Raelia (The Medoran Chronicles Book 2) (10 page)

Then there were the other classes and teachers who Alex would have been happy to avoid. Professor Luranda, the Medical Science teacher, was ‘kind’ enough to greet them with a pop quiz to see how much they’d retained from the previous year. And their Chemistry teacher, Fitzy—or Professor Fitzwilliam Grey—welcomed the class back by experimenting with two unstable chemicals, which resulted in an evacuation of the entire General Sector—or ‘Gen-Sec’—building. He had a good heart, Fitzy, but his head wasn’t always screwed on right.

Astrid Marmaduke, their Core Skills professor, opened her first class with a long lecture reminding them about the importance of controlling their gifts. She then proceeded to
go around the room asking students to demonstrate how far they had come after having presumably—to her reasoning— practised over the summer holidays. When Mel showed off her elemental ability and accidentally set fire to her desk, Connor used his affinity with the weather to try and put it out by making it rain
inside
the classroom. But then he panicked when he couldn’t make it stop, so Savannah jumped in to help, freezing the water. This might have worked if the icy result hadn’t fallen towards the students’ heads like daggers of hail. It was only because Sean raised an invisible shield as a protective canopy above them that no one ended up speared by the frozen shards of water.

Suffice it to say, after that display, Professor Marmaduke had given them theory exercises for the rest of the lesson.

As for PE, Finn was determined to kill them all with his die-hard boot camp to ‘whip them all back into shape.’ But after Alex’s summer of intense Combat training, she found it refreshing to test her increased stamina, most of which had originated from Finn’s gruelling classes the previous year. Despite his zapping stick and his harsh demands, Alex had begun to appreciate the value of his class, although she staunchly believed his teaching practices were in strong violation of ethical laws.

In Archery, Alex must have zoned out on her first day, having been too distracted by the circulating gossip. In her second class she learned from Maggie that they would be stepping up their technique over the next few months, which included a course in survival archery with moving targets, rather than simply shooting at the more and more challenging but still stationary boards.

That was sure to be interesting.

By far, Alex was most pleased to be back in her Equestrian Skills class. She hadn’t been able to enjoy her first day back
because of the rumours and her dreaded meeting with Karter, but her next two classes under Tayla’s instruction were much more gratifying. And when Tayla mentioned some of the exercises they would be working towards, Alex felt a thrill of anticipation.

Combat was… well, it was Combat. Karter’s mood was much better when Alex entered the Arena for her second session, which was a relief for her entire class. They continued to practise unarmed combat, with Karter correcting their techniques while pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. Alex apparently had very few strengths and a long list of weaknesses. But she was determined to improve, and the only way she could do that was to continue participating. On Wednesday she was partnered with Sebastian, and on Friday she was against Nick. Both of them crushed her, but she felt a sense of pride at the end of each session when she was able to walk out of the Arena in one piece.

And as for the rumours about her and Karter, it turned out the Combat boys had been right. The whole thing had mostly blown over by the second day of classes, and Alex only heard the rare snide comment as the week continued. Everything had settled back to normal, just as it should have been to begin with.

“Alex?”

“Huh?” she said, pulling herself from her memories of the past week.

“I asked what you’ll be doing today while we’re at the SAS trial?” Jordan said.

It was lunchtime on Saturday and there was a definite feeling of anticipation in the air. At least for the fourth years, anyway, as they were soon to experience their first taste of Hunter’s Stealth and Subterfuge class.

“I think I’m going to visit my parents,” Alex said. “They’re probably waiting for an update and I don’t want them getting antsy about not hearing from me.”

Bear nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.”

“Say ‘hi’ from us,” D.C. put in kindly.

“Will do,” Alex agreed with a smile. “Where are you guys meeting Hunter?”

“Right here,” Jordan said. “He’ll arrive after everyone else has cleared out.”

Alex looked around the quickly emptying food court. “That’s my cue to leave.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to try out with us?” D.C. asked. “It might be fun.”

