41

Porridge

KAT HEARD THE click of the lock and was awake at once. And she looked at her right hand.

It looked like a perfectly normal hand, and felt perfectly normal, and now in the daylight she heard no sounds. It was a normal hand, except . . . it was exceptionally strong. She crushed the bar of soap in the bath to powder.

It was her hand, but it was not.

She dressed, feeling alien to herself. She couldn’t tell the others about this, not yet. Maybe it was happening to all of them, each one of them, bit by bit, that they were all becoming monsters. Maybe that’s what had happened to Jorry. She couldn’t frighten the others with this idea.

It was past time for breakfast. When Kat opened the door to her room she saw Rob slumped against the wall in the hallway.

“Rob!” She hurried to his side, kneeling. “Rob?”

He jumped. “Sleeping,” he mumbled.

She sat beside him. “Bad night?”

He nodded, eyes closed. “Really bad.”

“Me too.” Worse than bad. She swallowed hard so she wouldn’t cry.

Peter stepped out, or rather, stumbled out, rubbing his face as if to rub away the memory.

Rob said, “The others have gone down already. I waited for you.”

“Let’s go, then,” said Peter, lending a hand to help up Kat and Rob. “I’m starved.”

“Before we go down,” said Kat, “I want to see if Jorry’s in his room.”

Rob sighed, but he and Peter waited while Kat knocked at Jorry’s door.

By now, they should have been used to Marie appearing out of nowhere, but Kat still jumped at the sound of Marie’s voice. “Here, what are you lot up to, now? It’s past time to go down for breakfast.”

Kat was so exhausted and hungry and startled, she spoke before she thought. “We need to see Jorry.”

Rob tugged at Kat’s sleeve. “Food,” he hissed. “We’ll starve if she locks us in again.”

But Marie shook her head. “Too late. The boy’s gone.”

“What?” Kat stepped back out of sheer surprise.

“Doctor came yesterday, took him away.”

“Are you sure?” After having seen Jorry she’d stopped thinking of him as ill, unless he was ill in the head.

Marie frowned. “Quite sure.”

“But we saw him last night.”

Marie scratched her head, an odd expression crossing her face. “I don’t know. Funny, that. Sure it was yesterday. Sure it was the doctor. Funny.”

Kat went to Marie and stood right up close. She’d never much liked Marie, but now she saw something about her. Kat asked, “What’s funny?”

“Don’t know,” Marie said. “Can’t remember.” Now that Kat was close up, she could see that Marie’s eyes were glazed and her pupils dilated. Kat’s practical side kicked in again. There was definitely something wrong with Marie, and it was not natural.

“Okay,” Kat said, trying to sound light. “No problem. We’ll head downstairs.”

“Yeah,” Marie said. “You do that, won’t you?” And she ran down the stairs ahead of them as if she had the devil on her heels.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Kat whispered to Rob and Peter, “She’s been drugged. Or hypnotized.”

Peter said, “That would explain her confusion, but what about Jorry?”

“And Colin?” Rob said. “What about him?”

Yes, Kat thought, what about Colin?

They’d reached the dining hall and the smells of the breakfast were overwhelming. Cook stood off to the side, preparing to serve. Rob almost ran to the table.

The Lady sat with the teachers at the head table. She rose as the three children entered and watched as they seated themselves. Cook approached the table with a platter of eggs and sausage.

“Stop,” the Lady commanded.

Cook halted midstep.

“They can have something cold. I prepared porridge for them last night. You’ll find it on the sideboard.” She sat again. “This will teach them to be on time in the future. There are many lessons to be learned here in Rookskill Castle.”

Cook grumbled, but she turned away and fetched the porridge.

It was sticky and tasteless, like gluey cardboard, but Kat was too hungry not to eat. Rob looked sick and Peter picked at it.

When the Lady suddenly left the dining hall clutching her chest and looking like she might be ill, Kat felt no pity.

“Evil,” said Rob, heated. “She’s evil. And Colin’s still missing.”

“The Lady, she was wearing the devil’s sign,” Isabelle said to Kat with a knowing look. “Sur sa châtelaine.”

At the reminder, Kat felt the tears well in her eyes. She had to find her own chatelaine, but where to begin? If Storm had it, could she break into his room to search?

In English class, Miss Gumble brought in a small tray. When she lifted the towel, there was a fresh-baked and still warm loaf of bread underneath, and a slab of butter, and she placed the tray on a desk in front of Peter, Rob, and Kat. Kat had never been so appreciative of a teacher.

When Rob, Peter, and Kat had finished eating several slices, Gumble said, “Let’s continue to discuss the real and the fantastic from yesterday, shall we? Let’s begin with ideas from ancient civilizations. What do you know of how the ancients viewed the concept of magic?”

Kat knew now. She knew. There was magic in the world, and she’d been stupid enough or stubborn enough not to believe it until now. There might even be magic in her missing chatelaine, but she’d been a careless guardian.

In maths, Mr. MacLarren posted a large chart on the board. “This is a representation of the Rosetta stone,” he said. “It contains a simultaneous translation of ancient and Demotic Egyptian hieroglyphs and ancient Greek, and so is a key to the interpretation of ancient Egyptian language.”

MacLarren tacked another chart on the board. “And this is an encryption key used in one German code that was discovered last year in northern France. As math algorithms are used in the interpretation of codes”—and here MacLarren stared straight at Kat—“I’ve decided to let you all play with the hieroglyphs and this encryption key, to make your own code today.”

He turned away. “Oh, and I’ve got something here.” He reached into his large pockets and pulled out five apples, laying one on each desk.

After morning classes, Kat, Peter, and Rob went straight to the kitchen. Cook bustled about.

“Here, you lot, go to the dining hall. I’ve prepared a special lunch, I have, since her Ladyship has gone off for the rest of the afternoon and you’ve been near starved to death.”

“We need to fetch something we’ve left here,” Kat said. She showed Cook the backpacks they’d stowed in the pantry. She didn’t seem surprised to see them there.

“You might want to leave them be,” said Cook, “in case.”

Kat exchanged glances with Rob and Peter. “In case?”

“Your rooms may not be the safest,” she said, without meeting Kat’s eyes, “if you get my meaning. There’s always something prowling about.”

Rob took his sword because, as he put it, “I won’t spend another night without it.” They left the backpacks right where they were. “They’re not in my way,” said Cook.

“I’m going looking for Colin,” Rob said.

Kat nodded. And I’m going looking for Great-Aunt Margaret’s chatelaine. At this moment, that chatelaine and its promise of magic offered Kat her only hope.