by Narro, B. T.
“I thought I saw you in my class earlier, now I’m certain of it. You were sitting in the front, so you probably didn’t see me. Our instructor is Chemist Leandra, right?”
“Yes!” Steffen exclaimed with more excitement than he meant. “That’s correct. I’m Steffen Duroby.” He extended a hand without a clue why he’d given his last name.
She seemed to hold back a laugh. “You can just call me Treece. It is short for Marratrice, a name I would’ve never chosen if it were up to me.” They shared a handshake.
“I love the name Marratrice.” Love? I don’t even know what I think of the name. You’re sounding strange. Stop it.
“Really? Someone you know must have carried it well.”
“Actually, it’s the first time I’ve met a Marratrice.”
Her eyes slid down and found Leonard along the way. “He’s a little odd, isn’t he, Leonard?” She crouched to push her long, elegant nose against the cage, and Leonard immediately nipped at it. She jumped back with a scream, and two hands rushed to her nose.
“Leonard!” he yelled at his rat. “I’m sorry for that.” But then he saw in her eyes that she was smiling.
She gave a laugh and let her hands drop from her face. “You warned me. He didn’t bite me anyway, just a fun little startle. Are you taking him somewhere?”
“Yes, to see Jack Rose, but the faculty’s individual houses aren’t listed here. So I’m unsure how to tell which one is his.”
“There’s another map on the road to the faculty housing area that’ll tell you. I just came from there. I thought it would be a good idea to take a tour around campus. My roommate had already walked around yesterday, so I have no one to explore with.” She looked at him with eyes that seemed to beckon for something.
“Thank you, that’s helpful.” A strange silence came over them. He felt as if she was expecting him to say something, but he didn’t know what.
“Goodbye, then!” she chirped with a quick turn. Then she was off.
“Goodbye,” he called after her.
He found the sign she’d mentioned. The map had each house listed by number. In the corner, each number was etched with a teacher’s name next to it to show where they lived. More than a few teachers shared a number, to his surprise, though they usually also shared a last name. Out of curiosity, he looked to see how many were listed in total. The last number was fifty-six. I would have expected more, he thought, which reminded him of last night. Gabby expected more. He felt his heart sink into his stomach.
When Steffen found the right house, his knock was answered so fast that Jack Rose had to have been by the door. The head chemist was barefoot and leaning against the doorway to put on his socks. He had on a white shirt with a turned-up collar that seemed to glow immaculately against his charcoal skin. With the streaks of gray in his hair, he looked at least ten years older than Terren, the head of school who Steffen knew to be in his thirties. “You must be a new student chemist.” His welcoming eyes squinted as he smiled.
“Yes.” Steffen nodded. “I’m very excited to meet you, Chemist Master Jack! I’m Steffen. I was hoping I could discuss a few potions I’ve been working on. Leonard here is an example of a growth potion.”
“A growth potion! And look at the success you’ve had; he’s huge. We should talk, indeed. Unfortunately, I must be leaving shortly.” He pulled the school-issued blue coat over his shoulders and began buttoning. “In the future, please only visit during visiting hours.” He hooked a finger around the doorway where a paper was pinned. Steffen thought it might have been a note for someone, so he hadn’t read it before knocking. He read it now and saw that visiting hours for that day already had passed.
“I apologize. I would be happy to come back tomorrow.”
“I look forward to it.” Jack sat to slip his feet into a pair of shoes. “I have a few tasks to do before I leave, if you could shut the door.”
“Of course.”
“One last thing, Steffen!” he shouted as the door was nearly shut.
“Yes, Chemist Master Jack. What is it?”
“Actually, make that two things. Just call me Jack or Chemist Jack if you prefer. More importantly, be careful with the growth potion. Make sure you don’t drink it or give it to others. Don’t tell anyone of it either. Potions can be far more dangerous than weapons, remember that. We chemists have to be very careful. Some mixtures could change the world forever.”
“I’ll be very careful.”
“Good. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
Steffen closed the door and suddenly realized what he’d just heard. Some mixtures could change the world forever. It’s something he’d thought of many times, but never negatively as Chemist Master Jack had implied. He wanted to create potions that cured sickness and diseases. He wanted to find mixtures that could protect Humans from bears and women from rape. He figured the right potion existed for every problem. Although he looked up to the master chemist, Steffen still wouldn’t believe one mixture could cause so much harm. He trusted history, and never had he read of such an event.
With his last plan for distraction foiled, his mind brought him back to last night. He realized showing up at the wrong time was not unlike what Gabby had done. However, he was only off by hours, while another year or two might have made all the difference for him and Gabby.
Chapter 23: A Visitor in the Night
STEFFEN
Usually, experiences under the influence of alcohol had a haze about them when Steffen reminisced, but not this time. Gabby’s scent, her words, his response, her touch—he remembered all of it, every detail:
He awoke to the sound of his door opening, someone stepping into his room, and then the door closing.
“Who’s there?” he asked, only able to make out her silhouette.
“Steffen, it’s me,” she whispered.
“Me, who?”
