by Dylan Steel
The boy picked up a databook and slunk out of the room, shooting Sage a dirty look, clearly irritated by her interruption. She lifted her chin triumphantly, matching his stare.
“Sage?”
She snapped her head back around. Mr. Walsh’s eyebrow was raised. She felt her face redden a bit at having been caught shooting the boy a nasty look.
“You wanted to talk about something?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but, um… can we?” Her eyes darted furtively around the room.
He sighed, rubbing his bracelet and wrist. “Ordinarily, you shouldn’t consider this room safe,” he said firmly. “But we can talk right now. Though I thought I made it clear that you weren’t to seek me out when I’m not your instructor. I told you I’d be in touch when I have something for you to do. And I really don’t expect that to be very often, Sage. At least not right now.”
“Ok,” she said, only partially paying attention, questions swirling in her mind.
“Sage?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s on your mind?”
Sage blinked, staring at him intently. She knew exactly what she wanted to ask him. “Is it true?”
He cocked his head, raising his eyebrows. “Is what true?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are the Lawless kidnapping people?” She paused and then added, “Why didn’t we hear about this before Founders’ Day?”
Mr. Walsh sighed. “The Institution doesn’t make a point of scaring its wards. You were all safe in here, and you all remained completely unaffected so long as you didn’t know. I certainly can’t distribute that type of information without a very good reason. Doing so would put myself and anyone I told in a very dangerous position—even if the secret was well kept, sometimes things draw suspicion...” His chest heaved. “But to address your other question, let me ask you: Do you think Eprah’s leaders would tell the people if Lawless were able to mount such an attack on citizens? On such a scale?”
She blinked. “What do you mean—what kind of scale?”
His expression grew even graver. “More than a hundred people have vanished from inside the city. No one’s been able to say who’s taking them.” He looked at her sadly. “But Sage, from what I can gather, every single person who’s been taken has either helped a Lawless person or has, themselves, been Lawless.”
He tilted his head toward her. “Now, knowing that, tell me. Do you really think the Lawless are behind these abductions?”
Sage’s brow gathered together as she considered what Mr. Walsh was telling her. “But if they’re not, who is?”
“I can’t say for certain, but I have my suspicions.”
“Who?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Who would be motivated to remove the Lawless and their sympathizers from Eprah?”
She thought for a moment. “Eprah?”
He nodded.
“But who? How? I haven’t heard of that kind of job at graduation…”
“No, not at graduation.” He shook his head. “But there could easily be some sort of promotion or special assignment afterward. It would be no different than any other position, but it would obviously have to be kept a secret. And that’s precisely why this is just speculation on my part.”
“Why wouldn’t they just have them killed? It wouldn’t be that hard, would it? I mean, that’s what part of the problem is with Chances, right? Anyone can strip them for any reason?”
“Nearly.” He nodded hesitantly. “There are a few exceptions, but I wouldn’t think those would stand in their way at all if they just wanted to pick off Lawless sympathizers.”
“Then…” Chills ran down her spine. “Wh-what are they doing with the people?”
“I wish I knew.” A muscle in his cheek twitched. “I can’t even be sure if they’re dead or alive.”
17. AN UNLIKELY DEFENSE
“Ooof.”
Marnie pushed herself off the ground and turned to face Sage again. “Your turn.”
Sage gritted her teeth and gave a curt nod. “Ok,” she breathed.
She’d been given permission to start training again, but every sudden motion was jarring, painful. She couldn’t afford any more time off though if she wanted to remain one of the top competitors in her level. A fluttering in her stomach reminded her of how nervous she was to be back on the mats, even for simple training drills. But she knew her choice—it was either pain now or a far, far worse outcome later.
Heart pounding, she crossed her wrists over her chest. “Huh!” She grunted as she pulled her arms to her sides quickly, signaling her readiness.
