Dark Nebula (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (6 page)

“If
Devon
’s
available
this evening,
get
together. I
know you were only six when your father died, but anything you can remember could help the
Council
.
Sometimes the odd memory pops up…”
He sounded hopeful.
He straightened his suit jacket and glanced at his watch.
“
I’ll let Madame Elpis know you’
re starting tutoring
and may be back a bit late.”

A smile flicke
red across
Devon
’s face
, then
was gone
, hopefully
before
Carter
could
catch it.
“Fine with me.”

“
K
eep this information
between the two of you
.
If we learn anything else, I’ll let you know.”
Carter
leaned towards Rae. “Don’t go and be all
girlie
and tell your best friend, Molly.” He turned and
walked
down
the corridor
to his office
.

Rae watched him go.
“All girlie”?
Looks like he may not have changed as much as I thought.

Without a word, she and
Devon
headed towards the exit. Rae nearly fell when
Devon
lurched to a sprint beside her and raced to the door.
Hard to make out what he was running to, she mimicked
Devon
’s tatù and gasped when she saw a body lying on the floor.

Maria
.

Chapter 3

Julian

R
ae dropped down beside
Devon
. He pressed two fingers against the side of her neck and dipped his ear close to her ears and mouth.

“She’s got a pulse. It’s all over the place and her breathing is really shallow.” He shifted and scooped Rae’s friend into his arms. “Get the door and race ahead to the Infirmary. Tell them she’s hurt and unconscious.”

Rae’s heart felt all over the place as well. Scared, she switched to a Cheetah
tatù, zoomed over to the Infirmary,
and grabbed the first
uniform
she saw
.
A
nurse.
“We just found Maria passed out on the floor.” She gasped to catch her breath. “
Devon
’s carrying her over here right—”

As she spoke
he
burst
through the front door. Maria still in his arms but semi-conscious. She moaned and dropped her head back.

“Follow me,” the nurse barked and
led
them to the first room. She pointed to the bed and pulled a plastic red
bobble
connected to a string. A buzzer went off somewhere in another part of the building.

Devon
gently set Maria down and stood close to Rae
.
“She was out when we found her at the entrance to the Oratory
.
She started coming
around
once we were outside.”

A doctor walked in as
Devon
spoke. He stuck a stethoscope to Maria’s chest and touched her forehead. “She’s warm.”

Maria moved under his hand and her eyes fluttered open. They grew wide with fear and she lurched into a sitting position, only to weakly drop back against the bed. She stared at Rae. “
What happened?”

Rae shook her head not sure what to say.

“It appears you fainted,” the doctor said. “
Devon
and Rae found you. They brought you to the Infirmary. When’s the last time you had something to drink?”

“A bit…maybe this morning. I don’t remember.” Maria rubbed her nose.

“Let’s run a few tests and get your set up with an IV. I believe you’re a tad dehydrated.” He looked at Rae and
Devon
. “She’s fine. She just needs some liquids and rest. You two can go.”

Relief flooded through Rae. “Do you want me to stay?”

Maria gave her a small smile. “I’m alright. Stupid me for not drinking more water. I’ll call you once I’ve rested.”

“If I don’t hear from you,” Rae said with a grin, “I’m coming back here and camping out till you’re released.
And I’ll bring a guitar that I have no idea how to play and sing camp fire songs at the top of my lungs.
” Giddy that her friend was okay, she couldn’t help but tease.

Devon
chuckled beside her. “I’m not coming back if she’s doing that. Get better and take care of yourself.”

“I will. I promise.” Maria gave a small wave and turned her attention to the waiting doctor.

Satisfied she was okay, Rae and
Devon
left the Infirmary and
headed down the path
back to
Aumbry
House.
T
hey entered
through the enormous wooden door with
its
stained glass windows
,
and
went
up the
marble
stairs.
Rae
led
the way to
her
chosen
room
,
idly thinking how nice it would be to have her own space this year.
Chosen for the beautiful view from the oriel windows, the room was directly above the one she had shared with Molly the previous year.
The
buildings across, the
grounds below and surrounding forest
seemed picturesque and worth more than any painting
she had
ever seen. They had been in such a hurry before
.
N
ow
,
she had a chance to take in the
view
.
The
room had
plenty of
space
, wi
th a bed, desk, built-in closets
and even a leather
loveseat
.
C
hocolate and taupe
were the décor colors, just as they had been the previous year
.

