Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Standing Outside the Fire ❯ 25 ( Chapter 25 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

25
 
Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante,
Had a bad cold, nevertheless
Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,
With a wicked pack of cards.
 
“It seems that you have picked up a bit of a pattern.” Frau Sheffield regarded me from behind a veil of steam. The vaporizer perched on her desk, churning out a medicated fog to battle her springtime cold. She sniffled, raised a linen handkerchief to her nose, dabbed delicately. “Patterns, Herr Crawford, draw attention.”
 
The lingering headache hovered behind my eyes as though daring me to speak. I took a deep breath and nodded stiffly. The steam tasted funny, not like the menthol stuff I was used to. It wasn't half bad; I found myself breathing easily, and the headache began to fade.
 
Frau Sheffield smiled. “I find this herbal remedy quite useful for headaches myself. It's an old recipe, recommended by the Elders, in fact. That, and the vaporizer itself tends to block psi powers. A subtle electro-magnetic field, very small and rather weak, but I find that it's invaluable when all other methods fail. And I have received permission to allow you access to it. So please, do make yourself comfortable, Crawford. There are many things we need to discuss, you may as well relieve that headache with me.”
 
I relaxed a little, leaning back in the wingback chair she had offered instead of the usual desk seat. The fabric was scratchy, a faded rose color with patterns in gold thread. I'd always wondered if it were an antique but never bothered to ask. With every breath, my head felt clearer. There was one brief flare of anger, where I wondered why they'd taken so long to let me try this; I'd been suffering for over a year now, and feared for my sanity for much of that time. But then her words sank in: Frau Sheffield had asked for permission to share it.
 
Permission from whom?
 
I decided I'd be happier not knowing just yet.
 
“I have discussed your visions with my superiors,” Sheffield stated. “They are quite interested in you, Crawford. If your gift continues to grow, they will no doubt wish to meet with you in person. It is my task to prepare you for this eventuality.” She tapped the vaporizer for emphasis as she said, “And I have secured permission to try more exotic methods in your case. This is quite unusual for a student, Herr Crawford.”
 
“I do appreciate it, Frau Sheffield,” I told her with all sincerity. Though the pain-clearing vapors left me feeling a little odd, a little disconnected from my Sight, the relief was totally worth it.
 
“Obviously you have tuned in to a specific event in the future, something so pivotal that it will not let you rest. We shall try to shift the burden to other minds, to give you some rest from it. Perhaps, if I and Madame Chairman can isolate this event, your visions of it will relax somewhat. My goal is to lessen the urgency of these seasonal outbursts, rather than allow them to continue escalating.”
 
“What should I do, then?” I asked. I didn't understand how this was supposed to work; how could other precognitives affect my visions? The future would come, and announce its plans to everyone within earshot. It wasn't like intercepting a phone call, or was it?
 
Frau Sheffield poured herself some more tea, refilled my cup. The mint clashed with the vaporizer, but the warmth further soothed my head. “Continue working on your shields,” she told me. “Make yourself strong. You may come to me at any time, day or night. If I am in a class, request a messenger to alert me.”
 
Nervous, I licked my lips, looked away from her and murmured, “What about my mentor, ma'am? I thought I was supposed to go directly to him first.” I couldn't help but imagine his fury when he found out what Sheffield had just suggested. It seemed like she was overturning his authority with me, not that I minded; it was his reaction I was afraid of.
 
Frau Sheffield frowned thoughtfully, sipping her tea as she chose her reply. “General Schoenberg is a good man, but at times a misguided one. He has no clear understanding of your gift, or of mine, though he does sincerely try. His is the physical world, not the realm of possibilities, Crawford. The solutions he offers…” She shook her head. “They work for some. They do not work for you. I cannot have you reassigned, and in truth, I have no time for mentorship. My own gift precludes it. But I think even Schoenberg will comply with the will of the Elders. It's in his best interest, after all.”
 
My mind spun around her words, the implications beneath them ringing into echoes in my head. I barely caught her next comments in the rush.
 
“Of course, for your regular schooling and your reviews, you will still report to him. However, for any Sight-related problems, you come directly to me. Don't even bother contacting him, I'll send him a copy of my report.” Her smile turned momentarily dark as she said, “If he wishes to balance his career upon your shoulders, he will simply have to learn to share. The Elders do not take this situation lightly, Crawford. Your gift is something they have been waiting for, for a very long time.”
 
