Egbert leaned down to face Anni square on. She grimaced and pulled her head back, uncomfortable with such close proximity. She couldn’t help but feel that in that brief moment Egbert looked almost human, like he actually felt bad about something rather than locked into his usual robotic ways, but she changed her mind the second he started to speak in his slow measured tone, as if he was talking to an idiot. “After brunch, I need you to promise me that you will stay with Lexi all day. I’ll repeat myself again, after brunch I need you to promise me not to leave Lexi’s side. Do you understand? I do not want you to leave her alone, not for a second. Can you do that?”
It was his tone that always did it. Whenever he spoke to her, like he just did, like she was a moron, she couldn’t help but to automatically feel less inclined to listen to the rest of what he had to say. And yet, perhaps for the first time in her life, they both shared a common goal: Lexi. Without fail, his eyes grew flat and his chin jutted out—he never had any patience with her. “Do you have cotton in your ears?”
She hated the idea of agreeing with him. She would never understand how she was related to this man or why Mabel put him, of all people, in charge of her welfare. It was these moments when she questioned why someone like Vivian Sugar couldn’t adopt her. Still, she needed something from Egbert.
“Only,” said Anni, taking her time, “if you convince the Headmistress to let Lexi stay at school.”
Egbert looked affronted; however, his voice remained calm. “That issue is not up for discussion, and we will discuss your future later. Will you agree to stay with Lexi or not?”
Her fists balled up as she crossed her arms. She hated how he made her feel like a little girl every single time, like she was useless. She tried to sound like him and used his measured tones to respond. “I’ll do it…for Lexi. Not you.”
Egbert smiled. She clenched her fists harder, whipped herself around, and stalked off toward the sunroom. She didn’t think things could get worse.
“Oh no, you don’t,” said Brunhild, looking sweaty and irritable.
MUDDY SOCKS
“Not so fast, you. Where’s your uniform? Never mind, take this.” Brunhild thrust into Anni’s arms a huge silver platter, laden heavily with plates of cakes that oozed warm, fruity juices and moist, glistening canelés. “When you’re done with these, there’s the rest.” She pointed to a trolley loaded with more silver trays, brimming with more sweets. “Put the plates on every table where the parents are sitting.”
Expelled and she still had to work? Anni glared at Brunhild, but Egbert walked right past them. Clearly, he didn’t object, nor would he intervene. He was too busy fiddling with his idiot-sized watch like it was the most important thing in the world.
“Are you waiting for Christmas?” snapped Brunhild. “Go on! They won’t walk in on their own!”
Seething, Anni entered the sunroom, weaving her way through the jolly gathering of conversing teachers, parents, and students. She placed dozens of different plates of baked goodies around the room without making eye contact with a single person. As she deposited two plates onto the last coffee table, she glanced up.
On a tufted sofa in the middle of the sunroom, the Headmistress sipped her tea, looking paler than the night before. Beside her sat a handsome man, old Hollywood handsome with bright, sparkling eyes, perfect teeth and complexion, and not a single hair out of place.
Anni didn’t know who he was, but she didn’t like the way he grinned at her, which made her knees buckle. Done with the tea trays, she joined Lexi, Zelda, and Egbert.
Lexi was sitting next to Zelda on the small settee with her eyes trained on the floor. Anni felt terrible; she’d already upset Lexi, and she was sure that Egbert’s news would do the same. Of their small group, Zelda was the only person enjoying herself as she attacked the pastries with gusto.
Egbert cleared his voice and sharply said, “Now that we’re all here…I’d like to say this before he speaks.” He paused, fixing his eyes on the handsome man next to the Headmistress, and motioned for Zelda to put down her plate, as if it wasn’t quite the time for snacking frivolity. “You see…I have some news about Teddy. Please don’t interrupt or ask me questions; there is a lot that I do not know and there is no time to waste.”
The way he said “news,” Anni knew what was coming, but for Lexi’s sake, she was glad they were seated in a tucked-away corner of the sunroom, away from prying eyes and ears. Nevertheless, whatever small privacy they were afforded, for Anni, it felt as if time turned backward, to three years ago when Egbert delivered the news about Mabel. This time, she knew better than to look at his face, which only made her angry once his clipped voice started, like he was ticking off a checklist.
