Angels and Elves- Act I

by William Collins

  “Holy Rueda.” Xavier gasped.

  “But that doesn’t explain why you were trying to shank Evan.” Jed pointed out.

  “I haven’t taught you about that yet,” Li’Azar growled. “As rookie dreamwielders there was no need for you to know this soon. In rare cases, when a dreamwielder wakes up whilst being attacked by a spectre, the spectre can possess him. I had to make sure Evan was not possessed. Even though I destroyed the phantom, a fragment might have lodged itself inside Evan.”

  Possessed? That didn’t sound like anything good.

  “My dagger,” Li’Azar gestured to the strange weapon, “is enchanted to destroy any creature from the dream realm who makes it to the realm of the living. If the spectre is not exorcised swiftly, by a blade such as mine, he may possess his host forever.”

  Evan gulped, feeling sick.

  “Oh, well sorry for throwing a spell at you then,” Jed mumbled. “No need to exile me, yeah?” he grinned weakly.

  For the first time, the trace of amusement flashed across Li’Azar’s pale face. “No, you acted bravely, Jed. For all you knew I was about to, as you say, ‘shank’ your friend.”

  “But why?” Zeke asked. “Why did the spectre attack Evan? He didn’t use any sorcery.”

  “That wasn’t supposed to happen,” Li’Azar admitted, evidently perturbed. “Spectres don’t act like that. He was drawn to you for some reason.” His eyes returned to Evan.

  He felt the familiar dread prickle his skin. Maybe the spectre had sensed the demon magic deep within him. After all, the spectre hadn’t attacked the normal Venators, and he wasn’t a normal Venator. You can’t hide the evil inside you from ghosts, a nasty voice whispered inside his head.

  “You show no symptoms of possession.” Li’Azar nodded to him. “but I suggest you go to the infirmary for a check-up this evening, just in case. Apologies to the rest of you, I had no idea a spectre would attack like that. In all my years I’ve only ever seen the wraiths attack wielders who used sorcery in their presence. Perhaps something has changed on the dream place, I will travel deep to investigate.”

  You’d be wasting your time, the snide voice in his head hissed. There was nothing wrong with the wraith, but there is something terribly wrong with me.

  He’d have to warn Brooke about this too, and Taija once she made it to Mid-Realmer rank. Maybe Vanderain would know if it was because of his demon magic that the spectre had attacked?

  “You all may go. I must inform the other Masters of this. We will not be dreamwielding again unless I can ensure your safety. Oh,” Li’Azar remembered half the trainees were still sleeping. “Somnius,” he uttered, waving his hand once and waking all of them up at once.

  Li’Azar strode from the room even as the previously sleeping Realmers awoke in panic and the other half of the class explained what had happened. Evan got worried looks and questions from all of them, feeling like an animal in a cage.

  “Alright, calm down everyone,” Jed called out. “You heard Li’Azar, it was a freak accident. The spectre could’ve attacked anyone, Evan was just the unlucky one.”

  Evan smiled gratefully at him as he tried to escape the room without making run for it.

  “Hey, you okay mate?”

  He turned to answer, planning to say he’s find like he had the others, only to find Nova behind him.

  “Oh…yeah. I guess.” He shrugged. “It was horrible when the spectre touched me, like I’d gone both blind and deaf, but I’m fine now, just a little rattled.”

  “That’s the spirit, stay tough.” She punched him on the arm playfully. Evan didn’t really know how to react so just smiled awkwardly.

  “That’s your silver-lining, dude,” Jed whispered as they left the chamber. “You might’ve been attacked by a nightmare ghoul, but it impressed your crush.”

  “I don’t have a crush,” Evan growled, although he was glad Jed wasn’t interrogating him like all the others.

  His momentary relief soon evaporated as he saw Firk and Fenik looking back at him, whispering maliciously, whilst Sabine was already telling her friends what had happened on her phone. In no time, the whole Fortress would know about the spectre’s attack. Evan already had a reputation after the incidents with Kurrlan and his demons. Now he’d given the Fortress yet another reason to be suspicious about him.

