Still, he was used to Brianna now. He liked to hear her tell stories. She read a lot, and she could make up her own stories about anything. Once, Levi asked her to tell him a story about a blade of grass, and she spouted off an epic adventure about a blade of grass that managed to avoid the lawn mower in all sorts of crazy ways. Brianna made him smile. Even if she was way too bossy.
“What do you think it is?” Levi asked her. He knew she’d have an opinion. She always did.
“It’s called an Alef. It’s kind of like the letter A, except in a different language.”
“How did you know that?”
“Grandpa Tony gave me this old book awhile ago—it has that same symbol on the cover. I used to read the book all the time. I asked Grandpa what the symbol meant and he told me: A for Ahoratos.”
Ahoratos! It was the same word Levi heard in his dreams. Such a strange name, it couldn’t be a coincidence. But she pronounced it A-HOR-a-tos, which sounded different from how he’d heard it: A-hor-A-tos. It was close enough. And, besides, her version was probably right anyway.
“What is it—Ahoratos?” Levi asked.
“It’s the name of the kingdom in the book.”
“Well, I never read that book. So why am I dreaming about it?”
“Maybe you did read it and you just don’t remember. Or maybe I told you about it.”
That was possible, Levi thought. Bean talked nonstop, and he didn’t always listen.
“Briaaaaannnna! Where are you?” Shrieky girl voices emanated from inside the Rec. “You’re supposed to be helping us!”
“I gotta go in,” Brianna said, jumping up from the bench with a huge sigh. “They can’t do a thing without me.” She looked longingly out at the field, where a game of kickball had just started. She let out a breath and gave Levi a little shove. “Come on. Help us decorate for the dance party. We need someone tall to hang streamers.”
“I don’t do decorating, Bean. That’s girl stuff. I’m going to skate some.”
Her face clouded like she was deeply hurt. But honestly, he couldn’t be seen hanging around with her so much, especially doing things like decorating.
“Fine. Be that way.” She spun around and stalked off in a gigantic huff. He shrugged, stuffed his sketchpad in his backpack, grabbed his helmet and skateboard, and headed out to the skate park.
Mr. J. Ar and a few of the other dads had built the skate park next to the Rec so that kids would have a safe place to skate. It had ledges and ramps, a quarter pipe, and even a fun box, which was a big box with a bunch of ramps attached to it. A dozen kids were skating, practicing their ollies and kick flips. Most stopped to high-five Levi as he pumped over to his friends Jeff, Logan, and Mikey at the mini ramp.
“’Bout time,” Jeff said. “Too busy talking to your girlfriend?”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Levi said, annoyed. He bent down to check the laces on his brand-new Vans. Black high-tops, with a gold swag on the side. He kind of wanted the other kids to notice them. He was always particular about his shoes, but these were the coolest he’d ever owned. He wasn’t supposed to wear them—his mom didn’t want him getting them scuffed up before school started—but he needed to break them in. Besides, they were just too awesome not to wear.
The skaters took turns on the quarter pipe, working on their kick turns and nose slides. Levi was about to do a run on the fun box when he heard commotion from inside the Rec. Noisy laughter and shouting. The other kids stopped riding and looked in that direction too.
“What’s going on in there?” asked Mikey.
“Let’s go see,” said Levi. The skaters left their boards and hurried into the building. Levi went in first to see Brianna and the girls, still holding party decorations, huddled against the wall. Some of them looked scared, but some were laughing. He caught Brianna’s eye—she was furious.
In the center of the room stood four big, menacing boys. They were laughing like hyenas at a white shape writhing around on the floor. It took Levi a few seconds to realize it was a kid—completely wrapped up in toilet paper.
“Look! It’s a mummy!”
Levi glimpsed a pair of thick red glasses and a knot of dark hair peeking out from the paper wrapping. He sighed. Manuel. That dorky smart kid. He was always getting picked on.
Levi heard his skateboarder friends laughing along with the rest. Brianna glared at them, frowning. The main bully, whose name was Landon, bent over to speak to Manuel in a taunting, falsetto voice.
