Dark Nebula (The Chronicles of Kerrigan)

by W. J. May

  Rae wondered if changing the furniture could alter the entire mood of the room. She momentarily considered it might have something to do with who now occupied it. “You wanted to see me, sir?” She stood awkwardly in front of his desk, not sure if she should sit or wait to be offered a chair.

  “Yes.” Dean Wardell fidgeted with some paperclips on his desk then straightened a stack of already neat papers, before hiding his hands under the desk.

  Feeling edgy herself, Rae tried to prepare herself. While not totally sure what this was all about, she had a feeling she wouldn’t like what he had to say. Please don’t let this be about Devon…please let him be alright.

  The dean cleared his throat. “I like you, Miss Kerrigan. You’re good for this school--for the faculty and our students. You’ve a very bright future and a chance to make a difference in this world of chaos.” He glanced towards the parking lot window and frowned.

  “Thank you, sir.” Okay...This obviously didn’t have anything to do with where Devon had gone. But—

  “But, I want you to stay away from my son.”

  Rae’s mouth fell open, momentarily stunned. It was her worst fear, fully realized, and she couldn’t respond. She didn’t even know where to begin.

  “Listen closely.” His eyes narrowed at her. “You’re a good kid, but you’re not what my son needs—plus, and you need to get this through your pretty little head, tatùs don’t date. They. Can’t. Marry.” Rae felt his emphasis of each word drill through her being. “Don’t fill your head with silly notions that it might work for you because of who your father was.” He pounded the desk with his fist and leaned forward, making Rae edge back to maintain distance between then. “Devon deserves more than you can give him. He doesn’t need someone who’s broken and carrying a lifetime of baggage. He needs to meet a normal girl and have my grandchildren!” The anger, so evident in every fiber of his being, became more than she could stand. She had feared this exact scenario, or some form of it, for so long, now that it was actually happening, her brain couldn’t process it.

  She tried to focus on the painting behind Devon’s father, the room now spinning. Breathe, girl, breathe. “Sir.” Rae ran her tongue over her dry lips. “I-I’m not sure wh-what you’re trying to imply. Devon and I are friends–”

  “Please!” He snorted, his eyes shooting towards the window again. “I see the way he looks at you and the way you can’t take your eyes off him. You two are playing with fire, and we know what happened to your parents when they took that route.” The fear receded just a bit, enough for a lick of anger to enter the mix. This particular argument was a sore point with her. Yeah, they made me. If he resented her parents’ union, he must also resent her very existence, which to Rae, was just plain rude. The dean must have sensed that she had worked up the gumption to strike back. He held his hand up in the air to stop her from replying. “You’re both young. Go find someone, anyone, but my son.”

  “Sir–”

  “Stay away from my son, Miss Kerrigan,” he hissed. “This is not a request! I’ll remove him from Guilder if I have to.” He stood, his chair creaking in protest against the abrupt movement. “I’ll not mention this again. Good day.” He hit the remote and the door behind them swung open.

  Too stunned to say anything, Rae surrendered and fled the office. I’m never going back to that stupid, round room! Nothing good ever came from her visits there. Rae raced back across the campus, straight up the stairs of Aumbry house and directly into her room. She had an almost instinctual need to hide, like a wounded animal going to ground.

  Chapter 16

  Disclosure

  The weather changed overnight. Dark, dreary clouds full of rain and cold drifted in by the wind. What had felt like Indian summer turned into instant bitter winter. Rae spent the weekend in her dorm room, not bothering to answer the door when any of her friends knocked. She needed time alone to think and decide what to do about Dean Wardell.

  There had been no contact from Devon. The only e-mail she had received came from her uncle. Argyle had bought a desktop computer and was making an effort to learn how to use it. He wrote a short message, saying he looked forward to seeing her at Christmas and Aunt Linda thought it would be lovely if she brought a friend. Molly was more than welcome to come to New York. But, he warned in italics, please no tatùs in front of Aunt Linda.

