Inksmiths: Book One

Chapter 8: Secrets

    The journey through the tunnel was long, meandering, and quiet. It left me with plenty of time to think, if nothing else--the information the brown-eyed senior had given Crystine and I only made me more curious about Noel. I tried to focus on the sound of my boots squishing in the mud instead of the myriad questions swirling in my head.

I felt someone take my free hand and jumped slightly. Predictably, it was Crystine--reassured, I squeezed her hand back.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "You've been kinda out of it for a while."

"I just don't know what to expect," I admitted. "I didn't realize Inksmiths could use such elaborate magic. More importantly, I can't figure out how Noel blocked that magic. Or why. Or...or anything about him. I have so many questions, Crystine, and it seems like every time one gets answered I think of a hundred more."

The more I spoke, the more I wanted to say. Without giving Crystine time to respond, I continued.

"Why won't he tell me anything? I know he's hiding things from me. He thinks I don't notice, but I do. The tiny motions he makes with his brush, the way he keeps touching his neck, all that stuff he says about having 'been here a while'...and whatever secrets he's keeping from me, he's so determined to keep them from the whole school he's somehow blocked mind reading? What is he not telling me? Is it dangerous for me to know somehow?"

"Why don't you just ask him?" Crystine advised. "Confront him on it."

"I try, but he's always dodging the question," I sighed, eye catching on a flash of light up ahead.

"Then pursue it," Crystine urged. "Don't let him dodge the question. Keep asking. Demand a real answer. You two have been studying together for a week now, Draco and I have already started bickering!"

The senior behind us snorted, seeming amused. "Sorry. Don't mean to eavesdrop. But she's right, at this point you're already pretty good friends with your mentor. Me and mine fight like brothers. Anyway, enough about that, we're here."

Another flash of light caught my attention--suddenly both excited a nervous, I began to push my way to the front of the crowd, dragging Crystine behind me. She yelped, stumbling after me.

"Lauriel, we can't just cut to the front!" Crystine hissed.

"They're our mentors," I pointed out. "We should get to see them fight!"

It seemed the other apprentices agreed--even Syril moved aside easily as Crystine and I cut through, eventually emerging from a hole in the floor of the coliseum bleachers. Janko extended a hand to help us out, guiding us to a spot just behind one of the exits.

"Hide right there," he whispered. "You'll have front-row seats and they probably won't see you. Stay low. And be careful!"

Another flash of light struck--curious, I peeked over the edge of the stone walls separating the rows to get a glimpse of the fight.

Somehow, none of my training had prepared me for what I saw. A fight between Draco and Noel was unlike any fight I had ever seen in this coliseum--every move had a certain elegance to it and they simultaneously countered each other's moves and sent out an attack of their own. Fire exploded in the air, lighting the sky with a reddish glow and filling the air with smoke. The crackling of thunder followed every flash of lightning and strong punches, punctuated with loud, crashing sounds, didn't leave a dent as each Inksmith activated some sort of shield.

I was mesmerized. Crystine had to grab my arm and drag me towards the exit arch, where we ducked behind the doorway and poked our heads out to watch. From our new vantage point, the fight was even clearer.