Dark Nebula (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (38 page)

“And from that,
” Julian said, ignoring her last comment, “y
ou got Anna and Randy out of the conversation and realized it was the same gal
Devon
dated?”
Julian had a suspicious look on his face
.

“
Pretty much
.
He
mentioned Anna’s brother has a tatù but didn’t go to Guilder.
There can’t be that many ‘Annas’ in the world with brothers who have tatùs.
I just put two and two together.”

“I
’m like the only guy who
don’t
trust him
.
I had the first drawing-vision of you and him the night of the dance.
”
So that’s why you seemed off in the hallway that night.
Julian
snorted
.
“Everyone keep
s
saying he’s
an orphan and needs to find his
sea
legs and learn to understand his tatù.
Even Carter’s got this big idea that he’s going to be some kind of superhero.
”

“Maybe.”
Carter probably knows more than he’s letting on.
She thought back to Kraigan’s advice about Carter’s tatù. “
H
e’s not bad. He’s just trying to find a way to fit in
and is trying to figure this tatù world out. Like me. It’s hard to come into this world without any prior knowledge–a lot harder than you think
.”

“I guess you’re right.” Julian sighed.
“Maybe you
could
get a hold of his
power
and see if you can figure it out.
Just to be safe.
”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Rae didn’t
plan
to mimic
Kraigan’s ability
without his permission
.
Julian was acting too paranoid for her comfort, and his suggestion was oddly sly for someone she had come to think of as honest and open.
She was beginning to
wonder if
Julian had something to hide.
I’m not going to be anyone’s pawn.
“Juls,” she look
ed
up at him
,
“
don’t
tell
Devon
about his dad
, okay?
I don’t want him to worry.”

“I won’t say anything for now.
Mainly because
he’d
kick my ass
for having this conversation with you.”

Yeah, I owe him for this.
Rae played with
a soggy fr
y
.
“I’m glad we talked.
I feel better.”
She
forced a
smile.
He’s still my buddy.

“Me, too.
Not sure about
the
feeling better
—
Probably more paranoid now
that
I’m gonna get in
a
crap
-load
of trouble with
your boyfriend.” Julian laughed.
“But I’m glad you got to talk.
School’s only a few more months and then you can get on with life and start doing some
thing
fun, like living and maybe hanging out with your boyfriend without being worried his dad is watching you.”

He’s right. This will all be over soon.
Suddenly, the crummy day didn’t seem so bad
,
and tomorrow looked
a lot
brighter.
She would
be seeing
Devon
soon
.

Chapter
20

If I Ruled the World

S
itting on the floor, Rae
frowned
at
the
dorm windows.
A
lthough it was a
lready
half past seven
, the sky still
seemed
like it hadn’t woken up yet.
The grey clouds from yesterday’s rain hung like a heavy curtain, keeping the morning in miserable dimness.

She tucked
her right leg underneath her and extend
ed
her left. As she reached
for her toes,
the tightness in her hamstrings
protested, proving how badly she needed to stretch
.
Julian had offered to
teach her some
training
exercises
last night
,
and she
had
accepted the challenge without hesitation.
She might be stiff and sore now, but she had beat him the last six time
s
, making the pain totally worth it
.
She grinned
.
N
ot that
I
was counting
.

A few
minutes
later, she brought her foot behind her
and sta
rted working on her quad muscles.
She straightened her back and a long, slow yawn escaped.
Her eyes closed as she dropped her head side to side to ease the cricks and stiffness
.
After blinking several times
,
she
refocused
and
caught sight of
the
mail
still
sitting on her desk from
the day before
.

Walking
on her knees, she shuffled over and picked up
a
business-
size
padded envelope
.
The return address showed
her uncle
’s name
.
She chewed on
the inside of her cheek
,
suddenly
completely
awake
.

The sudden plink of raindrops resonated against the window.
Her nerves were strung so tightly, the sound was like a guitar pick, plucking at her
.
With
damp
hands,
she
ripped
open the package
.

Rae
gasped. She
held the old, leather string-
tied journal
away from her body, like it might possess some kind of curse
.
A sheet of paper drifted to
wards
the floor
.
She snatched it just before it
touched
the ground.
She set
the journal on the desk,
and then
she reached up
to flip
on
the light above her.
Her
uncle’s
extremely neat
,
handwritten
message
reminde
d
her of her mother’s writing.

Dear Rae
,

While sorting through
a case of old files, I came across
my old
journal from Guilder.
It is just boys dreaming they could change the world.
I doubt it will help you very much
,
but it may give you
some insight into your father.
The
se
scribbled
writings belong more to you than me.
It’s been years since I’ve looked at them.

