The Ruens of Fairstone (Aeon of Light Book 2) (22 page)

“
Advanced mathematics
?” Yitch says, blank face and not believing what he is hearing.

“Yes, advanced mathematics.” Miles eyes Professor Videl. “Which the professor can confirm that Pard Wenerly tutors me.”

Yitch spins like a ballerina and jerks to a stop, facing Professor Videl. Yitch’s eyes open wide in eager anticipation.

Professor Videl slowly nods, confirming what Miles is saying.

Yitch’s shoulders slump, and he turns back to Miles.

Miles grins. “I left Pard Wenerly’s room one hour after the incident with Nero Yitch.”

Yitch lowers his gaze and stares at his feet, thinking and digging deep to retort, unsure of what to say or do next. Then his face beams and his body snaps upright. “No, no, no, impossible, the paper, I have the drawing, it was placed at the scene of the crime.”

Miles shrugs. “I opened the door in the west wing right after detention. I tossed my gum out into the courtyard. And I clearly remember because it was so cold and windy that day it took my breath away. A gust of wind almost knocked me over.” Miles turns back and faces the audience. “Which any Fairstone boy in the audience can attest happens regularly to all who exit the west wing—the wind gusts are fierce.” Miles faces the professors on the panel then pats Pard on the back. “Though unfortunately for my less coordinated friend here, he wasn’t so lucky. The wind knocked Pard over, and he dropped his books and papers. I thought we picked up all of his things before we went up the stairs to the fourth floor to Pard’s room, but I guess we missed one.” Miles glances at Pard. “
Right
?”

In a state of shock, Pard stares at Miles.

Miles’s eyebrows rise. “
Right
?”

Pard coughs. “
Ahem
, right, yeah, I fell from the wind, and we didn’t get all my papers.”

Yitch stares at the neatly folded drawing in his hand and scowls. He crumples the paper into a tight wadded ball.

Professor Videl stands. “I think it’s time we deliberate on the matter. Let the record note that evidence and testimony for both sides rests and the council will discuss and render a judgment henceforth.”

The council gathers at the back of the stage and they form a circle.

The restless audience erupts in discussion amongst the boys, and every passing second the cathedral grows louder.

“What are you doing?” Pard says to Miles.

“Saving your ass before you say something stupid, or worse, say nothing at all.”

“But you could get expelled if they catch you lying.”

Miles chuckles. “As long as a teacher didn’t see you that night we’re all good. Then it’s my word against Blaine, Sully, and Nox. At best I’m more credible and I have a title that they can’t touch; at worst it’s a draw, either way you probably go free.”

“Why are you doing this for me?”

Miles smiles. “Because you’re my friend. And I’m sure you didn’t mean to hurt Nero on purpose.”

“We’re—friends?”

Miles rolls his eyes. “Yes, we’re friends, and I told you, don’t worry about it, you should just trust me.”

The council breaks, and Yitch, scowling, stands next to the table at the front of the stage.

“Looks like a positive sign,” Miles says. “Anything he’s upset about has got to be good for us.”

Yitch pounds his mallet once on the table, and the cathedral goes silent. “The council concludes that as a result of equally conflicting accounts, that the accused, Pard Wenerly, is hereby considered not guilty until more evidence is found or presented to conclude otherwise. The investigation into Nero Yitch’s murder will continue, and because Pard Wenerly is still a person of interest in the matter, he will hereby be placed on probation, though no further action will be taken against him on the matter. This council is hereby convened.” Yitch pounds the table with a single strike of the mallet. And in disgust, lets the mallet drop out of his limp hand, landing sideways on the ancient walnut.

The audience stands, and the cathedral fills with a deafening, jumbled chatter.

“Nice, see, no problem,” Miles says. “Hey, sorry for the drama and leaving you hanging till the last moment. But I had to wait and see if Yitch had anything else or anyone spoke up before I stuck my neck out to get it cut off. Once it was clear that was all Yitch had, I chimed in.”

“Thanks,” Pard says, turning around. He exits his cordoned area and gets into the long, loud line of the masses of boys filing out of the cathedral. Pard and Miles inch along, and the boys ignore Pard now that the drama is over, and they don’t care in the slightest, likely because most of them know Yitch is a blowhard, and Nox and Sully aren’t really credible or honorable witnesses, no matter what Yitch tried to sell to the contrary. And if Lord Miles Marlow vouched for Pard, then he is no longer diseased in most of their eyes. So basically, they’ll leave him alone to go about his business.
 

