The Archives (Sacrisvita Book 2) Page 4

  “Uh, maybe,” she said uncertainly. “But Mr. Walsh has been pretty helpful so far.”

  “Ok, alright.” He held up his hands. “It just—it doesn’t sound like it.”

  His face scrunched up in confusion. “I mean, I thought for sure you’d have mentioned the first Founders’ Day as the most interesting thing you’d learned so far.” An air of indifference came over him. “But maybe you just haven’t gotten to it yet. I know he doesn’t have a lot of time to keep up with everyone’s individual research.”

  She shook her head. “I guess I’ve just missed it. I’ll look into it for sure, though.” She began inching toward the doorway again and then stopped. “Thanks,” she added, turning back around. “I’ll be out in just a minute.”

  He nodded. “Hurry, Sage. We’ll have to stay late to get in enough practice today.”

  Her head bobbed. Rushing through the door, she placed her databook on one of the chairs and hugged the book tightly for a moment before hiding it below the databook. As soon as she finished changing, she piled her clothing on top of it for good measure. She chided herself for her carelessness. She would have to be much more careful not to get caught.

  Although she was still unsure why Mr. Walsh had let her study something that had to be kept a secret, she was fairly certain it wouldn’t end well for either of them if the truth came out.

  ***

  “We need to talk.”

  Penelope grabbed Sage’s arm and pulled her along until they reached her secluded thinking spot in the yard.

  “What’s wrong?” Sage waited until they had stooped down under a mess of wooden beams to ask. The air was still, but she tugged her jacket a little tighter.

  “This.” Penelope thrust a piece of paper at Sage.

  The color drained from Sage’s face as she turned it over in her hands. It was a page from her book. She hadn’t even known it was missing.

  “I knew it,” Penelope declared. “You lied to me.”

  Sage searched for words. “Not exactly…” She hesitated.

  Penelope’s eyes narrowed. “Sage, I thought we were friends. You don’t lie to your friends.”

  “We are!” Sage protested. “I—I just—”

  “Don’t you trust me? I’ve kept your secrets before!” Penelope’s expression was morphing from angry to wounded.

  “I do!” Sage’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “I think this is a really big secret, Pen. And it’s not just mine.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She sighed in frustration. “I don’t think I should say.”

  “You still don’t trust me.” Penelope stuck out her lip.

  “It’s not that—really. I don’t think an ambassador should know about this at all. You might get in trouble.”

  Penelope was starting to look uncertain about her earlier conviction.

  “Look, it’s not that different from Eprah’s early days…”

  “Are you serious?” Penelope reverted to anger. “I read that paper! It has a language Eprah’s never used!”

  She snatched the page back and shook it in Sage’s face. “I can’t even figure out what it’s saying, but I know it’s not from Eprah’s history at all, let alone its ‘early days.’ I’m studying the Golden Era, and that’s only thirty years after Eprah was started—pretty darn close to Eprah’s early days, wouldn’t you say? I don’t think they developed another whole language in thirty years.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you right now.”

  Sage shook her head. “But it is, sorta.” She threw her hands in the air and hurriedly continued before her friend could interrupt. “It’s from right before Eprah was formed.”

  Penelope still appeared distrustful, but Sage took her momentary silence as a willingness to listen.

  “Remember the first day in the Archives, when I found the book with that phrase I showed you?” Sage prodded cautiously.

  Penelope nodded slowly.

  “Well, it turns out, there’s a lot more from then. And it’s all within about fifteen years of when Eprah began.” She paused to see if Penelope was following what she was saying.

  “Why do you care so much?”

  Sage exhaled. “Because, Penelope, they care.”

  “Who’s ‘they’?”

  “Whoever painted those words on the Institution. And whoever didn’t want you or anyone else to know it ever happened.”

  “So what? You’re acting like this is a big secret. Maybe they just didn’t think it was important enough to mention.”

  Sage shook her head. “No, not a chance. It was written all over the front of the school that morning and completely gone by the time lunch was over. I just don’t know what it means.”

