"Will!" Taranee cheered as I let my bicycle coast to a halt. The three Guardians were waiting across the street from the house that Cornelia had given me directions to. Then she looked up the street behind me. "But where's Cornelia?"
"Fetching Will," I said shortly, not wanting to get into what had happened, at least until I would work out my own feelings about it. How hard could it be to stay in the apartment for just one day? "She sent me to let you know it's going to take a while longer."
Taranee blinked. "Fetch Will? But where from? She should be in your apartment! What if someone spotted her out of school during the day?"
I crossed my arms and shrugged angrily.
"Aw, come on, Taranee!" Irma chirped. "No one would want to spend all day stuck at home with nothing to do but homework and chores. It would be like Hay Lin not writing on her hands anymore."
I looked over and the Guardian of Air was indeed scribbling something onto the palm of her hand with a felt-tip. "I can't imagine how terrible it would be to be cooped up all day like that," I snapped at the brunnette. "Oh wait, I don't have to imagine it."
"Yeah, but it's different for you."
"What is Hay Lin scribbling anyway?" Taranee asked hastily, moving between Irma and I in an obvious attempt to keep us from fighting.
"Huh. Good question." Irma scrambled over to her friend and grabbed her by the hand. "Lemme see! It's.... they make us... reserve..."
"No," disagreed Taranee, edging in to look at the hand from the other direction. "It's something like: where is someone... or..."
Hay Lin sighed and looked over at me. "I wanted to be discreet about it, but I'll say it out loud. There is someone observing us." She pointed with her other hand at Miss Randolph's house and I saw that the curtains over one of the windows had been pulled back and a grandmotherly-looking woman was waving at us in a friendly fashion.
"Oh man..."
"I guess we'd better go in," Irma decided. "Come on girls."
Hay Lin and Taranee grudgingly followed her across the road, then Hay Lin doubled back and towed me after them by one arm. I hadn't realised I was even invited.
The woman - Miss Randolph - greeted us warmly, having us hang up our coats in the porch before ushering us into her sitting room where she had laid out two plates of cookies and a tea set. "Now don't be shy," she insisted as she sat in an armchair at one end of the coffee table. "Do you like milk with your tea?"
I swear Irma's eyes were almost as large as her mouth (and she has a huge mouth) as the cups and saucers floated into the air and started to serve us without anyone laying hands upon them.
"Do you have magic too, Professor Randolph?" exclaimed Hay Lin.
The teacher smiled warmly. "All of my people have some magic," she told us. "Although we can mostly only use it for small things like this. They're nothing compared to the powers possessed by you guardians."
Irma looked away from the sugar bowl, from which tongs were currently moving a pair of sugar cubes into her drink in response to her signalling. "Why did you invite us here? Do you have anything to tell us?"
Her own tea in hand, Miss Rudolph leant back into her chair. "Last time that we met, girls, I was hiding in the underground passages of Meridian. Wandering in those dark places I had the chance to meet many refugees, rebels who hate and despise Phobos and his tyranny." She sighed. "Some of the most resentful and well-trained amongst them have presented themselves to Vathek, a servant of Cedric - who I believe you have all met."
"But Cedric is Phobos' lieutenant," I objected. "Why would they do that if they hate him?" I sipped from my own cup and hid a fluinch. Wow, tea was served hot. I'd prefer something cooler to drink.
"Ah, well that man claims to have left his master's service. Now he has offered to place all his knowledge gained in previous years at the disposal of the rebels."
"And so?" asked Hay Lin. "What if it's the truth?"
"Let us speak honestly," Miss Rudolph said kindly. "Do you trust me?"
"Certainly," agreed Taranee - rather uncertainly.
Hay Lin beamed innocently. "Sure."
"Then why haven't the two you touched them tea and biscuits? Do you think they're poisoned?"
Crumbs sprayed out of Irma's mouth. "Uh... They aren't, are they?"
I examined my own cup. "What does poisoned mean?" Neither Taranee nor Hay Lin had touched their own tea yet, I realised. Or taken a cookie.
Taranee glared intently at the suddenly nervous Irma and it didn't take a genius to guess that they were communicating telepathically.
"Irma is quite right, Taranee," the teacher told them and offered her the plate. "Why don't you try one of the coconut ones. They're delicious."
"You can read our thoughts?" the studious girl squeaked nervously. "But in Maths class..."
Miss Rudolph offered me the plate next. "Poisoning, Will, means having someone add something extra to food or drink so as to harm anyone who eats it. A horrible thing to do."
Not sure what the cookies were, I picked one at random. I'm not sure if it was coconut or not, but it was indeed delicious.
