Millennium Academy - The Fractured Shadow - Novel I

Chapter 3 - Emila Serpens

It was late- almost 2:00 in the morning at least. It was a real nice night out, clear sky and crisp, cold air. The moon glimmered, whole and full. The wolves were out that night.

Emila lay in her four poster bed sleeping, although not so soundly as her roommate, Charlene Ember. That's right, the "cliqueiest clique girl in the entire school," according to Razz.

Emila tossed and turned. The bed was hot. Really, really hot. Emila groaned and went to open the window. The cool breeze would help some, wouldn't it?

It was quite hard to go to bed. It was silent, except for the quiet breathing of Charlene. Emila was worrying- about everything! Vera, schoolwork, tests...Vera! The list goes on and on. Finally and reluctantly she fell asleep.

Sssp. scritch. scritch

"ARRGGGHHHHHHHH!!" A bloodcurdling scream filled the academy. Emila wakes up immediately , and what she saw makes her stomach drop. A shadow, slinking through the window like a snake. A tentacle. A trap.

It grasped Charlene in its coil and slithered out of the window, leaving no sign that it was ever there.

The teachers almost trampled Emila on the way in. "Wha..what happened?!" One of the teachers shrieked, pointing at a puddle on the floor. It was deep red, soaking into the floorboards like a finger of shame on Emila's chest. It was blood.

"Emila Serpens? Did you do thissss?" Ms. Shé demanded, slithering up to her. With her torso connected to a serpentine lower half, it's no wonder the teacher could get around so quickly and gracefully.

"No, Ms." she answered truthfully. Ms. Shé's snakes for hair hissed suspiciously, but a stroke from the watchful teacher slowed each of them down.

"Why was the window open in the first place?" Ms Hephaestus questioned, looking deep into Emila's eyes. They were filled with disappointment, Emila could see.

"I...I couldn't sleep. It...it was v-very hot, so I..I opened the window to let s..some cool air i..in." Emila stammered, hurt that Ms Hephaestus didn't trust her.

"Her fault. Turned my star student into stone, she did." Mr. Alabaster grumbled.

"'Course not, you dimwit! Otherwise, Charlene would still be here! And there probably wouldn't have been blood." Ms. Shé reasoned with him.

"UNLESS SHE PUT UP A FIGHT!" He blew up, slamming a fist on Emila's desk, sending papers and textbooks flying across the room.

"Eh, calm down, Shellfish." Ms. Hephaestus had to physically hold him back from grabbing Emila and throwing her out of the window in a fit of uncontrollable rage.

"Fault is faulty!" singsonged Dr. Oddity. "Temperatures, too, Apollo." He addressed Mr. Alabaster and Ms. Hephaestus respectively.

"The doktor is right. The temperature could have been manipulated by another student - or the abducters themselves!" Ms. Shé mused, but Mr. Alabaster wasn't taking crap from her.

"WHY ISN'T SHE EXPELLED ALREADY?! SHE MUSTN'T GET AWAY WITH SUCH TOMFOOLERY AS THIS!" He screeched, jabbing a finger at Emila's chest.

By then, other students were filing into the room to find out the commotion- it was about 3:00 in the morning after all, and the kids who were, as kids, talking late, had already heard and alerted their friends to the cacophony of noise in Emila's dorm room.

Vera and Razz wandered into the room and saw Mr Alabaster howling nonsense directed at Emila.

"Enough." A cold voice entered the conversation. Emila turned to see who it was and came face to face with the headmaster himself. "It is 3:42 in the morning. Mr Alabaster, she hasn't done anything. Well, to arouse such suspicion as you have shown."

He glared at the students who had been watching. "Return to your rooms at once. Anyone who is caught out of bed will receive 10 detentions, and there will be no hot water for the entire school for a month."

The student trailed out reluctantly, followed by Ms. Shé and Hephaestus, who herded the laggers to their dorms... most effective. If I say you don't want to know... let's just leave it at that.

"Emila, come with me to the office." He said shortly.

"B..but she..she..NO! Let me punish..." Mr Alabaster babbled. But a withering glare from the preceptor (aptly surnamed Mr. Withers) shut the man up.

Razz and Vera gave Emila a grimace and a supportive thumbs-up and off she went; into the place the students called: "The lion's den."

"So... Miss Serpens. I want you to tell me exactly what happened. To the last detail."

He said 'detail' with a flat 'e', she noticed. Quite a pompous move. His gaunt, pale face peered suspiciously at hers, even paler hair looming, almost covering his stony grey eyes.

Emila gulped. "Ok. Umm..so.. I couldn't sleep. I..it was v..very hot, so I...I opened the window to get s..some fresh air i..in the room. I finally went to sleep, b..but I..I heard a..a..a scream."

He raised his eyebrows expectantly. "So I've heard from the teachers who came to the scene. Is there anything... else?"

Her eyes widened. She did remember. The tentacle. "Uhh...no sir." She lied, between clenched teeth.

"Ok. Well, if that's all, you can be on your way." He turned 'round suddenly and stared out the window- the one that was facing the courtyard.

"And remember, Emila Serpens," he called as she exited the room, "There are severe penalties for lying. Keep that in mind."