The August Five Part 21

"Hey, little brother," Bern said. "Where have you been?"

"I went for a walk," Tommy replied.

"You shouldn't have left the dinner party without an escort," Bern informed him. "Father was furious. He had a rover waiting to take us home."

"Well, I made it fine," Tommy said.

"The cottagers went back to work today," Bern said. "Everything is going back to normal."

"And is all forgiven, just like Father said?" Tommy asked.

"They should be happy they get to come back at all," Bern said.

Tommy didn't want to talk about politics with Bern. He wanted his brother to go away so he could think about Ellie leaving and how he felt about it. Her news about Hywel seemed especially strange. She had acted like it was a major revelation, but he wasn't sure what it meant. Maybe the investigators should search for Hywel on Aeren, but there hadn't been any new demands for a few weeks-at least not that the Zunft Chronicle had reported. Hywel was probably dead by now.

"Are you listening to me?" Bern asked impatiently. "We need to get going."

"Where?" Tommy hadn't been listening.

"To the headmaster's office," Bern said. "They're meeting with everyone."

"Why?" Tommy asked, following Bern out into the corridor. He locked the door. When they were halfway down the corridor, he went back to double-check that he'd locked it.

"You're so annoying, Tommy," Bern said, when Tommy caught up with him. So Tommy went back a third time and checked the door again.

They took the path around the Green, which was crowded with lads enjoying the unexpected sunshine. Many were playing Litball, their jackets strewn on benches despite the chilly temperature. A few boys greeted Bern, inviting him to come and join the game.

"I'll be there later," Bern called.

"What's this meeting for again?" Tommy asked.

"It's a check-in after all the drama," Bern said. "Father arranged it, I'm sure."

They reached the new administrative building, which was one of the most modern buildings in all of Sevenna. While most of the structures on campus had been built a century ago, this building was less than a year old. It seemed out of place to Tommy, like a shiny silver coin mixed in with a handful of old money. Bern yanked the front door open harder than necessary. He paused inside the threshold and glared back at Tommy.

"You've handled everything wrong," Bern said. "You were so easygoing as a child. We used to get along so well, and you've changed."

"We got along because I did what you said," Tommy pointed out. "You can't expect me to do that forever."

"Do you remember playing toy soldiers?" Bern asked. "You were the blue soldiers, and I had the red ones. What did you call them? The Annihilators?"

"That was your army," Tommy said. "Mine were the Falcons. And I only played blue because you took the red. They were nicer by far."

Tommy had an unexpected memory of their mother standing near the stained-gla.s.s window that she had installed in the playroom when they were little. In the afternoon, a kaleidoscope of light flowed through the colored gla.s.s, casting mottled blocks of color on the floor. That had been the boys' battlefield-a tapestry of light on a lazy summer afternoon. Bern would get angry, and Tommy would let him have his way, and they'd go back to their innocent games.

"Sitting with the girls," Bern said. "Making yourself an outcast with the lads. It should have been so easy for you. We are the sons of Colston Sh.o.r.e! When you do the wrong things, it makes my life harder."

"This has nothing to do with you," Tommy said.

"We're brothers. Twins! Everything that you do reflects on me and on Father. And you're embarra.s.sing yourself. So you deserve everything that happens to you."

Tommy scowled at his brother. "Same to you, Bern," he said inadequately.

It was a stupid retort because Bern lived a golden life. At any rate, nothing bad ever seemed to happen to him. Bern opened the door wider and let Tommy go ahead of him into the foyer. They climbed the stairs and entered the gaudy waiting room. Golden couches faced each other across a mahogany table. Gilded molding accented the room and official state portraits hung on the walls. Even the wallpaper had a thread of gold running through it. No wonder Rannigan was so keen to have an office here, Tommy thought.

A soldier waited near Olberg's office, and Bern half-saluted him when they entered the lobby.

"Mr. Sh.o.r.e," the soldier said to Bern. "You can send your brother in now."

"Is the guard a friend of yours?" Tommy asked. He suddenly felt uneasy.

"The headmaster isn't meeting with other students," Bern said. "He's only meeting with you."

"You lied to me?" Tommy asked. "Why would he want to see me?"

"Well, Father heard about you snooping in his office last night-" Bern began.

"I wasn't snooping!" Tommy interrupted. "I can't believe you ratted me out."

"It wasn't my fault," Bern protested. "Father kept asking questions, and I couldn't lie to him."

"You just lied to me," Tommy said. He thought about ducking out the door, but the soldier seemed to read his mind and moved closer to him.

"Headmaster Olberg is waiting for you," the guard said.

