Rise of Xavia

by Tara Chau

  As the two boys continue to argue, I quickly pick up on what the subject is. "I'm fighting, Ty. No one can stop me, trust me, Gabe's tried, didn't really turn out how he thought it would,” I say, recalling the night Gabe said I shouldn't fight and how it ended up with a light peck on the lips. Which we still haven’t spoken about.

  “Di, it’s dangerous,” Ty tries.

  “I know that,” I assure.

  Something in the back of my head sparks, sending multiple questions to the forefront of my mind. I select one. “Hey, why isn’t Helen in this group?” I ask, realising for the first time that she should be here.

  Ty looks shocked for a moment. “Because she doesn’t fight that much, due to the fact that she does have a devastating prophecy written about her.”

  “So do I,” I counter.

  “It’s different with you,” he says with a shrug, though something in his eyes tells me that what he’s thinking cannot be easily shrugged off.

  Ty turns back to Gabe. "Come on, dude, you know as well as I do that it would be safer if she would just stay here.”

  “No. We need her,” Gabe replies simply.

  Their fighting isn’t yelling or aggressive, but it’s not getting anywhere either. They are both infuriatingly civil but not exactly nice either. It kind of makes me upset because I know that they were like brothers before I came into both their lives.

  “Gabe-” Ty starts but is cut off by Anne.

  “Boys, boys, boys,” she says smoothly, cutting right into the centre of their two bodies, placing her hands on their heaving chests. “Can’t you just kiss and make up?” she says sarcastically.

  I swallow the need to snort. Seeing her sarcasm is a way to loosen the mood. But obviously, Ty doesn't get the fact that it was sarcastic, or maybe he just chooses to take it literally instead because guess what he does next? Ty smiles slyly and steps forward. Grabbing Gabe by the collar, he kisses Gabe hard on the mouth. All of us watched dumbfounded as Ty lets go of Gabe a few seconds later. Gabe looks shocked, then amused, then smiles and lifts one of his eyebrows, the palest hint of a pink blush hidden beneath his tanned skin.

  "What?" Ty says, shrugging. "When a lady tells you to do something, you do it."

  I laugh nervously, unsure where I should be looking or what I should be thinking. As the shock slowly ebbs away, it's replaced by intense amusement. I nudge Gabe and look up at him, smiling.

  “You should take some lessons from this dude.”

  Gabe glares at me before breaking out into an even wider grin.

  “Oh Ty, I am so telling Helen,” Anne says smiling. I know this smile.

  Ty's in trouble because this is her gossip smile. Whenever Anne has anything worthwhile, she spreads it like chicken-pocks.

  “Go on,” he urges amused, “she’ll just laugh.”

  Anne walks over to sit on Hayden’s bed and starts typing away at her phone, a sly fox-like grin plastered to her face. I smile at Ty and then walk back over to sit on Gabe’s bed. Gabe joins me after a few minutes, collapsing onto the bed, eyes closed. I fall beside him, looking up at the ceiling.

  “You and Ty okay now?" I ask, laughing as I recall his face when Ty pounced a kiss on him.

  “You are never to replay what happened just then to anyone. Ever. Or I’ll kill you, and I wouldn’t want to hurt that pretty face of yours,” Gabe says, eyes still closed but dimples flashing.

  I laugh softly at his comment. “It’s not me you have to worry about. Anne’s probably just told about fifty people already. She has a way of getting gossip out within seconds after it happens,” I explain to his horror.

  We both lie on the bed together. It's not awkward. It's a nice silence. We both enjoy each other's company, even if we don't talk once during the timeframe. Five minutes later, Gabe groans, sitting up and looking down at me. A strand of hair falls over his eye. I absentmindedly brush it aside. Gabe stiffens, and I realise what I just did. Oops. I drop my hand back down next to me, blushing madly.

  “We gotta go, right?" I say, pouting.

  “Yes, no complaining. You’ve just spent all week in Japan at Disney land,” he points out.

  “Working,” I counter.

  “Then you have a pretty good job,” he says, yanking me up off the bed.

  “Let’s get going!” Gabe announces.