Alex laughed at the thought. “Not by my definition, Dix. But you guys enjoy yourselves.”

She stood and hastily left the food court, eager to be far away when Hunter arrived. The last thing she needed was to give the impression that she actually wanted to take part in the class. No sir-ee.

Once outside, Alex walked straight over to the Tower building and headed downstairs into the Library. It was weird; she’d grown so used to coming and going through its doorways over the holidays, but this was the first time she’d been back since school started. The moment she entered the majestic foyer, she felt a sensation similar to a warm embrace, as if the Library was welcoming her back with open arms.

She waved to the surly librarian who grunted in reply, then skipped down the stairs, concentrated on where she wanted to go, willed a door to appear and stepped directly though it— straight into what looked like ancient Egypt.

The Library didn’t skimp on details, that was for sure. It had provided pyramids and everything. After seeing their new digs, Alex’s parents hadn’t cared about being cloistered away in what was loosely defined as a ‘building’ for the entirety of their stay in Medora. Instead, they’d been thrilled by the idea of gallivanting around amongst one of the Seven Wonders of
the Ancient World. Well,
their
world, at least. Medoran history was different. And yet, despite that, the Library had generously accommodated Alex’s request for a safe but productive place for her parents to stay. In fact, the ecosystem was so real that the only way Alex knew they were still inside the Library at all was because of its walls. It might look as if the desert’s sand dunes continued for all eternity, but upon exploring during her first visit, Alex had walked straight into a transparent barrier—and nearly broken her nose in the

Grumbling about needing a warning sign, Alex had very deliberately chosen to ignore the warmly amused voice of the Library echoing in the wind, “
Best watch your step, Alexandra.
”

She had taken those words to heart and now, holding a hand in front of her face to shield against the glare of the artificial sun, Alex opened her mouth to call out to her parents rather than wander aimlessly into another barrier. But she didn’t manage to get a single word out before a large gust of wind blasted what felt like every grain of sand in the desert down her throat.

Bending double to hack the coarse grittiness out of her oesophagus, she waited until she could catch her breath before stumbling forward, deciding to head into the nearest pyramid— the only one that was ‘real’ amid the illusions of others, as she’d painfully discovered on her first visit.

Wiping tears from her eyes after the attack of wind, sand
and
glare, Alex was relieved to find shelter inside the archaeological wonder. Almost immediately she heard excited voices from further in and headed towards them. She found her parents kneeling in a flame-lit chamber at the base of a pillar covered in carved hieroglyphs, talking a mile a minute over each other.

“Rach, honey, can you see—”

“I know, Jack, it’s incredible! Just look at—”

“Extraordinary! I can’t believe—”

Alex cleared her throat loudly, drawing their startled gazes.

“Alex? What a lovely surprise!” said her mum, Rachel, rising to her feet and brushing sand off her knees. She closed the distance between them and drew Alex in for a hug.

“What are you doing here, sweetheart?” asked her dad, Jack, embracing her after her mother. “Please don’t say it’s because you have more immortal elves after you for us to worry about. One arch-enemy is enough for any grand adventure, in my humble opinion.”

“Aven’s not an elf, Dad,” Alex said, though she could understand the popular culture comparison—she made it frequently herself. “He’s a Meyarin. And can’t a girl visit her parents without needing a reason?”

Jack looked at her in a way only a father could. “Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity or not, I still have moments where I wonder if we made the right decision letting you come back here. If Aven’s as dangerous as you say…” He trailed off, gathering his thoughts. “You know, if Darrius hadn’t told us that the elf can now use the Library to step through to Earth and kidnap you, I’m not sure our decision would have been the same. But if he can get to you no matter where you are, then I guess—”

“—that you might as well be somewhere where you’re learning how to
not
get caught by him,” Rachel jumped in to finish. “And you are, sweetheart, aren’t you? Learning how to stay safe from him?”

Understanding their concern, Alex tried to reassure them. “I am. And believe me, when my Combat instructor is through with me, Aven won’t stand a chance. No one will be capturing me—Meyarin, human, or otherwise.”

