The Archives (Sacrisvita Book 2)

by Dylan Steel

  He brought his own fists to his temples. “You’re going to practice the block I just did,” Kai said, dropping back into a fighting stance. He sighed. “Hands up, Sage.”

  6. CONFRONTATION

  Nearly a month had passed since Sage had moved to Level Eight, and it had already been much more eventful than she’d hoped. Besides the extra work and unfortunate Interest Society assignment, classes were more challenging, and some of the instructors were more frustrating and demanding than others.

  Mr. Gunnerly, for example, had nearly zeroed in on her as his least favorite student for the year after hearing about her run-in with Carnabel. She had been saved from that malicious fate though when an unfortunate boy named Gefferson Malloy sneezed half his lunch all over Mr. Gunnerly’s databook. He apologized profusely—the physician even diagnosed him later that day with neusverius syndrome—but that didn’t stop Mr. Gunnerly from deciding that Gefferson was a good-for-nothing hooligan who would never amount to anything.

  Sage would be grateful all year for the distraction of that sneeze.

  She found her eyes glazing over as she tried to go over Mr. Gunnerly’s math assignment in the Common Lounge. While she certainly didn’t want to give him a reason to switch targets, long division drills were just not that exciting, and the only thing she was sure of was that at least half of her answers were wrong.

  “Which topic are you gonna do?” Penelope poked Sage to get her attention as she flopped on the couch.

  “Huh?” Sage blinked in confusion and gingerly rubbed the sore spot on her shoulder. Obviously, Penelope didn’t know she had landed wrong on it during her training session with Kai the day before. “Shoot, I lost it,” she muttered, frowning at the tablet in front of her.

  “Which topic? For the Interest Society?” Penelope shook her head. “Mr. Walsh suggested I look into the Golden Era—he said there were outfits and jewels and things from then on display at the Archives. Sounds like it could actually be fun.”

  “Oh, that.” Sage set her databook down. “I’m not sure yet. I might need to get an idea from him too.”

  Penelope nodded. “He had a few suggestions for me—and they actually weren’t awful. I’ll bet he can figure out something not-boring for you too.”

  Sage shrugged. “I guess I should talk to him about that soon. We have to make our decision next week, right?”

  “Mmhmm,” Penelope murmured. “You should pick something good so that we can research the same stuff. It’d be so much easier.”

  “I’m not sure if we’re allowed…” Sage trailed off when she noticed Carnabel enter the room. She gritted her teeth and stared back down at her databook.

  “What’s wr—” Penelope followed Sage’s eyes to the doorway. “Oh.” She snapped back around. “At least it doesn’t look like her training’s going that well.”

  It was true. Carnabel looked like she’d lost a fight to a horse. One of her eyes was already swelling shut from her session with Rosalind, and she was definitely favoring her left leg.

  “How’s that going anyway?” Penelope stared intently at Sage.

  “I dunno.” Sage tugged her jacket a little higher over the bruises on her shoulder. “Sometimes it’s almost fun, but Kai’s really serious about it. I almost prefer training with Rosalind—although sometimes I think she’s actually tougher.”

  “Really?” Pippa’s head popped over the couch. “That’s weird though. He won the official tournament.”

  “Yeah, but Rosalind kicked his butt in their rematch,” Penelope grinned.

  “I wonder which one of them will win this year,” Pippa said thoughtfully.

  “Who says either one of them will?” Nic couldn’t resist joining the conversation.

  “Seriously? They placed first and second last year. As Level Fifteens. No way they don’t win again this year,” Penelope retorted.

  Everett smirked but stayed silently off to the side.

  “But have you seen Kennon or Parlotta fight? They’re supposed to be really good. And they’re Level Fifteens this year.” An impish grin spread over Nic’s face. “And from what I hear, sometimes Level Fifteens win.”

  Pippa turned to Sage. “What do you think, Sage? You’re training with both of them all the time,” she prodded.

  She shook her head. “I wouldn’t want to go against either of them. They’re both kind of scary, actually.”

