Chapter 21

“You punched me!” I tried to keep the squeal out of my voice as I rolled on the grass clutching my forehead, but it wasn’t working. “You-you freaking punched me in the head you turd nerfer!”

Lynwood frowned, “Oh come off it. It hurts my hand more than your head to punch that dense rock of yours.”

I sputtered angrily, but Lynwood just shrugged and flapped her hand.

“All right, back on your feet.”

“What?”

“You say that a lot. Back on your feet, squirt! If you can’t dodge a hit, we’re gonna start with at least teaching you how to take one.”

“No! This is a terrible idea! Crane really did put you up to this!” I back peddled across the lawn.

Alas, Chelsey Lynwood, while being a mediocre RCFer and hasty shot with a bolt gun, was indeed an able and swift-footed Regular. She cut off my retreat, and with another insufferable grin aimed a kick at my torso.

My nerves shot through the roof. It was like being chased through camp all over again. I could see the boot coming, and of their own volition, my arms and legs tensed, and then snapped me into a roll the second her foot left the ground.

Her eyes narrowed, “Ooooo? Interesting. Better dodge that time. But can you do it again?”

I was still crouched in the grass. This time she launched an overhead punch set to wrack me on my noggin. I rolled again, but she had anticipated that. Her foot was coming up then down into a stomp on my stomach. As quickly as I pulled my legs in, I’d be trapped between either her fist or her foot. My brain screamed. My fingers dug into the ground as I pushed up like a plank and levered myself sideways. I have no idea how I’d actually pulled it off. Suddenly, Lynwood stopped and pulled up.

“All right. That’s enough of that. If we’re to continue, you better pull in your Glint.”

I wheezed and curled into a ball. She was going to beat me to death. I was sure of it.

“Oy! Do you hear a word I’m saying?” Lynwood dropped to a crouch and poked me in the side. Snarling, I grabbed her hand and sank my teeth into her wrist.

Instead of screaming or drawing back, she just grinned and patted my head with her other hand.

“There now. I knew there was something still in there.”

I realized I was biting into leather wraps rather than skin and quickly spat it out as I clambered back to my feet. What should I do? Was this punishment for going out with Pilosa? Did Crane really think I needed lessons in this sort of violence? Was this something all Forsythes went through? My mind suddenly went to Abbi or Blanche undergoing this sort of treatment. It made me want to laugh. Or scream.

“Well squirt, you got your beans back in your gourd yet? Tell me when you’re ready to go again.”

“What?!”

Lynwood actually laughed at me.

“I said tell me when you’re ready to go again.”

I mustered all the command I could, “Lorus is not ready. Ever! Lynwood punched me in the head! Lynwood stomped Lorus’s guts! What in-in everlasting fracking level of wracked earth does Lynwood think she is doing?! What is Crane thinking?! Crane is trying to kill Lorus?! Please! Poison food works better!”

Lynwood shook her head, “I only konked your noggin a wee little bit. Come on. I told you it hurts me more to punch your tough coconut like that than it hurts you to take it. And you dodged both my kicks and stomps. If I really wanted to put you out of commission, I’d have to get a much better tag to your temple or throat. You were doing good. Just don’t go flashing your Glint.”

I glared at her.

“What’s a Glint?”

Lynwood actually cocked her head.

“Euh? They haven’t talked to you about-? I mean, you are about thirteen, right? So, you must have started noticing that-well- I mean,” She paused, “I mean when you started growing up you-“

Lynwood’s face flushed a bright red, and suddenly she dropped to her heels to shuffle closer to me and whispered, “You mean no one’s talked to you about Serendipities?”

My stare must have said enough. Lynwood shot to her feet.

“Oh no! Oh no no no no! Professor, you set me up! Didn’t you?!” she paced back and forth a few more times before settling back into a crouch next to me. “Seriously? You’re not just taking the piss out of me? Your mum never warned you about Glinting in public? Don’t go flashin’ it around? Don’t make a panic at the disco? Good girls don’t Glint? No?”

Cautiously, I shook my head. Lynwood looked around.

