Rise of Xavia

by Tara Chau

  Gabe’s face lights up at the new information. I laugh at how excited he looks. “Di, that’s perfect!” he says, beaming.

  I smile broadly at him, wishing that I was really there with him. “How about you? How have you been?” I ask.

  “Kind of bored there are no demons in Maline,” he sighs.

  “How?” I question.

  “Well, it’s stationed in a pocket dimension, a place between earth and some other realm entirely. Nothing can get here without a nai-dre’. It’s roughly the size and shape of a pearl. When you hold it and think of Maline, it portals you straight here. It’s that or getting special clearance from the Counsel. Therefore, no demons to kill,” he says sadly.

  I laugh regretfully at his sad expression, making him glare. “Then how do our messages and calls come back and forth?” I question.

  Gabe thinks for a few moments before answering. “It’s probably something the warlocks created to keep in touch with all the Sanctuaries. They already had to work past the pocket barrier, so the warlocks just made it so that any communication from anywhere could reach Maline. It’s easier than just honing in on a few destinations.”

  I nod, it makes little sense to me, but if it works, then it works.

  A light finger taps me on the shoulder. I look over to see Ronnie gazing at me intently, movie paused.

  “Will you watch the rest with me?” she requests cutely.

  I sigh and nod my head, telling her to wait three minutes so I can say goodbye.

  “Hey Gabe, I’m sorry, but I have to go do my job,” I say reluctantly.

  “Yeah, go ahead. Try to keep her alive, Di. I’m actually quite fond of Ronnie,” he jokes badly.

  I wrinkle my nose at him, and he burst out laughing.

  “Goodnight, Gabe,” I say, giving him a flashy smile.

  It's returned by one of his wonky grins, along with an infuriating wink before he hangs up the line. Taking the earplugs out, I un-pause the movie and continue to watch the rest of Spy Kids with Ronnie.

  “Pass around the notes.” Miss Lenox orders.

  We are currently sitting on the floor of the great hall, listening to Miss Lenox inform us about a camp that we’re going on next week. I know that I won’t be able to go. I’m still on call with the Sanctuary. I don’t really want to go anyway. It’s a hiking trip, not my thing.

  “It will be three nights and four days, starting from an eight am arrival at school on Monday to Thursday pick-up. The packing list is coming around now. The permission slip is online for your parents to fill out,” she says, standing in front of us.

  After sitting on the floor for the last twenty minutes, my backside is aching. Anne, Jess and I walk into the changing rooms to get out of our disgusting sports clothes and change back into our normal daily clothing. The three of us walk out and meet the boys in front of the school gates.

  “Di and I have to go the Sanctuary and question Tee-Ly-Ren. Daniel tasked us with the impossible,” he sighs.

  Nodding reluctantly, I hug both Anne and Jess goodbye. The three of us have become close these past few weeks, training and laughing together. The lack of fighting, forcing us to socialise like normal teenagers.

  “See you tomorrow,” I say to Hayden before following Ty to the Sanctuary.

  The walk to the Sanctuary is in silence. By the time we arrive, Tee-Ly-Ren is already seated in the glass room. We watch her through the one-way mirror. Seated on the couches, Ty and I wait for Daniel to open the room for us.

  Looking to my right, I see Astrid walking over to us, key in hand.

  She smiles at us and hands me a small deck of cards, each with a simple

  yet extremely important question.

  “Ask her those. If she answers them all truthfully, she may be on probation for a month before her release. If she does not, then she shall be sent to Maline.” She looks at us expectantly. “Well? Go.”

  Ty and I look at each other hesitantly before walking into the questioning room. Tee-Ly-Ren is seated at the table, two chairs positioned on the other end. Ren eyes Ty with slight suspicion then turns to me.

  “Will you answer a few questions for us?” I ask.

  Ren simply shrugs, sitting back in her seat. She has the silver cuffs on her ankles and wrists, restricting her movements to obnoxious shrugs. Ty walks over to her and chucks his Sterling onto the table, burning in some kind of symbol. Taking hold of Ren’s hand, he places it on top of the signum. Both of us take the seats opposite her. I watch the signum pulse as she tries removing her hand from the circle.