Enjoy your last term at Guilder and let me know how things get on.
I’v
e received an invite from the h
eadmaster for your graduation ceremony.
It’s been over forty years since I’ve set foot inside those halls
. M
aybe it
’
s time to return.

I shall
leave you with a
quote
from Eleanor Roosevelt:
Y
ou must do the things you think you cannot do.

Your uncle,

Argyle

Rae set the letter on her desk and stared at the cover of the journal.
The title,
HO
C
Notes
&
Minutes, was
written in the same calligraphic
penmanship as
Argyle’s letter
.
Taking a deep breath, she untied the string and
flipped
to the first page.
Only two sentences, in a
different
penmanship
from that of
the cover
, were written on it
,
messy
and printed, not cursive
.

T
he quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning.
Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers
—
Erich Fromm.

The last sentence was underlined.
Simon Kerrigan had entered the quote into the journal.
Rae
recognized
her father’s
tight
,
distinctive handwriting
.
She
had been
six
years old
the last time she
had seen
anything
he had
written
.
B
ut the quote represented his thoughts
precisely
.

She
turned
the page and saw her uncle’s writing again.
M
eticulous
,
even
then, he
had written
the names of each member of the group, included their year
,
indicated those already marked
with tatùs
and
he had
also
indicated
who represent
ed
the board.
The next few pages show
ed
minutes from meetings with short notes on where the group met and what they discussed.
Boring stuff
.
The only interesting point appeared
to be
that
the boys seem
ed
younger,
probably fourteen or fifteen years old
.
She
skipped some pages and saw her father’s lecture at one meeting
.
His plans, before his tatù, were far more elaborate and mature t
han
the thoughts and ideas of the other boys.

Rae checked her watch.
Nearly
eight o’clock
.
S
he still
had
to shower and grab breakfast before
her
first class.
Reluctant to leave the book, she closed it and pulled her bottom desk drawer open.
She flipped
the journal
open to stuff the letter from her uncle inside
.

“What the heck?”
She
froze
when she
read
the title on the page:
“When I Rule the World,
by
SK
” hand printed in capital letters.
She
wonder
ed
if her uncle had ever
bothered to
read this
—
or even seen it.

“No way I
’m
gonna
rush
now
.
I
so
gotta read this.”
Dropping on
to
her bed, she
drew
the book close to read:

Ruling the World is not as hard as one would think.
This school is a joke and most of those
already tatùed
here don’t even realize they are just pawns in the Council’s
game of power
.
The
school’s
too stupid to
clue in
.
The oh-so-
sacred
and oh-so-secret Privy Council wants to control and keep the power under their command.

All it takes is one individual with a rare
ability
to change this.
The kids in our
dumb
little club already hang on to every word I say and until this
month
, I
didn’t even
ha
ve
my tatù.

The stage has been set and
I have
been
gifted with my
talent.

The professors here know nothing of my mother
--
that she
and my father were both tatùed
.
They are all so
scared
of the consequences
—
like the bloody Tudors
,
terrified of mixing the royal blood lines or
, heaven forbid,
their religion.

I shall be like King Henry
.
I will
start my own group of followers
,
and rule (or should I say, control) the world.
My father taught me the
endless
possibilities
in
mixing tatùs
,
and how to choose the right women to produce the strongest heirs.
I plan on continuing his dream
,
but to my advantage.
His dream was to create powerful men to battle
for
and protect
England
.
But w
hy
stop there w
hen we’ve got mere mortals and machines to do the work (and
die
) for us.

I’ve already created the perfect weapon of power.
If I’m this talented now, how much more so
will
I be at twenty? Thirty?
The plan is almost too easy now with the tatù I’ve
received
.
Brainwashing, overtaking the Privy Council (and destroying them), and following my own destiny.
And therein lies the
mystery
—
What is my destiny?

Rae sat back in
her
chair, stun
n
ed
.
This is huge.
It appeared her dad
had written
th
is
shortly
after his six
teenth birthday
.
Her
mind whirled.
Her
grandparents
had
died befo
re Rae
had
been born and neither of her parents had spoken of them much
.
Where could she find information
on Grandpa and Nanny Kerrigan?

Her beeping
watch
distracted her.
She glanced at it and jumped off the chair, knocking it over.
Nine o’clock
.
V
ery
, very
late
.
Even a speed tatù couldn’t
get her to class on time now
.
Tossing the journal in her top drawer, she threw on a skirt and blouse and dashed out the door and to the Oratory.