Rae of Hope (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (24 page)

Rae faced Headmaster Lanford. He held his arms out to her, palms up, so she stretched out her arms with her palms down. She closed her eyes and focused on his steady voice. She knew it’d work. She’d felt the power of his ink run through her veins when he offered her his hand. Within seconds, the two of them were three feet above the floor. When Rae opened her eyes to glance down, she felt herself begin to fall.

“Focus, Rae! Be the cable that keeps you suspended.”

She regained control of her balance and gingerly brought her body back up to his level.

“Well done.” His steady voice helped make the rest of the room disappear. “Focus on the feeling of letting go of gravity. Think back to the day in the Oratory when I lifted you. This is the same feeling, but now you’re the one controlling your own movement.” He made large circles with his arms. “Concentrate on the air. See how it appears thicker than you think? It’s thick enough to stand on and step up higher. Focus, stay focused.”

This is SO FRIGGIN’ COOL!
Having walked on air for ten minutes, the headmaster decided it was time to “come back to earth”. Slowly, they sank back to the ground, with Lanford’s combover now a mess. They landed in front of Dean Carter. The dean’s scowl erased Rae’s high-spirited mood from a second ago.

“Finally.” Dean Carter threw his hands up in the air. “Women! They don’t understand anything.” He shook his head and turned to the headmaster. “I wish you’d come by at seven this morning. Would have saved us all that time of useless experimenting.” He tapped his finger against his lips. “I think this ink has more. If it was just a gravity-thing, the stamp would be similar to yours. Neither of her folks had that ability.”

“Andrew, the ink is unique,” Lanford said. “We, Rae included, won’t figure it out in the course of a day. Give her time. Everything’ll be fine.”

“Possibly.” Carter glared down his nose at Rae. “However, I think we should continue to closely monitor – sorry,
teach
Ms. Kerrigan how she can best use her ability
or abilities
, for the good of the school and her future well-being, of course.”

“I’ve already seen to it.” Lanford waved a hand. “Rae’s in my afternoon class, and there’s a very bright student mentoring her two evenings a week.” He turned his attention back to her. “Rae, it’s your birthday. Go. Enjoy your day before it’s over.”

“Thanks, sir.” She was so grateful for his presence and his pronouncement she wanted to reach over and fix his messy hair. Instead, she turned, grabbed her backpack and rushed to the bathroom to change her clothes before the dean could change Lanford’s mind.

Taking the quickest shower of her life, she dried off in record time with a crappy, stiff hospital towel. She threw on jeans and a sweatshirt, running out of the Infirmary without glancing back.

The fresh air hit her like feathers from heaven. Rae inhaled deeply, enjoying the breeze and slowed to a walk. A lovely warm wind blew and the sun shone from a cloudless sky. She headed toward the dorms, pausing when a familiar voice called out to her.

“Happy birthday!” Andy caught up to her. “I was just going to come see what was taking you so long.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever escape. The dean’s a royal pain in the arse.”

He laughed. “How’d everything go?” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

 
“All right.” Rae tried to free her hand from the sweaty one holding it. “Carter’s a pain in the rear. My tatù’s some kind of fairy. Lanford came by and was totally cool. He figured my ink has something to do with gravity.” She grinned, wiggling her hand loose. "Looks like I might be able to do some flying.”

“Trying to make me jealous?” Andy laughed, reaching for her hand again and missing. “You should tell Rob. I’m sure he’d love to fly without having to turn into a bird.”

“It’s an eagle. His gift’s super cool. I wouldn’t change that ability at all.” Rae thought back to Friday afternoon and then realized what she’d said. “I-I mean, it s-seems pretty cool. Shape-shifting. You guys are so lucky.” She forced a laugh. “I definitely won’t be turning into some fairy and sprouting wings.”
Maybe…I wonder if that’s a possibility.

Andy winked and grinned. “You’d make one helluva hot fairy.” He looked her up and down. “When do I get to see this ink-art?”

Rae blushed and pulled the back of her shirt down, paranoid he might lean back and try to check it out. “Uh… I’m not much for being flashy.”

Andy grinned. “I like that about you. Anyways, you’re still coming tonight, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it. Sort of like a pretend birthday party for all of us sixteen year olds.” She started toward Aumbry House and then turned around to ask Andy another question. “Is Devon back? I, um, was wondering how his mom’s doing.”

“He got back about half an hour ago. He said everything’s all right. She broke both bones in her lower leg, just above her ankle.” His face puckered up like it hurt him to think of it.

“Ouch! Glad to hear she’s going to be all right.”
Awesome! I get to see Devon today!
She started up the concrete steps of Aumbry House. “See you later.”

Rae headed inside and met Molly on the marble staircase. Molly screamed with excitement when she saw Rae. She grabbed her hand and dragged Rae up to their room
.

As soon as she shut the door, Molly lifted Rae’s top. “Oh my goodness, you’re tatù’s
totally
awesome! By far the best ink art I’ve ever seen.” She lightly touched Rae’s back. “It almost like you painted glitter sparkles on the wings. That Celtic design’s going to look awesome when you wear jeans. You have to make sure your tatù shows off just above them.” She headed for Rae’s closet. “Wear low riders so guys can catch a good glimpse.”

