Achilles’s Heel
“Quick,” Anton ordered, just as they got out of the water. People were waiting for them, ready to act. “You, no need to be modest. Undress.”
It took Lawrence a good moment to understand he was the one being ordered around. But he obeyed, because Anton’s words made sense. Felix grabbed his robe as soon he was naked and with the help of another student began to wring it.
Bastien pushed him behind a large rock, away from the wind and removed his robe, as well, letting it drop on the ground without care. He pushed his body against Lawrence and locked his hands behind Lawrence’s neck.
“How are you right now?”
“I’m okay. Your body is warm,” Lawrence said. “Shivering started. So it’s good.” As he said that, he could no longer control his body. The shaking could get quite violent, so he needed to control himself.
“Anton, get here,” Bastien ordered.
His Dark Eminence was naked, as well. Lawrence didn’t have it in him to protest as Anton moved to hold him from behind.
“Don’t get too excited, Garth. It’s appalling enough that you ruined our annual ritual.”
“Sorry about that.”
“No, you’re not,” Anton shot back.
His breathing was slowly returning to a somewhat steady rhythm.
“It’s only the cold. It will pass,” Bastien said, oblivious, most likely, to how he mirrored Felix’s words before guiding Lawrence to step into the water.
No one was above suspicion, Lawrence thought, as his body melted into the body heat lent to him by his fellow students. Wasn’t it strange to be so close to these two young men he had barely come to know? Not the physical closeness; he wasn’t thinking about that, but about how Bastien had rushed to his help, and Anton had followed.
And now, they were wrapped around him like human blankets, lending him their body heat. Stripped of their clothes, the illusion of being equal was right at home.
The sun beat upon their heads. Lawrence was thankful for it; warmth made him feel alive.
“What’s the name of the ritual anyway?” he asked.
Anton snorted. “Why do you ask? Do you want to write it down in your little diary?”
“How do you know I keep a little diary?” Lawrence joked.
“You girls tend to do that.”
“Shut up, Red,” Bastien admonished his right-hand man, but he sounded amused. “I am the one who keeps a little diary,” he told Lawrence, “so Anton imagines that such habits extend to anyone who happens to catch my eye.”
Had Anton thought the same about Lukas then? As he was returning to normal, Lawrence couldn’t stop his brain from working. For all the sentiment of fraternity he was sharing with Bastien and Anton under the current circumstances, he needed to put his investigator hat on and keep it there.
Though it could wait a moment while he was enjoying himself – and the camaraderie his fellow students shared with him.
“Bastien,” someone called, interrupting their chat.
Felix was there, holding Lawrence’s robe, which looked decently dry.
“You know the Rector needs to hear about this.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Bastien said. “And you are not going to tell him.”
Felix pursed his lips. “It is serious. Lawrence could’ve drowned.”
“But I didn’t,” Lawrence intervened.
Felix gave him a withering look. So, there were some differences between him and his brother. Lawrence tried and failed to picture Ali doing the same.
“He didn’t. The others won’t talk if we don’t make a big deal out of it,” Bastien insisted. “Catus, come on.”
“Your charm won’t work on me this time. The one time I guide Lustratio, and this happens. You know that there are no do-overs.”
So that was the name of the ritual. Purification. Lawrence had no idea if he felt truly purified, but it did feel good to be alive.
The matter of his attacker was high on his list of priorities. But who could have been there underwater, equipped like a professional diver?
That reminded him that he hadn’t seen Abelard around. The nature of the ritual had prevented him from inspecting every face, so now there were gaps he needed to fill in.
“Where’s your bosom friend, Anton?” he asked. If Anton was in any way, shape or form involved, he could simply order Abelard to put on a drysuit and try to scare him.
If scaring him was the only intention, though it hadn’t felt that way. Cold, panic, and too much time spent underwater, and things could’ve gone pear-shaped fast.
Lawrence might’ve felt like Icarus in Bastien’s presence, but he had no intention to let hubris be his downfall. He might’ve been able to save himself – or not – if his attacker had wanted him dead.
