Steel Lily ARC (23 page)

“Everyone knows you have weapons in this place; why won’t you admit it?”

He recoiled, but regained his composure almost instantly. “It sounds as though you’ve been poking around, Miss Pike.”

I clenched my jaw. He wouldn’t goad me into a revealing information that would get us all in trouble.

He continued on without me saying a word. “One should note that even the tamest animals will bite back when poked and prodded.”

“Consider it noted.”

Riggs clapped his hands and made me jump. “All right, then. As I informed you when you first arrived, I’m your tutor. I don’t usually partake in the education of my students but you, my dear, are quite the riddle to be solved.”

His mood swings were going to give me whiplash. “I’m not a Rubik’s cube for your amusement, Mr. Riggs.”

He chuckled as he circled me. It made me feel as though he was a hawk riding the drafts above his prey, just waiting for the opportune moment to swoop in for the kill. “Do you like your uniform? Yours was a special order.”

His tone was paternal, and I wondered if he’d ever spoken to Jaxon like that. My muscles burned from holding them at attention, and I yearned to shift my weight. Instead I stared, unmoving, at Riggs. “Do you provide special treatment for your own son?”

Riggs slumped, which surprised me. “So you’ve heard all of the Academy’s gossip.”

“I don’t think it’s gossip since Jaxon told me.”

Riggs nodded, his tone acidic as he clenched his fists at his sides. “He’s always been a sucker for a pretty girl.”

I pulled the collar of the jacket higher against my neck.

The throaty chuckle that bubbled out of Riggs indicated the gesture hadn’t fallen on blind eyes. “Miss Pike, that was a compliment. There aren’t many girls that catch my son’s eye, although there are plenty that would love to have their affection reciprocated.”

“Well, I’m not one of those girls.”

“No,” Riggs said as he stroked his chin. “I recall you telling me one other time you weren’t like other girls. You haven’t let me down. I saw you turn my son down in that darkened corridor. You’ve earned my respect.”

Without another word he continued down the dank hallway. I stood there in the semi-darkness, thankful Riggs couldn’t see my scarlet face. He’d watched the tapes! Had he seen Legs? Fear filled my veins at the thought.

As I watched Riggs’s retreating back, I realized how alone and lost I’d be if he disappeared. The sound of a metal door grating against cement echoed from a distance, and I wondered if he was taking me to a subterranean prison. It was hard to tell what sinister things lay beneath the grandiose exterior of Chromelius Academy.

I stood there for a moment, but then followed him. My muted footsteps barely made a sound, but Riggs heard me.

“Wise decision, Miss Pike,” he called out.

A light flickered ahead. As I neared, I saw the low hum of electricity surge through the thin filament at the center. The bulb hung from its cord in the ceiling. Inside was a half-burnt dead fly, its legs bent grotesquely. My eyes watered from staring into the filament for too long.

“Welcome to my office,” Riggs said as he swept his hand around the small space. He slid his thin frame behind a metal desk and sat in a cracked leather seat so worn, it had the look of veins spreading across the fabric.

The room felt like a bomb shelter. Cement walls covered in water stains surrounded us with no outside light source. The wall behind Riggs was covered in books, pamphlets, and spare pieces of paper with scrawls of math problems and the like. A statue of three monkeys, each covering their eyes, ears, or mouth, sat as a bookend in the middle of the center bookcase.

How perfect for him.

Riggs fastened on a disingenuous smile and gestured to the simple black chair that resided in front of his desk. “Please, have a seat.”

I swallowed hard and forced myself to sit in the chair. It didn’t make sense why Riggs’s personal office was in such disrepair, while the rest of the Academy was immaculate. I would have imagined his personal quarters to be the epitome of grandeur.

“You’re probably wondering what we’re doing here.”

I couldn’t help myself. “I was actually trying to figure out why your office was a dive.”

A hearty chuckle escaped Riggs’s lips, and it was the first time he seemed human. He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. The action reminded me of Jaxon.

“You really are a piece of work, Miss Pike. I did well to bring you here.”

There were a thousand smart-alec comments I wanted to make, but I refrained. Instead, I gazed around the dingy hovel in search of more information about Riggs.

