In the previous chapter: Carolina told the girls that Elle had gone missing and Marian could be able to track her down with the energy mark she placed on her. Uilliam continued to interrogate Hannah.
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CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
There were only three people in the world who knew the mortal surname that belonged to the second most powerful mystic in the whole of the known universe. The first was Maedb. At birth, she was the most powerful mystic to ever grace the realms and who had, in her powerful right, became a goddess as decreed by Ameshaspand in the tenth century. The second was Maeve O'Connacht, who was Maedb's sister and, though not a mystic, was the most powerful elemental alive.
At the thought, Uilliam chuckled. If Ameshaspand knew who was responsible for releasing Ahriman from his jail, Maedb would never have been named goddess. Goes to demonstrate that the gods were not omniscient.
An elemental was simply beings who could control the elements of the realms. But a mystic was a conduit between the divine and the commons. Their powers were rumoured to be exceptional but he had yet to witness their powers.
However, as demonstrated by the O'Connachts, blood relations had little to do with the inheritance of mysticism. Though, those with the propensity to become mystics, like Maeve herself, were more powerful indeed than their peers.
The third who knew was he, Uilliam O'Murchadha, whom Maeve had confided in and called in on the favour centuries-past he owed her. His instructions were to keep an eye on the girl who was apparently a direct descendent of O'Mordha.
He contacted all his sources about anyone under that name, but information about mystics was kept under tight wraps.
As soon as the cultist woman, Hannah, spoke her name, it occurred to Uilliam that perhaps much more people were in on who Oriane O'Mordha was; Moore was simply a modern adaptation of the ancient byname.
He didn't know who the mystic O'Mordha was since he never met her; Maeve refused to tell him more. She also refused to tell him why she had taken an interest in O'Mordha's descendent, stole her away, and locked her away in the human realm. Then she had gone and told Chancellor Goff and everyone on the staff that Oriane was related to the Mist family, the founders of the school. It, of course, helped her case that Charlene Mist, exactly old enough to be Oriane's grandmother, had simply up and left her place as Chancellor just a few months prior to the beginning of Summer.
Hence, it was a huge surprise to him that his prisoner, or anyone associated with her, knew the ancient surname as well.
It quickly became clear to him that Maeve O'Connacht, the elemental he was still indebted to for keeping his identity secret all these years, was playing a dangerous game by involving the Rosicrucians.
She was likely who told them about his daevas too.
Unless... Perhaps the Rosicrucians had found out about the O'Mordha descendent another way. Still didn't explain how they knew about his identity, though. The only reasonable explanation that tied all the knots was: Maeve.
The Maeve who was meditating in another realm while the world brewed up a storm.
What a mess.
There was also another matter. If Hannah had planned to reveal she knew the name, why wait two weeks? Logic dictated that the timing was orchestrated. Of course, she was likely directed by the Rosicrucian leader. But the question was: why? He had a feeling during this time, something very bad had happened.
Uilliam knew that he really should've sent someone down to the repository to keep track of the situation but, given that all previous attempts had led to disappearances and misreports, he didn't need the Council breathing down on him should another mission failed to come to fruition. Actually, the only time the Rosicrucians hadn't orchestrated a disappearance-act had been when Oriane, the ditz, wandered down there – and during class hours nonetheless.
If it weren't for her connections, he would've handed the situation to the Chancellor, who would've expelled her immediately. That was, if Chancellor Goff wasn't already in on their schemes or a part of their affiliate.
Though, that fact alone should have raised alarm bells. All that friendliness, trying to blackmail Oriane, a young defenseless girl, to their cause. It all served a higher purpose, perhaps. Uilliam simply wasn't sure what that purpose was.
Uilliam strummed his fingers on the table, the other hand looping the baton around his wrist expertly. He had been sitting in that seat, stewing on his thoughts for an hour now since his prisoner passed out.
In his mind, he tried to connect the dots, trying to separate Maeve from the equation.