  Penelope frowned. “Ok… but say you’re right about all this—and I’m not saying you are—won’t you get in trouble for studying something different?”

  “I don’t think so,” Sage said slowly, choosing her words carefully so that she didn’t implicate Mr. Walsh. “I mean, I probably need to find out more about the actual early days of Eprah in case anyone asks, but that shouldn’t be too hard.” She thought back to her earlier conversation with Kai. She couldn’t allow herself to be caught off-guard like that again.

  “Be careful, Sage. You’re already really close to being shunned ‘til Level Sixteen. If Mr. Walsh or anyone else figures out what you’re up to, I might not see you again ‘til graduation.”

  “Shunned?” Sage cocked her head. She didn’t like the sound of that.

  Penelope nodded seriously. “It’s basically the longest Cleansing ever,” she explained. “If the headmaster or Quorum thinks you’re a really bad influence on the other students, and you’re too old to go into the Transitional Class… Well, they have to do something with you, and they won’t let you be in your level anymore.”

  Sage’s heart dropped. “You mean, they’d actually put me in a Cleansing until graduation?”

  “Mmhmm,” Penelope’s eyes were wide. “I won’t tell anyone, Sage, but if you don’t want that to happen, you need to make sure you don’t get caught.”

  9. SPARRING

  “Ooof.”

  Sage doubled over in pain.

  “I know I haven’t gotten to train you as much, but honestly, I’m surprised Kai hasn’t drilled this into your brain yet. Hands up, Sage.” Rosalind looked almost angry at her pupil.

  “I don’t care if you just took a hit. If you expose your head like that, you won’t have time to block anything else I throw at your face. And then you’ll be done—completely out of the fight.”

  “O…k…” Sage gasped, drawing her fists up.

  Rosalind rolled her eyes. “I’ll give you a minute.”

  “But Carnabel won’t,” Sage quickly added, straightening. “I can keep going.”

  A grin played at the corners of Rosalind’s mouth. “True. She won’t.”

  Sage felt herself flying backward before she even realized Rosalind had dropped and swept out her legs.

  “Hit the mat with your palms!” Rosalind was barking orders while Sage was falling.

  A dull thump echoed across the room.

  “You have to break your fall. Smack the mat next time.”

  Sage gulped for air while Rosalind paced at the edge of the mat. As soon as her breath returned, she pushed herself to her feet and raised her hands to her face again.

  Rosalind bounded back into a fighting stance. “Good.” She smiled. “Now try blocking,” she ordered.

  By sheer luck, Sage managed to dodge the first of Rosalind’s blows. The second, however, sent her careening backward with her arms flailing in giant circles.

  “Again.” Rosalind paced impatiently.

  Staggering to her feet, Sage resumed a defensive pose. She flinched as she saw Rosalind’s arm shooting toward her, but she managed to deflect the strike at the last moment.

  “Good. Keep it up.” Rosalind twisted her neck around to make eye contact as she spoke.

  “Ahem.” The guttural resonan
ce of a man clearing his throat echoed in the room.

  Both girls dropped their hands and looked toward the sound. Kai was standing in the doorway, arms crossed and smiling. Sage wondered how long he had been watching them. For a moment, she thought he would be taking over the training session. He had done that a few other times when Rosalind wasn’t feeling well.

  But then she saw her.

  Carnabel stood half-obscured behind him. Her lips curled over her teeth in an eager sneer. Sage narrowed her eyes, barely noticing the pain of her nails digging into the palms of her hands.

  “Hope I’m not interrupting too much, ladies.” Kai strode into the room, a giddy Carnabel trailing behind.

  “Are you kidding? I thought you’d decided not to show up,” Rosalind teased.

  His smile wavered for a moment when he saw the scowl on Sage’s face, but he regained his composure and continued mischievously. “Ros and I thought it would be a good idea for you two to have a practice match. You’re almost halfway to the tournament, so we’re hoping you’ve learned something by now.”

