The Nightmare Charade (7 page)

“Huh.” Realizing my mouth was open, I closed it, trying to regain my composure. I forced a neutral smile to my lips. “That sounds interesting. How was it?”

Eli made a face. “Awful at first. I didn't even want to go. I'm too old for summer camp. At least to be attending one as a camper. If anything, I should be a counselor.”

“No kidding.” I cringed inwardly, understanding all too well what it felt like to be so out of place. My whole first year at Arkwell had been that way, and a good portion of the next one, too.

“But after a couple of days, the other counselors started treating me like one of them and it turned out to be fun. The kids were a blast.”

“Even Katarina's little bro?” I said, half-joking but mostly just incredulous.

He laughed. “Surprisingly, yes. Tommy's not at all like Kat.”

Tommy and Kat? Tom Kat.
The thought got me laughing, too, and any worry I might have had about Katarina making a move on Eli vanished. I reached forward and snagged another sausage.

We ate in silence for a few moments. Then Eli glanced around and leaned forward, dropping his voice as he said, “So about the dream last night. I've been thinking it over, and I don't believe the De—” He made a sound like trying to clear his throat.

I frowned at the strange face he was making, as if his mouth were overfull of peanut butter. His eyes began to water.

“Oh,” I said. “It's the nondisclosure spell.” I started to say more, but an ominous tingle sprouted over my tongue and I stopped. It seemed the spell had deemed the lunchroom too crowded for that topic of conversation. I exhaled. “Well, this sucks.”

Eli nodded, his eyes still watering as he tried to force his jaws apart. Several minutes later he finally succeeded. “Holy crap that hurt.” He rubbed his chin and cheeks with both hands.

“We're going to have to be careful,” I said, not quite unhappy to discover the strictness of the nondisclosure spell. If we couldn't talk about the Death's Heart in here, despite the cover of so much noise and activity, then that meant we would have to wait until we were completely alone to talk about it. The idea of alone time with Eli made my skin warm. “Why don't we plan on meeting up in one-thirteen after classes today and talk about it then?”

“Um … I can't. Not today.”

“Why not?”

Eli shifted in his seat, his eyes darting across the room as if he were looking for a reason to change the subject. I waited, unaccountably anxious.

Finally, he sighed and his eyes landed on me again. “There's a training session tonight.”

“Fooooor what?” I said, drawing out the question.

“The gladiator team.”

My mouth fell open. “Huh?”

Eli rolled his shoulders, downplaying the monstrosity of this statement. The gladiator team was the only school sport at Arkwell Academy, but joining it required a level of proficiency in combative magic far above Eli's skills. Even if he had been practicing all summer, I doubted he'd be good enough to make it on. Not to mention that Coach Fritz hated ordinaries, stacking the odds even further against him.

“I want to play,” he said, his expression hardening.

I winced at the yearning in his voice. A mix of regret and guilt rose up inside me. Before that fateful night a year ago when I first discovered Eli and I were dream-seers, he'd been just an ordinary human boy, handsome and popular, a bit of a rebel, and perfectly content and happy with his life. Now he was low man on the magical totem pole.

“I know it sounds crazy,” Eli said, “but I've got to give it a shot.”

“You're a lot braver than me,” I said.

“Nah.” He waved me off. “What's the worst that could happen?”

The worst?
Well, firstly, he might fail, and I definitely didn't want that. Just the opposite. I wanted him happy and triumphant. I wanted things to go easy for him just once. And secondly—if I was going to be honest—the worst would be all the time we'd lose together if he made it on the team. The gladiators' training schedule made ordinary football practice look tame. They trained every night and every weekend, sometimes hours at a time, and they competed nearly all year.

But no, I refused to play the part of needy girlfriend, one jealous of extracurricular activities. Besides, I had my own extracurriculars to think about. So far, that mostly consisted of the Dream Team, but that might change. I could join the school newspaper or maybe even the Superheroes of Tomorrow Club, where all the members were aspiring superheroes obsessed with comic books and convincing the magickind government to let them use their magic out in the ordinary world for the greater good.
I could totally rock the superhero thing,
I thought, picturing Bellanax as it looked outside of the glamour.
So long as it doesn't include spandex.

