by W.J. May
Chapter 3
Headmaster Lanford
Back in their room, Molly did a quick hair check and make up refresher. Quick wasn’t quite the right word exactly. She needed half an hour to fix what, in Rae’s opinion, already looked perfect. Then they headed back down the stairs to meet the other girls.
“If we’re the only four here so far, why the heck does Madame Elpis wanna meet downstairs? She makes it sound so…mandatory,” Molly whined as they waited at the main entrance.
Rae ignored the childish tone of Molly’s complaint. “Do you know what her i-ink is?” It felt funny trying to talk as if she understood everything.
“Madame Claws?” Molly laughed. “Not a clue. Each professor, as well as the headmaster and dean, is inked. So we know she has one, we just don’t know what it is.”
Rae grinned. Molly could switch moods faster than a light switch.
Haley, followed by Maria, came down the black and white marble stairs. “I heard Guilder won’t hire anyone who isn’t inked,” Haley said. “My father says the school may seem like any other prestigious college, but everyone who graduates from here does big things. They’re all successful and make loads and loads of money.” She paused to flash a haughty smile. “My father does very well and has big plans for me.” Haley finished with a snobbish smirk.
“What’re you gonna do with wind power?” Molly asked flatly, rolling her eyes.
“I’ll find something, and I’ll be rich,” Haley’s expression transformed from snobby to terrifying, making Rae nervous.
What’s the deal there? Rae wondered if Haley was any relation to the Wicked Witch of the West. All she needs now is the cackle. Rae could just picture Haley all done up in the witch’s black dress saying “I’ll get you my pretty!” and had to turn away from everyone to compose herself so she didn’t laugh out loud.
“Um, okay…” Molly held her hands up. “How? I don’t get how everyone here makes big money, if we’re supposed to keep these abilities hidden from the rest of the world.”
Haley smiled, all BFF again and Rae made a mental note to stay out of her way. She might switch moods as fast as Molly, but for some reason, it was creepier with Haley.
Haley linked her arm through Molly’s. “Wait ‘til you get your ink. Then you an’ I’ll figure out what we can do. We’ll be rich and nab us some even richer hubbies.”
Rae wanted to gag. Real Housewives of Guilder? How lame could they be?
“Haley’s not that bad. Her father was real disappointed when Haley inherited the gift instead of her younger brother. Seems the gift gene is usually passed to males, and there has only been a shift in the past, like, forty years. Some people still would prefer that boys get the gift rather than girls.” Maria’s quiet voice in Rae’s head bore a hint of bitterness.
Rae shifted to dispel the shiver that crept down her spine. It felt incredibly strange to have someone else’s voice inside her head. Can she read my mind too? She turned to Maria and half-smiled. The worried crease on Maria’s face disappeared. That’s not a no…better find out the answer to that question.
Before Rae figured out how to test the issue, Madame Elpis strode in from outside, her heels clicking on the marble tiles. “Ladies, one should not keep gentlemen waiting, especially at meal times.” She turned and reached for a switch above the door. As she raised her arms, her blouse lifted revealing her ink. Rae strained to see over everyone’s shoulders. It was a little bird, a magpie. Molly flapped her arms and made a sour face. The girls giggled, barely managing to suppress the laughter before Madame Elpis straightened and shot them a stern glance.
Molly straightened and whispered to Rae, “Madame Crow definitely has eyes in the back of her head.” Rae thought to herself, You ain’t kiddin’.
The girls followed Madame Elpis along the path, past Joist House to a smaller building set in the shadows. A plaque on the wall by the door proclaimed it Refectory Dining Hall. White with wooden beams throughout, topped with a thatched roof, it reminded Rae of a post card her aunt once got of a Cape Cod house.
The sound from inside the dining area was like a stadium full of screaming fans. But as they entered, all the noise and activity came to a standstill.
A very large man with an overgrown comb-over stood up from his seat at the front table. “Ladies, I’m Headmaster Lanford.” He turned slightly and cleared his throat loudly. “Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to the new students at Guilder.” He walked around the table and introduced the girls by name.
The boys clapped with each introduction, but hands froze midair at the mention of Rae’s name. Boys leaned in toward each other; a murmur of whispers buzzed around the room.
