Gloria Oliver (18 page)

Yllin’s eyes locked on her own, as if sensing where her idea might be going. “What do you mean?”

“Well, since he never did stipulate how these were to be worn,” Talia continued, “nothing could be said against us if we just slipped these over our clothes.” She shyly looked at the rest of them to see what they made of this.

Yllin actually smiled. “You’re brilliant.”

Mandee chuckled.

“But won’t it make him angry?” Lana tugged nervously at one of her golden curls.

“If it does, it’d serve him right,” Yllin countered. “It’s not as if we won’t be doing as he asked. And besides, the worst that could happen is we don’t get the discount. He’s already stated his price.” Her smile turned nasty. “And if he changes it, we can go to the Administrator or one of the watchers. Bet it’d get him in a little trouble.”

Mandee grinned from ear to ear. “The old goat won’t be expecting this.”

Nodding their agreement, all four girls quickly donned the shifts over their clothes. Mandee was not kidding when she’d called them brazen. Talia’s cheeks colored just thinking about putting it on without clothes. Her mother would have tanned her hide if she’d ever heard of it. As one, the four of them left the curtained area and walked back to the counter.

“Oh, my! Don’t you all look lovely,” Nertak crooned. He looked them up and down, obviously amused by their current state of dress. Even though she was fully clothed, Talia felt herself blushing at his hungry stare.

Daltan was standing with his back to them, but at Nertak’s words he took a quick peek over his shoulder. Talia noticed his cheeks were flushed and he seemed upset. When he saw what they’d done, though, he gawked at them in surprise, seemingly forgetting whatever it was which went on between him and the old man.

“So, ladies, gentleman, which of these beauties will you be purchasing then?” Nertak seemed in no way put off by the trick the girls pulled on him. Yllin looked disappointed by his lack of reaction. It surprised Talia a little as well.

All five of them asked for the diamonds. Talia also picked up an amethyst and an opal, anything to make her life less miserable in armor. She honestly wasn’t sure how anyone would want to do without them if they got a choice. A few others tempted her as well, but not knowing when or how she’d get more money or what other expenses she might incur, she decided to keep the last of her gems untouched.

When Daltan paid for his purchase, she couldn’t help but notice that, unlike the rest of them, he paid full price. Just what had the old man asked of him?

“You’ll notice a small paper on this side of the gems,” Nertak told them. “When you’ve decided where you want to put them on your armor, just peel it away and press the gem onto the surface.

“There’s a way to get them off if you make a mistake, but it’s extra.” He grinned. He then pulled out some small rolled up scrolls tied with strings matching the colors of the gems they’d purchased. “These will tell you a little more about what you’ve bought and how to use them properly.”

Talia thanked him and then pulled the borrowed shift over her head and tried to return it to him.

“No, no, keep them,” he said. “They’re yours. On the house.” He winked.

“What’s the catch?” Yllin asked, suspicious of the strange generosity.

The old man gave her a shocked look. “You wound me, miss. There’s no catch.” His eyes lit up.

“Though if you want me to put one on it…” He stared her up and down in that undressing way of his.

Yllin humphed and turned away, not deigning to give him a response. Barely able to control a sudden fit of laughter, Mandee hurried after her.

As soon as they’d left the cave, Talia’s curiosity got the best of her. She dropped back until she was walking beside Daltan and asked, “I noticed you didn’t get the discount. What happened?”

The dark-haired boy glanced over at her and then looked away, his cheeks red. “It just didn’t work out.

That’s all.” He started walking faster, pulling away.

She didn’t try to keep up, seeing her question troubled him. Just what did the old man ask him to do?

In the evening, she cleaned and polished her armor until it shined. Handling her new purchases carefully, she peeled the paper off the back of the gems and placed them in a triangle just below the breastplate’s collar. She wouldn’t be caught unprepared next time. She laughed as she found herself aching for an excuse to try them out.

As she set her armor back on its stand, she glanced out the balcony into the night’s sky, where she could barely see Clarence and Kel practicing. As they looped lopsidedly and then went into a dead dive, she shuddered realizing Kel probably tested his gems more times than she would ever want to.

