“I’ll explain,” Jordan said as he walked back. The other professor followed just behind. Both of their clothes were stained red.
“Very well, Mr. Anderson.” Dean Turner nodded for him to continue.
“The bull landed just outside the windows. It just sat there for a few minutes, looking in. The nun fired lightning at the window, shattering it, and another bolt hit the bull. That is when it charged in and started attacking her.”
“She’s dead, Martina.” The other professor gave a half gesture back to the nun.
“I see. Franklin, get the other children to Nurse Post. Chelsea, you’re covered in blood. Get cleaned up and find another member of the Elysium Sisters.”
The two instructors nodded and split off to carry out their assigned tasks.
“Are either of you two injured?”
“No ma’am.”
“I touched it,” Irene blurted out.
“Pardon?”
“I mean. I’m not hurt.” Irene shook her head. “I touched its face.”
“You shouldn’t touch wild animals, Miss Coggins.”
“I know,” Irene stared down at her feet. She felt heat in her cheeks. “I was scared, it was right in front of me. I don’t think I was thinking clearly.”
“Understandable.” The dean nodded. “Can both of you make it down to Nurse Post’s office? Mr. Anderson is covered in blood that isn’t his own and Miss Coggins, you’ve touched a possibly disease ridden animal. It wouldn’t hurt to get yourselves checked out.”
Jordan said, “of course, Ms. Turner.”
Irene just nodded her head.
A slick yet slightly sticky hand gripped Irene’s own. She tried to pull out of Jordan’s grip, but he held tight. Soon enough he was dragging a barely resisting Irene down the halls.
“It felt weird,” Irene said aloud. She glanced down at the fingertips that weren’t encased in Jordan’s bloody hands.
Trying to remember what it felt like taxed Irene’s mind. It was coarse; not quite what she expected in that regard. The real mind numbing part of touching the beast was how the hard hairs wriggled beneath her fingers. Like they were alive, feeling her just as much as she felt it.
Then she remembered its breath. Irene stumbled as a small involuntary shudder came over her.
Jordan stooped over and caught her before she could fall down completely. Maybe the shudder had been larger than she thought.
“Alright, up you go.” He lifted her arm over his shoulder and supported half her weight.
“I think can walk on my own, thank you,” Irene said.
“And I think you’re in shock. It isn’t everyday you see someone killed.”
Irene stumbled again as he said that. She hadn’t even been thinking about the nun. That poor nun, even if it was her fault.
“Come on Irene. We’re almost there and then you can lie down for a while.”
Irene nodded. “Lying down might be nice.”
— — —
Consciousness took hold of Nel. It crept up with bits and pieces of the room fading into her perception one thing at a time. Like the trickle of a coffee pot.
Nel suppressed shaking her head. So many years passed since she last had coffee that she couldn’t even remember the taste. Or drinking it. Had she ever tried coffee? It was a weird analogy to think of in either case.
Keeping her eyes closed, Nel slowly drew in a breath of air. Ah, that must be why I thought of coffee. While the memory of its taste had faded over time, its scent almost overwhelmed her.
None of the sisters drank coffee. Anything that could cause even the slightest alterations in thought patterns was banned. That was one of the reasons augurs were such pariahs. Frankincense burning was seen as violating that tenet.
So Nel took a long, drawn out breath. She reveled in the stench of coffee. It was a good sign. It meant she hadn’t awoken in the hands of her would be murderers.
Whatever she lay on was not the most comfortable bed she’d ever woken up on. It was far from the worst. The odd slant made her think it was more of a couch or a bench than a bed. Nel had to stop her body from trying to correct itself.
She wanted to keep pretending to be unconscious as long as she could.
Without opening her eyes, Nel glimpsed the room she was in.
It was an office. A heavy wooden desk sat near one wall with two comfortable chairs on the visitor’s side. Stacks of papers covered the desk. To one side looked like a rolling tray of medical supplies. Tweezers, bandages, cutting instruments, ointments, and potions. Some were covered in blood. Nel’s blood, most likely. The couch she lay on rested against one wall of the room with a portable privacy curtain blocking the view to the rest of the room..
Apart from herself, the room was empty.
Nel looked better than she expected. An IV drip had been attached to one of her arms. The other was hidden beneath a blanket. She could feel a cast on it when she tried to wiggle it. There was no pain, but she didn’t feel hopped up on drugs. Maybe her body had simply gotten used to whatever feelings while she was unconscious.
It took willpower to avoid bolting upright. How long have I been unconscious? Nel used her glimpse over and over to try to find a calendar in the room. Nothing. No daily planner, no papers on the desk with dates. Not even a clock.
More than five days couldn’t have passed. Not unless Sister Cross hadn’t reported her missing. Otherwise she’d be back in their custody without a doubt.
Carefully, Nel peeked open a single eye. It wasn’t that she distrusted her glimpse, but she half expected to find Sister Cross glaring over her.
That wasn’t the case. She lay on a couch with a blanket and an IV drip behind a privacy curtain.
A long sigh of relief escaped her lips.
Nel slowly and carefully pulled herself into a sitting position. Very carefully. The last time she checked, her back had glass stuck in it. Yet nothing hurt on her way up. She took a quick glimpse to inspect her backside.
There was a bandage wrapped around her waist, probably one of the deeper cuts. Everything else looked remarkably healed. Her back was smooth save for the small slits–
Her back was visible.
Nel’s breath caught in her throat. She was naked beneath the blanket. Someone had treated her.
Someone had seen her.
Short, rapid breaths obscured Nel’s thoughts. What did I expect them to do? Not try to fix me? Nel tried to calm down. She took another deep breath of the coffee tinged air. It was good. Calming. Nel thought for a moment about going to find the coffee pot and drinking some.
First, Nel threw off her blanket and inspected herself. She had to make sure.
Nothing seemed out of place as Nel patted herself down. The IV drip in the crook of her arm, the bandage around her waist, and her arm cast were the only noticeable changes. A few scars stuck out here and there on her arms and chest, but nothing major.
Nel wrapped her blanket around her and pulled herself to her feet. She carted the pole the IV bag was attached to around the privacy screen. She wasn’t sure what was in it, but interrupting dosages of potions could have side effects. Unpleasant side effects. She left the needle where it was.
The door caught her eye. Or, she assumed it was the door. She couldn’t actually see the door, just the classroom beyond. The only indication that the door was shut was the visible handle, floating in midair.
Nel walked closer, observing the class. The instructor she had run to for help stood at the front, waving around a wand while talking about something. The students payed attention. She had them hanging off every word.
None of the children that Nel had been spying on were in class. Neither were their friends. It must be an older class.
She almost reached for the door handle. Sister Cross would be after her sooner or later. Nel needed to be gone before the evil woman could get a release signed for her blood and another augur to locate her.
Interrupting the class would just make the teacher angry. She might be less inclined to help. Nel glanced down at the blanket that was struggling to cover even half of her. Traumatizing everyone with the sight of her naked body wouldn’t do either.