by Shanon Chong
I stuck the landing on the building beside Mr Rhimmage’s control centre. Then I held my breath and jumped three storeys down, knowing the consequences if I failed the landing. As I landed on the soft dirt, my knees buckled slightly, and I inhaled a breath of air. I opened the door to the building and entered; Oliver arrived behind me, panting heavily. A group of soldiers on the second floor stared at us as we rushed past them.
“Identify yourself!” a soldier commanded, but I ran past. I’d settle the consequences later.
“Theo, what’s happening? Why are you here?” Mr Rhimmage asked with concern as he watched me rush in, panting. Juno’s group stared at me.
“Our communications disappeared,” I pleaded desperately. “Please, Rachel could be in danger.”
“Isn’t Harrold…” Mr Rhimmage stopped himself after noticing my desperate expression. “Let’s go.” He grabbed me by the back of my collar and leapt across to the building where Rachel should have been.
The formerly whole hub lay on the ground, destroyed, the blue glass shattered across the floor. The golden top and bottom lay dented and malformed. Vin and Bethany lay beside it, unconscious. Rachel and Harrold remained missing from the incomplete scene.
Vin’s eyes stirred and slowly opened. Mr Rhimmage knelt beside him. Propping himself upright, Vin noticed me. Tears welled at his eyes as he sobbed loudly.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I could’ve saved her!” he wailed.
“What happened?” I asked, holding my head low to look him in the eye.
“H-Ha-Harrold,” Vin stuttered as the tears started flowing again.
“What happened?” Mr Rhimmage asked, holding Vin upright with his large hands.
“He took Rachel!” Vin blurted out his as tears soaked his uniform.
Chapter 23: The Epilogue
“Mr Indallias, are you free to speak?” I inquired as I poked my head into his office. “It’s about Rachel.” I stood awkwardly, waiting for a reply. I held my breath, ready for even the slightest noise to break the silence.
“I’ve already heard…” Daniel replied flatly. “And just call me Daniel. ‘Mr’ is too formal for my future son.”
“Rachel and I aren’t married yet,” I muttered quietly as I entered the room, fully closing the door behind me.
“Sadly, I can’t leave my post. If I were to leave, far too many people would die for the sake of me saving my daughter,” he snapped, annoyed by his position in all this. “Believe me, if I could, I’d take Harrold’s head and that damn Hans’s heart!”
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly, knowing I had played a small part in this.
“It’s not your fault,” he reassured me, changing emotions quickly to soothe me. “No one would have guessed that Harrold would turn traitor.”
“My father knew,” I murmured under my breath.
Daniel’s ear twitched when I spoke. “Speak up next time…” he chided, taking a breath before continuing. “Andreas knows everything, but even that all-knowing idiot couldn’t have intervened. Unless you’re stronger that the strongest in Arcana, then don’t fret. I won’t hold you accountable.”
“Daniel…”
“Yes, Theo?”
“If you ever want to talk, then get Mrs Indallias to inform me,” I said, holding my hand to my chest. “I want to do whatever I can to help.”
“Sounds like its more for you than me.” He chuckled. “I’ll take you up on that offer next year. They won’t mistreat Rachel,” he added.
I felt my chest tighten again when I thought about the few months I wouldn’t be able to talk to Rachel. She was one of the only people I talked to in my life. However, she wouldn’t want me to stand here worrying about her safety, or even wallow in my grief.
Life back at the academy hadn’t returned to normal. Vin shuffled down the halls, replaying the scene of Rachel’s kidnapping in his mind. Bethany stayed inside the Battle Dome, challenging every single student no matter how much they outclassed her. Some days, she left with bruises, sometimes with cuts and other minor wounds. Both Vin and Bethany were formidable, but neither of them matched up to the thirty-odd years of experience that Harrold had developed.
Mr Rhimmage intervened on the final day of official school. Pulling us aside, he handed each of us a sealed envelope.
“Why are you all acting like this?” he asked, patting us all on the shoulder as if to reassure us. “If you aren’t strong enough to change your fate…then persevere through the harrowing winds of fate and forge your own path through the dark!” he declared loudly. “I’m going to visit my family up north, so I’m leaving tomorrow. But if you ever need anything, feel free to send me a letter.” He smiled. “And if you’re wondering where Oliver went, he joined his family back down south.”
“Why did he leave?” asked Bethany.
