BLOOD AND INK

“Hi, Theo.”The words came out quieter than I intended.For a few seconds, I simply stared at the grave at my front. One year; three hundred and sixty-five days.That was how long it had been since my twin brother had died.People who said time made grief easier definitely lied. I crouched and placed the bunch of flowers I’d brought beside the other ones I met there.My lips twitched. “Mom picked lilies again.”I could almost hear him complain. He had always believed lilies were funeral flowers and the irony of it being at his grave. I swallowed,the smile disappearing from my face. I looked at his name carved into the headstone. THEODORE CLERKE ,BELOVED SON. BELOVED BROTHER.GONE TOO SOON. My fingers curled against my palm.I could still remember the police officer sitting across from my mother in our living room.His perfectly pressed uniform; the calmness he used to announce his death was surprising. “Your son appears to have fallen from the eastern overlook at Wyrmsbane Academy.” “Appears.”That word had disturbed me. It infuriated me so much that I questioned the officer. “He was alone?” I’d asked.The officer looked at me.“Yes.”“How do you know there were no witnesses.That doesn’t mean he was alone.”My mother had squeezed my hand and called my name which didn’t stop me. “Was there any camera footage?”The officer hesitated as I asked more questions. “Unfortunately, the camera covering that section wasn’t functioning,”he said. “What about his phone?” “Damaged beyond recovery.” “His bag?” “Found several metres away.” “His shoes?” Another pause. “Recovered at the scene.” I stared at him. “Then how did he fall?” The officer had looked away. “We believe he lost his footing.” Believe,appears,unfortunately. Those words suddenly disgusted me. I looked down at Theo’s photograph. “You didn’t fall.” The leaves rustered above me as I stepped away from the memorial.The path toward the overlook was narrow and overgrown. The academy grounds had been closed to students after Theo’s death according to the officials instructions. But Wyrmsbane Academy had always been strange.Even before Theo died, he used to talk about it differently.He never said he hated or loved the school but he called it complicated without giving me any full detail about it which I wish he did. I pushed through a curtain of wet branches with the overlook ahead of me. A rusted metal fence stood near the edge of the cliff.Beyond it, the land dropped sharply into a dense forest. Theo had fallen from here;at least that was what we were told. As I approached the fence slowly,my heartbeat changed.There was something unusual about this place.I looked down.The forest stretched as I walked, dark and thick.No wonder the rescue team had problems finding him. I stopped.A section of the fence caught my eye. Moving closer there was a small dent in the metal,tangled beneath it on one of the broken lower bars was a strip of black fabric. I froze. I reached through the bars and pulled it free. The fabric was old,wet and torn. I turned it over. There was a symbol embroidered on the inside. A crescent moon crossed by three thin lines. My breath caught. I had seen that symbol before,in Theo’s notebook. A month before he died,he had drawn it repeatedly all over the book and been sneaky about it when I asked him. But I remembered a particular sentence “Sometimes, Tess, the things people call myths are just things they don’t want you looking for.” I’d laughed,he hadn’t. I looked at the symbol in my palm.My heart began pounding.I crouched beside the fence. I noticed a few old scratches in the mud. Most had disappeared beneath the rain and time, but something metallic was still embedded between two rocks.I pulled it free to behold a small silver button.My fingers trembled.Theo’s school uniform had silver buttons.I knew because I’d helped him sew one back onto his jacket the week before he died.I stared at the button,then at the strip of black fabric,then at the cliff,and finally at the photograph I was holding. My brother was smiling in it.He always smiled like that when someone pointed a camera at him, like he was trying not to laugh.I hated that photograph because it was the last photograph anyone had taken of him. If Theo had simply slipped and fallen, why was there torn fabric caught on the fence?Why was there a scratch across the metal?And why had nobody mentioned any of this?My breathing slowed as I pulled my phone from my pocket.I took photographs of everything Then I heard something.A branch snapping behind me.I spun around to nothing. Only trees. “Hello?” I called out to be met by silence.I