“Are you talking about Abelard? He’s down with a stomach bug,” Anton said.
So, conveniently enough, Anton’s dog wasn’t there.
Who was friend, and who was foe? Lawrence didn’t want to let budding feelings of camaraderie get in the way of seeing the situation clearly.
Bastien continued his quarrel with Felix. “But you can say that it was special, Catus,” he said in a sugary voice. “Year after year, always the same thing. It’s boring. This year was out of the ordinary. Extraordinary. And you were its master. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“The opposite of that, you mean,” Felix said. “Come on, let Lawrence dress. We don’t want him to get a heatstroke now that you two saved him from drowning.”
“I wasn’t drowning,” Lawrence insisted.
Felix’s cat-like eyes narrowed. “Then what was this whole debacle about?”
“I got a cramp in my leg,” Lawrence lied. “But it was nothing serious.”
“You’re just digging yourself a deeper hole. Please, continue. Rector Reichenau can barely wait to hear all the details.”
“Oh, Felix,” Bastien complained and let go of Lawrence to walk over to his friend.
Anton slid away as well, while Lawrence put his robe back on. “Why are you asking me about Abelard, Garth?” He wasn’t looking at him as he appeared to follow closely the exchange between his fellow students.
“I thought he’d be in a hurry to protect your chastity,” Lawrence said.
Anton turned his head, offering Lawrence a clear view of his handsome Teutonic profile. His eyes slid sideways lazily.
But Lawrence wasn’t fooled. He was being watched. Yes, Anton had warned him about it, but who was to say that he hadn’t done that only so he could continue to hide in plain sight?
Anton’s lips twitched in a smile. “My chastity is none of your concern. Nor is it Abe’s.”
Words could say more than they meant. Ali was so certain the entire Golden Circle would jump at the opportunity to become the king’s next bed warmer. Was Anton one of them? Throughout the entire incident, he had behaved impeccably. Definitely not like a jealous would-be lover; he had interrupted Bastien’s and Lawrence’s kiss only because necessity dictated it.
And he didn’t look like the type to lose his head over a passionate affair. Unless, of course, which sounded more plausible, his interests had no involvement with love and lust, but with strategic combinations meant to secure his future.
“Speaking of bosom friends, where is yours?” Anton said in a low voice before walking away.
Lawrence had to admit that Anton was a redoubtable opponent – because indeed, he didn’t recall seeing Ali among the people fretting on the shore when he got out, dragged by Bastien to safety.
It was as if his mind had the power to summon the truant in question, because Ali appeared, running round the large rock shielding Lawrence, his face disheveled and his breathing short.
The brief glance exchanged between him and Anton wasn’t lost on him. The next moment, Ali was all over him, his barely dried hair sticking in all directions, and looking like he was about to cry.
“Larry, what happened?” He shook Lawrence then began rubbing his shoulders and in the end, opted for hugging him. “I can’t leave you out of my sight for a moment,” he exclaimed.
Lawrence had to wonder if they taught acting at Veridien; Anton was right to point out Ali’s absence, whether he knew what truly happened or not. Right now, if he were a more gullible person, he’d buy into Ali’s concern, because the young man was doing a fine job of pretending to care.
Or maybe he did care. Lawrence would prefer the latter, but the world didn’t run on wishful thinking, only on cold hard facts. The reasonable way to behave around these people from now on was to keep his cards close to his vest.
“I got a cramp. The water was so cold, and I didn’t realize it would be a problem.”
Ali groaned and pinched Lawrence’s cheek hard. “You wanted to impress Bastien, didn’t you?”
“I did not,” Lawrence protested. Well, if he were completely honest, it had been part of his motivation. Good job he did by almost drowning and having Bastien save him. Yet, the way things played out worked in his favor.
It was difficult to believe that more than one person with violent or downright murderous tendencies attended Veridien. So, according to logic, whoever had attacked him with the intention of killing him could very well be Lukas’s murderer.
