Inquest

Inquest Chapter 1

“My thoughts exactly. I already know what the Inquisitor is going to tell me. Why go?”

“Why? Because the Guardians will hunt you down and drag you back to the Inquisitor if you try to run away from your Inquest, that’s why. Besides, you don’t know everything,” Jen reminds me. “You still have to find out your name. There’s no way you can know that already.”

I roll my eyes and lean against my locker. Two bulky guys from the football team rumble down the hall, pausing in their heckling of each other to look over at us. After seeing that my boyfriend, Lance, isn’t around, they turn away without acknowledging me. I frown at them before reluctantly turning my attention back to Jen. I really wish she would just drop the subject all together and let me focus on trying not to throw up. “Who cares what my name is going to be? Like I said before, nobody ever actually uses their true name. I don’t see the point in even getting one.”

“You of all people should want a new name.”

“It will probably be awful, anyway.”

Flopping against the locker next to me, Jen lets out an exasperated breath. “Your parents already covered that one. I mean, seriously, who would ever choose Libitina? You’re named after a roman death goddess, for crying out loud! Like any kid wants that following them through school. Creepy. It sounds like some kind of Goth ballerina freak. Your parents must have been high, or something.”

“It’s an old family name, supposedly.” I’m more inclined to believe that my mom knew she’d hate me from the moment she met me.

“What, did your family pop out of a Bram Stoker novel or something? Anyway, there’s no way you’d get stuck with another name like that. Fate can’t be that cruel.”

“Clearly you don’t know me very well, then,” I say. If something bad could happen, it would happen to me. A dozen broken bones, various serious injuries, embarrassing stories, that’s me. I am a magnet for unfortunate situations. Granted, most of those mishaps were caused by either my own stupidity or some brilliant idea I had, but still.

 “Well, it’s too bad the best name the Inquisitor could give you is also the worst one. Despite how horrible it would be to actually get it, I’ve always liked the name Cassia. It sounds so ancient and regal.”

I turn so I’m facing her directly. “There is nothing regal about that name,” I snap. “I can’t believe you’re even mentioning it. Please, Jen. I have some trig to finish during lunch. Let’s go already.”

“Aren’t you even a little bit nervous about tonight?” Jen asks.

I have to lie again. “No.”

I hate lying to Jen, but I can’t let her see how scared I am or she’ll know I’m hiding something. Jen can be relentless when there’s a secret nearby. There is a reason her articles on the school blog are the most read, hottest thing on the page. They might be the only thing anyone actually reads.

“Excited?” she asks.

I shake my head.

“Scared?”

Before I can shake my head again I feel someone’s arms wrap around my waist. “Scared about what?” Lance asks.

“Her Inquest.”

Lance leans his head down and kisses my neck, making me sigh. His sandy blond hair tickles my skin as he moves to kiss my forehead. “There’s nothing about an Inquest to be scared of,” he says. “Unless you have a problem with pain.”

“Thanks,” I say, but my fingers wind around his where I can feel the raised, scarred flesh of the diktats that run along the inside of his wrist. His right wrist, exactly where they’re supposed to be. Feeling them makes me shiver. I have a huge problem with pain. I can handle it with the best of them, given my vast experience with it, but for that same reason even the idea of being hurt makes me start smelling hospital antiseptic. That scent sends me into a panic quicker than anything else.