Once more, his mind flashed back to the explosives underground that he couldn't clear out without informing the Rosicrucians of his activities. Perhaps they will halt his efforts before he began. Uilliam wasn't interested in wasting the Council resources. And then, there were the border anomalies – though, it was quickly becoming clear to him that these miscreants playing the evil cult were responsible for all the running around he had to do during the Summer term.
At the end of his trail of thoughts, everything came down to what these Rosicrucians wanted. In order to find out, he had to dig into their leader's mind. Perhaps even set up a meeting with him. A sure way to do just that was to suggest an exchange of the prisoner for information. Except he wasn't sure how much this Hannah was worth to her leader. If she kept her mouth closed, it was just as likely that she meant scrap to the entire cult. Their leader could simply refuse to share.
The alternative was that he could play into their hand: bring the girl to Hannah and see what his prisoner had to say then.
While it would appear that the Rosicrucians posed no threat to Oriane just yet, playing nice could just do the trick. One can always catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Uilliam wasn't above playing the diplomat to get what he wanted. Perhaps, amidst this confusion, he could even manipulate the Rosicrucians into raising his daevas for him – as it seemed that this, too, was an act that interested them too. Did they hope to control his creations then?
They would need to have another god on their side for that. To his knowledge, that couldn't possibly be.
Uilliam frowned. He hoped not, anyway.
Indeed, he didn't know or even considered many things until today. There were always moments in life when risk became necessary, and then there were moments where certainty was required. This instance demanded the latter.
Just in time, the door to the dungeons unlocked with a bang, where the metal bar was turned and slammed backwards. The heavy metallic barrier creaked as it opened, unveiling Gordon in his distinctive black hood and dour expression. His steps were unhurried as he descended the few steps. His boots struck noisily against the cold steel ground.
Uilliam's eyes watched him as he walked to him, regarding his associate critically.
"What is it?" he growled out.
Gordon shifted his black robes apart, revealing the clipboard he carried around with him. "Carolina has submitted the follow-up. She's getting the energy elemental to the Foci Room."
In reply, Uilliam grunted his approval and stood from his chair, coming to his full height with his arms crossed at his chest, which made his arm muscles bulge menacingly. He was half a foot taller than Gordon, and much broader too. His associate stepped back to give him room, subconsciously deferring to him for direction.
"Is there anything else?" Gordon asked.
"Yes," he answered after a moment's pause. He considered his decision. While it was crucial that he reviewed the larger picture, sometimes, it was all about making the right short-term decisions. And, although he replayed the different scenarios that could occur following this move, he knew it was one that led to the best outcome, regardless of any future ramifications. With resolution, he ordered, "Bring Miss Oriane Moore to the reception here."
Here was a hidden tower between the Cairngorms in the Scottish highlands, far from any village or house. This was the Enforcers headquarters of the North which he was stationed in. There were numerous towers, just like this one across the realms – sometimes, more than one. But the general public was denied access to the location.
Under his hood, Gordon's eyes winked from the shadows when he widened them. "With permission from the Council?"
"With my permission. Forget the Council," he snarled out the word. "And don't unlock the Aegis. You'll mask this destination by ordering a portal to open within the tower with an access key."
Gordon turned his head sideways as if contemplating whether or not to follow his order.
"The alternative will be to send you into the underground repository without backup," he continued in a softer tone. "Since we both know the Council won't spare more resources into the detonators. Follow my orders or not at all."
Finally, Gordon nodded his unenthusiastic assent.
"At once."
However, Uilliam held up a finger and frowned. "Take your time. There's still more work to be done on our prisoner."
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Oriane sat in the lecture theatre listening to Professor McGail drone on and on about the different Councils and the Chambers that held the entire institution of all the immortals of the realms. She was zoning out.
"Let's finish up our topic on The Chamber of Councils with a summary. This is going to be in your exam so pay attention!" she orated to the class and flipped her hand up into the air. The white board was suddenly filled with words. Hurriedly, because class was about to end, the students scribbled notes into their books or, if they were Air elementals, lifted their pens and motioned for it to copy everything from the board down onto paper. "The Chamber was originally established to preserve peace between all the races following the Great Wars. It centralises the Council system. No longer do we have separate authorities and institutions that overlapped each other or competed for power. The Chamber unifies the chaos that was a part of our history. And anyone wants to answer why the fae are not included in the Chamber system?"