  “That prevents you from lying.” Ty smiles charmingly.

  Ren returns it with a smile of her own, though admittedly, it isn’t nearly as charming. It’s more feral, wolfish.

  “If you don’t make this too hard, then you can go free. The Sanctuary will keep close tabs on you, though. If you don’t co-operate, then you’ll be sent to Maline,” I warn.

  She rolls her eyes but nods reluctantly. Looking at the cards, I begin to question. “What were you doing at the shopping centre that night?”

  “I told you,” she sighs, “looking around to try and find a place for the Xavia to lay low for a while.”

  Beside me, Ty scribbles some notes down on a notepad, keeping close attention to her words.

  Looking at the second question, I begin again. “Who organises and leads all of the attacks?”

  “Cormac. You know him, the one with that infuriating accent and wicked knife skills,” she says slyly. “And just recently, a boy warlock, Lucien Novell.”

  Ty looks up at that, turns to face me with one eyebrow raised. Shrugging, I turn back to Ren. “What is Xavia’s next move?”

  Ren is clearly struggling to contain the information from us. The signum glows, making Ren wince as she continues to hold back the information. A strangled cry escapes her lips, and she tensed up. I see her cursing under her breath before she nods stiffly. Ren sighs in defeat, and words start to pile out like word vomit.

  “The Xavia aren’t attacking yet. They’re learning every spell from the book before we do. Then, once that’s done, we are going to attack at the weakest spot in this city. It’s just a matter of how fast Cormac can read,” she says with a wicked smile.

  Ty looks at me, worry laced through his eyes. Putting down the finished questions, I dare to ask one of my own.

  “Are you one-hundred percent loyal to Xavia?”

  Tee-Ly-Ren continues to watch me, holding back the answer for a long time. Though she groans with pain, the signum glowing brightly, she refrains. Minutes pass, and still, Ren contains her words. I asked again. “Are you one-hundred percent loyal to Xavia?”

  Ren gives a painful cry and groans loudly as she’s overcome by the signums power. “No,” she shouts through clenched teeth.

  “Why?” I push.

  “I joined to save my brother,” she says sadly. “We were both turned, but his transformation wasn’t half as smooth as mine. I had to get help. I didn’t know that the price was a lifetime of servitude. The Xavia said they could save him. After that, they recruited us, saying that we owed them. My brother died two years ago. I was going to leave, but I was too afraid. Afraid that they wouldn’t let me go, afraid that they would hunt me till I was dead, too. So, I stayed.”

  Ren has the gleam of regret in her eyes. What she’s saying is true.

  Looking at Ty, I see that he’s written down this answer on the back of the notepad, obviously not something he is planning to hand over to Daniel. Turning back to Ren, I take a deep breath, readying myself to make a deadly deal.

  “Ren. If you can tell us any other extra information on the Xavia, then I can help you,” she looks up at me, disbelief carved into her hard features. “I can help you,” I repeat. “When all the questioning is done, you’ll go free, but you can’t go back to the Xavia. If they try making contact with you, tell me. Xavia might try to kill you because you gave up this info, but I can help. Considering
the fact that you have nowhere to go, you can stay with me for the time period of your probation. Deal?”

  Ty stares at me in disbelief, muttering substitute curses under his breath. Ren doesn’t thank me or even speak; she simply nods and looks down at her cuffed ankles. Ty stands and walks to the door. He opens it and stands to the side, holding it open for me to pass through. Rising from my seat, I take one last look at Ren. Her head is still hung low. She fiddles with a piece of her hair and mutters something to herself.

  I take a breath and tell Ren what she needs to hear most. “Hold your head high, Ren.”

  Strutting out the door, I crumple onto the couch on the other side.

  “What the hell was that?” Ty questions.

  Raising an eyebrow, I indicate that I have no idea as to what he’s talking about.

  “We already have too much to worry about. Now you add harbouring a Xavia member to the list,” he sighs frustratedly.

