by Simon Archer
“She was attacking my friend,” I began. Even though my words weren’t entirely accurate, I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to reveal just then because I could just as easily get Bella and Beth in trouble for their sexual relations.
“I was--” Bella interrupted, but then the Stratego cut her off.
“If you cannot keep your tongue in your mouth, Isabsella, I will have to force you to leave,” the official scolded. His voice came out like a jungle cat growling at its prey before striking. A simple but effective warning.
“Sorry, sir,” Bella replied, seeming to take the threat from the Stratego more seriously than the previous ones from the other Elemental Officials.
The Stratego turned his attention back to me, his hands on his hips. “Isabella attacked Bethany? You saw this?”
“Cameron,” Daniella hissed under her breath, knowing I wasn't entirely truthful.
I shot a glance at my friend and saw her worried expression. If I started lying now, then my credibility with the Officials would decrease. I needed them to believe me because, in my gut, I knew something strange was going on around campus. Something more than just typical hormones. These were rational, dedicated soldiers doing irrational things to jeopardize their careers, something that they wouldn’t just throw away on a whim. Especially not Beth. No matter how much she disagreed with how the Academy was run, the nepotism, or the politics of it all, she wouldn’t do this. I knew my friend well enough to know that.
“She wasn’t attacking Beth,” I corrected, finding the strength in my voice. In my belief. “They were engaging in… sexual intercourse. And wanting me to keep silent about it.”
My truth bomb had a dramatic effect. Ashley’s face went white as a sheet. Brea zipped her mouth shut to try to hold back a laugh. Bella burned with anger, and she lifted slightly out of her seat until Brea regained herself enough to push the soldier back down. The Stratego stiffened, all of his muscles cinched together like a loose string pulled taught on a sweater, bunching all of the fabric. Daniella sighed and hung her head as she readied herself for the onslaught.
“That is a very serious accusation, Cameron,” the daughter of Athena said to me, her hand still on Bella’s arm to keep her at bay.
“Not as serious as attacking another student, I believe,” Ashley added, though her voice came out strained like it was pushing through a small hole.
“I don’t think it was their fault, though,” I quickly added. I realized that this slow route, dropping one piece of information at a time like a leaky faucet, wasn’t going to get anywhere. I needed to speed this along, throw all caution to the wind. I rose to my feet and leaned forward on the table, my fingers propping me up. “I think they, among other students, have been infected with some sort of love potion, spell, or something. And in turn, it’s making them sneak around to engage in sex and thus creating blackmail and bribery.”
The Stratego stuck his neck out at me as if he didn’t hear me correctly. After a pause, the leader of the Academy scoffed. “A love potion?”
“Or something like that. I don’t know if it’s a potion, per se,” I clarified.
“In all my time at the Academy, that is one of the most ridiculous excuses I have ever heard,” the Stratego accused.
“Okay, but you have to give me some credit,” I said, aware of the snap in my voice. “The last time you thought I was making something up, I was actually right, and it nearly cost you the lives of five of your best soldiers.”
It was clear that the Stratego was not pleased with my accusation, however true it might have been. A flush of red appeared in his cheeks, but after a hefty breath, the Stratego calmed himself.
“As much as I hate to say it,” Brea interjected gently, “Cameron has a point. Perhaps we should hear him out.”
The Stratego didn’t offer a verbal response. Instead, he lifted his hand off his hip and opened it up, as if he were holding a serving tray. The Stratego gestured at me to continue.
I took a deep breath and looked at Daniella for encouragement. She offered me wide eyes and pursed lips as if to say: “This is all you, man.”
With a deep breath, I relayed the past twenty-four hours with every piece of information I could remember. I worked backward from finding Bella and Beth to finding out about Imera, and then finally ratting out Karen and Rachel. I only did it so I could lay out my argument, though there was still a glob of guilt that stuck to the inside of my stomach as I went against my word to Karen.
I relayed the exact wording both couples used, mainly to emphasize my point and layout all of the evidence for them. When I finished, I found myself out of breath, my chest heaving as if I had just run a marathon rather than simply relay a story.
I waited for their responses, but the three officials just stared at me in silence. Part of me wondered if they heard me at all or if they checked out like high school students during a particularly boring lecture. Finally, Brea coughed into her hand and then leaned forward on the table.
“That’s quite a tale, Cameron,” the daughter of Athena said. The doubt in her voice was obvious, so much so that I sighed in frustration.
“I know it sounds absurd,” I said defensively, “but not any more absurd than flying horses or the Greek gods being real, or fire that changes color. We live in a magical world. It stands to reason that this is a viable possibility for what’s going on.”
Suddenly, there was a gentle knock on the door, cutting off any chance the officials had at answering me.
“Come in,” Daniella called out, taking charge.
Alix, the nurse, peeked her head in through the door. Her knuckles were white as it clutched the edge of the door. “Uh, Daniella? You told me to come to get you when she wakes up?”
“Beth’s awake?” I asked nervously. While I was excited that Beth was up, I wasn’t sure how much she would remember. Would she recall how I had hurt her? Would she understand why I had to do it?