Two hands shot up from the front of the theater.
"Yes, Evangeline?"
A girl in a blue dress stood. "Because there are too many minority factions in fae culture and none of them want to be grouped under a single Council?"
"Correct," Professor McGail encouraged. "Another point, anyone?"
There was silence, other than the echo of the professor's voice.
She had to answer her own question. "Relativism!" she exclaimed. "Fae culture, because of its diversity, is not suitable for any centralised authority to step in and take control. Each faction has its own norms and traditions. They're also individually very powerful, with a lot of magick inhabiting their geography. There is a list of points on page three-hundred and twenty-three in your textbooks. Don't forget to at least read the conclusion of chapter two!"
At four o'clock on the dot, the bell tower in the distance rung its chimes.
Professor McGail sighed then belted out above the shuffling and murmurs, "There's going to be a test when I next see you on this topic!" The class groaned aloud in unison. "And then we'll go on to describe the different Councils and their functions. So, make sure you've read chapter three and four before you come to class."
Oriane shoved her massive textbook into her bag and leaned over to Charlotte. "I don't understand this class," she grumbled under her breath. "There's too much to remember and the professor gives out so much homework."
It was entirely true. The essay she had done was sure to receive poor grades. She was certain that she would do equally poorly in the quiz in two weeks. And it wasn't like this was her only class! Oriane had to also focus her attentions on her other subjects too – those, she could handle despite their individual oddities.
Her friend patted her on the shoulder in encouragement. "It's hard for you because you weren't exposed to the whole system as a kid. And Professor McGail is notorious for giving out too much work and marking harshly."
She could feel a headache coming on from not only the prospect of the work and the stuffiness of the theatre, but also because her grief with the Rosicrucians stayed on her mind. It swirled and frothed in her head like a hot wheezing kettle.
Grabbing her bag, she moved with effort, following Charlotte out the theatre. Then, on her way back to the dormitories, Oriane wondered if Marian was alright with Carolina, doing whatever it was that Energy elementals did to look for an energy mark. While she had no clue what that encompassed, she hoped that the act did no harm to Marian in the process.
Oriane was also eager to speak with Carolina, who was the only person who could contact Uilliam for her. This was becoming one nuisance of a hide-and-seek which she was desperately uninterested in. Her closest friends were in danger of a rather terrible ordeal and she was terrified out of her mind for the consequences should she fail to make the release happen. It was just her luck that she'd only barely settled into this foreign environment and shortly after she'd be... gone.
Regardless, she forced the pessimistic thoughts out of her mind. Shireen and she were scheduled to complete the decorations by tomorrow and there were simply so much left to do. While Shireen, Nix, and Jim had sorted out recruitment and designer teams, Oriane had gone with Jim to sort out the materials required.
Thankfully, the Weres and the single Fae male, Lannoris, had been ready to assist with the building of each of the carnival themed tents and stalls. Then there was the massive podium in the middle of the front gardens that would host the Tournament. Finally, there would be cones that needed to be placed for the Hunt for the Weres in the forests.
They hadn't even begun working out the logistics for that particular part of the preparations. Supervision was required for those who were daring enough to venture into the deep dark woods and tall trees where no light could shine through. In the previous years, this part often resulted in injury to the supervisors and the designators – either from the sharp natural barbs of the forestry or from the wild beasts that lurked behind the thick vegetation.
The only ones who were strong enough to handle the dangers of the woods were the Weres, but Maddox and his fellow gang had noted that there were few volunteers willing to venture out prior to the Hunt this year, which proved to be a major logistical hurdle. The responsibility to complete the preparation fell on the ones in on the Student Council meetings.
Oriane only hoped that given she had no affinity, it wouldn't be necessary for her to be a part of the team to place the cones. She'd probably be a hindrance to the task, in any case.
With a weary sigh, she said to Charlotte of her meeting with Shireen before supper and headed off down the crowded hallways alone.
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