by Smith, Skye
"Ah, hem." Sir Nigel put his fork down and gave them both a cold stare. He picked up his phone and pressed a hot dial number. "She has arrived. Call off the search. Thank you, Wendy." He returned his gaze to the young blonde. "You were told not to wander off. I do not want you alone in these buildings, ever. I thought I had made myself clear."
"I wasn't alone," Maya said defensively. She suddenly felt like a high school student again. In the principal's office. Again. "I was with Jacob. We just..." She felt Jacob's hand close over her ring hand and squeeze. "Uh, he was giving me a tour."
"That is not Jacob's responsibility or duty." He gave Jacob a meaningful glare. "If you do not want to keep my company, then find Wendy and stick to her like glue."
"Sorry, but it's okay," she apologized. "Jacob isn't gifted."
"Ah, is that so? I always thought not," Sir Nigel said almost under his breath.
Maya saw the glances exchanged by the two men and immediately regretted her words. Why did she have the feeling she had just destroyed Jacob's career in this school? Oh well, if the ring panned out he would teach in Cambridge instead. Still, the worried look on Jacob's face made her feel awful.
She looked out across the great hall. There must have been four hundred students eating in front of her. Every one of them had excellent table manners. They were all eating slowly and using the knife and fork in the right and left hand. No one was chewing and talking. This definitely was not Kansas.
At each of the student tables there were two older boys, probably seniors ready to graduate, probably all around 18. As she looked around the hall, she realized that they were all looking at her. Well, what did she expect? 18-year-old boys in an all-boy school and her just a few years older and dressed in this shapely power suit, and many of them 'gifted' to boot.
One of the first things she had learned about psychos and faux psychos is that they had a huge sex drive. Just great. As if 18-year-olds weren't horny enough. She knew she was blushing. She could feel the heat in her face as she thought about all the horny eyes undressing her at that moment. A deep breath and a self reminder that she was an actress whose jiggle scenes had been leered at by millions of boys, brought the heat back under control. A little.
Sir Nigel looked out at the boys. He was seeing the effect of seating Maya at the head table. He had done it so that all in the school would realize that she belonged here, in some official capacity, so that she would be treated with respect on the grounds. Under his wing, as it were. It had been a mistake. They obviously thought that she was one of his personal assistants, in the full sexual meaning of the word. A mistake that could not be reversed. Perhaps it was better after all, that she was seen with the other masters, rather than with him.
The other masters, damn. He wouldn't trust any of them near any of his daughters. They were all banned from the girls' schools he ran under the same corporate umbrella. "Jacob, thank you for taking Maya in hand. I spoke too quickly before. If she needs an escort on the grounds, please avail yourself."
Both Maya and Jacob sighed in relief. Their research was on again. "So begins the quest for the two rings," he whispered. She caught his eyes with hers and smiled at him. Then she mouthed the words, "just breathe," and he took a breath.
* * * * *
The afternoon interviews went well for Maya. She had learned in the morning session that she should hold the boy's hand in hers in order to let it go as soon as she felt the darkness. Sir Nigel approved. The faster she let go, the more gifted was the student.
The last boy was brought to the interview by his older brother, who was already a student. One of the seniors. He was tall in stature and posture, and strikingly handsome. His good looks and height were accentuated by his commanding presence and self-confidence. As she took his little brother's hand in hers, she felt something being pressed into her palm.
This next young boy was seated by Maya, and she was still holding his hand. Sir Nigel was most disappointed. The boy was from one of the most powerful families of the old English Empire, and he was so hoping that this boy would be as gifted as his older brother. Ah well. Not to be.
Maya sat in her chair and looked in her hand. It was a note. She suddenly felt like a high school student again, passing notes under the desks. She carefully opened it while keeping it hidden in her lap and read, "I have a vital warning for you" and a phone number.
It was one of those long involved English phone numbers. No wonder the English had so quickly switched to cell phones. Not only were they being charged for each call on their land lines, but with cell phones they could store the complex numbers and not have to remember them.
That did not help Maya when later that day she used Jacob's office phone to dial the number.
"Hello, you have a vital warning for me?
That is not possible. I cannot meet with you.
Just give me the warning.
No. We cannot meet. Just tell me the message."
There was a knock at the office door.
"Hold on, there's someone at the door. Just hold on."
She put the phone down and skipped to the door. Jacob had gone to get some reference books. His arms were probably full.
It wasn't Jacob, but the student. 'Omigod, he's so handsome,' she thought. He pushed his way into the room and closed the door behind him. "I knew you were in this office from the call display. We don't have much time."
"No, go away. We cannot be seen together." She backed away from him. He was holding out his hands towards her. "Please, go away."
"Don't you want to know the warning?" he smiled sweetly.
"Okay, tell me and then go away." She stopped backing up. That was a mistake because he kept coming. He took her into his arms and told her that he must whisper it into her ear. She stopped struggling and listened. She expected this to be a big come on. She expected a whisper such as, "I want you, I need you." She was in for a surprise.
