Book Read Free

The Wish Box

Page 11

by Nate Van Dyke


  “None taken,” Kam said. “I am just as surprised as you are.

  Hector nodded. “Okay, good. When are we really leaving then?”

  Vienna gave him a wry smile, “How fast do you think you can pack?”

  16

  The Hunt is On!

  KAMARON

  “Pack light. You will be traveling quickly and you cannot afford to be slowed down. Meet by the gate in…” Vienna paused to look at her watch, “One hour. Do you know where you are going?”

  Hector nodded. “I have a pretty good idea of where Nyka will go. I am going to keep that information quiet for now though. Like you said, we never know who could be a spy. It is better to play my cards close for now.”

  “Okay, good. Go get ready and try to keep it quiet. I will have supplies ready for you by the gate. See you in an hour!”

  Just so it didn’t look suspicious, Garrett and I waited a few minutes after Vienna and Hector left. After that, we ran at top speed all the way back to the barracks. I may not be the most fit guy in the world, but I was definitely going to be by the time this week was over. I had a feeling that the spirit was helping me out though.

  The barracks was miraculously empty. “That’s lucky!” I commented.

  We got to work packing. There were matching yellow backpacks on our beds already. Garrett picked one up and commented, “Not exactly incognito, but at least yellow looks really good on me.” He held up the backpack to his chest like he was trying it on and gave a dazzling smile. I punched him in the arm. “Ouch!” All of this craziness, and he is still my annoying little brother.

  We started to pack our bags. I made sure to grab an extra pair of tennis shoes and pretty much two pairs of everything else. Everything was in standard Argonaut yellow. We also made sure to put on clothes that matched the barracks colors, along with more yellow. Seriously, there was no possible way we were going to be able to stealth mode all the way to the gate without being noticed.

  Of course, whenever I think anything is impossible, the spirit decides to prove me wrong. The clothing is made of a special fabric that only exists inside the city of Argos. The clothing itself is intuitive and will camouflage you by mimicking your surroundings. You will be seen only when you want to be seen. It isn’t nearly as good as invisibility and it doesn’t camouflage everything, but it is still very effective.

  With this new information, I thought to myself, Okay, um… clothes. Show me what ya got. The result was instantaneous. My clothes immediately turned to a dark brown to match the dark colors of the room around me

  “Whoa! Hey, how did you do that?” Garrett asked. I relayed the information to him and soon we were both equally incognito. He suddenly looked at me and said, “Oh yeah! I totally forgot to tell you with all the craziness going on. I found out last night that your spirit’s name is Phelix.”

  “Oh!” I said. “That’s nice to finally know. Thanks.” Phelix started to grumble inside my head, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. That is kind of weird now that I think about it. You would think I would be able to hear anything he said if he was literally inside my ears.

  Anyway, we finished packing and set our bags on the beds. We stood by them, trying to decide whether to bring our Edicts or not. “Vienna did say to pack light. I wouldn’t consider these to be light…” I said as I weighed it in my hands.

  We discussed it for a minute, but in the end the Edicts decided for us. They disappeared out of our hands and reappeared on our beds. Garrett looked at them for a few seconds before finally saying quietly, “Those things are really weird. I guess magic is real…”

  I grabbed my backpack, which immediately changed color to match my outfit, and told him, “Really? You are just now realizing that? I’m sorry, but did you just daydream your way through that last few days?”

  “Ha-ha, very funny,” He said sarcastically. He picked up his bag as well. “We better go. I don’t even want to think about what Vienna would do to us if we were late.”

  I shivered. “Agreed. Well, goodbye bed! Goodbye temporary home! Hopefully, I will see you again!”

  Garrett laughed and walked out of the barracks. I followed behind him and both of us strolled in the direction of the gate. After a few minutes of walking in silence, Garrett said, “Do you think there is a chance we won’t make it back?” There was some doubt in his voice that I wasn’t used to. He was always so confident about everything he did, I often forgot that I was the older brother. Now, his self-confidence seemed to be wavering. I guess he was probably thinking of Daniel, a warrior with a lot more experience than either of us, who was tossed aside like a bag of trash.

