Lucky Rabbit

In the end, they decided to wait for morning, but sent messages to the other schools, telling them to send the five older students to the library at various times throughout the day. Isidor and Pandy were sent back to their room, and no one said anything about the kvetch, or kitsch, or whatever the nubby fabric was called. Isidor had acted like it was important, but neither Augustus nor Professor Beeswick seemed interested in it or surprised to see it, so Pandy dismissed it as well.

It was almost five by the time Isidor got to bed, so he was distinctly cranky when the bell went off just two hours later. For the first time, he pulled his pillow back over his head and mumbled through it, telling Thaniel to go to the bathroom first. Thaniel, for his part, was so glad Pandy was back that he didn’t even question it.

Breakfast was the usual subdued Monday meal, with the students far from enthusiastic about their return to academia. They perked up a little when they saw the towering stacks of pancakes and bacon on their way, and even more when Ms. Davenport reminded them that they would be getting ready for the festival next week, rather than having their usual classes.

“I’m afraid Mr. Blackwood has come down with a bit of a cold,” the stern woman said, her voice making it clear that no minor illness would have kept her from her work, “and Ms. Wellington has decided to take a position elsewhere.” This time there was definite satisfaction in the words. She gave a stiff-lipped smile as she added, “Of course we wish her the best in her new role.”

Role of a wanted woman, did she mean? Pandy sighed, then looked up as the damask tablecloth was abruptly yanked out of the way so four faces looked down at her, disbelief and concern warring for supremacy in their expressions. Seeing that Pandy was sitting there, half a lettuce leaf protruding from her mouth as she chewed absently, they all sat back up, though Pandy could hear Geraldine and Eleanor quizzing Thaniel in excited whispers.

Pandy grimaced, letting the rest of the leaf fall to the ground in front of her. There were times for lettuce and times for no lettuce, and this was definitely one of the latter. Latter lettuce? Or was it former lettuce? Eyeing the shredded leaf, she decided on former latter lettuce, and almost missed the moment when a servant approached Suzanne and whispered into the girl’s ear.

Pandy was facing the tables where the third-year students sat, specifically so she could watch for this. She knew Augustus wanted to talk to Suzanne before any of the students at the other schools. As the youngest, she was the most likely to tell them if anything odd or suspicious had happened to her, and also the least likely to be neck-deep in whatever was going on. The others might well be concerned that they would get in trouble, especially if they’d been approached by someone hoping to recruit them into a mysterious organization that might or might not be the Shadow Exchange itself.

Suzanne nodded in response to the servant’s words, and to Pandy’s great relief, she looked more puzzled than concerned. The girl tended to assume the worst, but since these meetings were being held in the library, not the chancellor’s office, Suzanne would assume Professor Beeswick had asked for her, not Augustus. She wasn’t as big a bookworm as Lian, or even Edgar, but Suzanne wouldn’t be frightened of a visit to the library.

As soon as the servant was gone, Matilda leaned in, obviously asking what he’d wanted. And there was the expression Pandy had been worried about – fear, followed by a cheerful mask that covered it up, as Matilda said something that made Suzanne giggle and shake her head. Why was Matilda afraid, while her friend, who in theory had more to hide, just shrugged and moved on?

When Thaniel and the others went into their classroom, Pandy hopped onward, lifting a paw to give Thaniel a little wave. He looked disappointed, then resigned, but not sad, which was definitely an improvement. By the time Pandy reached the library door, she could hear his bright laughter coming from behind her, along with Geraldine’s wild giggles.

Suzanne had gotten ahead of the younger, shorter-legged, children, but Pandy managed to wiggle a paw into the library door as it fell closed behind her. It pinched her toes, but she ignored the pain and entered. Someone else followed after her: Miss Cupcakes, her yellow eyes slitted and gray fur puffed up as she pranced past Pandy.

They both almost bumped into Suzanne when the girl stopped abruptly, staring at the two men waiting for her. Augustus still looked tired, but Professor Beeswick was as bright-eyed as Pandy had ever seen him. He often looked distracted or even slightly bored, but now he was focused on Suzanne as he motioned for her to come forward.

