Zuri.
She muttered something in Cartralan, then
said, “Fine you’re right, I don’t. I still want to know why you’re
here, but this isn’t the place. Follow me.”
“ Where are we going?’
asked the tall one.
“ My office in the pyromancy
building. If I don’t like what you have to say for yourselves, I
will turn you over to security.” They both nodded and followed her
quietly through the campus pathways.
Her office was sparse with little more
than a desk and chair, a book case and a smaller table opposite the
desk. Zuri placed Kyle’s diary on her book shelf and sat at her
desk. She stared hard at the two students and tapped her fingers on
her desk.
“ Well ,” she said, “I’m waiting to hear
what you have to say.”
One of them started to
speak , “Look
we only-ooph!” The other one had elbowed him in the
chest.
“ Master-mage, my friend here is
a relative of the deceased student and he let curiosity get the
better of him. He wanted to find out what happened to his cousin.
We came here, broke into the filing room and disturbed that
guardian when we arrived. That’s it, nothing else. We’ll get out of
your way, we won’t say anything and I’ll talk some sense into
him.”
Zuri tapped her fingers again, but slower
this time. “You’re related to Kyle?” she asked, looking at
Michael.
He nodded. “Second cousin, on
my mother’s side ,” he replied.
“ And you’re students from the
other campus yes?” she asked and they both nodded. “Your
names?”
“ I’m Reese Galius,” said the
tall, Estaran-looking one and he pointed to his shorter friend,
“and that’s Michael O’Daly.”
“ You both took a stupid risk,
you know ,”
she said. “But I cared about your cousin too, which is why I was
there.”
“ So you don’t trust the watch to
uncover the truth either?” asked Michael. As a relative he would
know how Kyle’s parents would handle the matter.
“ No I don’t. They consider it an
open and shut suicide, but I don’t believe it,” she replied. “Since you two
like playing investigator so much, you can do me a favor.” She had
decided that Kyle’s cousin and his friend could be useful. “Keep an
eye out around your campus for watch officers and who they’re
talking to. In return I’ll keep tonight’s little escapade between
the three of us.”
“ You want us to spy on
watch officers?” asked Michael.
“ Not spy, observe,” replied
Zuri, “I suggest you leave the campus with all speed. The guards
could make a sweep of the school and you don’t want to be around to
get noticed if they do.”
Both of them nodded and quickly exited her
office. With them gone Zuri looked over at Kyle’s diary, it was
time to find out exactly what had been going on in his head and why
he had turned to tarcaine.
She started reading. It began innocuously
enough but as she read she soon came upon several pages worth of
entries that had made her sick to her stomach. Her insides roiled
and she bent over, vomiting into the waste bin beside her desk. She
wiped her mouth and went back to the diary.
Kyle had written the
entries in
his second year at Warded Spirals, when he was only eleven. It
didn’t mention a name, but it went into detail about the abuse done
to him and what he had been forced to do.
Someone …no, some monster did that to
him she
thought in fury. The details described someone known only as
‘master’ who had forced him to engage in sexual acts. Skylords were
more empathic than other races and Zuri burned with disgust and
anger over what she read on the pages. The pages continued and she
felt her stomach quiver again. She wasn’t certain she could keep
reading more of this.
But I have to she thought. It’s the only way
I’ll find out who was behind this. Then I’ll make them pay! With that thought
she lashed out at the glass of water on her desk and it flew into
the wall, smashing to pieces.
Despite not having a name it was clear
from the diary that
She muttered something in Cartralan, then
said, “Fine you’re right, I don’t. I still want to know why you’re
here, but this isn’t the place. Follow me.”
“ Where are we going?’
asked the tall one.
“ My office in the pyromancy
building. If I don’t like what you have to say for yourselves, I
will turn you over to security.” They both nodded and followed her
quietly through the campus pathways.
Her office was sparse with little more
than a desk and chair, a book case and a smaller table opposite the
desk. Zuri placed Kyle’s diary on her book shelf and sat at her
desk. She stared hard at the two students and tapped her fingers on
her desk.
“ Well ,” she said, “I’m waiting to hear
what you have to say.”
One of them started to
speak , “Look
we only-ooph!” The other one had elbowed him in the
chest.
“ Master-mage, my friend here is
a relative of the deceased student and he let curiosity get the
better of him. He wanted to find out what happened to his cousin.
We came here, broke into the filing room and disturbed that
guardian when we arrived. That’s it, nothing else. We’ll get out of
your way, we won’t say anything and I’ll talk some sense into
him.”
Zuri tapped her fingers again, but slower
this time. “You’re related to Kyle?” she asked, looking at
Michael.
He nodded. “Second cousin, on
my mother’s side ,” he replied.
“ And you’re students from the
other campus yes?” she asked and they both nodded. “Your
names?”
“ I’m Reese Galius,” said the
tall, Estaran-looking one and he pointed to his shorter friend,
“and that’s Michael O’Daly.”
“ You both took a stupid risk,
you know ,”
she said. “But I cared about your cousin too, which is why I was
there.”
“ So you don’t trust the watch to
uncover the truth either?” asked Michael. As a relative he would
know how Kyle’s parents would handle the matter.
“ No I don’t. They consider it an
open and shut suicide, but I don’t believe it,” she replied. “Since you two
like playing investigator so much, you can do me a favor.” She had
decided that Kyle’s cousin and his friend could be useful. “Keep an
eye out around your campus for watch officers and who they’re
talking to. In return I’ll keep tonight’s little escapade between
the three of us.”
“ You want us to spy on
watch officers?” asked Michael.
“ Not spy, observe,” replied
Zuri, “I suggest you leave the campus with all speed. The guards
could make a sweep of the school and you don’t want to be around to
get noticed if they do.”
Both of them nodded and quickly exited her
office. With them gone Zuri looked over at Kyle’s diary, it was
time to find out exactly what had been going on in his head and why
he had turned to tarcaine.
She started reading. It began innocuously
enough but as she read she soon came upon several pages worth of
entries that had made her sick to her stomach. Her insides roiled
and she bent over, vomiting into the waste bin beside her desk. She
wiped her mouth and went back to the diary.
Kyle had written the
entries in
his second year at Warded Spirals, when he was only eleven. It
didn’t mention a name, but it went into detail about the abuse done
to him and what he had been forced to do.
Someone …no, some monster did that to
him she
thought in fury. The details described someone known only as
‘master’ who had forced him to engage in sexual acts. Skylords were
more empathic than other races and Zuri burned with disgust and
anger over what she read on the pages. The pages continued and she
felt her stomach quiver again. She wasn’t certain she could keep
reading more of this.
But I have to she thought. It’s the only way
I’ll find out who was behind this. Then I’ll make them pay! With that thought
she lashed out at the glass of water on her desk and it flew into
the wall, smashing to pieces.
Despite not having a name it was clear
from the diary that
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