Gloria Oliver (8 page)

Talia nodded, Lareen’s words explaining a lot. She now understood where some of the jeers came from.

But why would Kel have chosen Clarence in the first place? Surely both of them were aware there’d be a chance the idea wouldn’t work. And how would Clarence’s deficiencies have been overcome by this anyway? Was there more to the bonding than just getting to know each other?

“You’ll learn more about all this in your classes,” Lareen went on. “But there is one point I need to make.

Dragons are not beasts of burden or just mounts, though I’m sure at times they might seem that way.”

The Administrator’s eyes caught her own. “They’re our partners. Their time with us is a kind of apprenticeship for them. They are as smart if not smarter than humans and have the wisdom of long lives.

Our partnerships are beneficial to both sides. Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking of them as nothing more than winged horses. They care, they think, they feel. Their bodies are different, but inside we’re very much alike.”

At Lareen’s words, Talia found herself feeling guilty. She’d already committed the mistake. Though Clarence spoke to her when they first met, she had still just thought of him as Kel’s mount—she’d thought Kel was the only one who was miserable. How much worse was it actually for Clarence? He was the one with the deficiency; he was the one who wasn’t thought of as a true dragon in the first place.

“Any other questions?”

She couldn’t bring herself to ask any more.

“Well,” Lareen said, “if you come up with anything else, just ask any watcher or teacher. They’ll be happy to help. And I’m always available, of course.” The Administrator gave her a warm smile. “One more thing though—I would truly appreciate it if you kept all details about this meeting to yourself where any of the other new students are concerned. It wouldn’t be fair to you or the others if they came to see me knowing what to expect.” Her eyes held a mischievous glint.

“Yes, ma’am.” Talia nodded, not entirely understanding.

Lareen stood up and came around to her side. “Unfortunately, I’ve got work to do, so I’m going to have to shoo you out now.” She led her to the main door. “Enjoy your time off before the work begins in earnest. I think you’ll make a nice addition to the guild.” Lareen gave her a big smile before shutting the golden door and leaving her alone in the hallway.

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TALIA WALKED SLOWLY back to her room, her mind still having problems reconciling the strange facets of the school’s leader. Mandee’s earlier description of her seemed to fit quite well. The Administrator truly was like no one she ever met before. She was just relieved it was over.

Once back in her room, she finished the letter she’d started for her parents. She tried her best to sound excited without showing any of her fears or trepidations. She hoped they were well.

When she was done, she folded it and left her room. With a determined stride, she made her way downstairs. As she stepped outside though, she slowed as she spotted the hill containing Nertak’s store.

Perverts were a new concept for her, but though Mandee, and even more so, Yllin, were concerned by this man, Lareen didn’t seem to have any problems with him at all. She was sure it meant he was all right.

Nevertheless, she made certain her new knife was in easy reach as she stepped onto the path which would lead her there.

As she drew closer, Talia spotted a man outside the cave. He was short and fair of skin, with a mop of truly white hair and a nicely trimmed beard. At the moment, he was sitting in a chair that leaned back against the rock wall beside the entrance, whittling on a piece of wood. It wasn’t exactly the way she thought a pervert would look.

“Good afternoon, sir,” she said.

“Good afternoon.” The old man leaned eagerly forward, righting his chair. Piercing green eyes met Talia’s own. “You’re new here, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir, I am.” She tried not to let it bother her as he looked her up and down.

“Well, go on in and take a look around. If you want anything or need any help, give me a shout. Name’s Nertak.” The old man winked at her.

She wasn’t sure what to make of it. “Thank you. I’m Talia.”

“Well you just make yourself at home then, Talia.” He gave her a big, friendly grin.

“Thanks.”

Nertak gave her one last probing look and then returned to his whittling. She quickly went inside.

The entrance to the cave was dark and led down a short corridor. After less than a dozen steps, it widened out into a large cavern lit up by globes, the same as those in her room. Supported shelves stood in every direction, making the cave into a giant maze. Talia stared, amazed at the number of goods she glimpsed before her.