“You may have a seat,” he told her, gesturing to a table nearby. “We just have a few quick questions for you.”

Suzanne laid her bag on the table and started to sit, then hesitated and instead remained standing. “I… Did I do something wrong, Professor?” Her eyes darted to Augustus, and she grew noticeably paler.

Augustus gave a small sigh and came forward, pulling out a chair across from the girl and sitting down. He shook his head at the dragon, then smiled at Suzanne. “Nothing at all,” he told Suzanne. “But something has come up, and we have reason to believe you might know something about it.” Leaning forward, he met her eyes. “Can you keep a secret?”

In Pandy’s world, that would have been an instant Stranger Danger question, and Pandy half-hoped Suzanne would make a break for it or demand to speak to her parents. Instead, she nodded, though it was about the smallest nod Pandy had ever seen.

Augustus nodded in return, offering her an approving smile before becoming serious again. “Do you remember when Thaniel, Eleanor, Geraldine, Abbington, and Isidor got lost in the Nature Preserve?” Now Suzanne definitely looked confused, but she nodded with greater enthusiasm this time. “They didn’t get lost,” the chancellor told her, and Suzanne’s eyes widened. “Someone tried to take Thaniel.”

Suzanne sat down in the chair she’d pulled out. “Take?” she asked, voice squeaky.

Professor Beeswick nodded. “We have reason to believe they thought he was a Dark mage, and that’s why they went for him.”

“So, Suzanne,” Augustus said, leaning forward again, “for Thaniel’s sake, we need you to tell us if anyone has ever, ever attempted or succeeded in abducting you, or any other Dark mage of your acquaintance.”

Before he finished speaking, Suzanne was shaking her head. “Never,” she whispered, then, louder, “Never! Hardly anyone ever even talks to me. They certainly haven’t tried to… to take me anywhere. And I only know one other Dark mage, but she just stays home, all the time.”

The girl seemed very sincere, and the two men glanced at each other, then back to her. Augustus smiled, his shoulders relaxing. “I’m very glad to hear that. And of course I’ll be sending a warning to your parents, to let them know there may be some risk of-”

Suzanne half stood, her palms smacking against the table. “No!”

Augustus stopped, brows lifting, and the girl clapped a hand over her mouth before sinking back into her seat. She clenched her jaw, then lifted her chin, lovely brown eyes flashing. “If my… my parents think I might come to some harm, they won’t allow me to continue attending school. And sir, Mr. Blackwood, I don’t want to stay at home with a tutor. I don’t want to be like-” She broke off, her expression torn between pleading and defiance.

The chancellor’s eyes narrowed, and he tapped a finger on the table, then nodded. “We’ve already increased security this year, and so long as this potential threat doesn’t become something more concrete, I think we can keep it amongst ourselves.” He reached into his hidden pocket, removing a sugar cube, which he handed to the girl, who stared at it in confusion.

“Cieris,” Augustus said, motioning as if he was holding out an invisible sugar cube, smiling encouragingly at Suzanne. Hesitantly, the girl copied him, and a swirl of wind appeared near Augustus’s hand, then darted toward Suzanne’s fingers and the sugar, but backed away again, twirling Augustus’s hair as the little elemental ducked behind his head.

Suzanne had started to smile, charmed by the small whirlwind, but now she looked disappointed and pushed the sugar cube back across the table. “Elementals don’t like me,” she admitted, eyes downcast.

Augustus frowned. Tilting his head, he seemed to be listening to something, though Pandy could only hear the faintest whisper, like a soft breeze stirring long grass. He said Cieris’s again, and she reappeared, her curlicue of air moving a little more slowly as she approached the sugar cube, finally darting forward to pick it up before disappearing with her prize.

“Cieris knows when someone nearby says her name,” Augustus said. “If something happens that makes you even a little bit nervous, call for her, and she’ll fetch me or someone else who can help you.”

“But she’s afraid of me,” Suzanne said.

With some reluctance, Augustus nodded. “That does seem to be true. But she doesn’t have to get close to you to call for help.”

