Conrad Edison and the Anchored World (Overworld Arcanum Book 2) (11 page)

Baxter sneered. "What was your test, Cryberius?"

Ambria slapped the unpleasant ginger on the shoulder. "His name is Max, you rude boy."

"Well, I had to walk through a dark room filled with monsters," Max said.

Only then did I realize how pale his face looked. "How do you know there were monsters in there?" I asked.

"They grabbed me, and some of them bit me." He shrugged. "Every time I tried to illuminate using my wand, this scary white lizard would bite my ankle until I put it out."

"How awful," Ambria said. "Is your ankle okay?"

He nodded. "They didn't bite hard."

"I'll bet you cried and wet your pants," Baxter said.

Max stared at him. "I can tell you that after walking through a pitch black room of horrors, I'm not afraid to admit how scared I was." A wan smiled touched his lips. "When I reached the door on the other side, the lights came on and nothing was there."

"Not even the white lizard?" Ambria said.

He shrugged. "There were holes in the walls, so I guess all the monsters went in there." Max shivered. "I certainly wasn't going to look in those holes."

Rhona Trask appeared alongside Gideon Grace and began calling out names and handing out envelopes.

"Conrad Edwards," Grace said.

I walked over and took the envelope. "Thank you, sir."

He didn't reply and handed out more envelopes. Before long, most of us had an envelope. Lily tore hers open the instant she received it. Her eyes lit.

"I passed! I'm in!" She jumped up and clapped her hands.

"Me too," Harris said as if it couldn't have gone differently.

Baxter stared at his envelope and finally opened it. The resulting smirk told everyone he'd passed, but he still held up the card inside.
Passed.

Ambria let out a long sigh and slumped. "I did it, Conrad." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I passed."

I looked long and hard at mine.
Surely if Harris passed, then so did I.

"Tiberius," Gideon Grace called in a condescending tone.

Max gulped and went to retrieve his envelope. He walked back over, gripping it tight enough to make his knuckles go white.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Baxter said.

I broke the wax seal on mine and looked inside. It did not say
Passed
, nor did it say
Failed
. Instead it bore the word
Exemplary
.

Baxter snatched Max's envelope from him and held it out of reach. "What's the matter, Cryberius? Afraid to see if you made it?"

Ambria stomped Baxter's foot. "Give it back!"

Baxter yelped and jumped back. "You're so mean!"

"I'm mean?" Ambria sounded absolutely indignant. "You're the mean one, Baxter. Now give Max his envelope."

"Fine," Baxter sneered. He opened the envelope, took out the card, and tossed the envelope to Max. He looked at the card and howled with laughter. "Oh, this is brilliant!" Baxter turned the card for us to see.
Failed.

Ambria's mouth dropped open. Max's eyes went dead. He turned and ran away without another word.

Chapter 9

"I wish I could turn you into a roach and squish you," Ambria said to Baxter in a low hiss.

"That was mean," Lily said and shook her head. "Boys are just awful sometimes."

"It was hilarious," Baxter said. "Besides, the Tiberiuses should be banished from the Overworld."

"They supported the Overlord," Harris said in a quiet voice. "I think they should all be jailed and executed."

"Max never did anything to anyone," Ambria said. "Come on, Conrad. Let's go."

"Conrad, why don't you come with us?" Harris put an arm on my shoulder. "We could use someone really smart as a friend."

My heart felt light with joy. These were the kids everyone wanted to be friends with, and now they wanted me to be part of their group.
I'm special!

Ambria looked at me with disbelief. "Well, I guess you have new friends now." She ran after Max.

"Why would you two hang out with that loser?" Baxter said.

"Let's go get some more cake," Harris said. "I know a great place that always gives me free food."

"Lily frowned. "Baxter, I can't believe you did that to poor Max."

"Poor Max?" Baxter snorted. "Don't feel bad for that loser."

A part of me desperately wanted to go with them, but a gut feeling told me it would be a mistake. The path trial had told me a great deal about Harris Ashmore. For one thing, he gave up easily. Instead of passing the test on his own merits, he planned to use his connections to get a passing grade. Plus, his best friend, Baxter, was a mean-spirited bully. Lily seemed nice enough even if she liked to brag about her intelligence.