Eyes drooping, once she put all her things away, she bathed and then crawled into bed where she was quickly dragged down into a deep sleep.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Chapter Eight

TALIA JUMPED AS a harsh pounding echoed off her door. Heart hammering, she glanced at her clock and realized she’d actually slept until the watchers started their rounds. Feeling entirely too awake, she sighed and made herself get out of bed. She did feel more rested than yesterday, but she wouldn’t have minded if the watchers let them sleep the day away.

The buzzing conversation in the dining hall was still hashing over the events from two days before, but by evening everything pretty much returned to normal. Conversations turned back to more mundane matters, to lessons, rumors on teachers and students, as well as upcoming tests.

That evening, she opened her balcony doors wide, and occasionally took a break from her homework to watch Clarence and Kel practice. As they twisted and turned, often with little control, she wondered yet again why they did this. Lareen, she knew, used the pair as couriers and errand boys. She’d heard others say Kel was also continuing with his studies though he’d finished the normal course load sometime back. And as if it weren’t enough to occupy his time, every evening he and Clarence practiced. Practiced toward a goal which seemed impossible. Talia shook her head, not understanding it at all.

The dragon and squire were still practicing when she finally turned in for the night.

KEEPING PERFECTLY STILL, she heard the odd sound once more, the one which had awakened her a number of times before. With everything going on lately, she’d almost forgotten about it. Since it was back, her curiosity burned more than ever to find out what it was once and for all.

As quietly as possible, she rose from her bed and inched slowly forward along the wall to approach the balcony doors from the side. As she worked, she felt more excitement than fear, sure whatever was out there meant her no harm, for if it did, it had plenty of opportunity long before now to try and hurt her.

The strange sound whispered clearly across the room every few minutes or so. She tried to figure out what it might be even as she carefully made her way to the doors.

After what seemed akin to forever, she finally reached the balcony entrance. Moving even slower than before, she turned and gingerly shifted the heavy curtain just enough to take a peek outside. There wasn’t much light to see by, but she could barely make out a large figure just beyond her balcony’s edge. It fluttered quietly, blocking most of the space beyond it. Then it suddenly tipped to the side. The strange sound she’d heard before reached her ears as the figure tried quickly to right itself.

It wasn’t long before it surprisingly overcompensated and listed to the opposite side.

Talia frowned. Was it a dragon? And if it were, what in the world was it doing outside her window?

A muted sound rang from above and suddenly the dark figure was gone. Quickly moving the curtain aside, she studied the sky, hoping for a better look. She eventually spotted a swaying figure dip back into her field of vision. Shaking her head, she recognized the silhouette, having studied it just that evening. It was Clarence and Kel. But why?

All of Yllin’s warnings about lechers and peepers whispered quickly and loudly through her mind. She shook her head again, this time trying to dispel her words. Yet now that the idea was there, it wouldn’t go away. But it didn’t make sense. Why would they be outside her room? Kel could have easily gotten off the dragon onto the balcony, if peeping was his intention, but didn’t do so. And the curtains were so thick he wouldn’t have been able to see anything anyway. So what else could he and Clarence been trying to do? Could this somehow be some kind of exercise?

It was a long time before Talia was able to go back sleep.

THE STRANGE VISITATION still weighing heavily on her mind, Talia made her way down to the dining hall early as usual. She walked to her normal table and spotted Kel coming out of the kitchen with his breakfast.

She took her seat, suddenly uncomfortable. She watched him as he ate, trying not to be obvious about it. Kel finished his meal and returned to the kitchen. As was his want, he came out carrying a handful of fruits for Clarence. She felt her face go red as he waved at her on his way out. She made herself wave back even as a kernel of anger ignited inside her. How dare he act as if he’d done nothing? How dare he treat her in the same aloof, friendly manner he always did before?

She stewed, not sure what she wanted to do about it. In truth, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure it’d been Kel and Clarence at her balcony. But if it wasn’t them, then who? No other dragons were staying at the school that she was aware of. Still…

Though she considered it, Talia decided not to mention her strange discovery to the others. She held the sneaking suspicion Mandee would find the whole thing way too exciting and Yllin would only fill her head with more lecherous horror stories until it wouldn’t feel safe to sleep at night.