  “She needs help,” I answer tiredly.

  “Yeah, I agree. Ren can’t stay at your house, though. That’s just crazy,” he says dramatically.

  “You’re right,” I admit, nodding my head.

  “Di, don’t try to… w-wait, did you just say I’m right?” he asks in disbelief.

  “Yeah,” I say, pretending that I just realized. “you’re absolutely right, Ty. Ren can stay in your ‘guy den’ instead. Now that’s a good idea.”

  Ty watches me in pure, simple horror, pupils darkening into a stormy blue. He blinks a few times and sits down on the couch opposite me.

  “It’s called a guy den, for a reason!” he says.

  “I was allowed in,” I point out.

  “Yeah, that’s because you were in desperate need of my help,” he shrugs simply.

  Glaring at him, I talk again. “Well, she’s in ‘desperate need of help’ as well, Ty.”

  “No,” he says simply.

  “Yes,” I argue.

  “No.”

  “Come on!” I groan loudly.

  “How the hell does Gabe deal with you every day?” he says in an exasperated tone.

  “Because he gives me what I want,” I answer smartly. My brows furrow as I try to recall one time where he had to let me do what I wanted without causing a shouting competition. “Alright, I take that back. No clue,” I say with a shrug.

  Ty crosses his arms in defiance, giving me a look to keep pushing and see what happens. So, I do.

  “Just think about it. It takes a Sterling to get in and out. She’d be cut off from anything wanting to hurt her, and she wouldn’t be able to hurt anything else either. Your mum doesn’t know about the den, and I’m the only girl who’s been in. If you do this… I’ll babysit Ronnie for free,” I say desperately.

  Ty continues to glare, but I can see through his eyes that he’s working through a list of precautions, weighing the outcome to be good or bad. He looks at me, really looks at me to see if I’m serious. Reluctantly he nods, then speaks.

  “It’s your job to feed and entertain your new pet,” he sneers.

  These people really don’t like Shifters, and you can’t even keep Lycans as pets, right?

  I give him a perfectly irritating grin which I know he hates, shaking his hand to seal the agreement.

  “I’ve gotta go give the report to Daniel.” Ty raises from his seat and stretches his long limbs. “No need to come. I’m just dropping it off.”

  I nod happily and walk to my room.

  Flopping down on the huge bed lazily, I groan at the thought of the homework building up on my desk, due by Monday. That means I can do some tonight and finish it on the weekend. Only a minute later does someone knock on my door; I turn on the lamp to light the room as I answer it.

  Ty stands before me and grins happily.

  “Can I help you?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at his beaming features.

  “I spoke to Daniel,” he begins.

  “And?” I prod.

  “And he said you’re off call for the next week. Just enough time to take an amazing hiking trip with your amazing class.”

  I inwardly cringe and groan. I’m running out of excuses here. “Sorry Ty, I promised Gabe I’d visit in Maline when I got off,” I say with a casual shrug.

  Ty smiles and waves his hand as if dismissing the very thought of it. “You can’t. You don’t have a nai-dre’, and it’s too short notice to be cleared by the Counsel.” He has half the decency to frown and pretend to feel bad. “Sorry.”

  “I’ll go if Anne and Jess go,” I say, cringing at the thought of all those long hours wasted upon hiking.

  “I know Jess is going,” he says.

  Anne’s my last hope.

  “And Anne is so definitely coming,” he assures.

  “I don’t believe you.” I sneer.

  “Trust me, how else is she going to get back her oh so precious phone?” he says wickedly.

  “You monster,” I say through clenched teeth.

  I have officially run out of excuses.

  Ty shrugs and turns to walk down the hall. “See you Monday. Bring your hiking shoes!” he calls over his shoulder.

  “I don’t own such monstrosities,” I call out.

  I can hear his soft chuckles from where I stand. Ty rounds the corner, and the sound of his amused laughter fades away. Closing the door, I look back at my room. Making my way slowly across to my bedside table, I pick up the dagger.

