Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
VISIONS AND…HOLY SHIT, WHAT’S GOING ON
The other student helping to deliver the produce is a shifter. Her green T-shirt is as telling as the obvious animal scent that trails after her. She’s also as friendly as a cactus.
I tried talking with her on our first trip to the storeroom, but after she showed me her teeth before storming away, I didn’t try again.
Now we’re carrying the last baskets, and I’m ready for a long, tepid shower. She’s already disappeared into the room, leaving me trailing behind.
There’s a crash from the room, and I go to race in, but I’m stopped by her formidable body blocking the door.
She lifts her finger and stabs it in my direction as she hisses under her breath. “You made me miss dinner, Nom. Don’t ever look in my direction, or I’ll rip your face off, you piece of shit.”
She shoulder-checks me on her way past, and I end up on my butt. Again.
I am not a clumsy person by any means, but since I arrived at Thales, I swear I’ve spent more time on my ass than anyone should. But each time I’ve fallen, tripped, or been pushed it has been due to the intentional action of an other.
Climbing to my feet, I already know the earlier noise was a parting message from her, and I’m right. She knocked everything we brought in off the counter—fruit and vegetables are now scattered everywhere.
My frustrations get the better of me, and I scream silently at the universe.
For such mythical creatures, they sure act like complete assholes, throwing temper tantrums at the slightest provocation. It blows my mind that this is how they behave.
Treading over the spill, I manage not to stand on anything as I grab all the baskets. Then I get on my hands and knees to collect everything from where it’s fallen or rolled. Nothing gets missed because I simply follow the weird, colored trails hanging in the air.
Idly, I wonder if this is how I’m going to see everything now, and I’d like to know if the phenomenon has a name because my description doesn’t match how, well, magikal it is.
I’ve almost finished cleaning up, surprised that there are only a few pieces of fruit not salvageable, when something catches my eye.
Under one of the metal tables, the air shimmers like a mirage in the desert.
I have to lay my head on the floor to follow it, but once I’m down there, it’s as obvious as following the juice of a squashed tomato.
Tucked high against one of the supporting legs and welded to part of the frame is a tiny box.
Unless you’re right under the table, like I am, you’d miss it because it’s held flush against the metal and made of the same material so it blends completely.
For some reason, I can see it easily. I mean, the pulsing, shimmering energy around it makes it impossible to ignore.
It’s as obvious as a neon sign shouting ‘look here’.
The small space between the bench and the floor means reaching the object is difficult, so I end up pulling out one of the adjustable shelves on the counter before wiggling under the table.
I try running my nail under the lip of the hidden compartment, but the lid doesn’t budge, and I end up climbing out from under the table and checking the drawers in the area to see if there’s a tool or something I can use to pry it open.
A flicker of unease makes me pop my head out the door and scan the corridor, because I’m pretty sure someone will think I’m up to no good or damaging academy property if they find me with a collection of tools.
The hallway is empty, and I wait a few extra minutes in case I missed hearing someone nearby, but it stays quiet.
I race to the table and wiggle back to the same position I was in before, trying my nail again because I’m stubborn like that. “Come on, what are you hiding?”
I get that I’m talking to a box, but it fits with the mystery.
Plus, I haven’t eaten all day, and I’m pretty sure I’m hypoglycemic.
Also, I’ve always been stubborn, and nothing is stopping me from finding out what’s in here.
I run my nail over the top again, and this time the lid shifts slightly.
It takes another three tries before I can slide my nail under the lip and wiggle the space open.
There’s an audible bang, like a starter’s gun, that makes me yelp. Although that turns into a screech when bright golden light pours from the box and things fall on my face.
I slam my eyes shut and try not to scream as I squirm out of the cramped space as fast as I can. I don’t want to think about spiders or bugs, but I can feel something on my face. Something that feels a lot like long spider legs.
I roll to a stand, while doing one of those dances where my arms and legs go everywhere while violently shaking my head to dislodge whatever touched me. My vision is spotty because the blast of light burned my retinas, and in my panic, I crash into the wall.
“Stop being such a wimp,” I growl under my breath.
With that, I compartmentalize my panic to take a calm, adult-inspired breath and take stock of the room to make sure I’m still alone. Luckily, I am, and after another check, I sink back down to the floor and start searching for what fell onto my face.
It’s no wonder it felt like something was crawling on me, now I can see the two items that still dangle caught on the lid of the box just at the right height.
I pull them free, then watch as the golden light dims and the hiding space dissolves.
My mind jumps, wondering if I’m watching a witch’s spell burn out, but that’s only because I’m completely uneducated.
It’s also irrelevant, and once it’s finished disappearing, all that remains is the main structure of the table.
Sitting up, I get the sense that I need to get out of here and back to my room urgently.
Clutching what I found in my hand, I know it will be bad news if anyone catches me here.
Without looking at the items, I shove them into my pocket before pushing the bench back into position.