"Well, are you coming?" Harris said.

"Exemplary?" Baxter snatched my card from me. "What's this mean?"

Lily's eyes widened and she snatched it from Baxter. "The last person to receive an exemplary was—" she swallowed hard.

"Was who?" Harris said in a low voice.

Lily laughed nervously. "I thought I remembered, but I forgot."

"Is it something special?" Baxter asked.

"By its definition, exemplary is special," Lily replied, a hint of jealousy in her voice. Her eyes narrowed. "I'd be interested to see your written exam score, Conrad."

"Let's go, let's go," Harris said impatiently. "I want some more cake."

I took a step back. "Please go without me. I have to catch up with my friends."

Harris and the Baxter froze in place, eyes wide, mouths hanging open.

"We're your new friends," Harris said in a querulous voice.

"Maybe we can become friends," I said. "But Max and Ambria are my true friends, and if Baxter can't be nice, then I can't be friends with him."

"And to think I thought you were smart," Harris said. "Do you know how many people want to be our friends?"

"I want to be your friend." I looked at Baxter. "But Baxter is ruining it for you." Before they could reply, I turned and ran after Ambria and Max.

When I exited the building, I saw Ambria racing toward the forest near the cliff overlooking the valley and ran after her. When I finally caught up, she was already talking to Max.

"There you are," I said.

She flicked her head toward me. "I thought you were hanging out with your
new
friends."

I walked up to Ambria. "After all we've been through, what makes you think I'd abandon you just like that?"

Max grinned. "Well, hey, at least you get to be friends with a loser like me."

"You're not a loser, Max." I bit my lower lip and stared back at the university. "How do you think you did on the written exam?"

He shrugged. "I knew everything on there, or at least I thought I did." He shook his head. "I must've failed the psychological scenario, or done something wrong on the final trial."

"I assume you performed the candle test?" Ambria asked.

He nodded. "Took me two minutes."

"Something's not right." I motioned them to follow. "Let's ask to see your written test."

Blue stood outside the entrance. Her eyes brightened when she saw us and she loped over. "Hey, I was looking for you, Conrad."

I took a step back and gulped. "Oh? What about?"

She frowned. "I was looking around in the front hall for you when I heard that awful Baxter kid talking about Max."

Max looked down. "Yeah, he doesn't like me much."

"Oh, well it's worse than that." Her eyes darkened. "He said he switched your test for one he filled out with the wrong answers."

"He what?" Max shouted. "I'm going to beat the—"

"Maxwell Tiberius, you will not get into a fight," Ambria said. "Somehow we need to get your real test."

"That explains why he was following me so close when I went to turn in my test," Max said. "I heard him laughing when I left the room."

"Professor Grace didn't see him?" Ambria asked.

Max shook his head. "He was busy handing out tests to other students." A hiss escaped his clenched teeth. "I hate Baxter."

"Do you think he threw away the real test somewhere?" I asked Blue.

She quirked her lips. "Well, I didn't see him showing off anything to the others, so I'd bet he did."

"Oh no." Max's eyes widened. "We have to find the right rubbish bin before the golems empty it."

"Let's start at the classroom and look around," I said.

We dashed inside and found the first rubbish bin next to the examination room. I lifted off the lid and dug through the crumpled papers inside. We sorted through candy wrappers, soda bottles, and other odds and ends, but found no test papers inside.

Ambria looked up and down the hall. "Baxter probably went to eat next like the rest of us."

Max sighed. "Let's go."

The dining hall had two bins outside the door and none inside.

"I hope he didn't leave it on his dinner plate," Max said. "If he did, it's probably gone for good."

Blue sniffed around the containers. "I got Baxter's scent when I was close to him. I don't smell him on these containers."

"How can you tell his smell from the rest?" I said. "Dozens of students have been through here."

"He uses soap that smells like lilacs," she said.

Ambria wrinkled her nose. "Are you certain you didn't smell that on a girl? Boys don't use lilac-scented soap."