  “Not as scary as going against me.”

  Nic and Everett gave each other sideways glances and stepped aside, revealing Carnabel with her arms crossed. She glared at Sage with her good eye. “I told Rosalind not to hold back. I’m going to be ready. I want to make sure there’s no way I don’t beat you in the tournament.”

  Sage stared icily back at Carnabel. “There’s plenty of time before the tournament,” she said evenly. “I don’t think I’d be so confident if I were you.”

  “Well, you’re not me, are you?” Carnabel snapped. “I doubt you’ll beat anyone. You’ll probably be the biggest loser there.”

  Before Sage could respond, Nic stepped between the two girls. “Hey, Carn,” he said, “I meant to ask you if you’d finished Mr. Gunnerly’s assignment.”

  She appeared startled by the question. “Well, um, no, but I-I’m about halfway through,” she stammered.

  “Even better!” Nic flashed her a smile. “I’m a bit lost with the whole thing. Whaddya say, wanna help me? We could do it together.”

  Carnabel’s cheeks reddened. “Um, sure.”

  “Great! Can we now? I’ve put it off way too long already. I might not finish if I wait much longer.”

  She looked down at the ground. “Ok, I guess. My stuff’s over there.” She pointed across the room and began shuffling away.

  Nic started to follow Carnabel, but only after he glanced back at Sage with a sympathetic look. She flashed him a grateful smile and turned her attention back to her friends.

  “Wow.” Everett whistled as soon as Carnabel was out of earshot.

  Pippa snapped her jaw closed and turned back to Sage. “Please tell me you can beat her.”

  7. THE ARCHIVES

  “Ew, ew, ew.” Penelope’s nose crinkled as she passed the row of glass casings filled with human remains. “I can’t believe we have to do this.”

  Sage laughed. “It’s not like you have to touch them.”

  “Unless you want a real hands-on approach.” Mr. Walsh leaned down and winked.

  “Let’s keep moving, ladies. We’re looking at documents today, not skeletons.”

  Penelope’s face reddened. The pair hurried through the room to catch up with their fellow society members.

  “This is a unique privilege extended to you as members of the Historical Interest Society.” A portly man barely taller than Sage and dressed in a stiff suit was waddling in front of the group of students, gesturing dramatically.

  “Do not,” he squawked and pushed his spectacles up his nose, “I repeat, do not take advantage of the goodwill of Eprah and treat any of these artifacts with disrespect. If I catch any of you mistreating anything or snooping around in areas that you haven’t been cleared for, you will be banned from this building for the rest of the year. And I would imagine that would make your participation in this society quite difficult.”

  He scanned the top of the crowd of students. “Ah, there you are, Mr. Walsh. Have I forgotten anything that you would like to add?”

  Mr. Walsh smiled. “No, Mr. Gramples, I think you’ve covered the basics.”

  “Very well.” Mr. Gramples turned his attention back to the students. “If you have any questions, you can find me in my office over there,” he pointed to a nearby door, “or speak to Ms. Baubbelle, who is restocking books over there. Please wave, Ms. Baubbelle.”

  Across the room, a mousy young woman with hair pulled tight in a bun looked over and waved timidly from her perch on a ladder. She quickly pulled her hand back to steady herself against the shelf before returning her attention to her reshelving duties.

>   “Well, I’ll leave you to it, Mr. Walsh.” The Archives’ curator bobbled into his office.

  “Alright,” Mr. Walsh rubbed his hands together with eagerness, “we finally get to explore the deep secrets of history. We’ll start today in the documents rooms, and we’ll move around throughout the year as appropriate to your individual areas of study.

  “Speaking of which, I know a few of you haven’t selected an era yet. I’ll be coming around to help you make that decision. It needs to happen by the end of today. And if you can’t decide, I’ll have to make your selection for you. The administration and Quorum of Five need a report from me tonight.” He furrowed his brow in an uncharacteristically serious expression.

  “Now go forth and explore!” His jovial grin was already back. “Ms. Baubbelle or I can help you find resources specific to your era,” he called after the departing throng.

