Part 6 – Lies and Truth

{Alice}

I couldn’t help but be worried about Ithelyn. Her behaviour just now had been nothing like before. In the last half-an-hour, she had been awkward but cool, then suddenly her nose had started bleeding like crazy and she had just sat there, staring at Patty. She hadn't even noticed the train leaving the station and getting up to speed. And if that hadn’t been concerning enough, when I had called out to her, her head had literally snapped towards me. By all the demons in the hells, I could have sworn to hear her bones crack.

“Sorry about this, Patty.”

“It’s... okay.” Despite her smile, her voice was shaking and her brows furrowed.

“Hey, how about you just stay here and I’ll go see what’s up with my friend, kay?” I barely had to try to fake a happy smile, working in customer service had paid off it seemed.

With a little wave and a friendly nod, I went to leave the cabin only to take a step back in surprise. The door hadn’t closed after Ithelyn had left, in fact, I wasn’t even sure it still could. The wood around the grip had splintered and the entire door was rammed into the sliding mechanism. ‘Okay. Correction, now this... THIS is concerning. I knew she was fit but this is abnormally strong. I am not sure I should wish to be on the other end of that... it’s better that I find her as soon as possible.’

Hurrying along I began checking the other cabins one by one. At first, it seemed that nobody had seen Lyn. In fact, some of the students looked at me a bit funny when I described her look. As if it was my fault that she was way too striking to be allowed in public! I was almost slipping into a daydream about Ithelyn’s amazing abs when I noticed two girls chatting with each other in a low voice.

“By the gods, that lady was so creepy! All the blood and that familiar honestly...”

“Yeah, and she looked way older than us too! Who becomes a student at that age?”

“Right? Hey, Sal... is it just me or is that woman over there staring at us?”

“Mean the slutty Goth? Totally is!”

I had heard enough, those two were little more than teenagers with too much magical talent. There was absolutely no need to listen to their gossip. But at the very least I now knew that Ithelyn had passed them by. I was just about to go back to my search when a surprised scream got my attention. Something large and black was hectically fluttering down the corridor at breakneck speed.

“Hugin!?”

I had barely managed to speak his name out loud when I could already feel claws digging into my shoulder. Immediately he started hopping and cawing around. He even flapped his wings right in my face, as if to get my attention.

“Ah! Hugin! Stop! I can understand you! It’s fine! Just tell me where she is!”

“Caww! Caw! CAAAW!”

“What do you mean? Why can’t we go to her now?”

“Caw!”

“Medicine? Where?”

“Caw Caw Caw caaaw!”

“Pearl coloured purse got it! Let’s hurry up!”

With Hugin still clawing at my flesh and his panicked voice in my ear. I rushed down the hallway back to our cabin. I barely noticed the pain of claws tearing into my skin as Hugin's panic became close to infective. His yellow eyes were darting around erratically, staring spitefully at anyone that was in our way. If something had Lyn's spirit so worked up it truly had to be something bad. Especially for a spirit to come this close to me.

When we crashed through the open entrance to our cabin another girl was sitting next to Patty. With everything going on right now I had no time to focus or even care about the new arrival. Out of the corner of my eye, I got a short glance at white-blond braided hair as well as two spirits glaring daggers at me; it mattered little. Like a whirlwind, I went through the compartment not stopping or even looking until we had found Ithelyn’s purse. With little more, than a panicked “Bye!”, I continued my mad dash back to where Hugin had come from.

“Ithelyn!” Banging on the stall door while catching my breath I did my best to get her attention. “Lyn! We- We have your purse! Hugin and I, we brought it! Please open up!”

For a while there was nothing but silence then her rough voice called out to me.

“Alice... is that you? Why did Hugin bring you... weird I can barely feel you... despite all your power. Wait... you said you brought it... my purse?”

“Yeah! We have it right here!”

“Good... put it before the stall door and turn around, please. I do not wish for you to see me like this.”

“It’s okay, I’m not squeamish about blood and stuff!”

“Alice... I said. Turn. AROUND!”

I barely managed to stop a squeal from escaping my lips, as I turned my ass around as quickly as possible. Somehow, despite the fact that she had yelled at me, I couldn’t help but smile. Hugin's grip on my shoulder finally loosened and I let out a relieved sigh when I heard the stall door open behind me and quickly close again. With Lyn moving around behind me and I was just about to turn around when I suddenly felt a soft feathered head brush against my cheek.

“Cawww...”

“I think... I think I do too, Hugin. Let’s both do our best alright?”

“Caw!”

Several minutes went by in which I could hear Ithelyn’s troubled breathing slowly calm down. Whatever had been going on at least she wasn’t panicking anymore. Hopefully, the medicine had actually worked. My heart almost jumped out of my chest, hearing her voice right behind me.

“Well, the two of you became fast friends... unlikely ones too.”

“Ah! Lyn! Hells! You startled me!”

“Ahehe... sorry about that.” As she brushed through her hair with one hand I noticed the side cut she had going on. It was a good look on her. Though despite this, for a second, just before her hair fell back down I could have sworn that her ears were... pointy?