After doing a final check of the area, I grab the spoiled fruit and vegetables, flick the lights off, then make an escape without looking like I’m actually running from anything.
It’s lucky there’s a game of basketball happening at the sports center tonight, or the dining hall would be overflowing with witnesses. Thankfully, the place is nearly deserted, except for a couple of students. I dump the stash of spoiled food and make it back to Nom House without being noticed.
All the lights are out above my level, so I pull my device out and message Orion.
Apparently, they’ve had a blackout for most of the day, and he’s down to his last bar of battery, which is weird because I have power on my floor.
I tell him to throw his device down the staircase, and I’ll charge it for him.
But now, as well as having no power, they have hall monitors watching them and barring anyone from leaving.
He signs off with a sad face, and I send one back.
It would have been good to offload everything with him after the day I had. I need his snarky humor.
From the top of the landing, a sour-faced guard stares at me as I turn onto my floor, reminding me a lot of the enforcers back home.
My senses tingle until I reach my room, letting me know he hasn’t stopped staring at me.
Once inside my room, I shove the tea chest over to the door and shut down any more thoughts of the guard, which is how I coped back home.
You need that kind of resolution, or you waste time speculating on endless what-ifs.
It’s the same mental focus that makes me hide what I found under my pillow. I desperately want to look at my discovery, but I stink and am covered in mud.
Setting the water running, I risk a quick look in the mirror. My face is mostly back to normal, although I still look like I’m running on adrenaline. Without checking, I walk straight under the spray and emit a hiss like a wildcat at the frigid temperature.
I take the fastest shower in the world, only getting in one shampoo before I have to climb out or risk catching hypothermia.
I dry off in record time, load my hair with conditioner, and pull on the warmest pj’s I have, adding a Thales hoodie for extra warmth.
Almost instantly, I feel better, and with each wiggle under my blankets, I thaw out.
Once my hands stop trembling, I rummage through my emergency food drawer for dinner. And only once that is all done, then I take the things out from under my pillow.
The first is obvious; it’s an old bracelet.
Although I’ve never seen one like it before.
For starters, it’s featherlight and made of spun, golden threads that shimmer like rays of sunshine.
Then there’s the other item. I’m not entirely sure what it is, because it’s obviously part of something larger than itself.
Like the bracelet, it hardly has any weight to it, and I want to say it’s from the same time period.
Yes, it’s a part of something, and I have a sneaking suspicion of what.
Grabbing my tablet, I go to open one of the textbooks Professor Drummond added for me, but I stop my finger hovering because the image I’m looking for is not from those books.
Crawling out from under my blankets, I race over to the biggest chest, pulling out all the bundles of weapons and clothes.
And because the chest is so deep, I’m bent half inside it before I spot the book I want.
A faint noise comes from behind me, freezing me in place. The sound happens again, making me stop what I’m doing and turn around slowly, but I pause when my hands tingle.
Suddenly, I can see the image I was looking for, because I’m literally right in the middle of it.
I’m on top of a hill, surrounded by buildings straight out of the pages of a history book, the setting bathed in sun, hope, and color. People or beings are murmuring quietly, getting ready for battle. I walk through them, my presence unnoticed as I’m pulled to where I need to be.
A woman stands on top of a high peak, hidden by a rocky crevice, wearing leathers eerily similar to the ones in my chest. Behind her stand four beings, clearly her sentinels.
Their features are blurred, but I know they’re together because somehow, I can feel the loving bond they share.
And soaring above her is a raven. Without warning, she raises an enormous bow.
A serene smile settles on her face as she releases her hold, and the arrow flies across the sky, chased by the bird.
My vision wavers as I return to reality. I settle back in my dorm room with knowledge and a passenger.
Knowing the identity of the object isn’t as important, at least for the moment, because next to me is the raven.
“This is nuts. You were there, and now you’re here,” I whisper, trying to comprehend what I’m seeing. I know I’m not crazy, and I’m mostly sure I’m not delusional, but right this second, I cannot come up with a valid explanation.
The raven caws and ruffles its feathers, making them shimmer blue like the midnight sky in winter. I’m awestruck and dumbstruck at the same time by the majestic creature. He’s definitely not shy, as he hops onto my leg and walks closer, sharp intelligence in his blue-gray eyes.
“Hey,” I say quietly and he waits patiently.
“I’m a little worried something inside my brain snapped, and I’ve lost my fucking marbles.
I have a feeling I’m sitting on the floor in my room, talking out loud to you, a giant raven, and you’re actually understanding me, which is some weird shit.
So, I think the best thing for me to do is go to bed. Good night.”
I shake my leg until he gets the message and hops off. Moving like a zombie, I climb back into bed, turn onto my side, and pull the blankets over my head.
Then I let out a girly shriek when I feel him jump back and start walking up my leg again a few seconds later. But I squeeze my eyes shut and repeat, “This is a dream” over and over until I pass out.