  I thought about it for a few steps before responding. “The way I see it, we have a pretty good chance of coming back. For one thing, your big heavy armor will protect you.” He snorted, but I continued, “For another thing, we will have Hector with us. From what I have heard, he is the best of the best. If we stick close to him, we should be just fine. Besides, little bro, you know I won’t let you get hurt.” I shoved him in the arm playfully and we both chuckled.

  I secretly wondered if I would be able to keep that promise. I mean, sure, I would do the best I could, but would it be enough? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if Garrett got hurt, let alone killed. Even though sometimes he was a real pain, I still felt responsible for keeping an eye on him. With our parents gone, that responsibility increased exponentially. They never really gave me the big brother responsibility since we were so close in age, but they would still want me to keep him safe, and I intended to do that.

  A voice interrupted my thoughts. Bione is like a brother to me, so I know how you feel. That being said, Bonded spirits always die together. For whatever reason, they are always killed in close proximity, usually by the same thing. I don’t know if this makes you feel any better, but even if your brother goes down, you will soon follow. As morbid as that was, it actually did make me feel better. I decided to promise myself something. I am going to keep Garrett safe on this mission. No matter what happens, he will come back safe and sound, with or without me. I felt the spirit give its agreement without saying anything, almost like he mentally nodded.

  With that, I walked with a greater sense of purpose and determination. My mission was no longer to find Nyka and Donovan, but to protect my brother at any cost.

  We reached the gate and found Hector and Vienna waiting for us. “Perfect timing!” Hector said. “Are you ready to go?”

  I nodded, and Garrett said, “As ready as we’ll ever be.”

  Vienna looked at both of us, “Good luck you two. I expect to see you back here once all of this is over.” Then she smiled at us. She turned to Hector and leaned in to whisper something to him. Then she gave him a kiss on the cheek, spun around, and walked away. She gave us all one final goodbye wave.

  Hector seemed to be just as surprised as I was. “Well then, umm… I guess we should get going.” He turned to the gate, which was open, and walked through.

  I followed and resisted the urge to summon my bow. Our last experience outside the gate hadn’t gone so well. This time though, nobody was waiting for us on the other side.

  We walked out of the gate and into a grassy field with a small town to our right and a huge city far in the distance to our left. I did a full 360-degree turn and discovered that Argos was already gone. There was farmland in every direction. “Where are we?” I asked.

  Hector looked around at our surroundings. “Somewhere in North America, west coast if I had to guess. Usually, Argos drops us off as close to our objective as possible. With any luck, we are in California, because that is where we need to go. Let’s head to that little town over there. It looks like it’s the closest civilization, and we need to figure out where we are.”

  He started in that direction and we followed. Wherever we were, it was late in the day. I could see the sun just peaking over the horizon, giving everything around us the golden glow of dusk. We found a dirt path that seemed to go in the general d
irection of the town. “So, where are we headed? You said you had a hunch where Nyka and Donovan might be going?” Garrett asked.

  Without turning around, Hector said, “Yep! I think Nyka revealed a little bit more about her plan than she meant to. I am pretty sure she will head straight for the Myrmidons and try to do the same thing to them that Donovan did to the Acephali. Like I said at the meeting, I don’t think the Myrmidons are still even around, but she does.”

  He paused while he stepped over a large pothole in the dirt path, then continued, “Assuming that they are, they would seek a secluded mountainous area with lots of trees, water, and food nearby. They would also find someplace that is somewhat nearby the ocean. Last I heard, they had migrated to North America and settled somewhere in California before going completely silent. There is a mountain range in California, which is a state bordering the ocean, called the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In their prime, they had a big enough population to cover those mountains and that would be one of the best places to stay under the radar. If I had to guess, that is where they would settle. Nyka would most likely come to the same conclusion, which means that even if the Myrmidons did die out and we are chasing ghosts, we still know where she is going. It’s only a starting point, but it is better than nothing. If we come across their trail, I will be able to track them.”