  Penelope grabbed Sage’s sleeve and tugged her toward a stack of books at the far end of the room.

  “You cannot leave me alone in this. Please do the same era! Or at least close. Or maybe a sub-era?”

  Sage grinned. “Let me look a little first!” She tipped a few books out from their rows. “Some of these look super old.” She tugged at one of the books until it gave way, sending several others crashing to the floor. Grimacing, she stooped to pick them up.

  Penelope giggled. “Clumsy much?”

  She stuck out her tongue. “Just don’t tell Mr. Gramples,” she whispered.

  They added the new books to the collection already on the table and started flipping through pages.

  “Oooh, look.” Penelope pointed eagerly to a crude sketch of a woman in a full, flowing gown. “Can you imagine if we still dressed like that? It looks so pretty!”

  “That’s huge.”

  “Oh, whatever. You’d love it. Besides, you wouldn’t know any different.” Penelope rolled her eyes at her friend and kept thumbing through pages, occasionally letting out soft squeals of delight.

  Sage shook her head and picked up one of the books that she’d sent crashing to the floor. She flipped through the pages and wrinkled her nose. The writing was all in a foreign language. Already bored, she sighed and started to close the book—until something caught her eye.

  Reacurdon etta sacrisvita. Sempraso sacrisvita.

  “Whoa, look!” Sage jabbed her in the ribs excitedly.

  “What is it?” Penelope tilted her head.

  “Right there, see!” She pointed to the familiar words. “Do you know what it means?” she asked.

  Penelope shot her a confused look. “No, why would I?”

  “Seriously? Don’t you remember the words from last year?”

  “No, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Sage’s jaw dropped. Had the Institution really managed to keep the vandalism a secret from everyone else?

  “Penelope, this was painted on the front of the Institution. Our class spent weeks scrubbing and painting over a bunch of this kind of stuff in the lower halls.”

  “You did? But what is it?” Penelope face twisted in confusion.

  Sage shook her head. “I don’t know. But—”

  “Hello again, ladies.” Mr. Walsh suddenly appeared behind them. “Now, Penelope, you’re planning on researching the Golden Era if I remember correctly?”

  She nodded.

  “Spectacular.” He grinned. “You see over there?” He pointed a few rows away. “That aisle has loads of books published in the first hundred years of Eprah’s existence. It’ll be a great place for you to start. Honestly, you could probably spend the entire year just reading through those, but don’t worry, we’ll make sure you get to see more of the Archives than just that.”

  Penelope shrugged at Sage and headed toward her new recommended reading. He turned to Sage.

  “And Miss Indarra, I don’t believe you’ve selected a topic yet, have you?”

  Sage shook her head quickly. “No, but I think I’ve just decided. I want to do this.” She pointed to the page she’d just been reading.

  Mr. Walsh smiled. “May I?” He picked up the book and glanced over the page. The corners of his mouth dropped slightly. “I see.”

  Her heart was pounding. Had she just made a terrible mistake?

  “That’s an unusual selection, Sage. Do you know what time period this is from?” He closed the book and carefully placed it back on the table.

  “Not exactly, sir,” she shook her head.

  “This actually very briefly pre-dates Eprah. I’d say it’s about ten years prior to its formation.” He had a somber look on his face. “You’re sure this is what you want to study?”

  Sage paused for a moment and then nodded slowly. “Is it allowed?”

  “Technically, yes,” he said very deliberately. “But I feel I must warn you that your selection might not be popular with most students—or instructors, for that matter. Not everyone sees the value in extending the scope of history beyond our great nation.

  “Do you understand what I’m saying, Sage?” He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head at her.

  She nodded. “I think so, sir.”

  “Well, then, I should let you get back to your studies.” He cleared his throat. “The Quorum will be happy to know you’re interested in Eprah’s early years.”

  “I don’t think it’s technically the early—”

  He held up his hand. “Yes,” he said firmly. “You’re studying Eprah’s early years.”