  *

  As Evan expected, dozens of Realmers turned to ogle as he entered the Banquet chamber for breakfast the next morning.

  “Ignore them,” Brooke reassured him as they sat down. “Something else will happen soon and they’ll forget about it.”

  “Yep,” Elijah agreed. “Just yesterday Rodney Del blew up a priceless painting in Energy Control class, and last week Ana Chung got caught three timing her boyfriend. Gossip changes as often as the colour of goblin bogies around here. Goblin snot changes colour daily, if you didn’t know.”

  Evan had told Brooke last night the spectres could be after her too, but she didn’t seem as worried as him.

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t happen in the next dreamwielding lesson then,” said Jed.

  Evan was considering telling Li’Azar he couldn’t enter the dream realm again. How could he? If it was because of demon magic, the spectres would just try to attack him again. But he couldn’t very well tell Li’Azar the reason why. His and Brooke’s…condition was a secret to even the Masters, save Taretta and Tarensen.

  “I might just skip the next class,” he said. “Whatever punishment I receive for missing training can’t be worse than what a spectre could do.”

  “I can’t wait until we can use dreamwielding to visit our families.” Emillia said. “I really want to start this dream-thingy. It feels like a lifetime since I saw my parents.”

  Evan remained silent as his fellow Venators began discussing their families. He knew he wouldn’t want to return to Helken Place. Yet if his Grandma had still been alive he’d definitely want to see her again. He might have wanted to see his parents as well; if he’d ever known anything about them.

  You know who your mother is though, don’t you?

  Evan was broken from his morbid thoughts as he saw Nova walking toward their table.

  “Hey, the try-outs for the sports take place tomorrow. Don’t think I forgot about you saying you’d audition weeks ago.”

  “Oh, uh…sure,” he stammered. “Yeah, I’ll be there.” He’d half-hoped Nova had forgotten about him saying he’d try out. Arengi sounded awesome, but Evan didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Nova, something that would be highly possible tomorrow.”

  “Excellent.” Nova grinned brilliantly, before turning to his friends. “The team auditions are open to every Venator above Novice rank, if any of you want to come too.”

  “Definitely,” said Jed. “I reckon I’ll be a natural.”

  “Doubt it,” Elijah murmured.

  “I’m in. I love watching Arengi games on TV. I’ve wanted to try it myself for months,” Brooke said.

  “Brilliant, we need as many people as possible. The Raging Squids need to win the champions league this year. But I warn you, only the best will make the teams.”

  As they left the hall he passed Firk and Fenik’s bench, where he caught them whispering about him again.

  “Say it now,” Fenik urged.

  “No, you say it to Umbra, you came up with it,” Firk replied.

  “What?” Evan snapped. “Have you two got something to say?”

  “Course not.” Fenik grinned back at him.

  “Only that we’re really happy to see you,” Firk chimed in.

  He shook his head and continued to class, gesturing for Jed to do the same, since he looked rather murderous.

  Their first lesson of the day was Curse-Breaking with the ever-modest Master Elorian who told them how he personally had broken the terrible curses placed on Tutankhamun’s tomb, whilst also teaching them how to unlock many tombs that had been enchanted against intruders. “Often you can use a spell of your own to negate the encha
ntment, but sometimes sacrifice is necessary,” he finished ominously.

  Evan and his friends hurried to water element training next, where Mistress Aqenna taught them the spell to melt frozen lakes in a specific spot. “A good trick if you ever find yourself in combat on a frozen realm for example,” she said.

  After the lesson, Evan, Brooke and Jed were halfway down the corridor when he saw Firk and Fenik once again. The two boys merely giggled as they passed one another, but once there was several metres between them, Firk shouted out, “Burnboy!”

  Evan froze mid-step, whilst Firk continued.

  “That’s the name me and Fenik came up for you, Burnboy.”

  “Yeah,” Fenik jeered. “Don’t get too hot about it, Burnboy.”

  Instead of anxiety about the fellow Venators around the corridor who’d stopped to stare, instead of feeling humiliated by Firk and Fenik’s laughter, Evan felt a boiling, uncontrollable rage.