I wondered if she meant any of that to be comforting, because if she had, it didn't work. I swallowed. This had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with my usefulness to someone else. My bitterness must have shown on my face, because Sheffield reached across the desk and put her hand over mine, bringing my attention back to her.
 
“I know this is hard to understand. A boy, no matter the circumstance of his life, will be forced to make many difficult decisions before he is considered a man. Boys do not survive Esset. Boys crave protection, nurturing, safety. Men create their own. And do not think that this does not grieve me. But every culture crafts its boundaries and its rites of passage as it sees fit, to ensure the strength of its future. Esset is no different. Yes, I see you as a boy, Crawford. Schoenberg searches for the man. To some, it does not matter. To those, if you are not prepared when the call comes, you fail.”
 
“You mean the Elders,” I whispered, trying to comprehend the meaning behind her statements. It seemed like there was something I kept missing, no matter how hard I tried to figure it out. Maybe the message was simpler than it looked.
 
“And Herr Sonndheim.” Her eyes bored into me as she stated, “He has more at stake here than your mentor. I believe you can anticipate the gravity of that fact, Herr Crawford?”
 
My mouth went dry. I nodded, unable to speak.
 
Frau Sheffield frowned to herself, as though debating how much to tell me. Then she sighed and leaned across the desk, folding her slender arms under her bosom and resting her forehead on the cool wood.
 
I felt a tremor in the Sight, and realized she was trying to pull a Vision for herself. If she could do that, in spite of her cold and the electro-magnetic interference, could I possibly learn to have that much control myself someday?
 
She shuddered, then sat up and rubbed at her eyes. “How odd.”
 
“Ma'am?”
 
“Something is blocking you in my Sight this evening, Crawford.” She regarded me with mild concern. “It's as though your future is at a crossroads, and your choice has not yet been made. Be very careful these next few days, boy. Make no enemies. And try to make no mistakes.”
 
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “Is it Sonndheim?”
 
“No, he has nothing to do with this. Although…” Sheffield shook her head. “No. His part in the play is mostly set. The greatest variable…is you.”
 
The vaporizer hissed as it ran out of water.
 
Frau Sheffield unplugged it, coiled the cord with exaggerated care.
 
Nothing out of place tonight, except me…
 
She smiled softly and rose from her seat. “Get some sleep, Crawford. Come see me tomorrow night, same time. We'll use this again if it proves helpful to you.”
 
After she showed me out, I checked my watch. I'd probably miss curfew, but my pass allowed for that. I made sure it was safely tucked in my jacket, ran a hand through my hair, and set off toward my dorm building.
 
They'd been doing construction on the campus all spring, though I'd barely noticed it through the fog of visions. I recalled the mess downstairs, rendering the entryway a narrow tunnel, and I shivered. I didn't want to deal with that again, especially after that turn of discussion. This building connected with the next on the fourth floor; I figured I could find the stairs there easily enough, as the floor plans were fairly standard.
 
I trudged up the steps, then through the walkway into the empty class building. At this hour, there should be no students lurking around to cause trouble, so I proceeded with confidence. Besides, I had a pocket full of aspirin and cigarettes - in the coin of the realm, I was a rich man and could barter my way out of nearly anything. And if all that failed, I still had my hall pass.
 
But when I reached the door that I thought was the stairwell, it opened on a classroom. Somehow I'd gotten turned around; figures I'd find the one building with a newer-model floor plan. I wandered a bit, then realized I should be able to follow the wear marks on the floor until I found the stairs. This made me feel pretty clever and I smiled to myself as I set off on my quest, gaze firmly set on the tiles before my feet.
 
[“The greatest variable…is you.”]
 
Something made me look up. My heart clenched as I realized I had taken another wrong turn, and I was not alone here.
 
 
25
Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante,
Had a bad cold, nevertheless
Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,
With a wicked pack of cards.
 
“The Waste Land” - T.S. Eliot
 
For the third year in a row, Bradley has buckled under visions of a cruel and violent April. No one can dismiss this as coincidence now. He has gotten the attention of the Elders, and they will be watching him. The question that bothers me is, what do they need him to become in order to fulfill their own twisted destiny? Makes me wonder how much of what came after was orchestrated long ago…and whether one player in particular knew his part, and re-wrote it.