by Justin Sloan
“What is it?” she asked.
“It’s the story of why you will train to become a Bringer of Light, Allie.”
Her blood boiled. “I saved my mom, I brought back this stupid ring….” She played with the ring, wanting to throw it into the water. “Haven’t I proven myself?”
“You’re eager, which can be a blessing… or a curse. There have always been Bringers of Light and Guardians, even before there was a need. You see, the will of a man or a woman is often enough reason for one to emerge. But now we have a darker threat.” His eyes darted to the decaying chair, then back to the painting. He pointed to an image of a muscular man in chains. “See this man here? He was once one of our greatest Guardians. He protected someone destined for great things, but in the end he sacrificed her to gain power for himself. His will turned evil, and now he’s been cast out from among us.”
“Samyaza?”
“The same.” Gabe sighed and began to walk down the steps toward the pool. “Guardians are like angels, in a way. But if they earn their wings, it’s usually at a point in their lives when they’re so devoted to their task that to think otherwise is nearly impossible.”
“Wings?”
“Come, I will show you.”
She felt an urge to hang back, but her curiosity won. She followed him to the edge of the pool, where she could see inside the glass case. It was empty, except for a sword sheath and what looked like a pair of tar-covered, once-white wings.
“The wings,” he said, “as you may guess, belonged to Samyaza.”
“The one I defeated?”
“Not exactly.” Gabe’s expression turned cold. It was clear he didn’t like talking about this. “What you defeated was more like a shadow of him, one of many shadows that may lurk in the world. We mean for you to find the rest and destroy him.”
Allie stared at him, dumbstruck.
Gabe looked at her a moment longer, and then back to the wings. “When Samyaza betrayed his post, when he was cast out of our halls, he was stripped of his wings. What you see here is evidence of his wrong doing, and he is not finished yet. He is seeking The Sword of the Spirit, the Helmet of Salvation, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Belt of Truth, the Sandals of Peace, and the Shield of Faith. They were once within our power, but taken from us long before Samyaza abandoned his duties with us. Until the armor is restored, the Tenth Worthy cannot be proven, and until the Tenth Worthy is named, Samyaza cannot be stopped. He knew this, and knowing that the Tenth Worthy must reclaim the armor, his spies are scouring the world for each of these items. If we are not victorious, and he takes the power of the Nine, we will be defeated. You must not allow this, Allie."
“Me, but how?”
“Your friend Daniel will help you, and perhaps one day earn his own wings. He will help you prove yourself as the Tenth Worthy, if this is indeed your destiny. Samyaza has a dark plan, one to take the powers of the past Nine Worthies for himself. We don’t have all the answers, but we trust you will be the one to stop him, because the Ring of Andaleeb—Solomon’s Ring, if you will—has chosen you. It is that very ring that would give him the power he desires, and it is the same ring that can defeat him.”
Allie shook her head, trying to take this all in.
“So why are we spending our time training when we could be out there attacking?”
Gabe’s expression darkened and he looked at the tar-covered wings. “I wish it were that simple, but we don’t yet know where he or his people are. We’re working on it.”
Allie looked to the doors, wishing for a minute that she could run off and leave this all behind. But then she made up her mind.
“Well, work faster,” she said, walking over to the rack of spears.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Aren’t I here to train, so I can defeat him when the time comes?” She picked up a spear, surprised by how heavy it was but refusing to show any struggle. “Let’s get to it then.”
***
Daniel was sitting at a table with Troy and Brenda, talking in low voices about the obstacle courses and everything they’d been learning in the training grounds. How different from when she first met him, Allie thought, remembering how she had been the only one in the whole lunchroom to stand up for him. Now she was alone, and here he was chatting it up with his new friends.
“Hey guys,” she said as she pulled up a chair.
To her horror, Troy and Brenda were suddenly silent and shared a look. Had they been talking about her?
“Sup,” Daniel said.
Yup, that confirmed it—he never talked like that to her unless something was up.
She stood to leave, but then Troy flashed a smile and she paused.
“Hey, no hard feelings,” he said. “What’s behind the doors?”
“I, uh….” Now she wished she hadn’t sat with them.
“Come on,” Brenda added. “You can’t just disappear like that and then not tell us… Especially your best friend.”
Allie looked at Daniel, then the other two, and motioned for him to follow. Brenda and Troy glared as she walked off, but she was happy to see Daniel join her.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“You all are acting like this isn’t important,” Allie said. “You forget we have a world to save?”
Daniel looked around anxiously, then motioned for her to be quiet. “You want people to think we’re loonies?”
“You want Samyaza to win?”
His expression grew hard and he leaned in, eyes determined.
“I got your attention?” she asked. “All this, it’s way more serious than we thought. I can’t tell you everything, but, just…. Train as hard as you can, okay?”
“Yeah, sure, Allie.” He assessed her as he worked some food out of his teeth with his tongue. “Other than that, you doing okay?”
“I don’t know where to start with that.”
“Maybe we need to go to Eisner?” he said. “I mean, won’t she do something?”