“Gabby,” she said, just before kicking a book he’d left on the floor. “Bastial hell! That hurt.”
“I’m naked,” he blurted, not sure what she would make of it.
He could hear her suck in air. No words followed. He waited, looking closely at Gabby but still unable to see more than the shape of her.
“I didn’t know you slept naked,” she finally said.
“Why does it matter?”
It was silent for what may have been a second or a minute, he couldn’t tell, not from memory at least.
“It doesn’t,” she finally said.
“What are you doing in here?”
Again, she wouldn’t speak.
“Are you still there?” he asked, confident she was but unsure what else to say to get her to answer him.
“Yes,” she whispered regrettably, like he’d said something to upset her.
“Is something wrong?”
“No. I thought…” A breath interrupted her. “I was thinking we should lie together.”
That’s when his suspicion was confirmed. Suddenly he was hard, the sheets pushing heavily against him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he managed to get out. His heart was beating so loudly he wondered if she could hear it.
“We’re not going to see each other for a long time. Don’t you want to spend a little more time together?”
“I do.” He did. “But I don’t think we should.”
“Why?” she whispered, clearly hurt.
Gabby truly was her sister’s sister. She had Effie’s face and body, but years younger. Seeing them next to each other, it became clear that Effie was older, but there was nothing discernible about Gabby that made it obvious she was only fourteen—until she spoke. Her voice, if it ever was to change, seemed to be the last thing about her to do so. It was still high and young. It did not have the crisp texture of a woman’s tone—of Effie’s tone.
Steffen found it difficult to use the remaining blood in his brain to process the situation and figure out what he could say to have her leave without a broken heart. But before he could think, she was suddenly on
his bed straddling him with only a blanket between his naked body and her. He’d never felt so much pain and pleasure at the same time as when Gabby pressed her weight down onto him.
“You’re hard. I knew you wanted me.”
“I do.” He did. She leaned over and pressed her lips against his. Right away he knew she was a good kisser, and he wasn’t. His lips felt lost, always in the wrong place. But hers were confident and rhythmic, and soon he fell into her pattern. A wild sensation of excitement and anxiety stormed through his chest as they kissed harder and deeper in each passing moment.
It was too dark for him to tell what she was wearing, just that it was something—unlike him. His hands beneath the sheets found her bent knees and grabbed them in the hope he could somehow physically lift her off him with such subtlety that she wouldn’t even know it had happened. But of course, his efforts were futile. If he wanted her to stop, he would have to say so.
“Stop,” he whispered so softly even he couldn’t hear it. His body was screaming at him to shut up. “Stop,” he said louder this time.
She moved her lips to his neck. It felt as if he was being stroked with a brush of pleasure, its bristles dancing from his neck to his feet, giving him goose bumps as it passed. “Stop,” he moaned, then said firmly, “I don’t want this,” even though he did.
That disengaged her lips. She brought her eyes above his. They were dark and deep-set, yet they were the only thing in the room he could see clearly in that moment. Her black hair fell over his face and smelled of her—blackberry pie, sweet and tart at the same time.
“It feels like you do want this.” She sat back to push herself against him once again. Even through the blanket and whatever she had on, there was a softness he suspected had to be the entrance to the inside of her. He’d never felt in less control of himself, grabbing onto the edges of the bed, pushing back against her even though it hurt.
When he began wrestling with the idea of removing the barriers between them, he realized that if she kept at it he would succumb, so he made a final stand. He slipped out from under her so that she was left kneeling to his side.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t do this.”
She let her body plop next to him with a sigh. She fell so close, her nose brushed his cheek.
“I thought this is what you wanted,” she whispered painfully. They were sharing a pillow. He could feel her warm breaths blowing against him. First, he noticed that she was panting. Then, he realized that so was he.
“I like you,” Steffen said. “But I’ve known you nearly all my life, and you’ve always been so much younger than me.”
“But now no laws would be broken. I’m fourteen. I thought you were just waiting for me to turn fourteen. I’m a woman now.”
“The laws weren’t the only reason. You’re Effie’s sister. She and Reela are my closest friends. My parents are friends with your parents. Your father knows me. He and your mother looked after me many times when I was younger. What would they think if they found out? What would Effie think? Even Reela, what would she say?”
For a while, Gabby was silent. Steffen simply listened to her breathing and waited.
When her breathing finally calmed back to normal, she spoke. “I love you. I always have. I don’t care what they think or what they would say.”
Then it was his turn to be silent. If he did love her, he didn’t know it. He’d never allowed himself to consider it. Suddenly, she flipped over to face the other way. A moment of panic came over him that she was going to leave. Instead, she reached down to the floor.
“Here,” Gabby said, tossing his underwear behind her. “Put these on. We’ll cuddle.”
He followed her instructions, and she slid under the covers. Still facing away from him, she took his arm and put it around her waist.
Suddenly, he was hard again. Dammit, he thought as he scooted his lower half away from hers.
“I was so nervous about this night,” she said. “But not half as worried as I’ll be when I leave you here for nearly a year with so many other girls.”
“I’ve never been good with girls. I don’t think that will suddenly change.”