Marnie wasted no time. She grabbed Sage’s wrist and twisted it into an unnatural angle as she stepped behind her, dropping to a knee.
Sage’s vision blurred for a fraction of a second as she felt herself whizzing through the air. Her back and free arm hit the mats with a loud thud. A sharp pain shot through her jaw upon impact.
“Oomphf.”
“You ok?” Genuine concern was written on Marnie’s face.
Sage rubbed her jaw and sat up. “I’m ok,” she said as she stood up. “It’s still just a bit sensitive.” She opened and closed her jaw a couple more times before resuming her stance. “Huh!”
As before, Marnie’s hand shot out, gripping Sage’s wrist firmly, forcing her to flip to avoid a broken arm. She thudded to the ground again and clenched her teeth in pain. Scrambling to her feet once more, she took a deep breath and crossed her arms, steeling herself for the third throw.
“Alright, everyone, good job today. Time to finish up and hit the showers.” Ms. Bax paced the edge of the room, eyeing the students.
Marnie and Sage exchanged a look.
“Do you want to finish your set?” Sage asked.
“Are you up for it?”
Sage gritted her teeth. “I can be. It’s only fair.”
Marnie hesitated. “No, it’s ok. I think I’ve got that throw down pretty well.”
“You really do, actually.” Sage’s words were true, but it wouldn’t have mattered—she wasn’t going to argue anyway. She wasn’t sure her jaw could take the impact from another half dozen throws, and she really didn’t want to spend any more time in the infirmary. All the same, she tried to keep her relief hidden. It was unwise to show weakness even in practice.
Trudging into the changing room along with the other girls, she plopped down on the bench in the center of the room. She hadn’t been back long enough to rebuild the stamina she lost in her time away. Every training session was utterly exhausting, and she was beyond impatient for that to change.
Penelope scooted onto the bench beside her, a second set of fresh clothes in her hand. Sage took them gratefully and tugged off her sweaty uniform. She slipped into the clean outfit, wadding the uniform into a wet ball.
As she walked over to the wall to deposit the clothes in the bin, she overheard part of a conversation taking place in a crowd of girls. Her ears perked up, and she craned her neck slightly, listening as discreetly as she could.
“It’s awful, really. I don’t know how anyone could do something like that to someone else. To their families.”
“They ought to have all their Chances stripped. Right away.”
“Yeah, but they have to get caught first. They have to be identified as sympathizers. Otherwise, we’d just be losing tons of productive members of Eprah.”
“Maybe that’s worth it to stop these people from just vanishing.”
Sage’s stomach plummeted to her feet. They were talking about people just like her. The Lawless. If they knew who she was, if they were all old enough, they would have killed her on the spot without hesitation.
“But they don’t know for sure that it’s the Lawless. It could still be anyone. They just said that’s who they suspect right now.”
Sage froze. She was positive she knew that voice, but it didn’t make any sense. Tossing the clothes in the bin, she turned around glanced at the girls with as much subtlety as she could muster. Carnabel. She was r
ight—Carnabel had uttered those words. But why in Eprah’s name was she defending the Lawless?
Not wanting to get caught eavesdropping, Sage hurried past the group as they continued deliberating the best ways to smoke out Lawless traitors. She grabbed Penelope’s arm, ignoring her attempt to protest. “Let’s go,” she muttered, rushing out the door.
“Everything ok?” Penelope finally managed to ask once Sage had marched them down a couple hallways and finally slowed down and released her arm.
“Not really.”
Penelope raised a questioning brow.
“I just needed to get out of there.” Sage pursed her lips, refusing to say more. She was grateful that Penelope didn’t keep pushing her for more explanation. It helped that they both knew they were most likely being watched.
She wasn’t sure which disturbed her more—that her own peers would turn against her if they knew the truth or that Carnabel had unknowingly defended her.
18. SMUDGES
Sage practically skipped through the hall with Penelope, happy that, for once, she was going to be a few minutes early for the Interest Society meeting. But she was completely unprepared for the scene that awaited her just outside the classroom.