“He’s crying! I think he misses his mummy!”
More raucous laughter. It was a cruel joke—Landon probably didn’t even know that Manuel’s mom died a year ago. Or maybe he did, and that’s why he said it. He was just that mean. Manuel flailed on the floor, trying to free himself from the wrappings.
“Man, look at that baby,” said Jeff, nudging Levi. “I think he’s gonna start crying.”
“Cut that out!” Brianna marched up to Landon and his crew with her fists balled up, all eighty pounds of her ready to explode. The bullies only laughed louder. Levi moved toward her, wanting to get her out of their line of fire. She brushed him off.
“Mind your own business, princess,” Landon sneered, pushing her out of the way. Brianna almost fell, and Levi quelled an impulse to go and help her. She’d just be mad at him for treating her like some fragile doll. Brianna straightened, one hand going up to check that her headband was still in place.
The four boys continued to taunt Manuel, saying, “Hey, what’s the matter, kid? Walk much?” and other stuff like that. Manuel stumbled around, trying to stand up.
Brianna stalked over to Levi, her brown eyes pulsing with fury. “You’ve got to help him!” she whispered hoarsely. Levi took a breath—what could he do anyway? He felt sorry for the kid, but he wasn’t about to get a bloody nose over it, not in front of his friends.
Just then the office door flew open and Mary Stanton, the college student, burst in—a phone in one hand, a Starbucks cup in the other.
“What’s going on here?” she demanded, clearly annoyed at being interrupted from her important texting. She took one look at Manuel and let out a gasp. “What are you kids doing?”
“Nothin’, Miss Stanton,” said Landon with mock innocence, trying to keep a straight face. The boys behind him continued to snicker. They didn’t take the college student very seriously—she was certainly no match for four hefty boys.
“You need to get your dad!” Brianna hissed to Levi. “Miss Stanton can’t handle this herself.”
Brianna was right, and Levi knew it. Only Mr. J. Ar could deal with these boys.
Levi was about to turn and run out the door when something caught his eye. A flash, there and gone again, above Landon’s head. Levi blinked, wondering what he was seeing. Before he could dismiss it, there it was again, a golden object a few inches wide, turning slowly in midair, catching the light. Then he realized what it was: the same symbol he had dreamed about nearly every night. The one he’d tried to draw earlier. Everything around him—the boys, the girls, the room—dimmed slightly in comparison to this amazing, incredible sight. It seemed to have its own spotlight. As he stared, his eyes glazed over, kind of like the way they did when he watched TV for too long.
“What’s the matter with you?” Brianna asked, punching him on the shoulder.
“Can’t you see it?” Levi muttered, pointing to the thing over Landon’s head.
“See what?”
Brianna turned in the direction he was looking, and when she caught her breath, Levi knew she could see it too. He was secretly relieved. Glad to know he wasn’t just making all this up in his head.
They both stared in silence, ignoring the commotion around them. There it was—that symbol. A for Ahoratos. Hovering in the air, shimmering as if bathed in some celestial light all its own. Yet no one else seemed aware of it. Only Levi and Brianna.
Levi’s dad burst in. “What’s going on in here?” His deep voice echoed through the room, jolting the duo out of their trance. The bullies backed off, and the laughter stopped. Big, barrel-chested Mr. J. Ar commanded everyone’s attention.
He went over to help Manuel to his feet. Mary Stanton rushed in as well, eager to help now that the danger was averted for the moment.
“You okay, son?” Mr. J. Ar asked.
Manuel nodded, apparently too shaken up to speak. Mr. J. Ar handed him over to Miss Stanton, who helped unravel him enough for him to walk with her toward the office.
Mr. J. Ar’s ferocious eyes turned to the four bullies. Levi got a little chill. He knew what it was like to have those eyes stare down at him when he’d done something wrong. His dad’s eyes could be full of kindness, but push the wrong buttons and they’d bore a hole into your soul.