“Criminately! I always thought I’d be explaining it to some junior in the Academy. Not my kid neighbor. I don’t even get a drink for this, do I?”

I rolled to a seated position.

“Loris knows a good place in the fourth ward if that would make Lynwood feel better.”

“It does not,” she stared flatly at me, “The fact you know more pubs in the fourth ward than I do seriously makes me question your current education.” She sighed and put a hand to her face. “But then again, the Iron Crane did request me as your combat tutor specifically, so I should have been warned.”

The Crane again, working circles in circles.

“But what about Loris Glinting? And saran tippies?”

“Serendipities,” Lynwood answered automatically then groaned. “Agh! Okay, so how much do you know about human reproduction?”

“What?”

“You really like that word.”

“Loris has a lot of questions!” I snapped. Lynwood arched an eyebrow.

“About human repro-“

“About New Castle!” I waved my hands in the air. “Loris knows about ‘bumping uglies’ and storks and getteneton. Then babies come, and much screaming, and then the babies and baby daddies is screaming too. So what?”

Lynwood took a deep breath.

“So, when Castelians are-“ she snorted, “what was that phrase? ‘Getting it on’? Occasionally, the Arcadians’ Gift shows up. And you end up with not only a Castelian, someone inherently well suited to mind the world to begin with, but someone whose traits benefit society in a particularly helpful way, a serendipitous alignment of genes if you will.”

“What?”

Lynwood’s hand suddenly flashed up. A finger jabbed straight towards my face. I froze, but her finger was moving very, very slow, so I leaned left. I realized too late that her right hand and finger were already in place to anticipate me. A very wet finger suddenly intruded into my left ear.

“Wet Willy!” Lynwood guffawed as I shrieked and clawed at the moisture in my ear. I thought I had dodged her. How had she known?!

Lynwood smothered her own mirth.

“That’s the problem, squirt. As soon as I know you’re going to Glint, that is, use your selective advantage to dodge, I can predict which way you’ll dodge and-“ she waggled a shiny finger at me, “-prepare for it. So it’s neat that you have Serendipity. Most Castelians do, probably ‘cause we take our raising of families very seriously. For most they may not have realized it yet, or it might be something small, like being able to tell different Grogs apart, solely on taste. Just don’t Glint in public. It’s like flashing your duffs. Don’t give away what you can’t take back.”

I fumed at her a few more moments, hand on my ear.

“Loris still does not understand ‘Glinting’.”

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“Oh?” Lynwood looked at the sky for a moment then stood up and walked over to the edge of the yard and gestured for me to come too. “Okay, how about this. Point to any face you see out there, and I’ll tell you who they are.”

I wasn’t sure where this was going, but I brushed off and followed her over to the street. It was mid-day so there were quite a few strange faces bustling up and down the streets and walks. I picked an average looking man with gray and black hair dressed in blue striped pants and a leather apron over his clothes bustling down the street looking over a clump of notes.

I pointed, “Him”

“Alchy Kojiro Anderson. Fifty-two, single. Instructor Alchemist, Maestro level.”

Perplexed I pointed again, a woman this time.

“Her.

“Cog Trulia Lawrence. Thirty-four. Seamstress. Rabbit wife to Wardensan Figero Lambrose.” Lynwood frowned. “Funny to see her up here in Ward One.”

“That group over there by the fountain.”

“Thaumers Geoff Trotsky, Beatrix Whitehorse, John Ng, and Taleah Adealewoh. Probably taking a break from mid-terms. Hope they meet Fox’s expectations.”

I shook my head not understanding what her familiarity with faces had to do with anything. Then she turned her head towards me. Her pupils had grown so large the black had nearly overcome the iris. As the light hit, it seemed for a second her eyes glinted red, much like I’d seen the glowing eyes of wolves in the night. The sight really took me back. It also reminded me of my wild ride with Tabby Porter. I wasn’t entirely sure what to say.

“And that one is Yves Coutier, a cog from the Seventh Ward, probably up to snoop for Meechan again. That’s Engvall von Ritter, another Alchemist. Tawn Epstein, Myriann Hoffer, Petre Keeyowah-“

“And you know all these people?”