  At that point, he turned long enough to flash a smile, “I am not just the best fighter in Argos. I also happen to be the best tracker.”

  With that, we walked in silence. Hector set a fast pace and soon we were all breathing hard. He walked in the direction of the town and I noticed there was a large city peaking up behind the town that I hadn’t seen before. Other than the two cities and the small town, it was sparse farmland in every direction. Even the trees were at a minimum, with just a few patches here and there.

  Phelix remained silent, which was unlike him. As for me, I couldn’t believe what we were doing. We were hunting two seasoned fighters across the country with not one, but two entire armies with kill-on-sight orders. Just an average day in the life of an Argonaut, I guess. It is still hard to get used to though.

  17

  Surprise! More Glowing Eyes!

  GARRETT

  We walked for what felt like hours, which my watch later confirmed. Hector kept going without even breaking a sweat, so I had to push to keep up. Finally, after more than 2 hours of walking non-stop, he called for a break. I would consider myself to be pretty physically fit, but I’ll admit that I all but collapsed when we came to a stop.

  By this time, the sun had gone all the way down and the moon and stars were glowing above us. It had gotten so dark that we shouldn’t have been able to see anything, but for some reason I had no difficulty viewing the surroundings. It was almost like having night vision goggles on, but without all the green.

  Finally, I had to ask Bione about it, What’s with my eyes? How can I still see? His response was instantaneous, like he had been waiting for me to ask. As an Argonaut, you have enhanced night vision. It is one of the many things that are enhanced by hosting a spirit. I also give you naturally faster reflexes, more endurance, and better senses. And that is without tapping into any of my energy reserves. When you are in need, I can enhance any one of those abilities to far greater lengths, similar to The Surge, but with less after effects. Nice! I’ll keep that in mind next time I am in a fight.

  Hector interrupted our mental conversation by saying, “I think we should just make camp here. We are not far from the town, maybe an hour or two at our walking pace, but I don’t want us to overextend ourselves. With how bad Donovan’s injuries were when they left, I doubt they will be moving very fast. On top of that, there aren’t very many drop points that are secluded enough in California for Argos to set up. Normally that’s an inconvenience, but it just might play to our benefit this time. More likely than not, they got dropped off at the same place we did, meaning they are only about a day ahead of us. We can afford to take our time.”

  With that, he pulled off his backpack and opened it up. He pulled out three squares only slightly bigger than his palm. He tossed one to each of us and said, “Sleeping bags, pads, and a pillow, all rolled into one.” I gave him a quizzical look, and he added, “Don’t think too hard about it. Even I don’t know how it works; I just enjoy bending the laws of physics.”

  He tossed it on the ground, and it immediately sprang out into the most luxurious sleeping bag I have ever seen. Kam and I followed suit and soon we were all kicking back like camping kings. “I don’t suppose you have an instant fire kit in there, do you?” Kam asked.

  Hector smiled. “Well, sort of. We don’t want to build one here though. That would attract too much attention in this open field. The last thing we need is to be caught out on an open plain by some Acephali. Besides, it isn’t too cold tonight. You two rest. I’ll take first watch.”

  Maybe it was the excitement of starting a dangerous adventure, maybe it was the terror of knowing that I was probably being hunted by who knows how many scary things, but I couldn’t sleep. I managed to nod off here and there, but I kept waking up. Finally, I gave up and decided to talk to Bione.

  I decided I would ask him a question that had been resting at the back of my mind for a while. Hey Bione? Why did you choose me as your host? He replied with a hint of sarcasm, For lack of a better option. He chuckled at his own joke and continued, I believe you are asking why I chose you over your brother, am I correct? I nodded, forgetting that he couldn’t see that. Or could he? Either way, he continued, You have a quality that I always pursue in hosts. Something your brother doesn’t have. Phelix, on the other hand, simply chooses the host that I don’t want. I believe that he pursues them for his own reasons, but I have never fully understood why. He always allows me to choose from among them first.