Rae couldn’t stop laughing. Molly was completely and utterly nuts. Molly tossed a pair of Rae’s dark blue jeans on her bed, along with a bunch of Rae’s tops. “Start trying these on. I’ll help you find something hot to wear tonight.” She ran to her closet and threw a handful of clothes on Rae’s bed. Then she ran into the hall, calling the other girls into the room to see Rae’s
tatù
.

Rae had her head stuffed inside one of Molly’s long sleeve shirts when she heard her roommate in the hallway, talking to Maria and Haley.

“It’s about time a GIRL has unique ink instead of a guy. And she’s
my
roommate.”

The girls filed into the room.

One of the twins dropped onto Rae’s bed. She turned to Molly. “Awesome clothes. I love designer brands. How do you keep your side of the room so neat.”

Rae didn’t bother to mention it was actually her side.

“Riley and another senior boy are bringing alcohol.” Molly looked like she’d been dying to tell the secret for days.

“There’s no drinking on school property.” Aiden was the twin on Rae’s bed.

“Riley said where the forest ends, and the open field begins, is the end of Guilder’s property. So even if we get caught, we technically can’t get into too much trouble.”

I’m not touching the stuff, either way.
Rae grinned. After dealing with Dean Carter, she’d take Molly’s verbal diarrhea any day.

“Rae Kerrigan,” Molly shouted. “I know exactly what you are thinking and you’re wrong! You are going to have
one
drink.” She pointed her finger at Rae. “You don’t have to get drunk, but you’re going to have a celebratory drink.”

Rae chuckled. “Whatever, Molls.” However, the idea of alcohol made her nervous. What if she started blabbing about knowing her ability or about her birthday date mix-up? Or worse, she said something about crushing on Devon?
Too risky
.

“Let’s order pizza,” Haley interrupted. “I’m hungry. I’ll call Julian and get him to pick it up. He’s a sucker.”

“Julian’s super nice and you shouldn’t use or talk about him that way!” Maria’s quiet voice came out strong and irritated.

“Sorry,” Haley said softly. It wasn’t loud, but it made Rae smile. Maria might be quiet, but she stood up for what she believed in and even Haley didn’t tread on her.
Go Maria!

Chapter 17

C-O-P

“It
may be November, but tonight’s really warm,” Molly told Rae as they headed up to their dorm after dinner in the games room. “Julian told me the guys are going to set torches in the ground…give it a
Survivor
kinda feel.” She gave Rae a once over. “I’ve the perfect top to show off your tatù…” She paused and sighed when she saw Rae’s face. “Without making it obvious you’re trying! Give me some credit here! Have I ever steered you wrong? Let me go through our stuff one more time and see what’ll match.”

“Um…Okay.” Part of her felt excited Molly wanted to help, the other part, nervous. Rae had never been flashy, but Molly had the perfect magazine look, like she’d just stepped onto the runway. They were so different. And yet, Molly had a point. She’d never steered her wrong before, fashion-wise. She seemed to have a knack for knowing what worked for Rae without making her look like something she wasn’t.

Molly rapped her fingers against the closet door as she stared at Rae’s wardrobe. “You know, besides those dark jeans I picked before, you don’t really have many clothes. Your American style is, like, a season behind ours. I really need to teach you to shop properly. If you want, why don’t you come to my place over the holidays? We can hit all the Boxing Day sales, and redo your entire wardrobe.”

Rae couldn’t believe it. “Are you asking me to spend Christmas with you?” She hadn’t planned on flying home until the summer so she was free, but she hadn’t yet considered the Christmas break and what she would do during it. And while she and Molly had gotten close since they’d met, she’d always thought maybe Molly would treat her like everyone else did when it came down to it. Yet here she was, inviting Rae-the-evil-freak to her house. Plus, staying at school by herself while everyone else went home to be with family, certainly didn’t sound fun.

“Sure, but only if you’re willing to get a new wardrobe.” Molly smiled. “You know what, I’m really glad we’re roommates. Hanging out with you is going to be a very good thing now.

Rae’s heart swelled even as she rolled her eyes. “Glad one of us thinks my tatù’s a good attention getter.”
I am so lucky to have you as a roomy, Molls.

Molly bent down and disappeared into Rae’s closet. “You have those cool Converse Pink sparkly runners. Wear them.” She tossed them at Rae and disappeared into her own closet. “I have this awesome white top with a Celtic design on the side which runs over the shoulder then down a bit of the back. It’ll look perfect with your ink.” Molly chewed on her fingernail while she gave Rae the once-over. “We’re going to have to do something with your hair. It’s braided right now, but I bet if we let the braid out and add a little mousse, it’ll be fine.”

Molly dressed in a pair of black dress pants with a very expensive-looking (and chest-flattering) top. She’d done hers and Rae’s makeup perfectly. Nothing was missed. Haley tapped on their door and whispered, “Time to go.”

Sixteen girls tiptoed down the stairs, sneaking toward the back door. The twins stood by Madame Elpis’ door, giggling as Nadia concentrated on sending Madame Elpis wonderful, happy dreams. Aidan had wanted to send the dreams, but everyone had agreed that’d be a mistake.

Outside, the group relaxed and ran toward the trees.

Gale, the senior with excellent hearing, touched Rae’s shoulder. “Can you see anything?” she whispered.

Rae pointed to the dancing dots on the east side of the forest. “I think those are torches.” She absorbed Gale’s ink, loving the feeling the hum gave as it coursed through her veins. Rae’s hearing picked up instantly, as if her other senses were put on a slight dimmer and the volume was turned up so she could hear everything more clearly.