  He laughed. “You know, this is almost just as important for us so that we know what we need to work on most with you two.”

  Somehow Sage felt that she was already at a disadvantage with this announcement. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she could already feel her hands getting clammy. Carnabel didn’t look at all surprised. The hungry look on her face spoke volumes.

  If she wanted to fight that badly, Sage did too.

  “Alright, you two. Let’s keep to the rules of the tournament,” Kai continued. “Stay within bounds, and stop your attack if your opponent taps out—” he paused and looked at Carnabel, “—or gets knocked out.”

  Carnabel started to roll her eyes in protest but stopped when she saw the stern look on Kai’s face.

  “And let’s not forget to respect your opponents and your instructors,” Rosalind added pointedly.

  Rosalind grabbed Carnabel’s shoulders and roughly placed her in front of Sage. She extended her arm in the air between the two girls. “No sense in waiting, right?” The corners of her mouth twitched as she tried not to smile at the shock on both of their faces.

  A wave of nausea washed over Sage. She didn’t feel at all prepared for this. And things hadn’t gone well at all the last time they fought.

  “Begin!” Rosalind raised her hand and quickly stepped backward.

  She didn’t have a chance to think. Carnabel’s fist was already flying toward her face.

  Sage managed to sidestep the blow and knock her hand aside on pure instinct. Maybe practicing the same moves for weeks was actually working.

  She had been tiring near the end of her practice session with Rosalind, but now her adrenaline was pumping again. Carnabel’s momentum carried her forward just enough for Sage to land a strike to her kidneys. She cried out and jerked around, grabbing at the spot where she’d just been hit.

  Anger burned in her eyes as she backed away from Sage. She took a moment to compose herself before squaring off again.

  Her fist flew toward Sage’s stomach this time. Sage managed to leap backwards enough to dodge it, but she wasn’t expecting the lower attack and was thrown off balance.

  Carnabel took advantage of her surprise and continued throwing punches. Sage tried to regain her composure, but she wasn’t having much luck fending off blows, and it was becoming harder to fight back with each new painful sensation.

  A frustrated Sage staggered backwards. Carnabel was already advancing toward her again. She didn’t have much time to act.

  It was as if she hadn’t been practicing every day for months. All the finer points of her training gave way to desperation. She shut her eyes tightly and lowered her head, charging toward Carnabel as fast as she could.

  “Ugh!” Carnabel grunted as they both fell to the floor.

  Sage blinked in disbelief. Somehow, she had her pinned. She drew her arm back, aiming for Carnabel’s face.

  Direct contact.

  A scream pierced the air. As Carnabel gasped and sputtered beneath her, Sage noticed a deep red liquid spilling over her face. She looked down at her fist, still clenched tightly. The same dark color was smeared across her knuckles.

  She suddenly panicked. What had she done? She’d actually hurt someone—not a nice someone, granted, but a person all the same.

  She scrambled to her feet and backed away from her opponent. As she turned, she could see the shocked expressions on her instructors’ faces. This wasn’t like her at all, and they all knew it.

  Sage hung her head in shame—not noticing that Carnabel had regained her footing behind her and was gearing up for a strong kick.

  ***

  “It’s just a dislocation, dear. You’re lucky. Nothing’s broken.” The curt woman took another look at Sage’s shoulder and shook her frizzy red hair. She seemed almost bored by her own proclamation. “You won’t even need to see the physician.”

  Sage bit her lip. The nurse made it sound painless. It wasn’t. It was excruciating. But she wouldn’t cry. She couldn’t.

  Carnabel wasn’t with them in the infirmary, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t find out if she cried. She may not have won the fight, but she wasn’t going to show extra weakness.

  “Sit here for a moment.” The nurse pointed to a table and then walked out of the room.

  “You’ll be fine. This kind of thing happens all the time.” Kai sounded more aloof than reassuring.

  Sage started to nod and winced. She cradled her arm in her hand and slowly shifted her weight on the table.

