Conrad Edison and the Anchored World (Overworld Arcanum Book 2) (7 page)

"It's bread pudding!" Max shouted with glee.

After reveling in our gluttony, we returned to the stadium and resumed our magic practice.

"Are you certain we're safe here?" Max said. "What if Conrad's parents come through here on their way back from the crack in the world?"

"I doubt they'd bother coming in here." Ambria waved a hand around at the towering remains of the fallen goliaths. "Besides, we have plenty of places to hide."

I agreed. "They probably have a secret way of coming and going. I doubt they'll want anyone to see them until they're ready with their devious plans."

Max shrugged. "Well, if you say so. Just don't blame me if they show up and kill us."

Ambria rolled her eyes. "Enough dilly-dallying. Let's practice."

After we'd successfully completed the exercises listed in the study guide, Max flopped spread-eagled onto the ground. "Finally!" he said. "I'm so tired of studying."

"Yes, well rolling in the dirt certainly won't help," Ambria noted dryly.

I hopped on my broom and climbed into the air for an overhead view of the boulders. During practice, I couldn't help but glance around for signs of Evadora, but even from this vantage I realized she hadn't come back to spy on us.

We flew back down to the house and parked our brooms in the foyer. Ambria went upstairs and returned a moment later. "Blue isn't here," she said in a worried voice. "I wonder where she went?"

Max shrugged. "Probably hunting cats."

Ambria grimaced. "That's awful! Do lycans really do that?"

Max was too busy rummaging through the pantry. He came up empty handed. "I'm starving, and you're out of groceries."

"Because you eat everything," Ambria shot back.

"Do not." He took the lone remaining slice of bread from the breadbox on the counter and took a bite. "Let's go to a restaurant."

After dinner, Max left for his Uncle Malcolm's since he didn't like staying with his parents, and Ambria and I flew our brooms back to the house. I kept a close watch on the streets below, wondering if another of my parents' demon assassins hunted me even now.

"Your parents worry me," Ambria said. "Whatever they're planning might affect our schooling."

"I'm certain it will." As we flew over our street, I glided down for a landing. "I wonder if Galfandor will help us this time, or if we're on our own."

She shook her head. "I don't understand that old man. You'd think he'd want a safer world for children."

"I'd like to know what he's thinking." I landed my broom on the front lawn.

"Hello, Conrad." Harris Ashmore waved from the other side of the stone wall separating our yards. "Who's your friend?"

Ambria's eyes widened. "What's my last name, Conrad?" she whispered. "Help me think of something, fast!"

I drew a complete blank. "Her name's Ambria," I said, hoping the conversation wouldn't drift to last names.

The red-headed boy I'd seen with Harris yesterday ran up beside him. "Where's Cryberius?"

I didn't like his tone, or the nickname they'd given Max, so I said nothing.

"Why do you hang out with Max Tiberius?" Harris asked in a curious tone.

"Because he's our friend," Ambria shot back. "Why do you hang out with a ginger who gets his jollies making fun of other people?"

"Because I'm his friend," the other boy retorted.

The curly-haired girl I'd seen them with came around the corner of the house. "Hello," she said. "I'm Lily."

Ambria's hard gaze softened. "I'm Ambria and this is Conrad."

Harris pointed to the other boy. "This is Baxter."

Lily stepped beside Harris and looked me up and down. "Are you taking the entrance exam tomorrow? Harris said he saw you studying earlier."

"Yes," I replied. "And you?"

"Of course she is, and I am too," Baxter said. "If Harris is going to save the world, we've got to be there to help him."

"I've been looking forward to university all my life," Lily said in a dreamy voice. "I earned top marks in Arcane prep school."

"Where did you go to school?" Harris asked me.

That was a gap in my life I hadn't considered, and I was at a loss for a response.

"Oh, goodness, Conrad," Ambria said. "Look at the time. I'm so tired."

"It's not even eight," Baxter said. "What sort of ninny goes to bed that early?"

"A ninny who wants to be fresh for the entrance exam," Ambria growled. She nodded at the other two children. "It was nice meeting you Lily and Harris."

"Same," Lily said. "See you tomorrow."

