Lucky Rabbit

Elias’s lower lip wobbled, and this time when he swept at his hair, he actually revealed his eyes, which were large, blue, and damp. Not that eyes weren’t usually damp, but these were particularly so, and looked like they might well overflow at any moment.

“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” he muttered. “Knowing my family paid a ransom once will only make the villains more likely to do it again.” Pandy stared at him. That sounded like something he was repeating, but who had said it first? Though, according to the TV shows she used to watch, wasn’t that what everyone said right before they quietly paid up?

Augustus motioned to the chair that still sat invitingly behind Elias, and the boy dropped back into it as if his strings had been cut. “How old were you?” he asked gently, leaning forward to offer the boy a clean handkerchief. How many squares of fabric did he keep in his hidden stash?

Elias started to reach for it, then sniffed and waved it away, tilting his chin forward so his hair fell back across his eyes. “Eight,” he mumbled, then glanced around, shuddering. “Right after the revelation at the beginning of school. Well, at the Fall Festival.”

Pandy’s eyes widened. Elias was a year behind Lian, which meant he was probably thirteen now, and had been taken around four or five years ago. That was long before any of the other things they’d dug up, all of which seemed to start around two or three years ago. If not for the Dark Aura rolling off of him in delicious, almost intoxicating waves, Pandy would believe his abduction was coincidental, and had nothing to do with their mystery at all.

She could see that Augustus was startled, too, but only because she’d come to know him fairly well. His brows went up, ever so slightly, and his muscles tensed like those of a dog on the scent. Not that Augustus was a dog, because he wasn’t, in any sense of the word, even if his nose was just a smidge longer than might be considered optimal. That just made him stand out more in a world of pretty people, just like the zit on-

Oops! She was supposed to be paying attention to Elias, who was already speaking. She shook her head, ears flopping, and edged away from the boy’s feet. When had she gotten so close, anyway? Elias could practically have used her to buff his shoes. Bunny buff puff…

Nope, she was doing it again. This time, she hopped all the way out from under the table, forcing herself to leave the Area of Effect of his aura. That really was dangerous, and she was – supposedly – not actually an elemental. What was it like when real Dark elementals got close to him?

“-was on my way home after the Open House, and I guess I was tired, because I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in this… dark room. Like, really dark. And my arm hurt.” Elias rubbed his forearm reminiscently.

Augustus nodded in encouragement, and Elias went on, words dropping out of him like he was expelling some kind of filth, and it was actually a relief to be rid of them. “It was cold, and the only light was when they brought food. I thought they were feeding me three times a day, and I was confused, because I was so hungry, and I’d never really been hungry before, you know? Not hungry like this.”

The boy grimaced, tugging at his forelock. “They fed me three times, but I was gone for almost the entire week of Fall Festival. My parents immediately went to the guards, and even the Knights, of course, but nobody could find the slightest trace of me. Then, after I’d been missing for a little more than a day, they got a ransom note.”

“And they paid the ransom,” Augustus said gently.

Elias nodded. “They knew they weren’t supposed to. We’re supposed to wait, and let the authorities handle it, because when we pay, the criminals are just more likely to do it again.” And there it was again, the sound of someone else’s words in his mouth, though this time he sounded a bit more like he believed them.

His head lifted, jaw firming. “But my parents just wanted me home. They paid, and I was returned, and it was fine. We never told anyone, though. They told the Knights I’d wandered off, gotten lost, and a helpful healer brought me home. As if anyone would have let me get out of a carriage alone. But I was really sick, so nobody could talk to me, and by the time I was better, I knew what I was supposed to say.”

He swept his hair out of his eyes again, meeting Augustus’s gaze with defiance. “I was sick, and I climbed out of the carriage on my own. I wandered around until someone took pity on me and brought me to a healer. Eventually, the healer was able to convince me to tell him my family name, and brought me back. He was, of course, handsomely rewarded. For lying.” His voice was bitter, but then he slumped down in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest, muttering, “That’s all I have to say.”

Augustus glanced at Pandy, then Professor Beeswick, who had added two more books pulled from the air onto his stack. He was flipping through a third, but paused long enough to nod to the chancellor.

With a soft sigh, Augustus said, “Thank you for telling us. I’m certain it was difficult for you. If you can think of anything else, anything that might help us find your kidnappers, we would appreciate it.” His voice lowered. “We’re trying to make sure what happened to you doesn’t happen to any other child.”

Elias’s head jerked up again, and he flipped his bangs out of the way with clear impatience. “What? Did someone…? I heard someone tried to take a student a week or so ago. That’s what…?”

The chancellor hesitated, one finger tapping lightly on the tabletop. As if coming to a decision, he said, “Let’s just say that our investigation into that matter has led to our discussion today.” In a very, very roundabout fashion.

The boy leaned forward. “Look, there was one thing. I didn’t… I’m not even sure it was real, and not something I imagined. Being stuck in complete darkness for days is-” he shuddered. “I started seeing things. Things that couldn’t possibly exist. And sometimes those things would whisper to me.”

“What did they say?” Augustus asked.

“Vrazzle. Vrakle. Something like that. They’d almost whisper it, like they were calling me ‘sweetheart’, or ‘my love’, like my mother does.” The boy’s cheeks turned red, no doubt embarrassed by the admission that his mother had pet names for him, and he stood up again. “Can I go? I have… I should… I don’t want to talk to you any more.”

Augustus’s lips twitched at this blunt honesty, and he, too, nodded, standing to offer his hand to the boy. When Elias accepted it, Augustus tugged the boy’s arm out, turning it wrist upward as he deftly slipped the button of the sleeve free, pushing the material out of the way. There, on the soft flesh of Elias’s inner arm, were two raised, pinkish scars, just the right size and shape to be from the bite of a very large spider.