The breath of his words tickled her ear. "Sir Nigel is a very dangerous man. A spy master. Stay away from him. Run away. With him, your life will be short and tragic." Then he let her go, but she was now doing the holding and she lifted herself to his ear and whispered, "How do you know this?"
She had to let him go. Being this close to his neck was filling her mind with the stench of charred toast. She stepped back and took some breaths. Just breathe. Her aura had come alive, triggered by the stench. She must be careful to stay away from his neck. She was now a danger to this young Adonis. My god, she wanted him, despite the stench. She hadn't felt this horny since living on the beach in Goa, where she had run around half-naked all the time.
Sounds in the hallway made them both look around. "We'll be discovered," he hissed. By the look on his face, he was more worried about this than Maya. She motioned for him to hide behind the desk, then went to open the door. It was Jacob with an armload of books.
"Oh good, you're back," she said. "Can you put the books down, and show me to the ladies room. Uh, quickly! You will have to escort me to the door and wait for me." She shrugged at his questioning look. "Sir Nigel's orders, remember? I mustn't be alone in the hallways."
Ten minutes later, they returned to an empty office. Her tiny purse was still on the desk. She opened it. Another message. Her heart soared. She really really wanted to be with him again.
"So, this is exciting." Jacob pushed a small book under her gaze and he watched as she snapped her purse closed and put it to one side. "This is the catalogue of forbidden books. Those are rare books that the Roman church wanted destroyed, but that were hidden to keep them safe. That was back before the Tudors. You know. Henry the Eighth and all that."
The blank look on her face made him sigh. Americans. No knowledge of history or geography outside their own state. "Well, there was a big war between the King of England and the Pope. The Pope ordered a lot of books to be destroyed. Untranslated books, books in languages other than Latin. His advisors viewed them as a danger to the Romanized interpretation of religion, and history,
and science. This is a catalogue of the books that were saved. We have some of them downstairs in our rare book room."
She looked at the stack of books he had put on the table beside the door. "But none of those books look ancient or rare."
"Oh, no, none of those are. They are just historical references from about a hundred years ago when the Empire was rich enough to pay for such research. No, the books I'm talking about are in a special collection down below. You need special permission to read any of them. They are, after all, forbidden."
"So who do I ask for permission?"
"Why, me, of course. But they must not be removed from the climate control. Do you have time to visit the bunker? It could be exciting."
He looked so earnest that she didn't have the heart to say no. Forbidden rare books may excite him, but it wasn't her idea of a good time. She left a note for Wendy telling her to wait, and then was led back underground.
Jacob led her into the back of the rare book room and to a wall of metal drawers. He ran his eyes along the titles printed on each drawer and then unlocked one, pulled it out and lifted it down onto the table behind him. "This is one of them. These are Margaret of Scotland's private memoirs."
The ribbon securing both pipes of the scroll together had a wax seal. He inspected the seal with a magnifying glass. "This seal was affixed by order of Charles the Second, that means the early 1600's." He used a razor knife to carefully release one end of the ribbon. With great care, watching closely for cracking paper, he unrolled the scroll. "Oh, look at the script. How beautiful. It will be in her own hand. She was a very educated woman, even by today's standards."
Maya looked at it. It was about as readable as Hindi. She sighed. "You can make that out?"
"Oh yes, this is easy because I know what to expect. This is her pedigree. See there? She was the sister of Edgar Atheling, who was, for a very short time, the last English king before William the Conqueror. He was just being used by the Catholic Bishops, of course. He was only chosen because he was the one English leader that could not raise an army against William. The Pope wanted William to win."
"Blah, blah, blah," she thought. Historians were worse than techies. Instead of giving an answer, they always gave a lecture. Always wanting to show off their knowledge of things that no one else needed to know. She smiled sweetly. Time to get him back on track. "So, what has this to do with the ring?"
"Why, this is Margaret's personal memoir. I expect to find out the name of the person she gave that ring to, and why."
Maya looked at the thickness of the scroll, and at the tiny writing. "So what language is this?"
"Olde English, very olde English." He was slowly rolling one pipe as he unrolled the other and scanning the words as he moved the scroll along. "The nearest surviving language to it is Frisian, from the north of Holland." He looked at her with pride. "It is one of my languages."
"Next year I hope to learn Frisian," Maya said, thinking of Erik and Karl. Her heart panged and she felt guilty about her lust for the tall student. She didn't even know his name. "Maybe sooner. I've been away from Vancouver too long."
He was ignoring her, lost in translation. "Oh dear, this will never do. I am breaking my own rule. I have sworn that if anyone needs access to a rare book, that we take the opportunity to scan it first so as to minimize the need to touch the original in the future." He looked around. The special scanner was set up and sanitized and ready to go. Still, it would take many hours to scan this scroll.
He left the scroll and went and found two more. "This one is the memoirs of Margaret's eldest daughter Edith, written after she married King Henry the First of England and became Queen Mathilde. This other is the memoir of Margaret's second daughter, Mary, written after she became the Countess of Boulogne. I will scan all three. Uh, but first I must take you back to my office, seeing as the scanning will take me all night."