Noting their still troubled faces, Alex decided it was time for her to divert their attention away from imminent threats to her life and therefore the lives of all Medorans. She took in their dirt-smudged skin and, keeping her tone deliberately light, said, “Now enough about me, I want to hear about what
you guys have been up to. It sure looks like you’re having fun down here.”

That was all it took for her easily distracted, work-loving parents to switch gears, all talk of Aven forgotten. Again Alex was reminded of how they’d seemed to repress what Darrius had told them about Alex’s dealings with the Meyarin. But if compartmentalising it all helped calm her parents enough to allow Alex to continue on at Akarnae, then she’d let them repress anything they wanted.

“This place is amazing!” Rachel gushed. “The parallels between Medora and Earth are astounding. Already we’ve made several new discoveries, and the wonders just keep coming!”

“You should have seen the alluvial deposits we found yesterday,” said Jack, practically glowing with pleasure. “I’ve never seen such nutrient-dense soil before in my life!”

“Who doesn’t love a good alluvial deposit?” replied Alex, unintentionally setting her parents off on a longwinded discussion about the importance of fertile soil for ancient crop cultivation.

It was only after listening patiently to their overload of farming information as well as the tangent conversation about the large Canopic vases they’d found a few days ago—including the mummified contents within and just
who
they might have originally belonged to—that Alex considered her parental duty complete for the day.

With distracted goodbyes and ‘be carefuls’ from her parents who were clearly eager to get back to their hieroglyphs, Alex willed a return doorway to appear from right inside the pyramid. It opened showing her a view of the Library’s foyer, but something unexpected happened as soon as she stepped through the door. With a disorienting swirl of colour, the scenery changed, causing her to land not in the well-lit foyer…

… but in the middle of a forest.

Thoroughly bewildered, Alex turned around once, twice, and then stood there weighing her options. She clearly wasn’t in the Library anymore, but she had no idea how that had happened. Never before had she stepped through a doorway and arrived anywhere but where she had chosen.

No, that wasn’t right. Her very first foray into the fantasy world had landed her in a forest clearing where she’d met Aven, and then Jordan and Bear. But that didn’t explain where she was now—or
why
she was there.

“Uh, hello?” she called out timidly, wondering what she was supposed to do.

No one answered and she soon realised no one was going to. For whatever reason, the Library had decided to intervene and drop her off somewhere unexpected—and without any instruction whatsoever—and Alex had little option but to simply go with it.

If only she could open a doorway, that would solve all her problems. But when she was in Medora she had to be within the Library in order to will a door into existence. Either that, or she had to have already exited from a doorway that she could then call back into being for the return trip. Neither of those options were available to her at the moment, since technically she hadn’t opened the doorway that led to her being lost in the middle of nowhere. That left her with one option.

“Eenie, meenie, miney, moe,” she said, closing her eyes and pointing in all directions. When her finger landed, she started off into the forest, stepping cautiously through the thick shrubbery and wishing she’d worn sturdier shoes.

“I hope you have a good reason for sending me here,” she murmured, knowing instinctively that if the Library put her there, then it could hear her whingeing.

A branch snapped loudly behind her and the sound reminded
Alex that she was in a world where all sorts of monstrous creatures likely prowled through the woods.

Another branch snapped, closer this time, causing her body to tense.

A thick bush rustled only a few feet away from where she stood. The shrubbery was at least twice her height, with a width more than three times that. The rustling increased until the whole bush was moving and Alex’s heart began to pound in her chest as she backed away.

When the rustling stopped, Alex released the breath she’d been holding. But it turned into a squeal of fright when something lunged towards her. She scurried backwards until she was pressed up against a tree. But when she caught sight of her ‘attacker’ she let out a relieved laugh.

“Aren’t you cute!” she gushed at the furry little creature that looked like some kind of squirrely possum—fluffy with big eyes and a long curling tail. Hardly the nightmarish monster she’d feared.