A New Tale from the Shadowhunter Academy

4. Talking

Cara had risen by now and took a step towards the troublemaker raising her hand as if to grab him by the arm, when an authoritative voice from behind caused everyone to freeze: "Don't beat up the freshman again, Nik. You remember what happened the last time."

All of them, including Nik, turned around. The voice belonged to a slender 16-year old boy, who somehow seemed to eradiate a cool and dark aura. He was dressed all in black and if it wasn't for the bronze skin, Alex would have mistaken him for a vampire. The newcomer stood very still, his mouth distorted disapprovingly. When his gaze fell on Max, his eyebrows approached each other, like storm clouds gathering over a battlefield. He said: "Max. What the hell are you doing here!?"

Max beamed at him: "Are you happy to see me, big brother?"

Ah, so this must be Max's brother, Rafael or Rafe in short. Nik turned pale.

"He's your brother?" Alex was not sure, if he was talking to the Rafe or to Max. Probably Rafe, as Nik didn't add the words 'blue', 'brat' or 'filthy'.

"Unfortunately," Rafe answered unmoved. "So abstain from breaking his bones or I'd be rather displeased."

As if Max had suddenly started to sweat skin-burning Ichor Nik let go of him with a little kick, which sent Max back on his chair. After a last (scared?) look at Rafe Nik left to a table at which a beautiful dark-skinned girl sat, who was watching each of Rafe's moved intensely. When Nik placed himself next to her and greeted her with an insinuating grin, she immediately began whispering to him. One afternoon at the Academy and Max had managed to climb the gossip charts up to the top already.

Alex returned his attention to his own table as Rafe said to Max: "Come with me. We need to talk."

Max answered: "You're welcome to sit with us, so we can talk here." He adjusted the empty chair next to him, which Rafe ignored. Instead he grabbed Max by the arm and pulled him up and through the open doors out of the dining hall.

While he was dragged away from them, Max called over his shoulder to Cara and Alex: "I'll be right back."

When Max and his brother were gone, Alex turned back to face Cara. Despite the fear of kicking a beehive with his words he tried to imitate Max's winning smile, which felt like being a torch imitating the sun, and said: "That leaves us. Sooo...what do you...?"

"Don't." Cara interrupted him with a dark face.

Alex gulped and murmured: "Ok."

They both returned to their meal in silence.

----

Rafe dragged Max out of the dining hall and into a small, abandoned corridor. There Rafe let go of him, crossed his arms and inquired: "Do Dad and Ba know that you're here?"

Damn it! Rafe always knew to ask the right questions. Whatever he said stabbed the demon in its core.

Max squirmed: "Well, I didn't get the chance to tell them. When I left they were busy."

"Busy?!"

"The kind of busy you wouldn't interrupt. As their child at least. Uncle Jace would probably not have such qualms..."

With thumb and finger of one hand Rafe rubbed his eyes as of to clean off an unwanted image. "Please," he said. "Stop talking. I just forgot about the last time I caught them being 'busy'."

Rafe shook his head: "So you ran away and somehow persuaded Dean Penhallow to take you in."

Max shrugged his shoulders: "Basically, yes. Though it took me some time to make myself clear to the Dean. She seemed a little bit slow-witted."