by Justin Sloan
“NO!” Daniel put his hand on the hilt of his sword. “If you went out there and never came back, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”
“Don’t put your life at risk over pride or guilt, or whatever.”
“I’m not,” he insisted. “I’m putting my life at risk to be there if you need me. To save you if necessary, so that you can save the rest of us. All of us.” He glanced to his dad with a smile, and then looked down with a worried expression.
Allie knew he was thinking of Yuko, and also knew then that there was no stopping him.
“I’ll be glad to have you with me.” Allie turned to Principal Eisner. “Okay, how do we do this?”
“Your best bet is for me to open a portal to Brenda and Troy,” Principal Eisner said. “When you get close to them, you’ll see the way open up, as you did with Chris when you entered the plane to confront Samyaza. But, before you go…. Daniel, Allie will have to wear the armor to become The Tenth Worthy.”
“Leaving him unprotected?” Allie asked, appalled.
“You are the one chosen for this fight, and you must be the one to wear the armor to be victorious and fulfill your destiny.”
“He keeps the sword,” Allie said, with a look to Daniel.
“For now.” Principal Eisner’s brow creased with worry. “But when you get close to the breastplate, make sure you’re holding the sword, too, and wearing all the armor. Now, let’s get on with it.”
As she created a portal, Allie donned the armor. The helmet was surprisingly heavy, but when she put on the belt and the sandals she felt a new vigor. The shield too was heavy at first, but then it adjusted to her size and grip.
“Allie,” Daniel said, with a glance at the dark marks on her arm.
Allie shook her head and mouthed ‘no.’
Allie hugged both her parents, clinging extra tight to her dad and then kissing her mom on the cheek, and then stepped into the portal with Daniel close behind.
Chapter 8: Dream World
They stepped out into chaos. Buildings smoldered in ruins, and scattered fires sent black smoke into the night sky.
“Where do we start?” Daniel asked.
“This way,” Allie said as she started walking. She was sure they would come across Troy and Brenda, somehow. She hadn’t been able to tell Daniel, but when she saw Troy on the image at the school, knowing he’d been taken by the fallen angels, she’d been surprised by the depths of her fear. Maybe what Daniel had said before, about the way she looked at Troy… maybe it had some merit. Maybe she did care for him as more than a friend—like how Daniel seemed to care about Yuko. She wasn’t sure, but she was certainly sick of people around her getting hurt.
She looked for signs of nearby fighting, then turned to Daniel. The desperation in his eyes caused her to miss a step. She wasn’t used to such despair, not from him.
“About what you said back there,” Allie started, probing gently. “About saving all of us. I know how you feel about Yuko. It’s okay, you know.”
“I know.”
“You like her. It’s cool.”
“It makes me jealous of Chris, sometimes, is all.”
“He was Samyaza’s prisoner,” Allie said, confused. “What’s there to be jealous of?”
“No, I mean, now he gets to stay back and be a normal kid, right? He and Paulette have been hanging out a lot. I imagine it’s kind of nice, not having this responsibility on your shoulders.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She walked in silence for minute, eyes searching the collapsed buildings and a group of trees in the distance. Would she give it up if she could? Leave it all for someone else to figure out? But that would mean trusting her family’s fate to the competence of others.
“But don’t forget, if we fail, they’ll be either killed or enslaved, so….” Allie stopped, unsure.
“Better to have some influence on how it all goes down?” he said, eyes distant.
“Isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I suppose I get that. Though ignorance certainly has something going for it.”
Allie laughed. She had to agree there, and would almost give anything to go back to how it was when she had no idea this crazy spiritual war was going on.
“Look,” she said, pointing to a flutter of birds that burst into the sky.
They sprinted over, careful to avoid sparking power cables and maneuver around a pileup of cars. They reached a small park that was relatively untouched in the havoc, and came to a stop behind a short, granite wall to hide and get a good view.