  Her eyes grew wide with understanding. She closed her mouth and nodded.

  “And Sage, if you have any questions or need help figuring out which resources to explore, don’t hesitate to ask me.” He stared intently at her for a moment and walked away.

  8. THE TRUTH

  “What is that?” Pippa wrinkled her nose.

  Flustered, Sage looked up and snapped the book closed. “Nothing. Just some research for my Interest Society project. Why?”

  Pippa shrugged. “It’s just weird. Whatever it is, it looks super old.” She cocked her head. “I’m surprised they let you take that out of the Archives.”

  Sage’s heart pounded, but she kept her tone as even as she could manage. “Mr. Walsh said it was fine.” She hastily changed the subject. “What about your Creating Art Interest? How’s that going?”

  “Oh, it’s amazing. They’ve started letting us use the huge tablets for—”

  “Oh, shoot!” Sage’s eyes widened as she looked at the clock. “I’m going to be late. Sorry, Pippa!”

  “It’s fine. Oh, hey, you dropped your—” she called after Sage, who was already hurrying toward the door, “—whatever this is.” Puzzled, she bent over and picked up a piece of paper that had fallen out of the book.

  “Oh, that’s just part of the book she was reading,” Penelope explained. “There are actually loads of them in the Archives. I’ll give it back to her.” She stuck out her hand.

  Pippa passed off the relic willingly. “It looks gross. I can’t believe you’re both in that Interest.”

  Penelope smiled. “It’s really not so bad.” She turned the page over in her hands. Frowning, she slipped it behind her databook. “I’m actually learning lots about Eprah.” She grinned again at Pippa and looked over her shoulder, watching as Sage disappeared from the room.

  ***

  Sage sprinted down the hallway. Since she was running late, she hadn’t had time to drop off her things at her bunk. She burst through the door of the Bokja training room, startling a waiting Kai.

  “You’re late,” he said impatiently.

  “I know—I’m sorry. I got distracted.” She tucked her book and databook under her arm.

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m starting to wonder if you really understand the seriousness of this competition, Sage.”

  “I do—I really do,” she insisted as she backed toward the changing room. The book slipped out from under her elbow, thumping on the floor. As she leaned over to retrieve it, the databook worked its way out to
o, crashing on top of the artifact and bouncing a few feet away.

  She grimaced as she scrambled over to retrieve the device. “Great.”

  Kai stooped over and carefully picked up the book. “Your Interest project?”

  Sage froze.

  “Sage?” He gingerly thumbed through the pages. “You should be more careful with this. Do you have any idea how old it is?”

  She stood rooted to her spot, unable to speak.

  He closed the pages and looked at her, holding out the book. “What’s your topic?”

  A wave of relief flooded over her as she regained her composure and snatched it. He didn’t realize what he’d been holding.

  “Eprah’s early years,” she recited.

  He cocked his head at her and grinned. “Oh, yeah? So what’s the coolest thing you’ve learned about it so far?”

  Panic gripped her as she quickly tried to think of something—anything—that she actually knew about the early years of Eprah. No one had been interested enough to ask her about her research before. She’d been spending all her time reading books that pre-dated Eprah and trying to decipher the strange language she’d found. Not one moment had actually been spent looking into her official topic.

  “Um,” she stammered, “the Original Five set up the Quorum of Five as part of the early Eprah infrastructure. They’d considered making it seven, but they didn’t want to burden too many citizens with the heavy responsibilities of the Quorum, so they stuck with five—a much more manageable number.”

  “Everyone knows that.” Kai shook his head. “It’s in pretty much every level’s history class. You’ll have to do a lot deeper research than that to make Mr. Walsh happy.”

  Sage hesitated. “Ok,” she said, turning again toward the changing room.

  “You know,” Kai continued, clearly oblivious to her attempt at avoiding the conversation, “I researched the first twenty-five years of Eprah when I was a Level Twelve. I’m sure I could help point you toward some of the better resources at the Archives if you need help. It sounds like you might be a bit behind.” He raised an eyebrow at her.