Dark Nebula (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (4 page)

H
is bright blue eyes stared deeply into hers. After a few moments, he
released his hold on her waist
and
slowly
stepped
back
.

She knew he
was not
convinced.
“
Honest,
I’m fine.
I’m
not gonna pass out, or anything.
”
As she spoke
, her mind
replay
ed
the mental picture of
Carter
.
He had
gotten his
haircut
, and almost appeared a bit younger.

“What did you see?
Is Carter
okay
?”

“He
seemed angry or upset, or maybe both.”
She closed her eyes, trying to remember
every detail
,
but it was like trying to remember the details of a dream.
She could taste the fear from the vision but
could not
remember
where it had come from
.
“I don’t know if the image i
s happening now, if i
t’s i
n the past or something
that hasn’t happened yet
.
I don’t get it.”

“
I got a bad feeling.”
Devon
shook his head, his forehead creasing with lines. “
Let’s toss
your suitcases in a
room and
go
see him right away.
Something’s going on, and I’m
willing
to bet it’s
pretty
important.”
Quick as a flash,
Devon
ran down the stairs to grab the fallen suitcase
and back up ahead of her before Rae could reply.

Chapter 2

Ghosts from the Past

A
fter having dropped Rae’s things in her chosen room, t
hey made a
mad dash to the Oratory to
find
Carter
.
The formidable ancient building always took her breath away,
not
only
because she enjoyed the tatù classes held there
,
but
also
the structure itself
retained the
aura of
its
former glory
.
However
,
today
,
the tall
silhouette
of the Tudor-
built hall failed to brighten
her
mood.
Rae
never
even
bothered to look, concentrating on the
cobblestones
rushing beneath her feet
leading
up the steps
to the main entrance
.

Devon
held
open
the
large wooden
door
for her
,
and as she entered, a stale, musty scent filled her nostrils, leaving an acrid taste in her throat.
She
d
oubled over
, fighting
to catch her breath.
Devon
didn’t even appear winded.
His
fennec fox
tatù
gave him speed and agility.
Why
di
dn’t
I
th
ink
of mimicking his
tatù when
we
bolted
out of
Aumbry
House
?

Heart rate back to a semi-normal speed, she walked with
Devon
into the grand room
, and the temperature dropped several degrees,
T
he black and white marble floor
and incredibly high ceiling
help
ed
keep the
room cool
.
Worried
about the vision
,
she le
d the way
towards
the back
of the Oratory
, where the headmaster’s office
nestled between the education class
rooms
.
It had been Lanford’s office.
I wonder if Carter
’s changed it.
“What do you think’
s wrong?”
Rae
whispered, grabbing hold of
Devon
’s arm.
What if it’s some trick?
She had
not
trusted him for most of
the previous year
and
it was hard not to be wary
.

“Hopefully nothing.” He cleared his throat
and knocked, shouting
.
“
Carter! Headmaster
, are you here?”

“
Devon
?
I’ll be out in
a minute.”
Carter’s
deep
muffled voice came
from behind the large oak door
of
his office.

Suddenly nervous, Rae shifted gears.
“Let’s
go back to
the
grand hall
.” Rae pulled
Devon
back the way they’d come.

They waited. B
oth
of them
lean
ed
against the oak walls
.
Rae
star
ed
at the intricate
woodcarvings
on the
m
.
She
felt
strange
being
here
when the room wasn’t full of students
. She loved this room, but the quiet emptiness was unnerving. She
straightened
when
Carter
enter
ed
.

“
Good. You made it back safely.
Nice to see you
both
.”
Carter
wore his usual
expensive-looking
three-
piece suit
, but something about him had changed since
she had
seen him last.
He was still tall and thi
n, but the suit fit him tighter
. Or maybe
he had
just hidden it last year and
she had
never noticed
his strength
.
H
e had
definitely cut his hair.
Well, that means the vision didn’t happen in the past. That just leaves the present and future
.
His large, dark eyes stared intently at her.
“
How was your summer, Rae?”

“No major catastrophes, but a lot of boredom
.”
She couldn’t read his face, and didn’t really know him well enough to be able to read his body language
.
He seems fine.
She paused, catching a muscle twitch near his
jawline
.
Or maybe not.

“Enjoy the tedious
ness while you can. L
ife will soon become busy
,
leaving
little time for monotony.”

“Yes, sir.”
She had no idea why someone would wish for a boring life.

Carter
glanced around, tapping
his thumb
against his leg
to
some internal
rhythm.
“
Rae, can you
get
us
some chairs
?
”

Are you trying to see what I can do or still prejudice again
st
females?
Carter had been a total prick to women in general the previous year.
It didn’t matter. He had something to tell them
,
and she intended to find out
what it was
.
Using
a
levitation tatù and
her
fingers to direct them,
s
he brought
three
chairs forward
from against the back wall.
The
finger tapping
paused while
Carter
waited for
Devon
and Rae
to sit
.
He continued to stand.

“Has something happened?”
Devon
sat on the edge of his
seat
, his upper body pin straight.
His tension wasn’t lost on Rae, though she didn’t know what to make of it.

“Nothing–yet
.”
Carter
r
est
ed
fists against
his hips.

“Then
,
what’s going on?”
Devon
crossed
his arms over his chest.

H
is biceps bulged.
He’
s
definitely
put on muscle th
is
summer.
Seems like there have been quite a few changes while I
was
gone. I like this one…
She blinked and
forced
her attention back to
Carter
, scolding herself.
Focus
, Rae
…
P
robably
just
jet lag.

“I’ve been on the
phone with a colleague in
Scotland
.
It seems
…It seems
…”
he appeared
to be
grasping
for the right words,
“
Rae’s father is reaching out from the
grave
.”

“What?” Rae froze, the
blood
pounding
in her ears deafening.
It took a moment for the words
to
sink in.
She
didn’t want to
comprehend what
Carter
meant
.
She
was
there when they
had
buried her
parents
.
Her mother had died protecting her from her father
, and her time at Guilder was supposed to be the time when she grew up to be the woman her mother had hoped she would be, without her father’s evil influence
. She wanted to scream
.
Had it all been in vain?
She bit hard on the inside of her cheek, the physical
pain,
and
coppery taste of
blood pulling
her away from the emotional
torture.

Carter seemed to sense her distress.
“Y
our father’s dead. That’
s
for
certain
.
” He reached out
, as if to pat
Rae’s shoulder
, but must have realized he stood too far away
because he awkwardly dropped his hand back to his side
.

Rae
let go
of
the
breath she
had not
realize
d
she
held
,
and swallowed
hard.
She
dropped
back against the chair
, mentally running through the anti-anxiety exercises her therapist had taught her as a child, after the terrible tragedy of her parents’ deaths.
Breathe, relax, focus. Deep breath…

“
T
he video
Lanford
played
last term
when he had you in the tower…
do you remember
any of
it?”
Carter’s lips
set in a grim line as Rae nodded.
“This may sound strange, but
did
you watch and
listen to it
at the same time?”

Rae shrugged, not sure where this was going. “
Yes
. Wait… m
aybe
… when I heard,” she swallowed, “when I recognized my dad’s voice.”

Carter
rubbed
the back of his neck
“
There’s more to that video than we first thought.
A
colleague in
Scotland
f
ound a similar tape
,
which he referred to
as
H.O.C. or
the
HOC
file
.
H
is guys
ha
ve
been unable to get
an
audio feed from it
.”
He
turned his attention to
Devon
. “Well done on retrieving the video
last week
. The Privy Council
is
extremely grateful.”