Taking Rank

by Hana Steven

  TAKING

  RANK

  The Mana Star Chronicles

  Book Two

  Taking Rank

  By Hana Steven

  Edited By Kristy Flowers

  Chapter 1

  My Dad the Kidnapper

  The backyard of the Arbors’ house is quiet as I make my way to the barn with a basket of eggs I recently collected. The still morning air is cool and the grass is damp with dew as the birds begin to sing in the surrounding trees.

  As I make my way down the path connecting the henhouse with the barn, I can see the two small forms of the youngest Arbor, Amelia, and my familiar, Gale, playing in the front yard. The young, brown-haired girl is once again playing tag with my silver fox familiar, who is keeping herself just out of Amelia’s reach.

  I watch the two as I walk to where Beth and Tony are tending to the family’s cow. I can hear them talking as I near and as I reach for the door it suddenly opens to reveal my self-appointed big sister and her brother. Beth is several inches taller than I am with dirty blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. Her blue eyes open wide in surprise when she sees me standing just outside the door.

  “Already finished with the chickens?” inquires Tony, his messy brown hair a few shades darker than his sister’s while green eyes glance down to the basket in my hand before looking back to me. “You’ve gotten quite good at that. The dumb things still try and attack me whenever I even get close to them.”

  “That’s ‘cause you don’t know how to treat them,” quips Beth with a smile. “You just need a lady’s touch.”

  “How do you manage then? You’re no lady,” Tony comments, earning him a smack from Beth.

  “Hmph. Just because you don’t recognize a lady when you see one doesn’t mean I’m not one.”

  I grin at the familiar antics before interrupting them. “If you guys are done we should probably get these inside.”

  Beth sighs. “You’re right. Come on,” she calls as she starts to head toward the yellow house.

  It has been nearly two weeks since I first arrived here at Arbor farm. My new dad, Kyota, rescued me from some bandits who had been keeping me prisoner. After learning that I don’t know who my parents are, he took me in, taught me how to read and write, and even started to teach me magic.

  A few days after we arrived, the same group of bandits showed up and tried to make me go with them, but I was not the same girl they held so easily before. I stood up for myself and my new family, driving the bandits away with a little help from Kyota. Since then I have enjoyed the regular lifestyle of a mostly average girl. Every day I help Beth and Tony with the chores around the house before we are left to do as we please for the rest of the day. In the afternoon, Kyota keeps an eye on us as we practice our magic, while at night we either play games as a family, sit and read, talk, or simply enjoy each other’s company.

  I have really enjoyed the last couple of weeks, but lately I have been feeling restless—something that I have never felt before. I find myself thinking back to when Kyota and I had been traveling, wishing for that sense of freedom that comes with wandering across the countryside. I want to explore, to see new things and places, to learn more about the world I only recently got a chance to experience.

  As we enter the kitchen through the back door, I once again feel this call to adventure, as Kyota put it—a need to be off with no real destination in mind, to simply pick a direction and see where I find myself at the end.

  “Done already?” Susan, Beth and Tony’s mom, comments from where she is kneading dough for a new batch of bread. “You three sure get the chores done quickly. It will be a shame when you take off tomorrow, Sylphy. We are all going to miss you.”

  “I’ll be back,” I reply as I place the eggs in the enchanted fridge. “Kyota said we would only be gone for a few weeks. He wants to be back before winter sets in.”

  “You’d better,” Beth agrees. “I like having a girl closer to my age around.”

  I give her a smile as I stand back up, putting the empty basket on the counter, “I rather like having a sister, too.”

  After Beth and Tony put the milk in the fridge, we head into the living room to relax for a bit before starting in on anything. We might get the chores done quickly, but they are still tiring.

  Kyota is already sitting in a chair with a book when we enter, his short black hair as messy as always while he is wearing basic jeans and a white t-shirt with some cartoon character on it. George, Beth and Tony’s father, occupies the other chair in the room. He is a tall man with brown hair cut short and neat who prefers to wear button up shirts, today’s is a blue plaid pattern.