stood slowly.The wind had stopped.For a moment, the forest seemed still. Then came a distant howl. My entire body went rigid.It wasn’t like the sound of an ordinary dog.It was deeper,longer and almost mournful. I stared into the forest.Another howl answered from somewhere farther away.My mind told me it was impossible..At least, there weren’t supposed to be any wolf this close to the city. I stepped backward.My heel struck the metal fence.The button slipped from my fingers.I looked down.When I looked back toward the trees, I could have sworn I saw two pale lights staring at me.They could be eyes as I blinked just for it to disappear. I ran. By the time I reached home, my clothes were soaked through.My mother was in the kitchen.She looked up when I entered.Her expression changed immediately. “Teressa.”I avoided her eyes. “I’m fine.” “You went to the memorial again.” I ignored it as I dropped my bag beside the door. “I just needed some air.” “It’s raining.” “It stopped.” “You’re soaked.” I looked down at myself. “Apparently.” She sighed.My mother had learned not to argue with me about Theo.Not because she agreed with me but because she was tired.We were both tired.She turned back toward the stove. “Your university letters came.”I frowned. “My what?” She nodded toward the dining table. “There are two.” I walked over. One was from a local university I’d applied to months ago.The second envelope was thick,cream-colored with no return address.My name was written across the front in dark blue ink. MISS TERESSA CLERKE I turned it over.The seal made my stomach drop.A black wax crescent with three thin lines crossing through it.The same symbol.I looked at my mother. “Where did this come from?” “I don’t know.” “Did you open it?” “No.” I broke the seal to reveal a letter.I read the first line.And forgot how to breathe. Dear Miss Clerke, We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for a full academic scholarship to Wyrmsbane Academy. I stared at the page.Wyrmsbane.My brother’s school.My fingers tightened around the paper. “No.” My mother watched me carefully. “What is it?” I handed her the letter. She read it. Her eyebrows rose. “They’re offering you a scholarship?” “To Wyrmsbane.” She looked at me. “I know.” “No.” I shook my head. “You don’t understand.” “I understand that it’s an excellent school.” “Theo went there.” Her face fell. “I know.” “They don’t give scholarships to people like me.” “What do you mean?” “People who can’t afford the tuition. People without connections.” She looked back at the letter. “Maybe they saw your grades.” I laughed.There was no humor in it. “Then why is the sponsor anonymous?” She went quiet.I continued reading.There were conditions.Maintain excellent grades,remain enrolled for the academic year and… I stopped. Accept the position of private academic tutor assigned by the academy. I read it twice.Then a third time. “That’s weird.” My mother took the letter. “Maybe they need tutors.” “Why me?” “Because you’re smart.” “Mom.” She looked at me.I looked back.Neither of us said what we were thinking.Theo had attended Wyrmsbane and died there . And now, one year later, Wyrmsbane is offering me an anonymous scholarship with an anonymous sponsor. I looked down at the black crescent printed at the bottom of the page.My heartbeat quickened.Maybe it was a coincidence and the symbol meant nothing.Maybe I was letting grief affect me negatively. But then I remembered the fence,the fabric ,the button and the symbol in Theo’s notebook.And the final thing the letter said. Your enrollment is expected within fourteen days. My mother watched as I folded the letter carefully. “You don’t have to go.” I looked toward the window to notice rain had started. Soft drops tapped against the glass. “I know.” “Then don’t.” I thought about Theo.His crooked smile.His unfinished sentences.The way he’d once told me that some things people called myths were simply things they didn’t want you looking for.I thought about the official report.“Accidental fall”. I thought about the strip of black fabric still sitting inside my pocket.Then I looked at the Wyrmsbane letter. “No.” My voice was steady this time with determination. “I have to.” My mother looked frightened.I didn’t blame her.I was frightened too.But fear had never stopped me from loving my brother.And it wasn’t going to stop me from finding out how he died.I folded the letter one final time.Then I whispered the words I’d been too afraid to say for an entire year. “I’ll find out what happened to you, Theo.” Somewhere outside I heard a wolf howling again. And this time I knew it wasn’t a dream.