The Prince Warriors and the Swords of Rhema

by Priscilla Shirer

  The girls sauntered away. Neither of them invited Levi to come along.

  Levi watched them walk off, anger churning in his stomach. Why wouldn’t anyone listen to him? He needed more to go on. Proof that Viktor was no good.

  Mr. J. Ar emerged from the center, a basketball under his arm and his whistle around his neck. Levi ran over to him.

  “Dad, can you give me a ride to Manuel’s house?”

  “Not right now, I’ve got a game going,” said Mr. J. Ar. “Maybe in an hour, okay?”

  Levi’s shoulders slumped. “Okay.”

  Mr. J. Ar headed off to the basketball court.

  Levi took out his phone and texted Manuel.

  Watch out for Viktor. He may be a prowling wolf.

  And he hit SEND.

  CHAPTER 19

  Questions

  Manuel opened his front door to find Viktor standing there, a backpack slung over one shoulder.

  “Hey! Thanks for letting me come over.”

  “I wasn’t sure you were coming. How did you know where I lived?”

  “Oh, I asked Miss Stanton.” He brushed past Manuel and went into the house. “I like your house. Your parents home?”

  “My dad is in his study. He doesn’t like to be disturbed.” Manuel shut the door quickly, startled that Viktor would just walk into the house uninvited. He caught up and waved an arm toward the kitchen. “This way.” He noticed that Viktor was staring at the study door very intently. As if he could see right through it. Manuel shook the thought away. That was ridiculous. “Are you coming?”

  Viktor suddenly turned to him, like he’d been in a trance. “Oh, sure—aren’t we going to your room?”

  “I thought there’d be more room in the kitchen.”

  “Well, we might disturb your dad if we’re right down the hall. Wouldn’t want to do that.”

  “You’re right, I suppose,” Manuel said. “Okay, we can go upstairs.” Viktor turned on his heels and sped up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Manuel hurried to follow him.

  They spent the next hour in Manuel’s room, discussing the parts of the atom. Manuel explained about protons and neutrons and electrons and their various functions in the atom, although he sensed Viktor was not really listening. He looked around the room a lot, interrupting Manuel to ask about all the stuff he saw on the shelves. When he came across the Prince Warrior book, he pulled it down from the shelf and opened it.

  “I’ve got one of these,” he said, flipping through the pages. “So you’ve been there, right? To Ahoratos. Don’t worry. The girls told me you were a Prince Warrior.”

  “Er . . . ummm . . . yes.” Perhaps we should get back to studying—”

  “Oh, man,” Viktor said, staring at a page in the book. “This is bad.”

  “What’s bad?”

  “This chapter,” Viktor said, pushing the science textbook aside to show Manuel a page of the book, where a Prince Warrior had pierced a black dragon with his sword. The dragon lay on its side, the sword embedded in its belly, behind its front leg. “This can’t happen. The Prince Warrior can’t pierce the black dragon’s armored hide with the sword. At least not enough to kill it.”

  “Really? So you’re saying this chapter is wrong?”

  “Well, not totally. Just exaggerated, I guess. Kind of like a . . . fairy tale.”

  Fairy tale. The same words his father had used to describe the book.

  “So how does one defeat the black dragon then?” Manuel asked, leaning in.

  “Oh, it’s actually impossible.”

  Manuel thought about this. He remembered how Tannyn had been pierced and fallen to his death—perhaps it was true. The black dragon could not be defeated. Manuel felt a shiver run down his spine.

  “Here, if you want I can take this book home and fix it for you,” said Viktor. “I can compare it to my copy and make the changes. There’s not that many. Want me to?”

  Manuel looked at the book and then back at Viktor. He was about to say yes when he thought of his father’s book, all the changes his father had made. And how those changes might have rendered the book powerless to charge the Krÿs. It could be that Viktor was right about the dragons, but Manuel would have to investigate for himself first. He gently pulled the book out of Viktor’s grasp.

  “I’ll think about it,” he said.