"Hey, what about me?" Baxter said.

"Meeting you was not nice," Ambria said. "Learn some manners for next time."

Harris and Lily laughed. Baxter's freckled face turned bright red.

I cringed and waved goodbye, then quickly went inside, Ambria huffing and puffing angrily behind me.

"The nerve of some people." Ambria tossed her broom in the corner of the foyer. "I don't like that Baxter kid one bit."

"Who's Baxter?" asked a soft voice.

Ambria and I jumped back, only to find Blue sitting cross-legged on the floor in the family room.

"Where did you go earlier?" Ambria asked the other girl.

"Looking for my new pack." Blue looked glumly at the bare floor. "But no alphas want strays like me."

I sat down on the floor next to her. "Why didn't you like your old pack?"

She shivered and whispered, "The alpha is a bad person."

Ambria scowled. "What did he do to you, Blue?"

The other girl shook her head. "Nothing. I left before he could."

"Do alphas have absolute control over the pack?" I asked.

Blue nodded. "When I was little there was an alpha named Colin McCloud who led all the packs. But he went with Justin Slade to fight the war in Seraphina and took most of the lycans with him." She buried her face in her hands. "Now people like Castor can get away with whatever they want."

"Castor is the old alpha?" I asked.

"Yes." She looked up, eyes glistening with tears. "He killed my father for challenging him. I tried to convince my mother to leave with me and my little brother, but she was too afraid to run."

I knew from experience that there wasn't much I could say to make Blue feel better, so I did the next best thing and gave her a hug. She leaned against my shoulder and shook with sobs.

Ambria paced back and forth. "It sounds like everything was a lot better when this Justin Slade person was around." She stopped. "Maybe we could figure out how to bring him back and ask him to fight your parents and people like Castor."

"I'll just be happy to pass the exam tomorrow, Ambria." My shoulder felt soaked, but Blue showed no signs of cutting off the flow of tears. "We barely know any magic, much less how to make the Alabaster Arches work again."

Ambria slumped. "Well, unless your parents are stopped, we'll all be looking for new packs."

Blue let go of me and looked up. "What are his parents doing?"

"His parents want to rule the world." Ambria said with a groan.

I didn't want Ambria talking about my parents to someone we didn't even know! I widened my eyes and shook my head.

Ambria caught my meaning and grimaced. "I'm sorry, but I can't talk about it."

Blue turned back to me. "Is this about your real last names being Rax and Edison?"

Ambria gasped. "How did you—"

The lycan girl touched a finger to her ear. "I have wolf hearing. I overheard you talking about it yesterday."

"Please, you can't tell anyone," I said. "Promise you'll keep it a secret."

"Oh, please do," Ambria said.

"What's so awful about your last names?" Blue's forehead pinched.

A sigh shuddered from my chest. "I'll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone."

"I owe you my life," Blue said. "I promise it will be our secret."

"My father, Victus Edison, was the Overlord."

It didn't take long for that to sink in, judging from Blue's horrified eyes. "You're the son of Victus and Delectra Edison?"

I hated the burden of guilt their names piled on me. "Yes."

"My father was Cyphanis Rax," Ambria said. "Thankfully, he's dead for good, unlike Conrad's parents."

"I've never heard of him," Blue said.

Ambria quirked an eyebrow. "He used to be the Arcanus Primus when Daelissa tried to rule the world."

Blue flattened her lips and shook her head. "Lycans don't care much about Arcane politics, but the Overlord affected everyone." Her forehead wrinkled. "Conrad, how can your parents be up to something? I thought they were dead."

Ambria laughed bitterly. "That's a long story."

I touched Blue's hand. "Just remember that whatever we tell you about our past has to be kept secret. Our parents were terrible people, but we're not."

The girl nodded slowly, eyes darting back and forth between me and Ambria. "I understand."

"It's why we're changing our last names," Ambria said. "We don't want to be judged by what our parents did."

"I promise I'll keep it all secret," Blue said.

I leaned back against a chair and decided on where to begin. "It all started in an orphanage."

The story took a while to tell, and by the time I was finished, it was past bedtime.