And it also meant that Lawrence threatened this individual, one way or another. Jealousy. The word kept coming back to him. If someone wanted to become close to Bastien, he needed to get rid of Lucas. Now, a new opponent had appeared, and removing him, as well, had become this person’s top priority.
An accidental drowning, however, would have been a cleaner resolution than in Lukas’s case. Lawrence’s uncle was right to be wary of the case dismissal on the basis that Lukas had taken his own life. This attack had proved it all the more that the famous Veridien case was – had to be – a homicide.
“Tell it to someone who’d believe you,” Ali said, pulling him out of his thoughts. “It’s written all over your face that you two kissed.”
“Maybe we did more than kiss,” Lawrence teased, summoning a smile for Ali’s sake, just in case he’d been truly scared earlier. “Where did you run off to?” He took pride in how he managed to make his voice sound casual.
Ali grimaced. “I needed to get away for a bit.”
“Why? Were you peeing yourself?” Lawrence continued on the same teasing tone.
Ali rolled his eyes. “If you’re so curious, yes, that too, and I prefer to do that without an audience. But more than everything—bah, it doesn’t matter.”
“You know you can tell me if there’s no one else you’d rather share such things with.”
“Another time,” Ali said, forcing himself to smile.
Lawrence wasn’t supposed to care about these people; nonetheless, he felt drawn to them and their problems, which was more than he could say when thinking of his mates from the police academy. Maybe future cops were simply people who kept a lot more to themselves, while at least a few of the people at Veridien tended to behave as if it was all right to wear their soul on their sleeve.
“Now that I ruined the ritual, what’s next? Hopefully, I’m not going to be burned at the stake. Although Anton might feel tempted to make such a recommendation.”
Ali grinned at his joke. “You really are in one piece. Boy, I’m glad. When Felix told me you were about to drown--”
“Your brother? It seemed to me like the two of you weren’t on speaking terms.”
Ali waved, not at all phased by Lawrence’s words. “It was important, and my dear brother loves to rub it in my face whenever I make a mistake.”
“What mistake? You were seeing about your business. Being in charge of me--”
“Being in charge of you is my business,” Ali said and grabbed his arm. “I told you I would protect you, and I failed. I should have swum with you to the middle of the lake if it cost me a lung. They said that was what you did. I must tell you, Larry, that was an absolutely terrible choice, however brave. You reckless creature, you.”
The last words were said with affection, testing Lawrence’s resolve to treat everyone as a potential suspect. He wasn’t without flaw or blame, since he was among them not as a fellow student, but as someone with a secret agenda.
Yes, he needed to remind himself that he wasn’t at Veridien to make friends.
He winced as he took his first step.
“What’s wrong?” Ali asked, sensing his discomfort.
Lawrence lifted his foot and stared at the cut across his left heel. It was shallow and if it bled, it had stopped sometime earlier. He felt it with his fingers while keeping his balance by leaning on Ali with his other arm.
“I guess it’s nothing,” he said. “I must’ve cut myself on the way here. Truly, you’re calling me reckless, when you’re forcing your students to walk barefoot for hours.”
It hadn’t happened then, but when his attacker had stung him with an unidentified object before trying to drag him down.
Omens exist to warn us. Lawrence frowned as he recalled the quote from the Rector’s office. Was this a warning for him? His attacker had no reason to give him a superficial wound and put him on his guard if he wanted to kill him.
More and more questions. Lawrence made a mental note to take into consideration that someone at Veridien was trying to scare him away. If that were the case, this someone had to reconsider his supposition that Lawrence had a weakness that could be exploited or used against him.
Scaring away was not the same as a murder attempt. It only made the attacker’s identity even more of a mystery, because warnings could very well be a form of protection, however violent in nature.
For now, he wouldn’t waste too much time worrying over it. Lukas’s secret notebook was waiting for him. Lawrence had postponed perusing it long enough, given all the obstacles thrown in his path.
“Your brother might have me expelled,” he said, Ali’s arm wrapped around his as they walked. “He intends to tell the Rector about the failed ritual.”
