Not quite depressed enough, or desperate enough, to lose a leg over it, Alex merely admired the boat from the shore. It didn’t appear to be inhabited, and when the soft waves eased the port side of the boat toward him, he saw the craft’s name painted in sleek letters on the side. CLAIRE, it read.
“That’s curious,” Alex said, louder than before.
“Curious. Curious. Curious,” three platyprots echoed from the trees above.
Alex looked up. “Whose is it?”
The platyprots looked this way and that, and shrugged. “Whose is it?” they said to one another, before collapsing in fits of giggles.
Alex, feeling overly sensitive and wondering if the creatures were mocking him, decided it was best for him to walk away in silence. He emerged from the jungle, surprised to see no one at all walking about the grounds. Had he missed a special dinner, or a meeting? He shrugged, not really caring. He was getting used to being left out. Slowly he followed the shoreline back to the mansion and slipped inside the enormous front entrance.
The winged cheetah growled angrily. “Why arrren’t you in yourrr rrroom?”
Alex stepped back in fright, for the statue had never addressed him personally before in his comings and goings. “I—I—I was out for a walk, is all!”
Florence, the other statue, fired off a heated look at Simber. “Alex,” she said, and Alex startled again and whirled around to face her. He’d never heard her speak before. “We are under lockdown. Did you forget about the governors’ semiannual inspection today?”
“What? What? I don’t know what you are talking about!”
“Your blackboard has been informing you for weeks! And your warrior instructor gave out the warning and the instructions yesterday,” Florence said.
“I … don’t have a warrior instructor,” Alex said, and he was surprised to feel hot tears springing to his eyes. He blinked them away rapidly.
“Ah,” said Florence. Her eyes narrowed. “So. You’re the one.”
Simber hissed sharply at Florence.
“What one?” Alex was deeply confused now, and no longer knew what anyone was talking about.
“Just go to yourrr rrroom. Don’t come out until yourrr blackboarrrd tells you to.” The enormous stone cheetah turned his face away in disgust, which only made Alex feel worse, having still no idea why these two were so angry with him.
“Go,” said Florence. “Before I let him eat you.”
Alex needed no further encouragement. He raced to the top of the stairs as fast as he could go and shot down the hallway to his room. He was halfway there before he realized that at the top of the stairs he had caught sight of a hallway that he could have sworn hadn’t been there the previous day. But now was not the time to check it out.
He slipped into his room, unshushed the volume on his blackboard, and sank into the overstuffed chair, still heaving from his wild sprint up the marble staircase. “Clive,” he said to the blackboard, “what’s going on around here?”
Clive surfaced with a scowl and “ahemmed” several times to make sure his voice was truly back. “Oh, so now you want to talk. You shush me for weeks, ignore my messages to you, and now that you’ve likely messed everything up, you ask for help. Well, I’m not inclined to give it. Besides, it’s too late. Here comes Marcus, and boy, are you in trouble. Ahem!”
Clive’s features melted flat once again, and the screen brightened to show Mr. Today’s face. He looked weary and angry, so far unlike the usual kind and humorous mage Alex knew, that for a moment Alex thought it might be someone else. The man’s white hair stood up more wildly than ever, as if he’d tried recently to pull it out.
“Thank you, Clive,” Mr. Today said in a defeated voice. “But all is well. No need to panic. They’re gone.”
Alex sat up in his chair at the sight of Mr. Today, feeling an impending sense of doom. He hadn’t seen the mage in weeks, for Alex had ceased attending the Sunday chats on the lawn.
Mr. Today looked at Alex for a long moment before he spoke.
Alex swallowed hard, waiting.
“Alex,” the mage said wearily, “please. Just …” He searched for the right words. “I don’t ask much of you. Just try to respect my few requests. And pay attention. Please. I’m disabling Clive’s shush button until further notice. It would be wise for you to catch up on what you’ve missed these past weeks, so you’ll know what danger you put us all in.”
“Mr. Today, I’m sorry—I didn’t understand—”
Mr. Today sighed. “When the governors come, Alex, I use a very complex spell that hides Artimé, so that this place looks just like it did when you first arrived. As Artimé grows, and as I grow older, it becomes harder for me to hold that spell flawlessly and still appear to be the man they expect me to be. It takes a lot of concentration, and I need everyone in the mansion and remaining quite still during these times. Please, Alex, I know it’s inevitable, but I’m not … quite … ready.…” He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Listen, Alex. I’m counting on you—please don’t fail me. Good night.”
Alex stared openmouthed as the mage disappeared from the blackboard. And something deep inside of him, deeper than he thought anything could ever be, quivered and broke into tiny pins that stuck hard into his gut.
Secrets and Secret Places