"This is unbelievable," Blue said. "And now your parents have broken through the barrier between this world and whatever is on the other side of the rift?"

"It seems so." I stood and stretched. "I'm going to get ready for bed. Goodnight, Ambria and Blue."

Blue kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you for the hug, Conrad. It was sweet."

My face suddenly felt very warm. "Um, okay."

Ambria looked at the other girl for a moment then came over and kissed my other cheek. "Yes, thanks, Conrad, for being a good person."

I almost rubbed the moisture from both my cheeks, but decided the girls might take it as an insult. I backed out of the room, then quickly headed upstairs and closed the bathroom door. I touched both of my cheeks and stared blankly at the mirror for a moment before shaking off the strange feeling the kisses had left in me.
Girls make me feel funny.

You're almost a man
, Vic said.

Della scoffed.
He won't survive that long
.

Chapter 6

Ambria and I woke up early the next morning and ate a quick breakfast. Blue came downstairs as we were getting our brooms.

"You're up early," Ambria noted.

Blue nodded. "I'm going to take the entrance exam too."

I blinked a few times. "You can do magic?"

She shook her head. "They have courses for shape-shifters like me." A hopeful smile lit her face. "Maybe I'll find other lycans there. If they like me, I can join their pack."

Ambria smiled at the other girl. "That's a wonderful idea, Blue." She looked around. "Unfortunately, we don't have another broom for you to use."

Blue stretched her arms over her head. "That's okay. I'll take the sky car."

"We'll see you there," I said.

Her face flushed. "See you there, Conrad."

Ambria and I flew across town to the small house near the western cliff where Max's uncle lived. Our friend was already waiting outside on his broom. He flew up to meet us and then we continued onward and upward toward the university on the towering cliff ahead.

"I can't wait to get this over with." Max dodged around a flock of geese and groaned. "I'm so nervous I could hardly eat breakfast."

Ambria laughed. "You know something is serious if it keeps Max from eating."

I grinned. "How much did you eat, Max?"

He shook his head. "I only managed four eggs, some pancakes, bacon, and toast."

"You call that hardly eating?" Ambria rolled her eyes. "You've probably eaten your poor uncle out of house and home."

"People who eat a lot are smarter," Max said. "It's a proven fact."

"In that case, you must be the smartest boy in the world," I said.

Ambria sniffed. "The only proven fact is that you'll eat anything and everything."

The sight of the university ended our conversation in a nervous silence. We landed just outside the main gate where guards in dark blue robes renewed our weekly security charms, and allowed us into the main entrance. People of all ages crowded the large hall. A teenaged boy stood with a group of his peers, laughing as they frightened small children with fireworks spells. A group of girls in bright pink robes looked Ambria up and down before sticking their noses in the air and giggling. Parents kept their young ones close to them, eyes watching an empty podium expectantly.

The roar of conversation and press of bodies was overwhelming, but I saw nowhere to seek relief.

"This is awful," Ambria shouted.

I nodded. "I didn't realize there were so many Arcane kids."

"This is way more than last year," Max said.

Ambria looked around. "I wonder if any of the children from Little Angel Orphanage are here."

After we'd rescued our fellow orphans from the Goodleighs, we'd soon discovered most of them had been abducted from their parents and were not orphans after all. In fact, they'd all been taken because their parents were skilled Arcanes. Apparently, children with good magical pedigrees could be sold for quite a profit.

I shrugged. "It's impossible to tell with so many people."

Something swished past my arm. I looked up and saw an old woman in a gray robe march past and up to the podium. The moment she stepped onto it, the hall went absolutely quiet.

"Welcome to Arcane University," she said in a mild Scottish accent. "I'm Professor Rhona Trask." She swept her eyes across the packed hallway. "Today marks the inception of another school year. Today, fates will be decided. Some of you will earn a place within these hallowed halls while other will fail." The professor's gaze seemed to catch on a few of the older children in the hall. "I wish you all good fortune, whatever the outcome."

She swung her arm to the left. "Neophytes report to Tiberius Hall for the early education entrance exam. If you haven't already, please place your registration forms in the box over there." She pointed out a large wooden crate in a corner.