“But now you’re cute.”
“What do you mean?”
“Before you were, meh, not bad, but recently you got cute. I’ve always loved you, though. So it wouldn’t be fair for you to end up with someone else.”
Steffen was baffled by her declaration of love. She spoke so confidently it seemed as if she was absolutely certain. “I don’t understand how you can be so experienced with love. I’m three years older, and I can’t even tell if I’ve ever been in love.”
“Men.” She blew out air loudly. “You may be stronger, but you sure can be dumb. You’ve loved me for a year now. You just haven’t realized it yet.”
It didn’t sound impossible, but still, he had no idea if it was true. “When did you become so wise?”
She turned to face him so that each could see nothing but the other’s eyes. She pressed her nose against his until it slid loose and stopped against his cheek. Then she pressed her soft lips onto his for a long, forceful kiss. There was a loud smack as she pulled away.
“I’ve always been wise. It’s just been hidden under a layer of childhood foolishness.” She got to her feet and then turned back for one last kiss, which he gladly gave. “Come visit me in Oakshen,” she whispered. “Don’t wait until the summer.”
“I will,” he whispered back.
The next morning, she was gone by the time he rose.
Chapter 24: Did That Just Move?
ZOKE
They stood just before the entrance to Merejic, a sturdy line of thick trees that dared Zoke to enter. Vithos strained his neck to see how far his eyesight could go.
“We’ll break for lunch inside, under the shade of the forest.” The Elf spoke as if he wished Zoke had a good reason to disagree, but Zoke knew of no reason, so he said nothing.
Stepping into the shaded forest was like entering a different world. The temperature was refreshingly cool, the grass soft and damp beneath his bare feet. The trees made a creaking sound, sometimes so choppy it sounded like they were laughing. Zoke dug the claws on his toes into the soil to feel the wet dirt on the tops of his feet. He noticed Vithos peering around with caution. “There’s wildlife everywhere,” the Elf said.
Zoke saw only two blood-red birds perched in a tree, chirping to each other. “Anything large?” he asked hesitantly.
Vithos shut his eyes and placed his fingers upon his forehead. “Yes, and small, and in the air, and on the ground, and looking for a mate, and hungry. There’s so much happening at once.” The Elf opened his eyes and the corners of his mouth pinched. “Let’s eat here on the edge before we go deeper in and become completely encircled by unknown animals.”
They ate and drank while seated on a rock. A caterpillar crawled around Zoke’s leg. Just being in the wrong place at the wrong time could mean death here, he realized. The bug is lucky I have no interest in eating it.
The farther from the edge, the louder the forest became. Squeals of annoying birds, sticks cracking, and rustles from nearby bushes grew common, but the worst were the chilling howls Zoke began to hear later in the day.
Their pace had slowed since entering the forest. Zoke had gone back to following Vithos, for there was not enough room for them to walk side by side without a tree or a bush scratching them. The plants were merciless, even seeming to move on their own at times, leaning into Zoke’s path just as he walked by and then snapping back into place before he could turn to confirm that he wasn’t imagining it.
“Does it seem to you that the plants are moving to touch us?” he finally asked when something got him on the back of the neck.
“That would help me feel better about all the scratches I’m getting from running into them clumsily, but they have no conscious mind I can detect, so I don’t believe so. At this rate I’ll bleed to death before we make it there.” Vithos held out hi
s arms.
Zoke was surprised to see the Elf was hardly exaggerating. He was covered in cuts, most of which were deep enough for blood to show. Although it had been only four years since Zoke’s shedding, it was a clear reminder that his skin was far tougher than the Elf’s. Vithos had told Zoke that his skin, and so the skin of all Elves—Vithos assumed—seemed to be as frail as that of a child Krepp. It seemed like a terrible disadvantage, like wearing paper into battle instead of armor.
“How long will we need to travel before we reach the Elven village?” Zoke asked.
“My understanding is that it’s near the center of this forest, maybe twenty miles from where we are now. We could easily reach it tomorrow on open terrain, but it’s tough to say with all these trees. I have no experience with this land. It could be two days, it could be five, especially if I’m wrong about its location. Finding food will be easy, though, as I can lure any animal to us, so try to keep your spirits up.”
Vithos had been right about the north; nature still owned it, so there was much more to see. A few plants in particular caused Zoke to stop for a closer investigation. There was one type he noticed more frequently than others. It stood with a lean, always toward him, reminding him of the way Vithos would lean over him as he listened for lies. Impossibly so, it somehow felt even more otherworldly than when the Elf peered into his mind.
The tall plant had wormlike legs that wrapped around its body. They connected it to the dirt, where the legs trailed off in all directions like a cape twice too long with shredded ends. Its head was always composed of six to ten long leaves that never hung in the exact same shape, but they always created the image of eyes or a mouth, and sometimes even both. Zoke noticed that this particular plant only grew near trees, liking to lean out from behind them, as if to spy.
He poked one with his stick and it seemed to reply with an annoyed shake, moving just a bit too much and too long for his light touch. That’s when Zoke decided he didn’t like this forest.