Gift of Gold (The Year of Churning Bloods) (48 page)

             
If you think there’s a purpose,

             
In naming the porpoise,

             
then you’re not having fun with the one life you’ve got.

              So at the round table, where the living muck about.
              Try everything once,
              Try even sauerkraut.

             
I was just in the middle of recalling my encounter with the penelopis when a timid tap shot through the Distortion Dormitories. Sebastian looked up.

“Do you want me to get that?” he asked, quickly jumping to his feet.

I shook my head and slowly lifted my aching body off of the couch to go and see who was at the door. “Preston!” I said after cracking it door ajar. With the little energy I had left, I brought a smile to my face and carefully stepped outside. I noticed his darkened hands were cold with frost and his cheeks were rosy with flush, leading me to believe he’d been spending a great amount of time outside.

He nodded slightly and folded his arms carefully. “Congratulations,” he said without a great amount of enthusiasm. A small crevice opened up on my forehead as I frowned slightly.

              “You were hoping I wouldn’t make the finals, weren’t you?” I concluded weakly.

Preston’s shoulders fell and the tension fled out of his eyes. He sighed apologetically and rubbed his arms together.

              “It sounds worse when you say it out loud,” he responded in protest. “So I care for your safety, especially after watching you go through a fight like that.”

              “Preston you don’t understand,” I said morbidly.

He laughed like a deflating organ. “Don’t I?” he asked loudly. “Tell me Jacob, how don’t I understand? What makes you want to go and put yourself in this danger so constantly?”

I blinked as I was momentarily flung out of reality. “Professor Wenchenberg’s been taken,” I said limply.

Preston’s angry face suddenly fell into empty shock. He stared at me for a couple of seconds in open mouthed silence before he shook his head slightly. “Is that true?” he asked at a far more acceptable volume.

I gave a heaving shudder that closely resembled a nod before slinking down on the spot and sitting with my back pressed up against the wall.

Preston uncertainty joined me. “What happened?” he asked carefully.

              “He tried to help me. Simple as that.”

Preston nodded although I could tell he didn’t know what I meant. I could see a surge of questions in his eyes that he still wanted answered, yet for my sake he kept his mouth shut.

              “I’m really sorry Jacob,” Preston said in sincerity.  I nodded quietly before drawing my attention elsewhere.

              “I have to win,” I said, shaking my head. “I have to win for the professor.”

Preston suddenly seemed unsure how to continue the discussion. After a long while, he sighed and reached into his front pocket.  “I brought you some chocolates,” He said, trying to beat the tone of his voice up slightly. “I hope they haven’t melted. I’ve been keeping them close to me ever since you made the finals.”

I stretched a smile onto my face however it felt as though the majority of my muscles had lost their elasticity. I carefully removed a single sphere of candy that had been heavily caked with cocoa powder and took a small bite to be polite. The second after I realized I was ravenous however, I had to restrain myself from devouring the chocolates all at once.

              “You’re getting quite a bit of attention Jacob,” Preston remarked slightly.

I shrugged and bit into another chocolate. “Good kind or bad kind?”

Preston frowned slightly. “It’s hard to tell.” He admitted weakly. “But you’re the only pronounced trainee to have made it into the finals. Everyone else is tier three and most of those people are prefects.”

I coughed loudly and pressed my fingertips together, unsure if I wanted to carry on with this discussion.

“People are noticing you Jacob,” Preston continued slowly. “There’s nothing I can do about that, but I’m just preparing you for any unexpected attention.”

              “Has Gregor made the finals?” I asked, biting his last sentence off slightly.

Preston nodded and I quickly brought a hand to my forehead.

“I figured just as much.” I folded my arms crossly and almost ended up swallowing another sweet whole. “I just hope he’ll ignore me, because in all honesty I can’t afford to be fighting two beasts at once.”

Preston smirked slightly but immediately darkened before his next sentence. “So what happens if you win?” he asked, however I immediately shushed him.

              “I don’t want to talk about that just yet,” I said forcefully. “We still got some time, so may as well just enjoy that.”

Preston nodded in agreement and together the two of us watched the dwindling hours of the sunset. Eventually we retreated to our respective dormitories where we both swam through an exhausting night of many twists, turns and bumps. I cracked open my eyes a sliver just in time to see the dark dawn spend it’s last few moments before it was going to be swallowed by the sun. It had hardly felt like I slept an hour, much less an entire night.

              “Are you awake mortal?” Umber asked, drifting into view. “Your mind moves so slowly it’s often difficult to tell.”

              “Thank you for those kind words,” I growled from under my breath. “And yes, I am awake. It’s pretty difficult to sleep while knowing what lies ahead.”

              “So you’re scared?” Umber asked quietly.

              “A bit,” I admitted before exhaling and shifting in my bed. To my surprise Umber didn’t say anything in retaliation. I expected him to make fun of me for my cowardice. “Are you scared Umber?”

              “Of course not. Not being scared is one of the many advantages of being dead,” Umber responded dryly. “Are you as scared as you were before the penelopis?”

