Fractured Truth Read Online Free PDF Page B

and whispered, “You call this a boardroom?”
    “Technically it’s the ‘Words of Enlightenment’ room, but you’ll soon see why I call it the ‘bored’ room.” He winked at me and walked by. I stared after him, shocked and amused. There was still so much I didn’t know about the small Chinese man.
    A minute later I was sitting on the first row next to Liam, who was there to represent the Deific. I glanced around, looking for any other students, but I was the only one.
    Liam bumped my shoulder with his. “Keep your cool, okay?”
    “I will if you will.”
    Thirty minutes later I understood why Dr. Han called it the bored room. I was so bored that twice now, Liam had had to stop me from falling asleep. But my boredom quickly turned to anger the longer they went without mentioning Sophie and the other girls who were taken. Instead, the Council discussed everything from renovations to possibly eliminating sugar from the Auras’ diet.
    I studied the three from Ruddy Academy in Australia. Two women and one male. The male reminded me a little of Liam. He was tall with dark hair, but with a long face and gray eyes. His disposition was relaxed, unlike the woman next to him. I wondered what special ability he had to be on the Auran Council. He didn’t look like a Fury, but neither did Dr. Han. All three were leaning forward; one of them, a woman with brown hair,gripped the chair’s armrest tightly. The current conversation about increasing the girls’ extracurricular activities must have really bothered her.
    The other three Council members from Ellie Academy were all females. Two of them were redheads and—I squinted to get a better look—had several hairs coming out from identical moles on their right cheeks. They must have been sisters. The third female had gentler features and kind eyes.
    As for Lucent’s Council members, there was just Dr. Han, an empty seat on each side of him. Both Cyrus and Sophie used to be members, but all that changed when Cyrus kidnapped her.
    “Our next order of business is replacing Cyrus as head of the Council,” one of the redheaded Irish women said. Above her, at the top of her chair, a plaque read, “Alice Jackman.”
    I straightened in my seat. It’s about time they talked about what really mattered. What was wrong with these people?
    “It seems to me,” the only other male—Bartholomew, according to his chair—said, “that our selection should not come from Lucent Academy. The school is in disarray and until some order is restored, we need a more qualified candidate.”
    The kind-looking woman from Ruddy—her name was Anne—turned to Dr. Han. “What say you?”
    Dr. Han entwined his fingers. “I am in agreement.”
    I pursed my lips, wishing he had fought harder to at least be a candidate. As far as I was concerned, he would be the best.
    It took another twenty minutes for the Council to unanimously agree that the tense-looking woman from Ireland, Nora, would be the new head. She graciously accepted with a small smile and a pat of her brown hair.
    “Now that we’ve assigned a new president, we need to announce who will take Cyrus’s place on the Council,” Alice said. “Nora, I’ll let you take control of this meeting as the new president.”
    “Thank you, Alice.” She cleared her throat. “A week ago, Dr. Han provided us with potential candidates from Lucent’s staffmembers. We reviewed each candidate carefully and have voted. The new member of the Council is,” she looked around, but only at the members of the circle and not at the audience around her, “Mrs. Rebecca Crawford.”
    The audience gasped, but I wasn’t at all surprised. I glanced over at Mrs. Crawford, who looked shocked, and smiled. I liked her. She was there when Vykens attacked Lucent Academy, fighting with the rest of us. I couldn’t ask for a more perfect person to be placed on the Council.
    “Rebecca,” Nora said, “please take your rightful position with the Council.”
    As Mrs.