Lynwood shook her head. She reached up and wiped some red fluid from her eyes. Was that blood?

“Not at all. Memorized them from the sketch albums in the barracks. Of course seeing them in real life puts the face with the name,” she smiled and tapped her teeth. “Bones can’t lie. They can try to pull teeth out, stuff their face, change their hair, whatever. That’s why I keep telling the Colonel I’d really be great with the RCFers, identifying old photos of grancestors and piecing together who’s a descendant of whom. Your bones are the truest piece of you, which is also why it’s ever so important to keep your Glinting to yourself.”

The air seemed to go out of Lynwood a little, “Take me, for instance. Once the Colonel found out I could identify a face I’d seen only once, he insisted on putting me on the Shoal detail to look for convicts on the run. It’s hard to argue my Serendipity would be better spent in a library when they know that about you. And my family is five generations from the Thirteenth Ward, Purgatory overseers and wall keepers. My fate’s been sealed in my genes since the beginning, I guess.”

“Is that how Lynwood found Loris?”

She nodded a little guiltily. “I didn’t want to admit it because it would enforce the Colonel’s decision just that much more, but it did come in handy that time, didn’t it?”

Lynwood gave a curt nodded then clapped me on the shoulder.

“Well, enough fiddle-faddle. Back to the lesson. I may have overdone my demonstration a bit. Keep that in mind, Loris; everything has a price, especially your Serendipity. The cost isn’t the same for everyone, but you’ll know it soon enough.” She stepped back into a ready posture.

“This time, no Glinting, or if you’re going to do it, don’t stare directly at a person. Look a little to the side or at a shadowy place so it’s not so obvious.”

“Loris will try, but Loris doesn’t know what she’s Glinting in the first place.”

“You don’t?” Lynwood blinked. “I would have thought you’d noticed by now. But then I guess out in the wilds you wouldn’t really encounter many other Serendipities. So tell me, when you saw my lovely foot coming for you, what went through your head?”

“Move,” I stated bluntly.

Lynwood snorted, “Before that. How did you know which direction to go, especially since I already had a follow up?”

I pondered, “Well, Lynwood slowed down, so Loris had time to move away.”

“Exactly,” Lynwood nodded, “I didn’t change my pace at all, but it seems your Serendipity slows what you can see, gives you a little extra time to react.” She pondered, “It seems like I remember stories of your old man having something similar. No one was sure, of course; he was too much a gentleman to Glint in public, but he had an uncanny knack for knowing just what people were up to. Some said he could actually read minds or predict the future. That’s what made it so odd when he vanished.”

“What?” I asked, startled.

Lynwood nodded, “Exactly. Back to lessons.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent going over basics and putting names to things I had already learned on some level or another but now had sequences in which to make them work. First we went over things called “break falls” or how to jump down or get knocked down without getting more hurt than necessary.

Then we went over basic punches and kicks. Those I found interesting because Lynwood explained how to predict where or when a person would kick or punch based on the weight they shifted through their body. Lynwood called this “Reading Body Language”, and though I felt I knew a lot of it already, we found out that if I actively read where another strike was coming from, I didn’t Glint or need to use my Serendipity, which I was still foggy on just what triggered it in the first place.

On the way home I found myself being tailed by Abbi, Blanche, and Cori again. Abbi refused to walk next to me, and when I tried to slow down to let them go ahead, I just found myself flanked then hustled along by their uncomfortably close proximity. I eyed little Cori to my left. If I konked her on the head the way Lynwood had gotten me, I might be able to break past her into an alley. But then I remembered the last time I tried outrunning the cousins.

Abbi snorted, “Sounds like you’re still smarting from Lynwood’s lesson.”

I eyed her over my shoulder and shrugged, “Nothing worse than any lessons Loris received from the Ayfortees.” A wicked thought wiggled into my mind. “Plus we talked about some grown up things.”

Abbi tossed her hair, “What? Like your proper duty to the family?”

“Loris is not sure she should mention since Abbi is only ten.”