Anxious for her friend’s feelings, Anni watched as Lexi continued to stare at the floor. She fought her usual impulse to ignore Egbert, just in case he said something that might actually help Lexi. He didn’t. In fact, what he said was, “…received reports…Teddy’s been missing…feared dead…He’s gone, for good.”
“Lexi, you know what this means. Things have changed,” said Egbert. Anni thought that was a weird comment, because of course things would change! However, when Lexi raised her eyes, Anni was surprised by the brief look Lexi gave Egbert; a strange kind of exchange passed between them that Anni didn’t quite understand. “Until I get things sorted,” he paused, “I want you packed up today. You’ll be staying at Mabel’s. Anni, too.”
When Egbert finished saying all he had to say, Lexi lowered her head. Just as Anni moved toward her, Zelda enveloped Lexi with her arms.
Anni dared to glance at Egbert. His dull, emotionless eyes made her stomach turn, and the very sight of Egbert’s exposed shins, because he always wore pants that were too short for his long, dark legs, gave her the overwhelming desire to kick him. Teddy was his friend and here he sat, almost nonchalant, as if he was dictating his itinerary. Anni couldn’t fathom how a man like him could live in the world.
“He was your friend,” said Anni without restraint. “What’s wrong with you? You’re heartless.” She turned back to face her friend, but Zelda still had Lexi in a tight embrace.
CRASH.
On the other side of the room, a banquet tray clattered to the floor, accompanied by gasps. Someone yelled, “Help, she’s collapsed!” And then another person said, “It’s the Headmistress!” And, “She’s having trouble breathing!”
People crowded where the Headmistress had fallen.
“You three stay here.” Even though Egbert was looking directly at Anni.
The handsome man, who had been previously sitting next to the Headmistress, stood and clapped his hands at the gathering crowd. “Everyone, everyone, please calm down. I am Mr. Murdrock, soon to be the new owner of Waterstone Academy. Let’s work together. Please give the Headmistress some space.” Several people moved aside as if on command. “That’s better. She is breathing, but we must take precautions. Can someone get a cool towel?”
Anni turned to Lexi and Zelda. Both of them watched the commotion with wide eyes, except Lexi’s brows were furrowed with concern. Anni was surprised to see no tears on her friend’s face; it was as if she had been prepared for the news about Teddy.
Lexi stood, peering over the crowds. “This doesn’t look good,” she said.
“She’ll be fine. She’s a tough old bird,” said Zelda. “But come to think of it, she has been looking a bit peaky lately.”
“Lexi,” Anni whispered. “The Headmistress has medicine like yours.” Anni gave her a knowing look, and she could have sworn that Lexi’s cheeks reddened. “I saw her take it in her office last night before, you know, and her skin went from pale to normal in a flash.”
Lexi looked as if all was forgiven as she whispered back, “You have to find it. She’s going to need it. Go look in her office. I’ll go upstairs to get mine just in case.”
“But Egbert told me to stay with you,” said Anni. “I can come with.”
“There’s no time.” Lexi nodd
ed toward Zelda. “I can’t explain everything…but I sort of knew about Teddy. I’m okay, sort of. Anyway, the Headmistress needs our help. Egbert won’t even know I left. It’ll take me a second. Meet you back here. Okay?”
“Okay,” said Anni.
The sunroom was a tangled mess of people hovering in concern while others were working their smartphones. No one was watching them, and as soon as Zelda went back to the pastries, both girls sprang into action and darted out of the room.
Anni ran straight for Charity Turnkey’s office. She caught one last glimpse of Lexi as she rounded the corner and headed for the stairs. For a second Anni wondered, if she and Lexi saved the Headmistress’s life, perhaps she’d let them stay at school after all.
The Headmistress’s office door was already slightly ajar when Anni pushed it open. She slipped inside and shut it, hoping no one saw her. When she turned around, she was stunned to see the room entirely upended. Books and paper littered the floor, cabinets were ajar, chairs overturned. Anni made her way to the desk. All the drawers were yanked out—except one. It was near the bottom, and a light glowed within.