About half the class was already huddled near the door, whispering furtively. Overcome with curiosity, she and Penelope exchanged a glance and made their way toward whatever seemed to be garnering all this attention.
Poking her head between a couple older students’ arms, Sage let out a small gasp.
Along the wall between two classrooms, smeared across the bricks in black letters, was another message from the Lawless faction.
Truth cannot be hidden forever. Sacrisvita.
Whoever had done this had taken a huge risk. These words randomly showing up inside the Institution would cast suspicion on everyone. Again. Sage sucked in her breath. She already knew most of her classmates would turn her over to be shunned in an instant if they thought she’d had anything to do with this. The Lawless were even more hated than normal as of late. She had to be very careful not to arouse any suspicion.
Even as the thoughts tumbled through her head, she glanced around wildly, trying to see any clues as to who might have done this. Surely no one would have been stupid enough to stick around or get caught leaving a Lawless message for everyone to see.
Her eyes landed on Cal. His cheeks were flushed, and he was doubled over like he was about to be sick. Crossing his arms, he dug his fingers into his biceps. Then she saw it. Dirty black smudges. The fingers on his right hand were completely covered in a splotchy black substance that eerily resembled the ink on the wall.
She couldn’t help herself. “Cal, did you…”
His eyes shot toward her. He shook his head vehemently. “I-I was the first one here. I just—I just touched it.”
The raised eyebrows and grumbles of the students next to him made him snap his mouth closed again. He looked like he was trying desperately to hold in his lunch.
By now, a crowd of students was starting to gather, and not all of them were part of their Interest Society.
“What in Eprah’s name is going on here?” Ms. Trynn’s voice echoed through the hallway.
The crowd parted slightly, just enough for the instructor to elbow her way to the front where the message was. Her mouth fell open. She looked around.
“Who did this? Who did this?” she demanded.
She followed the gaze of several students to Cal, who was rocking slightly at this point.
“Cal,” she said softly. He didn’t look up. “Cal.” Her voice was louder, firmer this time.
He finally tore his eyes away from the floor, meeting the instructor’s gaze.
“Did you do this?”
Again, he shook his head as fast as he could. He held her gaze for just a moment and dropped his eyes back down almost immediately.
Ms. Trynn pursed her lips and continued staring at him uncertainly. She looked around the group of students again, and this time, her eyes landed on Inette.
“Inette, you’re a Level Sixteen Ambassador, correct?” Ms. Trynn’s voice was strained.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Please go get the headmaster.”
Inette’s eyes darted from the instructor to Cal and back again. “Yes, ma’am,” she said quietly, hurrying away.
An uncomfortable silence had settled over the hallway after Ms. Trynn’s arrival. The only sound Sage noticed was Cal’s rapid breathing. When Inette returned with the headmaster just a few minutes later, it felt like they’d been standing in the hall for hours.
“Mr. Whurr,” the headmaster addressed Cal with almost a growl, “I see you’ve been busy.”
His eyes were filled with desperation as he looked up at the headmaster. “No,” he protested in a whisper. “I-it wasn’t me.”
Headmaster Alexander narrowed his eyes at the boy. “We’ll see about that. Come with me.”
Cal forced himself into a mostly standing position, trailing weakly after the headmaster.
“Enough gawking,” Ms. Trynn snapped. “If you’re not in Naturagre, get out of here.”
Grumbling, the students began to disperse, casting backward glances over their shoulders as they left.
“And if you are in Naturagre,” she added, “hurry up and get inside. We’ve lost enough time in this period as it is.”
Sage heaved a sigh and filed through the door along with the others. She hoped, for Cal’s sake, that he’d been telling the truth.
19. THE ASSIGNMENT
“This is your last chance to back out. After this, you’ve officially crossed a line you can’t return from.” Mr. Walsh hesitated, glancing over Sage’s shoulder at the holograph floating above the table. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
She clenched her jaw and nodded. “I’m sure.”
