Midnight Law

by Geanna Culbertson

  “Magical blessing.” Kai rolled her eyes. The ground thudded and the monster roared. We looked out from our hiding place and discovered he had freed his second foot. Kai lit up with silver energy, as did a few nearby boulders. She launched them at the monster, causing him to stagger.

  “Anything else this magic blessing says?” she replied curtly, hiding with me again.

  “I am supposed to use the power of the sword in some way to seriously weaken the creature. He will regenerate eventually, but a good blow with this will take him down.”

  “So go stab it then. I recommend the eyes.”

  “That is what the warrior women said.”

  I sighed. I could not believe I actually had to go and gruesomely stab a living creature. I stowed my slingshot. “Okay, here I go. Cover me.”

  I raced from the safety of our cover. Kai popped back up and launched a few more rocks at the grand demon as I got closer to him. I paused and drew Mulan’s sword, prepared to force myself to do something that was supposed to be right but felt so wrong.

  Then, looking at the sword glinting orange light in my hand, I knew.

  What Kai and the other warrior women would have done was not my kind of move, so why should I make it? Yunru, Crisa, Daniel, Mauvrey—they wanted me to be my own kind of hero. And for the first time, I realized I wanted the same thing.

  “Mauvrey! Kai!” I called, stowing my slingshot. “Hang on to something.” I had to weaken this monster with this sword, but the how was my call.

  I had a plan that combined the familiar with the new to create something uniquely me. I drew a potion from my sack—the indigo orb that caused earthquakes. Xēshēng lifted a foot to take a step toward me, arm outstretched. When he planted that foot I knew he would be within reach of grabbing me. So before that could happen, I smashed the portable potion against the sword hilt—gripping the hilt tightly with both gloves—then stabbed the sword into the ground with all my strength.

  I cried out as the earthquake potion released. Feeding off the magical essence imbued into Mulan’s blade, my potion’s effects were more powerful than ever before.

  Though the whole cavern vibrated, rippling waves of glittering golden energy burst from the blade and toward Xēshēng alone. The concentrated force targeted the demon as if the sword knew what I wanted and was more than happy to oblige.

  I hung on to the hilt tightly as the energy blasted Xēshēng—pummeling him and forcing him to keep stumbling back until he finally collapsed to the ground, unmoving. I swear that every rock in the vicinity bounced off the ground when he hit the floor. Then the earthquake power stopped.

  I breathed heavily, still clutching the sword. Xēshēng’s body suddenly grew hazy, and then he faded away and vanished. I released my grip and took a few dazed steps forward.

  I had done it. I could not believe I had actually done it. Wait—scratch that. I could completely believe it! And I did it as me.

  I did not require the help of other heroes. I did not have to do things by their playbook. I did this by being my own kind of hero.

  My heart swelled with pride. I no longer needed to fear trying new things, but I also did not need to feel ashamed of using old ways. I had achieved this outcome by blending familiar with unfamiliar and old with new. Everything could work in synchronicity. Everything could work because it was me. I respected that now. I respected who I was, who I had been, and who I could be with genuinely no doubt for the first time ever.

  “SJ!” Mauvrey called from the other side of the cavern. “Great job!”

  “Thanks! You too!” I called back.

  No more Núcái entered the cavern. Dozens of them littered the floor, having been dealt with one way or another. Xēshēng was vanquished—now we just had to get out of here.

  “I have to admit,” Kai said, pulling Mulan’s sword from the ground and looking it over. “That was impressive, SJ.”

  She rotated the hilt to pass me the weapon. I reached out and took it from her.

  “Thank you, Kai, I—”

  I paused, noticing something on Kai’s hand. Was it the lighting of the cavern? Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

  “SJ, what’s wrong?” Kai asked.

  I grabbed Kai’s hand and raised it up for a closer look. There was a freckle on the knuckles, exactly where Mauvrey’s Magic Mite was on hers.

  “SJ, what the heck?” Kai shook me off roughly.

  “What is that on your hand?” I asked.

  “What?” she asked.

  “That spot.”