“Hey, we didn’t hurt him.” Landon looked defiantly into those intimidating eyes. He didn’t seem to be afraid of Mr. J. Ar at all. That kid was braver—or dumber—than Levi thought.
“You boys go on home now.” Mr. J. Ar didn’t raise his voice—he didn’t have to.
Landon held that iron-hard gaze a moment longer, then let out a laugh and sauntered toward the door, trailed by his friends. “Just having fun,” he muttered as he went. The symbol went too, hovering over Landon’s head, bigger and more real than ever.
“We need to get that thing!” Brianna whispered, pulling Levi toward the door.
“No, Bean, you’re crazy.” But he went anyway, still curious about the strange symbol and also nervous that Brianna might try to confront those boys again. She still needed protection, even if she didn’t think so.
When they got outside the door, they saw that Landon had stopped at the water fountain for a drink. The symbol hovered over his head, still turning slowly, still glowing.
“Now’s our chance! While he’s not looking!” Brianna whispered. The other boys had continued walking, so Landon was alone for the moment.
“I’ll do it,” Levi said, stepping in front of her. “He’ll just knock you flat.” He’ll probably knock me flat, too, but at least I can take it better. He casually walked to where Landon was bent over the fountain, acting as if he was just going to stand in line for a drink. Then, he reached above Landon’s head toward the rotating object.
At that exact moment Landon straightened, knocking into Levi’s arm. The kid whirled on him, his big face reddening.
“Hey, idiot! What’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” Levi said, smoothing his hand over his hair casually. “I just . . . saw this giant bug about to land on your head, so I was swatting it away.”
“A bug?” Landon suddenly looked worried.
“Yeah, one of those big black things—what do you call them?”
“It was a black-horned Wolfwinger,” Brianna said, in her I’m-way-smarter-than-you voice. “Also known as the Lupinas Ala . . . Maribunta. The worst kind. A stinger the size of a ballpoint pen. Usually they aim for the eyes, to shoot poison right into your brain.”
Landon’s eyes grew big, then small again. “You’re just making that up,” he said.
“Am not,” Brianna retorted, perfectly serious. “Can’t believe you’ve never seen one before. It’s Maribunta season right now. Didn’t you read the poster inside describing what to do in the event of a Maribunta bite?”
Levi tried to hide his grin. Brianna loved to tell stories. And apparently Landon believed her.
“What—?” Landon started. Then he waved her away, dismissing the idea. “No way—”
Levi shouted. “There it is again! Duck!”
Levi and Brianna faked a duck, but Landon went down almost to the concrete, covering his whole head in fear. This was the moment Levi was waiting for. He grabbed for the symbol. It was real all right, solid like stone, which surprised him because it looked transparent. See-through. He didn’t have much time to think about it, though, because there was a strange, irresistible pulling sensation, as if he were being sucked up into the sky. Bean had grabbed his elbow, so she felt it too. She gasped. It seemed as though the whole world around them was spinning, twisting into a vortex, like water going down a drain. Levi had an impulse to let go, make it all stop, but he found he couldn’t. Maybe he didn’t really want to. It was scary—but he had to know what was going to happen next. The world around him was spinning so fast he couldn’t catch his breath. He held tight to the weird A thing, Brianna clinging to his other arm.
“Leviiiiiiiii!” He could hear her voice, but it sounded far away, caught up in the wind. Everything—the Rec, the grass, the trees, Landon—swirled together in a maze of color and then disappeared altogether.
* * *
Landon peeked out from under his arms, searching for the horrible bugs with the deadly stingers. He didn’t see any bugs, and he also didn’t see those two kids either. Where’d they go? Ran away, he thought. Although he’d only been down there for a couple seconds. Strange. Either way, they were gone now. Scaredy cats. Made up that stupid story about big bugs. Maybe. Probably. Yeah. As if that would scare him. He straightened, glancing around to make sure no one had seen him crouched on the ground. He stuck out his chest and strode away. Next time he saw those two kids, he’d get ’em back for that.