  “Okay, sure, no problem,” said Viktor. He glanced at the clock by Manuel’s bed. “Oh, look at the time, gotta go!” Viktor grabbed his backpack and headed for the door. “See you in school, Manuel! Thanks a lot for your help!”

  After Viktor left, Manuel sat alone in his room, pouring over the Prince Warrior book. He had always thought this book was just a storybook, until he learned that it was how the swords were empowered. That had made it seem more significant. After all, so much of what happened to the Prince Warrior in the book had actually happened to him, in Ahoratos. But now Viktor was saying it was full of mistakes. And he seemed to know about these things.

  He closed the book, feeling disturbed by this thought. Then he saw that Viktor’s science textbook was still on the desk. Viktor had left it behind.

  Great, Manuel thought. Now I’ll have to lug that to school with me on Monday, along with my own books. . . .

  “Manuel!” Mr. Santos’s sharp voice from downstairs interrupted his thoughts. Manuel jumped up and rushed to the top of the stairs.

  “What is it, Papá?”

  “I must go! Will you be okay by yourself for a short time?”

  “Yes, but—what’s the matter?”

  “A drill has been found! They want me to go and look at it, to make sure it is suitable. I will be back soon!” Mr. Santos flew out the door, slamming it behind him.

  Manuel walked slowly down the stairs. He looked out the window beside the door, watching his father pull out of the driveway. Then he turned to the study door, which hung open. He took a breath and went in.

  His father’s study was even more cluttered than Manuel’s room. Open books lay on top of each other in big piles on the desk and the floor. Manuel sorted through the room, searching for his father’s Prince Warrior book. It had to be here somewhere.

  Finally, under the desk he found an old briefcase. It was dusty, except for fingerprints on the clasp, indicating it had been recently opened. But the briefcase was locked with a four number combination lock.

  Manuel thought about what the combination might be. He tried his birthday and his father’s birthday. Didn’t work. Then he tried his mother’s birthday: 0-4-2-1. The case clicked open.

  Inside was the book. The cover seemed to have faded, so that the Crest was hardly visible at all. He opened it and went to the page with the sword and the black dragon. He gasped.

  On the last page of that chapter a Prince Warrior lay on the ground dead, a large dragon thorn piercing his chest, right through his armor.

  Manuel shut the book quickly, sweat breaking out on his forehead. Could it be true? Was it possible that the armor wasn’t as strong a protection as he thought?

  Suddenly the window of the study blew open, letting in a blast of wind that sent the books and papers flying in all directions, crashing against walls, knocking down pictures. A storm? A tornado? There haven’t been any reports about tornadoes, Manuel thought, covering his head as books and rocks from his father’s collection hurtled toward him like missiles. He lay flat on the floor and tried to crawl toward the window, but the force of the wind was so great and the flying debris so dense he couldn’t get anywhere near. So he lay still, keeping his arms over his head to protect himself. Wish I had my helmet, he thought.

  And then it stopped. As quickly as it had started. All was quiet.

  Manuel raised his head then got to his feet. He stepped over the piles of debris to look out the window. Everything seemed calm, bathed in a late afternoon sun.

&n
bsp; But the study was in shambles. Manuel closed the window, wondering how he was ever going to set it all back where it was. It had been messy before, but he was certain his father knew exactly where everything was. Now even Mr. Santos would have trouble finding what he was looking for in this chaos.

  Manuel sighed, put the Prince Warrior book back in the briefcase, and tucked it under the desk. He tried picking up rocks and papers and books, but gave up, knowing it was hopeless. He’d just have to explain to his father that the storm or whatever it was had blown open the window.

  He left the study and saw that all the doors and windows of the house were also open. He searched the whole downstairs, shutting windows and doors and checking to make sure there was no damage. Everything looked fine. Nothing out of place. The only room that seemed to have been disturbed was his father’s study. Manuel frowned at this. It was very odd.

  He went back up to his room and stood in the doorway, his mouth dropping open. The window was open, all his favorite weird plants smashed on the floor. The desk had been completely cleared of everything. His books, his geodes, all of his favorite stuff had been knocked off the shelves and strewn all over the floor.

