety of the academy (which might prove to be a time-consuming pursuit in and of itself), so I didn’t know where to find a library.
Maybe Emmett knows? Or at least knows where I can find out?
Decided, I headed in the direction of the staircase. Suddenly, a loud and high beeping in my head stopped me. I slammed my palms into my forehead and bent over my legs, groaning in pain. Something akin to a fire seemed to glare behind my eyes, both obscuring my vision and giving me an agonizing, burning sensation that pulsed through my entire skull.
I fell to my knees, my bottom lip quivering as the pounding and burning seemed to grow and spread through my entire body. Two or three people wandering the hall turned to me as I fell, one immediately rushing to my aid.
I felt arms wrap around my shoulders as the stranger tried to help me from the ground, and I heard their warbled cries, “What’s wrong? Is there something I can do to help?” Their words sounded so distant, though, and I couldn’t make out what this stranger or any of the others making their way toward me looked like. All I could see were blurry, dark shapes. I could barely even feel the arms trying to help me to my feet as the pain increased.
“Master–Rayden–Something is…”
It seemed some unseen force kept Dex from finishing any of his thoughts to me. It was in the way he spoke–like something was blocking him. Even his words felt distant.
The floor underneath my trembling hands vibrated slightly as more footsteps rushed toward me. I didn’t even have the capability to feel embarrassed by the scene I was making–all I could think of was the searing pain coursing through my veins and the fact that it only seemed to get worse. My breaths grew heavy, and I could feel drips of sweat rolling off my nose and splashing onto my hands as I panted over them.
“Did anyone see what happened?” I could barely make out the words, but the new voice sounded deep and familiar. But trying to hear in that moment was like trying to eavesdrop on someone while simultaneously swimming underwater.
I heard muffled answers to the man’s question but determined no one could guess what was wrong with me. A different pair of arms from before rolled me onto my back, and then they tucked their hands underneath the soft parts behind my knees and right underneath my neck. The stranger raised me from the ground, but the intense pain numbed me to the feel of the person’s grasp. It felt more like I was floating than someone was carrying me.
“I’ll get him to the infirmary,” was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.