As she walked around and gawked at all she saw, she slowly realized the distribution of goods wasn’t as disorganized as the placement of the shelves made it appear. Close to the entrance she found all manner of fruits, vegetables, and grains as well as pickled and preserved foods. The section after contained clothes of all shapes and sizes, from simple underwear and outer garments to things as frilly and strange as she’d seen the Administrator wear.

Papers, books, inks, and quills came next—any and all supplies necessary for school. Beyond them she found leather goods such as saddles, belts, gloves, scabbards, and others she wasn’t sure about. This then led to weapons and tools for anything and everything. Surely all of this couldn’t be just for the students of the school.

The temperature inside was pleasant, the air smelling of moisture and oils.

At the end of the maze on the cave’s far side was a large counter. Behind it, she noticed another passage leading off to somewhere she couldn’t see. She stared at the space beyond in confusion not having thought the cave could possibly be as large as it was from what she’d seen of it from the outside.

Her gaze was distracted from this quandary by a set of small bookshelves behind the counter holding old and worn books. Written across the spine of each was a person’s name. In the shelf beneath them were identical looking books, but these looked new and held no names on the spine.

“They’re a jewel each if you want one.”

“Oh!” Talia jumped at the voice so close to her side. She’d not heard anyone coming up beside her.

Nertak smiled at her obvious surprise. “Those are old diaries of previous students. Some are of their time here in the school, others after they’d gone. Could make for some interesting reading.”

She said nothing, still working at slowing down her speeding heart. How could this old man have sneaked up on her so quietly?

“Find anything you want to buy?” He moved to go around the counter.

Talia went back through everything she’d seen and, though a number of them were tempting, she didn’t really need any of them at the moment. “No, thank you, not today.”

He shrugged. “Inventory changes all the time, so don’t be shy about coming to visit. Also, please keep in mind if you agree to model for me, I’ll happily give you a discount.” He looked her up and down again, a leering look in his eyes.

She felt her skin go cold as she abruptly realized she was there alone with the old man. The fact he’d been able to sneak up on her so quietly just made her feel more uneasy. She resisted the urge to reach for her knife. “I’ll, I’ll keep it in mind. Thank you.” She tried hard to smile in a friendly manner.

The old man’s eyes seemed to gleam.

It was then she remembered one of the reasons she’d come there in the first place. “There … there is something you can do for me though. The Administrator said you could mail this for me?” She reached into her pocket and brought out the letter for her parents. “How much will it cost?”

“Oh! Well! Aren’t you the dutiful daughter?” The old man seemed incredibly pleased.

She didn’t understand it at all. She wasn’t sure she could get used to these people. The old man, just like the Administrator, seemed to be able to change from giving one impression to another at will. It was very confusing.

“That service is free. So write to your parents all you want. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear from you.”

He gave her a large smile.

She stared at him, wondering if everyone in this place would be the same as this. “Yes … Thank you.”

She got out of there soon after, confused enough for one day.

Not having anything better to do, and deep inside knowing she’d gotten more excitement than she wanted already, she dawdled in her room until it was close to dinner.

When she entered the dining hall, it was still early, the scent of baking bread hanging lightly in the air.

One student was there already though, sitting in the back, far away from everything, his eyes wide and staring, looking pale though he had sun browned skin. Talia realized immediately he must be new. Did she look so lost and scared just yesterday? Her heart went out to him; she knew exactly how he felt. She decided to try and help him out. Nonchalantly, she made her way over toward his table.

As she came close, the boy appeared about to bolt. She decided to plunge right in. “Hi! My name is Talia. What’s yours?” She tried to give him the friendliest smile she could come up with.

The boy’s dark eyes locked with her own for a moment and then quickly glanced away, trying to look at everything but her. “I’m, I’m Daltan.”

“Please to meet you,” she said as cheerily as she could. “Did you just get in today?”

He nodded slowly, still not looking at her.

“I just arrived yesterday, myself. Overwhelming place, isn’t it?”