“She’s awake and stable,” Alix reported as she fully entered the room. “Seemed lucid though she keeps asking where Bella is.”
All of our eyes turned to face the Eda soldier, who looked dazed and thrilled at hearing Beth’s name. She pushed herself halfway out of her chair, but Brea and Ashley restrained her back down. However, this was the first time Bella resisted them.
“Beth’s okay? Where is she? I want to see her!” Bella called out, her voice rising with each word, like a petulant child.
“You said she was alright?” the Stratego asked the nurse.
She swallowed before answering, seemingly intimidated by the Stratego and his presence. “Yes, sir.”
“Bring her in here,” the Stratego commanded. He tucked his hands behind his back and widened his stance as if he were preparing for an attack. “We’d like to speak to her.”
Alix’s eye shifted to Daniella and then back to the Stratego. She ducked out of the room, and her footsteps shuffled down the hallway.
There was a tense silence after the nurse left. The Stratego stood as still as a statue in his stance. Officer Ashley kept a hand on Bella’s forearm as the soldier squirmed in anticipation of seeing Beth. Brea leaned forward with her elbows resting on the table, hand steepled as if in prayer. Even her eyes were closed. Daniella kept trying to get my attention, catch my eye, but I didn’t return the gaze. I was too wrapped up in my own head.
It was clear that Bella was obsessed with Beth. No trained soldier would act so emotionally, especially not in front of the Elemental Officials. Her behavior was irrational at best, obsessive at worst. The officers had seen that much at least, but I didn’t know what Beth was going to say. Had whatever infected her finally worn off? Would she blame me for everything?
A lump formed in my throat, dry like a piece of stale bread. It seemed to grow as the second ticked by, as the silence dragged on.
Finally, after an eternity, the door opened again. Alix led Beth in by the arm, while her other hand held an ice pack to the back of her head. She looked worn out and a li
ttle woozy, like she’d woken up from a hundred-year sleep. I winced at the sight of her and regretted hitting her as hard as I had.
However, her entire demeanor changed when Beth saw Bella. She lit up as though she’d been electrified. My friend charged forward, making Alix teeter to regain her balance. Her arms were stiff and straight, outstretched for a hug. But it wasn’t Bella who greeted her. It was Brea as she blocked Beth’s route to Bella.
Officer Ashley, in turn, used her large form to hold Bella. The officer pushed the soldier back against the wall since Bella’s body seemed to surge forward of its own accord.
I even rose to my feet at the sight of the tense standoff. It was an unusual sight, two grown women preventing the young soldiers from reuniting. Beth and Bella did what they could to get a glimpse of one another, exchanging small waves and sheepish smiles. It was completely different from how Beth acted with me and the girls the day before.
The Stratego stayed in his stiff stance and observed. His stormy eyes flicked back and forth between the two soldiers and their captives. The Stratego pursed his lips together as if he sucked on something sour. The disapproval was apparent, but his knitted eyebrows gave me hope.
For all his flaws, the Stratego was not a stupid man. His actions were deliberate and always calculated. He knew that he was doing at all times, and more often than not, he was three steps ahead of the rest of the world. All those years of training, not just weapons training, but with leadership, and the skill at reading people he had developed came into play at this moment. For the first time since arriving in the med bay hallway, I felt confident that the Stratego saw what I saw. Even if I wasn’t right about the love potion thing, he knew something was odd.
Vindication soared through me, but I pushed the giddy feeling back. It was still too soon to celebrate. The Stratego might not care that something was wrong. He still might expel and banish the both of them.
“I don’t know about you, Stratego,” Ashley said as she pinned Bella against the wall, “but I would say this is highly unusual behavior. Imera and Sherry, despite trying to blackmail anyone who saw them, couldn’t keep their hands off one another either.”
Hearing Ashley say that, I nearly burst into laughter. I was relieved to be right and better yet, to be believed.
“I see,” the Stratego said, his voice not yet giving anything away. He took a heavy breath in and released it slowly. “Cameron.”
My name came out sharply from his lips, so much so that I jumped a little, even though I had already been looking at the Stratego, waiting for him to speak.
“Yes, sir?” I answered as I took a step forward.
“The other two students you spoke of?” the Stratego asked, not sparing me a glance. “They were?”
“Karen daughter of Hermes and Rachel daughter of Hecate,” I replied.
“I want them brought down to the med bay,” the Stratego demanded. The strategy formed in his eyes, softening his face. The relief at having a plan soothed him. “And I want these two separated while they are examined.” His attention snapped to Daniella, his expression almost resigned. “I know your particular talents are of no use here, Daniella, but is there a healer here that will be able to assess them?”
Daniella’s jaw tightened at the hidden insult. Still, she replied to the Stratego. “Yes, we have some tests we can run and the necessary staff to perform them.”
“Good because I don’t want to have to pull anyone out of the field for such a minor problem,” the Stratego huffed.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. This wasn’t a minor problem if students were ill. This was just as severe as if they had a physical ailment. But I held my tongue and let the Stratego sort out his thoughts.