Wendy was waiting impatiently in the office when they returned. She stared daggers at the absent-minded professor type, and, taking Maya protectively by the arm, rushed her out the door. "Have you no sense?" she hissed. "You must trust no man at this school, especially not a master."
"Cool it, Wendy, like, he is okay. I checked him out. He isn't gifted." Maya resented the bum's rush, but at the same time was thankful to be in Wendy's care again so she could let her guard down. "Is there any sushi in Windsor? I could go some raw tuna for supper."
"You must be joking," Wendy guffawed. "I may be able to find you haddock at the chippie's."
"Well then, just take me back to the Inn. They had some salads on their menu, and like, the brownies were wonderful."
* * * * *
* * * * *
MAYA'S AURA - The Charred Coven by Skye Smith
Chapter 15 - The Charred Student
That night as she was falling asleep in her bed, Maya felt Wendy slip into her bed. She was expecting it. She snuggled into the glamorous woman's spoon and enjoyed the warmth, but pulled herself back from sleep and instead brought up her aura. Before very long she heard sensual moanings from behind her, and then total silence.
Wendy was now in an aura-enforced trance. She would be in a very deep sleep for hours. Maya calmed her feelings of guilt by telling herself that the poor woman needed a good sleep because she was too highly-strung.
She crept out of bed and put her lightweight poly-cotton housecoat on. Wendy had bought it for her at Marks and Sparks so that she could be modest and fully covered in their room. It had a bamboo pattern which accentuated her amber skin, and the remnants of her tan that had survived since India.
She crept away from the bed and very quietly closed the hall door behind her, then looked down at the last message from the dreamboat student. "I have taken room 7 at the Inn. William." Down two flights of stairs she crept and found room 7 but stopped herself from knocking. Instead she took a deep breath and centered herself. This could be a big mistake. She tapped gently on the door.
The door opened just a crack. It was William. He opened the door wide, pulled her inside and shut the door as quickly as quiet dictated. There was not a sound in the Inn. It was after eleven on a weeknight. Nothing to stay up for on English telly. Everyone was in bed.
There was a laptop glowing at a small table set beside a window with a view of a brick wall. An ancient brick wall to be sure, but still just a brick wall. "I was working on a term paper," he said as he pulled the belt on his housecoat tighter. Or was he loosening it? "I was afraid you weren't coming."
"We were interrupted in the office." She made a silly excuse for this silly rendezvous. "What were you going to tell me?"
William looked at her quizzically. "But I gave you my warning," he said, thinking back.
"You were telling me how you knew."
"Oh, because Sir Nigel is recruiting me. Recruiting me to eventually replace him in many of his duties, especially his duties with the Foreign Office. He has already told me things, things that I did not like hearing. Stay away from him. Go back to America."
She tried to back away from him, but she was already against the bed. Did he push her down on it, or did she fall willingly? No, this was dangerous. She did not want to hurt this boy. Far from it. "Wait," she said just in time to stop him from touching a hand gently to her bared leg. He was obviously no beginner with women. "Wait, not like this. You are too horny. You're hurrying it. Just lie down. Let me."
He looked down on her with a smile that made her want more of his smiles. "All right, I'll lay down." He let his robe slip off his shoulders and slowly down his deep V chest. It got hung up for a moment below his waist and she tugged it further. He was magnificent.
She rolled away and he took her place. She fished in her pocket for the silk hankies she'd brought. It took her almost a moment to convince him to be tied to the posts of the bed. "Relax," she said pulling back from him and gazing at him. Thank the Goddess for making a man like this one.
"What now?" he asked through a wide smirk.
"Now we should re
lieve some of that pressure. Allow me." She prayed her aura stronger and then caressed between his legs with it, with apologies to Erik and Karl. After all, it couldn't be sex if she didn't actually touch him, could it?
A half hour later she threw the very sticky towel into the bathtub. She hadn't hung around teenagers since she had been one herself. Since then, the men in her life had been older, wiser, slower. She had forgotten how messy teenage boys were. How messy and how quickly ready to be messy again. Was that four or five times in a half hour? Finally. he was in a sleepy bliss. Finally, her aura could scan him without his sexual energy getting in the way.
Starting at his feet she scanned him, staying away from his loins, and very far away from his neck. Her aura massage put him into a trance. She held her elbows to drop her aura, and then she fished a USB memory stick out of her pocket and plugged it into his laptop. It contained her translated version of the Aura User Manual. She paged forward in it, searching. There it was.
She went back to the blissful, delicious boy and brought her aura up again. This time she pumped her aura into his forehead above his nose. Short pumps. A few seconds at a time. Over and over, stopping only to grab her elbows occasionally to weaken it, for each time her aura touched him, it strengthened as if to defend her from him.
After ten minutes, always her time limit for working on people's health, she untied his hands and pulled the covers to his chin. He looked so angelic in sleep. Luckily she remembered to eject her USB stick. She grabbed her elbows and totally withdrew her aura totally, then she crept forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. Mmmm. She did it again. Mmmm, no charred taste. "Maybe next time, my lovely Will."