The Outcast (Sacrisvita Book 7)

by Dylan Steel

  “I see.”

  “It is my belief that, in time, reintegration would establish a degree of normalcy that would allow the truth to better come to light.” Ms. Verdan paused before continuing more quietly, almost as if she were speaking to herself. “Yes, reintegration, therapy, and periodic interviews with myself. That would enable us to best monitor her progress without the unfortunate bias of extreme adolescent trauma.”

  “Diminished bias, at the very least.” The other man’s voice held an edge of caution. “It seems like a dangerous assumption, thinking she could completely compartmentalize the trauma, even given sufficient time.”

  “Perhaps. Or perhaps your own relationship with the girl has clouded your judgment about this situation. Why else would Mr. Gaztok have sent you in his place over this matter?” the headmaster said scornfully.

  “Not that he needs to explain himself to either me or you, but he has other priorities to attend to at the moment. And I’d hardly call it a relationship,” the man said icily. “Unless you similarly consider yourself overly attached to any students at the Institution with whom you’ve dealt punishments. In which case, you and I have quite a similar relationship with the girl.”

  Sage pushed herself away from the door, stumbling backward. Her eyes grew wide with understanding. In that moment, she realized two things. First, and much to her relief, she was going to be given the chance to rejoin her level. And second, her defender was none other than Kai Abeldra.

  2. NORMAL

  As soon as Sage picked up on the familiar buzz of the lights flicking on overhead, her eyes flew open. She sat bolt upright, tossing her sheets in a wad against the wall. She flung her legs over the edge of the bed and practically slid down the sides of the ladder, landing on the floor with a hollow thud just as a dim light stretched over the room.

  Hurrying around the room, she managed to get ready faster than she ever had before. She fastened her hair into two neat braids on either side of her head as she waited for her breakfast tray to show up in the bin on the wall. Just because she was ahead of schedule didn’t mean the rest of the Institution was.

  She wolfed down her breakfast and threw the tray back in the bin, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she stared impatiently at the door, willing it to open.

  This was the day. Her last day in isolation. They’d promised.

  A week and a half had passed since she’d overheard Ms. Verdan’s recommendation that Sage be permitted to rejoin her level. And she hadn’t been officially informed that she’d be starting normal classes again until yesterday.

  Not surprisingly, the headmaster had been resistant to the plan, but Mr. Gaztok had ordered that she be allowed to leave isolation, and no one in their right mind ever questioned Mr. Gaztok’s orders. He’d promised Sage that he would keep her from being shunned if she gave him information on her captors, and he was just holding up his end of the bargain. Of course, they claimed they still didn’t have enough information to arrest Mrs. Bennick, but there wasn’t anything Sage could do about that. She’d done her part and, for once, had actually told the truth.

  Sage paced back and forth across the small room, waiting impatiently for someone to walk through the door and escort her to her first class.

  After several minutes passed, she began to worry that Mr. Gaztok had changed his mind. She bit her lip as she stared at the door, sure that she’d been forgotten and that she’d never get out of this room.

  “Miss Indarra.”

  She jumped, spinning around to face the voice she’d just heard. The headmaster’s projected form was standing eerily in front of her.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t have time to come see you about this in person—I’m quite busy, you know—but there’s been a slight delay in your release.”

  An overwhelming sense of dread gripped her heart. “O-oh,” she stammered dumbly.

  “Not long,” the headmaster continued, “just until this evening. We were unable to secure an escort for you before then, and we also thought it best if you were reintroduced to your classmates in a less stringent setting. You’ll continue with your independent study for the remainder of the day. Obviously, you’ll need to be diligent so that you don’t fall behind in your classwork, or you’ll be right back where you started and will have wasted everyone’s time.”

  “Yes, sir,” Sage said sadly.

  “Good, then. You’ll be collected for the Common Lounge this evening and continue classes tomorrow with the rest of your level. Your class schedule’s on your databook.”

