War Bird

26. I'm Not Afraid of Autumn.

"They're ready for you now." Grace pokes her head out of the boardroom door and looks at me. I've been waiting here for twenty minutes. There's something about Grace today. She's all twitchy, unable to meet my eye. I follow her into the boardroom, where Kull, Arkwright and Miss Ever sit at one end. Grace takes a seat opposite them and gestures to the chair next to her. I don't take it. I push it back so hard it rattles and then look at the three leaders.

"Before you start telling me where you want me, I need to say something," I say. Miss Ever opens her mouth, then frowns, closes it. I take a deep breath. "Why didn’t anyone tell me about the Mecaster/True feud?"

"Miss True, that is hardly relevant to-" Miss Ever says.

"I'll decide what's relevant to me, thanks." I don't flinch from her irritated stare. "Why?"

"Oh for Goodness sake!" Kull explodes. "Are we really-"

"Yes!" I say. “Because there is at least one Mecaster in this compound who I think would be thrilled if something horrible happened to me. So why did no one mention it?”

"Why are we even bothering with this?" Kull slams her fist down. "We don't have time!"

"How about you make some time?" I snap. 

"We didn’t think it mattered,” Miss Ever says. “You weren’t a Sorcerer yet, you were just a girl who we thought, who we hoped would go back to her own time soon. For some reason you are incapable of breaking the spell keeping you here and... well now here we are!”

“We’re sorry,” Arkwright says suddenly, his voice surprisingly loud. “We should have educated you on your history so you could have been better prepared for your new powers.”

“Thanks.” I sit down, the anger bleeding out of me. It felt good to let rip, even if just for a second. I think back to the memory that invaded my dreams last night. My Dad telling my Mum that I’m important. Even though he naffed off and left me, I’m important. I fix them with my best important-person gaze. "So. Why do you want to talk to me?"

"Well, you should now be able to tap into the power you were born with. Control it. Use it for the greater good." Miss Ever clasps her hands together. "Significant for anyone, but as a True, that has much wider implications."

"So I keep hearing." I roll my eyes. "And I’m telling you now, I ain’t no Rook.”

“Who on earth told you you were?” Kull smirks. “Rooks are exceptional Sorcerers. Corruptible, dangerous, but exceptional. Whereas you, you’ve had no training, so who knows what you’re good for?” 

"We think it would be a beneficial to expose you to the main areas of magic that pertain to our work here." Miss Ever, throwing an annoyed glance at Kull. "See what you’re capable of. Who knows, you may be a born Nightingale. Or a Hawk, even." 

Kull snorts at that and leans forward. “There are of course other professions outside of combat,” she says. “Some Sorcerers find their magics make them skilled entertainers, cooks, engineers. You could always be of great use to people, just somewhere else, away. Far away from us.”

I’m going to make her choke on her words. I force myself to look steadily in her eyes. "So what happens now?" I ask.

"Time is of the essence, so training and assessment." She looks at Grace. "Nightingale? I'll let you take it from here." And with that, Kull rises to her feet. Everyone else does too. 

"I will be testing you in the Medical Bay first of all," Grace says and squeezes my arm gently. Phew. At least there will be someone normal with me. 

"I have a Captain currently on Medical leave who will assess your combat levels," Kull says, as she glides past me. The way she looks at me slyly makes my tummy flip; what is she up to?

"And what about Kestrel training?” I look at Arkwright expectantly. He twitches his mustache and looks bored. 

“Not if I have anything to do with it,” he tuts, and strides out without another word.