I shrugged slightly and threw my bed covers off to one side. “Less so,” I said with a small smile. “But the sandworm is still a daunting task regardless.” I shivered slightly, and began to fidget with my thumbs. “You don’t suppose I’ll have to kill it do you?” I asked breathlessly. Umber thought about this for a moment.

              “You weren’t required to kill the penelopis, so why would you be required to kill a creature so much larger and more dangerous? Then again, these are the finals.” Umber suddenly shot up to the ceiling like a firecracker. “I suppose I just don’t know,” he said as he slowly drifted back to the ground. “Mortal, would you kindly go get some breakfast? If your friend was right about this unwelcome attention you’ll be getting, you should honestly think about going to the dining hall before everyone else arrives.

              Much to my dismay, I found myself ailently agreeing with what Umber had to say. I sluggishly dressed myself in my armor, before lacing up my boots and timidly tiptoeing out of the distortion commons area. I shuffled my way through the dark, cold school area before approaching the intimidating looking passageways to the kitchens. Hearing the sudden crack of the doorway before me, I instinctively leapt into the shadows as the hinges swung open.

Gregor calmly walked out with his head held high and both of his fists clenched.

I clutched the stone column I was hiding behind and held everything in place as I prayed he wouldn’t notice me. Gregor stopped and turned his left hand side as if he’d heard a noise from down the corridor. He shrugged slightly to himself and continued to walk forward, grumbling as he did so. As soon as he was out of earshot I let out a huge sigh of relief.

“I thought he usually ate with the other prefects?” I wondered aloud.

Umber bobbed up and downward in thought. “Perhaps he just prefers to eat alone,” he suggested.

My lips swam around my face as I considered this.

              “Why? He’s gotten the respect of all of the other prefects. He could eat with whoever he wanted.”

              “Fear and respect are completely different things Mortal,” Umber stated cooly.

I stared off into the distance where Gregor had gone and shrugged slightly. Who he ate with wasn’t really my problem anyways. The servants in the kitchens barely regarded my existence as I sat down to a table in the deserted room. They did however begin to bring out out a couple of platters of quail eggs and blackened toast for me to silently consume. Although I was quite thirsty, I couldn’t bring myself to ask for a pitcher of water. I didn’t want to trouble them any more. I calmly continued to plow through the dry swamp of grainy bread and runny eggs without any drink whatsoever. Once breakfast was finished, I silently excused myself and began to aimlessly stroll through the camp. I walked along the border of The Clog and the school area when suddenly the reality of today struck me. For all I knew, this could be my last day in the concentration camp.

I brought a hand to my agape mouth and tried not to feel any emotion at this prospect. I took a step into The Clog, and then another one after that.

“Mortal where are you going? You’re going to get caught,” Umber said, trying to steer me back in the other direction. I shook my head quickly.

              “No one’s going to see me. It’s still very early in the morning.”

From behind me, I could hear Umber growl angrily. “But why?” he asked in exasperation. “Why do you find it necessary to walk through The Clog? I’ve gone through your memories and not a single one regarding that place is a pleasant one.”

I stopped and calmly inhaled the crisp early air, choosing not to answer Umber’s question.

Despite his consistent groans and queries, I continued to advance. Even with the very little light present, I remembered exactly where the large pieces of mottled debris were and stepped over them effortlessly. I placed a hand to a poorly made block of sleeping quarters, held in some places with only bits of soggy rope and smiled weakly. I found myself strangely bemused by the fact that I’d once took so much pleasure in snoozing away the hours under these ramshackle buildings.

I maneuvered past the majority of the sleeping quarters and calmly stepped into the dry lifeless plains of earth and stone where I spent years harvesting coal. The scenery had changed quite dramatically in the month I’d been away. Holes had gotten deeper, ravines had gotten wider, yet the dry stench of the land surrounding me remained exactly the same. I rubbed the dust out of my eyes and stared off into the area where my old sleeping quarters were. Without any reason whatsoever, I found my feet mindlessly carry me to that place.

              I wondered wearily if someone else was sleeping in my old bed, thinking the same things that I’d thought and no doubt dreading the thought of another day. I had to find out. Stepping up to the rusty hinged door of my old quarters, I quietly opened the door ajar and found myself gawking at a small figure huddled up in my blankets, taking calm drawn out breaths as he slept on his side. I walked into the room completely nonplussed by the situation and absolutely unsure how to react. Although I couldn’t see the face of the boy, I could see he wasn’t even half my size. My skinny bed sheets seemed to swallow his incredibly small figure, whereas my toes would have always poked out, no matter how I lay. I tentatively stepped into the room to get a better view of the area and found myself struggling to breath.

              I moved beside him and saw that buried deep beneath the covers was a pale freckled face with large black eyebrows that twitched like wild animals. I startled slightly as the boy before me opened a single sleepy eye, however he did nothing more than look at me with slight confusion.

              “Who are you?” he mumbled with dream-like weariness.

My mouth fell open and instantly a surge of words caught in my throat. “I’m Jacob,” I began slowly. “I... I used to live here.”