“I brought you here to learn,” he reminded me.

“I’m aware of that.”

“Do you feel that you’re ready to pursue that goal?”

“I suppose it depends on what you plan to teach me. It’s become clear that I can’t create elements like you thought.”

“Yet,” Riggs added.

“Or ever, since every time I’ve tried it ended in near-death.”

Riggs leaned forward, his eyes boring into mine. “I plan to teach you everything. All the secrets this place possesses will be yours. As for your inability to create elements, as I said, it’s only a matter of time. After watching you in Sari’s office, I believe you’re channeling the ability, but holding it within you. You need to release it, let it go, or else yes, you will continue to have near-death experiences. I wouldn’t have brought you unless I was confident in you, Miss Pike.”

“And why are you so confident?”

Riggs’s eyes were clear and sincere. “Because your mother can channel her abilities outward, as I’m telling you to.”

I sat back in my seat to create more space between us. My mind reeled. “My mom…”

“Is what you call an Elementalist.”

“Would you call us something different?”

He was practically leaning over the desk, his eyes alight with passion. “All of the students here are capable of controlling elements beyond anything you’ve seen before. You witnessed Kloey control water as though it were her toy. Evan manipulates fire in the same manner. Asher, Evan’s twin brother, controls the air. You have no idea how remarkable your gifts are. I’ve spent a great deal of time learning about Elementalists and convincing some return here with me.”

“By convince, do you mean sending Jaxon on a great metal spider and all but kidnapping them?”

“My dear, you are a valuable asset. I couldn’t let you turn me down.”

I nodded. “So you’ve called the others Elementalists, but not me or my mother. How are we different?”

“As I’ve pointed out, I consider Evan, Asher and Kloey to be true Elementalists. They have control over one specific element. Jaxon, Sari and a few others are here because of their prowess over less extraordinary mediums that remain beneficial. Jaxon, as you probably already know, is an alchemist. I taught him everything I know, and he has surpassed me in ability. Sari—”

“I know what Sari does,” I said quickly, but then recoiled as I realized that I’d interrupted Riggs.

His mouth never closed, but remained half-open as he waited for me to listen. He smiled. “I see you’re well-versed in this place, then. Care to go on a walk with me?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not particularly,” Riggs said bluntly as he stood from his chair. “I was merely performing a nicety by inviting you.”

He extended the crook of his elbow in chivalrous manner and bowed his head as he beckoned me. It felt like the free will had been sucked from my body, from my world. This life that Riggs had fashioned here was not what I’d imagined. We were his pawns — a collection of anomalies he’d accumulated from his ventures — and we waited for his every move.

I hated it.

Hated him.

Riggs led me to the bookcases behind his desk, where he pulled the monkey in the middle like a lever. The bookcase swung inward and revealed a surgically clean hallway. Bright lights poured into the now well-lit office, and he led me into the corridor.

Along the walls of the hall were windows with small sills that jutted outward. Spiral notebooks lay open along the sills, and I gazed at them as we passed. A few notebooks had drawings, but most of the pages consisted of scribbles. A cart near the middle of the corridor overflowed with boxes of blue latex gloves in all different sizes. A pile of masks and scrubs were folded on the lower level of the cart.

A florescent tube light ran the length of the ceiling, humming like a fly too close to my ear. The overpowering stench of ammonia threatened to push me backward.

As I moved to retreat back into the office, Riggs pulled his arm from mine and put his hand on the small of my back to guide me forward.

“Now now, Miss Pike, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Every neuron in my body screamed otherwise. I didn’t know what was housed in this corridor, but I guessed it wasn’t nice. Riggs guided me closer to the windows. As we passed one, I let out a breath of relief to find the room on the other side empty.

He looked down at me, his expression impassive. “Miss Pike, do you really think I’m a mad scientist of some sort?”

I bit my bottom lip to keep from responding, and focused on the white tiles beneath my feet. Even the grout between the tiles was impeccably white. Riggs halted our progress when we reached the cart of masks, gloves and scrubs. He glanced at me, then turned toward the array of medical garb.

“I’d venture to guess you’re a size medium?” He skimmed through the clothing and he turned back to me, extending a mass of blue linen. “Put these on.”

