94
Padrick Paddstone fiddled with his robe as he sat in the chair opposite the Headmaster. He was unused to the harsh material and a sour look took over his face as he thought of getting new ones made.
But a tailor would take time to make them. He’d have to wear this awful robe until then.
Beside him, Harry Jellickson sat with a teacup on a saucer in his hand. The man was a special investigator of the Mage Court. He said he’d been sent to investigate the Academy regarding his brother’s murder.
But that wasn’t the whole truth. The truth was he’d been sent to also monitor Padrick.
Padrick didn’t glance at him.
He kept his eyes on the Headmaster, who was a strange looking man, he thought. The thick glasses and wiry mustache made him look comical. Nothing about the wiry little man looked fearsome.
Nothing at all.
And that made Padrick pause. He wasn’t as stupid as his brother. He knew power could be hidden.
“I rejected your application,” the Headmaster said airily. “Threw it in the bin. I gave it little thought and little concern. But wiser heads than mine prevailed.”
“I’m a mage,” Padrick said, trying not to sneer at the Headmaster’s confession. “What right has anyone to keep me from where I belong?”
“Belong is a strong word.” The Headmaster grinned. “You claim this is your place? It is where you are meant to be? We shall see. We shall see. Is your loyalty to your kind or to your blood? A mage has no family but his fellow brother and sister mages. This is how it should be.”
“That is unfair, Headmaster,” Padrick protested. “Plenty of mages still maintain ties with their families. Even some of the members of the Court are strong with their familial relationships.”
“Certainly,” the Headmaster agreed. “As I said. Wiser heads than mine prevailed. However, I am still Headmaster. For what little that is worth.”
“For now,” Padrick pointed out with a show of teeth.
“Quite so.” The Headmaster’s gaze didn’t flicker. “Things change. They must change. This is the nature of nature. However, chaos must be prevented. Change must be made with consequences understood. Not with passion and foolish pride.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You come with an agenda,” the Headmaster said. “You come with plans. With a folly on your shoulder and a stone in your heart. You come bearing poison. Some things, young Paddstone, I will not tolerate within these walls.”
“Where was your conviction when it came to my brother?”
“Your brother stole what should not be stolen.”
“So you say.”
“So I do.”
“Yet, no proof has been given!”
“The voices of many and the deaths of more are proofs enough,” the Headmaster said. “His own words betrayed his desire. His own deeds led him to his death. He, too, carried a folly on his shoulder and a stone in his heart. You might do well to learn from him.”
“Lies. That’s all you have.”
“Truths are painful,” the Headmaster sighed.
“To your family, I hold no grudge. To your brother, I wished great success. His potential was strong. There was no lie, young Paddstone. There were many who heard your brother’s words.
Who witnessed the death he caused. There are no doubts of his intention to steal from the Vault and gift to his father.
For favor? For love? Or redemption over the bitterness of his birth? Probably all of these things.”
Padrick flinched. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Hmm. His reasons are unclear,” the Headmaster admitted. “But the intention and results are not. Your family’s resentment is blinding you to the simple truths.”
“And your hatred of our family is blinding you!”
Headmaster Miles Kendrickburn stared sadly at the young man.
Then he adjusted his glasses with a finger before sighing.
“There is no hatred in my heart, young Paddstone. Not an ounce. Not a sliver. There is regret that I was not there to take him alive. Your family is respected. It is old. It is one of the noble lines. I have no resentment towards it.”
“So you say.”
“Yes,” the Headmaster nodded. “So I do say. And I say this again. I will tolerate no shenanigans in my Academy. I formally advise you to remain as distant from Milo Mooney as is possible if you cannot be reasonable.”
“Why would I want anything to do with my brother’s murderer?” Padrick did sneer this time. “Maybe he wants to kill me. Have you considered that?”
“We have,” the Headmaster said. “And young Mooney will be presented the same advice.”
“I’m also monitoring the situation,” Harry Jellickson said, putting his teacup down with a clink. “Your father’s concerns have been heard. I am here to follow up on them.”
“Sure.” Padrick stiffened at the other man’s words. “As if the Mage Court would release the truth.”