Elias yanked his arm back, glaring, and shoved his sleeve down. Without another word, he grabbed his bag and stormed from the library, leaving a shocked Pandy, thoughtful Augustus, and exasperated Professor Beeswick.

“Really, Augustus, you couldn’t just ask?” the professor asked with a soft sigh.

Augustus winced. “He would have refused.” At the dragon’s lifted brow, he corrected this to, “He could have refused. And we needed to know.”

Pandy listened to the exchange, feeling conflicted. She supposed it was better to know, though a couple of long-healed lumps of scar tissue about two inches apart weren’t conclusive, by any means. Still, while asking the children questions was one thing, especially given that the end goal was protecting Thaniel and the other children, violating the personal space of a teenager seemed like a gray area at best.

A soft, rhythmic thumping drew her attention, and Pandy hopped into Elias’s vacated chair, placing her forepaws on the table so she could see that Augustus was tapping his fingers, one or two at a time, in a manner that was almost as chaotic as her own thoughts.

At last, with a glance from Pandy to Professor Beeswick, who was placidly turning pages, he burst out, “I should have asked.” Pandy nodded, and the dragon lifted a brow, causing Augustus to slump into his own chair with a groan.

“I told you you’d spent too long as a-”

Augustus cut off the dragon’s mild words with a growl, looking at Pandy again. When Professor Beeswick stopped speaking, the chancellor took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I know,” he agreed wearily. “I knew it before you told me. The person I was becoming-” He stopped himself, thrusting the glasses back onto his face with such enthusiasm that the little pads meant to protect his nose ground into his skin.

Placing both hands flat on the table, Augustus drew a deep breath in through his nose, then blew it out slowly from his mouth. Pandy had done the same thing so many times that she almost instinctively copied him, finding to her surprise that some of her own tension drained away as well. It seemed that relaxation breathing worked even when you didn’t need to breathe.

When the gray eyes opened again, the chancellor had gathered himself. He spoke, looking at Pandy, though his words were supposedly for Professor Beeswick. “I’ll try to do better, but in the end, I’ll do what I have to do in order to complete my mission, just as I always have. It’s best to remember that I am not someone who deals in comfort.”

Pandy met his eyes, which seemed to be trying to warn her of something. She wasn’t certain what, though. She, personally, found Augustus Blackwood very comforting. Quite possibly the most comforting person she’d ever known, to be honest. Well, outside of Thaniel, but what Augustus offered her was a very different kind of comfort than what she got from the boy. Augustus made her feel safe, and seen, and even respected, though he did like to tease her.

For a moment, she considered shifting forms so she could tell him that, but for good or ill, the dragon chose that moment to say, “Found it! Elias Keating was absent for a month following the Fall Festival in his first year at Falconet. That was five years ago. Lord Findlay had me send a bouquet of flowers to his mother, Baroness Keating.” His brows lifted again. “She returned it.”

Augustus’s fingers tapped again, but in a more thoughtful way. “Interesting. I wonder why.” The dragon tilted his head in agreement, and then they all turned as the door opened, revealing the last of their interviewees for the day.

The new student was older, looking more like a man than a boy. He had close-cropped red hair that curled just enough to keep it from being tidy, and a spray of freckles across his tanned cheeks. His brown eyes were curious as they took in the librarian, next to his stack of books, Augustus sitting across from Pandy, and the beribboned gray kitten who lifted her head to stare back at him, clearly displeased at having her nap disturbed.

“Hello?” he asked, venturing a bit further into the room. Clearly deciding he wasn’t here to speak to the rabbit or the cat, he focused on the two men and said, “Mr. Delagney told me I was- I’m sorry, is this Falconet?”

Looking around at the library, he finally focused on the shelves of colorful spines bearing titles like Wombleloft’s Elemental Education and Mr. Pip’s Big Red Castle. These were very obviously children’s books, placed front and center so curious little fingers would find them first, rather than wandering to weightier – and presumably more expensive – tomes.

Now that she’d been seen, Pandy decided there was no point in hiding, so she pulled herself onto the table and hopped over to sit on the corner opposite the one Miss Cupcakes had staked out. Pandy had no interest in being ‘staked’ by the kitten’s claws, and besides, this put her on the same side of the table as Augustus.

Augustus himself stood back up as the genial young man approached, offering his hand as he did so. Even when Miller Oakden’s hand clasped the chancellor’s, Pandy didn’t feel the slightest hint of a Dark Aura touching her. She edged a bit closer, just to make sure, but though the young man’s curious gaze returned to her, no words flowed across her vision, informing her that she’d gained more Corruption Points.

“May I?” Miller asked as he retrieved his hand, gesturing to Pandy and Miss Cupcakes.

“If they allow it,” Augustus answered. “I’d be careful of the kitten, if I were you.”

Miller blinked, but patted Pandy, stroking her ears briefly before trying to touch Miss Cupcakes. The kitten waited until his fingers were almost brushing her fur, then whipped out a lightning fast paw, batting the hand away.

“Ah!” Miller exclaimed, sticking his finger in his mouth. Pandy caught a glimpse of a thin red line on his finger, but when Augustus offered him another of his ubiquitous handkerchiefs, the young man waved it away. Showing off his finger, he said, “It’s not bad. She was just warning me, really.”

He placed his bag on the table, and Pandy stared, finally taking in his uniform. The pants and jacket were the classic gold and black she remembered from Gacha Love, complete with the yellow pocket square tucked into the jacket’s breast pocket. The school’s emblem was embroidered on that same pocket, as well as on the flap of his bag. Here, at last, was a student from Condor, even though he’d have graduated by the time Lian and the others got there.