“I can’t say for sure…but I think he needed his family; however, to my knowledge, he’s still training extremely hard.” He smacked her on the back. “I need to leave. You’ll be fine.”
Bethany winced as she felt Mr Rhimmage’s hand leave her back. “I guess I won’t see you for a while,” she muttered. “I’m going back home for the holidays.”
“We’ll see you when school restarts.” I grinned, forcing some joy into my expression. “We’ll fix this!”
“I’m staying at the academy,” Vin muttered, slapping me on the shoulder. “Be sure to visit.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I replied, and then I left for my room.
Opening the door to the room, I felt my mouth move to call for Rachel. However, I knew she wasn’t there, taken by a man I had trusted. Harrold wasn’t the finest guy—even I knew that—but he definitely had his own agenda outside of military service. He’d spoken about his family on occasion, talking about the daughters he had and the moments he wished he could spend with the two of them.
I jumped onto the bed after showering, remembering Rachel’s demand for absolute cleanliness. That night, the darkness welcomed me into its embrace, showing me memories of slaughter and gore. However, I felt my body being jerked out of the blood-filled dream I already felt desensitised to.
“Theo, my boy!”
“Father!?” I shouted in surprise as I watched the tall figure jump from roof to roof with ease. “You saw?”
“You’re talking about the leaping?”
“Of course,” I replied, remembering the rush of energy I had felt leaping from building to building.
“Well, I had just arrived when I saw that happening.” My father sighed. “Well, I couldn’t miss out on my son’s initiation!” He spoke as if it were logical for a parent to watch their child risk their life.
“So, moments too late.”
“Yes, I missed Rachel by just this much…” He held his fingers out, showing a small gap between the two. “Late by a minute.” He sighed. “If I’d known the severity of the situation, I would’ve come the moment I found out.”
“Are you saying you could’ve stopped him?”
“I knew something would happen. Seers from Trailblazer and Koyr both gave the same prediction.”
“Beware of Harrold?”
“Exactly. I didn’t think he’d be working with Hans.”
“He was working with him?”
“I told Steph, too. She didn’t even try watching what would happen around Harrold, though I guess that’s what trust is.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“I’m not actually omnipotent!” he replied incredulously. “Well, all I can say is that they’re a separate entity from the Old God.”
“I’ll take it from here,” I muttered, preparing to leave the dream.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to attempt fight two people, both with the strength of a titled mage?”
“It can’t hurt to try,” I muttered, letting my conviction show. A smile came to my face as he looked at me with confusion.
“I can’t say I was ever as crazy as you are.” My father chuckled. “Good adventuring
to you.”
“I could say the same to you.”
“Good adventuring?” He laughed. “That’s an old phrase. I still use it, though… Oh, you meant crazy…”
“If you need me again, contact me through a dream,” I replied. “I’ll leave now.”
“Good luck to you.”
I awakened to the lonely morning cold. The sun was obscured by the hazy mist that had fogged up my window.
The days had gotten even quieter after the third-years had left for the Arcanan job force or military. I met Lily several times while attempting to organise a meeting with Daniel. My several conversations with her had ended up explaining her current situation. Well, upon meeting, Daniel gave the go-ahead on Lily’s job application.
I walked through the school, staring out the window of the fourth floor. The main staff room sat behind me. I had awoken early just to meet a certain teacher, with an idea of personal growth in mind. On the fourth floor, the temperature remained mild. I fiddled with the hem of my uniform, bored after the nearly ten minutes I had spent waiting.
Suddenly, a pair of massive wings descended from the sky as a raven of disproportionate size landed in the courtyard of the school. Students ran from the large clawed feet that slammed into the soft ground. The wings dispersed the morning mist as they pushed the air away from its body. A small figure stood on the back of the raven; reddish-brown hair and a small face were all I could discern from a distance. Realising the noise that was about to approach, I plugged my ears with both my index fingers, ready for the shout that would soon echo through the entire city.
“I, Tiffany Indallias!” the figure declared, her voice had been obviously amplified by magic. However, how she’d actually done it was beyond me, “Am here for Diana Harr!” The infamous name had been taught within the Arcanan education system for a few years now; with the arrival of the person attached to it, students flocked to see her face for the first time.
“Tiffany!” Mrs Indallias shouted back, from beside me making me turn around in shock, similarly using magic to amplify her voice she shouted her reply. “Shut up! It’s seven in the morning!”
Tiffany, holding her hand to her mouth in an “oh” gesture, looked around to see the disrupted students. Mrs Indallias tried to hold back her laughter but failed. Chuckling, she said, “What an idiot little sister.”