  Kai glanced at her hand, face showing a hint of panic before smoothing back into annoyance. “It’s a freckle, SJ. Get over it. We have a mountain to escape.”

  She headed for the center of the cavern where Mauvrey waited for us.

  “Everyone hop on a dead Núcái together,” Kai said. “Whatever cobwebs I had on my powers have been shaken loose now, but launching all those rocks took a lot out of me and levitating one owl body will be easier than our three separate ones.”

  She stopped and glanced over her shoulder at me. “You coming?”

  I was in shock, but I could not do anything about my suspicions now. I re-sheathed Mulan’s sword and jogged to catch up. Kai glowed with silver energy and so did the winged creature she had selected. Mauvrey and I sat behind Kai, mounting the Núcái like one would a very large, feathery horse.

  Kai used her magic to lift us through the hole in the ceiling and up through the pit. When we emerged, she continued to control the Núcái carcass and we rode it to the exit. I stared at the back of Kai’s head as we flew, Mauvrey separating us.

  “Surprisingly tense silence considering we just triumphed over a bunch of demons,” Mauvrey commented with a tentative laugh.

  “I’ve been in a cave prison since last night,” Kai said flatly. “You’ll excuse me if I am not feeling super peppy.”

  Mauvrey did not say anything after that. I kept quiet too. My head swam with too much information, too many questions, and too many doubts.

  Sunlight broke against our faces and we exited the mountain. Ray and Whisper stood at attention where we had left them. Kai released her magical hold on the Núcái and we disembarked.

  “Would you like to ride back with me, Kai?” Mauvrey offered.

  “Sure,” Kai said. “And seriously—my present lack of peppiness aside—thank you both for saving me. I am sorry if my initial reaction was not grateful when you first appeared. It’s just that I really expected my boyfriend to save me. Also, honestly, I didn’t think the two of you were capable of that.”

  “Appearances can be deceiving,” I said lightly, turning away to mount my Bixie.

  Kai sat behind Mauvrey on the Tianlu’s saddle, and we flew into the afternoon sky. It had lost some of its shine. My mind was blank and blurred as I kept studying Kai as she and Mauvrey flew ahead of me.

  When the Mount Aborra school came into view, the warriors outside saw us coming and rang lively bells. What looked like the whole student body poured into the garden and cheered, gathering around the statues of Mulan and Princess Xianniang, which Ray and Whisper landed beside.

  “Congratulations!” Yunru said, coming over to us.

  Daniel broke through the crowd. His eyes enlivened with such joy and pride that for a moment, I forgot the dark discovery I had made. He raced forward and reached Kai as she disembarked Whisper.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said, hugging her tightly. She closed her eyes and hugged him back.

  Mauvrey jumped off the Tianlu and came to stand beside me. She elbowed me in the arm lightly. “We did good. It makes me happy to see them together.”

  Daniel ended his embrace with Kai surprisingly quickly. Then, even more unexpectedly, he strode over to me, picked me up in a huge hug, and spun me around in a circle. It was dizzying, but endearing.

  “Thank you,” he said. He set me down then put one arm around my shoulders and the other around Mauvrey’s. “You both are amazing.”

  He gesture
d for Kai, who looked shocked that Daniel had both ended their reunion so rapidly and was casually touching other girls in such a buddy-buddy manner. I guess he did not see anything wrong with that.

  Kai put on a slightly too large smile and stiffly joined the group hug. I pulled out a moment later, uncomfortable being this close to her. I grabbed Mauvrey by the hand and marched toward Nian Zhen. When we stood before her, I took off Mulan’s sword sheath and knelt on one knee, bowing my head and presenting the blade to her.

  “Thank you for the honor of allowing me to use it.”

  “Thank you for using it honorably,” Nian Zhen replied. At that, she bowed deeply and all the other warriors did too. Daniel followed, as did Kai obligatorily. Mauvrey and I gazed around at the great show of respect. Then I noticed the glowing green portal among the trees.

  “The Midnight Law portal!”

  Everyone rose and Daniel came over to me.

  “Yeah, it actually opened while you were still away, about thirty minutes ago.”

  “But why?”