  With a curt nod, the headmaster disappeared, leaving Sage alone again.

  Her face fell. She knew it was only a few more hours, but it felt like the Common Lounge was an eternity away.

  ***

  It had been exactly thirty-two minutes since Sage had returned her dinner tray to the bin on the wall. She’d managed to spend her day halfheartedly going over her lessons, but since dinner, she’d been completely unable to concentrate and had spent most of the time pacing and staring at the clock on her databook screen.

  A loud clang came from the end of the room, making her jump and whirl around.

  “Miss Indarra?” Madame Humphrey appeared in the doorway. She looked her pupil up and down cautiously, almost as if she expected Sage to be carrying some sort of contagion.

  “Yes?”

  “Please come with me. And bring that along with you.” She nodded toward the databook in her hands and then turned abruptly, not waiting for a response. Sage scurried into the hallway after her, following her in a vast silence punctuated only by their footsteps.

  “You’ve made quite a name for yourself in your absence,” Madame Humphrey finally murmured as they walked. “The Institution has enacted several policy changes to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”

  “Like this?” Sage clenched her jaw, stifling her anger as best she could.

  “Mmm, yes. Your kidnapping has brought about quite the policy changes,” Madame Humphrey repeated absentmindedly. “I imagine the changes haven’t been popular with all the students. It’s been quite restrictive.”

  Sage’s stomach turned. Was the entire student body going to blame her for a slew of new rules? Would she have been better off staying locked up in her room at the Bennicks’ estate?

  “Of course,” Madame Humphrey continued, “all the rules will be returned to normal once this whole ordeal with you has been put to rest.”

  “Put to rest?” Sage asked uneasily.

  “Mmm, yes. Once your captors have been brought to justice.”

  “Oh.”

  She fell silent. That wasn’t exactly encouraging. After her last session with Ms. Verdan, she couldn’t be sure Sophia Bennick or Sam or whatever-his-name-was would ever be brought to justice. Not that she even knew what Eprah considered justice for something like kidnapping. She shuddered. Undoubtedly, it would be more than a slap on the wrist for endangering someone whose worth was yet to be determined.

  But she was still unsure if she’d ever really been in danger. After all, they’d never hurt her—at least not when she’d been cooperative. Other than a couple run-ins with Sam when she’d tried to slip past him, most of her injuries were self-inflicted. And they were pretty much all from escape attempts.

  Her breathing quickened as the door to the Level Thirteen Common Lounge came into view, chatter spilling into the hallway as they neared it.

  “Here you are, Miss Indarra. Please remember that you’re under a close watch and are expected to stick to a strict schedule during your adjustment period. Tardiness and other rule-breaking will not be tolerated and will be dealt with severely should either occur,” Madame Humphrey warned. She ushered her inside the lounge and immediately left.

  Sage stayed rooted awkwardly to her spot in the doorway. The noise level in the room began to drop abruptly as one by one, her classmates turned to face her, gawking in silence. She almost wished she could go back to her room and hide, but that w
asn’t an option anymore. She’d made sure of that.

  All the same, she wouldn’t have minded being invisible. She wasn’t sure what kind of reception she’d been expecting, but this certainly wasn’t it.

  “Sage!” Penelope’s voice rang out across the room. Her face lit up. She pushed aside a few other girls and sprinted across the lounge to her friend, throwing her arms around her spiritedly as she bowled into her.

  “Ooof.” Sage stumbled backward, trying to regain her balance.

  “They were right! You’re back!”

  “Can’t… breathe…” Sage rasped out.

  “Oh! Sorry!” Penelope loosened her hold a little but didn’t stop hugging her. “I didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again! I’m so glad you’re ok!”

  “Thanks,” Sage said wryly. “Me too.”