Yes, there would still be plenty of time for us. Those pesky authority figures would have to try a lot harder before they could stop Eli and me from happening.

Feeling better about the situation, I gave him the biggest, most sincere smile I had in me. “I hope you make it.”

Smiling back, Eli reached over and grabbed my hand. “Me, too.”

 

5

Involuntary Separation

My confidence that Eli and I would find time for each other took another hit when we arrived at homeroom a short while later. This was my third year reporting to Mrs. Bar's classroom in Finnegan Hall. Mrs. Bar was a fairy, and one of my favorite teachers at Arkwell. When Eli and I walked in she bestowed on us a smile so wide and jolly that it made her jowls jiggle.

She was still smiling a few minutes later as she handed out our course schedules. I scanned mine at once.

First period, history and English. Those two subjects had been separate freshman and sophomore year, but were now combined to allow room for studying new subjects.

Second period, biology. This was my first entirely new subject. Despite it being a science class I was looking forward to it. Rumor had it we would study magical plants and animals in addition to all that boring ordinary stuff like mitosis and dissecting frogs. Personally, I was hoping for unicorns on the syllabus.

Third period, ordinary living. This, too, was a new subject, one directly related to the CasterCard and the food vendors.

Fourth period, psionics

Fifth period, spell casting

Sixth period, gym

Seventh period …

“Math?” I said aloud. “The last class of the day? What kind of cruel and unusual torture is this?”

“What are you talking about?” said Eli, looking up from his examination of his own course schedule.

“We have math seventh period. I'm terrible at math, it's—” I stopped speaking, suddenly aware of the way Eli was looking at me. “What's wrong?”

“I have spell casting seventh period.”

A lead ball spiraled down the edges of my stomach and settled into the pit. “Are you sure?”

Eli motioned to my schedule. “Can I see?” I handed it over, and he placed it on the desk next to his. His expression soured as he compared the two.

“Is it bad?” I said, already knowing the answer but still hopeful.

Eli didn't reply, just handed both papers back to me. I didn't want to look, but it was like trying to ignore a wreck on the side of the highway, morbid curiosity a magnetic force. As I'd suspected, our schedules were completely different. Other than lunch and sixth period gym, we wouldn't be seeing each other at all, all day long.

Swallowing anger, I raised my hand. “Mrs. Bar, I think there's a problem with my schedule.”

Mrs. Bar, who'd been circulating around the room answering questions, waddled over. “What is it, my dear?”

I handed her my schedule. “I don't think this is right. Eli and I are supposed to have the same schedule. We're dream-seers.”

Mrs. Bar's smile, so perky a moment before, drooped. She didn't even bother reading the list of classes before handing me back the schedule. “I'm afraid there is no mistake.”

I inhaled, dizzy with outrage.

“Thanks for checking, Mrs. Bar,” he said. “We just wanted to make sure.”

“You're welcome, Mr. Booker.” She patted him on top of his buzzed head, looking relieved. Then she headed off for safer environs.

Huffing, I folded my arms over my chest and fell back against my chair. “Score another one for the establishment.”

Eli laughed, although there wasn't any humor in it. “Are you thinking of becoming an anarchist?”

“Yes, if it means we won't have to deal with this forced separation.” My voice cracked as I spoke, tears threatening.

Eli reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “It'll be okay, Dusty. We'll make do.”

“I know,” I said, sighing. “But I wish they'd cut us some slack.”

“Me, too. But they just think they're doing what's best for us.”

I ran my tongue over my lips, his reasonableness making me feel anxious instead of comforted. Last year, Lady Elaine had shared with him a vision of the future she'd seen—a vision of our future, mine and Eli's. I didn't know what had been in it, but it was bad enough that for a while he'd avoided letting our relationship extend beyond the friend level. I wasn't sure what had changed his mind, although it might've had something to do with how I almost died trying to save Lyonshold. Or maybe he'd decided the same as I had, that our feelings were too strong to deny. So strong that there wasn't any chance the curse could defeat it.

