by Justin Sloan
A quick glance showed a dazzling display of snow-covered ground, snow blowing through the air, and students that looked to be fighting. With a quick wave, Michael closed the door and was about to head to the next one when Allie asked him to wait.
“What is this?” she asked. “Why are you showing me these?
“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve seen doorways like this before, no?”
Remembering the Strayers, she threw open the door with the snow—alert for any sign of their black cloaks. But this time it opened on a blank wall.
“You can call it magic, but that’s not quite right.” Michael closed the door and opened it again, to show the snow. “You see, it’s all about what you’re ready for. If I grant you power to the door, it will open here, to the training lands of the assault. The other one, Mr. Phael’s land, is where you learn advanced healing. The others include advanced protection, elementals, and many more. You will gain entrance to each as we progress.”
“But….” Her insides churned, making her queasy. “The Strayers, and Paulette, they used a door like this. Can’t they come here if—”
“No,” he interrupted, his eyes narrowing. “They can make their own passages, but only when invited can they use one of ours, and of course they will never be invited.”
Allie sighed, hoping she could believe him. “But then how can we follow them?” She walked to a third door and opened it, revealing the wall behind it. “Doesn’t that mean we can’t use their gateways unless they invite us as well?” She opened the fourth door, and just as she did, a strange light shown from her ring onto the wall.
She looked to Michael for an answer, but he seemed as stumped as she was. The wall before her began to glow as the light filled it like liquids mixing, and then there was a bright blast. The light cleared, revealing a path of grass with towering trees on each side.
“This isn’t right,” Michael said. He slammed the door shut, but the light continued to shine from it. When he opened it again, the path was still there.
He looked to Allie and her ring, and his eyes lit up, hopeful. “I’ll gather the others. If your ring is doing this, it can only mean one thing…. The ring has found a connection to this place, and unless I’m wrong, that means that either one of the six pieces of armor will be in there, or Samyaza himself.”
Chapter 7: The Hunt
Although it had been a bright day where they’d just come from, here the sky was a dark gray. Trees bent above their heads, looking as if they would fall to crush Allie and the group at any moment. A strong wind blew Allie’s hair around her face, causing it to whip at her cheeks. She glanced over to Troy and Michael, jealous of their short hair at a time like this. Not that it mattered—they all had bigger problems coming than just the wind. They were on the search for one of the legendary pieces of armor, and would more than likely encounter Samyaza, or at least his Strayers.
She wished Daniel could’ve come with them, but he was a Guardian. Michael and Principal Eisner had agreed that, for this mission, only Bringers of Light would be going. When they’d stepped through the doorway, Allie felt as if she were leaving her defenses behind, but arguing for Daniel to come had been met with a simple “No.” They thought it was too much risk, given where he was in his training, and didn’t bother to consider that he’d already faced Samyaza with Allie once before.
Ahead, the path turned. They pushed their way through overgrowth and palm leaves, and then stepped into what must have been an ancient temple of some sort. Ruins lay scattered across the field of grass, with a temple in the shape of a small pyramid at the far side and what appeared to be ocean just past it. The scent of fish on a salty breeze confirmed her guess that it was indeed the ocean.
“Where are we?” she asked.
Michael offered a smile, though his worry was still evident behind his eyes. “First time to Mexico, perhaps?”
“Not me,” Troy said, but he looked just as confused as her.
“Well this is Tulum, the site of ancient Aztec worship, I believe.”
Michael led the way down the path and past one of the mounds of ruins. Some of the stones were worn by wind or touch, others still showed off their carvings. She saw animals, a serpent here and a rooster there. Others were carvings of human faces.
“Aztecs, huh?” Troy looked at one of the carvings with fascination. “Weren’t they the ones that played a form of polo with human heads from their enemies?”
Michael replied with a glare.
“So….” Allie gulped. “Why are we here?”