Allie shook her head. “She knows. Gabe’s in there with the others, training. No, I guess we have to wait…. But be ready, right?”
“Right.” He glanced back at the table, uncertain, then turned back to her with a determined look. “Come on, grab your lunch and join us.”
“I don’t—”
“Allie, we’re going to need all the allies we can get.”
She couldn’t argue with that.
***
That night she collapsed on her bed, exhausted and mulling over the same question—when was she going to get a break? Teenage girls were supposed to have fun, playing sports and checking out boys and studying to get into good universities… not kicking and punching and making magic circles all day.
She reached into her nightstand, hoping for a book that would take her away from all this. The only book there was a childish one her brother had given her when she was younger—Teddy Bears in Monsterland. She glanced at the silly cover and then tossed it aside.
What was she doing? Was this what she was meant for?
A knock sounded at the door, and a moment later her mom walked in.
“Honey….” Her mom looked at her with concern. “I heard about P.E.”
“You did?” Allie wasn’t sure she wanted to be having this conversation, but she wanted to hear how much her mom knew about it.
“When I was your age… I never had to deal with any of this. And I can’t imagine how hard it is.”
They sat in silence for a moment, and then her mom sighed. “They’re having a vigil, you know? For Chris and the others.”
“A what?”
“They think he’s—they think he’s not coming back. For all we know, it might be true.”
“I refuse to believe that.”
“But maybe you can go? For his mother?”
Allie saw the pleading in her mother’s eyes, the horrible sense of guilt and sorrow at the thought that it could have easily been Allie that had never made it back.<
br />
“Of course, Mom.”
Her mother stood and went for the door, but Allie cleared her throat.
“Why me?” Allie asked.
“Why someone else?” Her mother put an arm around her. “I had those same questions when it was my time, and the best I could come up with was that it was my destiny, my fate. I know it’s not enough, but it’s what I had to accept if I was going to save lives. To make a difference and stop the bad guys from winning.”
“I just want to go to school and be a normal kid. I don’t want to save lives.”
“I’m sure that’s not true, honey. And I’m sorry, but being a normal kid? You’re too special for that.”
Allie hugged her mom and smiled as she received a kiss on the cheek. She hated to hear the truth, but she knew that’s what it was.
Chapter 6: Swords and Magic
Allie thrust the training dummy with her sword. The steel felt good in her hand, as if the rest of her world paused while she practiced her sword attacks. Somehow the sharp blade put her nerves to rest. P.E. class was a nice relief from the sorrow of the event held to say goodbye to Chris and the others that had disappeared. Deep down in her heart, she knew she would find them and save them, somehow, but that didn’t stop her chest from feeling like it was going to explode when they showed a video of Chris when he was young, or the tears from forming in her eyes when she saw Daniel crying. She lifted the sword for another attack when three loud knocks echoed through the training hall. She paused, wondering what it could be.
Metal scraping on marble sounded as the main doors opened. Troy and Brenda walked into the room with wide eyes. Allie remembered the feeling of astonishment and doubt at seeing people jumping up to seven stories, shooting light from their fingertips, and creating animals out of thin air. Now she was one of the students training to perform these feats. She had learned two more form patterns and was working on the jumping pattern now—she had been able to push herself ten feet off the ground once. When she had asked about the animals, she was told to wait patiently and her time would come. Meanwhile she was to focus on the basic patterns and combat.
Practicing with swords and spears seemed a bit odd, but she did it nonetheless—it was more exciting than playing volleyball.
“So this is what you’ve been up to?” Troy asked Allie when she approached the newcomers.
“You didn’t have to wait long to get chosen. Welcome to the next level.” Allie smiled and held out her sword in a dueling stance.
Brenda scoffed. “Please, what would you do with that?”
Mr. Phael entered the room behind them. “It sounds like we have a perfect opportunity to show off what you have learned, right Allie?”
“Mr. Phael,” Allie said, bowing her head as she had seen others do on her first day. She ignored Brenda’s second scoff.
“Come, let us find you a partner to demonstrate.” Mr. Phael waved to Gabe and led the seventh graders to the circle. He cleared the area before pointing to Karen. “You'll help Allie put her skills to use.”
Karen nodded, eying Allie soberly. She grabbed a sword and stepped into the circle. Mr. Phael stepped out.
“Um, what am I supposed to do?” Allie asked. She hated the smirk on Brenda’s face from the sidelines.
“Just let it come naturally,” Mr. Phael said with a wink.
A flash caught Allie’s eye as Karen’s sword tip swung inches from her face. Allie jumped left, away from another strike. She parried.
“What’re you doing?” Allie yelled. “You're going to kill me!”
Karen smiled and lunged. Allie dived to her right. She looked up to see Mr. Phael and ran toward him, hoping he would stop the fight, but he caught her and turned her around with a gentle shove. Karen’s eyes were dead serious.
Why was no one stopping this?
Allie looked at the encouraging faces of the other students gathered around. None of them looked nervous, none of them had the look of blood lust. It was normal, like somehow they knew no one would be hurt. She breathed deep, and turned to Karen to attack.