Anni pulled it back and a blast of blue light engulfed the room. It took a second for her eyes to adjust as a projection of a news article covered the wall.
Early Death Detection and Elemental Artifact Missing. Are the Two Connected?
OpEd By: PENELOPE W. POTBOILER
Dear readers, the scuttlebutt is true. Elofficials have officially announced, and The Opus Stone Network has confirmed, a beloved and well-recognized Elemental, Theodore Ezra Waterstone, has died 245 years before his Death Date. No bodily remains were found, only his cracked Opus Stone. That’s correct, cracked. Elofficium investigators stated that his Opus Stone was discovered outside Brazil’s National Museum. Moments after Elofficials verified this most egregious report, the museum discovered that a priceless golden pendant dating back to the Minoan Age, which had been mysteriously donated for the International exhibit, had been stolen that evening. This particular stolen relic, believed to be the original Golden Bee Artifact, and considered the most famous Elemental symbol, was thought to be under Elofficium lock and key, since all Bee icons and imagery have been banned from public display (Section #255 of Elofficium Rulings and Regulations).
At this point, it is unclear if the theft and the early Death Date are in fact related. Given that this most Ancient Elemental Artifact was on display in the human world for all to see begs the question: was this a measure to undermine / humiliate Elofficium authority? The Elofficium have officially declined to comment.
If these events sound eerily familiar, that’s because they are. The infamous Mabel Moon, Teddy Waterstone’s sister-in-law, disappeared in a near-identical manner three years ago. Rest easy, dear readers, I will continue to follow this story and provide details as they surface. In the meantime, Elofficials have disrupted all TreeTransport facilities within a ten-mile radius of Brazil. All LimBough Operators and Tree Transport employees have asked all E-pass travelers to be patient in finding other connecting branches for embarking and debarking points of travel within the country.
Elementals…Opus Stones…Death Dates…Golden Bee Artifacts? What was this gibberish? Was this true about Teddy and Mabel? The memory of Brat flitted in her head; he said he was an Elemental, and she was a human. Of course she was! But what were Elementals?
Anni swayed as she read and reread the lines disappeared…Teddy…dead…Mabel…dead. She never admitted this to anyone, even Lexi, but she secretly pretended Mabel was gone on a very long journey that she would, someday, come back from. Seeing these words in print made it harder to keep up this wishful thinking. It felt real now, because of Teddy…
She had to find Lexi.
Voices filled the adjacent file room. Anni panicked. There was nowhere to hide but beneath the Headmistress’s desk. She crouched down, but the drawer with the blue light was still open. The projection was coming from a kind of wristwatch, almost exactly like the one Egbert wore, but there was no on or off switch. She shut the drawer and slipped back under the desk as two people entered.
A pair of muddied socks walked toward the desk a few feet away from her nose.
“I told you to find their school files,” said a gravelly voice, the kind you get from smoking too many cigarettes. “Not ransack the office, you idiot!” The voice grew in volume as a small pair of black shoes waddled toward the muddy-socked feet. “Just as I thought. This one’s of age. She’ll have her Opus Stone by now. What are you doing? Give me those school pictures! You already know what both of them look like, you idiot. Let’s go. And hide your list; we have to do it now…”
Anni’s heart pounded.
A piece of paper fluttered to the floor next to the Headmistress’s desk. It landed close enough that Anni could read it. She froze when a skinny, pale hand picked it up.
WHAP!
“Imbecile! Pay attention!” said the gravelly voice. “If you lose that list, it will draw attention to you!”
WHAP! WHAP!
“I swear I’ll addle your brains further if you screw up again! I promise it will be worse! You find this one. I’ll get the other. And put on your blasted shoes.”
Silence filled the room as the person with muddied socks stumbled from one foot to the other, attempting to put on a pair of Converse hightops covered in dried mud.
“Let’s go!”
