The Rage Eater

Chapter 23: Courage

"I thought that went pretty well," Tim said, smiling.

"Tim, Master Dao humiliated you," Aubrey said. "Both of you."

"He was joking," Emily said gently.

"Oh," Aubrey replied.

Tim's face flushed red as he returned to his dinner—eggs in a sizzling tomato sauce, again—in silence, allowing the sounds of the Dining Hall to fill the place of conversation.

Sadie fed Dylan a soil puck, watching as his mouth formed beneath his big bug eyes. Even now, he trembled slightly.

Maybe he does have feelings, Sadie thought guiltily.

She tried to remember what else Master Padwe had told her after the Ceremony of the Beastlies, but she was so shocked and angry at the time she was unable to really hear him.

Sim looked up from his bowl of fruit and nuts. "Is Dylan okay? He's shaking. And his colour is different."

It was true. Dylan was usually a deep, grassy green, but he looked lighter, paler.

"He's fine," Sadie said, a little too quickly. "Maybe too much sun."

"C-c-can plants get too much sun?" Tim asked.

"If they're not properly cared for and hydrated," Aubrey said, glaring at Sadie.

Sadie fed Dylan some water, avoiding Aubrey's judgmental eyes.

Again, the conversation lapsed into silence, and Sadie swept her gaze around the room, trying to ignore the guilt welling up inside her.

Fran sat at the edge of their table, far away enough to be clear she wasn't eating with them. Tonight, like all nights, she ate alone with her fox King. She seemed to have no need for friends.

"Sadie, have you h-h-heard of Clan Reynard?" Tim asked.

Sadie nodded, remembering their words, 'Born in Battle,' and their sigil, a wolverine with blood dripping from its jaws.

"G-g-good," Tim said. "Because the twins Hector and Kat are coming this way. Try not to stab one of their b-b-b-beastlies."

Sadie turned around to see them and their wolverines marching towards them. Hector was tall and broad-chested, with a stubbled face and muscled arms. Kat was a few inches shorter, but looked equally fearsome, with a cold dead stare. Both had the same dark brown hair, same dark brown eyes, same glowering intensity.

Tim leaned across the table. "She d-d-d-doesn't speak," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" Sadie said.

"When her father Caleb disappeared, she took a v-v-vow of silence. Said she wouldn't t-t-t-alk again until he was found. Dead or alive."

Sadie remembered hearing the story in the tavern, how stunned everyone was to hear that the great Reynard Warrior had simply vanished while out on patrol.

"How do you know all that?" Aubrey asked, more astonished than impressed.

Tim smiled. "W-w-w-wisdom follows knowledge."

"You there!" Hector bellowed.

Sadie's heart leapt in her chest. But he wasn't talking to her. He was pointing at Fran.

The red-haired girl slowly raised her head, staring at Hector and Kat with cold indifference.

"I heard you took down Nicolas and Geoffrey by yourself," Hector continued.

"Not by myself," Fran said. "With King."

"Still," Hector said, shrugging, "impressive."

The Reynards were close enough now for Sadie to see their beastlies. Hector's wolverine had a streak of white fur running from the crown of his head to the tip of his tail. Kat's had a coat of all-brown fur, and claws that looked as if they'd been sharpened into knives.

"I'd like you to play with us in the Game of Thieves," Hector said. "My sister and I think you'll be a good addition to the team."

Kat grunted in agreement.

"I don't fight or play for any lords," Fran said. "Not even the Reynards."

Sadie was stunned. She doubted anyone had ever spoken to Hector like that. But he merely laughed.

"I like your boldness, Fran," he said, then paused. "You know, highborn, lowborn, it doesn't matter. What matters is the courage and strength to gut your enemy. You've got it." He gestured towards Sadie, Aubrey, and Tim. "They don't."

#

Sadie followed Aubrey and Sim up the twisted stairs of the dormitory, silently fuming, as Hector's words continued to play in her head, taunting her. Whatever guilt she had over scaring Dylan had since disappeared, consumed by embarrassment—and anger.

"Dylan, leaf!" she commanded.

Her arms ached from the weight of him, but he refused to change, or even look at her.

"Maybe he's tired," Aubrey said. "It takes energy to change, right?"

"It's just a leaf!" Sadie snapped.

After they reached their floor, Sadie stomped across the hallway and into their hot and stuffy room. She dropped Dylan on the windowsill, then opened the window.

"Sadie, can I talk to you outside," Aubrey said. She sounded more like Sadie's mother than a girl.

"Fine," Sadie said.

Leaving Sim, Aubrey opened the door and walked into the torchlit hallway. "Sadie, why was Dylan so scared at dinner?"

"What do you mean?"

"Stop pretending like he doesn't have feelings! He was pale and trembling. Clearly, something was wrong."

Sadie felt that old guilt creeping back in, but she swept it aside. "Something is wrong! Instead of a real beastly, I have some useless freak!"

"Keep your voice down or they'll hear us," Aubrey said. "And he's not useless. He has amazing abilities."

"He's not amazing! He's a –"

"Stop," Aubrey interrupted. "Sim's telling me something."

Aubrey yanked open the door and stepped into the room.

Dylan sat on the windowsill in the form of a brittle brown leaf.

Just like the ones I burned, Sadie thought.

A breeze rolled in through the window, shaking Dylan.

Oh no! Sadie thought.

"Dylan, change back," Aubrey said, rushing towards him.

Then, just before Aubrey could grab him, a loud gust of wind sucked him out the window and into the night.

Sadie watched helplessly as the bug-eyed leaf floated through the moonlit sky and across the grounds towards the darkness at the edge of campus.

The Swamplands.