  * * *

  The six of us creep down the hall towards the Xavia’s room. The air is alive with nerves and fear. Once we reach it, we all nod, alerting each other that we're ready, ready to get the book, to attack, to finish this. Gabe, Hayden, and Anne break into the room, the door flying shut behind them. I hear hushed voices. Then some unidentified people join the conversation. There's a big bang, the sound of swords clanging, and then some yelling. I rise from my crouching position and make to enter. Jessica stops me; shaking her head, she says something, it's lost to the noise of another loud crash. She yanks me back down, whispering into my ear.

  “Not yet, one more minute,” she says strictly.

  “They need us,” I argue.

  She simply shakes her head again, glaring at me. I want nothing more than to go in and get them all out; I don't want anything bad to happen just because we were ten-twenty seconds late. Ignoring their hisses of protest and their curses towards my efforts, I rip myself from her grasp.

  Standing up, I blow the door open, breathing heavily as it flies halfway across the room. Lowering my hand, I shake the power from my hands and mind.

  Jess and Ty blink a few times, trying to take in and understand what they just witnessed. Running into the room, I stop. It’s a lot bigger than mine and Anne’s. Ty runs in and joins Hayden back-to-back in the centre of the room, drawing his weapon. Anne is propped against the wall, looking shaken but otherwise not too badly hurt. Where is Gabe?

  I search around desperately, eyes scanning the whole place until I spot him. Gabe is lying on the threshold of the bathroom. He lies face down on the bathroom's marble floor. My chest tightens, I dash over, desperately pulling him onto his back. Gabe bleeds from a large gash on his head, deep crimson blood dripped onto the marble, stark against the pure white tiles.

  I slump, bile rising in my throat, slapping his face back and forth, shaking him madly. Gabe coughs and slowly opens his eyes, blinking a few times, eyebrows furrowed in pain and concentration.

  "Stop that. I'm gonna get a migraine if you keep shaking me like this,” he says weakly. “Go help the others,” he orders. At least, I think it was one. It didn't sound very much like an order.

  I brushed the hair from his face. Gabe's eyes darkened; he’s scared. I smile comfortingly, planting a light kiss on his blood and sweat-covered temple.

  “You’re going to be fine, just don’t close your eyes. I’ll be back as soon as I get the book. Stay awake,” I say, demand.

  “You really are bossy, you know that?” he teases, then falls back into a space between being awake and unconscious. Slowly, I lift his upper body to lean against the wall, slapping him across the cheek as his eyes begin to flutter again. My breath turns shallow as I join Ty and Hayden in the centre of the room.

  “Update,” I ask.

  “Three wolves, one warlock. All glamoured,” Hayed replies uneasily.

  “We can take them,” I reply certainly.

  The three of us stand back-to-back, watching for a hint of… something. My vision snaps to my left when I notice a slight shimmering. The three Lycans appear, all snarling. I throw my hand out before they even take their first step, using my new skill to smash them hard into the wall, my mind reaching out to ensure their pain. Hayden snorts, unbelieving.

  “We could have used you a few minutes ago.”

  “Yeah, sorry,” I say, watching for the warlock.

  After another few minutes of stressful waiting, my heart starts to beat steadily again, that is until I hear a cold snicker coming from behind me. Whirling around, I'm face to face with a man. He looks to be in his early forties.
He wears a bright yellow singlet, green shorts, and flip-flops. What?

  “Who are you?” I sneer.

  “Darlin’, the question is, who are you?” he says in a thick Irish accent.

  Remembering that Gabe said one of the rules of being a Protector is to not say a thing about yourself, I shut my mouth before I can say anything dangerous.

  “Ah, nearly got you there, didn’t I?” he says with a wide grin. “My name be Cormac O’Sullivan. Almighty warlock of Ireland,” he says proudly.

  “Then why are you dressed as a tourist?” I ask, eyeing his outfit.

  “I came from the beaches of Florida. It be much nicer than here,” he says honestly.

  “Who are you working for?” I demand.

  “Awfully slow, aren’t we?” he says, rolling his eyes. “I work with the good Shifters of the Xavia.”

  “Who runs it?” I ask.

  “We all do,” he says simply, "Hold on, kiddo, we’re goin’ on a ride.”

