Forever Young (The Forever Land Chronicles)

by Sawyer Bennett

  I looked at Davis briefly and he frowned at the comment but didn't say anything. I internally said a peace prayer in an effort to stop myself from punching Payton. I just smiled nicely at her and suggested we go find a place to talk. She rolled her eyes, I think a little disappointed I didn't take her bait. We ended up sitting in the common room of our dormitory and tried to hash out a plan.

  Payton immediately started running the show. "First, I think we need to appoint someone to be in charge. Every group needs a leader and I hereby nominate myself."

  Oh, this was going to be torture.

  Davis cleared his throat and I was surprised he spoke up. "Well, I kinda want to nominate Charlie. She's the best in our class when it comes to weapons and hand-to-hand combat."

  Payton gave him a tolerant look. "That may be true, but she positively sucks when it comes to magic. And I do excel at that. Plus, I nominated myself first."

  I went ahead and just put ourselves out of our misery from having to battle this issue out.

  "It's fine for Payton to be in charge. I'm actually looking forward to whatever brilliant plan she comes up with." I said that last remark with enough sarcasm, no one would ever mistake it for being genuine. Payton just smiled and continued on.

  "Good. Now that we have that settled, I think this is the way it should work..."

  Payton proceeded to talk for the next thirty-five minutes...non-stop! I don't even think she took a breath. I had to grudgingly admit, however, that she was no dummy. She clearly had been paying attention in our classes on battle strategy. She appointed me as lead person when we entered the battle field. If I had not been as well versed in strategy as I was, I might have assumed she wanted me to be the first to walk into danger in the hopes I'd get killed. But it was a good decision. I was the best with melee weapons and would be best suited to deal with a front-on physical attack.

  She decided Davis would go next, to bring more brawn to the fight. Then she would bring up the rear, given her ability to cast spells was better than both me and Davis combined. She would be able to protect our rear if we were surprised from behind.

  It was unlikely we would be faced with more than one daimon. Even though we were going into actual battle, the circumstances were as controlled as possible. Just like with the actual field trials, a daimon would be captured for us to hunt. Each team would battle only one daimon, and our goal was to try to dispatch it as a team as quickly as possible. The chances of us stumbling onto other daimons were low, as the area we would be working in was well scouted and then cleared in advance.

  We had been given some information on the daimon we would be tracking. Payton pulled out a document that had been handed to us and read it out loud. It appeared we were being given an Ossius daimon. It was not an overly large creature—about the size of a large man. In its true form it appeared having yellowish, rubbery skin with blood red eyes. It thrived on chaos and was a Class A troublemaker in the First Dimension. We would need to be careful because in addition to brute strength, it apparently could produce bony daggers from the palms of its hands which could then be fired as a projectile at us.

  Once Payton read that information to us, I immediately noted her plan of attack would not work. But before I could correct her, she piped up. "Well, my original plan will clearly not work. Since it can shoot projectiles at us, I'll have to be the first to go in with my magic. Unless we can disable those daggers, we won't be able to get in close enough for a kill."

  I did not like Payton. Couldn't stand her actually. But I had to admit my respect for her went up maybe from zero to one-half of a percent. She clearly had not been sleeping during our classes and she was not afraid to go in first to a dangerous situation. I swallowed the bile in my mouth.

  "Those are really good thoughts, Payton. I think we have a plan."

  Payton looked at me with surprise and I thought that she might actually thank me for the compliment. But then her icy veneer was quickly back in place. "Of course it's a good plan. I came up with it."

  Typical.

  We wrapped up our planning meeting and confirmed that we would meet Sarah at the elevator to travel to the First Dimension at 9:00pm. That was our scheduled start time.

  I left my teammates and headed to the cafeteria to meet Justas and Emerson for lunch. When I got there, I was surprised to find Dane sitting with them. After getting my food and joining them at the table, I looked over and saw Payton with her friends. She looked over at me with a snotty look. She didn't seem to look at Dane at all.

  "So, what's the deal with you and Payton? Trouble in paradise?"

  "I broke it off with her a few days ago." Dane's voice was subdued.

  "Why?" I think I knew the answer, but I asked it anyway.

  "Same old reasons. I'm just tired of the way she treats people. It's very draining."

  I didn't know what to say. How could I console him for him breaking up with someone that was just a horrid person most of the time? Well, all of the time as far as I knew.

  Before I could come up with something, Emerson reached out and touched Dane's arm lightly. "I'm sorry, Dane. I know that must be hard." Her voice was gentle and compassionate.

  My dear, wonderful Emerson. She had not really warmed up too much to Dane because of his association with Payton but here she was giving him comfort.

  "Thanks, Emerson. That means a lot. I'll be okay though." He gave a sad smile and went back to attacking his cheeseburger.

  Justas threw a tater tot at me that hit me in the forehead and landed in my mac and cheese.

  "So, how did your meeting with your teammates go today?"

  I glared at him but didn't retaliate. Picking up his tater tot, I plopped it in my mouth and chewed. "It actually went fine. Payton, of course, appointed herself boss."

  I watched as Dane rolled his eyes but he didn't say anything.

  "And you let her be the boss?" Emerson was staring at me in amazement.

  "It was easier not to rock the boat. Plus, I hate to say this and I will deny it if you ever tell anyone, but she's actually pretty smart when it comes to battle planning."