  How was it that only his room and his father’s study had been disturbed by the wind? Manuel bent down to pick up his plants, to salvage what he could. His poor Venus flytrap lay in a splatter of dirt and broken glass. It would be okay, but he’d need to find it a new pot. He picked up his books and started putting them back on their shelves.

  That’s when he realized: his Prince Warrior book wasn’t there at all. It was gone.

  “My sword!” Manuel said aloud. For his sword, which had been implanted in the back of the book on the sword page, was now gone too.

  CHAPTER 20

  Devouring

  Brianna and Ivy sat on the front porch of Brianna’s house, watching Star play on the front lawn. Brianna threw a tennis ball, and Star raced after it as fast as her little legs could go. She grabbed the ball before it even stopped moving but then refused to bring it back to the girls. She stood, holding it in her mouth, wagging her tail, expecting one of them to come and get it.

  “She doesn’t play this game very well, does she?” Ivy observed.

  “Definitely not a retriever,” Brianna sighed.

  The girls looked up when they heard the hum of bicycle wheels. Brianna saw that it was Viktor riding a bike down the street.

  “Viktor!” she called out, jumping up and waving. “Hey!”

  Viktor stopped his bike and looked up, an expression of surprise on his face.

  “Oh, hey,” he said, smiling.

  “Do you live in this neighborhood?” The two girls got up and crossed the lawn to the sidewalk. Viktor put one foot up on the curb to keep his balance. He leaned back, one hand on the handlebars.

  “Uh . . . no . . . I was just passing through. Funny I should run into you.”

  Star began barking and growling, tearing around in circles.

  “Star! Stop that!” Brianna looked sheepishly at Viktor. “She’s just a puppy. Still in training. Would you—like some hot chocolate? Nana Lily’s hot chocolate is famous around here.”

  “Uh . . .” Viktor glanced up at the house. “Sure . . . but are your parents home? I mean, I wouldn’t want to intrude if they were.”

  “I live with my grandparents. And my three annoying sisters. Grandpa Tony’s not home—he’s at the hardware store. Nana Lily told him to fix the faucet or there would be no dinner.” Brianna laughed. “So he’s going to fix the faucet.”

  “Oh, well, hot chocolate sounds great,” Viktor said, getting off his bike and laying it down on the lawn. He followed the girls up to the porch, while Star continued to prance around him, growling and barking. “I’ll just wait out here.” He sat down on the top step, ignoring the dog. Brianna went in to get him a cup. Ivy sat down next to him. He rubbed his hands together, as if he were cold.

  “It’s getting chilly,” he said.

  “Yep. Winter’s coming. Although it never gets really cold here. Where are you from?”

  “Up north.”

  “Then winter will be a piece of cake for you.” Ivy smiled. “You like it here?”

  “Haven’t been here long enough to say. But everyone’s been real nice.”

  “That was cool watching you skateboard with Levi the other day. Pretty smooth for your first try.”

  “Yeah. I pick things up fast.”

  Brianna returned with a cup of hot chocolate and sat down on the other side of Viktor. “So,” she said, “when’s the last time you were there?”

  “There?”

  “You know. Ahoratos.”

  “Oh. Not long ago.” Viktor sipped the chocolate.

  “Did you get the sword?” Ivy asked.

  “I got that a long time ago.”

  “Really?” Brianna was impressed. “So did you open your locked room too?”

  “Sure. Wasn’t that awesome?”

  “No, it definitely was not awesome,” said Ivy. “It was empty.”

  “Oh, right—it is, the first time.”

  Brianna straightened. “The first time?”

  “Yeah, Ruwach loves to test his Warriors. The first time the rooms look empty. But the second time, you’ll see, the rooms are really full of incredible stuff—all sorts of new weapons and cool treasures and fancy armor. Wait till you see the new breastplate. So much better than that white triangle thing you have to wear.” He paused, glancing at their awed expressions. “Oops. Maybe I’m not supposed to tell you that.”

