by W. J. May
Devon glanced over with an unconcerned grin. “Doesn’t look that bad to me. Sorry though, man. Must have caught you with that spear.”
Julian raised his eyebrows, wincing for a mere split second before hiding it. “You mean that spear you launched at my head while I was texting? Not exactly fair play.”
Devon’s eyes sparkled. “Well, maybe if you weren’t so caught up with the texting, you would’ve seen it coming. Come to think of it, who was distracting you so much? Rae?” He turned to her. “Did you get a text from Julian today?”
Rae shook her head with a scarcely contained smile. “Nope, not me.”
“Hmm.” Devon looked around with a mock frown. “Molls?”
“Wasn’t me either.” She grinned, playing along.
Devon’s handsome face came up blank. “And it obviously wasn’t me, I was the one throwing the spear. So, whosoever could it—”
“I’d be less concerned with your friend’s texting habits than with the fact that you launched a spear at his head.”
Every head swiveled around as Alecia walked into the Oratory.
“Hey there!” Rae smiled, forgetting to continue teasing Julian. Just as Rae and some of the others had working internships with the Privy Council, Alecia had one with one of the biggest hospitals in London. The same one where Luke was presently recovering. Her gift made her a natural fit. She was a brilliant diagnostician and a healer. “Didn’t see you this morning at the hospital. How’s Luke doing?”
“I was packing,” she replied. “Apparently, me and everyone else with an acting internship is being pulled back to Guilder for final exams. Why would they do that now? It’s not like it’s going to change our jobs.” She rolled her eyes as if she couldn’t care less about whatever standardized testing the school had in mind. “But Luke’s doing well. They’re actually releasing him tomorrow. He just found out about a bit ago.” She glanced around. “I thought Molly would’ve told you.”
Molly blushed a million shades of crimson, but Rae kept her reproach to herself, biting her tongue with a little grin. “Well, we were all studying, but we came here for a little sparring break.”
“I can see that,” she said, looking at Julian. “That’s not deep, but you’re going to want to clean it out with some antiseptic.”
He smiled and backed further away from Haley as she moved incredibly close to him. “Will do.”
“In the meantime,” Rae gestured to inside the Oratory, “how about we all do some sparring?”
“Actually,” Devon put his hand around her shoulders and guided her back out towards the door, “me and Julian were just coming to get you and Molls. Apparently, you two are starting your mentorship program today. Carter set up a meeting in the library for you to meet the troops.”
Rae’s eyes drifted mournfully back to the practice arena, where her friends were already starting to yank out some of her favorite weapons and toys. “Right now?” She knew Carter was doing this to give them a full spectrum of tatùs, but a little sparring couldn’t hurt.
“Hey,” Devon grinned, “eyes front, Kerrigan. You and Miss Skye over there are tragically behind on your community service hours—which you also need to graduate.” He lowered his voice a couple decibels. “And you and I know there’s a lot more to this than just mentoring…”
Rae nodded and waved goodbye to her friends as the four of them headed back out into the late afternoon sun. The sounds of laughter and playful screams echoed back to them and she couldn’t help but smile. While the prospect of final exams sounded terrible, she was almost glad the school had pulled everybody back. For once, they all got to be kids again. Of course, it was bittersweet as the school portion of their lives was officially ending. Over the years, Rae had come to understand that the secret world of tatùs was very closely intertwined. Devon and Julian were still living on school grounds for this year, just to be closer to headquarters, and most all the people in her graduating class would be going to live in the same area as they all worked for variations of the same company. One way or another, for better or worse, they were all stuck with each other.
Aside from Haley, Rae couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends. Which also meant a strong group of tatùs to work with to solve the mystery behind Cromfield.
Speaking of friends, she turned to Molly, Devon, and Julian with a frown. “So, what exactly are we supposed to be doing with this mentorship program?”
