Firebolt(11)

Tears formed in my eyes, and I wiped them away quickly before she could see. “Did you know my dad?”

“No, he must have left when King Albert died. A lot of them left when he died,” she explained sadly.

“King Albert …he’s the guy that built this school, right?” I tucked one of the corners of the linen underneath the heavy mattress.

“Yes, he was also the true ruler of Paegeia, and the best king that ever lived. He was betrayed by his best friend. Nobody likes to talk about it.”

We finished and fell, breathless, on top of the freshly made bed.

She looked at her watch and jumped up. “Yikes, is that the time?” She grabbed her backpack with her one hand and my arm with the other.

I literally flew out the room, through the main door and down the stairs. My feet skidded off the steps, and I prayed that I wouldn't fall on my face, or worse, break my neck.

“We are so late. Master Longwei is going to kill me,” she said, panting with exertion.

We ran into the reception area, and I gave her a hand with the door.

We managed to open it wide enough for the both of us to squeeze through. More buildings appeared on the other side, which made the castle begin to look like a school.

She darted around the first corner, down another hallway and stopped. She turned around. “You ready?” She opened the door, and ushered me into a hall filled with other students. I felt like I was being thrown to the sharks. Good thing I was a fast swimmer.





Chapter Four





The hall was filled with students and the lecture had already begun. Becky and I crouched and walked to the second row, while the teacher scribbled on the blackboard facing away from the rows of students. As soon as we reached the row, we slipped into the only two empty chairs next to each other.

The other students chuckled softly at our stealthy plan.

"Late again, Ms. Johnson?" the teacher asked in a brisk Irish accent.

“Thanks, you guys,” Becky said to the chortling students. Turning to look at me, she rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Welcome, Elena,” the teacher said, and turned around with a grin not meant to be ignored. I gave him a small smile back. “My name is Sir Edward. In this class you will learn Paegeia's mysteries,” he said, and the whole class sighed. It felt as if the entire room was deflating with their obvious displeasure.

The teacher appeared much too young to be a professor, with honey-colored eyes and golden blonde hair. He wore a pair of faded jeans and a black T-shirt with a tribal print design. “Now, where were we?”

“You were telling us about the King of Lion sword,” one of the boys with bulgy eyes and dark brown hair reminded him.

“Thank you, Trevor,” Sir Edward said. “The King of Lion sword is the only sword that can slay evil too strong for non-magical weapons, especially dragons.”

I gasped.

“Not all dragons are good,” Becky whispered at my apparent discomfort.

“Why only this sword, Becky?” Sir Edward asked, and she shrunk in her chair.

“It's the only sword blessed by King William, a thousand years ago.” She clearly sucked the answer out of her thumb.

“Yes, and how did the sword get blessed?” he asked, still grilling her.

“Holy water,” she answered, and everyone laughed. Sir Edward smiled too.

“No. Try to pay more attention, Ms. Johnson. Riley,” he called on a girl in the third row who's hand reached the highest.

She flipped her hair and gave Becky an I'm-smarter-than-you-are smile. “No one knows for sure, but there are plenty of ideas.”

“She's a big know-it-all. A real toothache, if you ask me,” Becky whispered as Riley gave a breakdown of a million possibilities.

“Correct, Riley,” Sir Edward said.

“So we shouldn't rule out holy water,” Becky chirped. The class broke out in laughter.

“No, Becky, that one has been tested,” he said, ignoring her curled lip. “Who can tell me what the Japanese call it?”

The know-it-all, Riley, was the only one who knew the answer this time.

“Riley?”

“Shishiwo,” she said.

Becky was doing an accurate impersonation of Riley, and I had to suppress my laughter in order not to draw any more attention to us.

“Here, you deserve it.” Sir Edward tossed Riley a chocolate bar.

“Who can tell me how many King of Lion weapons we have?” he asked. This time everyone's hands went up, except for mine.

“Charlie?” He pointed to a boy in the first row.

“One,” the boy said. “Now where’s my candy?”

Sir Edward chuckled and tossed him one too.

“So if something happens to the King of Lion, we're basically screwed?" another boy asked.