16

Lil looked for a time for them to talk, but they had arrived late to lunch and ended up eating with Bente in the kitchen. Aestos hurried from one area to another, tossing bowls, breads, salads and cheese onto the counter.

“I said don’t be late,” Aestos said. “The one thing I said was that I have other duties to attend to and not to be late!”

Bente leveled him with a stare. “We got caught up. I apologize.”

“Eat whatever you want,” Aestos said, taking a cloth wrap and pulling it across his head until he had affixed it like a hat. “Fresh tomatoes in the garden. I’ll see you at dinner.” He walked out the large doors into the garden, then turned. “Don’t be late,” he said.

Charlie, Kat, Sydney and Lil talked idly while they inhaled the food. Avoiding all talk of the labrys, they discussed only the race and its implications, including other ways to win the scholarship.

“It’s already time for afternoon workshops,” Bente said over a mouthful of bread. She looked down at her clipboard. “Team D,” she mumbled, “is with Trudy first. To the science lab.”

They finished their meals quickly, and Bente escorted them past the dining hall to a section they hadn’t visited before.

“You’re there, and then you’ll go to the studio with Athenia,” Bente said.

“I know where that is,” Kat said. “I got a chance to explore it earlier.”

“And then you will end up in the library with Colleen.”

Lil glanced over at Charlie and locked eyes. Maybe then they could do some snooping. Maybe then they could at least talk about what Bente had said about the labrys. She could explain about the picture.

Bente swung the door open, and they entered a cool stone room on the back of the building. It was surprisingly state-of-the-art, with walls decorated with test tubes and counters equipped with Bunsen burners. Everything was pristine except for the desk behind which Trudy sat.

“In and fetch a lab coat, please!” Trudy said, waving them in the door and indicating a series of lab coats on the wall. Lil pulled hers on and took a seat.

“Since tomorrow will be your science challenge, I wanted to begin with something light,” said the Irish woman. “We’ll be making mulberry gumballs this afternoon.” She pulled a bottle of liqueur from her apron and then collected a set of beakers from the side counter. “Candy is chemistry.”

By the time they had each combined their ingredients, Charlie had created a slime that clung to both the inside and outside of her beaker. Lil had managed to make one gumball, but when she tried it, it was the consistency of a gobstopper.

Kat picked up the pale sphere she had created and popped it into her mouth. “Tastes like plastic,” she said, spitting it quickly back into her hand.

“And that is what happens when we forget to add the flavoring,” Trudy said, eyeing the still-full eyedropper on the other side of the beaker.

Sydney held out a handful of perfectly shaped gumballs. “You can have one of mine,” she said with a smile.

“Well done, Ms. Bennington,” Trudy said, selecting the largest gumball from the pile. Lil took one, too. It was soft and chewy and full of a berry flavor.

“Seriously, guys,” Sydney said. “Grade school.” She turned back to Trudy. “Do you have any information on tomorrow’s challenge?”

“I can’t give away too many details, but the challenge will be based on renewable energy,” Trudy said.

“Fantastic,” Sydney said. She stepped toward the door. Then, as if a thought had just hit her, she turned back. “Do you know anything about neurological disorders? I would love to pick your brain about causes of epilepsy and potential treatments and cures.”

Trudy’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“Interested in epilepsy?” She looked down at her clipboard, then mused, “No check box for that.” She turned back to Sydney. “Why the interest?”

Lil was eager to know as well.

Sydney steadied her with a stare. “My sister suffers from it. I’m going to find a cure.”

Lil made herself busy cleaning the lab supplies while she listened some more. This was a side of Sydney she hadn’t seen yet.

“Lofty goal,” Trudy said, thumbing her clipboard. “I know a bit, but I can find out more. Let’s meet after the challenge tomorrow.”

“Great,” Sydney said, joining the others at the door.

By midafternoon, they were working clay with Athenia. Lil tried to shape hers, but it was unwieldy: either too hard or too soft, but never in between. The stuff seemed to mold like magic under Kat’s hands. By the end of the session, she had whipped one lump of clay into a Grecian-style urn and had started to design the outside of it.

