I giggled even though it was a cheesy line. “Does Brian always talk about himself in third person?”
He smiled, which would make any other girl's knees wobble, but Becky already warned me about him. “Brian does. So what does Elena say about spending some quality time with him?” He asked placing his hand on the small of my back suggestively.
“Elena doesn't say anything. She knows why Brian is being so nice to her when he's away from his idiotic friends. So sorry, but Elena isn't interested,” I said, flipping my pony as I turned to walk away.
He squinted and dropped his smile. “Did Becky get to you?”
“No, I was raised by a dragon. I can see straight through pretty faces.”
His beautiful smile appeared instantly. “So, Elena thinks Brian is pretty.”
“Be careful of that ego, Brian.” I turned the next corner and we parted ways.
“Brian doesn't give up so easily, Elena. He'll speak to you soon.” His voice echoed through the hallway.
As I continued walking to class, I found a couple of girls staring at me again. What was it with them? I couldn't look at Blake, talk to Lucian, or speak to Brian? I shook my head and opened the huge door with the number 125 written on the frame in golden letters. Professor Dickson was human, that's the good part. Unfortunately, my joy stopped. This class was nothing like Math. It was ten times harder. After suffering my way through the two-hour lesson I was rewarded with Latin. As I walked into the large room, I was relieved when I saw Becky sitting next to an open seat. It was the main language of Paegeia and was still spoken up North close to the border of Etan. I also learned that it was the language of the dragons and magic, so it was mandatory.
I started to get nervous as ten o'clock approached. I couldn’t focus as I watched the hands of the clock move slowly. Each tick was painful, as my imagination kept coming with more and more terrifying scenarios about my first session with the Viden. What if she changed today… or worse, what if she said something I really didn't want to hear? Hearing bad news seemed to be the trend lately,so I wasn’t counting on anything overly encouraging.
My mind had drifted far away from the classroom, and I jumped when Sir Deisenberg called my name. I thought he was a dragon, but that was just my theory. The Sir's were dragons and the professor’s werehumans, although I didn’t feel like testing it at that particular moment. “You may go for your appointment, Elena.”
Slowly rising from my chair I dragged my books off the table and placed them in the new green backpack I had gotten during our shopping trip in Elm.
“Good Luck,” Becky whispered and I gave her a nervous smile.
The Viden's tower was easy to find. It was the tower that reminded me of Rapunzel’s. A stench hit me straight in the face when I opened the door. It smelled like a cat or some small rodent had died in there, was covered in burnt hair, and then left in the sun. So all in all, it was disgusting, and I could feel my eyes water as I began my ascent. I stumbled a couple of times, as I climbed the million steps rising in a spiral in front of me. When I finally reached the top I took a deep breath, gathered my courage and balled my hand into a fist to knock on the door.
“Come in, Elena,” she said, before I had a chance to knock. For the love of blueberries could she read my mind!
How did she know I was here?
I opened the door slowly. A lovely flowery smell filled my head. It felt as if I was inhaling a bouquet of lilies, daisies, and roses. The smell was overpowering after the stench of the staircase. I reached out a hand and grasped the doorpost to steady myself. I saw a gorgeous woman, young, perhaps in her late twenties, with long dark hair and golden skin, standing before me at the only window. Her eyes were bright blue, like George's and she appeared to be glowing in the light emanating from the window. I felt like I could look into her eyes forever.
A long robe covered her petite figure. It was hard to imagine that she was three hundred years old. “Good morning, Elena.” She threw me a smile that disappeared as fast as it had arrived. Lucian hadn't been joking about that good mood.
Wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans, I could feel my heart pounding under her gaze. The Viden gave me a look, which made my skin crawl. I rubbed my arms vigorously trying to drive away the goose pimples that had formed.
I slumped onto a puffy pillow she'd indicated to with a short wave of her hand and stared at a crystal ball that was in the middle of the mahogany table before me.
Seriously, a crystal ball? It made me want to giggle, but then I remembered her foul mood and bit hard on the inside of my mouth, hoping that it would stop me from laughing out loud.
Moving from the window, she walked over to a small kitchen tucked into a corner of the room. I listened as water poured from the faucet and the sound of china clinking. When she turned around, she was carrying a small silver tray with two tea cups and a large teapot, which she placed next to the crystal ball. Steam emerged from the spout, forming twisted, misty patterns above the crystal ball.