Chatoyant College Book 9: Sundered

Chapter 107: Danger

"I cannot do that," said Professor Lal. Dawn was surprised to see that she looked tired. "No, let me amend that. I will not do it." She held up a hand to forestall the argument that Edie was clearly about to make. "I told you that Yedara is hibernating. I do not know why she has chosen to do that at this time, but should I go there and wake her, I am risking a great deal. And I do not only mean risk to myself. I mean risk to this college, to the magic that keeps the humans safe from the faeries, and perhaps to the world at large."

Edie didn't have any response to make to that. They all stood in silence for a moment. Finally Naomi said, "What if she isn't hibernating? What if she's just hiding there?"

Professor Lal shook her head. "If she were awake and merely hiding, she would have noticed your attempts to get her attention. At the very least, she would have been consciously aware of people climbing her tree. And if she could, she would have responded in some way."

"But what if something is stopping her?" Edie asked.

"Then the risk if I try to see her is the same as if she is hibernating," Professor Lal said. "I will ask around to see if anyone knows anything about her, but if there has been no movement in the faerie court, I doubt anyone could have done this to her against her will."

Corrie swallowed. "I hate to ask this, but we still haven't figured out who created the knife. Is it at all possible that she had something to do with it, and she went into hiding either out of guilt or because we're looking for it?"

"She wouldn't—" Edie began.

"I know she wouldn't," said Corrie. "But maybe someone asked for her help and she didn't know exactly what they wanted it for. And we have two mysteries here. Actually, more than that. But maybe these two are connected."

"Ah," said the professor. "Actually, that is something that we know. Ginny was able to trace the knife back to its origins. It is the same as the book. Both of them were created by someone in the faerie court—or at least physically located there—but she cannot find exactly who did the creating."

"It could still be Mardalan," Dawn said. "She's been in the faerie court for a while now. And the cage she's in could be messing up the magic that tells you who made it. Or maybe her servant helped and that's why it can't point to more than one person."

"Could it work that way?" Roe asked Professor Lal. "Two people, or faeries, I guess, making the magical object together mean that it's harder to trace?"

"Certainly," said the professor, raising her eyebrows.

"Then it could be Belara and Feloc," said Roe. "We don't know what exactly they're trying to do, but they could definitely think that we—or at least Corrie, Dawn, and Edie—are threats and want to eliminate them somehow. That explains both the book and the knife."

"Yes." Professor Lal's voice came out almost in a hiss. "In that case we must try to discover what their goal is. Did Derwen—Ever give you any hints?"

"No," said Dawn. "Just that she didn't know why Belara might want Yedara to join the court."

"We'll have to see what we can discover," said the professor. "Perhaps I'll try some scrying." She turned to Edie and managed a smile. "I truly am sorry that I cannot help you more. But if we learn what Belara and Feloc are doing, perhaps we will know why Yedara is hibernating. And if we don't, she will most likely reappear in the spring. You'll just have to be patient."

Edie swallowed and nodded, but looked away. No one could come up with anything else to say, so the students reluctantly took their leave and went back to Gilkey.

When Dawn, Naomi, Corrie, Edie, and Roe reached the fifth floor, they saw Annie sitting on the floor in the hallway between Dawn's and Edie's rooms, typing at her laptop. There was a rolled-up sleeping bag serving as a back rest. She looked up and smiled as they approached curiously. Dawn was startled to see that there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Hey, guys," she said. "Back from the woods?"

"Yeah," said Corrie. "We didn't learn anything much. What's up? Salome kick you out?"

Annie shook her head. "You know that poster I had? Professor Lal drained all the excess magic out of it, but I think it's back or something. It's been giving me nightmares again. I rolled it up and I figure one of you can take it back to her in the morning, but I thought I might ask if I could sleep on somebody's floor tonight."

"Of course," said Edie. "I've got some extra pillows you can use, too." She shook her head. "That's really strange. I wonder if the magic is building up again. I'll have to test my bag. Dawn, what about that origami dragon?"

"Rico hasn't said anything about it," Dawn said. "But I don't know if he's tried to do fire magic lately." Her stomach twisted with anxiety. Was the magic on campus building up to a higher level again? And why would it do that?

"Come on, Annie," said Corrie, unlocking her door. "Let's get some sleep. Or possibly finish our homework. We'll figure this out in the morning."