“He won’t. Power is not good for us Martels. It goes to our head, and we don’t know what to do with it. Bastien is on his case, and that man, let me tell you, is relentless. How else do you think he managed to seduce Lukas?”
Seduce. It shouldn’t surprise him that both Ali and Bastien used the same vocabulary.
“Are you telling me Lukas wasn’t already taken with Bastien, like everyone else?” he asked.
“Oh, he was, but he understood the game. Only the one who feigns disinterest can elicit the interest of a king.”
“Ah, I see.”
Ali nudged him playfully in the ribs. “Don’t tell me you’re not the same. Bastien is smitten with you just because you’re not falling for his charms.”
“Just for that reason?” Lawrence asked, enjoying this game Ali was playing. “I thought I was the very personification of male beauty in your opinion.”
“Of course, there is that. But it goes without saying that our beloved king would only lay his eyes on someone worthy. All your qualities justify the choice. Though silly bravery and an unhealthy tendency to show off your physical prowess like today might have knocked a few points off your overall score.”
“I had no idea someone was keeping score of such things.”
Ali smirked. “At Veridien? Excellence in all things, my dear Larry. Don’t you dare be anything less.”
“What is the punishment if anyone dares to be less?” Lawrence asked.
The smile faded from Ali’s face. But he quickly shrugged off his unease. “They might not let the fool graduate. But they’d whip you into shape before anything like that happened. I’ve been testing their limits enough to know it.”
“Wouldn’t be easier to graduate and be done with everything? You’re months away from freedom if you’re thinking of it from a different perspective.”
“Many months. And freedom, Larry? There’s no such things for people like us. Born into indentured servitude, that’s what we are,” Ali added in a maudlin tone.
It was, supposedly, a way of seeing things. Lawrence could see why anyone would argue that rich and powerful people wished for nothing, since they had no money issues to worry about; however, he knew that misery and misfortune could hit anyone. Randomness existed in various shapes and forms, but it was the certainty of fate that could be more depressing or downright scary for an individual.
Ali seemed to belong to this category. Lawrence felt tempted to ask more, but he had to remind himself that the only student he needed to be interested in was the one no longer able to attend Veridien’s precious lessons.
He caught a glimpse of Bastien’s golden hair. The uncrowned king of the academy was still arguing with Felix, not at all disturbed by his nudity. And there were eyes everywhere, drawn to him like fireflies to a streetlight, but in the middle of the day.
Lawrence rested his arm on Ali’s shoulder, taking advantage of how everyone seemed so interested by the outcome of the conversation between Bastien and the master of ceremonies.
Except Abelard, the entire Golden Circle was there. Lawrence let his eyes wander back to the calm surface of the lake. His attacker must’ve gotten out a while ago. But through where? He couldn’t inspect the shore now, but it was on his list.
There had been no bubbles rushing up from the matte black shape underneath him. It meant that the diver had used a sophisticated rebreather, the kind that had to cost a fortune, though Lawrence didn’t have exact numbers to confirm that.
Abelard’s stomach bug deserved a bit of investigation. Wouldn’t sickness be a reason to cause at least a little disturbance in a place as tight as Veridien? What if what Abelard’s indisposition was the kind others could catch?
Unless it wasn’t real, which Lawrence was more inclined to believe. When he finally returned his attention to the debate between Bastien and Felix, his eyes rested briefly on Anton’s face.
His Dark Eminence was staring straight at him. He wasn’t even hiding it. Lawrence blamed the cold shiver that slid down his spine on not having his body temperature quite back to normal.
TBC
Author's note:
Thank you for reading! (running a bit late, so my apologies!)
@Geoffrey Fox - I'm so pleased that readers like Ali! Yes, Bastien and Lawrence will be quite the pair...
@Derek - Lawrence is quick to turn situations to his own advantage, and for now, he has no qualms with that... only that certain feelings might develop
@DavidB - thank you, David! I like plot in my romance, I like romance in my smut, and I like smut in my plot, lol! We're going full circle!
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