Next to the swings, Michael was using his fiery sword to deflect blows from Troy, Brenda, and several Strayers. They had him pinned down, in part because he refused to strike Troy and Brenda.
Michael parried a strike from Brenda, then blocked a blow from Troy and shoved him back.
“Return to me, Troy!” Michael called, then moved aside as Brenda came back at him. “Brenda, you must fight it!”
From their hiding spot, Daniel looked at Allie with wide eyes. “Plan?”
“Let’s just try to help Michael, and not hurt Brenda and Troy.” Allie pulled the heavy helmet down over her brow and charged.
As they approached, the wind began to swirl up around them into an upside down tornado, pulling in trees and grass. It was much like how the ground had seemed to give way when they’d confronted Chris over the Sword of the Spirit. The Strayers braced themselves against the toys of the playground.
Troy turned on Allie with wild eyes and struck with his sword, but then something interesting happened. Allie felt the helmet pull her, gently, telling her to move to the left. Almost instinctively, she did—right out of the sword’s strike. But when Brenda came in with a kick and Allie ducked, again feeling the nudge of the helmet, she moved too slowly. Allie took the kick in her chest and went sprawling onto her back.
Daniel parried a strike from Troy and pushed him back. Then he turned as Brenda swung at him from behind.
“Look out!” Allie screamed as Troy started to rise to his feet. Daniel looked her direction, then sidestepped Troy just in time for the swirling vortex to pull Troy up and out of sight. Brenda charged, infuriated, but Allie rolled away from Brenda’s heel—prompted again by the helmet. She kicked Brenda in her stomach, knocking her off balance and into the portal as well.
“Go after them!” Michael said as he held off a wave of Strayers.
“What about you?” Daniel asked.
“I’ll keep the Strayers at bay, and ensure this place is safe for your return.” He held their gaze for a moment, then added, “And you must return.”
Allie felt a shiver run down her spine, but there was no time for fear. She leapt forward, into the portal.
Gusts of wind grabbed at her, pulling her up and spinning her in all directions, like a doll being flung around by a dog. Daniel appeared next to her and bumped into her side, and they held onto each other as they tumbled down, both too frightened to speak.
They hit the ground in a strange land. Wind flowed past them like colors in a painting, and tall grass brushed their cheeks like a gentle mist.
“We’re there,” said Allie. “In the mind-world that Principal Eisner was talking about.”
“Whose mind could this be?” Daniel asked.
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Allie said, standing unsteadily as her feet sank slightly into the ground. “It’s another plane, a place like a spiritual realm.”
“Yeah, okay,” Daniel said, still looking a little confused. “So, let’s start with figuring out where we go from here.”
They were in a valley, trees covering the surrounding hills and the curved roof of a temple visible halfway up one hill.
“To the temple?” Daniel asked, with a knowing look.
“Sounds better than wandering around the trees,” Allie said, already walking that direction.
As they climbed, the trees grew dense, the branches almost blocking out the sky. Rays of sunlight provided some visibility, but the woods were sti
ll gloomy. They made their way around a rock formation and up a steep path, using ferns and tree roots to pull themselves up. Then a shadow passed overhead, and Allie and Daniel shared a worried glance.
“In the normal world, I would say it’s a bird….” Allie said.
“Maybe an eagle?”
“Actually….” Allie’s heart raced at the idea of putting her spirit animal to good use again.
“Can you summon in this place?”
“Only one way to find out.” She closed her eyes and focused, moving her hands in front of her body in a pattern that first formed a body and then spread out like wings.
A burst of warmth came over her, and a moment later the screech of her eagle sounded from above.
“What’s it see?” Daniel asked, eyes wide with excitement.
“Wait,” she said. “I have to focus on it.”
But before she could finish the thought, another screech came from above, followed by a loud howl. They heard a rustling of leaves, and then a large shadow loomed over Allie and Daniel.
“Move!” she shouted, diving to push Daniel out of the way and grateful again for the helmet’s helpful nudges.