Eli let go of my shoulder. “You could come to the gladiator practice tonight, if you want.”

I coughed. “You mean like to train?”

“Sure why not?” he grinned. “You're pretty good at combative magic.”

I shot him a crazy look, eyebrows and mouth askew.

“What? It's true. I've seen you do it.” Eli's eyes flicked briefly to Bellanax. He knew what it was, of course, although not the sword's name. No one but me knew that. Well, except perhaps for Marrow.

“I think I'd rather watch.”

Eli shrugged. “Whatever makes you happy.”

Just you,
I thought.

We got up as the bell rang and headed out the door. “I'll see you at lunch.” Eli leaned in for a quick kiss and whispered against my ear, “Be careful today.”

“What do you—” I broke off, remembering the dream from last night.

“I'm sure it was just symbolic, but better safe than sorry.” Eli kissed me again and then pulled away. “We'll talk about it soon.”

“All right.” Clinging to this hope, I headed down the hallway in the opposite direction. My spirits lifted a little when Selene turned out to be in my history and English class.

Taking seats in the middle of the room, we did a quick schedule comparison. We had first, second, third, and sixth period together—a new record for us. Last year I would've been overjoyed about so many classes together, but my happiness was muted by the lingering disappointment with Eli's schedule. But at least Selene was happy—Lance was in this class, too. He sat down on Selene's other side, casting me his signature cocky grin, all teeth and smarm.

“Long time no see, Dusty,” he said. “Cause any accidents today? Any scenes of mass destruction yet?”

“Nope,” I said. “But it's still early. And now that you're here, I've got more motivation. You do make the best target.”

“I make the best everything,” he said, sliding his arm around Selene. She seemed to ignore him, but a rosy blush colored her cheeks, making her look more radiant than ever.

Mr. Corvus greeted the class with his usual imperial gaze, the expression inevitable given the eye patch he wore over his missing left eye. Then he proceeded to hand out textbooks that were roughly the size of cinder blocks and stuffed with tissue-paper-thin pages.

“We will be starting this year off with a look at the Old English period, one of my personal favorites in both literature and history,” Mr. Corvus said with something like a smile on his face—or as close to it as he ever managed. “First up,
Beowulf
.” He snapped his fingers over his head, and magic filled the air. In front of him, a swirl of dark smoke appeared. It soon took on shape and began to materialize into something solid. Seconds later a giant creature that looked part man, part bear, and mostly monster stood in the classroom. Ten feet tall or better, its massive, bulbous head reached nearly to the ceiling.

I watched transfixed by terror as its lips spread apart, revealing teeth as long as my index fingers and a mouth big enough to swallow a baby goat whole. Or maybe a baby dragon. As its mouth reached its fullest expanse, the creature let out a roar loud enough to make the walls shake. I shrank back from it, along with the rest of the class.

Still roaring, the creature charged forward, spider-quick despite its cumbersome size. It headed in my direction, and I reached for Bellanax, ready to drop the glamour and gut the thing with the sword. But the creature turned toward Lance at the last second. It stretched out its two enormous clawed hands and seized him by the throat. Lance let out a girlish squeal just as the creature dissolved back into vapor and disappeared.

Everyone laughed, including Selene, although she did it with admirable restraint.

“Just be glad it wasn't his mother, Mr. Rathbone,” Mr. Corvus said, motioning at Lance. “Female trolls are twice as fierce as males.”

Lance rubbed his fingers over his neck and let out a shaky laugh. “That's true of most species, yeah?”

Beside him, a wicked smile flashed across Selene's face.

The rest of class proved much less exciting, but nevertheless it passed by quickly. Mr. Corvus, for all his imperial manner, knew how to give a captivating lecture.

Afterward, Selene and I said good-bye to Lance and then headed for our biology class. It was located in the Menagerie, an area of Arkwell I'd only ever seen—and smelled—from a distance. Located on the north side of campus, a tall stone wall separated the Menagerie from the rest of Arkwell, making the place a campus onto itself. With good reason, I supposed, considering the types of plants and animals that were said to be housed in there.