The boy’s gaze stopped roaming and actually focused on her once more. “Just a little.”

Talia smiled again. Daltan made a halfhearted attempt to return her smile.

“You came in on Clarence, right?” she asked.

The boy’s color turned a little green. It was answer enough. She was sure it was this way for almost everyone who came here. Between the horrifying ride, the immensity of the place, and lack of information from Tammer, no one would feel at ease right away.

“Have they told you much?”

Daltan looked away again. “No.”

“I’m no expert, but I’ll share what I know if you want,” she offered. “The others will be here soon and I’m sure they’d love to help as well.”

”
Others
?” His voice rose in panic.

She sat down, realizing she’d just made things worse. “New students like us,” she added quickly. “And just a few who have been here a little longer. They’re all very nice.”

His panic seemed to recede a little.

She started talking in the hopes it would calm him even more. She quickly told him what little history she’d learned of the place as well as what she knew of their schedule and chores. He looked slightly more relaxed when other students started to trickle into the hall. As some of her soon-to-be classmates came in, she waved them over and quickly introduced them. By the time Mandee and Yllin made it in, Daltan was busy fending off questions from the other boys.

“Hi, Talia.” Mandee plopped down next to her. “I see we’ve got a new student for our group.” She flashed a big smile. “And he’s cute, too.”

Daltan glanced over and away, his cheeks blushing.

“We need more girls,” Yllin commented sourly. She barely spared Daltan a glance.

“You’re not thinking about this in the right way, Yllin,” Mandee replied. “Fewer girls means more boys and less competition.”

The dark girl rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored the comment. “So, Talia, how did your meeting go?”

Mandee’s eyes lit up. “Yes, yes, tell us all about it!”

“Well…” Talia glanced around to make sure Daltan was busy, remembering the Administrator’s request she not discuss this with any new students who’d yet to see her. At the moment, the dark-haired boy was being grilled about his home and wasn’t paying her any attention. Talking softly, she quickly told her two friends about the three tests she’d taken.

“Aren’t they just bizarre?” Mandee commented. “And it’s so hard to tell if you did well or not.” She frowned slightly. “The dagger test seems to be pretty consistent though not done every time. For me, the other two were to pick the best cloth from a set of samples and to explain a weird story she told me to read. When I picked the cloth, she gave me five jewels to keep.”

“They just don’t make much sense,” Yllin said. “I still haven’t been able to figure out what the tests are for.”

Mandee nodded. “But they have to be for something, otherwise why would they make everyone go through them?”

“Nobody knows what goes through the Administrator’s mind.”

Talia nodded at Yllin’s comment, sure it was probably right.

After dinner was over and the students went through the garden, she hung around Mandee and Yllin for a while before returning to her room for the night.

Heavily in thought, she stepped out onto her room’s balcony, still pondering all the things that happened to her this day.

As she relaxed in the cool evening air, her attention was drawn up to the sky as she noticed a weaving presence not far away. It was Kel and Clarence, practicing. They dove, spun, and dipped, a mockery of precision and skill. Unlike the time before, however, she knew what they were trying to do. The part she just couldn’t understand was how Kel expected Clarence to overcome his handicap once they became partners. No matter how hard they practiced, a cross-eyed dragon could never fly straight. Right? Still, so many things in this place didn’t make sense. It was hard to tell what would and wouldn’t work. Home wasn’t this complicated.

Suddenly tired, Talia walked back inside, closed the balcony doors and let the drapes fall across them.

She changed clothes, and looking at the doors again, opened one of then slightly to let in the night air. As soon as the globes in her room turned dark, she slipped into her bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

The night passed by uneventfully, except for a brief moment when she was startled awake by a strange noise. When she couldn’t identify it and it wasn’t repeated, she fell back asleep and was not disturbed again.

The next morning, she rose early and went down to the dining hall as she’d done the day before. To her surprise, she found a haggard-looking Daltan already there. From the bags underneath his eyes, she guessed he hadn’t slept well. “Good morning, Daltan.”