However, the universe didn’t seem to want to give him that chance. Because, just then, there was a ruckus outside the door, as though two women were arguing. Next thing we knew, Alya burst into the room. Her pale face, normally clear and blemish-free, was red and flushed from her effort and the frustration, as evidenced by the fire in her eyes.
“Stratego,” she reported, her voice tight. “We’ve got a problem.”
“What is it?” the Stratego stepped forward, ready for action. “Has there been an attack?”
“Not that kind of attack,” Alya said as she shook her head back and forth. “We’ve caught more students… fornicating.”
My eyebrows launched upward into my hairline to hear her use that word. I couldn't hold back the shock at not only hearing the word, but at the realization that there were more culprits. Or victims, depending on how you looked at it.
“How many?” the Stratego grumbled.
Alya swallowed audibly. She looked as if she didn’t want to answer his question, but the Stratego’s voice yanked it out of her. “How many, Alya?”
“Twelve, sir, and they all tried to blackmail those who found them into silence.” Alya’s voice, despite her clear nerves, was crisp and authoritative.
A scoff escaped my lips. Daniella’s eyes shot me a warning glare, and I hung my head to hide my amusement. My mind reeled with the possibilities of how they found twelve students having sex. I wondered if it was all together, or six pairs.
The Stratego’s muscles tensed. He finally broke his straightened posture and leaned over the table. He stretched out his arms and gripped the edge of the table with a death grip. His head hung forward with a loose neck, hiding his face from all of us.
“Alya,” the Stratego said, his voice the softest I’d ever heard it. “Gather up those students and bring them to the med bay. Then we need to convince the Elemental Officers.”
The Stratego’s head snapped up, his grey eyes raging and swirling like a thunderstorm. I worried that he was ready to conjure another storm like he did when he defeated the harpies. Instead, the Stratego stayed the course and continued.
“I think the Academy might be infected.”
13
Last year, when I’d found myself in the Elemental Officer’s main chambers, I realized I never wanted to be back in that room again. I could have gone through my next three years without ever going back in there. However, I was not so lucky.
I found myself in the long room with the oval table, each of the Elemental Officials in their designated seats. The only empty one was for the child of Hephaestus. The Stratego once invited me to sit there, as I was technically qualified to do so. But that felt completely terrifying, and considering how much I wanted to avoid the room, I wanted to avoid that chair more.
Also in the room were the three branch leaders, though they stood along the wall. Olivia and Mia were clustered together, whispering before the meeting officially came to order. Hailey had her eyes closed and leaned her head back against the wall, seeming to be asleep. I watched her chest rise and fall with ease. I admired how she seemed so relaxed in a space that brought me such anxiety.
I also stood against the wall opposite Hailey and the other leaders, though. My face was in a permanent scowl ever since we left the med bay boardroom, and the Stratego commanded me to come with him to the Elemental Officer’s chambers.
“We need you to tell all of the officers what you’ve seen,” the Stratego reasoned.
Every muscle twitched as I wanted to argue. Make up some excuse about some class that I was late for or project I needed to start in the forge. But this was the Stratego. The leader of the Academy. His presence and status were the epitome of when he says jump, you say how high.
So, I begrudgingly followed as the Elemental Officials gathered. The one consolation I had was that the Stratego also commanded one of the healers to report to the officials when the testing was complete on the love-struck soldiers. Maybe Daniella would come and join us so that I wouldn’t have to be so alone in this. But for now, it was the twelve officials, the three branch leaders, and me. Alya was the last official to arrive as she finished wrangling the twelve other offenders to the med bay.
My arms were crossed. My back was flat against the wall. My mouth was turned
into a frown. I had no problem letting these officials know that I was unhappy with them. I hated how much it took for me to convince them that I was right, and something was off with the students and guards. Just like the last time, during the situation with Kari, they had their heads too far up their own asses to consider anything outside of their own ideas. The Stratego in particular. But now, here we were. Once again.
The Stratego called the meeting to order. The miscellaneous chatter ceased as the officers straightened, shifted in their seats, and prepared to begin.
“We are gathered here today,” the Stratego began sounding like he was introducing a church service rather than a meeting. “To discuss the potential threat on campus.”
Potential my ass, I thought. The threat is here, and it’s real.
“It has been brought to our attention that students and soldiers alike have been more… hormonally charged than normal,” the Stratego said, his voice sticking on the phrasing.
One of the only amusing things about this whole situation was seeing the various officials try to come up with the language to describe what was happening. Because saying, “The students are fucking like rabbits,” clearly wasn’t appropriate.
“In what way?” the daughter of Hestia asked as she adjusted her monocle on her face.
The Stratego cocked his head at Emma, and his mouth opened slightly as if to ask: “You’re really going to make me say it?”
Alya interjected instead as she leaned forward down the table at Emma. “They are sneaking around fornicationg and blackmailing any and all who discover them doing so.”
“We have an instance of sexual encounters every so often despite our warnings to stay focused on their studies,” said the daughter of Aphrodite. “And considering they are at ideal breeding age, it makes sense that this happens more than we are aware of.”
I blinked incredulously. Seriously though, the language these officials were using. Did we time travel to one hundred years ago, and no one told me?