  “Midnight Law challenges do not simply test the hero who enacted the enchantment,” Yunru reminded us. “The purpose of the challenges is to teach a lesson. This flame was about respect. Daniel learning the facets of fully respecting the two of you as heroes was part of that, along with respecting certain traditions and rules set out by others. But I imagine, based on the timing of the portal, that you ladies learning to respect yourselves completely was a part of the lesson as well. Not to mention the most crucial aspect of respect in a relationship that you all learned together.”

  “What is that?” Daniel and I asked in unison.

  Yunru smiled. “It’s not all about you.”

  rowing up, I had never been a great swimmer; my kingdom was forest and farm-focused land with very few lakes to practice in. Though that’s not something you admit to the mermaid princess who has been helping you, the mermaid-descended family from Bermuda who took you in, or your friends when you’re at the bottom of an underwater abyss for the second time.

  I was grateful that we had passed the Midnight Law test so we could move on from this place. Considering that the Sea Witch almost killed us, I was also grateful to be alive. Embarrassed, but still alive.

  I’d felt a lot less useful than normal since the beginning of this aquatic-themed quest. I had lost my voice. Blue nearly got murdered in Bermuda while I had been sleeping. And a moment ago I had been shrunk to the size of a doll. I’d been training for years to be a hero, and I’d be dead right now if not for Girtha’s emotional maturity. I was as impressed and in awe of her as I was ashamed for myself.

  I’d get over that last part, though. The embarrassment was less about me feeling weak and more about me not seeming strong in Blue’s eyes. That was a petty, insecure thing to worry about, what with everything going on and I needed to focus.

  My eye wandered to Blue, her blonde hair floating around her in the natural breath of the water. My heart inadvertently sped up.

  Dang it.

  “Are you sure about this?” Blue asked Humilde.

  “Yes. No more spells. No more deals.” Humilde handed Arabeth the Book of Speech Spells.

  Arabeth concentrated on it. After a second, bubbles started to appear around the book. Arabeth set it loose and the text floated in front of her, consumed in an embrace of boiling water. The magic book contorted, shriveled, and soon was completely destroyed. Arabeth released her magic hold and the shreds of the book drifted down into the abyss.

  “My mother still has the Blank Book and other potions texts,” Humilde warned. “I hope you do not mind that I let her go. I could not let her destroy you, but I also do not have it in me to destroy her. With my pledge to protect the Mer cities, she’ll stay down here and can only harm those who seek her out for enchanted deals like before. Though since no one but us knows she is alive, hopefully she won’t get visitors any time soon.”

  “We understand,” Chance said. “I don’t like that a villain is in possession of a powerful spell book, but if it only works when people willingly sign deals with her, then I guess it’s fine.”

  “On a more triumphant note,” Lonna said, turning to Girtha, “you are a hero, Girtha, and I owe you my life. Thank you.”

  Although Girtha didn’t typically display emotions like bashfulness and timidity, when Lonna complimented her, Girtha rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and smiled.

  “That’s the first time anyone’s called me that.”

  “It won’t be the last,” Chance said.

  “Agreed.” I nodded.

  I was exceptionally proud of Girtha, and I really liked how this story with Humilde had played out. I always believed people should work harder to understand each other, and that if they did, the world would run smoother. At the core, the Sea Witches’ problems with the Mer royal family were no different than the commons’ beef with the protagonists. Honestly, I was pretty sure that was the foundation of a lot of societal conflicts.

  Group A feels slighted and wronged. Group B doesn’t do anything to address the issues directly. Group A builds resentment against Group B, believing that because of mistakes in the past, the future can’t be any better. The rift grows between the groups until the world is left with a scar as deep as this abyss—so deep, old, and overwhelming that nobody wants to even bother delving down into it.

  Blue activated her Hole Tracker. The glowing green holographic display lit up her face as she scrolled through the time settings. “Michael, Arabeth, it looks like the next black hole in Mer will occur in two hours. The taffy I gave you will definitely last, but that’s like two days of Earth time. Your parents are going to be ticked off.”

  “We’ll call and explain,” Michael said. “Chance gave them his Mark Two in case we needed to communicate.”