Blue nodded. "It's more than just the lavender smell I sense, but it's hard to explain to someone with an ordinary nose."

The other girl sniffed. "Well, I think my nose is just fine."

I heard rustling behind me and saw Max digging through one of the bins. "Nothing but bottles and this." He held up a crude doll with pins protruding from it. "An old voodoo doll."

"What an awful thing," Ambria said. She took it and examined it. "Do these actually work?"

Max nodded. "Sure, if you know what you're doing." His lips curled up. "I'd sure like to make a voodoo doll of Baxter and stick him with needles." He removed one from the doll and jammed in its backside. "How'd you like that, Baxter?"

I peered into the other rubbish container. "This one is almost empty." I shook my head. "No test."

"Told you," Blue said with a smirk. She lifted her nose and sniffed. "He went this way."

We followed our lycan friend down the hallway and through several turns before stopping near an arched doorway.

"This is where I found him before we went through our final test," Ambria said. "When he saw me, he gave me an awfully guilty look."

"Were you with him the rest of the time?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, I gave him a dirty look and went into this door and up some stairs. A few minutes later I walked out of a door in another hallway and he came out of a room across from me."

"Odd," I said. "It's almost like the building made sure you two ended up taking the last test together."

"Kind of like you and Harris?" Ambria said.

I looked at our surroundings with increased suspicion. "What if this building is alive?"

Blue laughed, but Max nodded seriously. "I've heard some haunted houses are alive."

Ambria tentatively patted a wall. "Nice university."

I snorted. "Making friends?"

She sniffed. "Well, it certainly doesn't hurt. I don't want this building forcing me to see Baxter all the time."

Blue's nose twitched. She stalked down the hall to another arched doorway and peered inside. "There's a bin in here." She lifted the lid and poked around for a moment. "Aha!" She lifted a crumpled test with Max's name on it.

"My test!" Max took it and smoothed it out against the wall. His smile faded. "What if Professor Grace doesn't accept it?"

"He'll have to," I said. "Blue can be our witness."

Ambria clenched her fists. "That no-good little rat. Maybe we can get him expelled."

Max rolled up the test. "I'll just be happy to get a passing grade."

We returned to the main hall and found Gideon Grace still handing out envelopes. He looked down his nose at Max. "What are you doing here, boy? You failed."

Max held up his test. "No, I didn't. Baxter took an extra test and filled it out with wrong answers, then replaced mine with it."

Gideon snorted. "A likely story."

"We can prove it," I said. "Show us the failing test and compare it with Max's handwriting."

"Baxter Troy is a good lad, unlike Maxwell Tiberius," Grace said. "He would never do such a lowly thing."

"Then let us prove it," I said.

"Who do you think you are, talking to a professor that way?" Grace looked down his nose at me. "Despite your high mark, I could have you expelled before classes even begin."

"What's going on here?" Professor Trask stepped beside Grace. Her eyes flared when she saw me. "Ah, Mr. Edwards. Congratulations on your high mark. Quite an achievement, indeed."

"Young Tiberius claims another student switched his test with a fake," Grace scoffed.

"It's true, Professor Trask." Max held up his test. "Baxter Troy replaced this one with a fake and threw the real one away."

"A serious accusation," Trask said. She took Max's test and looked it over. "Come with me."

"This boy is desperate," Grace said. "The Tiberius family is well known for lying and scheming to get what they want."

"Yes, well, a simple handwriting examination should clear this right up," Trask said. She headed down the hallway.

Max hurried after her, and we followed. The professor took us inside an office with a wide oak desk. She sorted through a stack of tests on her desk and reached one with Max's name sloppily scrawled across the top. She laid Max's original test and the fake side-by-side then handed Max a quill.

"Write your name, please," she said and handed him a sheet of parchment.

Max obliged. His handwriting looked nothing like Baxter's forged version.

Professor Trask studied the two, then said, "Copy the answer to the first question."

Once again, my friend did as instructed.

The professor made a thoughtful sound. "Wait outside, please."

We stepped into the hallway.

"Do you think she believed me?" Max whispered.