Michael pointed at the pyramid-shaped temple. “Something tells me it has to do with that. If we’re where I think we are, then that temple was used to make an ancient calendar. The one people got all funny about in 2012, writing about the end of the world and whatnot. Trust me, when the world’s going to end, no one will know it.”
“That doesn’t exactly answer my question,” Allie said.
“The way the temple worked is a light would shine through a hole on the other side of the temple at a specific time of year. This let them set their calendar. Given the stories that they also used to practice human sacrifice here at this temple, I have a feeling we’ll find more than just a light for a calendar in there.”
The group made their way forward, then climbed the stone steps of the temple. Allie jumped at a slithering noise and nearly fell backwards down the steps, but she was relieved to see it was just a lizard. Another bonus if Daniel had been allowed to come along, she would have had someone here to keep her sane.
They entered the temple through a low entrance, just tall enough for her to walk through without having to crouch like the others. Large cut stones made up the walls, and nothing about the room struck Allie as particularly odd. It was a simple temple, old and in ruins, and for a moment Allie started to think they had come here for nothing.
Then her ring began to vibrate and glow, and she knew they were in for an adventure.
The sunlight shone through a rock at the far end of the temple, casting an eerie yet beautiful glow of orange and red across the stones of the room. The group stood there in awe for a moment.
“What now?” Troy asked.
Michael was looking around the room, and Allie realized what he was searching for. She followed the shaft of light and saw it was highlighting a stone on the wall. It couldn’t be that easy, she thought, but as she approached the stone she saw it glimmer and appear translucent.
“Over here,” she said.
She had experience with odd stones, and she pressed carefully on the sparkling stone, but nothing happened.
“Use the other hand,” Michael said.
She held up her ringed hand and saw that the ring was glowing brightly. As she moved it closer to the stone, it began to pull toward the rock like a magnet. When the ring touched the stone, the whole room shone like sunset amplified with mirrors, all the stones shining pink, orange, and red.
Allie turned to face Michael and Troy, then pulled back in fear. At least a dozen other faces stared back at her. They weren’t solid like Michael and Troy, and they wore old leather skins and loin cloths, and carried hatchets and daggers.
One let out a war cry and they attacked. Allie held up her hands, but they moved right through her, charging through a solid wall.
Michael studied the wall for a moment, then gestured for them to follow. He disappeared through the stones.
Troy shrugged with a look of queasiness. “Guess that means we have to go through, too?”
“Does it?” Allie asked, but Troy was already walking through, reaching back to pull her along.
They found themselves in a narrow tunnel that made Allie think of a secret passage in an ancient castle.
“Where are we?” Allie said as she followed closely behind Troy.
“The spirit world.” Michael held a finger to his mouth and then pointed left at a fork in the tunnel. “When we cross through passages, we find ourselves on another plane, one where anything is possible.”
“Like a girl summoning a giant of black wisps from thin air?” Allie asked, remembering her battle with Paulette.
“For example,” Michael said.
Before them, a warm glow highlighted the stones in lavender.
“We’re close,” Michael said, moving past Allie and Troy to lead the way.
“What exactly are we close to?” Allie asked, but when she turned the corner, she saw for herself.
The spirits had formed a barrier between her group and a large cavern. The walls arched to form a dome overhead, and nearby she could hear the waves of the ocean lapping against rock. Past the spirits, the small frame of a girl no bigger than Allie showed dark, the silhouette highlighted by the object beyond her—the object that was causing the glow.
Allie’s first thought was of Paulette, but the girl didn’t seem tall enough, and Paulette had been banished to the spirit realm—at least that’s how Principal Eisner had explained it. It didn’t matter anyway, because before Allie had a chance to look, the girl had taken the glowing object and concealed it within her jacket. Then, with a twisting of glowing light that engulfed her, the girl was gone.
“This can’t be good,” Troy said, as the spirits began their advance.
“We were too late,” Michael said. “Retreat!”
And then they ran.