“Very nice, very nice,” Athenia said as she looked over the work in progress. She stopped in front of Lil. “And what is this, Lilith?” she asked, examining it from every angle.

“It’s supposed to be a cow,” Lil admitted. She had never been very artistic. Athenia’s eyebrows went up, and then her eyes softened. “Of course, I see it now.”

“Yeah, right,” Sydney whispered from beside her, showing off a perfectly shaped clay sphere.

“And what is yours?” Lil asked.

“It’s a proton,” Sydney said. “Obviously.”

“You have no appreciation for good art,” Kat said.

“And you have no appreciation for foundations of our known universe,” Sydney retorted.

Athenia looked from one to the other. “Interesting.” She made a few notes on her clipboard before moving on to stand in front of Charlie. Lil watched as she tried to press a handle onto a poorly shaped clay cup.

“Mine is a pen holder,” she said as she secured the handle and lifted it. The handle broke free, and the clay landed on the table with a clumph. Lil couldn’t help but laugh. At least she wasn’t the only one who sucked at art.

“We’ll work more tomorrow,” Athenia said cheerfully as Charlie picked up the mashed remnants of her masterpiece. “I don’t want any of you to be disappointed. We’ll be doing more directed projects later this week. For now, you are headed to the library.”

They all looked at one another.

“That’s up on the third floor between the east and west wings,” Athenia said as she placed the tools they’d used on the clay into cups.

“Between the east and west, was it?” Lil said, wanting to make it clear that they had never been there before.

“That’s correct,” Athenia said, waving them on.

They left the lab and ascended the stairs.

“We need to look for the name Zephylite,” Charlie hissed as they climbed.

“And we need more information on the labrys,” Sydney said.

“And probably information on the significance of the labyrinth, too,” Kat said as they reached Hall A.

Lil wondered if there would be any house records, something that might have information on her mom.

“No matter what,” Lil said as they reached the top of the stairs, “we can’t be too obvious about it.”

“Right,” Sydney said.

“Ladies!” They all jumped, and Lil grasped the railing as Colleen appeared from the shadow of the doorway.

“I was thinking we would take our lesson in the plateau garden, instead of the library.” She smiled. “It’s far too lovely a day to be stuck inside.”

“It’s really hot,” Sydney said, leaning against the stone, “and kind of gross—”

Colleen raised her eyebrows. “We’ll sit in the shade, then,” she said, handing each of them a notebook and a pen. “Shall we?”

“Teachers always say that,” Sydney whispered as they turned and started back downstairs, “as if it were actually a choice.”

They exited the building and made their way up the stone staircase that hugged the outer edge of the west wing. Lil looked around as they reached the top. It was beautifully landscaped with stones and benches, urns overflowing with flowers and a few potted trees giving the shade a hint of emerald.

They settled in and, for the third time that day, they sat muted. Their first instruction was to write their observations about their experiences thus far. Lil scribbled thoughts on the page about the manor, the food, the trip to the top of the mountain. She scribbled notes about the remote area. She didn’t write a single word about their midnight trip to the library, or her talk with Bente on the hillside or her search for how her mother died. Or the symbol she saw everywhere. Her pen dug into the paper, and she lifted it, looking to see if Colleen had noticed, but she was intently scribbling in her own notebook a few feet away.

“Wrap up and we will start our session,” Colleen said.

Charlie raised her hand. “Are we required to use this notebook for the duration of the stay?” she asked.

Colleen shook her head. “Not if you have come prepared and have other means of taking notes.”

Charlie nodded and drew out her sling of fountain pens and a bound notebook from her back pocket.

“I prefer this one to keep my thoughts in,” she said. Lil watched as she unrolled the fountain-pen holder, ran her hand along several of the pens and selected a short one from the end. She pulled the cap off and put it on the other side so it was the size of a normal pen.

“Quite the collection,” Colleen said.

