FANG ACADEMY

CHAPTER 4: The Council

Raveena stood in front of the huge doors of the conference hall. She sighed.

This was going to be difficult. All the leads that she gained on Romero's missing, were dead ends. Either the evidence went missing or the leads turn out to be false. It all came to the conclusion of one possibility, that Romero Chimera Grey was a double agent, that he betrayed the council. But Raveena knew him better than everyone.

Romero was a man of principles and he loved his community. He would do anything to protect his own and would never even think about betraying the council. But that was her own opinion. Surely the council couldn't take decisions on pure intuition and possibilities. It was true that Romero was the one to have broken the connection that day. It was dangerous and he knew it.

Soon after he went missing, important information was leaked from the defence department. And all the suspicion went to him. Everybody believed that he was the double agent that betrayed the council. But Raveena knew better. She knew that he would never do such thing because the result would be something very unfavourable to even his own interests.

Now today, the council has been called again and she feared she was running out of time. She didn't know how to answer all those questions that were going to arise today. And if she was unable to answer them, the case would simply be passed to another tracker or even a lower spy and as usual, the authorities would close the case, making Romero something that he never was... a traitor.

She held her head high and entered through the heavy wooden doors.

Although she was in a tight spot but there were very few who would actually stand against her resolution in the council. She was feared. She was strong.

On her right were all the elders, already seated and their focus was her. On her left were the other members that held ranks equal as hers.

Her high heels clicked on the wooden pavement as she made her way to her own seat.

Seems like she was the last one to arrive, because the meeting started as soon as she got comfortable. But this comfort was short lasting.

The elder called on her.

"Raveena Hannah Grey! The council calls on you. Please step up to the bars."

She stood up, arched her back and puffed her chest. This better be over soon, she thought.

She stepped on the podium and faced the elders.

One of the old men spoke.

"Raveena Hannah Grey and all my dear council men and woman. This meeting has been called today to discuss about the recent attack on the Academy of Fang. As we all know The Academy was built on the foundation to teach the younger generation and train them for the future. But on the very first day of this new semester, a student was murdered. The killer is unidentified and still on the loose but we suspect that a witch is involved, a higher one at that."

Raveena rejoiced in her head. So, this was not about Romero's case at all. At least she will have more time.

A female elder continued the brief.

"Another student was marked by the witch and the curse, which was apparently the cause of death of the first student, passed onto the marked one. The second pupil is safe and in medical care since the council was wise enough to act on time."

A third elder took the narrative.

"Raveena Hannah Grey, will take the lead to the investigation of this serious case. The case shall be marked as Level 1 emergency for obvious reasons and Ms. Grey will have complete jurisdiction over it."

At those words, a few gasps were heard among the members and Raveena's eyes went as wide as saucers. Having complete jurisdiction would mean that she would have absolutely no spare time to continue her current investigations.

The council surely did not forget about the previous investigation.

A few more details were shared and the meeting was soon adjourned.

The elders were leaving already but Raveena ran upto the one she trusted the most.

"Mr. Pollack!" She called behind him. But he didn't seem to hear her.

"Mr. Pollack!" She called again, louder this time...

He halted and looked back. She caught up to him.

"Why?" was all she could ask.

"Raveena, dear. I'm sorry. I tried my best but it was an unanimous decision of the council. O could only stop them from transferring the previous case to someone else but I couldn't make everything happen according to my conditions, now can I?" The old man seemed to be a little tired. He had bags under his eyes, they were deeper than before.

Raveena knew that there was nothing more that could happen here. She sighed again.

"Mr. Pollack, how is your health these days?" she asked as they walked together.

He looked weaker than before. Maybe his condition was acting up again.

" I won't say any soothing words to you kid, but I haven't been very well lately. Also there has been a whole lot of work at the council these days. The disruptions in the society are increasing.

We aren't as peaceful as we used to be.

I must warn you Rave, find support in the council. I'm not sure I'll be around for long but you must take care while you can. There are many that wait for you to fall."

He whispered the last part almost so quietly that if Raveena wasn't leaning in, she wouldn't have been able to hear him.

Tears welled up in her eyes. First Romero and then Pollack. She was loosing her family faster than she thought. She clutched on to his hand but he only have her a warm smile and squeezed her hands.

"It will all be fine, Rave! It will all be fine..." he said.

As she wiped her tears, he spoke again...

"The other student who was marked was Romero's daughter, Rave. I think the two cases might be connected. I have an intuition. She might be in danger." He spoke firmly.

Bells rang in Raveena's ears. It is... possible. She must hurry.