  When Monday morning arrived, Rae debated feigning illness but knew it would only bring more people to her door. Going to class would be easier, even if it meant forcing herself to face other people. The one thing that made leaving the room seem not quite totally unbearable was that over the weekend, it had become clear and Dean Wardell had not told anyone else about his conversation with her. If he had, the news would have spread all over campus and there’s no way she would have been left alone. That meant that all the knocks on her door, and kind entreaties to come out were due solely to the fact that her friends cared about her. Unfortunately, it didn’t really make her feel better.

  What difference would it make if friends are worried about me? I can’t mention Dean Wardell’s threat, nor can I talk about me and Devon with anyone but Devon--and, well, maybe Julian. But both of them were gone and since she hadn’t heard anything from them since the dance, who knew when they’d return?

  Sighing, Rae slipped her rain jacket on and headed out of Aumbry House’s main doors. She timed it perfectly: early enough for class, but too late for breakfast. It allowed her to avoid her classmates at the tables in the cafeteria. She had no appetite anyway.

  She slipped into the Oratory, pleased to be the first one there. The Grand Room always made her feel better. The Tudor decorations from the dance had been taken down, but the room still held its ancient appeal. Remembering her feelings as she had danced with Devon, she walked along the edge of the black and white marble floor, tracing her hands along the carvings on the wall.

  Three quarters of the way down the far side, her fingers snagged on a loose piece of wood. She stopped to push it back into place, and jumped back when a soft rustling noise disturbed the silence of the room. Timid, she glanced back and blinked in surprise. A secret door had opened and a gust of musty air swept past her.

  Checking over her shoulder to make sure no other students had come in; she turned her attention to the secret compartment. Unable to resist, she stepped into the short, narrow opening. Presuming there would be some sort of light, she reached for a switch or something to make the darkness disappear. She couldn’t find anything on either side of the tiny door, so she used the hum of Molly’s tatù and flickered her fingers towards the ceiling. She breathed a sigh of relief when an antique, brass light flickered on. The ornate light had once been oil but someone over the years had wired it for electricity.

  Rae stepped farther into the space, the musty, stale air not nearly as strong as it had been since the door had first opened. The room was quite large, probably the size of her dorm. She harrumphed when she saw the Tudor bed, fit for a king, on the far side of the room. All the furniture also matched the same pattern with King Henry’s royal emblem carved in each. She slapped her forehead when she remembered Devon joking about King Henry building a private bedroom for his personal use back when Carter had appeared from a different hidden door.

  A pang of guilt reminded her that she shouldn’t be inside here. She slipped back out, wondering how Carter managed to squeeze through the other door with his tall frame. As she reached for the loose piece of wood on the wall, she snapped her fingers to extinguish the light. She spun round to check if anyone had seen her and relaxed when she realized the Oratory was still empty. She traced her fingers over the detailed scene trying to remember something about this picture that would set it apart. It looked so similar to all the others.

  She walked back along the same wall, trying to spot other tiny pieces of jutting wood. They were impossible to find. She reached the second corner of the Oratory and still hadn’t found another hidden room. The she noticed it, another tiny piece of
wood standing out. She started to reach for it.

  Rae jumped when a cold hand squeezed her shoulder.

  “There you are!” Molly’s voice bounced off the walls and floor like a shout.

  Startled, Rae reached for Molly’s hand and accidentally sent a strong shock between the two of them. Molly hopped back, surprise written across her face.

  “Sorry.” Molly laughed, shaking her wrist. “I figured you heard me come in.” She blew on her hand. “Remind me not to sneak up on you, ever. I think that shock of yours is three times stronger than I can do.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Rae gushed. “Are you alright?”

  “Fine, just feels like I caught a baseball in my bare hand. Good thing it was me. If you did that to someone else, you’d probably stop their heart.”

  Rae glanced at the tiny piece of wood sticking out. It seemed so obvious to her. “I must’ve been lost in my own little world.”

  Molly patted her arm. “I didn’t see you all weekend—and you’re pale. Everything okay?”

  Rae shrugged, in no mood to lie or tell the truth, but she knew Molly wouldn’t let it be. She had to come up with something. “Maybe I’m coming down with a bug. I felt exhausted all weekend and didn’t feel up to breakfast this morning.” Rae figured that would stop Molly’s tirade of questions before they started. She hoped.

