CHAPTER 11 #2
“Lilia … Lilia … ah, yes. Crixson House. Room three-ten.” He peeled away a sticker from the page and secured it to my luggage.
“Okay. Thanks.” I threw one more glance toward my suitcase, before exiting the boat.
A stone platform led toward the tunnel, and I stepped in that direction, assuming it was the way to my dorm, when a grip of my arm brought me to a stop.
Briceson released me, pulling a messenger bag up onto his shoulder. “Hey, can I get your phone number?”
“Oh. Um. I’m not–”
“It’s not like that. I, um …. I have a boyfriend?” A lopsided smile slanted his lips as he scratched the back of his head.
Idiot, I silently chided myself. I somehow had to pry myself from the mindset that every guy who asked for my number was looking for a hookup.
“Right. Sorry, um, yes.” As we made our way toward the tunnel, I rattled my cellphone off to him, and he sent me a text with a smiley face emoji that said, hello .
“Now you have mine. I just thought it’d be cool to exchange theater lines sometime.”
Smiling, I nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Lilia? Is there a Lilia Vespertine?” At the sound of my name, I turned toward a bright-eyed blonde, who, like the attendant, also carried a clipboard.
Briceson gave me a light shoulder tap. “I’ll catch you later. Good luck!”
“Thanks. You, too.” On those parting words, I headed toward the blonde who’d called me. “I’m Lilia,” I said, strolling up to her.
After an appraising once-over, she flashed a too-wide smile that creased her eyes. “I’m Kendall. I work with the dean’s office. Dr. Langmore asked that I fetch you for a quick introduction.”
“Of course.” I trailed after her, away from the tunnel and up a winding stone staircase, to what looked like a gondola ski lift.
Some students, including Briceson, took the walking path that led upward toward the castle-like building ahead, and as I stared down, dozens of feet below me, I could see them making the steep climb.
Once we’d settled onto our seats, the gondola lurched into motion, exiting from its tower, and at that height, I could finally take in the breathtaking school grounds set against the ocean backdrop.
Sunrise fought to break through the overcast, offering a soft glow over the bustling campus, as students arrived for the new semester.
The university buildings were arranged in a square, enclosed by an ancient stone wall that lined the perimeter of the surrounding woods.
Like a small village made up of weathered buildings, with their pointed arches and ribbed vaults, some covered in sprawling vines, with lush gardens and courtyards interspersed between them.
Wealth flowed through the veins of the university, that much was clear. Yet, deep within its bones hid the slumbering tragedies of its past, ones that had bled through in the irreparable decay that had aged the exterior like a smoldering infection.
“Dracadia was once a monastery,” Kendall said, staring out through the gondola window.
“And an asylum, right?”
“Yes. It has a rather dark history. But I’m sure that wouldn’t impress someone like you.”
At that, I frowned, not quite catching her meaning. While a snarky comeback sat perched on the tip of my tongue, I didn’t want that on my first day, so instead, I turned back toward the window, and for the rest of the ride, I remained quiet as she prattled on about student life on campus.
When the gondola finally slowed to a stop on the grounds of the monastery, I stepped out onto a narrow platform and down a flight of stairs, which led out to the manicured lawn of an expansive courtyard.
From there, I followed after her, cutting through the center of campus, toward what must’ve been the main admin building.
Situated directly across from an enormous clock tower at the opposite end of the courtyard, the building rivaled the height of every other on campus.
My eyes wandered in awe of the place, before we entered the building and headed up to the second floor, to a hallway of offices. Something tingled the back of my neck, as we slowed to a stop at a door where a gold plaque engraved with Dr. Gilbert Langmore hung beside it.
“Wait here one moment.” Kendall knocked on the door before slipping inside.
The sound of a voice carried down the corridor, and I turned toward a slightly ajar door, catching sight of a man who slouched in his chair with a bored expression, as another man, unseen from my angle, spoke without taking a breath.
When the bored man turned toward me, that tickle in the back of my neck flared again.
Copper colored eyes, set beneath long, black lashes and a naturally stern brow, stared back at me.
The shift of his jaw dragged my attention toward the perfection of his profile, sharp and angular and shadowed in a light stubble.
A shivering warmth scattered beneath my skin and fluttered in my chest, as he gave an aloof blink of his bedroom eyes before turning back toward the voice.
“Lilia?” Kendall’s voice snapped me out of my staring. “Dr. Langmore is ready to see you now.”
Nodding, I cleared my throat, stealing one more glance of the man, who didn’t bother to look my way again.
“Ah, Ms. Vespertine. Come in.” Behind the desk sat an older man with graying hair and spectacles.
He pushed up from his chair, gesturing to the one across from him, where I took my seat.
“I trust you had a long morning, so I will keep this meeting brief so that you can get settled. I’m Dr. Langmore, and I would like to personally welcome you to Dracadia University.
” He settled back into his chair. “I was thoroughly impressed by the paper you wrote for Professor Wilkins.”
“Thank you, Sir,” I said, gaze trailing over the walls, where inspirational quotes hung beside framed degrees that highlighted each step of his credentials.
Displayed on his desk sat a picture of him in a deep burgundy tuxedo, his arms wrapped tightly around a slightly taller, slimmer man in a pale pink tuxedo.
“Your analysis was exceptionally detailed. May I ask how you designed this particular organism?”
I didn’t know why I still harbored a sense of duty in upholding my mother’s privacy.
She was dead, after all, and I had little doubt the organism responsible was something I’d since learned rarely infected humans.
I wanted to tell Dr. Langmore that I knew firsthand how the disease affected a human being, because I’d watched it every day for weeks.
Instead, I smiled and shrugged. “Just a basic understanding of parasites, paired with a wild imagination.”
“Interesting.” Wearing a pensive expression, he adjusted his spectacles and nodded.
“I look forward to seeing that knowledge blossom during your time here. As stated in my letter to you, all expenses are paid while you’re here.
I want you to feel comfortable in this environment.
If you need anything, I want you to reach out to me personally. ”
Wow. I’d never been personally greeted by the dean of any college, let alone invited to contact him. “I appreciate your hospitality.” Hospitality? Was that even the right word?
“You’ve received your dorm assignment, correct?”
“Yessir.”
“Good, good. Any questions regarding your classes?”
“One, yes. There is a parasitology class and accompanying lab that was already on my schedule. I looked at the requirements, and it seems I’ve not taken the prereq for that class.”
“Yes, I enrolled you in that rotation. That’s Professor Bramwell’s midnight lab. No worries. I’m certain you’ll do well there.”
Bramwell. The expert Professor Wilkins had mentioned the day he’d given me the invitation. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize he taught it. The course guide listed–”
“His associate professor and teaching assistant. Dr. Bramwell oversees the course and gives the lectures for the accompanying class, but his associate and teaching assistant run the Midnight Lab and recitations. Dr. Bramwell is the lead in charge.”
“I see. There’s another class I didn’t sign up for, as well. Entomology. I’m assuming you put me in that class, too?”
“No. That was likely Dr. Gilchrist. She’s the Department Chair for the College of Natural Science. The one who petitioned your enrollment.”
“Yes, Dr. Wilkins informed me.”
“I’m imagining she hoped to have you in her class, but you’re welcome to remove it, if you’d like.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll leave it.”
“Very good. Now, Ms. Vespertine, I imagine you’re quite tired. Get settled, get some rest, and allow me to welcome you to Dracadia. I’ll have Kendall show you to your dorm.”