“S-sorry…” Tiffany apologised, bowing deeply on the raven’s head. “I really need this Diana girl, though!”
Diana had already rushed into the courtyard to meet her. Surprisingly, she had brought her belongings with her. She called out in her loudest voice, “I’m Diana!” Holding her chin high, she stared up at Tiffany, who remained on her raven.
“Oh, you really are young. Andreas was right. You’re perfect.” Tiffany motioned for the raven to lower its head, and Diana lifted her belongings, placing them on the side of the large beast’s chest. Once finished, Tiffany held her arm out to help Diana onto the creature’s head. “Please clear the path!” Tiffany shouted at the top of her lungs, waiting for the students who had remained to flee indoors.
“Safe travels!” Mrs Indallias shouted to her sister. “And good adventuring!” Turning to face me, she looked me in the eye. “What are you here so early for?”
I waited for a few seconds, admiring the raven as it crouched and leapt into the sky. I released that Mrs Indallias had turned off the magic as my ears were no longer shaking from standing beside her.
“I’m looking for someone.”
“And you think they’ll be awake?” Mrs Indallias asked. “Just being realistic.”
“Of course,” I replied confidently, taking in a breath of air. “I came to look for Mr Statler.”
“Oh, he never sleeps,” Mrs Indallias commented sullenly. “Even after going for drinks, he stays awake until two marking tests.”
“Not healthy, I guess?”
“I can’t see myself sleeping for less than six hours.”
“Well, maybe this will help.”
“Taking Statler for a holiday?” She patted me on the shoulder. “Well, chances are he isn’t awake yet.”
“What?” I asked, confused as to the purpose of our prior conversation.
“He went to sleep early last night,” she stated quietly. “Well, if you need anything, feel free to knock on my door.”
I didn’t reply as I slid down the wall behind me. Reaching into my uniform, I felt Mr Rhimmage’s sealed letter in the blazer pocket. I took it out and read it.
“Theo, when you read this, I will have very definitely reached my family home up north,” I read silently, Mr Rhimmage’s voice accompanying the words in my head. “I only wrote this for the conversation with Vin and Bethany to be less awkward. I mean, I have a feeling you aren’t going to let emotions stop you from doing what you want. I am assuming that you’ll save Rachel though.” His signature was written in a neat cursive font, developed after years of practice writing with a pen.
“Looking depressed, Theo,” said a sullen voice.
Looking up, I saw Mr Statler regarding me. He offered his hand, and taking it, I lifted myself to my feet. We stood for a few seconds in silence. Finally, he asked, “You want something from me?”
“Kind of.”
“How can I help you, then?” He took in a breath of the morning air.
I bowed. “Mr Statler, could you please train me on how to use magic effectively!”
“This is for that girl Rachel, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been feeling like heading down south for a while…” He eyed me. “The school mission for the first years never really tickled my fancy.” He opened the window and looked me in the eye. “How about we go get some help?” The wind blew his coattail into the air, and his hair no longer covered his eyes. Through the wireframes glasses he wore, his eyes showed me a rare conviction I hadn’t seen before.
And I was ready to experience this teacher’s conviction.
“Then let us head south,” I replied, chuckling quietly under my breath.
End of Book
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About the Author
Shanon Chong, 15 Years Old
For my entire life I’ve lived with worlds in my head. Those inspired by others, those dreamt up in my own mind or even those I consciously made. Those worlds, I’ve seen built brick by brick, I’ve watched the people in them grow and I’ve watched them live out life beyond the bounds of our reality.
With this book I feel like I can finally say that I’ve done something that not everyone else can. I’ve lived with an inferiority complex surrounding my academic and writing abilities, and now I feel like I’ve proved myself. I feel like I’ve just told the entire world that I’m entirely adequate.
I feel like of the many things in my life that have shaped and made me. It would definitely be schooling and all of the things that have scarred and broken me. From bullying in primary school to my first A in high school, all of those things shaped me. I feel grateful that I didn’t have to live with the shadow of pain that most high school students have, the stress and the agony felt by most. If you ever feel down, or if you really just don’t feel like life is there for you. Just power on, look for the light at the end of the tunnel.
This book is really precious to me, as is everything I’ve written. Thank you for spending just a little bit of your hard-earned money to buy something as insignificant as a book.
Thank you to the reader. I love you all.
Shanon Chong
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