With a crash, her eagle slammed a winged beast into the ground, skidding to a stop at a nearby tree. The beast’s head cracked against the tree trunk and sent a spray of pinecones down on it.
The eagle hopped back, looking at Allie triumphantly.
“Um, thanks,” Allie said, brushing off pine needles and dirt.
“That was awesome!” Daniel said, approaching the eagle. He craned his neck at the large bird. “You give her a name yet?”
“Should I?” Allie looked at the eagle, and it cocked its head as if waiting. “I guess that makes sense, us being linked and all.”
She closed her eyes and felt a warm breeze flow over her.
“Trellon,” a voice whispered in the back of her head, and when she said it out loud, the eagle nodded as if in a bow.
“Sure coulda used Trellon when we were fighting Samyaza,” Daniel said.
Trollon gave Daniel a narrowed look, spreading his wings, and Allie understood why.
“In a fortress like that?” she said. “He wouldn’t have been able to do so well, with the enclosed walls and all.”
“Good point. Anyway, I wish Guardians could summon spirit animals like that.” He nodded to the eagle in respect, and then bent down next to the fallen beast with a whistle. “You gotta see this.”
Allie had been keeping her distance, but her curiosity won out. “Okay, Trellon,” she said, patting the eagle’s wing, “be ready in case something happens.”
The beast on the ground had a wolf’s body and large wings with hooks, like those of a bat. The fact that Trellon had taken it down gave Allie an immense appreciation for the eagle.
“So, this isn’t Kansas?” Daniel said. “Is that how the saying goes?”
“Close enough,” Allie said. “Though I still don’t get how you can be such a history buff and know so little about real culture. Can’t even get that quote right.”
“Right,” he teased back. “I know plenty of what matters, though. Let’s get moving before more of those things find us.”
Allie sent her eagle into the sky to be on lookout, and the two continued to the temple. Each step reminded Allie how little rest they’d had since the war broke out. She still hadn’t recuperated from the Mt. Fuji climb, and she hoped that the oily feeling in her hair would wash out—if she ever had the chance to take a shower.
“What was that?” Daniel said, spinning around and eying the trees.
“Where?” Allie’s stomach jumped.
“Wait, it’s gone. I guess. I’m sure I saw something….”
Allie pushed forward, trying not to give in to her growing anxiety.
They stopped for a rest, and she noticed long, curving marks in the ground. They were everywhere, crisscrossing and forming patterns, moving in a circle, closer and closer, as if closing in on its prey.
Like a snake, Allie thought.
“Snakes,” Daniel said, echoing her thought.
“No way.” Allie knelt and put her hand in one of the shallow ditches. It was at least three hands across, two deep. “That would be….” She couldn’t even think it, and closed her eyes with a shudder.
“This isn’t our world,” Daniel reminded her. “Anything’s possible.”
Allie stood and pulled the helmet down firmly on her head, then made sure the sandals were on tight. If things got dicey, she wanted to be ready. They started walking again, and she noticed that Daniel had his hand on his sword. She wasn’t sure if it should worry or comfort her.
When they were within a few hundred feet from the temple, Allie suggested they stop for a break. Her neck was starting to ache from the helmet, and while the sandals made her move fast when she wanted, this slow march made her feet ache.
“How did you wear this armor all the time?” she asked, turning her head and rubbing her neck.
“I’m just a manly man,” Daniel said. He glanced down at the sword and the belt he wore. “You know I can help, if you need it. I mean you don’t have to always be wearing it.”
She considered the offer, but knew she had a responsibility. “No, Principal Eisner wanted me to train in it, and be prepared.”
Daniel nodded, then turned and looked back at the way they had come. “You see this?”
