Riddle Of The Owl - YA Fantasy

Chapter Ten

The phone rang in the hall, as always, Alleria paid it no heed.

"Lerry?" Her mother sounded odd. "You have a phone call. It's a boy."

Alleria walked from her room, across the living room and to the entrance corridor, Mam gave her a searching look as she passed her by. Alleria picked up the receiver, "Hullo?"

"It's me," said Cassel's voice.

"No way. I thought I was me."

"Hur di har," Cassel's fake laugh was nonetheless accompanied by a real chuckle.

Alleria didn't know what to say. This was the third time in her life that she had managed to use the telephone successfully. She wound the springy cord around her finger as she allowed contemplative silence to spread across the line.

"I almost forgot how amazing your conversation skills are," Cassel pointed out after a minute.

"Did you call to be reminded?"

"That too. I also wanted to wish you good luck."

"Thanks," Alleria said and was proud of herself for not mentioning that luck wouldn't help her.

"You're welcome." 

Silence.

"'Leria?"

"Yes?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to say your name."

"That's... nice."

"Er..." Cassel sounded peculiar, as if he were reluctant to say something. It bothered her that she couldn't see his face. She wished she could. "Did you hear about that boy in the news?"

"What boy?"

"There was a dead boy found in a basement in Callivar with the side of his neck cut in three different places."

"That's terrible."

"Just be careful, 'Leria. Those kinds of cuts..."

She gasped when it dawned on her what Cassel was implying and her heart gave a jolt in her chest. "You don't mean someone did an —" An exorcism. Three incisions to the side of the neck were part of the ancient demon exorcism rituals performed on witches and children said to have been demonically influenced.

"I hope I don't mean that. I hope it doesn't mean anything. There're crazy people out there, that's all. I'll come pick you up after you finish the Exam."

"Cassel..."

"We can go somewhere to celebrate once you're done. Just the two of us?" There was more than enough suggestiveness in his voice that even through the telephone Alleria could tell what he was hinting at.

But she couldn't smile, even though she wanted to. She was too worried. "Cassel, be careful too, you hear?" Whatever that night in the forest meant, whatever that figure on the water was — Cassel had something similar happen to him. If she was in danger because of her past, then he was too.

Mam was in the living room going over bills when Alleria padded back towards her bedroom. "Who were you talking to?"

"Cassel," Alleria said, and watched with uncomfortable tension how the name registered on her mother's face only to be forgotten a second later.

***

'Eleanore' read the name-tag of the receptionist at the front desk of the Hotel Grand Demecry. Aside from being trendy and blonde, she wore the expression of someone who loathed her job. She looked over Alleria's shoulder before fixing her with an annoyed stare. "Yes? What do you want?"

"I have a room booked, ma'am." Alleria carefully placed her documents on the counter one after the other. Her passport, her city permit-of-stay, her examinee's certificate and her seminary diploma. The receptionist lifted the passport, then looked at all the rest of the documents before putting them down and giving Alleria a once-over.

Time passed as the receptionist looked again and again between Alleria's documents and a big, big ledger on the desk. Checking-in was taking longer than it should. It was difficult not to panic, or to keep the dialect from overtaking her words when she spoke. "What's the problem?"

The receptionist glared up at her, obviously having tried and convicted Alleria of fraud. "It says here you were born on 3.Tarris, that means you're fourteen."

"Emperor Tarris has been our ruler for nineteen years, ma'am," Alleria corrected her, "I'm sixteen."

"Same difference," Eleanore spoke in clipped tones. "What's a kid like you doing in a place like this? How did you get these documents?"

Everyone in the Grand Demecry lobby stopped what they were doing to openly stare at the spectacle. The heat rose up in her face and she knew that she was blushing. A young man standing on Alleria's left who had just received his room key turned his head to regard her. He's was handsome and immaculately dressed. There was a sigil of an elephant sewn on his black silk jacket, the Dagen family crest. He was therefore a second-cousin to Emperor Tarris and was unashamedly leering at her.

Her stomach turned, she still wasn't completely over her cold and thus on the verge of getting sick.

Then the Dagen man rolled his eyes at the receptionist before smiling kindly and stepping. Maybe he hadn't been leering after all? "You're that remarkable child everyone is talking about!" he exclaimed for all to hear. "The village girl out of a fairy-story, but set on becoming a Scholar and not marrying a prince. The inspirational story of the century. You certainly made the better bargain, but if you're still after marrying a prince, my cousin Ambert is obsessed with you."

Wasn't he referring to Lord Ambert of Kane, the playmate of prince Tristan, Emperor Tarris's heir?

Alleria swallowed, she blinked both her eyes before tucking down her chin in embarrassment. "If  — If it's all the same, I'll hold back on marriage for the time being, my lord," she mumbled, feeling like an idiot and only too conscious of her drawling accent.

"Salem Dagen," he said, offering her his hand.

Salem Dagen, she recognised that name, he was fourth but favourite son of Count Dagen. Alleria's eyes went wide; one wasn't supposed to shake the hand of someone with royal blood, but refusing to do so outright would be rude. "Alleria Bellencreek."

She hesitated for just a moment before taking his hand. It was just a hand, after all. She knew his blood wasn't actually blue, either.

"I hope we meet again, Miss Bellencreek. I wish you well."

This Lord Dagen certainly had good manners and dimples, and straight white teeth and very warm brown eyes. When he let go of her hand she allowed it to drop to her side determined not to look as in awe as she felt. "You too, my lord, good luck."

You too? Good luck? What was wrong with her?

He gave a courteous nod before walking away. When she turned her attention back to the front desk, her documents had all been stacked into a neat pile and Eleanore, the now pink-faced, smiling receptionist was waiting with Alleria's room key in her hand.