He pursed his lips. “Alright.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved something, keeping it clutched tightly in his fist.
“During your next Naturagre excursion, I need you to make a delivery for me.” Mr. Walsh extended his arm, dropping a small object into Sage’s hand. “I figured we should start with something familiar. And small.”
Sage stared down at her palm. She gaped at the item she was holding and then looked back up at Mr. Walsh in surprise.
“But…” she stopped. “How did you—” She bit her lip, unable to finish the question.
Her eyes dropped to her hand again. She was holding the same ring that Lita had discovered in the cataloguing room the year before. The yellow gemstone and its garish green swirls seemed to serve as a horrific reminder of what had happened to her friend.
His lips stretched into a grim smile. “She told me—before she…” he cleared his throat. “Lita told me where it was hidden. Before she graduated.” The muscle in his jaw twitched. “It wasn’t that difficult to retrieve.”
Mr. Walsh remained stone-faced. “Certain key leaders believe that Mr. Gaztok was lying when he told Lita that the gem ciphers are a myth.” He gazed at her intently. “I am one of those that still believes the gems are real—and very useful. And I suspect that this ring holds one of those gems.”
Sage turned the ring over in her hands. Her brows furrowed. “But if it’s a cipher, it has to decode something. What? Am I delivering that too?”
“No.”
“Well, then where is it? Or have you already decoded everything?”
He sighed. “Sage, I understand that a lot of unusual circumstances have led you to this position. But the integrity of our organization and the safety of all involved depend primarily upon compartmentalizing information. I can only tell you what you need to know, and right now, you don’t need to know the answers to those questions.”
She frowned.
“What you do need to know,” he continued, “is where to make the drop.”
Mr. Walsh gestured to the holograph. “This is the next estate you will be visiting.”
“Which part?”
He
shook his head. “The whole thing. This estate belongs to one of the oldest families in Eprah. The Bennicks.”
Sage’s eyes grew wide. “But… It’s too big. It looks like several estates in one. What do they do?”
“Eprah’s name,” Mr. Walsh whistled. “It might be easier to say what they don’t do. They farm a variety of crops and manage Eprah’s main ports, redistribute assets from deceased estates…” he trailed off. “Honestly, they’re involved in Eprah’s inner workings in more ways than I have time to list. But that’s beside the point at present, and anyways, I’m sure you’ll be covering most of it in your prep sessions.”
She tilted her head thoughtfully, studying the image in front of her.
Mr. Walsh pointed to a small section of farmland on the estate. “It’s most likely that you’ll tour this area first. I’d tell you to make the drop here, but as you can see, the land is far too flat and indistinct to be able to hide the ring well enough. Even if you managed to hide it, my contact wouldn’t be able to find it quickly enough—it would draw too much attention.
“So we’re going to take a slight risk and hope that your classmates are cooperative—usually, it’s not a problem, but I know things happen sometimes, and estate tours don’t get completed as they should.”
He swallowed, tracing his finger over the farmland until it hovered over a heap of rocks near a tree line. “This is where you’ll drop the ring. The rocks will provide good cover for later retrieval.”
She nodded slowly.
The expression on his face became even more grave. “Sage?”
“Yeah?”
“I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that the stone not be scratched or broken. You have to be incredibly careful. If you drop it and it gets scratched, it could be rendered entirely useless. The information it’s meant to unlock could be lost forever.”
The color drained from her cheeks as her stomach dropped. “Wh—why are you having me do this then? Why not someone else?”
He closed his eyes for a moment and exhaled slowly before his lids fluttered open again. “Believe me, this wasn’t my first choice. I hate burdening you with something so important right away.” He paused and looked her steadily in the eye. “But everything we do is important. And we won’t have another chance like this for months, possibly longer. It has to be now.”