“Hey, Pard, Pard,” Hector says, tugging on Pard’s black robes. “I knew you didn’t do it—whatever the others were saying.”

“Right, thanks,” Pard says, peeking behind him, slightly grateful but also slightly annoyed.

“So you want to hang out later? Or comment for the Chronicle?”

Pard ignores Hector as something strange catches his attention. At the back of the stage, Alexa and Eeva surround Yitch, Alexa in front of him and Eeva behind. Alexa jabs Yitch in the sternum with her finger and is threatening him. Face filled with fear, Yitch backs away from Alexa and bumps into Eeva who shoves the headmaster forward.

Pard smiles, seeing Yitch bullied and scared, imagining Eeva giving him some attention she so wanted to last night.
Good, that should keep him busy for a while and off my case. Serves him right
. But the elation quickly fades, knowing it’s only a matter of time before Yitch tries something again, or Alexa and Eeva make their move to remove him out of Fairstone.

“So how about tomorrow?” Hector says again, interrupting Pard’s thoughts.

Pard inches forward and gets twisted around by the wave of boys all trying to get to the exit first.

“Scram, news boy, no comment,” Miles says, pressing his palm against Hector’s forehead and shoving him away. “He has a girl to meet tomorrow.”

ROUND TWO

“We sure showed him, didn’t we?” Miles says, plopping down on Pard’s bed and lying on his back as he stares at the ceiling. “You were looking down the whole time, but you really should’ve seen the condor’s face when I said I had something to add. ‘L-Lord Marlow,
you do
?’
Ha ha ha
.”

“Yeah thanks for that,” Pard says, sitting at his desk chair. “But Alexa and Eeva were there, did you see them?”

Miles sits up. “Just for a second. I was too busy saving your ass.”

“And that star man,” Pard says, “the one with the tattoo under his normal eye and a monocle over his silver eye, that guy freaks me out the way he looks at me. I can’t place my finger on it.”

“I didn’t notice them, again, I was to busy following you’re trial and figuring out a way to get you out of your mess, you know, so you could stay here at Fairstone and not be a wandering beggar alone in the freezing cold tonight, the same as you should’ve been focusing on. Which by the way, you seemed to give up—I don’t like that. So, a word of advice if you’re going to hang with me, no wussing out, even if you did do the deed. You’re lucky I came to your rescue, that’s two you owe me.”

“
Two
?” Pard says.

“Yeah, the girl and now your trial.”

Pard shakes his head. “Okay, maybe one, since I saved you from Professor Videl the other night.”

Miles nods as he contemplates. “All right, that’s true, I’ll give you this round. But you still owe me one.”

Pard rolls his eyes and lets Miles have his glory, even though he bumbled his way into getting a date with Selby with luck. But after what Miles did for him in the Fairstone cathedral, it isn’t the time to argue the small stuff. Pard’s just happy he’s safe for another night and someone would put themselves out in the open for his defense like Miles did. Though it is Lord Marlow after all, risk seems to be his middle name. Pard wonders if Miles did what he just did to get under Yitch’s skin, once he was sure he would get away with it. But it doesn’t matter, the result is what matters, and Miles is a good friend or ally to have on his side.

“So why didn’t you try to save yourself?” Miles says.

“What’s the point? Fairstone seems to be filled with a bunch of pretentious, lying, or murder conspiracy fakes. I came to the realization that by the slimmest of margin I might be better outside of the castle walls than inside of them. Then there was the small matter I did kill Nero, and had no way of explaining otherwise without help, which I thank you again.”

“Pretentious, lying, and murder conspiracy fakes,
ha
!” Miles wads up a dirty shirt lying on the bed and flings it at Pard, hitting him in the chest. “Then you fit in perfectly here at Fairstone, considering you did do Nero something awful and you’re not as you seem, and we just conspired and lied.”

Pard twists his lips, snatches the shirt, and wings it back at Miles.

Miles ducks to the side and laughs.

Pard taps his finger on the desk as he contemplates his reprieve and the locket. “So what do we do about Yitch? We still need to get in his office, and soon. I imagine this is far from over. From the sound of Alexa and Eeva last night, they won’t give up easily, three hundred gold and all, that’s Lord Marlow money.”