  “Are you pregnant?” Molly crossed her arms over her chest. She leaned in and sniffed Rae.

  “No!” Rae swatted at Molly’s nose. “That’s impossible and for the record, you can’t bloody smell if someone’s pregnant.”

  Molly shrugged and stepped back. “I’ve got an aunt who can tell if someone’s knocked up just by smelling them. She says pregnant women have a certain glow about them, a tenderness and they smell radiant. She says she’s guessed as many pregnant people right as she’s guessed wrong. I didn’t think you could be, but I figured I’d ask anyways.”

  Rae couldn’t help it. She laughed. It was adorable that Molly didn’t realize the flaw in her aunt’s logic. Crazy Molly could brighten anyone’s day without even trying.

  “Don’t know why you’re laughing, but good.” Molly slipped her arm through Rae’s and dragged her towards the center of the room.

  “I got here early and was checking out the carvings.” Rae had to show Molly the hidden room. It was too cool to keep a secret. She giggled, knowing what Molly would want to do with the room. About to show her best friend the tiny piece of misplaced wood, she stopped when three students came rushing in from the rain.

  It would have to wait for another day.

  That evening Rae returned to her room after studying in the library. Someone had slipped a note under her door. She didn’t recognize the hand writing on the envelope so she opened it cautiously and checked the signature.

  Meet me at 9pm. Same spot outside.–K

  Kraigan

  She checked her watch. Almost nine now. Rae stood in the middle of her room, undecided what to do. Devon might call but was she the kind of girl to wait for him to contact her? His record wasn’t too hot in that category. Maybe Kraigan needed to get something off his chest. It would be silly not to go. However, what if Dean Wardell thought she was sneaking out with another guy, he would accuse her of cheating on Devon or something worse instead of being happy she wasn’t with his son. This is ridiculous! Kraigan’s just trying to discover who he is as a person, like I had to last year.

  Tossing her backpack and books on her bed, she closed the door behind her. Not seeing anyone in the hallway, Rae dashed down the stairs and outside without stopping. She slowed when she hit the sidewalk and turned right to walk along Aumbry’s building. Using Devon’s tatù ability, she spotted Kraigan leaning against a tree. She glanced behind her and saw no one so she burst into a sprint using a tatù and stopped easily in front of him.

  “I just got in from studying and saw your note. What’s up?”

  He dropped his backpack off his shoulder and unzipped it to pull out papers. “Nothing really.” He looked uncomfortable.

  “What’s going on?” Rae could tell he wanted to say something or ask her a question and apparently didn’t know how to start. “Hey, if I’m going to be your mentor, you need to be willing to ask me stuff you want to know. Even if you don’t think you’re going to like the answer.” He needs a mentor. The least I can do is try to help.

  Kraigan hung his head, shuffling the toe of his sneaker into the dirt, a nervous habit Rae immediately recognized as one of her own. “I heard the headmaster last year was a good guy. What happened at the spring dance last year? No one wants to say exactly, but the way people talk, it’s not hard to figure out something happened between him and you.”

  Rae sighed. Carter, Devon, Julian and Molls were the only people who really knew. And probably the entire Privy Council. No one had asked her and Carter had done a great job at covering everything up. Truth or lie? “It’s kinda complicated.”

  “I’d like to know if you’re willing to share.”

  “Lanford seemed like a really good guy. He really tried to help me deal with my tatù, set Devon up as my mentor.” Probably knew I’d be attracted to him and was hoping we’d hook up. “He really pulled one over on me, on everyone at school. It turned out he worked for my father and had hoped to brainwa—convince me to continue my father’s plans. It didn’t work out in his favor.” There. Basic truth, with little detail.

  “And he got killed?” He stared at her, and she nodded very slowly. “Is he really dead? You know that for sure?” Before Rae’s heart could add another beat, he spoke again. “What about your dad?”

  Rae scoffed. “He didn’t like me very much.”

