Rae of Hope (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (19 page)

A light tingling in the tips of her fingers caught her attention. Different than when your hand falls asleep, but she couldn’t figure out just how. Going back to the mirror, she took another look at the tatù.

Definitely a fairy, wings and all.
Hmm…wings…
Maybe she could fly or levitate. Shutting her eyes tight, she focused her thoughts on flying and slowly opened one eye to see if she’d floated off the ground.

Nothing. Not even a hint of fluttering or flying. She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She had no idea what she could do or how to do it. If only she’d told Devon about today. At least someone could help her figure it out.

It wasn’t hard to see she had a unique ink, but were any other tatùs similar? “I gotta check at that bloody chart again.” Too bad you couldn’t look it up online…or maybe? Her laptop only needed to be opened and she’d have full access to searching.

Rae glanced at her watch and realized Molly could be back any moment. Deciding to give the ink probing a break for now, she grabbed a random pair of jeans and top from her closet.

One look in the mirror had her ripping everything off. The jeans dropped too low and the shirt would lift if she bent or leaned over.
Too easy for someone to catch a glimpse of my Celtic pixie.
Scrambling through her closet, she pulled out a charcoal black dress, the only dress she’d brought from New York. It was short sleeved, so she’d need a jacket, but at least no one would be able to see her tatù. She huffed and puffed doing the fastest change job of her life, trying to make sure she fully covered her ink before Molly returned. Finally the last thing she needed to do was fix her hair.
Hmm…up or down?

Hair down, she held two barrettes in her mouth and pulled the sides up to clip it out of her face. Laughing to herself, she added a few of the butterfly wing clips she’d worn at the dance.

Molly returned just as Rae leaned close to the mirror, blinking mascara on the way Molly had shown her.

A whistle erupted from the doorway. Molly looked Rae up and down. “Wow, girl, you’re all fancy for classes this morning. ’Bout time you started listening to my style suggestions.”

Rae almost poked her eye with the mascara brush. “I-I figured I’d dress up…since we don’t have classes on Sunday. You know, for my birthday.”

“Great idea!” Molly came and stood behind her. She touched Rae’s back, making Rae step forward and bash herself into the mirror. “Careful, you’ve got a few lose hairs stuck to the back of your dress. I like that you’re wearing you hair down. It flatters the outfit. I keep telling you that you need to dress up more often. However, it’s too cold for short sleeves.” Molly disappeared into her closet, clothes flying out and landing on Rae’s bed across the room. Molly stepped out with a short-length, beige leather jacket with a simple plaid pattern inside. “It’s Burberry. You can keep it if you want. I never wear it.”

Rae slipped it on. It went perfect with the dress.

“Thanks. I love it!”

“Consider it a birthday present.” Molly laughed.

Rae’s smile faltered. Did Molly know? Then she realized her roomie didn’t have a clue, and instead of being nervous, she felt guilty.
Sheesh, if it’s not one thing it’s another
. “Th-Thanks, again.”

“Don’t mention it. Now, can we head down and get some breakfast? I’m starving.”

Rae leaned over and hugged Molly. “I’m glad you’re my roomie.”

The two made their way to the Refectory. Filling their trays, Rae bumped into Maria in line, her hand banging into Maria’s as her tray slid along the aisle.

“Oops, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“It’s fine. I think you shocked me,” Maria rubbed her hand.

They sat down at their usual table. Haley sat babbling to the twins something about her family planning on going skiing in Switzerland over the Christmas holidays. She glanced at Rae, her mouth open but no words coming out. She narrowed her eyes. “My goodness, who’re you trying to impress?”

Rae could feel her cheeks heat up.

“No one.” Molly plopped down beside Haley. “It’s for her birthday this weekend. She’s wearing my Burberry coat.”

Haley rolled her eyes. “About time you get that sacred tatù the entire school has so anxiously been waiting for. Finally, it’ll be over so we can all move on.”

Rae wondered if hot tea would do permanent damage to Haley’s face if she threw her cup at the bitch. The girl knew how to take the wind out of someone’s sails, didn’t she?

“Ignore Haley,”
came Maria’s quiet voice. “
She’s just green with envy. She’s jealous of your looks, your personality and the way every guy in this school stares at you. You have a history to talk about. She can’t compete.”

Rae nodded at Maria, the voice invasion no longer as daunting as at the beginning of the school year.
Thanks Maria, I know you can’t hear me, but I appreciate it
.

Maria’s smile faltered and her eyes went huge. A glass of juice slipped from her hand. Girls sitting beside her quickly jumped up to avoid the spill. Everyone reached for napkins to absorb the orange liquid.

Maria stared at the table, extremely focused on cleaning. Without looking at Rae, she inner spoke again. “
How the heck did you just do that? I have NEVER had anyone reply to my thoughts before. Your birthday’s Sunday, but you can talk to me now? Are you having some pre-power?”

Rae froze with a spoonful of oatmeal halfway to her mouth. Had she thought-spoken to Maria? She could feel the inner buzz inside of her again. Staring directly at Maria, she tried again. Panic set her heart racing, but curiosity won over.

