Page 19 of The Souls Harvest
Galen interlaces his fingers under his chin, looking as innocent as a lion cub. “That’s it.” He echoes me.
“Now,” he smiles at the waiter who’s back with our orders and politely thanks him. “Please feed my curiosity and tell me when you decided to entertain your beautiful brain with theRS.”
I hold a fork loaded with a giant shrimp dipped in sweet chilli sauce in front of my mouth, “You mean the rec—”
“Yes, July,” he pinches his nose, looking at me with half-lidded eyes, “those.”
I smirk and stare at him over the pale pink shrimp. “Apparently, the higher your rank, the smaller the chance the students will openup to you. I think I know something you don’tknow.”
Chapter 10 - The Scream
July
Many libraries in Libera are built to preserve the history and knowledge of our people. But my favourite is the Turret.
Erected on one of the smaller islets rising to the west it can only be visited by boat and only for a few hours. At sundown, the sea completely submerges it, turning it into a floating building, surrounded by four dome-shaped structures connected to the Turret by glass corridors.
It hosts a small cafeteria that used to be a deposit for old desks, chairs, and vintage uniforms. That was until one day, someone decided to revamp it and use it as a base for student groups—a very long time ago. I believe the founders are no longer around, but the Turret still holds a special aura of free speech and independence, with its old students’ mottoes painted on its walls: “A Soul for a Soul” and “Souls Don’t Belong.”
A place of knowledge and quiet. Until a few days ago, when a swarm of wannabe(es) queens crushed my inner peace under their ankle-killer heels and judgemental looks, bursting inside the cafeteria and unrolling a red carpet of vanity and shallowness forthe real Queen—Lucretia Accolti.
“Galen, I swear,” I run a hand through my hair with annoyance after he’s asked me for the third time if I was sure it was Lue I saw in the Turret.
I proceed with my story before he can stop me again, “And that’s not even the oddest part. Also, you promised no more interruptions.”
I point a judging finger at his face, and he sighs, leaning back on his chair and sipping his wine. “Go on, then.”
“She was there with two older girls, judging by that ridiculous senior patch the Academy wants us to wear when out and about with newcomers. They noticed me and quickly hid behind one of the bookshelves. But because I had my earphones on, they believed they could talk freely—ah! Idiots. They didn’t even consider that I could brush my hand against one ear and switch the music off.”
I close my mouth just long enough to appreciate Galen’s proud face -that’s my clever July!- but he waits for more, distractedly drumming his fingers on the table, keeping his promise not to interrupt me until I’m done talking.
When the waiter comes to clear our table, I use the time to gather the memories of that day in the most concise and best way. “Thanks…” we say in unison with that rigid smile we all smack on our faces while waiting for our table to be crockery-free.
“Where was I? Oh, yes. So, I heard them talking about a new shipment of fabric from Horigos. They went on for something like twenty tedious minutes. But I knew something else was brewingbecause they were just not in the right place.”
I fiddle with my fork as I fish the details of that day from the back of my mind. Galen nods and scratches his chin. He’s hooked so much that the intensity of his gaze almost makes me feel…Uncomfortable? Odd.
I set the fork down. “You look like you’re trying to dig a hole in my head and get the rest of the story right out. Anyways,” I look around and behind me, just as a precaution, then lean forward. “They changed the subject once they were sure nobody was around. I saw Lucretia, through the space between bookshelves, exchanging looks with the other girls, nodding and taking her phone out of her bag.”
“Nudes?” Galen remains unfazed while mocking me, swirling his glass of red, with one hand bracing over the back of his chair.
“Oh, shut up. This is serious.” I stretch over the table and lower my voice, “It was a video. The sound was muffled. But—oh, you should have seen their eyes…”
The waiter returns with our mains and gives me a weird look as we cross our eyes.
“Low blood pressure,” Galen lies to justify my concerned face.
“Sugared water may help. Would you like a glass, Miss?”
“Yes, please…” I reply quickly to send him away. I’ll say sorry later with a good tip.
“I don’t know what they saw, but I heard a scream....” I blurt out with one breath, then take a new one so deep my shoulders rise and nearly swallow my neck. “I didn’t move because I didn’t want themto know I’d heard. Even when one of them peeped from behind the shelf to check nobody was coming, I started to bob my head pretending I was listening to music.”
“The waiter’s coming back…” Galen gestures quickly, and I pause my story.
“There you go, Miss, water with sugar and the sides to your mains. Enjoy.” The young man lingers longer than he should and only turns around when I grab the sugary drink and gulp half of it. I bet he wants to be sure I don’t faint halfway through our meal before the bill is on the table.
Galen chuckles as I wrinkle my nose, “That’s enough sugar for the next five months. Anyways…that scream. It was nothuman. I don’t know how else I can explain it. High-pitched, if it was male or female... I couldn’t say. Lucretia didn’t dare play it again.”