“Truth, these days, seems to be an emotional resolution rather than a factual one,” the Headmaster said.
“With every day, it is a word cheapened by expectations and fear. You have ears, young Paddstone. And eyes. And in that head of yours I see a mind capable of thought. Combine those things and speak to your peers. You might find the truth was told from the beginning.”
“Oh, I have spoken to my peers,” Padrick said calmly. “At some length already.”
Milo swept the recording away, not seeing any need to watch more.
It was clear that Padrick wasn’t going to let it go. Mila had told him what happened to Gus. And news of the boy’s body being found in the bay had already spread through the Academy.
The fish had nibbled at his corpse so it was difficult for the guards to tell what had killed him. But Milo knew the young man had died painfully.
He wondered what garbled nonsense Gus had agreed to just to end that pain.
And he felt guilty.
Maybe with his golems, he could have saved him.
Saving the boy would’ve put more suspicion on Milo. What reason would he have to know where Gus was? The warehouses were in an isolated and quiet part of the city.
He’d have to tell the guards how he knew Gus was there.
Could the golems have disguised themselves and released him anonymously? Maybe. But could Milo also guarantee Gus would survive long enough to tell what had happened to him? And would his fear of Padrick let the words come from his mouth if he had no one to support him?
In the end, he’d let Gus die.
“Blast it,” Milo grunted, tugging out the crystal and inserting another.
“You did what you thought was best,” Tania said softly.
She was on one side of him. Mila was on the other.
“Maybe.”
Mila squeezed his arm but said nothing. He felt a bit cold, but didn’t ask for his coat. It warmed him more just seeing the tips of her fingers sticking out from the sleeves. It looked cute.
And, in that moment, he needed something nice in his heart.
The screen lit up again, this time with the Common Room. Padrick was standing in the middle, arms at his sides, turning to get a good look at everyone.
“I’m offering gold,” he told them. “For anything you can tell me about Fulka Fenricksurge. Anything at all. I don’t care how small it is. I want every little scrap of information about her.”
“What for?” another student asked.
“Because my family wants to find her,” he said simply.
“We don’t believe the Mage Court told the truth about what happened.
You were all told that my brother tried to steal something from the Vault.
But it was Fulka who took it away. Well, where is she?
And who was she? No one seems to know. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s suspicious.
And if the Court are unwilling to investigate, then I will. He was my brother. I owe him that.”
Miles felt his lip twitch at Padrick’s tone. He was trying to sound genuine and reasonable but there was clearly some unresolved issues between him and Fergus.
He wondered if, privately, Padrick was pleased his brother was dead.
“How much are you offering?” a familiar voice asked.
“As much as your information is worth,” Padrick said. “At least five gold for anything simple.”
“Count me in, then!”
Quickly a line started to form in front of Padrick, whose face turned into a delighted grin.
Milo squinted at the screen where he saw Tania standing with her arms waving as she spilled secrets worth a generous sum.
Then Milo turned and shot a questioning glance at Tania.
“What?” She shrugged. “It’s free gold.”
He shook his head. “Really?”
“Is he still paying up?” Mila asked, sitting up suddenly.
“Yeah.” Tania smirked at her. “But you’ll need to leg it quick or else he’ll have paid for all the juicy bits already.”
“Blast!” Mila scrambled out of her chair and headed for the door.
“Where you going?” Milo called.
“To sell information!”
“What?”
“I won’t tell him anything important,” Mila promised. “But who knows more about Fulka than me?”
“Won’t that be suspicious? You’re supposed to be a new student.”
“It’ll be fine.” She waved a hand. “I’ll think of something.”
“Mila,” he started.
“Sorry, Milo,” she said. “I gotta run before he runs out of gold.”
“But--”
“It’s free gold, Milo!”
And then she was gone.
“At last,” Tania said, reaching out to take the front of her shirt into her slender fingers. “I was thinking she was never gonna leave.”
“I don’t know what just happened,” he said.
“Poor Milo,” Tania said, lifting her skirt. “Let me give ya something else to think about.”