"The reason I asked if you trusted me," she told us, "is to illustrate how hard it is for us to trust Vathek. It is all too believable that he could still be serving Cedric's ends. Nonetheless, there are those desperate enough for any escape that he has persuaded them to join him in invading the Earth. And they intend to do so tonight."
"Tonight!" Taranee exclaimed. "Right now?"
"Within the next few hours. He was still gathering together a sufficient force, but he past planning to come through very soon."
Ah man. Now she was looking at me expectantly. Oh, no! She thought I was Will, that I was in charge. What would Will do now?
I placed my cup down on the saucer. "Can you tell us what portal he will use?"
Miss Rudolph rose to her feet and started pacing unhappily. "Unfortunately, no. I hoped that you could tell me that."
"I have the map of the portals with me..." Hay Lin offered. "But..."
"It's something to start with," Irma said hastily. "We have to assume it's a portal we've already come across."
"Well it can't be the gymnasium," pointed out Hay Lin. "Will closed that one."
"The same for the one in the cave is sealed," I added to make it look like I was participating. "But Vathek... it has to be one he would know."
"There is one here," Miss Randolph advised us. "But thus far it has been my little secret."
We looked at each other, somewhat at a loss. The silence was broken by my phone going off. I fumbled a little and then figured out how to get it working. "Hello?"
"Will?" It was Cornelia.
"Close enough."
She sounded breathless. "I haven't found her anywhere. We're just going to have to talk to Miss Randolph without her."
"Actually... we're sort of talking to her right now," I explained weakly.
There was an irritated huff. "I thought Irma was the one that was afraid of her."
"We may have bigger problems. I don't suppose you know of any portals that you haven't mentioned to the rest of us?"
"What? No. Why do you ask?"
I outlined the situation quickly.
She didn't hesitate. "We never did find the portal at the bookstore, did we?"
"...let me put Irma on the line." I handed the phone to Irma and looked over at the others while the brunette started talking a mile a minute to Cornelia. "The old bookstore."
"Of course!" Taranee exclaimed.
"We don't have much time," Hay Lin fretted.
"Then we gotta go!" Irma declared. "No, that wasn't to you, Corny." She held the phone away from her ear for a moment. "Thanks for the tea and cookies, Miss Randolph."
"You're welcome, girls." She gave the phone, still spitting out Cornelia's imprecations, an amused look.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
"Fetching Will," I said shortly, not wanting to get into what had happened, at least until I would work out my own feelings about it. How hard could it be to stay in the apartment for just one day? "She sent me to let you know it's going to take a while longer."
Taranee blinked. "Fetch Will? But where from? She should be in your apartment! What if someone spotted her out of school during the day?"
I crossed my arms and shrugged angrily.
"Aw, come on, Taranee!" Irma chirped. "No one would want to spend all day stuck at home with nothing to do but homework and chores. It would be like Hay Lin not writing on her hands anymore."
I looked over and the Guardian of Air was indeed scribbling something onto the palm of her hand with a felt-tip. "I can't imagine how terrible it would be to be cooped up all day like that," I snapped at the brunnette. "Oh wait, I don't have to imagine it."
"Yeah, but it's different for you."
"What is Hay Lin scribbling anyway?" Taranee asked hastily, moving between Irma and I in an obvious attempt to keep us from fighting.
"Huh. Good question." Irma scrambled over to her friend and grabbed her by the hand. "Lemme see! It's.... they make us... reserve..."
"No," disagreed Taranee, edging in to look at the hand from the other direction. "It's something like: where is someone... or..."
Hay Lin sighed and looked over at me. "I wanted to be discreet about it, but I'll say it out loud. There is someone observing us." She pointed with her other hand at Miss Randolph's house and I saw that the curtains over one of the windows had been pulled back and a grandmotherly-looking woman was waving at us in a friendly fashion.
"Oh man..."
"I guess we'd better go in," Irma decided. "Come on girls."
Hay Lin and Taranee grudgingly followed her across the road, then Hay Lin doubled back and towed me after them by one arm. I hadn't realised I was even invited.
The woman - Miss Randolph - greeted us warmly, having us hang up our coats in the porch before ushering us into her sitting room where she had laid out two plates of cookies and a tea set. "Now don't be shy," she insisted as she sat in an armchair at one end of the coffee table. "Do you like milk with your tea?"
I swear Irma's eyes were almost as large as her mouth (and she has a huge mouth) as the cups and saucers floated into the air and started to serve us without anyone laying hands upon them.
"Do you have magic too, Professor Randolph?" exclaimed Hay Lin.
