The Rage Eater

Chapter 28: Lotus Clouds

At lunch, Sadie ducked out early to go the Hall of Heroes and check the Rogues List. As she walked through the castle, with vine Dylan wrapped around her neck, Tim's words needled at her.

Was I too impatient? she wondered.

Yes, he was clever, but so was she. She'd defeated the water elemental, after all. Plus, she was the one with magic, not Tim.

Still, something about it didn't feel right. But Sadie swept the thought aside as she scanned the parchment nailed to the wall, looking for her name.

There it was, untouched, just as it had been that morning.

"That's odd," said Nicolas, strutting into the room with Devon trotting beside him. "I imagined a taverner's mamzer and her bug-eyed monster would be irresistible to the team captains."

Dylan twitched in her arm as if Nicolas' words struck him.

"He's not a monster," Sadie snapped. "He's my beastly."

I could burn you to ashes if I wanted, Sadie thought.

"My apologies," Nicolas said, smiling. "And, not to worry, there are still two days until the lists are due. I guess the Reynards were just overly keen to have me on their team."

Sadie checked the Rogues List. His name was crossed off. And sure enough, there it was on another page nailed to the wall, a team captained by the Reynard twins: the Masters of War. Geoffrey was there, too.

"You weren't their first choice, you know," Sadie said. "Hector asked Fran first, but she said no."

Nicolas paused, seeming to consider this. "It's true. No one likes to be second choice. Of course, it could be worse. I could've not been chosen at all."

Sadie's muscles tightened and her cheeks burned with anger. She wouldn't let Nicolas win. Not again. "Well, I don't need to wait to be chosen. I'll captain my own team."

Next to the Rogues List hung a pencil from a length of fraying rope. With it she scrawled her name on a piece of parchment labeled "New Teams."

Nicolas spasmed with laughter. "Congratulations, Sadie. You're a captain without a team!"

#

Sadie barely made it to the greenhouse in time for Master Padwe's class. She knew she should be focused—the more she knew about plants, the more useful Dylan would be—but she had a hard time concentrating with thoughts of the Game of Thieves spinning around her head. Last night she'd convinced herself it was the best way to get back at Nicolas and Geoffrey. But here she was, less than two days from the deadline, without any teammates.

"Now, can anyone remind me why we must wear gloves when handling lotus clouds?" asked Master Padwe.

Aubrey's hand shot up.

"Anyone who isn't from Clan Kaa?" Master Padwe said. "Yes, Tim."

"To n-n-not die?" Tim said.

At this, Dylan shifted into pink-and-green cactus.

Funny.

"Death's probably a bit dramatic," Master Padwe said. "However, if you absorb enough through your skin, it could easily knock you out. Now, with that said, you rarely see Healers carrying around bags full of lotus clouds. First, because it makes accidental contact much more likely. And second, because it's rather inconvenient. Which is why weare going to distill the clouds to create..."

Sadie raised her hand, remembering her first meeting with Master Padwe and the test tube full of bubbling yellow liquid. "Their essence."

"Very good. Now let's give it a try."

With Master Padwe guiding them, the students slipped on their gloves and began to pluck the yellow lotus clouds from their branches and place them, one by one, in test tubes. Aubrey and Sim worked with a quiet, focused efficiency, as if they'd been doing it all their lives.

But as much as Sadie tried to focus, her mind was consumed by the Game of Thieves. She needed to find teammates—and fast. She thought about asking Tim and Aubrey to join, but neither they nor their beastlies were well-suited to the game. Sadie needed to find athletes, ideally older students with beastlies who could move quickly, or undetected. And she had no idea where to start.

Watching Aubrey as she plucked the last of her lotus clouds, Sadie whispered. "I started my own Game of Thieves team."

Sim held up the test tube to the light, examining the fluff balls within.

"You what?" said Aubrey, watching Sim work. "Never mind. Tell me about it later. I need to concentrate."

Master Padwe held up a small dropper. "Once you've filled your test tubes, add five drops of distillation alcohol, then light your candles using your alchemist's sticks. But be very careful—you need the clouds to melt and come to a boil, but if you leave them even ten seconds too long, they'll boil over."

Sadie added the five drops and lit the candle underneath the test tube.

On the corner of the table, Dylan watched her work, his eyes focused and intense.

"I was thinking about asking Fran," Sadie continued, "but she doesn't really seem to like me. Or anyone, for that matter."

Inside Sadie's test tube, the lotus clouds began to melt, forming a thick, lemon-yellow sludge.

"Sadie, now is not the time," Aubrey said, her eyes focused on her own work.

"What I really need is someone with a flying beastly," Sadie said, ignoring her. "They can spot a flag in seconds."

Then, something bright caught Sadie's eye—Dylan, transformed into a big, bright red maple leaf.

Sadie's gaze snapped back to the tube. The yellow liquid was bubbling violently. She blew on the flame, but it refused to die. She blew again. Still nothing. She lunged for the candle, but it was so hot her hand jerked back, sending the test tube flying into the air and spilling boiling yellow liquid all over Aubrey's arm.

Aubrey yelped in pain. A moment later her eyelids drooped, and her face went slack.

"I feel so, so sleepy," she said, her head lolling like a drunken taverner. Her face fell against the desk with a violent thump.

"Aubrey, Aubrey, can you hear me?" said Sim frantically as he tapped her cheeks. She was as still as a stone.

Sadie shot up from her seat, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. "Master Padwe, help!"