  I noticed that he purposely avoided answering my question, but before I could call him out on it, I heard Hector say, “You're up for watch Garrett.”

  After he was sure I was awake, Hector lay down in his own sleeping bag and fell asleep instantly. How does he do that? I sat up on my sleeping bag, observing the surroundings. There wasn’t much to see. Every once in a while, I would hear a rustle in the grass, but I came to the conclusion that it must have been a small rodent or simply the breeze rustling the grass.

  I sat there for a long time, lost in my thoughts. Soon my thoughts drifted to Nyka. She seemed so nice, I still couldn’t believe she would betray everyone she knew. I couldn’t believe that she would kill someone in cold blood, let alone her friend. I looked at Kam and wondered what he thought about it. Did he have any doubts?

  I had always been the more confident of the two of us; doubt and second-guessing was his thing. I was always the ultra-confident, jump in and get it done type of person. I took after my mom in that sense, whereas he took after my dad. My mom and I were both impulsive and confident; Kam and my dad were a lot more cautious and calculated. In this case, it was different. I was closer to Nyka than he was, so her betrayal cut me a little deeper than him.

  An unusual noise jarred me out of my thoughts. Less than 20 feet from me, a pair of pale, green eyes studied me. I looked into the eyes and realized that they were the same ones I had seen just before my fight on the bridge. It was unmistakable, even the feeling of safety was there. Whatever it was, I knew without a doubt that it didn’t intend to hurt me.

  “Who are you?” I whispered. I said it a little louder than I intended, causing Kam to stir behind me. I heard him flinch at the sudden sound and sit up, but I didn’t look back.

  “What’s goin—” He stopped short when he followed my gaze and saw the eyes. After a few moments of silence, I heard the sound of his bowstring being pulled back. I looked back and saw that he had an arrow ready to fire, aimed at the eyes.

  “Wait! He’s not going to hurt us!” I held up a hand to stop him. Without taking his eyes off of his target, he said, “How do you know? In every movie I have ever seen, glowing red eyes are always bad.”
/>
  Wait, red eyes? What is he talking about? “Just trust me. He was there before I was attacked by the wolves, trying to warn me, I think.” Kam reluctantly lowered his bow, but still had it held ready. I turned back to the eyes. “What do you want to tell me?”

  The eyes flicked in the direction of the town, then back at me, narrowing like they were trying to tell me something. I got the feeling it was trying to say, ‘That place is bad. Don’t go there.’

  “Why not?” I said. “Is there an ambush waiting for us or something?” The eyes looked at Hector, then back at the town, and back at me. “An ambush waiting for him?” The eyes blinked out and disappeared. Even with my superior night vision, I didn’t see anything more of my mysterious companion.

  I turned to Kam. He gave me his most dumbfounded look. “What in the world was that?”

  I hurriedly explained, “It warned me about the wolves before I even knew there was anything wrong. Now it is warning me about the town. Something about Hector and that town; it’s not going to be good. We have to avoid it tomorrow, but don’t tell Hector about any of this. Just trust me.”

  He looked at me for a few seconds before finally nodding in agreement. We both sat on our sleeping bags, not saying anything. I can’t speak for Kam, but I am pretty sure we were both thinking about what could be waiting for us in that town. Our world had grown so big in the last week that it was impossible to even guess what it could be.

  Is it possible that the Acephali or the Dark Legion got ahead of us that fast? I asked Bione. Not likely. I am not sure what your spirit animal was warning you about. It definitely has to do with Hector. Maybe there is something about this mission that he isn’t telling us.

  Woah, back up! What was that about my spirit animal? That’s actually a thing? I thought that was just some Native American tradition that modern teens thought was cool and made into a pop culture fad. Well, yes, there is that. But beyond that, there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of legends about people having a connection with certain animals. A few of those are actually true. Even in mythology, most of the major gods had a patron animal. It’s the same concept.

 

‹ Prev