The teacher smiled warmly. "All of my people have some magic," she told us. "Although we can mostly only use it for small things like this. They're nothing compared to the powers possessed by you guardians."
Irma looked away from the sugar bowl, from which tongs were currently moving a pair of sugar cubes into her drink in response to her signalling. "Why did you invite us here? Do you have anything to tell us?"
Her own tea in hand, Miss Rudolph leant back into her chair. "Last time that we met, girls, I was hiding in the underground passages of Meridian. Wandering in those dark places I had the chance to meet many refugees, rebels who hate and despise Phobos and his tyranny." She sighed. "Some of the most resentful and well-trained amongst them have presented themselves to Vathek, a servant of Cedric - who I believe you have all met."
"But Cedric is Phobos' lieutenant," I objected. "Why would they do that if they hate him?" I sipped from my own cup and hid a fluinch. Wow, tea was served hot. I'd prefer something cooler to drink.
"Ah, well that man claims to have left his master's service. Now he has offered to place all his knowledge gained in previous years at the disposal of the rebels."
"And so?" asked Hay Lin. "What if it's the truth?"
"Let us speak honestly," Miss Rudolph said kindly. "Do you trust me?"
"Certainly," agreed Taranee - rather uncertainly.
Hay Lin beamed innocently. "Sure."
"Then why haven't the two you touched them tea and biscuits? Do you think they're poisoned?"
Crumbs sprayed out of Irma's mouth. "Uh... They aren't, are they?"
I examined my own cup. "What does poisoned mean?" Neither Taranee nor Hay Lin had touched their own tea yet, I realised. Or taken a cookie.
Taranee glared intently at the suddenly nervous Irma and it didn't take a genius to guess that they were communicating telepathically.
"Irma is quite right, Taranee," the teacher told them and offered her the plate. "Why don't you try one of the coconut ones. They're delicious."
"You can read our thoughts?" the studious girl squeaked nervously. "But in Maths class..."
Miss Rudolph offered me the plate next. "Poisoning, Will, means having someone add something extra to food or drink so as to harm anyone who eats it. A horrible thing to do."
Not sure what the cookies were, I picked one at random. I'm not sure if it was coconut or not, but it was indeed delicious.
"The reason I asked if you trusted me," she told us, "is to illustrate how hard it is for us to trust Vathek. It is all too believable that he could still be serving Cedric's ends. Nonetheless, there are those desperate enough for any escape that he has persuaded them to join him in invading the Earth. And they intend to do so tonight."
"Tonight!" Taranee exclaimed. "Right now?"
"Within the next few hours. He was still gathering together a sufficient force, but he past planning to come through very soon."
Ah man. Now she was looking at me expectantly. Oh, no! She thought I was Will, that I was in charge. What would Will do now?
I placed my cup down on the saucer. "Can you tell us what portal he will use?"
Miss Rudolph rose to her feet and started pacing unhappily. "Unfortunately, no. I hoped that you could tell me that."
"I have the map of the portals with me..." Hay Lin offered. "But..."
"It's something to start with," Irma said hastily. "We have to assume it's a portal we've already come across."
"Well it can't be the gymnasium," pointed out Hay Lin. "Will closed that one."
"The same for the one in the cave is sealed," I added to make it look like I was participating. "But Vathek... it has to be one he would know."
"There is one here," Miss Randolph advised us. "But thus far it has been my little secret."
We looked at each other, somewhat at a loss. The silence was broken by my phone going off. I fumbled a little and then figured out how to get it working. "Hello?"
"Will?" It was Cornelia.
"Close enough."
She sounded breathless. "I haven't found her anywhere. We're just going to have to talk to Miss Randolph without her."
"Actually... we're sort of talking to her right now," I explained weakly.
There was an irritated huff. "I thought Irma was the one that was afraid of her."
"We may have bigger problems. I don't suppose you know of any portals that you haven't mentioned to the rest of us?"
"What? No. Why do you ask?"
I outlined the situation quickly.
She didn't hesitate. "We never did find the portal at the bookstore, did we?"
"...let me put Irma on the line." I handed the phone to Irma and looked over at the others while the brunette started talking a mile a minute to Cornelia. "The old bookstore."
"Of course!" Taranee exclaimed.
"We don't have much time," Hay Lin fretted.
"Then we gotta go!" Irma declared. "No, that wasn't to you, Corny." She held the phone away from her ear for a moment. "Thanks for the tea and cookies, Miss Randolph."
"You're welcome, girls." She gave the phone, still spitting out Cornelia's imprecations, an amused look.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.