“I’m glad Maria’s okay. That was crazy
.
”
Devon
moved one of the suitcases they’d
dumped in the room in their rush to get to the Oratory.

“The whole day’s been crazy.”
Wanting to forget about
Carter
’
s
depressing words
and the scare of finding Maria,
Rae focused on the room.
“
Glad to be able to come back to my own room.
I love Molly, but
I could use a bit of privacy
.
” She spread her arms wide. “
I’ve got space
!
”

“It’s nice. Probably one of the only times I’ll be up here.”
Devon
shrugged and grinned. “You know Madame Elpis and
her
rules.”
He switched to a nasal sounding voice. “Doors open if a boy is in here. Better to nip evil in the butt th
an
tempt it.”
He winked
and sounding normal again added, “It’s also too risky. I don’t want us to get caught and people assume. Then the gossip starts.”
Molly. That’s who he’s referring to
.
H
is gaze traveled to the windows
.
“Wait till you see
my place
on the top floor of Joist.”

Before he could
tell her
more
,
she
grabbed his
elbow
and grinned slyly
.
My turn to impress.
“Watch what I learned to do this summer.”
She put her fingertips lightly on his temple
s
.
“Picture your room in your mind.”
Rae
closed her eyes to concentrate.
She had
only tried
this
a few times
and hoped she could pull it off
. Exhaling, she
zoned in
.

An image of his
dorm
suite
flashed into her mind.
There were two rooms.
He showed her his bedroom, lingering on his bed
.
Rae
felt
warm
th
spreading through her stomach again.
He coughed and shifted, then
showed her
his
office with a large desk
and
a leather chair in front and behind it.
A
long the wall
,
across
from
a
couch
,
were
a ton of
bookshelves
,
already three-quarters full
.

Rae opened her eyes
.

“
Strange,
I
could
actually
see
you seeing
it
.
”
Devon
stared intently into her eyes.

Rae nodded, suddenly nervous.
Did he think her strange now?
Having spent the whole summer apart, and coming back to find changes in him and
changes in
her environment that she had not expected, she suddenly felt nervous about what he would think of her.
She held her breath.
“
I
’m pretty sure I
can do it without you noticing as well.
”

“
I’d better not forget that part
.”
Devon
stepped back
but
kept his
hands
resting
lightly
on her hips
, as if knowing that she needed that reassuring touch
.
“
I’m impressed.
Where’d you pick it up?
”

“
Shopping
on
Fifth Ave
.
I
accidentally
bumped
the clerk
’s hand
when
I
went to pay. Got her tatù along with my change
.
I
t took me about an hour to figure
it out
.
” Rae shrugged.
“
I bet she
uses it in the shop to get a picture of what customers are looking for.
I wasn’t sure until I tried it out on my Aunt Linda’s cat.”

“You tried it on a cat?”
D
isbelief
covered
Devon
’
s
handsome
face
.

“
T
otally cool
, b
ut the vision
came out
weird.
Cats see different than
we do
,
and it took me a bit to figure out.
I tried when t
he cat was sleeping
and the first time, she took off under the bed. A bit later
,
I tried doing it again
.
T
his time
, she didn’t notice
.
S
he dreamt
about catching a mouse.
I
couldn’t believe it
.” She touched his arm.
“Different vision than
ours
.
All black, white and grey. I got the impression he just wanted
me to leave him alone
.
I finally asked Uncle Argyle if I could try it on him.”
She
did not
add
that
he
had
pictured her mother and compared how much she looked and acted like her mom.

“
You’re one freaky chick.”
Devon
grinned, his dimple appearing. “
That’s a pretty amazing
ability
.”

“I’m not a freak!” She jokingly punch
ed
his arm.
“
T
he girl works at Macy’s
.
If she
was
given the opportunity to go to a school like Guilder
…
who knows what she’d be doing instead
.
”

“There’s a college in
America
.
I don’
t know much about it.
She probably didn’t pick up you were
tatùed
.
I mean, she’d have to see you
r
tatù
.
S
he m
ight
have gone to the
US
school, who knows
.
Shoot, she might even know about the infamous Kerrigan family.
”
He scratched his head.
“The
US
h
as
their own Privy Council. The
re’s
also
a Great Royal Council that
meet
s
several times a year
,
k
inda like
the United Nations.”