Millennium Academy - The Fractured Shadow - Novel I

Chapter 10 - Vera Gonzalez

Vera felt dead. Soulless. Like she was drowning under tonnes and tonnes of freezing cold water. She was right. Emila didn't love her. She wanted the information, the information that would kill her, especially if she did care.

Drying her eyes, she stood up and walked purposefully out the door. She was not missing class over a broken heart. Especially not Ms. Hephaestus' class.

Slinging her bookbag over her shoulder, Vera entered Ms. Hephaestus' basement, orange-lit room. Sitting down at her regular seat, she absentmindedly listened to the usual pre-lesson speech her teacher knew by heart.

"You squirts are probably curious as to why I'm not teaching you Inventing. If you are, get out of the room!" she barked, metal leg thunking as she paced."Inventing should be as strong an instinct to you girls as is breathing. I'm just here to teach you how it began so you can learn from the best."

Several of the newest students sunk into their chairs, trying to avoid Ms Hephaestus from singling them out. Vera stifled a giggle.

"I said, if you are, get out of the room!" she glared around the class. "However, I can't kick you out even if you are wusses, so woman up and listen up!

"You four over there," She added, looking at the students who were halfway underneath their desks. "Stop acting like wimps and GET UP NOW." they all scrambled back into their seats frantically, backs straight, sweat on their brows.

Vera laughed silently. Knowing her teacher's temperament, this speech was just to get the rookies in line. They would later learn that Lily Hephaestus was a kind, but rough-around-the-edges kind of woman.

"Now, to the lesson," Ms. Hephaestus handed out crumbling textbooks. "We were on lesson 6, correct?" without waiting for an answer, she continued, "Okay, so you all know about how inventresses are always female, right? Well what if I told you that the primordial inventresses - or inventors - were both genders?"

Gasps rang around the room.

"As you all know, Inventing is also open to gender fluid and non-binary alike. It is weaker to those who are not born female, or who choose to be male. But, in the Sumerian erae, there were male Inventors, female Inventresses, and non-binary Invents. The Invents were the strongest of all, as their mind had no limits beyond their inventions. The downfall of these was the DeathWitch Jezebel Ruby. She craved and feared their power, and obliterated the Invent bloodlines, as the Inventing power comes from your ancestry."

Vera bit her lip worriedly. No one in her family she knew was an inventress.

Ms. Hephaestus continued, "She then wiped out the male bloodlines, but could not find the females, as they invented a cloaking device. She cursed the Inventresses to be only female, in vengeance for her failure to find them."

"Today you will be writing an essay about Jezebel Ruby. I want it to be 2 pages of parchment, double sided. You will have until Tuesday next week to complete it. Use your textbooks. Wisely." Ms. Hephaestus then raised an auburn eyebrow pointedly at Vera, whose head began spinning with ideas.

Did she know? About the library?

Vera opened her ratty, discolored textbook, and picked up her quill. Ms Hephaetus was very old fashioned; she refused to use pens or pencils, except when writing blueprints.

Spending the rest of the class poring diligently through the worn textbook pages, Vera couldn't help but feel like there was something missing. Something... important. She just couldn't shake the feeling that she knew it but couldn't place her finger on.

Heading to the library after class, Vera immediately made a beeline for the restricted section, since everyone she knew was at lunch. She couldn't stand to see Emila again, and, besides, this was important. For research, and admittedly less importantly, for the assignment.

Finding a book titled The Life and Crimes of Jezebel Ruby, she quickly removed it from the shelf and hid it in a small nook to read later. She couldn't afford to have it seen.

She made her way to the next class, unaware of the quiet hissing and the creak of floorboards in her hiding spot.