“It’s only half my collection,” Charlie said. “I couldn’t bring all of them.”

Colleen smiled. “Always prepared to record something? The mark of a good historian.” She turned to the others. “For today, we will be talking about both history and mythology.”

Lil watched the bees collect pollen from a nearby foxglove and then dip heavily around the side of the building as Colleen once again spoke about the flight of Daedalus and Icarus, the thread that Ariadne gave Theseus, the death of the beastly Minotaur by Theseus’ sword and finally the bull guise which Zeus had used to woo Europa and carry her across the sea to Crete.

“I don’t get it,” Sydney said, waving her hand. “Why would Europa fall in love with a bull? Is she some sort of idiot?”

Colleen paused in her lecture. “Well, you have to remember that these stories were handed down to the Greeks orally, and some classics experts would posit that they changed from their original forms during that time, essentially warping myth and history. Others may say that the literature of humankind has always had a bit of fact and a bit of fiction—room for both reality and imagination.”

Lil’s attention faded in and out as Sydney tried to grapple with the number of love affairs with animals in the mythological stories, until she realized she was tuning in to another conversation. Her ears perked up as she heard Bente’s voice somewhere to her right. She was about to turn and look, but there was something about the tone. A whisper, but one slightly more audible than intended. She tilted her head. It was coming from a window to her right. One that she could see was open just a crack.

“I will deposit it tonight,” Bente said. “This schedule is so busy.”

“You were practically there . . . ,” another voice said. Lil recognized the accent of the grand counselor. It had to be Athenia.

“I was in the vicinity . . . Lilith was . . . You saw her. She wanted to know . . . mother.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I didn’t . . .”

“So she doesn’t know . . .” The voices faded away.

A lump formed in Lil’s throat. Bente knew more than she was saying. Much more than she was saying. Bente knew everything.

“Lilith, are you all right?”

Lil snapped her head up as Colleen stepped in front of her, her small figure blocking the sun.

“Fine, sorry,” Lil choked.

“All right, I can see you are all tired from your long day. Our session is almost over. Tomorrow we will discuss how Ariadne ended up on Naxos, abandoned by Theseus.”

“Abandoned?” Kat said. “After everything she did for him? What a palhaço.”

“So it would seem,” Colleen said. “Off to the dining hall with you. I will see you tomorrow for more fun!”

Lil rose to her feet. Her legs felt like Jell-O, and it was a struggle to move them forward. They had made it halfway down the stone stairwell before Kat looked behind them and then to Lil. “What is the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I—” Lil’s hand went to her head, then to her pocket and then back to her head. “I overheard—” Words seemed to evade her. Her thoughts wouldn’t stop spinning. Did Bente and Athenia know everything because they had been part of it? Had they killed her mother? She shook her head. No, Bente had said her mother was one of her favorite mentees. She seemed genuinely fond of her. But—

“What’s this about?” Sydney asked. “Is this about the symbol?”

Lil reached for her pocket once more, and pulled out the picture.

“Have you been here before?” Sydney said, reaching for the picture.

“No,” Charlie said, curling Lil’s fingers closed around the photograph. “I think it’s about her mother,” she said through gritted teeth. “Put that away for now. Incoming.”

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Lil was blinded by white shorts and shirts.

“Oh, look, Team D. I noticed you were absent at lunch today,” Vivi said as she went by. “We had wanted to congratulate you on your near win. Good effort.” She stood straight up and smiled at Lil with her stunningly white teeth. “Not good enough, of course. But don’t worry: even if you don’t win the scholarship, maybe there are some charities or something that could help your type out. Maybe we could put up a collection.”

Lil bristled, lurching forward.

“We’ll see you later,” Kat said. “Good job. You’re really great. Congratulations.” She pushed Lil past them, and a moment later they ducked back into the office and headed into the cool of the dining hall.

“What did you hear?” Charlie said as they rounded the corner.

Lil turned toward the others. “Let’s eat dinner fast and meet in the dormitory. We need to discuss this. In private.”