“Today is just a meet and greet,” Devon assured her. “We’re going to scope out the new abilities and get a better idea of who we’re going to be working with to find Cromfield.”
Julian elbowed her with a purposeful nudge. “We’re going to want you to shake a lot of hands, if you know what I mean.”
“Without permission?” Rae asked uncomfortably.
“I’m sure they all know what you can do. It’s up to them,” Devon said lightly. “But at the same time, you’re going to be mentoring them for this first year of school. The year they’re coming into their powers. I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t want a personal self-help guide to their tatù.”
They had reached the library and Devon and Molly strode in with confidence. Rae, however, lingered outside on the steps.
After glancing ahead, Julian turned and hung back with her. “What’s the matter?” he asked with a soft smile. “Afraid they’ll think you bite?”
Rae smiled back, but she couldn’t hide the worry from her eyes. “It’s not that…” Her voice dropped down to a whisper, “The last time I involved someone in my plans, they ended up in a coma. Not quite sure I’m ready to repeat the mistake.”
Julian put his arm gently around her shoulder. “And he woke up.” Rae let her eyes flicker up to his face, and he gave her a sad half-smile. “It’s the world we live in, Rae. Bad things happen. All we can do is prepare the best we can to be ready for what’s to come.” He nodded towards the library. “And these kids deserve that chance too. They deserve to have someone guide them into their powers. They deserve the chance to grow up in a world without Cromfield.”
Rae drew in a shuddering breath, but nodded. He was right. As usual.
She flashed him a smile, and together, they headed inside. The Tudor-carved walls off the hallway were brightly lit with old stained glass lamps and their quiet footsteps were dampened by the old marble black-and-white flooring that covered most of the buildings at Guilder. They walked quietly to the large study room that the new students were waiting in. Rae hadn’t been in this library much. She spent most of her time in the library at Aumbry House and she marveled at the detail in the wood carvings so similar to those in the Oratory. She ran her fingers over one picture and wondered briefly if there were hidden doors in this building like those in the Oratory. It looked so similar.
Julian paused outside the door where noise and chatter seemed to bounce off on the other side. “You ready?” He smiled encouragingly. “It’s just like any other Privy Council job, you just get to work with kids instead of miserable adults.” He chuckled and winked at her as he turned the knob and opened the door.
She nodded and took a deep breath.
The second they entered the room, the kids gathered inside suddenly fell silent. You could have heard a pin drop as they stared wide-eyed towards the door.
Rae fought the urge to roll her eyes, and took a deliberate step away from Julian. She bet they weren’t looking at him. “Yes, that’s right. I’m Rae Kerrigan. Daughter of the famed lunatic, Simon Kerrigan. Take a look, feel free to stare.” She smiled despite trying to sound sarcastic. Several kids had the decency to glance down or away, but most of them stared wide-eyed at her. “I’m currently the only known person in the world to have two original tatùs.” She ran her gaze across the room and lowered her voice, nearly laughing when the kids leaned forward as one to hear what she was going to say. “And if any of you touch me, I’ll be able to mimic your tatù also.”
Even Molly was leaning forward as she stood beside Devon. Rae saw Devon cover
his mouth and tried to hide his laughter with a cough.
Rae moved to walk toward them. “Rest assured, I am not my father. I’m a student here at Guilder just like you. In fact, I barely knew my father, and have worked tirelessly since I got here to try and undo whatever damage he caused. I’m an agent for the Privy Council, and both they and the school, have trusted me enough to appoint me and my friend Molly here to be your mentors. We are not here to judge you or boss you around. We’re here to help. Right, Molls?”
Molly looked at her with wide eyes, like she was one of the students as well. She blinked suddenly and jumped up. “Yes! We’re here to help! Rae’s not scary. She was my roommate our first year here and even then she didn’t scare me. She’s a freak.”
“Molly!” Devon exclaimed.