Panic consumed me. My brain kept screaming
run!
but I was rooted to my spot. “Where are we going?”

Riggs was as cryptic as always. “You’ll see soon enough. The women’s restroom is right there,” he gestured ten paces ahead and to the left. “I assume you need no assistance in this endeavor?”

“No, I’m capable, thanks.”

Right foot, left foot. It was a conscious effort to make it to the bathroom.

I half-expected it to be a torture room.

When I walked in and was greeted by a typical set of stalls and sinks, I leaned against the door and exhaled loudly. It was only then that I realized how badly my hands were shaking. It was a wonder that I’d managed to carry the scrubs.

The thin blue fabric slid along my body like water. It must have been silk. It did nothing to quell the chill from the air conditioning. Goosebumps plagued my arms and I shivered.

There were no mirrors. Part of me was glad, but I also wondered why. Did Riggs not want anyone to see themselves? How badly were his patients treated? Were they maimed? Disfigured? My mind raced with horrific possibilities.

As I gathered my uniform, I wondered what could have gone wrong in Riggs’s life to make him so evil, and his son so…I don’t know. Jaxon wasn’t like his father, but he definitely wasn’t giving any hints as to who he really was. If I got back to my room tonight, I’d start reading his journal.

I returned to the hallway to discover Riggs dressed in the same attire. It lessened my fears, but only slightly. “Will you tell me where we’re going now?”

Riggs inclined his head and motioned to the end of the hall where a silver, windowless door stood. Three deadbolts locked the door from this side, and a small camera was installed in the upper right corner of the wall. A red light blinked in the lens.

“We’re going to see your parents, Miss Pike. Now please, be quiet. I really shouldn’t be proffering this opportunity to you, and may very well end up regretting it.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

Riggs was taking me to see my parents.

They were
here
.

My parents — the people I’d begged the Polatzi to find for so long, the people I’d tried to hear just a whisper of their whereabouts from anyone — were here.

Here, in the academy.

Why?

Even more, how did they get here? Who brought them?

Well, at least I knew the answer to at least one of those questions.

Every step I took down the hall echoed in my ears like a death march. My heart constricted in both excitement and absolute terror. What if they hated me? What if they didn’t care at all?

That would be worse. Emotions, however strong on either end of spectrum, meant there was hope for redemption. What if I met them, only to find them completely apathetic?

I couldn’t come back from that. Bile burned in the lower part of my throat, and I fought to keep it down. The last thing I wanted to do was vomit in front of Riggs.

I stopped dead in my tracks. “I can’t do this.”

Riggs stopped and looked at me quizzically. For a moment, I thought I saw sympathy play out across his usually taciturn face.

“You carry a photo of them in your satchel, as well as a melted piece of steel that was once your mother’s teapot. It baffles me that you would cling so tightly to their memories if you aren’t interested in seeing them.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to see them. It’s just…” I trailed off, unable to verbalize my fears to someone who was waiting to uncover my weaknesses.

His smile seemed to prove me right, but he extended a calloused hand.

An invitation.

To what, I wasn’t sure.

I’d been alone for so long that for some reason this offer of comfort, no matter whom it came from, seemed welcome.

His hand was warm in the cool hallway as he led me without saying another word. Each window we passed, the thrumming in my chest became louder until I was positive that Riggs must hear it.

He squeezed my hand encouragingly as we stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall. The rectangular window glass was thick, and below it was a cat flap. Riggs pressed a small red button that glowed rhythmically beside the door, as though it possessed a heartbeat of its own. There was a buzzing noise and the glass in front of the flap slid away.

Riggs knelt down and called into the flap. “Atticus Riggs plus one, here to confer with Mr. & Mrs. Pike.”

A shadow covered the opposite side of the flap, and then a set of fire-red eyes peered back. I jumped in fright.

The red-eyed figure on the other side grunted and disappeared, but then Riggs unlocked the door. Inside was a waiting room, complete with TVs, old magazines, and an unmanned receptionist’s desk. Riggs pulled me behind him with an urgency he hadn’t possessed earlier. “Quickly,” he said in a hushed tone, “and don’t look behind you.”