You can hear me?

Maria nodded, still staring down.

This is crazy.
Rae shifted in her chair, trying to appear like she was just eating, not going out of her mind with anticipation.
I can’t believe it. Sorry I scared the crap out of you. I had no idea I could do this.
She paused, debating if she should tell Maria and decided to go with her gut.
Can you keep a secret? My actual birth date’s today, but everyone here thinks it’s the fifteenth. I just wanted to see what my ink was before the school started treating me like a lab rat, so I didn’t tell anyone about the mistake.

Maria smiled at her bowl of cereal. No one at the table even noticed the two of them. “
It’s all right, you don’t need to apologize. You just surprised me by answering back. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably keep it a secret as well. What’s your tatù? Is it the same as mine?”

Rae found it easy to converse this way. She noticed Maria picked up her pace as well -- like they were just thoughts, not words in a conversation.
My ink’s different. I’m going to check the chart later.
She paused, unsure if she should share the ink’s image. She liked Maria and needed to tell someone.
It looks like a fairy, with wings and everything! There’s also a neat Celtic design along the bottom.
She shrugged.
I guess my gift’s some kind of telepathy. I thought it meant I could fly. I was really hoping, but I tried getting airborne this morning. Unfortunately, gravity wouldn’t let me go.

Maria covered her mouth to hide a laugh. “
I’m glad you didn’t try jumping out your window to see if you could fly. Remember, your gift’s pretty raw at the moment. It’ll take some time to strengthen and sort itself out. You have to learn to work with it and train it. Or have it train you as some of the professors say. I’m excited for you and, to be honest, I’m a little excited for me. This’ll help improve my skill, as well.”

Rae nodded as Molly leaned over, tapping Rae’s temple.

“You listening in there? I just asked if on Sunday, after you get back from the Infirmary, of course, you want to sneak out? You know, celebrate your birthday properly?”

“Ummm…” Rae didn’t know what to say. She glanced around the table.

“Come on, be devious,” Molly said with a mischievous smile. “You’re the last of the gals to get inked. We’ll head out to the sporting fields. I’m sure we can get some of the guys to come as well.”

“That’d be a riot,” Haley said. “Except we’ll get caught on the fields. Too obvious from the buildings.”

Rae saw the disappointment on Molly’s face and just couldn’t let it stand. “There’s a clearing behind the forest. I walk there all the time.”

 
Molly jumped around, all excited. “Wouldn’t it be a riot?”

Haley tapped her long, manicured fingernails against the tabletop. “I’m sure Riley, or one of the older guys, could get us some festive drinks.”

Molly’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You mean,
alcohol
?”

Rae nodded absentmindedly. She’d been listening but also trying to talk to Maria since Molly’d poked her. Had she lost the telepathy? Or, since her gift was still new had it somehow powered down? She could still feel the electrical buzz running through her body but couldn’t figure it out.

“Rae! Yes or no to the party?” Molly poked her in the ribs, creating a shock. It actually made Rae and Molly jump apart. “Sorry! That was a strong one.”

“I’m okay.” Rae laughed, rubbing her side. “The party sounds like fun. However, aren’t we a little young to be drinking?”

Haley snorted and tried mimicking an American accent. “Well, in big ol’ America, yous peoples huv to wait ’til yer super old, like twenty-five to drink.”

“It’s twenty-one.” No way would Rae let Haley ruin her birthday.

“Whatever. We’ll get the guys to bring the booze and
those
of us looking for a good time can enjoy ourselves,” Haley said.

Molly clapped her hands. “I’ll spread the word. Let’s plan on meeting at ten, once Madame Elpis shuts her door for the night.”

It wasn’t long before the entire girls’ table whispered excitedly about the prospect of the party and being sneaky. Something none of them had dared to try since arriving. They continued whispering plans as they put their trays away and started to head off to morning classes.

Maria touched her arm and began walking beside her. “
Let’s make sure we’re close by each other in the Oratory today. Then we can work on your gift without anybody else knowing.”

Relief flowed through Rae when she heard Maria’s voice back in her head. She only had a few hours to do this and she didn’t want to waste any of them.

They stepped out into the crisp morning air, heading to the Scriptorium for English.

Julian caught up to them.
“Hello, lovely ladies.” His eyes traveled over Rae. “Hot bod in the dress. You had our entire table in shambles. Looks like several guy’s made bets on who’s going to take you out to lunch tomorrow. Lucky you!” He laughed, giving her a warm hug.

“Thanks. I appreciate you sharing that with me.” Rae pursed her lips and let out a groan. “Now I can spend the rest of the day avoiding any males except you.”

“Who said I wasn’t in on it?” The look on his face said he was teasing her.

Haley called out to Maria. Julian and Rae continued walking while Maria waited for Haley.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Julian leaned in toward Rae. “This morning I had a drawing vision of you. I’m not trying to scare you, but I just wanted to show you. See if it makes any sense.” He pulled a piece of paper from inside his jacket and opened it up. Hand drawn, with intricate detail, a picture of Rae as a fairy lay on the sheet. The depiction of her face appeared almost like a photograph instead of a drawing.