I arranged the robes I’d brought back with me from the Temple in my closet, then flopped down on the bed. It was comfortable, though nowhere near as pleasant as the foam mattress the inquisitors had let me sleep on. The patterns on the walls shifted into cloud-like formations that drifted lazily around the room. A few seconds watching that pulled another yawn out of me.
I fished out the small serum vial Brother Harlan had given to me and considered taking a swig to ease me off to dreamland. Instead, I hid the slender vial between the wall and my bed’s frame, then closed my eyes. You never knew when a sleeping serum might come in handy.
I fell into a meditative cycle, and though my core ached from all the tests and meditation exercises the inquisitors had put me through, I was so tired I went out like a light within seconds of putting my head on the pillow.
I woke five minutes before my six o’clock alarm, excited to see my friends again. I couldn’t wait to hear what they’d been up to over the summer and fill them in on my crazy, boring vacation in Atlantis. I bounced out of bed, shrugged into informal robes, and headed into the dormitory hall. Though it was still early, the buzz of activity filled the air. It felt good.
It felt right.
“There’s the sleepyhead.” Hahen appeared from thin air and offered me a shallow bow.
“Some of us actually need sleep, honored Spirit.” I returned his bow.
“Not as much as you think,” Hahen countered. “At the Disciple level, you shouldn’t need more than a handful of hours snatched from the depths of the night to see you through the day.”
“You’ll have to teach me how that works,” I said. “But, first, breakfast.”
“May I join you?” Hahen seemed almost embarrassed to ask the question. “I no longer need to eat, but I do enjoy the smells and time with... friends.”
He hesitated on the final word. The rat spirit hadn’t seen me for most of last year, thanks to Tycho, and we’d ended the school year before that on somewhat shaky terms.
“Of course, my friend.” I considered scratching him between his spectral ears and immediately decided that would be a terrible idea. He was my mentor, not a pet.
We made our way downstairs and into the main hallway. Only upperclassmen were around; the initiates wouldn’t arrive for at least another couple of hours. I craned my head above the crowd of students, searching for Clem’s bright pink hair and matching robes. Of all my friends, she was the one I’d missed most while I’d been cooped up in Atlantis. When we’d parted ways, she’d been headed back to Kyoto to start summer vacation with her parents.
“Hey, stranger,” Eric called. He’d shot up almost a foot over the summer and added what looked like at least twenty pounds of muscle. He forged a path through the other students with the ease of a shark parting a school of minnows and pulled me into a rough hug. Satisfied he’d crushed the air out of my lungs, Eric pushed me back and threw a feigned punch into my shoulder. “You look good! How was the torture?”
“Painful.” I grinned. “Boring, really. Looks like you finally grew into your ego.”
“Funny man,” Eric said with a shake of his head. “You could look like this, too. All you have to do is earn a slot in the Inferno Battle Federation and spend all summer training with their physical adepts.”
“You got in! That’s amazing!” And it really was. The IBF was one of the biggest prizefighting organizations in the world. If Eric did well there, he’d move up to the big leagues in no time. Most of the current crop of topflight professional fighters had come out of that federation. “I can’t wait to watch you in the ring.”
“Soon, man,” Eric said. “No license until I turn eighteen. Then, who knows? I might not even need to finish school.”
“If you quit school to get punched in the face for a living, I will never forgive you,” Clem declared. She elbowed her way in between us. “Give me a hug, you big jerks.”
Clem gave Eric a quick squeeze, then practically crushed my spine with a fierce hug. Her hair tickled my nose. It smelled like fresh wildflowers and citrus. It was also the deep, dusky violet of a mashed blueberry instead of the pink it had been the last time I’d seen her. Her light gray robes fit more snugly than the outfit she’d favored last year, and her high-topped boots matched the color of her hair.
“Jerks?” Eric asked. “I tried to call you a dozen times over the summer. You were always away from your phone.”
“I called a hundred times! They wouldn’t let you take any calls during training sessions,” Clem shot back. “Which, apparently, last all day and night.”
“What about him?” Eric jabbed a finger at me. “He went off to Atlantis and didn’t tell anyone at all. If it hadn’t been for Hahen’s spirit message, I’d have thought the Locust Court had gotten to him!”
“I know,” Clem said suspiciously as she stepped back from me. “You really should have called before you left for vacation.”
“It wasn’t my fault! They snatched me right off the beach.” I pointed at Hahen, who nimbly clambered up my arm to perch on my shoulder.
“He’s telling the truth, this time,” Hahen acknowledged. “The Inquisition isn’t known for their consideration of others. But, as you can see, he came through the experience in fine health.”
“They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Clem asked. “Mother says the inquisitors are known to overstep their bounds.”
I shrugged. “My core’s kind of achy, but that’s nothing new. The brothers really put me through it over the summer with all their questioning. A little rest and I’ll be fine.”
“Let’s eat,” Eric said. “We can catch up with food in our bellies.”
“That’s a