  Even though it has been ages since I’d received it from Gabe, I still goggle at it. The white crystal embedded in the hilt gleams and reflects the faint light from the lamp. Running my fingers over the carved vines, I sit down on the edge of the bed. I’ve yet to use it in battle, so the blade shines perfectly, revealing not one scratch or dent. Gabe had brought this for me back from Maline a month ago. These past few weeks, I’ve been sleeping with it by my bed or under my pillow. It not only gives me comfort in the dark night, but it also reminds me about Gabe. I haven’t had many dreams since becoming a Protector, at least not the ones predicting the future. There have been two storms in the past three weeks, with Gabe, not with me. I would clutch the sheathed dagger close to me.

  And remember.

  Walking into Daniel’s office, both Gabe and I take the seats facing him on the other side of the desk.

  “What is it you insisted I hear?” Daniel asks, not lifting his head from the documents he is signing.

  “You might want to set that aside for a while,” Gabe warns.

  Daniel looks up and notices our serious expressions. “What now?” he sighs dramatically.

  “Lucien Novell, the human from our school… is now a warlock,” Gabe states, getting straight to the point.

  Daniel finally places his pen and papers aside and looks at us, focused.

  “Explain,” he orders.

  “Lucien was my childhood friend,” I begin, cutting off Gabe. “We now go to the same school and met up after six years. He’s different. Hungry, careless, angry…and now, a warlock. About two weeks before we found out about his new… abilities, he saw my glamoured bandage that concealed my new signum. Both me and Gabe hoped it was just a dodgy bandage. Now I know it’s not. We confronted him weeks after that, just a few days ago. There’s something… wrong. He’s ruthless and scary and has no sympathy. He’s demonic,” I spit, recalling the events of what happened in that house and what happened to the boy.

  “Daniel…” I breathe, “Lucien, he-he….”

  Gabe cut me off with a snap. “He killed a little boy.”

  Daniel looks shocked before recovering and shutting out his emotions once more. Every Protector must be skilled in this action.

  “And killed three others before him,” Gabe adds solemnly.

  “He draws on some kind of demonic energies and casts a ball of burning fire,” I try explaining.

  “We watched as the boy was burned alive, nothing left but a black scorch mark on the floor. After using his power, his body c
hanges, and he becomes something you could only guess came from hell itself,” Gabe says in disgust.

  Daniel nods, brows furrowed in concentration. He pulls out a sheet of paper from the draw and picks up his neglected pen once more, scribbling hastily. Minutes pass in silence before he looks back at us, handing Gabe the sealed envelope.

  “Travel to Maline. Hand this note personally to the Counsel. Do not come back until they have made a decision. Don’t read this or try to pry any information from them. Just… trust.”

  Gabe takes it in his hand and looks down at it. A mixture of emotions flash across his face.

  “Dianna, remain here and have your phone on you at all times. You’re now on call until further notice. That means you battle any threats when told to, no matter the hour.” Daniel turns back to Gabe. “Go now. The portal will be ready in exactly thirty minutes.”

  We slowly rise and walk out of the head of the Sanctuaries office, heading straight for Gabe’s room. We enter, and he pulls a small duffle bag from the cupboard. I watch as he tosses random items into it.

  “Are you scared?” he asks, ruffling through his draws.

  “About?”

  “Being on call. With this stuff, you never know what you’re going to face. It’s dangerous,” he informs.

  “Thanks for the pep talk,” I say, trying my best to sound sarcastic but failing. “What about you? You’re going on some kind of secret journey.” I venture.

  “I’ve been to Maline plenty. There’s no difference to when I go for the weekend.” He says, locating his Sterling from his draw.

  I nod and sit on the edge of the bed. “To be honest, I’m scared.”

  He halts at that before closing his bag and chucking it next to the closed door. Grabbing his bow and quiver, he rests it next to the bag before sitting next to me.

  “Why?” he questions.

  “Because I’m on call while he’s out there,” I answer, knowing already that Gabe knows exactly who I am talking about. “I’m not ready to see him. I’m not ready to fight him… I’m not ready to kill him.”