“Hey, gotta say I like your side cut!”

“You do?” Lyn seemed way too happy about this little statement.

“Yeah! It goes amazing with your ears! Where did you get it done?”

“My... ears?”

“Uh... yeah! They are pointy, it’s really cool!”

“Oh! That... haha, right! Uhm, yeah I got it done two years back. On a trip to the orient. Don’t even remember where anymore! Must have been half-drunk.”

‘That was awkward... why does it seem like she is hiding something? Oh well, everyone has secrets. Not my business to dig em up!’ Giving her a happy smile I lifted on to my toes so that Hugin had an easier time getting back up to her. And in the process gave her a little peck on the cheek.

“There you go, wouldn’t want you to keep you from your Familiar.”

“Hey, thanks I- Holy- Hugin! You totally messed up her shoulder! Oh, shit, Alice, I am so sorry! Hugin usually doesn’t do stuff like this!”

Only now I bothered to look at my shoulder. Long bloody claw mark stretched all the way around. There was a lot of blood, but despite it being a seriously deep wound it barely hurt. They never really did... I had broken my arm once and only noticed when another kid had started crying about the fact that they could see my bone.

“Oh, this is fine! I’ll be good as new in a few hours. Wounds always healed quickly for me... the doctors think it has something to do with me being a conduit. Nobody really knew so my family and I stopped bothering about it.”

I gave her a half-hearted-shrug after all the wound from this morning had already healed over. Something simple as a few scratches didn’t really bother me. It was almost inhuman how wounds only ever truly hurt when I realized that they were there. And even then it wasn’t really how people told me it should be. They told me it was okay to scream if I was in pain. But it was more of a trained on behaviour for me than anything else. I screamed when I got hurt because people had told me to do so. But in reality, I didn’t actually care, injuries no matter how severe, they always seemed like a hassle maybe but never much more. At times I tended to feel less and less human, humans didn’t just walk off broken bones like it was nothing, they didn’t found themselves naked out on a highway with their face buried in still warm roadkill.

“...lice. Alice?”

“Sorry, what?”

“That was a thousand-yard stare alright. Is everything alright, Alice?”

“Yeah... Yeah, I’m fine, just something on my mind. Anyway, how are you? I mean, you bled from your eyes, something like that isn’t normal.” Upon this Ithelyn pointedly raised an eyebrow.

“Says the girl, who just casually shrugged of getting her shoulder mauled by a raven. Alice, please believe me. I am fine. And that is thanks to you and Hugin.” The warm smile she gave me was enough persuasion that I stopped myself from prying deeper. “How about, we just go back. I am pretty sure that whatever poor instructors they assigned to watch over the train don’t like us hanging out in the bathrooms.”

Almost as if on time with her prediction, the speaker crackled to life. “Attention all students of Section B, we will soon start with taking your attendance. Anyone who isn’t in their cabin with their on-person luggage will be considered missing and be given penalty assignments!”

“Yikes, they take it really serious with proper conduct around here, don’t they?” I could help but role my eyes. I had heard this school was one of the stricter ones but this, certainly on another level. Thankfully Lyn seemed to share my sentiment on the matter.

“Yeah... kinda what I expected. It’s most certainly why my Mother sends me here; so that I learn proper etiquette.” With a lopsided smirk, she held open the door for me.

“Really? The Ithelyn Dawnstar needs to be taught manners? By the hells what did you do to piss off your old Lady? Pee in her garden?”

“Ha! She wishes; I burned it down actually!”

“No you didn’t! The entire thing?” My eyes bulged out unbelieving, a Witch’s garden could be a really expensive investment!

“Yep, an entire Witch’s Garden burned down to even the last crop. You should have seen some of the colours the flames had. Best thing I ever did.” Lyn’s smile at this was truly devious if a bit sexy... okay very sexy.

“I can imagine...” Focusing my attention back on what she had said and not how she had said it, I had to wonder. “Seriously though... now I gotta know why you did it. It obviously wasn’t an accident, was it?”

“Oh, by the hells no it wasn’t. She burned a bunch of my favourite magazines and made me watch. There was no way I was going to just take that!”

“Magazines you say? Dirty one?”

My cheeky inquiry was sadly interrupted when an older woman in ostentatious, flowy robes spotted us.

“You there! You were supposed to return to your cabin already! Names!”

“The hell?” What was that cloth wrapped dough ball thinking? “We were literally just on our way there!”

“Hey! Don’t you talk to me like that, girl!” Her face instantly gained a few shades of red.

I was already about to give her a scathing reply when a soft nudge in my side stopped me.

“It’s alright Alice. Think about it. Penalty work... together.”

I could basically feel the devilish smile on her lips; just maybe this year wouldn’t be bad after all. Especially with a friend as wayward as Ithelyn. With a happy giggle, I took Lyn’s offered arm and together we made our way back to our cabin.

If only I had known back then just how quickly good turned to bad and bad to worse...