  The three of us lounge on the couch for several minutes before Amelia enters through the front door.

  “There’s some men outside,” she declares. “They want to talk to Daddy.”

  I don’t pay much attention until she continues.

  “One of them is the guy from before, the one without an arm.”

  At that I sit bolt upright, looking to my little cousin in shock.

  “Are you sure, sweetie?” Kyota asks. “Is it the same man?”

  She just nods her head.

  “Go tell your mommy, okay?” George tells her, putting down his book.

  “Okay!” she cheers before running off to the kitchen.

  He puts his book down and heads for the door, the three of us close behind. Stepping out onto the porch, we stay behind Kyota but fan out to see what’s going on. Standing in the yard is the leader of the bandits who held me for so many years. Beside him are three people who are dressed in what I now recognize as Enforcer uniforms.

  “There he is,” the bandit declares, pointing to Kyota. “That’s the man that took my little girl from me and cut off my arm when I tried to get her back.”

  “Sir,” begins one of the enforcers who looks to be in charge. “This man claims that you abducted his daughter. We’re here to take you in for questioning.”

  “Questioning?” asks the bandit. “She’s right there!”

  The enforcers look to me when the bandit points my way. “Young lady, do you know this man?”

  “Yes,” I respond.

  “See, I told you,” the bandit declares.

  “Would you come with us, please?” the enforcer asks me. “We’ll make sure you get home with your papa.”

  I shake my head as I step around my new father. “I am home, and that man,” I point to the bandit, “is the one who kidnapped me.”

  “He’s brainwashed her,” the bandit exclaims. “You aren’t just going to believe that, are you?”

  I walk down the porch steps, glaring at the bandit leader the whole time. “I am not brainwashed. I am not your property. And,” I cast my Kitsune transformation, causing a gust of wind to envelop me temporarily as a pair of furry blonde fox ears appear on my head while three white-tipped blonde fox tails poke out from under my shirt, “I am certainly not your daughter.”

  The bandit takes an involuntary step back as I walk toward him, tails writhing behind me.

  “I told you the last time—” I begin as I cast a Vine Snare under his feet, causing him to fall over when his feet get tangled by the vines, “—to leave me and my family alone!” I ready a spell, but before I can cast it I feel a hand on my shoulder.

  Looking up I see Kyota stepping past me with an angry look on his face. “Last time you lost to Sylphy, causing yourself a mortal injury by not leaving well enough alone. I took your arm because you would have died if left alone, and because Sylphy gave you the chance to leave.”

  The enforcers, who had so far been shocked by me, finally came to their senses and move to intercept him, but I had already put stasis fields under their feet so they wouldn’t get caught up in this—so they simply stumbled
in place while their leader called out, “Stop at once, you can’t take the law into your own hands!”

  “Oh,” Kyota begins. “I’m not going to kill him,” he thrusts his hand out to the side and a stream of fire manifests before leaving a crimson, translucent sword in his hand. “I’m just going to make sure he leaves my little girl alone.”

  He continues across the few feet separating them, sword held out at the ready. “My Sylphy can take you out herself, but I would rather she not dirty her hands. So I want you to remember the wrath of Kyota Hoatsu, the Flame Dragoon!”

  With that declaration, he releases strong magical pressure, which even the enforcers can obviously feel, while wreathing himself in fire for a moment before he steps forward out of the fire revealing his fully armored dragoon form. Shiny crimson plates coat every inch of him like scales, including the two bat-like wings now sprouting from his back and the reptilian tail that’s thrashing about in his anger.

  “You will never come near my daughter again,” he states in a flat, demanding tone that reminds me of the crackle of our campfires. “If you do, this blade will go through your head,” he swings his blade down, burying it halfway into the ground less than an inch from the bandit’s head.