When Allie stood beside him, her jaw nearly dropped. Now that they were on higher ground, they could see what had been hidden from below. Beneath a sky of swirling colors, she could just make out the tops of pyramids like she’d seen in books on Egypt, peeking out from behind a hill. Past those, on another hill higher even than the pyramids, stood an ancient temple of marble that Allie imagined they would find in Greece. Above it all and past the temple, mountains rose into the sky, a swirling cloud of dark gray at the highest peak.
“I’m kinda glad we didn’t head that way first,” Daniel said.
She nodded, and for a long while neither could move. When they started walking again, Daniel kept looking back at the pyramids, eyes full of curiosity.
“My dad used to read me stories about Egypt,” he said. “Stories about the sun god, adventures with mummies and cool stuff like that.”
“Cool’s a relative term there.”
“No, no way. I mean, yeah it’s not cool in the risk-your-life-by-driving-a-motorcycle kind of way, but in the ‘it’s freaken awesome’ way. Not debatable.”
“Okay….” She meant to ignore the topic, but after a few beats of silence she asked, “What exactly?”
“Oh man.” He grinned, won over with the question. “You want to talk about nerdy awesomeness. You know the stuff about Ra’s Al Gul in Batman, with the Lazurus Pits and how he could regenerate and lived for centuries, but later in the comics they tried to use the power to bring someone back to life in the body of another girl? Just like in that On Stranger Tides book, with the pirates trying to resurrect people. That stuff?”
“Dude, do I look like I’d know all that?”
“Yeah, well, Egypt had it going on way before those writers.”
“And you like those kind of stories?” she asked. “I mean, that’s what gets you excited?”
“How could it not?”
“It’s just so….”
“Unrealistic?” He laughed, motioning around them. “Look at us, Allie. Tell me what’s realistic and not, please. Because I have a hard time understanding the difference lately.”
He had a point there, and she nodded, giving the moment to him.
“What about you?” he said. “What floats your boat?”
They reached the entrance to the temple and paused, looking into light glow of flickering candles. On both sides of the door stood large wooden warriors carved in flowing stances, each with an imposing spear. She brushed her fingers across one of them, making sure it was wood and not about to come alive, and then turned back to Daniel.
“Me?” She thought back to
her brother’s Dungeons and Dragons stuff, and all the awesome ‘80s movies her dad had made her watch until she loved them as much as he did. But at this moment only one answer came to her.
“Curious George.”
“What? No, I don’t mean when you were a kid.”
“Me neither.” She shrugged, refusing to be ashamed of it. “I don’t know, I remember watching it with my brother when we were both real small, and I loved that. It was just… special. So sometimes, when I’m not feeling so spiffy, I’ll throw on a little Curious George until I feel better.”
“That’s kinda sweet.” Daniel took the first step into the temple, waiting for her to follow. “If I run into Mr. Curious in here, I’ll let you know.”
“Hardy har.”
“Hey, in this place, you never know.”
She looked back with a nervous glance at the trench-like marks in the ground, then followed him into the dim light of the temple. She somehow doubted they would meet Curious George in there.
Chapter 9: The Temple
A gentle orange light highlighted paper shoji-screen walls. Allie wanted to turn and run after one look at the dark corners and multiple passages ahead, but she pushed forward. It was entirely possible that either Troy or Brenda would be held here, if not both of them.
Her footsteps creaked on the tatami mat floors. A few steps in, they came to a stop at several sliding paper doors. Allie hesitated.
“What do you think?” Allie asked.
“Always the middle door,” Daniel said.
Allie scoffed. “Not if you played D&D with my brother… that door always got you killed.”
“So…. Left then?”
She felt a nudge from her helmet. Looking at Daniel, she shook her head and opened the door on the right. Inside was another dark hallway, which they followed until they found a large chamber. A scuffling sound behind them made Allie turn.
“Did you see that?” she whispered.
Daniel stopped walking. “No,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing there.”
She looked around nervously, and they continued on, past the room and into what seemed to be an outdoor courtyard. They sky was dark, which was strange, since it had still been light outside when they’d entered.