Vallen: The Marking (Vallen series #1)

Chapter 52

"Why did it have to be Kamau?" Alaric asked me for the millionth time. "Why couldn't it be Swilthin or Argal... Or even Woodville would have been better!" 

I rolled my eyes and shushed him again. We had decided to wait for midnight, to ambush him in his room. Undoubtedly Kamau had made his hatred towards me known with the other teachers, I had caught him gossiping with Rhys, so if he did make a fuss we could just say that he made the whole thing up. That we were never in his room asking about strange artefacts. 

I knocked twice on the wooden door. His room was 106, I remembered it from the fire. Alaric and I shared one worried glance towards each other before the door opened. Kamau, luckily, still had his teaching robes on. I had been a little worried that we would have a pyjama party.

"Miss Lovell, Mister Lauwers," Kamau started. "What-"

"We need to talk to you, Professor." I said, making sure to keep a calm and emotionless face on. I hoped Alaric was doing the same thing behind me. Eldon had wanted to come too, but Alaric told him not too. There were very few professors in the castle that didn't have a problem with Eldon. We couldn't risk him making the situation worse.

Kamau hardly moved aside, but we entered his living room anyway. I had almost hoped that the dagger would simply be on display in the room, that he would want to brag about owning it. Sadly, there was only one painting on the wall that didn't look like it should be more than 50 euros. 

Alaric and I sat down on his leather couch, while Kamau sat down in his chair. Obviously he wasn't going to offer us anything to drink or be kind about this. The room was simple, he had a few bookshelves on one wall and a couch with chairs on the other. Besides the painting, there was nothing else in the room. 

"We are here about this." I said, holding out a drawing of Edda's dagger. I had traced it about five times, just to make sure we had plenty in case Kamau decided to rip this one to shreds. The original drawing was still safe in the book, which was hidden underneath Azai's mattress in Alaric's room. "We know your family owns it, do you know where it is?"

Kamau took his time looking at the drawing. I thought I could see some panic on his face, but it could also be annoyance at us. He ran his fingers over the ink, it was clearly a copy and not an original drawing. I hadn't even tried to imitate that. I made sure to get all the necessary details though. 

"You think you can come into my private chambers in the middle of the night to ask questions about a family heirloom of mine?" He asked me on a venomous tone. "I do not care how many gods you can speak to Miss Lovell, you will be punished for this."

"And you think people will believe you, after an entire school year of bad mouthing me?" I answered back. Alaric put his hand on my shoulder to prevent me from leaning over and giving him a piece of my mind. 

"Professor," He said on a calm tone. "This isn't a matter of school work, but rather of the Heroes. We are following up on something they said to Eira, if you could just tell us if your family still owns the dagger and where it is, we will be on our way and never bother you again."

Kamau seemed to debate telling us for a little while, his eyes switching between Alaric and myself a few time. Eventually, he leaned back in his chair and answered our questions. 

"It is still in my family." He answered. "Hidden in a vault of which I will not tell you the location."

Alaric sighed and stood up to leave, but I stayed in my spot, staring at Kamau. There was something off about him, about the way he responded to us. If his family was rich enough to own an artefact, but the artefacts weren't common knowledge, why would he know where it is? They must have several vaults, with paintings and objects of great value. A dagger wouldn't stand out in a big pile of gold. 

"Eira." Alaric urged me to stand up, but I remained seated. 

It finally clicked. 

"How did you hear us?" I quietly asked Kamau. Alaric was confused, but Kamau wasn't. "The fire was loud, Victorine was screaming, but the teachers in the rooms right next to us didn't wake up from it. You were across the hall, yet you heard us?" 

"I woke up from the smoke." Kamau said. I shook my head and stood up. How had it taken me this long to understand? 

"You were already awake." I said to Kamau. "The person we saw escaping with the scrolls was a fire bender. That's how he managed to carry an armful of scrolls through a burning hallway, that's how it started. You told them which vault had a dagger in it, and with the drawing they knew exactly what it looked like. The secret room is another Kamau vault." 

Alaric got it too now, looking down at Kamau in disdain. "How long did you keep your family's secret?" He whispered at him. "I would have died before telling them where it was." 

Kamau didn't even reply to us anymore. His face was as white as a sheet, he looked nothing like the scary professor I had thought him to be for the last year. There was only one way to get underneath every Vallen's skin, and it was to question their loyalty to their family. I looked over at Alaric.

"The dagger is gone."