  My amazing adoptive father turns and walks back toward me, dropping his armor and dragoon spells as he walks. “I think you can let them go now,” he says, motioning to the enforcers who have gone still and silent.

  I drop the spells and it takes them a moment to realize that they are free. When they do, the underlings take a hesitant step toward my dad before their leader speaks up. “Stop. I think we’ve been had.”

  “Sir?” asks one of the others.

  “You two are new to the force, but anyone who was here during the shift knows that name. Kyota Hoatsu, also known as the Flame Dragoon, was a big help in keeping our city from falling to the same despair that so many others did.”

  The two enforcers stare at Kyota and me for a moment then look back to their leader.

  “Please just arrest me already,” the bandit calls out in a scared, shaky voice. “I’ll admit to everything, just get me as far from that monster as possible!”

  “You heard him, men,” commands the enforcer in charge. “Arrest him.”

  As the enforcers pull the bandit to his feet and restrain him, Kyota puts an arm around my shoulder. “We won’t have to deal with him again,” he says reassuringly.

  I nod then turn to my dad and bury my face in his shirt as I hug him.

  “I’m sorry for the trouble,” the lead enforcer apologizes from nearby. I look up and see he is standing right in front of us. “And I apologize for the trouble we caused you, too, miss,” he adds, leaning down to me.

  “It’s not your fault,” I say from my sanctuary in my dad’s embrace. “He is a bad man who only thinks of himself.”

  “So it seems,” the man says thoughtfully. “But I’ll make sure he can’t cause you any more trouble.”

  I nod and give the man a faint smile.

  “Again, I apologize for this,” the enforcer repeats before turning on his heel and heading back down the dirt lane toward town.

  Kyota rubs my shoulder comfortingly before saying, “Shall we head back inside?”

  I nod and turn back to the house as Beth and Gale hurry up to me. Gale butts her head into my hand while Beth gives me a hug.

  “Are you okay?” she asks.

  “I’m okay,” I respond, giving Gale’s ears a scratch. “I just didn’t like what he said about Kyota.”

  She gives me a smile then hugs me again. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “It’s okay to get mad for someone else,” Kyota adds. “That’s a good kind of anger. Just don’t let it control you.”

  “I’ll try,” I promise.

  “Good, now let’s head back inside,” he suggests, taking each of us under an arm.

  As we walk back toward the house, I finally notice everyone on the porch. Susan, Tony, and George, with little Amelia in his arms are standing on the porch observing the whole thing.

  Susan pats my arm as we pass her and enter the house once again. Beth, Tony, and I lounge on the couch in the living room for the rest of the morning while Gale and Amelia are sprawled out on the floor drawing in one of her coloring books.

  After lunch, we head outside where Tony works on his transformation spell while Beth, Gale, and I practice our spells. For a couple of hours we let Amelia call out a spell and then we cast it, except for the impossible or too dangerous.

  Around mid-afternoon, Beth and I retire to her room so I can pack my things for when Kyota and I leave tomorrow. We chat as she helps me pick clothes that would be comfortable for travel—no surprise it wound up being mostly what Kyota bought me when we first began our journey, with a few additions from the clothes Beth and Susan gave me since we arrived. We are eventually drawn from the room by the smell coming from the kitchen.

  Susan brings out all the stops for dinner; there is fried chicken, creamy garlic mashed potatoes, fresh rolls, green beans, and a yummy-looking pie for dessert. Once Beth and I get ourselves seated (we are the last to be drawn to the smell), we all help ourselves to the food.

  “Mmm, yummy!” I exclaim after a bite of potatoes.

  “I couldn’t let your last proper meal before leaving be subpar now, could I?” Susan asks matter-of-factly.

  “Thanks for this, sis,” Kyota says.

  After we eat, we retire to the living room and play games. We all take turns in the shower before heading to bed. As I get comfortable in the bed I have been sharing with Beth, Gale wiggles her way in to her usual spot nestled between us. After scratching my companion’s ears and saying goodnight, I lay my head down and let myself fall into dreamland.