Miles scratches his chin as he thinks. “Maybe I should offer four hundred gold for you.”

“
What
?”

“You know, outbid the two sexy dangerous ladies after you, the two with the big purse.”

“You’re seriously going to ask Yitch if you can buy me? Is that even legal anymore?”

Miles shrugs. “I guess it is for some people. Depends on who you and your family are. But I never tried to buy someone.
Ha
, I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

Pard shakes his head. “Well, it doesn’t matter, because you aren’t buying me. I won’t allow it.”

“Oh, you won’t allow it,
huh
?”

“Yeah, I’m not going to be your robe holder for the rest of my life.”

“But you would make such a fine robe holder, professor. You could even remind me about the Hiney whatever it’s called and Gildy’s globblygook of garbage whenever I need it.”

“Shut up, this isn’t a time to joke.”

“So you don’t like the idea? Because I think I could get used to it.”

Pard gives Miles a dirty look. “Anyway—back to the office—and off the buying me nonsense. We need to see that locket to expose Yitch, and soon.”

 
“No doubt,” Miles says, “and speaking of trial, that would be a trial I’d love to see, Yitch on the stand, sweating and squirming while getting his beak and feathers plucked.
Now that,
I would pay four hundred gold.
Hmm
—” Miles stares at the far wall as he wonders if it’s really possible to buy a Yitch trial.

Pard can see the gears turning inside of Miles’s head and cuts him off. “No way will whatever you’re thinking about Yitch and gold ever work. We need to do this ourselves, and if we can’t get in his office, no trial for the condor will ever happen.”

“All right, all right, spoil all my fun. I can at least dream, can’t I? But still, you’re missing something, or maybe you aren’t but haven’t mentioned it yet.”

“What’s that,” Pard says.

“As long as you’re in this school you’re in danger. If Yitch conspired to kill your parents, you’re a threat to him if you find out.” Miles wiggles his fingers at Pard, mimicking a seeros. “And the condor knows you can zap him now with your light trick. If he thinks you’re on to him about your parents too, he may get crazy.”

Pard sneers. “He would deserve a little zap, or even better, a big zap.”

“No arguing with you there, professor. But ideally the best outcome would be you staying at Fairstone and Yitch goes to prison, and not both of you dead or prison.”

“True, true,” Pard says. “So what do you think we should do?”

Miles shrugs. “Maybe we should sleep on it and go at it fresh tomorrow once Yitch settles down. For all we know Eeva may have taken care of your problem for you.”

Pard smiles. The thought of Eeva tormenting Yitch is indeed gratifying. Though the details vague since Pard never before thought of such wickedness that it appears Eeva is capable of. He rubs his sore head and then his tired eyes. “But who’s going to take care of Eeva?” Pard yawns. “Man I’m tired. I feel like I haven’t slept in a week; and my jaw is still sore from last night.”

“I know what we can do,” Miles says.

“What’s that?”

“We can celebrate! It just so happens my brother left an entire crate of the magical elixir we drank last night. I think it’s time for round two with the crossbones.”

Pard cringes and a nauseous sensation overtakes his body. “I don’t think—”
 

Miles cuts off Pard. “So you don’t want to let loose with more Sully ‘umping, professor?”

“Shut up.”

A STARRY-EYED PLAN

After a long day of tests, Pard is sound a sleep napping and a loud bang on his door wakes him. He jerks up to a seated position and shakes loose his groggy state.

Bang, bang, bang—

Pard glances at the clock and springs out of bed. “Six, shit, I’m late.”

 
“Open up, Pard,” Miles says from out in the hallway. “Don’t you, or I should say didn’t you have somewhere to be right now?”

Pard yanks open the door. “Sorry, I overslept.”

 
“Dang, I’ve been waiting for you in the courtyard for the last thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I think that stuff you gave me the other night is still in my system.”

“Quit being a baby. That elixir will make you a man.”

Pard stands with hands on hips. “I hardly think—”

Miles gestures toward the clock and then to the door. “You want to argue or see the girl you were supposed to meet,
oh
, about two minutes ago?”

“Right.” Pard tugs on a sweater, swings on his cloak and scarf, grabs his pack, and darts for the door. “So I guess you planned on coming with me today?”