  The nurse walked back in the room carrying a familiar metal egg and tablet. She tapped the screen a few times and looked down her nose at her patient. She glanced over at Kai.

  “So what exactly were you two doing?” The question wasn’t directed at Sage. She moved to Sage’s side and pressed the egg to her bracelet.

  “Bokja training,” Kai replied stiffly.

  A soft beep emitted from the egg, and Sage suddenly felt the pain leave her arm. She looked inquisitively at the nurse. “How did you—”

  “The magic of zeptobes.” The nurse looked amused at Sage’s surprise. “I take it you’ve never had a real injury before. It makes setting your arm so much easier.”

  The nurse set the egg down, putting one hand on Sage’s shoulder and grabbing her wrist with the other.

  “Well, whatever you did, I wouldn’t recommend doing it again,” she said distractedly as she rotated Sage’s arm slowly. “There may be some additional damage to your shoulder. You’ll want to be careful with it for the next few months to give it time to heal properly.”

  “The next few months?” Sage couldn’t hide her concern.

  “Mmhmm,” the nurse cooed nonchalantly. “If you’re not careful, you could reinjure it or cause worse problems. So try to take it easy.” She released Sage’s arm and grabbed the egg again. “There.”

  Sage winced slightly as the egg beeped again and feeling returned to her arm. It wasn’t nearly so bad as it had been moments before, but it definitely still hurt.

  “Better?”

  Sage nodded.

  “No activity for your shoulder for at least two weeks. Understand? No Bokja. And you’ll have to wear a sling.”

  Sage looked at Kai apologetically, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was frowning at the floor with his arms crossed.

  “Here.” The nurse thrust a small cloth at her, busying herself on the tablet again.

  “Ok, this will regulate the temperature of whatever it touches.” She grabbed the cloth again and wrapped it around Sage’s shoulder. “It’ll keep swelling down and promote healing. It should stay on for a couple days. If it falls off too soon, come back, and I’ll reapply it.”

  She patted the bandage once more for good measure and straightened. “Any questions?”

  Sage shook her head.

  “Alright, then you’re good to go!” The nurse paused. “Take that warning to rest seriously, or I’ll be
seeing you in here again very soon, young lady.”

  “Thanks,” Kai mumbled as the nurse walked out the door.

  He turned to Sage. “This is a problem.”

  She nodded, fighting back tears. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sometimes this happens,” he continued, almost as if he were talking to himself. “I’ll have to ask him, but there’s a chance…” he trailed off.

  “Ask who what?” Sage tilted her head and sniffed.

  Kai waved his hand dismissively. “I need to talk to the headmaster. See if he’ll waive your requirement to fight in the tournament based on this injury.”

  “Would he do that?” Her eyes were wide with hope.

  “Dunno. There’s not much precedent in this situation, I don’t think. Given it’s a punishment, though, I don’t like your odds. But I’ll ask.”

  “Oh. Ok.” Sage stared at the ground. How was she supposed to fight in the tournament if she couldn’t even train? Carnabel would have months of preparation to her advantage. Would she have to forfeit? Could she? She couldn’t afford to be penalized on Chances already.

  A loud crash interrupted her train of thoughts. She looked up, startled. The chair Kai had been sitting in was now halfway across the room, tipped it over on its side against a cabinet.

  “Sorry, Sage. I didn’t expect that to happen.”

  She raised an eyebrow. She’d never seen him so upset. “You didn’t? Didn’t you kick it?”

  He snorted. “Not the chair. Your arm—your shoulder. I didn’t think she would do something like that.”

  She shrugged and then winced again. “It’s Carnabel,” she said, as if that was a sufficient explanation.

  Kai shook his head. “You shouldn’t have stopped your attack. She was still conscious. You were within the rules.”

  “But I really hurt her.”

  Kai gave her a curious look and narrowed his eyes. “Sage, she really hurt you. You can’t give up just because you feel bad. You’ll never win that way.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t think they would have wanted me to hurt anyone,” she spat back.

  “Who’s they?”