Chapter 8: The Watchers
The weird excursion to Tulum left Allie full of questions. How could Michael have let someone else make off with the item? How had someone else happened upon it at the same time as them, just one step ahead?
She had told Daniel about it, in spite of Michael’s request that she keep this secret. He was her best friend now, and deserved to know.
“It couldn’t have been Paulette,” Allie insisted for what felt like the billionth time. “I would have known.”
“Fine,” Daniel agreed. “Then it looks like we have another girl our age turned bad guy…. Hey, wasn’t Paulette a Guardian?”
“Yeah.” Allie wasn’t sure she liked where he was going with this.
“So, doesn’t it follow that this girl could be a Guardian too? Or even one of the Bringers of Light? I mean, Samyaza has good reason to target those on the inside.”
“You want me to start questioning everyone in our training classes? How’ll that make me look?”
“Like a paranoid freak, I guess. Shouldn’t Michael and the rest of them be taking care of this?”
Allie sighed. “They say they are, but I haven’t seen any progress. It’s like they’re keeping me in the dark.”
“Well, let’s keep our heads about us,” Daniel said, then at a look from her he added, “I mean, let’s just keep training and stay focused.”
Allie nodded. She didn’t like it, but there didn’t seem to be any options.
***
Frost lined the locker room windows in sharp angles, like the web of a frustrated spider. Allie changed into her P.E. gear, thinking about how this school year was turning into a roller coaster of craziness. Her friends treated her like she had always belonged. Well, Daniel and Troy at least. Karen was always nice to her, but seemed withdrawn. And Brenda, well, she was still Brenda and wanted little to do with Allie.
Allie finished changing and walked through the doors to P.E. class, where she was welcomed by the scent of nutmeg and cinnamon. It took a moment before her mind registered the buffet before her. Three tables sat neatly on the ground floor, weighed down with piles of ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing. She had forgotten that Thanksgiving was next week.
“You’ve been doing well, first years,” Michael said. “It's time you were rewarded.”
Allie’s stomach growled with anticipation, and she darted straight for the pumpkin pie when Michael finished with his ‘be thankful’ speech. She figured the rest could come after she made sure to have plenty of the good stuff. Thanksgiving was perhaps her favorite holiday. Something about the rich buttery scent of the stuffing, or the way the cranberry sauce complements a juicy turkey.
“This is amazing,” Daniel said from beside her. He had a turkey leg in his hand, grease running down his chin.
“Much better than we’d get at home, huh?” Allie surveyed the food, wondering how she could cram as much as she could into herself and not feel guilty about it later. She supposed the training made up for it.
She looked around the room, and saw Gabe smiling back from one of the twelve chairs. Usually, the teachers only sat in those chairs when they observed training. But perhaps they made an exception for the holidays?
Allie finished her first piece of pie and decided it was time for mashed potatoes. A wooden bowl had some with leeks mixed in, and she spooned a pile on her plate. She ate a few bites, then saw the eighth graders piling into the training hall. Her eyes furtively met with Karen's. She was one of the only students that openly knew her secret, that she may be the Tenth Worthy. She hoped the others didn’t know.
For some reason, the eighth graders weren’t joining in the feast. Instead, they lined the training wall, observing.
Allie caught Brenda’s eye and nodded toward the walls.
“What’s this about?” she said.
Daniel joined them. “Think it’s something to worry about?”
Allie saw a bright flash wink from behind one of the eight graders. Something didn’t feel right. She scanned the seventh graders around the table. There were seven of them now that had been admitted, and all of them but Allie and Daniel were still around the table stuffing themselves. It was a test.
“Get a weapon,” she said.