  Chapter 2

  My First Quest

  When I wake the next morning, it is to a rough, wet tongue on my cheek.

  “Mornin’,” I mumble to my familiar as I come to.

  “Morning,” Beth says from the other side of her. “I’m going to miss having such an adorable alarm clock.”

  “I doubt that,” I answer. “Without Gale you can pretend not to hear your alarm again,” I tell her, knowing she would rather stay in bed every morning.

  “That doesn’t mean I won’t miss her. And you.”

  I smile, “I’ll miss you, too. But we’ll be back—probably before we know it.”

  Gale leaps over me and squeezes through the gap in the door, probably off to wake up Amelia. Taking her lead, Beth and I get up and dressed before heading out into the dining room. I deposit my travel pack and staff on a chair in the living room on our way through.

  “Good morning, girls,” George greets as we enter the dining room. He and Susan are setting out platters of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and buttered toast on the table.

  “If you would please go and wake your broth—” Susan begins before Tony walks in through the door. “Never mind, looks like he got himself up. Since I don’t see Gale with you two I imagine we will be seeing Amelia soon, too.”

  As the three of us take our usual seats at the table, Kyota enters and takes a long, deep breath through his nose. “That smells great.”

  “You’d eat a log if it smelled good, Uncle Cole,” Beth teases.

  “If I had to eat a log to survive, I would consider it a blessing if it smelled like your mom’s cooking,” he rebukes.

  “Let’s just hope it never comes to that, shall we?” Susan says, setting a pitcher of orange juice on the table.

  We can all hear the light patter of feet coming down the hall a moment before Gale, with Amelia hot on her tail, appears in the dining room.

  George scoops up Amelia as she runs past. “Easy there. Let’s have breakfast before you get too excited, okay?”

  “‘Kay!” Amelia answers excitedly before she is placed in her chair.

  Gale jumps up into the empty seat between Amelia and me; reaching over, I scratch behind the fox’s ears, earning me another lick on the cheek.<
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  “Me too, me too!” Amelia chants. She lets out a giggle as Gale complies, licking the young girl’s cheek. As her giggles subside she pulls Gale into a hug, “Don’t go. You stay with me.”

  “Amelia. We know you like Gale, but she’s Sylphy’s familiar,” Susan says as she sits down on Amelia’s other side. “You can’t just make her stay.”

  “Maybe you can find your own familiar,” Kyota suggests.

  “I can find my own Gale?” Amelia asks with a big, hopeful smile on her face.

  “Not Gale, but a friend all your own,” he explains.

  Before Amelia can get any wild ideas, George speaks up, “First, we eat. Then we see your uncle and cousin off. And then maybe we can see about finding you a new friend.”

  “Okay.” Amelia says dejectedly.

  After that we all dig into the food, which is delicious despite its simplicity. When all the food is gone, Beth, Tony, and I head out to do the chores. Once we are done with those, we all gather on the front porch to say our goodbyes.

  Kyota gives Susan a hug while I hug and say goodbye to Beth; Amelia is sitting on the porch with Gale caught up in a big teary hug of her own.

  As I part from Beth, Tony comes up and gives me a quick hug with a muttered, “Bye,” before backing away with his gaze averted.

  I kneel down and give Amelia a hug. “We’ll be back before you know it. And Gale will be back with us.”

  “O-okay,” she sniffs, letting go of my companion.

  George and Susan pull me into a hug as Kyota wraps all three of my cousins in a hug of his own.

  As we part, Susan looks from me to Kyota and says, “Take care of each other. And make sure you both write back.”

  “I will,” I reply, moving over next to my father. “I’ll write to you every day.”

  Susan chuckles, “You don’t have to write me every day; most days will just be you two traveling. Just make sure you write back regularly.”

  “We will,” Kyota answers for me.

  With our goodbyes said, we make our way down the sidewalk and then the overgrown dirt drive connecting the Arbors’ farm with the main road.