Her heart hammered as the two sets of feet exited the Headmistress’s office door. At first she couldn’t move, but her legs yearned to run and track Lexi down; there was no time to wait. She had to move! The paper had the names of two Waterstone students printed in bold ink: Anni Moon and Lexi Waterstone.
GOLDEN FINGERNAILS
Anni’s pulse thudded so hard she thought her eardrums might explode. Lexi was in danger. Time was of the essence. She waited under the table, counted to twenty, scrambled out, and froze.
Red-faced, Egbert stood immobile in Headmistress Turnkey’s doorway. His left temple throbbed and, if it was possible, his face turned a deeper shade of puce; only his voice was controlled and measured. “Tell me you are not responsible for this.”
Clearly, Egbert didn’t understand. He looked madder than she’d ever seen him. How could she explain? Where to start? Anni exhaled and squared her shoulders. “I came here…”
“No. Stop. Go. Find. Lexi. Stay with her until I find you.”
Anni whipped past him and out of the room. There was no time to explain what she saw, especially with Lexi’s safety in danger.
She raced into the sunroom. It was crowded. Lexi hadn’t returned yet, which meant she had to be upstairs.
Several groups of students and parents poured out of the sunroom and into the halls. It was difficult, but Anni wove her way around them. She dodged people left and right up the main stairs, racing up them two at a time.
Anni was so focused on finding Lexi, she smashed headlong into someone on the second floor. The collision caused her to fly back and hit the ground.
Like a pillar, Zelda remained unmoved. “Anni? There you are. Are you all right?”
“Sorry.” Stunned, Anni peered around her. “Have you seen Lexi?”
“I thought she was with you,” said Zelda, wringing her hands. “After you two took off, I started fretting. Poor thing. Thought I’d go look for her. She was very upset. I don’t think she should be alone right now.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Anni muttered. There was no time to chat. She ducked under Zelda’s arm and raced up the stairs.
In the third-floor corridor, Anni skidded to a halt. Finnegan, looking extremely dazed, wrestled a mop on his way out of the utility closet. What was he doing? Finnegan was uncharacteristically dressed in the same outfit she saw outside her window earlier that morning: the same white and red rose-patterned car coat, the same floppy beige sunhat, but no shoes, only socks that were caked with mud!
Confused and terrified, Anni didn’t wait around to ask him questions. She tore up the last set of
stairs and noticed that the common room door was ajar. She dashed inside. The room was a mess: the sofa was flipped, cushions strewn and curtains ripped. She ran to Lexi’s room as a lump formed in the back of her throat. It was the same here, too.
Her eyes fell to the floor next to Lexi’s bed. A small piece of paper stuck out from under a crumpled sheet. It was the same paper that had fluttered to the floor when Lexi placed the doll on the bed earlier.
A-
I’m going to the place to find the tapestry. Meet me there?
-L
Anni pressed the note to her chest. Lexi was safe; she went to Mabel’s. Anni dashed out into the common room and grabbed her journal from under the window cushions; she stuffed it into her backpack with Lexi’s doll inside and secured the pack on both her shoulders. Before she made it to the door, her foot crushed something large.
Anni bent down. Lexi’s glasses, they were broken. It didn’t mean anything, she told herself. It couldn’t. Lexi was at Mabel’s; she was sure. Anni pocketed the broken glasses and raced out into the empty hall.
She wasn’t taking any chances. Sick with worry, Anni ran full-pelt down the creepy, less traveled, red-lit service stairs that led into the school’s basement. It was the fastest way to get outside unseen. When she reached the cellar door, she scanned the grounds through the door’s small window.
The gardens were vast, open expanses, easily visible to anyone inside the sunroom and many other parts of the Waterstone Academy. However, it was the quickest way off the school property without being stopped. She had to take that risk, even if Egbert happened to glance out one of the school’s windows and see her.
The heavy iron cellar door slammed as she raced up an incline. She sprang past the tall shrubs with enough distance, just in case someone jumped from behind them or thrust an angling arm to seize her. No time for even a backward glance, she zipped past the sunroom windows.
Anni Moon & The Elemental Artifact: An Elemental Fantasy Adventure Series: Book For Kids Ages 9-12 (Anni Moon Series) Page 6