She dropped her plate on the table, spilling food. But she didn’t care, she was running for the wall opposite the eighth graders. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Michael smile as he watched her, his hand raised. She looked back to see Daniel following, then Michael’s hand dropped. The eighth graders brandished weapons and roared in unison like a monstrous lion. Allie reached the far wall, prying a long spear from its hooks. She turned to see Daniel running back to the circle, two weapons in hand. She followed, and watched as a sword appeared through one boy’s chest. He wasn’t hurt, but Gabe was at his side yelling him out. The boy’s look of surprise turned to sorrow when he placed the food back on the table and waddled off to sit on the sidelines.
Daniel had reached Brenda and tossed her one of the spears. Allie joined them. They stood ready. Most of the eighth graders were dealing with the unarmed new kids, but six of them turned on Allie’s group.
“Hold tight,” she said.
“You do what you want,” Brenda said, “I’m getting out of here."
A large girl with short brown hair appeared to Allie’s left, and she saw two others flying through the air with push patterns. It was time to be tested. She heaved the spear to her left to block a strike from the large girl’s sword. The strike pushed Allie back. She attempted a roll, to get behind the girl and attack, but when she went to stand her stomach lurched—she had eaten too much.
The girl kicked Allie and then came down with the sword, but Daniel leapt in and whacked the sword from the girl’s hands. A hand spun him around and a blade fell through his neck. Allie shuddered at the thought of it actually cutting him, and watched as he exited the circle with a glance to her that said ‘sorry.’
That left Allie and Brenda alone. Allie found herself fighting off two eighth graders, and she saw Brenda giving four of them some trouble. She was small and nimble, dodging between attacks. She probably hadn’t eaten much, trying to stay skinny. (A bit too skinny, in Allie’s opinion.)
Allie swept one of her attacker’s legs into the air and struck the boy directly in the chest. She turned on the big girl, ready to take her out, but the big girl had regained her sword and charged Allie. Steel met oak, and Allie was pushed back. She resisted, but it was no good. The other girl was too strong. She tried to divert the girl's strength and use it against her, but by the time Allie had done so and then pulled her spear around to attack, the large girl had regained her foo
ting and struck.
The silver blade struck Allie on the side, and she could see the steel slice down and through her body. Gabe called her out.
“Over here, Allie,” Gabe said. She jogged over slowly, feeling the food in her belly swoosh with each step.
“That wasn’t fair,” she said to Daniel, who smiled and nodded.
“Ain’t over yet,” Daniel said, pointing to the circle.
Brenda was the only seventh grader left. She dodged between the tables, using food as a weapon, frustrating the eighth graders. Karen was attacking with five other students, while the rest of the eighth graders stood on the sidelines and watched. Brenda maneuvered a beautiful jumping pattern, flying into the sky and out of the way of a sword strike. She smiled at Daniel as she landed, turning to prepare to run again.
Karen lunged forward with her own jumping pattern and tackled Brenda's legs out from under her. She climbed up her body and knelt, sword raised, then brought it down fast into Brenda’s chest.
“Not bad,” Karen said, helping Brenda to her feet.
Brenda brushed off her shirt and sneered at Allie. “I suppose it wasn’t bad, considering I lasted longer than Allie, right? And isn’t she supposed to save the world or something?”
Allie froze. Everyone was staring at her. If they hadn’t known before, they did now. But who had told Brenda? Allie felt lightheaded. She would have to get to the bottom of this.
She waited until Gabe had finished explaining moderation, the problems with gluttony and how one should always be ready. When he was done, she ran over to Brenda and pulled her by the arm away from the rest.
“Ow,” Brenda said, resisting. “Stop that!”
“Shut up,” Allie said. “What were you talking about back there?”
“Everyone knows about you and this stupid Tenth Worthy business.”
“Well, they do now,” Allie said. “But that’s not what I mean. What were you saying about saving the world?”
Brenda smiled. “How do you think the Tenth Worthy is supposed to get this name, by just being a cool dude or dudette? No, according to the prophesies, the Tenth Worthy will cast the last vessels of evil from this planet. The fallen angels, the Watchers…. Doesn't any of this mean anything to you?”