  I turned to the prince and he shrugged. “Magic tech may not do well on Earth, but based on last night it looks like a call can last a couple minutes. That’s enough time to reassure a worried family. In case the next black hole wasn’t immediate, I thought it’d be nice to have a plan for notifying Ashlyn and Donnie.”

  “That’s really considerate,” Blue said, sounding surprised.

  “I have a Hole Tracker and will guide you to the black hole when the time comes,” Lonna said. “Speaking of the time coming . . .” She gestured at the glowing green tear in the dimension that floated nearby. It was time for us to continue our quest.

  “Here, take this,” Girtha said to Lonna. She pulled the Mark Two from her pocket and gave it to the mermaid. “These things may not work in other dimensions, but water hasn’t destroyed them yet, so give us a call sometime. That goes for you too, Humilde. I never get tired of hearing my own voice.” She smiled. Humilde did too.

  We said our final goodbyes and thank yous, Lonna gave out a few hugs, and we finally approached the green portal.

  “I’ll go first this time,” I said. I took a deep breath, floated forward, and plunged through. The change was instant and abrupt. Water became air, and I fell several feet before landing flat on my stomach in the dirt.

  Ugh. That hurt.

  The trajectory I’d swam through combined with the angle of the portal caused me to eat it on this—where was I?

  I got to my hands and knees as I glanced around. I’d landed on a forested slope. The light was dim gray. At the bottom of the hill a river snaked through boulders. Just then I realized something and scrambled to my feet. When the others came through, they were also going to—

  “Whoa!”

  I didn’t get out of the way in time. Blue flew through the portal and rammed into me, causing us to roll down the hill together in a tangled mess. After a few seconds we came to a stop. We both grimaced as we lay there and absorbed the shock. Blue was on top of me. I looked up at her. The hood of her cloak hung down by the side of her face, and twigs and leaves stuck out of her hair. She seemed disoriented, but then she met my eyes. We stared at each other.

  Then Girtha came through the port
al with a woomph.

  Blue hastily pushed to her feet and scampered away from me, back up the slope. Girtha rolled to the side and managed to get out of the way before Chance came through and face-planted in the dirt as well.

  “Graceful, prince charming,” Blue said with a touch of meanness in her voice as Chance stood and wiped himself off.

  “Yes, and I’m sure you landed with the poise of a lady,” Chance replied. “Those leaves in your hair are just accessories.”

  Blue roughly ran her fingers through her hair with a slight pout. I eyed her. While I was glad she had put aside her bitterness toward Chance and Girtha during our adventures in Mer and Bermuda, I worried that without ever talking to them openly, the negative feelings she carried would only simmer until they boiled over. That was bad for her and bad for our quest, especially if the boiling point happened when we needed to work as a team.

  “Well, there’s our flame trail,” Girtha announced, pointing downhill to a hazy stream of emerald light that stood out in the bleak gray world. It wormed its way through the trees to the left. “Where are we this time?”

  I operated my Hole Tracker and my face sank. “We’re in Alderon.”

  “I’m sorry?” Blue repeated.

  I angled my wrist to show them the map. Everyone’s faces sank.

  It was five o’ clock in the morning and we were deep behind enemy lines—dropped in the middle of a mountainous region in the land of people and monsters that wanted to kill us. All antagonists and dangerous, bloodthirsty creatures that had ever been caught were imprisoned in this kingdom. Additionally, any offspring they had grew up imprisoned here thanks to the In and Out Spell surrounding Alderon that kept anyone from leaving. A combination of both categories had created more volatile enemies like Queen Nadia, Arian, Tara, and so forth who were plotting against our entire realm.

  Now we were on their home turf. Terrific.

  “Everyone on your guard,” I said, powering down the device. “Let’s move quickly.”

  The green light trail guided us through the forest and eventually along the river. Given that this was a land of evil beings, I was surprised by the wide variety of wildflowers growing along the banks. It was as if a rainbow had licked the dirt and nourished the soil with color. Conversely, the trees and the ground were abundant in crisp, brown leaves due to the changing fall weather.