  Penelope released her and took a step back. A crowd of curious peers had begun pressing in, surrounding them. Sage was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

  “I didn’t know if they’d actually let you come back to our level,” Penelope said, chewing her lip. “But I’m so glad they did.” She shoved Sage good-naturedly. “Besides, I told you you’d be in big trouble with me if you ever got yourself shunned.”

  Sage returned a weak smile. “It was pretty cl—”

  “What happened?” someone in the crowd asked.

  Penelope looked up, startled. Apparently, she hadn’t noticed their fellow Level Thirteens piling up behind them.

  “Who did it?” asked another.

  “Did you think you were gonna die?”

  “Have they caught them yet?”

  “Seriously?” Anger flashed behind Penelope’s eyes. “She’s back for, like, a minute, and you want her to spill all her deepest darkests? Get real.” She grabbed Sage’s arm and forcibly snaked her way through the crowd, steering them toward the back corner of the room.

  “Lay off!” she growled menacingly over her shoulder as they broke free of the throng. The few curious onlookers who had started to follow shrank back when she snapped at them. Even Sage was a little intimidated by her friend’s bluster.

  “Find another spot.” Penelope jerked her thumb at a group of mousy students sprawled out over the corner seating area. They looked back at her with wide eyes and scrambled to collect their databooks, scampering quickly away.

  Sage felt everyone’s eyes burning into the back of her head, and it took every ounce of willpower she had to fight the urge to turn around. They were the only ones in this corner of the room, but they were nowhere close to alone.

  “Sit,” Penelope encouraged her, glaring daggers at a few bolder students who looked like they were contemplating another ambush. They backed off in defeat.

  Hesitantly, Sage lowered herself onto the couch, glancing uncertainly at her friend. Penelope certainly seemed to have become bossy in her time away.

  “Do you need anything?” Penelope prodded.

  Sage shrugged. “Did you have something in mind?”

  “Sorry, that was probably a dumb question,” she chided herself. “We could get out of here and—”

  “No.” Sage shook her head forcefully. “They’re watching everything I do. I’m basically one wrong step away from being shunned.”

  “Oh.” Penelope paused, studying the ground. “Well… Are you ok? Like, really ok? I mean, we don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to. I’m sure you’ve had to talk about everything a lot…” she trailed off, biting her lip.

  “I’m as ok as I can be, I guess. But I really don’t wanna talk about it.” Sage rubbed her knee instinctively even though it no longer hurt.

  “Right.” Penelope nodded. “Then I guess I’ll talk.” She offered a half-smile. “You have no idea how crazy things have been around here,” she said, her eyes widening as she rambled. “The instructors had us locked down tight. Like, there were at least ten of them posted around the yard any time we left the building—even just for free play—which, by the way, we’re officially too old for now.” She rolled her eyes. “And they canceled almost all Interest Societies that go off campus.”

  “They did?”

  “Mmhmm. Everyone thinks they were scared to death there was going to be a kidnapping spree or something.” Penelope lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper. “They blamed it on the Lawless, you know.”

  Sage pursed her lips and cast her eyes downward, staying silent.

  “I guess they told you that,” she said softly. “Not that you…” she stopped herself. “But anyways, that’s what the headmaster said. Who knows if the people in charge of the investigation were even telling him the truth. It doesn’t even make sense for them to kidnap kids. We’re not the ones they—”

  “Hey, Sage.” Pippa’s hopeful voice interrupted the conversation. She sank down cautiously into a cushion at the opposite end of the couch.

  “Hey.” Nic came up behind her.

  “We’re glad you’re back,” Marnie piped up too as she appeared nearby. “Safely. Back safely,” she added.

  “Thanks,” Sage said, forcing a smile. “Really.” She hesitated, then added, “This whole coming back thing is a lot more awkward than I was hoping.”

  “At least it’s not as weird as you just mysteriously being gone one day.”

  “Marnie!” Pippa glared at her.

  “What? It’s true.” Marnie rolled her eyes. “They tried to hide it, but you could tell even the instructors were freaked out.”