  They want to see burns, do they? Maybe I’ll burn both of them so they know how it feels. Wait until they have scars far worse than mine. They won’t be laughing then, they’ll be screaming for death. Evan looked down to see both of his hands alight with emerald fire. He’d already raised his arms, ready to release the devastating power flowing through him, when he realised how horrifying his thoughts had truly been.

  He snapped his hands back to his sides at once, willing the fire to go out. Where had all that rage come from? That wasn’t like him. He couldn’t let people get to him.

  “That’s it,” Jed snarled, whirling round with his fist raised, but it was Brooke who struck first, throwing out her arm and throwing out what looked like silly string from each hand.

  Evan realised a second later that Brooke had used the cobgob spell, as both Firk and Fenik’s mouths had been glued shut by enchanted cobwebs. The two boys looked at each other hysterically, making strangled noises in their throats as they tried to speak.

  Several Realmers in the corridor erupted into laughter as Firk and Fenik ran from sight, trying and failing to remove the cobwebs sealing their lips shut.

  “That’ll teach ‘em.” Brooke gave Evan a reassuring smile as she continued down the passage. “C’mon, we’ll be late for Weaponry.”

  Evan pretended to smile back, it seemed no one had noticed his hands temporarily wreathed in fire. But he couldn’t forget his thoughts, however. For one moment he’d wanted Firk and Fenik to suffer terribly. What’s happening? Is the demonic side getting stronger?

  *

  Brooke laughed loudly as she watched Jed fail to cut off the nine-inch-nails protruding from his hand.

  In the last lesson of the day, Anatomy training, Master Greller had set them the task of magically growing out their fingernails. Many of the class had succeeded, the nails yellow, but sharp. To Brooke’s surprise, Jed had done the best out of everyone. The only snag was that he couldn’t shrink them back to normal.

  “Oh, I wish Evan and the others were here to see this,” she managed to say between giggles.

  “It’s not funny,” Jed grumbled. “I can’t walk around the Fortress with these scissor hands. What will my many lady admirers think?”

  “That’s alright then, seeing as you don’t have any.”

  For once Jed didn’t have a comeback as he tried using the nail clippers Greller had given him to manually chop his new nails off.

  “It looks like they’re too thick, even for clippers,” she told him, aware that most of the class was also watching, amused by Jed’s efforts.

  “Hold on Mr Jagger,” said Master Greller, returning to Jed after fetching an enchanted knife from his desk.

  “Uh- wait a minute, sir. I think we can put the knives away.” Jed quickly pulled his hands off of the table as the elderly Master Greller squinted at him through his spectacles.

  “Nonsense young man. Tis the only way. Who knew you were so adept at Anatomy magic, eh? You should be proud. Now, put your hands back on the table.”

  “But what if you chop my fingers off?”

  “I’m sure the infirmary doctors can always grow your fingers back again,” she said, unable to keep out a snigger.

  “Not helping, Brooke,” Jed sighed, nervously putting his hands back on the table to Greller could set about sawing them back to normal size.

  Minutes later, Master Greller handed Jed’s long yellow nails back to him. “All done. Now, would you like to keep these as a memento?”

  “I most certainly would not,” Jed replied, aghast.

  “Very well,” Greller tssked and drifted away, as if Jed was the peculiar one.

  Brooke looked back at the clock as Greller dismissed the class. She’d been eagerly watching it throughout the lesson.

  “So,” she said to Jed as they both left the chamber, “do you think you have enough sorcery left for Arengi?”

  She’d been looking forward to her Arena-Battle audition ever since Nova mentioned it yesterday. Before Veneseron, she’d been a huge fan of the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Rams, but nothing had enthralled her as much as watching the Arengi games in the rec rooms. She was determined to make one of the teams tonight.

  “Yeah, I’ll smash it,” Jed waved a hand airily. “Are all of us trying out then? I can’t see Elijah and Emi having a go?”

  “I’m pretty sure they are. Evan for certain.”

  “Evan’s probably already there, trying to flirt with Nova,” Jed chuckled.

  “I don’t know about that. Evan and flirting don’t exactly fit. Bless him.”