  “How long do we have to wait?” Ivy asked, eager to hear more.

  “Oh, I don’t know, could be awhile. But . . .” He paused, glancing at Ivy with narrowed eyes. “If you really wanted to see, I could probably get you there.”

  “You mean, go to Ahoratos? Without being called?” asked Brianna.

  Viktor nodded. “I do it all the time.”

  “Can you show us?” asked Ivy. “Please?”

  “Sure,” Viktor said. “It’s the least I can do for this awesome hot chocolate.”

  “No, wait,” said Brianna. “Mr. J. Ar said we needed to figure it out for ourselves. If you tell us, it would be like cheating.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. Ruwach told me it was okay.”

  “He did?”

  “Yeah. He told me I should tell anyone who asked. Look, Ruwach knows things are pretty crazy here, with these pods and all, and you need extra help. And you are definitely going to need the stuff in those rooms to deal with the pods, once they get opened.”

  “Oh, so Manuel must have told you about the drill,” said Ivy.

  “What? Oh, yeah, sure,” said Viktor. He stood up. “If we’re going to do this, we need to go somewhere we won’t be seen. Could freak people out, if they saw us disappear.”

  “Right. How about the side of the house?” Brianna said. “There aren’t any windows.”

  “Perfect.”

  Brianna led Viktor and Ivy around to the side of the house, where Nana Lily had her vegetable garden. A white fence separated the property from the house next door. A large chestnut tree blocked the view from the street. Viktor looked up at the houses on both sides to make sure they weren’t being watched. When he was satisfied, he turned to the girls.

  “Watch this.” Viktor stood legs apart and raised his arms in a V shape, his fingers splayed. He took a deep breath and brought his hands together in front of him, his fingers closing tightly. From between his closed fingers there came something like an electric spark that made the girls jump and Star bark madly. The spark became a bolt that shot out and hit an invisible wall in front of him, spreading up and down, like a gash in the middle of the air. The girls gasped as they saw the gash begin to widen into a dark doorway rimmed in brilliant light.

  “There!” Viktor said with a gasping
breath. “Run through! Now!”

  “Where’s the Crest?” asked Brianna. “There should be a Crest—”

  “Better hurry! Can’t hold it long!” Viktor said, straining with all his might—or so it seemed.

  “Let’s go, Bri!” Ivy jumped into the portal and disappeared. Brianna still looked uncertain.

  “It’s going to close in a second!” Viktor said. “Don’t leave your friend all alone!”

  “Are you coming too?”

  “Right behind you!”

  Brianna bit her lip and ran through the portal. Star barked crazily as Viktor spread his arms apart, sealing the portal, with the two girls inside. He glanced down at the barking dog and smiled. He picked her up, holding her so he was looking right into her little face. She growled menacingly.

  “Sorry, Star,” he said. “Your owner won’t be back for a while. Maybe forever.”

  * * *

  Brianna and Ivy looked around. They were in the Centrum, the main room of the Cave. Ruwach wasn’t anywhere around, but since he wasn’t expecting them, they didn’t think much of that. Nor did they take note that they were still wearing their earth clothes, and they did not have on their armor.

  “We made it!” said Brianna. “We’re really here. Viktor wasn’t kidding.”

  “Where is he? I thought he was coming too,” Ivy said.

  “He said he was. Maybe he’s already in the Hall of Armor, waiting for us.”

  “Oh, yeah, maybe.” Ivy glanced around at all the tunnels. “Which way is the Hall of Armor?”

  “I have no idea,” said Brianna.

  Just then one of the tunnels lit up purple.

  “There!” said Ivy, pointing. “There it is! All lit up for us. Let’s go.”

  The two girls dashed into the purple tunnel and followed it through many twists and turns until they came to the Hall of Armor. Their own armor was there on the wall, next to their doors. But Viktor was not there.

  “Maybe he couldn’t come,” said Ivy. “Maybe someone saw him and he had to close the portal.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” Brianna murmured. “Look, the doors are already open. That’s weird.”