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I try to give her space to process everything that’s happened. I don’t pressure her to talk to me about it, as hard as that is. I want to talk to her, reassure her that I’m here for her. But I guess she needs time.
I really wish there was someone I could share my concerns with right now. But Ayden’s not here, and I hear from him less and less frequently now. I know he can’t really do much at the moment, but in the end, I decide to message him anyway.
“You’re probably busy with your assignment. I hope it’s going well and you’ll get to come home soon. I really miss you. There’s so much going on, and I wish you were here with me. But I’m doing fine despite the turbulent times, and I can’t wait to see you again. I love you. See you soon.”
I send the message and wait a moment, but of course he doesn’t read it immediately. I haven’t heard from Noah in several days either. I told him about the conversation with Kate’s mother, and he was surprised that she has no memory of her clairvoyant powers.
“I don’t know much about that gift, but it sounds like we won’t get anything out of Kate’s mom. The question is – what do we do next? How can we find the next clue and how are we supposed to uncover the secret of the letter?”
That’s what I keep asking myself. What can we do? It’s exasperating.
I eat my breakfast in record time this morning and then ask the Fabricis as submissively as possible to be allowed to leave early for school.
“My best friend’s not doing too well. I’d really like some time to talk to her before classes.” It’s the truth. I don’t expect I’ll get what I want, but it’s worth a try.
Ms. Fabrici purses her lips and narrows her eyes. I know that expression pretty well by now, and I sigh quietly. No such luck. But to my surprise, Mr. Fabrici intercedes.
“If you leave for school immediately and return straight after classes, then I suppose we can make an exception this time. We’re not heartless monsters.”
I refrain from commenting on that, thank them courteously, stand up, and although I’m tempted to sprint, I walk to the door with measured steps. I don’t want their lordships to change their minds.
“I’ll see you later for training then,” Alfredo reminds me unnecessarily.
I bite my tongue again, go to my room for my backpack and jacket, and hurry outside with Yoru.
When I arrive at school, I still have 20 minutes before classes start. My first class is history. Since Kate and I read the letter, Mr. Brian’s classes are even more unnerving. I keep catching myself staring absent-mindedly at the teacher, wondering what secrets he’s hiding and how we can bring them to light.
Whereas I struggle to hide my increasing disgust toward this man, Kate seems to feel nothing but fear in his presence. Most of the time, she sits stiffly in his classes and doesn’t dare to look up from her desk. We need to find out what Kate’s mom was referring to in her letter. Only then will we know how to deal with him. But until then… we can’t let on that we know anything.
I knock on Kate’s door. She opens it and looks at me in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
“The Fabricis let me leave early, and I figured maybe you could use some company,” I say with a smile.
She nods slowly. “Yeah, thanks.” She goes back into her room and sinks down on her bed. “To be honest, I’m pretty nervous about history. Just sitting in Mr. Brian’s class makes me really uncomfortable.” She shakes her head helplessly. “I can’t describe it, but whenever I’m around him, I get that weird feeling again, as if I’m about to have another pain attack. I don’t know how much longer I can stand it. We need to do something.”
Kate looks strangely rigid the way she’s sitting on the bed. She’s visibly tense, clasping her hands together as if she’s battling internally with something.
“Sometimes I think maybe it’s best if I turn my back on this world. If I took Gray back and handed over my key, maybe the visions would stop.”
My eyes widen. I never figured she was contemplating such desperate measures. I know how much Gray means to her. It shows how much she’s struggling with the whole situation.
She raises her head and looks at me shyly. “It probably wouldn’t help. My mother’s living proof. She never had a key or a spirit, and she could still see the future.”
“Kate, I’m so sorry this is happening to you,” I say, putting my arms around her. “I’m here for you, and I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“I know,” she replies. “But maybe there’s nothing we can do.” She’s silent for a moment, and then I have to strain to hear her whisper, “I’m forgetting more and more. At first it was just little things, insignificant details. I couldn’t recall the voices of my former teachers. The faces of former classmates faded from memory. But now I’ve started forgetting entire situations – things that happened fairly recently. It just keeps getting worse, and I’m helpless to do anything about it. I never asked for this gift; I don’t even know what use it is to me. And now I’m beginning to realize what a high price I have to pay for it.” She looks down at Gray, who senses that Kate is feeling bad and nestles up to her leg. She strokes his scaly head and says, still looking at him, “What if I start forgetting things that are really important to me? What if I lose my memories of Ty, or you?”
“It won’t come to that,” I say. “Your mom has lived with this for years and look at her. Sure, she’s a little forgetful, but she knows who you are.”
Kate looks unconvinced.
“We’ll get to the bottom of this. Noah promised to ask around and do some research into these kinds of gifts and their physiological effects.”
Kate takes a deep breath and nods. “I’m scared that we’re running out of time. We need to do something about Mr. Brian. And soon.”
I nod. “We will.”