Pandy had been watching all of this, her brain-hamster almost running off its wheel as she put things together. She knew she shouldn’t, but before she could think better of it – and before the opportunity could be lost – she hopped behind a nearby bookshelf and thought,

Shifting Faces successful.

Five more uses before you can change clothes.

Pandy rolled her eyes, but stepped out from behind the shelf, drawing everyone’s eyes to her. She lifted a hand, waving as she smiled weakly. “I’m, um, sorry to interrupt, but Suzanne… have you ever been sick? Like, really sick?”

Suzanne’s gaze darted from Pandy to Augustus, and Pandy was sure she was remembering that one of them was supposed to be sick, while the other one had ‘moved on to other opportunities’. Augustus frowned a bit, but nodded for the girl to answer, while Professor Beeswick’s brows rose as he waited to see how Pandy would amuse him this time.

“I- Of course,” Suzanne said. “I usually get sick at least once over the winter.”

Pandy shook her head. “You would have caught this from someone. Someone who got even sicker than you. No matter who was called in to treat them, they didn’t get better until the illness ran its course. They might even have died. ” She grimaced a little at the last word, but there was really no gentle way to say it.

Suzanne blinked. “My… brother. A few years ago, one of his good friends disappeared for several days. When he was found, his family brought him home. Herschel went to see him, but caught his illness and brought it back to us. We were all terribly sick, but we thought we might lose Herschel, and his friend died.”

“Do you remember the friend’s name?” Professor Beeswick asked, leaning forward.

Suzanne shook her head, then brightened. “Percy! Percy, um, Farrell? Not a noble, but someone Herschel met through work. He’s quite a bit older than I am,” she explained.

The librarian nodded, and his eyes went distant as he extended a hand. A book appeared in it, and he began leafing through it, barely seeming to touch the pages as they riffled beneath his fingers. Augustus watched this, then turned back to Suzanne.

“Do you remember where Percy was found?” he asked.

She shook her head, firmly this time. “I was only eight. I doubt I would have known anything about it, except that we all got so sick. My family doesn’t… We don’t talk much, and they especially don’t talk to me.” There was some bitterness in this, and Suzanne heard it too, biting her lip as if to punish herself for either the words or the emotion.

Pandy nodded, and crouched down next to Suzanne, feeling the cool wash of the girl’s Dark Aura. “Before you got sick, were animals and elementals afraid of you?” she asked gently.

The girl’s brows drew together. “I… I don’t think so,” she said in a tone of wonder. “My mother doesn’t like animals, so I never had pets, but I would go out to the stable and give the horses apples sometimes. We had a few barn cats, too, and they didn’t like anyone, but they just ran off, they didn’t hiss at me, or try to scratch me.” Meeting Pandy’s eyes, she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. “I thought it was because I hadn’t started using my magic, you know? Like they hadn’t figured out I was a Dark mage, yet. I wasn’t tainted.” The bitterness crept back in, and this time she didn’t try to hide it.

Pandy laid her hand over the cold one on the table, smiling as gently as she could. “No, I don’t think that’s it. There’s nothing in the world wrong with you. I think when you got sick, it changed something in you, and that’s what the animals,” she glanced at the spot where Cieris had hovered, “and elementals are reacting to.”

Suzanne’s deep brown eyes suddenly blazed with hope. “Can you fix it?” She glanced between the three adults. “Can you make it so I’m like everyone else?”

Augustus glanced at Pandy, then cleared his throat. “We’ll… try. But Suzanne, I want to echo what P- What Ms. Wellington said. There’s nothing wrong with you. Nothing innately wrong with Dark magic, in fact. And I hope that you remember that next time someone tries to convince you of something different.”

Suzanne looked down, producing a very definite sniffle before looking up again. “I’ll remember,” she said, then started to stand. Halfway up, she seemed to realize no one had told her she could go, but when she looked questioningly at Augustus, he smiled and nodded. The girl grabbed her bag and headed for the door with a haste that spoke to her extreme discomfort. She’d almost made it from the room when Pandy impulsively said, “Suzanne?”

The girl stopped and looked back. Pandy smiled at her and said, “Would you please have Matilda come talk to us as well?”