Molly looked at him and shrugged. “What? Aren’t we all?” She turned back to the group of kids, raising her hand and snapping her fingers so little blue sparks flicked from them. “I can make electricity. I also have an amazing fashion sense.” She frowned a moment. “I see a lot of you here could use more help in that department.”
Julian stepped forward and put his hand on Molly’s wrist, dropping her hand down. “Thanks, Molly.”
A boy near the back cleared his throat. “Kerrigan! Can you do what she just did?”
“Yup.” Rae raised her hand and mimicked Molly’s sparks.
“Sheesh!” The younger boy shook his head and muttered, “You friggin’ are Simon Kerrigan’s kid. My father said you were just like him.”
Rae’s tatù automatically switched to Devon’s ability so she could hear what he said. “You’re a boy,” she said to him, emphasizing the word boy, “why haven’t you been to Guilder sooner?” She didn’t wait for him to answer before continuing, “If anyone has a problem with me—there’s the door.” She waited for the judgmental boy to get up and leave, and probably half the class. No one did. “Well then, shall we get started?” She extended her hand.
The reaction wasn’t as instant as she was hoping. In fact, most of the teenagers held back until Devon stepped forward and started moving around the room and started shaking their hands. He showed them his tatù and openly talked about it. He was good. Really good.
Eventually, everyone came up and introduced themselves to Rae, with most shaking her hand.
Everyone…except one.
“You told me never to shake hands, remember?”
Rae looked down to see a pair of fiery green eyes staring back at her. She had to admire the girl’s pluck. She was smaller than most armoires, but still, she held her ground.
“Ellie!” Rae racked her brain for the girl’s name and nearly shouted it when she remembered. “I’m glad to see you again. I wanted to apologize.” She shifted uncomfortably. “You caught me…well, let’s just say you caught me on a bad day. I didn’t mean to snap at you, especially when you were just being friendly. I’m sorry. I’m not usually like that.” For a minute she thought about her mentioning that she wasn’t her father. Ellie probably believed she was her father. “I’m really sorry.”
Ellie held her gaze for a moment before her face softened into a smile. “It’s okay. I figured you were in the middle of something—you were covered in blood after all.”
Rae shook her head with a grin. “I’m afraid you’ll find that’s actually pretty normal for me.”
“Being covered in blood?”
Rae laughed. “Sometimes. But I meant that I’m always in the middle of something.”
Devon laughed suddenly from the other side of the room. “Rae’s a bit of a multitasker,” he called out to them.
The girl giggled. “Anyway, there’s no use shaking my hand. I don’t have my tatù yet.” She stared around the room with a longing jealousy.
Rae felt an instant protective kinship rise up within her. She hadn’t turned sixteen yet when she first started at Guilder either. She knew exactly how hard it could be. “That’s okay.” She threw her arm around the girl’s thick cardigan with a smile. “You know…I was a bit late coming to the party myself, and now look at me. It all turned out okay. Molly had it too. She got hers not long after school started.”
Ellie looked distinctly troubled for a moment, before deliberately clearing her face to a grin.
Great job, Rae. Tell her that you’re a blood-covered daughter of a madman, then say—don’t worry! You can grow up to be just like me! Or Chatty-Kathy Molly! “Anyway…” Rae hurried to move on. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”
“Me, too.” Ellie still looked nervous.
Rae decided to give her some space and asked Devon to help Ellie with any questions she might have about Guilder that Rae couldn’t answer. She figured it would give the young girl a chance to gaze at the handsome Devon Wardell and space from Rae.
She moved a few steps away and gazed around the room. She had to admit, she was surprisingly encouraged by the talent she found there. There was Caleb, a boy who could control anything liquid. Felecia, a girl with x-ray vision, who seemed to find Devon and Julian most appealing. Emme, whose unique dolphin tatù allowed her to breathe underwater. And then there was Ethan, nicknamed ‘Dollar Bill’. His ability allowed him to make anything he wanted appear at random.
As Rae felt the new tatùs coursing through her blood, she was especially excited to try out Dollar Bill’s. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how often it would come in handy.