  A shriek escapes my lips as a new and deadly sensation overtakes my body. I’m vaguely aware of the cries from my teammates, but suddenly I’m falling.

  Black,

  fear,

  cold,

  smack!

  I hit the cold ground hard, goggled by the fact that nothing has broken. My insides feel like they’ve been turned inside out. My eyes water, my stomach churns. My head feels as if it may pop right off and roll down the street, decorating the road with crimson liquid. The world tips and sways around me. I hear the zooming of far-off cars. I try blinking a few times. The memory that I'm supposed to be fighting a warlock right now jumps up on me. I sit bolt right up, my head spins again, and I fight down the urge to barf. Looking around, I see that we're back in England. And by the looks of it, we're about an hour away from my house. Dad took me to that café down the street the day we arrived here, even before I knew where we were to live. I turn, left to right. No sight of the warlock yet. Hayden is crouched over a bush, vomiting his guts out. Ty's in the centre of the wide street. Even though it's dark, I can see that he's shaking. Jessica's collapsed next to Anne, and Gabe is lying on his back a few metres away from me. Getting up slowly, I hobble over to him, checking to see if there had been any more damage done. I ignore the intense throbbing and painful stabs of agony as I bend down to check him, my hip and wrist splitting my attention between them and the boy in front of me.

  “Gabe,” I say urgently.

  He’s breathing. I’m certain about that. Gabe’s eyes snapped open. He slowly rises to an upright position. I sit back on my heels, letting out a shaky breath.

  “I feel like I’m gonna puke,” he says, white-faced and pupils black.

  I nod, agreeing with him. I think we all do at this point, but not only from the shift of scenery.

  “We’re back in England. About an hour’s drive from mine,” I fill him in.

  Standing up, I offer my hand to Gabe; he takes it gratefully, wincing as more blood drips from his head wound. We rush over to Anne and Jess, the both of us have them standing up within two minutes. All six of us assemble in the middle of the wide road, weapons up and eyes alert. Ready.

  “Isn’t this a pretty sight?” I spin to see Cormac O’Sullivan grinning wildly, clutching the book.

  “Hand it over, Cormac!” I demand.

  The whole team stares as a dozen Lycans and half a dozen vampires emerge from the dark.

  "Why don't you come get it?" he says, smiling acerbically.

  We all leap forward in synchronization, striking different targets.

  I see Gabe whipping out a short sword. I guess you can't really shoot arrows at this close of a distance. Anne attacks a vampire; her open palm collides with his chest, her elbow with his jaw, her foot colliding with his shin, sending him backward in a spray of blood. He hits the ground, and she disposes of him quickly. I swallow the puke that threatens to make a reappearance. Ty swings his sword out in a lightning-quick arc, wedging it into the skull of a wolf. It collapses, blood welling from its deathly wounds. Passing Jessica, I see that she’s trying to match two wolves at the same time. The two lunge for her, but she drops to the ground, causing the wolves to collide with each other. I slid under the legs of a vamp, slicing both her thighs with my double-sided sword. I come back up as she hisses, swiping for me. I take a quick step back, letting out a breath as her nails sore right past me. A sense of calm washes over me, guiding my blows and adding to their strength. Kicking the back of her knee, she falls to the road, though she lets no pained cry escape her cold lips, showing no fear.

  I hold the sword above my head, ready to make the final blow, ready to kill her. But I hesitate. Who am I to take a life? Just because she might have made a few bad mistakes, we all have. Not necessarily this bad, but…I don’t kill. She stares up at me expectantly.

  “Let me die on my feet,” she says with a cold but smooth voice, rising. I hold the tip of my weapon to her throat; she doesn't cower or shake. It seems as if she has excepted it. Is this really who I want to be?

  “If you're waiting for me to beg, you may as well just kill me now,” she sneers. Just as I’m about to reply, the air behind me shifts, a wolf lunges at me from behind.

  I whip around, upon reflex, I drive the blade into its gut. It howls in agony, whimpering softly. It falls off the end of my weapon with a loud thump. A sob escapes my lips, I slump. I-I can kill. The fear shakes me.

  I want out of this horrid nightmare. Hearing a sword connect with something, maybe flesh, I turn slowly. Staring down at the dead vampire I was battling. I look up.