  “Yeah, that’s why I said trying,” Jed grinned back.

  “As long as it takes him mind of what that horrible Disciple demon did to him,” Brooke whispered. “Although people like Fomori cousins aren’t helping.”

  “Yeah, that was a wicked spell you put on them,” Jed high-fived her for the fourth time that day. “Besides, I’ve already told Evan, women love scars.”

  “Because you’d know what women want.” She rolled her eyes.

  Brooke knew the try-outs were taking place on the Veneseron fields, but she didn’t exactly know where, or if everyone would already be there. As chance would have it, she and Jed found their friends in the foyer, just as they were about to exit Titantowers.

  They were gathered around Evan and his droge. Danx was yapping at the wall mirror, which was enchanted to show people’s reflections as their skeletons.

  Brooke was surprised to see Taija there too, and that she was almost smiling as she watched Danx’s reaction to the mirror.

  “Well,” Xavier said, gazing at his own skeletal reflection as she and Jed approached. “At least I can say I’m just big boned next time someone calls me chubby.”

  “C’mon Danx.” Evan tossed him a treat, a tiny biscuit in the shape of a troll’s head. Danx wolfed it down happily, the mirror forgotten as soon as he realised food was available.

  “How old do you reckon he is?” Emi asked, patting Danx’s head.

  “I know,” Elijah said before anyone else could answer.

  Brooke smiled to herself, knowing how Elijah enjoyed being the font of all knowledge.

  “Judging by his size, and the shape of his snout, I’d say little Danx is less than a year old.”

  “You’ll have to give him a birthday,” said Brooke.

  “I don’t even know when my birthday is,” Taija mumbled to herself, before looking up at them, as if she hadn’t meant to speak aloud. “Although that’s not because of my memory loss. I was born a slave and they don’t have birthdays.”

  “It’s Halloween,” said Evan suddenly. “Well, at least mine is. As you’re my sister, I guess it would be yours too. From what Vanderain said, Akirandon birthed her Demon-Spawn all at once.”

  “Eurgh,” Jed said, before frowning. “Wait, how do you know when that demon queen popped you out.”

  “I don’t,” said Evan, “but Halloween was the day my Gran found me, so we always celebrated it as my birthday. It’s only a month away actually. Wow, I’m nearly sixteen, I hadn�
��t realised with all the chaos going on.”

  “Same, I’ll be seventeen just after Christmas.” Brooke hadn’t thought of her own birthday either. It seemed so mundane now.

  “My birthday is the day before Valentines,” Jed revealed. “I mean it makes sense, with me being such a lover and all.”

  Brooke simply clipped him round the ear as Emi giggled.

  “So, I guess your birthday can be Halloween too,” Evan grinned at his newfound sister. “If you want, of course.”

  “Um, okay. One question,” Taija paused. “What the hell is Halloween?”

  “Oh, it’s some silly holiday people celebrate on Earth,” Emi said.

  “Like slaver’s day back on Sarume?” Taija frowned.

  “I don’t think so,” Emi said. “Slavers day was about the rich giving themselves presents, Halloween is where everyone dresses up like monsters to steal sweets from people.”

  “We ask for sweets, we don’t steal them.” Brooke giggled. “C’mon, before we’re all late for Archives.”

  “Alright, we’ll see you again after our Arengi try-out’s,” Jed told Taija.

  “You can come and watch.” Evan said. “Maybe you can even try out too?”

  “Sorry guys,” Elijah interrupted. “Novices can’t compete in any of the sports. Only a few Apprentices have ever been allowed.”

  “Well, if Taija actually tried in her training,” said Jed. “She’d move up to Apprentice straight away. No offence, Taij, but I’ve seen what you can do.”

  “That was demon magic.” Taija shook her head.

  “Come off it.” Jed chuckled. “You’ve told me you’ve used normal magic several times before they put you in that asylum. I know you’re scared, but quite frankly, you need to man up. Well, woman up. Start kicking the ass I know you can kick, figuratively.”

  Taija looked like she was going to respond furiously, but then her expression changed and she simply muttered, “okay.”

  “What training have you got next?” Emillia asked politely.