In fact, she was just testing it out, trying to produce some candy to hand out to the rest of the kids, when Julian called, “Hey Rae—you’re going to want to check this one out!”
Rae walked over to him and Devon, who were standing next to a tall girl with sheets of raven-black hair. The girl smiled shyly and extended her hand as Devon made the introductions.
“Rae, meet Cassidy. Cassidy—Rae.” He grinned as they shook hands. “Our new friend Cassidy here has a rather coveted ability. You see, the skull means that she can actually—”
“Holy hand grenades! You can turn invisible!”
The room burst out laughing as Rae held her arm up in front of her and watched it slowly fade away. It had been a long-standing Guilder joke that they’d yet to meet anyone who could actually disappear into thin air. It was a tatù Rae had been itching to get her hands on since she’d learned there were tatùs in the first place. She felt like Harry Potter and the invisibility cloak, except she didn’t need the cloak.
“This is awesome!” She grinned as the other side of her body vanished into the air.
Cassidy’s eyes grew wide. “How can you do that so quickly? I can only fade out my hands, and that alone takes a whole lot of concentration, followed by a massive headache.”
Rae smiled as she popped back into view. “I’ve been working at trying out multiple tatùs for quite a while.”
Devon chuckled and elbowed her. “Rae’s got a natural knack for figuring tatùs out. Faster than most people.” He shook his head and gazed at her with adoring eyes. “She’s pretty amazing.”
He and Rae stood staring at each other with silly smiles on their faces until Julian cleared his throat loudly.
Rae blinked and gave her head a shake. “So, yeah, that’s why I’m here,” she said loudly, trying to address the whole class. “The four of us were in your shoes just a few years ago, and our abilities have already come into their own. Pretty much. We’re always learning and, apparently, as we mature, so do our tatùs. We’re here to help you learn like we did. Devon helped me. He’s a great mentor.” Her eyes flashed to the only person in the room not paying attention. “Molly?”
Molly looked up from the young boy standing beside her and grinned as sparks flew from both his hands. “This one’s already well on his way.”
Rae chuckled. Of course Molly would latch on to the one person with the same ability as she had. “And you are?”
“Noah—” the boy started to say.
But Molly cut him off, patting him indulgently on the head. “We’ll call him…Protégé.”
“Have a great week, everyone!” Molly dismissed them by the door. “Don’t forget to study, study! Finals will be here before you know it!”
As the kids filed out, she turned to Rae, Devon and Julian with a wide smile. “Noah’s going to be the best one in his class—I can feel it!”
Julian shook his head with a grin. “And that wouldn’t have anything to do with his ability now would it?”
“Not at all!” Molly raised her head like she was offended. “I’m not tatù-prejudiced.”
“Sure, sure.” Rae slipped on her jacket as she glanced at the clock. “I’m having dinner with my mom and Uncle Argyle tonight. Do you guys want to come?”
Molly reached for Rae and shocked her shoulder. “Definitely! I’m starving!”
“Lead the way,” Julian said as he grabbed his messenger bag.
Only Devon hesitated with a small frown. Rae slipped her hand into his and squeezed it gently. “What’s the matter, babe?” She smiled, liking the nickname and knowing she couldn’t use it very often in public.
He glanced around the suddenly empty library chairs. “I’m just worried.”
“My Uncle Argyle’s old school, but we don’t have to say anything about our relationship. He’s not going to quiz you or give you a hard time.”
Devon waved his hand. “I’m up for food.” He smiled briefly. “I’m just worried about what we’re doing here. Sure, we might catch a break and pick up on Cromfield’s trail, but that’s only solving half our problem. If Cromfield’s even out there or it’s some apparition of him, we don’t know.” He ran his free hand through his hair. “What bothers me is that Jennifer’s still out there. She knows all our secrets. What if she shares them with others? She’s been with us since she was our age!”