Chapter 220: The Dazzler
Sebastien
Month 8, Day 28, Saturday 5:30 a.m.
Saturday morning, before the sun rose, Sebastien walked out to the Flats. Professor Lacer had asked her to meet him there in class the day before, and she didn’t know why. ‘Best case scenario, he wants to assess my progress on the three transmutable substances he assigned. Slightly worse scenario, he wants to test my capacity with the Henrik-Thompson—though I’m not sure why he would have us meet on the Flats for that. Worst case scenario, he’s deduced something else about my connection to the Raven Queen and wants me away from any important buildings to mitigate destructive repercussions.’
Sebastien’s mind continued to spin up increasingly unlikely horrible scenarios. ‘What if he wants to have a meeting with Sebastien and the Raven Queen in the same room together?’
The way to the Flats was empty. Distant sounds from the land and sea below mixed into an almost inaudible sigh, but otherwise the night was silent and still.
Professor Lacer met her at the end of the pathway with a nod of acknowledgement, and she followed him up the pathway of white stone and across the obstacle-course-laden Flats to the northern edge of the white cliffs. The stars above reflected off the placid surface of the lake below, which continued on through the base of the white cliffs before running out into the Gulf as well as fueling the city’s canals.
Without preamble, Professor Lacer said, “It is difficult to keep a secret. Most people do not realize how difficult, and they fail to keep them so commonly that failure is almost a social expectation—what one might call ‘gossip.’” He gave lips pursed with distaste. “But when they have an important secret, one they must ensure does not get out, many people find themselves without the tools to make that possible.”
Professor Lacer didn’t seem like he was building up to some big trap or revelation. In fact, his tone was more akin to one of his in-class lectures. Sebastien squinted. “A secrecy spell? Or a compulsion to avoid specific, related topics?”
Professor Lacer let out a huff of amusement. “That is an option, of course, and not just to bind others to secrecy. But not only is that magical field illegal to the masses, those kinds of spells have restrictions and downsides that I find…unpleasant. Besides, just like there is no curse without parameters that will unravel it, there is no compulsion that is infallible. I much prefer to maintain personal control of my own mind.”