  Kraigan’s eyebrows rose. “You really think that? Maybe he was just mad you weren’t a boy. Maybe he thought like Guilder and believed guys held more ability with their tatùs.”

  “Guilder used to think like that. They don’t anymore. Simon Kerrigan was like…like a dark nebula. With him, nothing was as it seemed. He had everyone fooled and kept everything hidden.” Rae shook her head. “It’s frustrating to not have known what he really was, and now have everyone expecting you to turn into the monster he was. Everyone is always waiting for me to turn into that chic from The Exorcist or something. Sometimes, I just can’t stand it.”

  “You are not a monster! Far, far from it.” Kraigan stuffed whatever papers he had been holding back into his knapsack. “You’re more like a kitten.”

  Say what? The statement caught her off guard, but it also lightened the mood a little. “Thanks, I think.” She laughed. “It doesn’t matter what other people think in the end. The only person you need to answer to, at the end of the day, is yourself.”

  “But don’t you think that with our tatùs, we have a right to do something with them? I mean, why have these powers otherwise? Man didn’t evolve without reason. They evolved to ensure survival, to rise above other life forms. Tatùs are the same! Otherwise, what’s the point?” Kraigan gestured wildly, making it obvious this was something he felt strongly about. It gave Rae a moment’s pause.

  She took a few seconds to carefully formulate her next words. She understood his questions and concerns— she had often wondered these things herself. It was easier to talk to Kraigan about this than it was with Devon. Kraigan seemed more open minded. So it was easier to tell Kraigan what she thought, even if she didn’t think it was prudent to spill all. “I think that’s why the Privy Council exists, and other agencies like it around the world. It gives us a chance to do something good with our powers, without being exposed.”

  Kraigan scratched along his jaw line. “I’m not so sure about the Privy Council. No one knows anything about them. How do we even know what their true motives are? Maybe they’re the dark nebula.”

  Dare she share her opinion? Rae weighed the pros and cons. In the end, sharing didn’t seem to pose much of a risk. “Maybe you’re right. But maybe everyone is, to a degree. Guess we’ll find out as we get older.”

  Kraigan glanc
ed up behind Rae. She turned around to look as well. Someone was walking towards them. She squinted. “It’s Madame Elpis.”

  “She’s tight with curfew, isn’t she? Get going and I’ll hold her off. She shouldn’t be able to recognize you from that distance. I’ll cover for you.” He grinned. “I owe you one.”

  “Thanks.” She didn’t want to deal with a lecture from Elpis, or to have any rumors to start flying around that she was meeting Kraigan. Last thing I want is people thinking we’re on the sly and have that get back to Devon, when it’s so far from the truth. “See you around tomorrow then. I’m glad we talked tonight. It’s nice to know other people wonder about stuff like me. A…A lot of students, who’ve been here since being a kid, seem a bit more close-minded.” She slipped into the forest and took off running. Once she cleared the other side of Aumbry House she cleared out of the trees and ran to the front of the building. Slipping as quietly as she could to the stairs, she levitated up and into her room. At the window, she stared down. Madame Elpis walked on her own around the building, glancing left and right. Safe – for now.

  The rest of the week took an eternity to pass. The entire, long, drawn-out, boring summer of awaiting her return to Guilder had moved quicker. Rae tried to fill it by keeping busy with schoolwork, a challenge in itself since her education courses came easy and she had no trouble keeping up with all her assignments. She thought a lot about her conversation with Kraigan and wished Devon was around to ask him what he thought. Thinking about Devon only made her miss him more and make the time go slower. In the end, the only thing she could do was give herself extra homework.

  She practiced the skills and challenges she had learned with Devon and Julian, but they were boring to do alone. She talked Nicholas into scrimmaging with her, but after one session and Nicholas’ black eye the next day, he refused to practice again.

  One night, after dinner, as Rae strolled up the stairs to her room, she heard the phone in her room ring. Funny, no one’s ever called me on it. She paused as it rang again, trying to consider who might be calling and how important it might be to take the call. Uncle Argyle! She dashed down the hall, frantically trying to get her key into the lock before the phone stopped ringing.