Rae closed her eyes and wished the floor could swallow her up.
Headmaster Lanford seemed oblivious to the reaction. He simply told the girls to find empty seats. From the size of his belly, he seemed to be someone who didn’t like to miss a meal and maybe had seconds and thirds to boot. He probably pinches chips from other people’s plates too.
Devon’s voice rang across the silent room. “We’ve got seats for all of you.”
Rae was so relieved to see a familiar face, she nearly ran to him even with everyone staring. Would hiding under the table be any less noticeable? She settled beside Devon and stared at her empty plate.
“Hope you’re hungry,” the boy on her other side said. “I’m
Andy.” He reached for the water pitcher.
His sleeve slid up, showing Rae his ink. Dark ink detail in black, grays and browns displayed a wolf sitting on its haunches. Rae’s natural curiosity over-ruled her discomfort with her surroundings. She couldn’t stop herself from asking. “Do you have the characteristics of your tattoo? Like Devon does with his fox mark?” Rae dropped her gaze and scolded herself for sounding like Molly with the back-to-back questions. She worried she had probably just screwed up royally, and managed to make an already bad situation even worse. Surprised when Andy laughed, she looked up at him.
“No, I’m a shifter.” He pulled his sleeve up all the way and traced the image with his fingertips, allowing Rae a better view. “Don’t worry, I’m a good wolf. There’s no need to be concerned for Little Red Riding Hood or the Three Little Pigs. They’re all safe from me.” He winked at her.
“Good to know.” She laughed, liking his teasing banter. “Are there any other shapesters…I mean shiftsters…shape-shifters?” She cringed inwardly over her tongue-tied, stilted conversation. Could I act any thicker?
“One other.” Andy pointed to a guy with a beak-like nose sitting further down at their table. “Rob. He shifts into an eagle. Lucky bugger gets to fly!”
“You’re joking?” Rae glanced at Rob who sat across the table, disbelieving the long-armed boy could actually turn into an eagle. She thought back to the large bird on the bus ride and wondered if it could have been him.
“He’s the only one at the school right now who can fly. It’s pretty cool and unbelievable at the same time.”
Rae smiled. “Everything seems pretty cool and unbelievable.
Trust me.”
Devon leaned across Rae and grabbed the basket of buns. “Pretty much all of us here knew about gifting before we started, at the age of twelve. Plus our dads usually explained things prior to coming.” He chuckled. “Kinda like Dad’s “‘facts of life”‘ lecture.”
Not me, thought Rae. No dad to do that for me. And Uncle Argyle was certainly no help either. But she planned on getting answers as soon as she could. Now wasn’t the time to feel sorry for herself so she pushed the emotion to the back of her mind.
Rae carefully schooled her expression to hide her feelings and focused on gathering information. “You’ve been here four years?”
Devon appeared happy to fill her in. “Yeah, the school’s designed to give you three years to prepare for the gift and then another two to help educate you and train the gift. It helps you enter back into the ‘real’ world and do some good with what you’ve been given without revealing yourself.
”
“Quoting the school manual again, Dev?” Andy nudged Rae to show he was teasing.
Rae smiled and played along, but held her hand up, as if to try and stop her thoughts. “Wait a minute.” she considered Devon’s words. “So…you mean, you get this ability and the school helps you hone your talents,” – she waited to see Andy and Devon nod their heads – “but then expects you to act like you’re normal and hide it?” It didn’t make sense.
Someone at their table coughed, and mumbled, “Like father, like daughter.”
Rae gave a slight jerk to her head, trying to see who’d said it. She’d heard it loud and clear, even if they were trying to muffle the words. She glanced around, but no one seemed able to meet her gaze, all of them suddenly too interested in their plates to lift their heads. She didn’t get the comparison, but knew it had to do with her. It sounded too similar to her uncle’s last words.
“It’s easier to hide it.” Andy patted her forearm.
“Why? Wouldn’t the government or the country want to know? They could stop bad guys, and surely, not everyone with this ink-stamp uses it for good.”
A few more snickers erupted around the table. Rae glared.