But Karen wasn’t there. In the dirt where she had been was a glowing pattern of a zigzag through a crescent moon.
Allie heard a sound above her and looked up just in time, raising her sword as Karen landed with a strike from high over her head. Steel met steel with a clang and Allie fell back. Her heart stopped for a split-second, but then she regained her faith. She jumped up and quickly performed the pattern of light she had learned. She shoved her hands forward and the light caught Karen, turning her in the air and halfway across the circle. Karen pushed herself to one knee and smiled. She nodded slightly, as if to congratulate Allie, but then she was running with her sword raised.
Allie couldn’t move fast enough. The steel was solid, sharp. She anticipated the blow, her body shaking. It never came. Everything was dark. She opened her eyes to see the hilt of the sword held in front of her, the blade deep inside her chest. But at the same time, it wasn’t.
Mr. Phael stepped forward and raised Karen’s arm in the air. “Winner!”
Everyone clapped. Allie stumbled backward, clutching her chest. There was no hole, no blood. “Mr. Phael?”
Mr. Phael turned and smiled. “Sorry Allie, we should have explained.” He took Karen’s sword and stabbed downward, into his own foot. It looked like it had stabbed him, but when he removed the blade there was no blood.
“We’re not affected by our own weapons. They’ve been blessed.” He held the hilt for her to examine. “You see, the pattern there is one of protection. When embedded onto an object, the object can no longer cause damage to another person.”
She looked at her own sword and saw the same pattern. It looked like a circle with an aloe plant growing from it. She felt like she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.
“That was amazing,” Troy said. Even Brenda was staring at her wide-eyed.
She turned red. “Really?”
“How’d you learn to fight like that?” Brenda asked.
“You will soon find out,” Gabe said as he approached. Allie bowed her head and Gabe nodded. “Allie, keep training while I show your friends here their new P.E. class. When I'm done, I expect you to teach them the basics of a jump pattern.”
“But I haven’t—”
“You will,” Gabe said. “Just practice.”
Troy shook his head in bewilderment and followed Brenda and Gabe toward the twelve chairs. How long had it been since she had been assigned this class and taken that same tour? A month? She had learned so much since then. But the jump pattern was complicated. She had to move her arms in alternate directions while bending her knees and maintaining balance before a leap and a sweep of her foot, and if she messed up one part the whole thing didn't work.
She tried, and failed. She looked at the sky, folded her hands and tried again. This time she was able to jump over an eighth grader who was practicing, but that wasn’t enough. She was distracted, weighed down by the pressure of knowing she was supposed to save the world somehow, and rely on Daniel to help her. Of the Strayers, and Samyaza. She watched Mr. Phael’s red hair bounce as he walked by, wondering if any teachers really knew the full truth and they just weren’t telling her everything.
She got in position to try again and caught Karen’s gaze. Her doubts about the older girl had been bothering her, too. Was Karen to be trusted? So-called friends like her had turned on Allie in the past. And now Troy and Brenda were in the training hall too, and were they any better? Allie shook her head and tried the pattern again. A wave of energy swept her into the air, then seemed to give out mid lift. She fell and landed hard on her rear end. She groaned and arched her back in pain.
A hand was before her, reaching to help her up. It was Karen. Allie smiled, thinking of everything she had been going through lately. Maybe this was the time for friends, for trust. She took Karen’s hand and they shared a smile.
***
Later, when Gabe asked Allie to demonstrate the jumping p
attern, she felt strangely calm.
The burst of energy caught her, a warm caress as it propelled her into the sky. It felt as if she were flying, as if wings had sprouted from her back to carry her wherever she desired. Slowly she drifted through the air, watching as she passed the different levels of the training hall with their bursts of light and flowing spirit animals. She felt her toes touch the ground lightly, and turned to see Gabe’s proud face. She had finally performed the jump pattern.
“Very well done,” Michael said from nearby. “It appears you’re ready for the doors.”
She looked at him inquisitively, and then followed. He led her up a spiral staircase at a bend in the marble walls, one that led past several floors. By the time he stopped, she was panting for breath.
“All this training, and a few stairs do you in?” he asked.
“There’re no stairs in the obstacle course.”
He nodded, then motioned to the floor where they had stopped. This floor wasn’t exciting like the others. It was simply an empty hall, with the right side an open space where she could see the others training below and the left a series of doors.
“What is it?” she asked. “More training halls?”
“In a way,” he said, opening the first door.
She paused to look at the symbol carved beside the frame of the door—a flowing line like an intricate “L,” with three dots to the upper left.
“This is Mr. Phael’s domain, where he comes from.” Michael nodded for her to proceed and she stuck her head in. A warm breeze accompanied the chirps of birds, and pools of steaming water surrounded a bed of flowers. Not far off, a group of students, all with red hair like Mr. Phael’s, turned her way and nodded. Michael waved back, and then pulled back and shut the door.
Allie looked at him, stunned, and followed him to the next door. This one had a similar flowing symbol, only it was more like a pointed “M” and the three dots were at the top.
“Brace yourself,” Michael warned, and when he opened the door a cold gust of wind sent a chill through Allie’s bones.