Obsidian Eyes (4 page)

Opening her eyes, she returned to her body, trapped in York. Outside in the quad, an ancient elm spread limbs dripping with emerald leaves. Students sat under the spreading shade, protecting delicate skin from browning in the gentle sun. She remembered the vertical greenery of soaring palms and heat so intense her skin glistened with a thin veil of sweat.

She didn’t belong here, not on any level. The commoner amongst the nobles, the girl with olive skin amongst the pale beauties, hard won self-reliance amongst chaste obedience.

A deep sigh welled up in her chest. Life had been simple and happy in Egypt; but she turned seventeen, and her father’s patience wore thin. Soon a lifetime of training would be called to the service of her guild.

Unless I refuse
.

Turning from the window, lost in thought, she collided with a hard shoulder and her books scattered over the floor. An automatic apology rose to her lips as she dropped to a crouch and began gathering up the fallen items.

Three pairs of shiny, polished boots surrounded her. No one spoke a word or offered to help and an icy trickle of warning ran down her spine at their silence. She took her time, stacking one book on top of the other before scooping up the pile and straightening her knees. She stood, eyeing the unexpected situation.

In front of her were three sullen youths of similar age to herself. Two were the same height, the third taller. All three shared the pallid unhealthy complexions of those who lounged around inside, instead of pursuing outdoor activities. They dressed completely in black, stark white shirts the only break in total darkness.

Someone’s read too many gothic horror novels.

The tall blond one set the tone for the other two; a sneer of distaste curled the corner of his lip. “There’s only one reason the school has accepted the likes of you here,” he said.

Allie hid an eye roll behind dropped lashes. “For an education like everyone else.” She went to brush past them, unwilling to indulge their social prejudices but the blond snaked out an arm, stopping her.

“No, you are here for our entertainment, a spot of sport whenever we require diversion.” He reached out a hand and traced a finger along her collar bone.

Revulsion shot down her spine at the uninvited contact.

Feminine laughter filled the corridor. Allie’s gaze flicked over the boy’s shoulder to see the willowy blonde in blue velvet from calculus class.

“Your sort is meant to serve. You should be on your knees before us.” He leaned closer into her space, using his height to intimidate. The other two boys stood to either side, caging her against the wall.

Allie kept her breathing even and slow. They picked the wrong girl to try to frighten. She turned her gaze to his arrogant face. “I’m a student, not a scullery maid.” She pronounced each word slowly, in case he didn’t grasp the distinction.

The tall youth stepped back as the noble girl moved closer.

“Look at her, so drab and plain in brown. Just like a servant.” A sneer turned the girl’s beautiful face into something base and ugly.

Allie remained composed, used to pushing all emotion to one side. Her gaze locked with the other girl. “In Egypt only whores wear blue. It makes them easier to spot when men want to buy their time.” It wasn’t true but Allie needed to make her own strike. These nobles had to learn she wasn’t defenceless or intimidated.

The girl hissed, drew back a hand and then lashed out. Surprise registered on her face when the slap missed its mark. Allie’s fingers wound tight around her wrist, halting forward momentum inches from her face.

“Problem?” A soft burr inquired from behind.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” She met the other girl’s cold blue gaze and released her grip, pushing the arm away.

The noble girl narrowed her eyes. “Stay away from me, little scullery maid.”

Allie screwed up her nose and then shook her head. “No, I’m no good with boundaries. I think I will continue about my day however I want, and you will stay away from me.”

Tension crackled in the hallway as the two girls eyed one another. Allie would not budge, refusing to show any sign of weakness to the bully.

“Madeline, I thought you wanted to ride this afternoon?” Jared’s Scottish lilt cut through the strained atmosphere.

Cold blue eyes flashed and the girl’s nostrils flared. “She insulted me, she should be made to apologise.”

Jared eyed the assembled group, ranged around the new student. “Four to one is hardly how we welcome new students at St Matthews. I’d say Allie was holding her own.”

Allie flicked her gaze to the floor to hide her confusion while she assessed Jared.
Why does he defend me to his fellow nobles?

“The school should never have admitted a commoner.” Madeline stuttered as though the word
commoner
leeched an unpleasant taste in her mouth as it passed over her tongue.

Jared moved closer, putting himself next to Allie as he spoke. “You don’t have to like the school’s position, you just have to abide by it.”

“You shouldn’t side against your own.” The other boy moved as though unable to stand too close to Jared. His friends shifted further away, distancing themselves.

“You’re missing the point, Hamilton, there are no sides.” Jared’s predatory eyes raked the other boy, his arms crossed over his chest. “Allie is a student, same as you and me.”

Allie watched the body language between the two youths. Cold waves came off the one called Hamilton, the sneer he showed Allie now turned on Jared.

“You take being head boy too seriously, McLaren.”