"This will make you a better Zunftson," Bern said. "And a better brother."

"How is your Honor Index, Bern?" Tommy asked. "You're a liar and a vandal. I think you're on the negative side of zero."

"At least I'm not the one spending time with the enemy," Bern said, turning away from his brother.

"You are. You can't see it," Tommy told him. But Bern was already out the door. Tommy imagined him bursting through the front door as the lads called him over to join their game in the sunshine. The guard jerked his head toward the headmaster's office, and Tommy followed him inside the office. Compared to the garish waiting room, Olberg's office was unexpectedly plain. The heavy drapes pulled across the window made the room feel claustrophobic. A volt-lamp glowed on the desk, which was cluttered with books and papers. Dozens of official portraits hung on the walls and the painted faces of the Zunftmen seemed to gaze down on Tommy in judgment.

"Please, sit down," Olberg said. He nodded at the soldier. "Shut the door behind you."

Thomas took the chair directly across from the headmaster. His heart was beating uncomfortably fast, making him dizzy and disoriented.

"I a.s.sume you've heard about the end of the Cessation," Olberg said. "Welcome news, indeed."

"Yes, sir," Tommy said. There was an awkward silence as...o...b..rg waited for Tommy to say something more. There were dark circles under the headmaster's eyes and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Yes, well, I suppose you're wondering why you're here," Olberg said. "I received an order from the chief administrator, and I am compelled to act upon it. In the past, Seminary had autonomy from the Zunft and the actions of the Chamber, but with its dissolution, well, now it's a different world."

"My father sent you an order?" Tommy said. "What does that have to do with me?"

Olberg sighed. "It's about you, Thomas. Your father says you are guilty of actions unbecoming of a Seminary student. You are to be expelled immediately."

His father had cast him out and he hadn't even bothered to tell Tommy himself. Tommy felt like a stray dog who had been kicked away from the door.

"What actions?" Tommy asked in a quivery voice.

"I have no idea," Olberg said. "As far as I can tell, you've been a fine student so this must be a personal matter. If I had authority to protest the matter, I would. But I don't, so here we are."

"What am I supposed to do?" Tommy asked. His checks flushed, and shame overwhelmed him. He tried to rea.s.sure himself that his father was wrong, not him. But suddenly his future seemed like a scary black void.

"A guard is waiting outside to take you to the ferry," Olberg told him. "You are to return to your family's estate in Aeren. At least that's what it says in the message."

Tommy stared at Olberg. "And do what?"

"I don't know, Thomas," Olberg said with genuine sympathy in his voice.

"I'm not guilty of anything," Tommy said. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"Like I said, I can't choose to ignore this," Olberg said. "I have no recourse or appeal since the Chamber no longer exists."

Tommy blinked quickly, but tears pooled in his eyes. Horrified that Olberg might notice, he turned away slightly in his chair. He wanted to run away and lose himself in the city, but there was a guard in the hall and one waiting for him downstairs.

"Take a minute, Thomas," Olberg said quietly. "Get your wits about you. It's a lot to deal with."

Blinking quickly, Tommy's eyes darted along the portraits on the wall in front of him. There were few splashes of bright color among the mainly dark masculine colors depicting the former headmasters and professors of this renowned inst.i.tution-where he was no longer welcome. A daub of purple caught his eye and he turned toward it. The painting showed a tall, thin man with prominent cheekbones above a red beard. In the painting, he was wearing a bowler hat and a shiny purple vest. He looked oddly familiar ... particularly the purple vest. Not many Zunftmen would be seen in such a thing.

"Headmaster, who is that?" he asked, pointing to the man in the painting.

"Oh, that's Toulson Hywel. It was painted a few weeks before he was kidnapped. I don't suppose there's much chance he's alive now."

If the man in the purple vest was Toulson Hywel, then the former chief administrator had been on Miller's Road the day of the August Rising. Tommy had seen him near the entrance to the Harrow Trailhead. According to Ellie, Hywel had been visiting his father that very same day. Hywel had been in his father's forest with two guards, but why?

"I'm ready to go," Tommy said loudly. "Now."

"Go where?" Olberg asked, obviously surprised at Tommy's change of demeanor.

"Now, to Aeren. You said there's a guard who will take me to the ferry?"

"Yes, that's right," Olberg said. "Your father said to tell you that your things will be shipped to you presently."

Tommy didn't care about his books and papers. He wanted to return to Aeren, climb up the ridge to Miller's Road, and figure out what secrets were lurking in the forest. The guard led him out of the administration building and toward the main entrance. As they were pa.s.sing Tauber Hall, the main door opened and Ellie walked outside. She was laden with heavy tote bags, the last of her possessions that she was going to take to Norde. It suddenly occurred to Tommy that Ellie was heading to the port, too, and he had an idea. He broke away from the guard and ran over to her.

"Hey!" the guard protested.

"Tommy!" Ellie said in surprise. She was even more surprised when he threw his arms around her and put his lips close to her ear.

"I've been expelled, too," he whispered. "Take the ferry to Aeren instead of Norde. Hire a coach to take you to Sh.o.r.e Manor a few miles north along the coast. I'll meet you there tomorrow morning. Do you have money? Can you do that?"

"Yes," Ellie said. "I can, and I will. But why, Tommy?"

"I think I know where to find Hywel," Tommy said.

29.

IT WAS EARLY the next morning when the hired driver dropped Tommy and a single suitcase at the desolate Sh.o.r.e Manor. As the carriage rolled away, he stood on the dead gra.s.s in front of the bleak house, too exhausted to be angry. He remembered walking with Bern past this very spot on the day of the fire in Port Kenney. He felt sadness for Bern because he knew his brother would never change-he would never be able to see what life was truly like for the cottagers. But he also mourned the people that he'd seen in the shrine and even the August Five, who had lashed out when they felt they had no other option. Back in Sevenna, the buildings destroyed in the Night of a Hundred Fires were probably still smoldering while Colston celebrated his destructive triumph over the cottagers. Tommy picked up his suitcase and tried to squelch his growing sense of despair.

When the carriage was out of sight, he began to search for Ellie. His escort had shadowed him during the ferry ride back to Aeren, so he didn't have a chance to look for her on the boat. Throngs of people disembarked at Black Rock, and she was nowhere to be seen. She could have easily blended in with the crowd-or maybe she hadn't come at all. Tommy headed toward the back entrance. Olberg had told Tommy that the groundskeeper would leave the door inside the kitchen garden unlocked for him. With the sound of the crashing waves echoing against the facade of the manor house, he ducked inside the garden gate.

When he entered, he expected to find a dark, cold house. Instead, there was Ellie, curled up in a rocking chair in front of the blazing fire.

"Ellie!" he said happily. "You made it."

"I was on the same ferry as you," she said. "But you were still with the guard. Did he come with you? What is going on?"

"My father expelled me for inappropriate behavior," Tommy explained. "Basically, my brother betrayed me, and my father thinks I'm a lousy Zunftson."

"Better to be a lousy Zunftson than a dutiful one," Ellie said. "What did you mean about Hywel?"

"After you told me that Hywel was here on the day of the Rising, I remembered something," Tommy said. "There were two people in my father's library when Bern and I were leaving for a hike on the ridge. And then after the Rising, there was a man up in the forest. It was Hywel."

"How could you have forgotten that?" Ellie asked.

"At the time, I didn't know it was Hywel," Tommy said. "I had no idea what he looked like. It wasn't until I recognized his portrait in Olberg's office yesterday that I put it together. He was a tall, thin man wearing a purple silk vest."

"Oh, that's him, for sure," Ellie said. "He always wore colored vests to annoy the conservative Zunftmen. But what was he doing in the forest? Did you talk to him?"

"No, he was with two soldiers," Tommy said. "I thought they trying to find me after the explosion in Port Kenney. But now I wonder if they were taking him somewhere. He wasn't with them by choice at all."

"Your father kidnapped him," Ellie said with resignation. "That's what I've been afraid of. He took him and blamed the cottagers."

"Maybe," Tommy said. "We don't know for sure."

"Do you think they killed him?" Ellie said. "His body is rotting somewhere out there?"

It was such a grisly thought that Tommy didn't want to answer. "I remember exactly where I saw him at the entrance to Harrow Trailhead. I want to go up there, but maybe you should stay here."

"No way," Ellie said firmly. "I'm coming, too."

"We might not find anything," Tommy said. "There's a lot of forest up there."

"We have to try," Ellie said.

They paused only long enough to stuff water jugs and volt-cell lanterns into a backpack. Then they headed outside. He led Ellie along the gravel road away from the manor. The trees had lost their autumn glory and their branches were bare. They hurried toward the ridge, which loomed like an imposing black wall against the morning sky. Both of them felt a sense of urgency that didn't make sense-wherever Hywel was, he'd been there for months. Tommy thought Ellie might have trouble hiking in her long dress, but she tied the skirt in a knot at knee level and climbed as quickly as he did.

"I keep seeing houses through the trees," Ellie said when they were about halfway up the ridge. "Who lives here?"

"There's a cottager community," Tommy said. "I'm not sure how many people exactly. We were pretty isolated from them."