“I am not! I’m eleven and three-quarters! Why if it weren’t for you and-“ Abbi suddenly tripped over air and stumbled into silence. Curious.

“So…Abbi is older than Bentley?” I ran over the numbers Bentley gave me about ages and when Uncle Cebis and Aunt Silvia started having children. Something didn’t add up.

“So you met the monster, huh?” Cori asked.

“The monster?”

Blanche nodded, “That’s what we’d call him when he was still coming to the nursery. Either that or Little Lord Stinky Pants.” She laughed in her hand. “He really hated that one.”

“Loris can see why. Cousins really think Bentley is that bad?”

Cori actually shouldered into me and giggled.

“Well you’ve met him, right? How long did it take before he started scheming you into his grand plans to take over New Castle?”

“Take over New Castle?!”

Abbi made a rude noise.

“Please, Cori, you give him too much credit. That’s probably why his head is so fat in the first place. Le Petit Prince, quell un pet a feu. He talks big, but I’m sure you’ve noticed he never goes to the Atrium. He’s never had to take lessons with the Regulars. Why should he? That’s what we’re for. The spares.”

“Abbi-“ Blanche tried to soothe her sister’s bitterness.

“Pah! I’m fine, Blanche, it’s just-ugh! A Warden is supposed to be kind, charitable, gracious, honest, loyal to his or her Ward and a picture of esprit de Glorianna to the very end!”

“You memorized that from the textbook, didn’t you?” Blanche murmured.

Abbi waved the comment away imperiously.

“He’s self-centered, patronizing, and arrogantly assuming in every sense of the word.”

I was afraid to make eye contact with any of the cousins, but somehow Cori seemed to sense this. She gave me a grin and crossed her eyes while sticking her tongue out. I snorted.

“Oh it’s fine for you to laugh! You’ve got a foot up on him. Why, if he doesn’t defer to you as first born you could, I don’t know, you could exile him from the ward.” Abbi’s face brightened. “I say, there’s an idea. Loris, what are your thoughts exactly on-“

“Ah-ah, what does Abbi know about Glinting?”

Her flushed face and loss of wind almost perfectly mimicked Lynwood’s response. Blanche actually veered away a little, and Cori clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled. Nothing much else was said for the rest of the walk home; though, from the little ‘hurrumphs’ and stops and starts, I could tell Abbi wanted to say something.

When we arrived at the house, something felt off. There wasn’t anyone to greet us; although, Brissi paused as she went bustling by, giving us a pained look as she welcomed us home and suggested we take lunch in the conservatory after we had changed. I didn’t really understand why another change of clothes was in order, but when Cori stretched and mentioned about getting into something more comfortable, I had no objections.

As I was heading down the hall to my room, I met Brissi again, coming the other way. I wondered if she had been in my room again.

“Oh Miss Loris! You haven’t got anything to do with this, do you?”

I paused and looked at the woman. Her mouth was pursed as her eyes swept up and down the halls, scanning for something. It looked far less like nerves and more like irritation.

“Loris is not sure what ‘this’ is, but Loris has been at the Atrium all morning getting punched in the head.”

“Have you?” Brissi snorted then quickly covered as she curtsied and hustled down the hall. “Apologies Miss. I hope, er, it was educational.”

“Very.”

I watched her head down the hall, muttering something under her breath, before I stepped into my room. After quietly closing the door, I stood there for a slow count of ten, listening to my own breathing. I wasn’t alone.

They were trying to be quiet, and if I hadn’t been listening for it, I might have missed it. But where were they? I scanned the furniture, the closet, the bed. My eyes narrowed. I took a couple casual steps into the room then sprang up as high as I could before landing hard, square in the middle of the bed. The frame shook so hard, for a second I was afraid it was going to fly apart even as I continued jumping up and down, making the joints shriek. Apparently, that worried the intruder just as much.

“Oy! Oy! Alright! Stop it! Loris! The bloody bed’s going to come apart! I’m getting out! I’m getting out!” I rolled over in time to see a golden mop of hair wiggle out from under the bed. Bentley rolled over on his back, panting, arms out. He grinned up at me.

“Hullo, Loris. Surprised to see me?”