Allie took the measure of the boy. He liked to throw insults but she suspected he had no real skill with a weapon. She bet herself he would never openly challenge Jared, whose ability with a blade she had already tested.

Approaching feet interrupted the confrontation, cut short any retort and defused the hanging tension. Three soldiers rounded the corner. The solid black of their uniforms was relieved only by the strip of blue and green tartan running down the side of their pants, signalling they came from the King’s Royal Aeronautical Corp. Their highly polished boots rapped on the slate in unison as they approached.

“McLaren,” the leader called out in recognition.

Jared’s head swung in their direction. “Lieutenant Harris,” he said with a familiar tone.

The red headed lieutenant bowed his head. “Could you tell us where to find Lord Lithgow? He is not in his laboratory.” His gaze roamed over the group. The other boys, sensing their sport well and truly over for the afternoon, slunk away.

No longer the centre of male attention, Madeline chose to disappear with them, leaving Allie alone with Jared and the soldiers.

“Try the Alchemy lab,” she said. “He’s working on an experiment this afternoon.”

Lieutenant Harris moved his gaze to her. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her more fully, a quizzical expression on his face for a fleeting moment.

“That way.” She gestured, pointing down the hall.

“I’ll walk with you.” Jared nodded to Allie, then turned and walked down the hallway with the soldiers.

Allie took the opposite arm of the corridor, toward the girls’ dormitory. Once she could no longer hear their boots clicking, she let out a breath and steadied her pounding heart. She never expected to see Christian Harris again, let alone in these hallways. Given the way his gaze lingered over her, she wondered if he recognised her?

full day of pretending indifference to the casually slung barbs of the noble girls completely sapped Allie’s energy and drained her mental armour. She sought refuge in the forest-painted bedroom. Peace and quiet washed over her as she lay on the bed and stared at the night sky. The constellations were different to the velvet sky that blanketed her for the last three years, yet another reminder of how far away her home lay. Dragging her eyes from the ceiling, she rolled onto her stomach and drew a textbook close. She flipped open the pages and tried to interest herself in Roman politics.

Instead of Cicero’s rousing oratory, she kept hearing snippets of conversation circling in her head. Throughout the day, gossip-hungry girls whispered and variously described her as a thief, barely house-broken, and feral.

The last one made her laugh. After three years of running wild in Egypt, her father demanded she return to England to civilise her. He became concerned at reports of her wandering barefoot through the Cairo streets with a group of youths. Not unlike the roaming packs of feral desert dogs, scouring the streets for food and fighting over scraps.

Allie suspected a deeper motive drove the decision to move her to York, one yet to be unearthed.

Eloise bounced into their room clutching her satchel to her chest. Once the door snipped shut behind her, she reached in and withdrew a frog and a companion rat. Both freshly dead by the looks of them.

“How was the alchemy experiment?” Allie flipped the textbook shut and tried to ignore the frog and rat doing a jig across the room as they danced in Eloise’s grip.

“Fine, until those soldiers turned up. They ruined everything by dragging Zeb off to his lab. So I went hunting instead.”

Curiosity simmered in the back of Allie’s brain, wondering about the military interest in the talented student. “What did they want?”

Eloise shrugged her shoulders and deposited the creatures on her desk. “I don’t know, they were all pretty tight-lipped about it. We couldn’t finish the experiment, so I thought I’d work on these.” Her eyes shone with the lure of the pending experiment. “I want to see which reanimates the most readily, amphibian or mammal.”

Allie sat up. “I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to go down to the library.”

She grabbed a book from her nightstand and slipped out the door. Her stomach gave a growl in the silent corridor and gave her another reason to seek solace in the library; her grandfather would have secreted food somewhere around his desk. Usually engrossed in his studies, he had the habit of keeping something handy for when hunger struck. She couldn’t contemplate braving the dining hall for dinner unless she wanted to serve herself up, to be sliced next to the roast beef; she decided to take her chances with what she could forage.

She pushed through the double doors into the enveloping silence of the stacks. The interior was softly lit at regular intervals by hanging iron lights, and the air was heavy with the scent of paper and old undisturbed dust. The rows of floor to ceiling books were oddly comforting. Books didn’t judge or make snide remarks. They didn’t comment about what place was assigned to you in the world based solely on the accident of your birth.

Allie headed down the central spine to the ornate oversized desk. She spotted an apple sitting on the blotter pad and a quick rummage in the drawers yielded a cheese sandwich and much to her glee, a small stash of Turkish Delight.

Scavenged meal in hand, she tossed up where to eat. She eyed up the nook with its comfy leather sofas and gargoyle-wrought fireplace but Zeb had already staked a claim. With several textbooks spread out on the low table, he appeared to be doing a comparative study. He muttered to himself as he flipped from book to book and scribbled notes on a pad, balanced on his knee. A deep frown ploughed his forehead.