  “Everyone was,” Nic said quietly.

  “For the longest time, they wouldn’t tell us what happened,” Pippa said. “We just got bits and pieces. Rumors, mostly. And pretty much the only ones who knew anything about what had happened were other kids in your Interest Society. They were all pretty freaked.”

  “Not to mention sworn to secrecy by the headmaster,” Penelope added.

  “Which is exactly why everyone heard about it by dinner,” Pippa giggled.

  “What did you all hear, exactly?” She didn’t quite mean for it to, but the question came out almost as a growl.

  “Beautification and a few other government buildings were subjected to emergency lockdowns,” Marnie answered, not noticing Sage’s irritation. “It was a big deal.”

  “Some people thought you’d accidentally been incinerated in Beautification’s basement,” Pippa whispered. “Not that I believed it,” she added quickly.

  “You totally did for the first week,” Marnie snorted.

  “Did not! You said—”

  “That’s probably plenty for tonight,” Penelope interrupted as she stood up, giving Sage a sideways glance. “Maybe we should work on our assignments or something else super normal so that Sage gets a break from the insanity.” She turned to Sage. “Besides, I’m guessing you’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Maybe Nic can help get you up to speed?” She raised a questioning brow at Nic.

  He nodded eagerly. “Definitely.”

  “No, actually, it’s ok.” Sage slowly let out a breath. “I’m actually—they tested my proficiency levels to make sure I could be in Level Thirteen. I’m not behind at all.”

  “Very funny.” Penelope snorted.

  “No, really.” Sage shot her a disapproving look. “I actually scored as almost a Level Fourteen.”

  “Oh.” Penelope’s face turned red. “Sorry. I just figured…”

  Nic and Marnie exchanged uncertain glances.

  Sage squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. When she opened them again, the others were all looking at her expectantly.

  They were curious. She couldn’t blame them. But she also couldn’t even begin to tell them what she’d been through for the past year.

  “I’m not going to talk about it tonight. I’m not even sure I’ll want to later. Please…” her voice cracked as sympathetic eyes swept over her. Even them just staring, not asking any questions—it felt like some sort of violation. She didn’t want their pity. She just wanted normalcy—not that she knew what that was anymore.

&
nbsp; To her relief, a familiar pinch ran across her body as Madame Humphrey’s silhouette appeared in the doorway. She could see the others had felt it too. It had been a long time since she’d felt the zeptobes’ presence, and it was strangely comforting.

  “Bedtime, ladies!”

  Sage hurriedly got to her feet and shuffled toward the exit with the other girls. The hardest part was over.

  At least for now.

  3. REALITY

  “Everyone’s staring at me.” Sage glanced around nervously as she put down her breakfast tray and slid into her seat.

  “Well, yeah,” Marnie said with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not sure what you expected. Everyone’s been talking about you disappearing for the past year. You’re sort of a weird celebrity or something.”

  Sage said nothing as she stared at her plate of gray mush. She picked at the edge of it unenthusiastically with her spoon. At least she’d liked the meals her captors served her. But this was her reality again.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Penelope said encouragingly. “Something else is bound to happen soon that will make them forget all about you.”

  “Did you have something in mind?” Sage asked wryly.

  “Not yet,” she grinned. “But I’m sure I could come up with something if you want.”

  Sage smiled. “Let’s give it at least a day before you do something you’ll get in trouble for.”

  Penelope shrugged and elbowed her playfully. “Your loss.”

  “You got back just in time,” Pippa said between bites, changing the subject. “We have to say which Interest Society we want by today.” She swallowed. “Too bad you didn’t get to try any out before deciding this year. Do you know what you’re gonna pick? Or are they gonna give you an extension or pick for you or something?”

  “Uh… They’re actually—” Sage hesitated, then realized they’d figure out the truth soon enough. She figured she may as well tell them. “I’m not going to be in an Interest Society at all this year.”