  “Get it together,” Ty growls before rushing off to take another wolf.

  As many as we kill, it seems that they are replaced within seconds. We might win, but their sheer numbers have us backed into a corner. A clear path emerges from the chaos, revealing Cormac and the book. I make a dash for him, ignoring Hayden’s protest.

  "Don't! It's a trap!" Hayden yells, trying to get to me.

  If it’s a trap, then it’s a damn good one. Some voice in the back of my head speaks softly. That's just because it has the right bait. I leap off the ground landing a few steps away from Cormac.

  “I know who you are,” he says.

  “I doubt it," I say, smiling.

  “You’re Dianna Iysador,” he says, focusing on my face.

  “Wrong,” I sigh. “I’m Dianna Reeds.”

  “You’re an Iysador. I know by the attitude,” he says, smirking.

  I notice that he's changed costume. Into a simple black long sleeve shirt that's tight enough to show how muscular he really is and white pants, along with a pair of perfectly polished black shoes, I notice how menacing his true form is, his chocolate brown hair slicked back.

  “Are we gonna spend the next few hours chit-chatting, or are we gonna fight?” I ask exasperatedly.

  “Well, we could fight. But I wouldn’t want to break such a pretty face,” he says with a wicked grin.

  I narrow my eyes before pouncing, intending to scratch that smile from his face. I leap at Cormac, but I’m too late to stop my descent as I see him whip out two blades from out of nowhere, sinking them into my calf.

  I screamed a raged scream, my power lashing out, knocking him aside like a cat might a mouse. Jess was right; these powers will come in handy. My knees give out. I clutch at my leg, wincing as I lightly touched my fingers to the wounds. Pain lances up my leg, making me shake uncontrollably. I look down at my gashing leg, at the deep wounds caused by some strong metal, and fight the dizziness as it crashes inside my head. Crawling over to a downed vamp, I rip off the bottom of her shirt, wrapping it tightly around my leg. I cry out as the cloth connects with my exposed and sliced skin, absorbing the blood. I clench my teeth, standing again shakily, readying my weapon. I limp over to him, stopping my shriek of pain before it can fully form. I stop a few steps away when he stirs.

  Cormac gets to his feet; I can tell by the way he holds his arm that he’s hurt.
Cormac lights up his fingers, blue light dancing between them.

  He runs his hand up and down his arm. No. Cormac’s healing himself. I bound for him, doing my best to move with the agonising pain stabbing into my thigh with every step. Before he can block me, I grabbed at his injured arm, holding it out while I raise one leg to pin it just under his chin. “Hand me the book. Or I’ll break it,” I say, tightening my hold on his arm. He stares at me. Wincing slightly, he hands the book to me. I let go of him and step back, clutching it tightly to my chest.

  “Gullible creatures, humans,” he says with a smile that fills me with dread.

  Cormac thrusts his hand out, blue sparks fly, and I cry as I’m blinded temporarily. I hear laughter, clutching the book tightly just as someone attempts to yank it away from me. Loud shouts come from all around me. Names are called, some in pain and some in desperation, streetlights flash, being turned on and off. I scream in anguish as something pushes against my injured leg. Grabbing my wound upon reflex, I drop the book in the process. I yell out in protest as I stumble to the side, leaving the book to be taken back to the Xavia. Someone pushes me to the ground, causing my injured leg to take the brunt of my weight and the harsh gravel of the road, making my leg scream with agony.

  The air returns to my lungs, and the pain dulls just enough, only for the lights to switch off entirely. I hear yelling and hop back up, searching for someone. A wave of dizziness hits me. I topple over, trying not to panic. The streetlights switch back on. I'm still on the road, though no one else is. But something inside my brain screams at me. I know that I'm not alone.

  A loud horrific shriek comes from behind me, chilling my blood. I turn around to see an eleven-foot-tall creature resembling something along the lines of an octopus cross slime monster. Dyla, help me.

  It has eight legs, but unlike an octopus, it has two round heads and is dripping in black goop. Its eyes are big white holes with no pupils, though strangely enough, they're worse than the black voids I'm used to. It has a mouth with razzes for teeth and a never-ending blackness that I could be swallowed into.