Helix

Chapter 9 - Ruby

 "Have you heard?"

"This is the biggest thing that has happened all year!"

"Who do you think did it?"

Cutting the potatoes in front of me in the cafeteria, gossip about last night's Royal Vault break-in was all people did.

My dorm mate Penelope swallowed quickly, but with a flash of a pained expression, she grabbed her cup of water and drowned that even quicker. "Ah!" she said finally. "Anyway, oh my god, have you heard!"

"Well, I –" kind of had to, since the Royal Vault was my family's. I received mail about it this morning from my butler.

"Well, here's the gist: On a dark and moonless night –"

"I'm pretty sure there was a crescent moon last night," Hady piped up.

"Okay, so on a dark and rainy night –"

"Wasn't raining either," I added.

Penelope rolled her eyes, slamming her fork on the table. "Well, are you guys listening or not?" Satisfied with our silence, she continued, "Allegedly, someone broke into the Royal Vault last night and stole Idyrith's national gemstone, The Promise of Landon. Can you believe it! The Royal Vault was supposed to be armed with Royal Guards 24/7, all trained in Combat and Skills!" Penelope's raised an octave in excitement. She slapped her fist on the table repeatedly. "But," she lowered her voice, dramatically narrowing her eyes at us mysteriously, "the person disappeared without a trace. Poof. Gone."

"Who do you think it is?" I asked absentmindedly, more intrigued with the scrambled egg I was mutilating on my plate.

"I don't know, but rumor has it, it's one of the scholars. It makes sense if you think about though." Penelope shrugged. "After all, they're the ones who need the money the most."

"Hey, don't be like that! We shouldn't point fingers at them based on that one conjecture."

"Elaena honey, I know you're close to that Toph boy, but rumor also has it that blood was found around the scholar dorm house this morning. I mean, he probably isn't the culprit, but just saying, you know? You can never be too sure of your friends." Penelope looked up and laughed. "C'mon, I was joking! Here, I need to get to class soon. See ya!" She organized up her plates and left to clear.

I waved bye. Something about what she said bothered me, but I ignored it. "Hady, should we go to Advanced Idyrithian History now?" She beamed and nodded at me sweetly.

While we walked to history class, I happened to brush by Toph. Out of the corner of my eye...was that blood? "Hey Hady, you go ahead. I'll catch up to you soon." Not waiting for her response, I sprinted away to catch Toph.

"Toph," I said, grabbing his shoulder when I reached him at a covered corridor. "Can I see your hand for a second?" He looked at me strangely, but reached out his left arm. I grasped it, sliding the sleeve up. Under his cuffs, an ugly patch of dark wine red and soil-colored brown was put on display. "What is this?" I asked after a long pause, staring right into his blue eyes.

He pressed his lips together. "I got it last night when we were attacked."

I swatted his arm away. "Don't lie to me. I know that was only on your fingers." I drew in a quivering breath. "Toph....did you – were you the one who broke the vault?" I swallowed hard, afraid of what his answer would be. "Did you go to the vault afterward?"

Hurt flashed across his eyes, so raw and exposed that for a second, I believed he was innocent. But his eyes quickly darkened. Suddenly, he edged closer to me, causing me to step back until my back pressed against the wall. I felt the crevices and indents imprinted on my back coldly and uncomfortably. In one fluid motion, he clasped my hands and locked them against the wall over my head. He slammed his forearm by my ear and leaned closer dangerously. Nonplussed, I stared back at him. "What if I did? What would you do about it? Can you do anything about it?" he questioned, his lemony breath fanning over my face.