The Rage Eater

Chapter 27: X

"Honestly, what kind of Master doesn't attend her own class?" said Nicolas, slumping onto the ground besides Devon. The bull snorted in agreement.

Sadie had to admit—it was kind of bizarre. Pinned to the door of Master Joan's "Geography and Reconnaissance" classroom was a note instructing the class to wait outside, "one hundred feet west of the armoury, right in front of the giant pile of leaves," but she wasn't anywhere in sight.

After the thrilling adventure last night, and the rush of signing her name to the Rogues List earlier that morning, waiting around for something to happen seemed especially dull.

Sadie looked down at Dylan, whose eyes seemed to wander as if daydreaming.

Even he looks bored, Sadie thought.

"Maybe Master Joan's already here," said Geoffrey, his falcon Keri perched on his shoulder. "Or maybe she wants us to find her."

Sadie looked around once more. Aside from the big pile of leaves, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Really, Geoffrey?" said Nicolas. "She wants to play hide-and-go-seek?" He snapped a twig in half and tossed it at the pile of leaves.

The leaves began to twitch.

Tim turned to Aubrey and Sim. "That's not normal, r-r-r-right?"

Ramsey, Master Joan's one-eyed hawk, popped his head out the leaves. Then Master Joan popped up, covered in twigs and leaves and stringy moss. Ramsey flew up and away, screeching, as Master Joan stood up.

"Lesson number one," Master Joan said, sweeping her gaze over the stunned class. "Always keep your eyes open. Orcs can be anywhere, even under your very feet. Is that clear, Nicolas?"

"Crystal," he said, flashing a phony smile.

"And Geoffrey, you'd be better served listening to your instincts than your friend." Master Joan lifted her arm, and Ramsey swooped down and landed, his talons clutching a small grey mouse, whose neck was twisted at a grotesque angle.

"Now, who's ready for the next lesson?"

Master Joan divided the class into pairs. Sadie was paired with Tim, Aubrey with Fran, Nicolas with Sofi. Geoffrey was alone—a reminder, Master Joan had told him, "that some advice is best left ignored."

Each team was given a map. The objective was simple: Study the map and find the X before the other teams. However, the map itself, Sadie soon discovered, was an incomprehensible mess—scrawled symbols and lines, with no legend to decipher them.

"I think it's in c-c-c code," Tim whispered. Emily nodded in agreement.

"What good is a map you can't read?" Sadie said.

"Well, it would be helpful if it fell into e-e-e enemy hands," Tim said. "Until they t-t-t-torture the information out of you."

"Right you are, Tim," said Master Joan, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. "All military maps are written in code for that very reason. The question is: Are you clever enough to crack it?"

Tim smiled nervously.

"Can I see it?" Sadie asked.

Tim handed Sadie the map.

It still looked like senseless squiggles, closer to a child's doodles than any map she'd ever seen. "Does this make any sense to you?" Sadie asked, handing it back to him.

"Not yet," Tim said, squinting as he spun the map. "Just give us a minute."

Sadie tapped her foot nervously, looking around at the other pairs. It seemed like everyone was just as confused as they were. Everyone except Geoffrey, who stared at his map intensely, his mouth slowly forming into a sly smile.

"I think Geoffrey's figured it out," Sadie said.

"Just let me think!" Tim said.

Suddenly, Keri exploded into the air, and Geoffrey was sprinting towards the greenhouse.

"Tim, come on!" Sadie said impatiently. "This is a race."

"We know," Emily said. "But you're not helping."

Sadie looked up into the sky. Geoffrey's falcon had disappeared. But there, on the horizon, was Geoffrey, closing in on the greenhouse.

If I follow him, there's a chance I could find it before he does, Sadie thought.

"Dylan, wait here!" she said.

"Sadie, wait!" Tim said. "I've almost—"

But the rest of his words were lost to the wind as Sadie raced after Geoffrey.

A minute later, she was there, her heart pounding and knee aching. Geoffrey was bent over the grass, his eyes on the ground, as if looking for a lost coin. Sadie did the same, figuring her chance was probably just as good as his for finding whatever Master Joan had them searching for.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sadie saw Geoffrey stand.

"I thought you might follow me here," Geoffrey said, smiling and breathing hard. "Which is exactly why I came."

It didn't make any sense.

Why would Geoffrey want me to follow him? Sadie thought. And where is this X anyway?

Geoffrey had nothing in either hand, and he seemed to have given up looking.

Then, Sadie heard something in the distance—a whistle. Which could only mean one thing: Someone had found the X.

Sadie and Geoffrey walked back towards the others, neither of them saying a word.

Back near the pile of leaves, a small circle had formed. Inside it, Keri, Geoffrey's falcon, strutted proudly, clutching a broken orc skull in her beak. Geoffrey plucked the skull from her beak and raised it in the air in triumph.

"Congratulations, Geoffrey!" said Master Joan. "Not only did you decode the map, but you deceived your enemy."

She was staring at Sadie.

Sadie walked over to Tim, Emily, and Dylan, her head bowed in shame.

"I f-f-f found the X, Sadie," said Tim. "But I was t-t-t too slow to get there." He paused, taking a deep breath to slow the stutters. "If you'd just listened to me, we could have won."