The Rage Eater

Chapter 44: Forgiveness

S P R I N G

With vine Dylan draped around her shoulders, Sadie ambled towards the Dining Hall under a fading sun, allowing her mind to drift. It'd been almost two months since Master Padwe cured Sim. By the next morning, almost half of the infested beastlies had been cured. By the morning after, they all were. It was nothing short of miraculous, and Sadie had felt enormously relieved.

And yet, she soon discovered that things hadn't quite returned to normal, that perhaps they never would. Although the plague had been banished, the gloom it brought remained, like a shadow trapping everyone in its darkness. There was less laughter in the Dining Hall, less boisterousness in the classrooms, and after much back-and-forth between the Masters, the Game of Thieves had been cancelled for the rest of the semester.

Sadie was no longer a villain, but she was no hero either. News of her help capturing the monkey had bought her some goodwill, but it wasn't enough to erase what she'd done. Fran still refused to speak to her, and while Tim no longer glared at her with hatred, things were still bad between them. At best, he tolerated her, but only for Aubrey's sake—Sadie's last and only friend. Wizard Dvesha was still gone—on important business, Headmaster Gold had told her—and Master Padwe had spent most of their sessions together teaching mediation techniques meant to soothe the very fires that made her strong.

By the time she arrived at the Dining Hall, dinner was already well underway. The sight of everyone eating and laughing made her feel even more alone, so Sadie took her tray of baked fish and burnt greens to a small corner by the alchemist's glass, where she should eat by herself.

"Sadie," Aubrey called. "Over here!"

Tim and Emily sat beside her, glowering. But Sadie couldn't exactly say no now. So, she set her tray down, then Dylan, who quickly transformed into his natural self.

"Hi, Dylan!" Tim said, purposefully avoiding Sadie's gaze.

Dylan shifted into a small green maple leaf, then back again.

For a while, no one spoke.

Trying to fill the growing, awkward silence, Sadie said: "Have you heard anything more about Caleb Reynard? Or the orc attacks?"

"Still m-m-m-missing, still a-a-a-attacking," Tim snapped.

Aubrey looked at Tim as if to chastise him, then smiled at Sadie. "Sadie, do you and Dylan have plans for Masters Day?"

"Masters Day?" Sadie said, feeding Dylan a soil puck.

"The Masters hole up in the castle, so they can assess the curriculum and work on administrative tasks. Which frees us up to do whatever we want. Sim, Tim, Emily, and I were going to go to the Great Library to look for lost books, or maybe do some work in Master Padwe's greenhouse. Do you want to come?"

Tim glared at Sadie, making what he wanted crystal clear.

"No, that's okay, I've got other things to do," Sadie lied.

Clearly disappointed, Aubrey continued eating her breakfast, and the conversation once again lapsed into silence. Somehow, Aubrey had found her way to forgiveness, but it seemed unlikely Tim ever would.

Soon after, Sadie's gloomy reverie was interrupted by the quiet buzzing of a black fly, which landed on her shoulders, looking up at her with bulging red and black eyes. At first, Sadie wondered why Wizard Dvesha was watching her do something as mundane as eating breakfast. And then she realized: