“So, Namenkhetamun is actually a little unlike most of the students here. This is not just due to her age, though this does make her exceptional at this moment among our student body. No, I’m talking about the reason why she is here. You see, Brenden, she was quite settled with the other members of her community in Bury St Edmunds, but she decided of her own accord that it would be good for her and the rest of the ancient Egyptians if she were to learn English and expand her knowledge about the modern world. Several months ago, she contacted us through an intermediary and requested to spend some time here so that she could learn, and of course, we happily agreed. We hope that this is just the beginning of something and that in the future, more members of her community will come to spend some time with us; something that has not happened too often in the past as most of the ancients who are revived - and the number of these people is obviously very small - usually go down to live with the others in Bury St Edmunds, where they have their own system of reintroducing those who have woken to their new world.
“Sitting next to Namenkhetamun is the final student in our class, who has decided to call himself Robert. I think that I also better introduce Robert as while he is a member of the same undead group as Lilith, he unfortunately lost most of his speech capabilities in his process of joining the group. Isn’t that right Robert?”
The grey figure, who was wearing a fedora to cover up the three gashes along the left side of his head – the very injuries that had rendered him speechless - nodded in agreement.
“There is hope though that he will, in time, be able to increase his speech abilities. The undead brain, much like that of the living, is an incredible organism that can continue to learn and develop long after an individual has lost their original life. We even have a small team here at the school dedicated to the task of providing therapy to those who need it to recover the abilities they lost in the transition process. Ah, I apologise, Robert, I got a little carried away for a moment there in an area that continues to fascinate me no matter how long I concern myself with it.
“Robert, here, was a gardener in Leicester before he came to us. He was, unfortunately, attacked by someone who had run out of supplies and who believed he could continue to remain among the living without them. What was even worse for Robert is that he was attacked while working atop a ladder, leading him to fall and cause the injury that has left him silent. It is a tragic story, but everyone has their fair share here.
“So, that is your class, Brenden. Of course, I am sure you have many questions that you will want to ask about your studies and other issues, but perhaps first you could tell the others a little about yourself?”
Brenden could feel the cloudy eyes of his teacher upon him as he said these final words and it took more than a little effort for the boy to stop himself from giving in to the natural inclination to meet Adam’s gaze. To prevent himself from looking, he fixed his eyes on the patterned white and blue ceramic tiles of the floor.
“Not yet, maybe,” said Brenden.
“Of course, perhaps later when you have got a little more settled in.”
Chapter 3
Amanda looked up at the bland reproductions of some abstract art that seemed to be in every chain hotel at which she had ever stayed. For a moment, she wondered why these firms decided that it was such a good idea to fill their rooms with these pictures and supposed that at least they did not offend anyone, nor would they contrast with the forgettable furniture that was in her room and every other room in the building. She pulled a fine example of such furniture, one of the chairs, over to the side of the double bed so that she could inspect the files which she had laid across the still pristine white duvet and purple blanket.
There were four handwritten files before her, each with an address, a picture and a report on a former Tithonus student. Each report included a relatively detailed account of what the students had done while at the school as well as information on their lives before they had joined the undead and - what was slightly more surprising for Amanda – a slightly patchier outline of the activities of the person after they had left the school. There was also a card attached to the front of each file which featured a collection of numbers, the meaning of which Amanda could not make any headway in understanding.
The file furthest to her left was that on a man called Johann Milch, an individual who she saw no way of getting in contact with as it seemed that the only detail given dealing with his whereabouts and activities after leaving the school was that he lived somewhere in the vicinity of Radcliff. However, she then