It ticked her off that people would think her dumb for not knowing any of this. They’d all been raised in this world, and she had only just been shoved into it today. They know so much about me, don’t they know that too? She turned to Devon, wondering why his face had turned beet red.
Andy cleared his throat. “What would you do if someone shape-shifted right in front of you? Or while you were on a plane, you saw the stewardess boil water with no kettle, just her hand?” He shook his head.
Devon piped in, “If we let our secrets out, could you imagine how scientists or military people would treat us?
Andy replied before Rae had a chance to open her mouth. “Crap. They’d hunt us down, shoot first and ask questions later. We’d all be a bunch of lab rats.” He grinned. “Or lab foxes and lab wolves.”
Devon tossed a bunch of pasta on his plate and elbowed Rae. “Don’t stress about it. These are really cool abilities to have at sixteen, but as we get older, they get strong --”
“…And can become very scary,” Andy added.
Rae shuddered. Maybe that’s the reason why Uncle Argyle didn’t say a word about the real Guilder College. He didn’t want to tell me that I’m a freak and I have to go to school with superkids.
“Guilder just wants to teach you to appreciate the gift and use it to your own, and the world’s, best advantage. Lots of famous people attended here. It’s the reason King Henry VIII started this college in the first place,” Andy said.
Rae sat back in surprise. This goes THAT far back? “He wasn’t gifted, was he?” Nothing could shock her now.
Devon and Andy laughed before Devon replied, “No, he just wanted to find someone gifted to help get him a male heir.”
Molly rolled her eyes from across the table. “He should’ve thought about not wearing those awful-looking tights, or maybe spoken to a doctor to learn it’s the male who determines the sex of babies.”
Rae glanced sideways at her, wondering if Molly realized yet that the science of genetics had not existed way back then. If they had, good ‘ol Henry wouldn’t have needed a divorce, and England might still be part of the Roman Catholic Church. She decided to ignore Molly’s outburst. “I’ve got another question.” “Hit me.” Devon slowly pulled his eyes away from Molly. The corners of his lips were twitching.
Obviously, he’s thinking it too, but won’t point it out. Handsome and nice…great combo. He just keeps getting better and better! He was looking expectantly now and Rae’s mind snapped back to her question. “You said your dad told you. What about your mom?”
“She doesn’t know.”
Rae had been about to hit him with her next question, but hadn’t expected that answer and got sidetracked by it. “Huh?” “Dad’s inked. He never told my mom. She just figures it’s a tattoo from his teenage days. He told me the truth when I got the letter to come here.”
Rae tried to absorb that, wondering which of her parents had a tattoo, or maybe if they hadn’t died, if one of them would have told her about all this and sent her to Guilder three years earlier. The possibilities made her head spin, and it was only the continuation of the conversation that brought her back to the present.
Andy leaned forward, his voice slightly lower. “Only one parent’s inked. Except in –”
“It’s almost always the male.” Devon shot Andy a look.
Rae didn’t miss Devon’s smooth attempt to cut Andy off and prevent him from saying something, and glanced back and forth at both of them. “What’s the matter?” Her voice rose slightly and conversations around their table stopped. She turned her entire body to face Devon. “Why so secretive? Seriously, what could be weirder than what I’ve already found out today?”
He made no response. Everyone around them sat there with a wide-eyed deer-in-the-headlights look that people got when they were caught by surprise.
That’s my look! I should be the one looking like that! Something doesn’t add up. Something isn’t being said and I have to know what it is. So she picked what she thought was a random response. “Does this have something to do with my dad?”
The entire hall became quiet. Everyone stopped eating. Rae felt hundreds of pairs of eyes focus on her. No one said a thing. Most expressions held dislike, others pity, which she couldn’t stand. Devon’s sympathetic face became too much to take. She stood, ready to go back to the dorm and pack her bags. This is bullshit. All of it.
“Getting a wee bit frustrated, Ms. Kerrigan?” Headmaster Lanford stood at the head of their table. He appeared calm, almost oblivious to the reaction of the other students. His eyes held understanding without pity. “Would you care to join me on a walkabout?”
Yeah, I have some questions for Mister Combover. “Fine, let’s go,” she snapped, and then hastily added, “Sir.”