* * *
Levi and Brianna stood together, staring around them in wonder. They couldn’t see the weird letter A anymore. They couldn’t see anything, for that matter.
“Where are we?” Brianna said.
“I have no idea,” Levi answered. He looked around, trying to get his bearings. As far as he could see, there was nothing but white sand and red sky.
CHAPTER THREE
Imagining Dragons
Dinner was quiet. Evan didn’t want to talk to anyone. He couldn’t even look at his brother. Right after dinner he went to his room and did some major sulking. He’d been sent to bed early. No basketball at the Rec. For something that wasn’t even his fault. Well, it wasn’t all his fault anyway.
He picked up a book he’d been reading, one his dad had given him for Christmas last year. He hadn’t really liked it at first because it seemed like an old book, and usually he found old books pretty boring. But this book wasn’t boring at all. It was about a fierce warrior (who was also a prince, of course) who lived in a place called Ahoratos, a beautiful land of giant castles and tall mountains and fanciful creatures that were sometimes a little frightening. It was a good story, with lots of battles and sword fighting, which was perfect because these were the only kinds of stories Evan really liked to read. The Prince Warrior was constantly having to save his kingdom from these awful dragons who kept attacking and burning down his villages with their fire breath and stealing all the people’s gold. Sometimes the Prince Warrior had to rescue the princesses, who were always getting themselves in one mess or another. Evan didn’t really care much for that part.
He went to the closet and pulled out his pretend armor. He didn’t want his big brother to know he still played with it. He put on the breastplate, the belt, the helmet. They were only plastic, and they were getting way too small for him. Plus they were old-fashioned. He wished he could get a newer, cooler set, like from Star Wars or Thor, but he wouldn’t dare ask for that. Xavier would just make fun of him—even though Evan knew for a fact that Xavier still had the cape from a Batman costume he wore to a party in the sixth grade.
Evan picked up the wooden sword and shield—his grandpa had made them for him when Evan was six. The shield had his initial, E, emblazoned in gold right in the middle. He swung the sword while he danced around the room, fighting the imaginary dragon that had started to look an awful lot like his brother. Xavier the dragon! Evan the Prince Warrior! The Prince Warrior always won.
Prince Warrior: 1,116,437
Dragon: 0
Finally he got tired. He shoved the armor under his bed
with all the other stuff he never bothered to put away and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He heard the door slam downstairs. Xavier was home from basketball. Evan quickly finished in the bathroom and went into his room to put on his pajamas, shutting the door tight. At least they didn’t have to share a room anymore, the way they used to in their apartment in the city.
He crawled into bed with his book and flashlight to read under the covers. He could hear his brother using the bathroom and getting ready for bed. Clean the toothpaste out of the sink, he thought. Xavier never cleaned the sink. It was disgusting.
He waited for Xavier to come into his room, to tease him about missing basketball, about being afraid to jump off the dock, about, well . . . anything. There always seemed to be an excuse for Xavier to barge in and torment him. But nothing happened. Evan was sort of disappointed. Maybe Xavier didn’t even think about him enough to come in and tease him anymore.
When the door finally did open, it was Mom who came in. Evan quickly switched off the flashlight and hid the book under the covers.
“Feeling any better?” she asked, sitting down beside him on the bed. She reached under the covers and pulled the book and flashlight out. She laid them on top of the covers next to Evan’s pillow. She wasn’t mad. Just wanted him to know that she knew. Always did. She definitely has eyes in the back of her head, Evan thought.
She waited for his answer to her question. Evan was in no mood for a Mom Talk. He looked away and pulled the covers up to his chin. He heard her sigh.
“Evan, I know you were mad at your brother, but you need to find some way to deal with it other than fighting. These skirmishes have to stop.”
“What’s a skirmish?”
“It’s like a battle, only shorter. Evan, do you get what I’m saying?”
Evan didn’t answer. He tried to turn over, but she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, forcing him to look at her.
The Prince Warriors Page 2