As she ate her breakfast, brooding, she knew she must do something. On this she grew more and more determined by the moment. Just what to do though was proving hard to decide on. She’d come no closer to a decision as she bid her friends goodbye to make her way to class.

“Talia, could I talk to you for a minute?”

She turned to find Daltan at her elbow. His dark eyes wouldn’t meet her own. “Sure, what do you want to talk about?”

The boy shyly pulled on her sleeve to get them closer to the wall and out of the way of traffic. He stared at the tiled floor. His expression seemed troubled, which drew her out of her previous distraction. “Is something wrong?” she asked him.

He still wouldn’t look at her. “I—” He sighed and after a moment tried to speak again. “My room … it’s on the third floor.”

She nodded at this, it being something she already knew.

“Well,” he continued, “it’s right over yours actually.”

Talia nodded again, finding the fact interesting and one she’d not put together herself. But what was he trying to get at?

“And I occasionally have trouble sleeping.” Daltan glanced up at her for a moment before quickly looking away.

She felt herself go cold. Did Daltan see something? Could he clear up her doubts once and for all? She got the sudden urge to grab him and force him to blurt out what he wanted to tell her, but held herself back.

“I wasn’t sure the first couple of times,” Daltan said quietly. “You see, since it was beneath me and all, and, and then I wasn’t sure how to tell you…”

She thought she might scream.
Say it already!
“What did you see?” She sounded calmer than she felt.

Daltan swallowed hard. His words rushed out all at once. “The squire, the squire and his dragon—they’ve been hovering by your window every night.”

So it really was them. She felt her earlier anger return. “You’re sure that’s who it was?”

He met her gaze, his expression somber, and nodded.

“Thank you for telling me.” Her mind rushed to figure out what she should do now that her suspicions were confirmed.

“Should we tell Helyn?” Daltan asked sheepishly. “Maybe she could tell the Administrator and find out why he’s doing it and make him stop.”

Looking at him, she finally got the stirrings of an idea. “No, it’s all right. I think I’ll deal with this on my own.” She smiled. “I really appreciate you telling me this though. Honest.”

Daltan glanced away, his cheeks coloring.

“Just don’t tell anyone else about this. Please?” she asked him.

He quickly nodded.

She smiled at him again, forming plans for the night, as they headed off to class.

BY THE TIME dinner was over, the details of Talia’s plot were worked out. Peepers or not, when she was through dragon and squire would think twice about hanging around her balcony in the middle of the night and disturbing her sleep.

The hours ticked by slowly as she sat awake, fully clothed in bed, and waited for the faint and familiar sound which would announce the arrival of her quarry. Before she closed the balcony doors, she’d made sure the two of them were out practicing as normal. She grinned to herself in the dark, knowing the two of them wouldn’t know what hit them.

Too excited to feel sleepy despite the late hour but feeling bored and restless, she was thinking they might not come, when she saw what little light seeped through the curtains darken even further. After a moment or two more, she heard the sound announcing beyond a shadow of a doubt those she was waiting for had arrived. Sneaking out of bed, she grabbed the half-filled bucket she prepared hours ago.

Making not a sound, she sneaked with it around the walls until she reached the balcony doors.

Grabbing the bucket carefully by the bottom and the handle, she gathered her resolve and stoked her anger. Counting to ten, she kicked the doors outwards, instantly rushing after them out onto the balcony.

“Peepers!” Talia swung the bucket with all her might and sent the cooled water from the tub sailing through the air. The dark mass before her reacted and a barely visible dragon’s head snapped up. She heard a loud whack as Clarence’s head smacked into the overhang of the balcony above. Dragon and rider dropped like a stone, followed by the water.

“Oh, no!” She rushed up to the end of the balcony and peered down, her previous anger and righteousness snuffed by a wave of worry. She didn’t mean to hurt them. All she’d wanted was to humiliate them a bit and make them stop. What had she done?