  Emerson just gaped at me and I laughed. I know she thought I was joking but when I didn't correct her assumption, her jaw hung even lower.

  Justas broke her astonished stare by throwing a tater tot at her. It pinged off of her forehead and in a stroke of luck, landed in my mac and cheese. Score two tots for me.

  After lunch, I had the rest of the afternoon off and there was only one place I wanted to be. Taking to the air, I flew to the north end of the island, touching down in Caiden's yard. His wall panels were open, meaning he was home. I walked in, calling out his name.

  The bathroom door opened and Caiden walked out, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. My mouth went dry and my cheeks heated. His chiseled body was glistening with drops of water and I ran my eyes all over him. When my gaze came back up to his face, I found him smirking at me for my bold perusal.

  "Better turn around, Charlie or you're going to get an eyeful."

  He reached for the corner of his towel as he said that and I whipped around so fast I was surprised I didn't throw my neck out of joint. I heard him drop the towel to the floor and my imagination was on overload. Then I heard his dresser drawer open and close and my imagination started into overdrive. Within a few seconds, Caiden stepped up behind me, fully clothed, and wrapped his arms around my waist. He put his nose into my neck and took in a deep breath.

  "God, you smell so good." His voice was low and his words caused me to tremble.

  Nibbling lightly on my neck, Caiden murmured, "How did your meeting go?"

  I bit down on my bottom lip—hard—to stop from groaning. Now what was his question? Oh, the meeting. "It was fine. I think we have a good plan of attack."

  With a final warm kiss to my neck, Caiden released me and walked out onto his porch. I followed. He took a seat on the top step and I sat on the one below him, leaning back into his knees. We both stared out over the l
agoon.

  Leaning forward to put his arms around me, he rested his chin on top of my head. "What type of daimon did you pull?"

  "An Ossius daimon."

  Caiden whistled low. "Sarah's not pulling any punches. She gave your team one of the more dangerous daimons to face."

  I grimaced. "Why am I not surprised Sarah would give me something hard?"

  Caiden squeezed me in reassurance. "It doesn't matter what Sarah throws your way, you can handle anything. I have faith in you."

  My heart fluttered at his words. Caiden truly believed in me. He saw something in me that I couldn't see at times. It made me realize I needed to look harder and trust in myself. Through Caiden's trust in my abilities, my confidence suddenly skyrocketed upwards. I was ready for tonight.

  Chapter 23

  Davis, Payton and I met outside of our dormitory and flew together to the south side of the island where we were scheduled to meet Sarah. She was standing by the elevator, looking as if we were half an hour late, when in fact, we were a few minutes early.

  She looked each of us over, taking in our combat attire. I was wearing a pair of black utility pants that had plenty of pockets and loops to carry my gear. Said gear included a mini flashlight, a switchblade and a GPS tracker. Oh, and my trusty iPhone...in case I got a chance to text someone. I chose a light long-sleeved black sweater with leather patches at the elbows and shoulders for added protection. And because they looked bad-ass, I wore a pair of lug sole combat boots that would go a long ways toward bashing in a daimon's head. I had a battle axe strapped across my back in a leather harness. It was a fairly plain looking weapon and belonged to the school. We would not get our own weapons until after we passed the actual field trial.

  While Davis was dressed similarly to me, Payton chose to make more of a fashion statement. She had on skin tight, black leather pants with a black leather jacket. Her black leather boots were sleek and had a slight heel. How in the world did she plan to run in those things? Her weapon was a thin rapier, belted to her hip. I doubted it would do much against scaly demon skin but she was our magical expert so it probably didn't matter. I whistled in appreciation when I saw Davis had strapped to his broad shoulders a scimitar that looked like it would cut the Statue of Liberty in half. He gave me a cocky grin and a wink when he saw me admiring it.

  Sarah turned from us and punched the elevator door button. "Well, you recruits at least dressed the part. Let's see if you actually have some skills to back up your costumes."

  I looked at Davis who just rolled his eyes at me. This was going to be a pleasant evening.

  As we made our way to our battle location, Sarah filled us in with more information. We knew we would be battling an Ossius daimon but I was surprised it would be within closed quarters. Apparently, we would be using an old abandoned warehouse in Hunts Point. The area was filled with dilapidated old buildings that would give us privacy but as an added measure, Sarah would be providing a warding spell to keep other people away from the area.

  Our physical appearances were glamoured as we rode the subway. Using our harnessed magic, we changed our appearances just enough so no one would freak out over our battle gear and weapons. While I didn't expect much of a pep talk from Sarah, I did expect her to be a bit more involved. So far, she had not even asked about our battle plan or offered us any advice. So be it. We didn't need her.

  When we made it to Hunts Point, I noted the streets were eerily quiet. The night air was cool and crisp. While I missed the warm tropical breezes of Semper Terra, I felt the chill in the air made it easier to fight. I felt clear headed and strangely confident.

  The building that housed the Ossius daimon was not overly large. It was two stories and made of brick. Large windows ran the length of the building on the top floor. A side doorway had a large chain and padlock on it and I'm assuming they locked the Ossius daimon in there some time prior to our arrival. I wondered if it knew we were coming.

  Sarah produced a key and removed the lock. Davis and I pulled our weapons and Payton kept hers sheathed. With both hands free, she could launch two spells at a time. Davis and Payton looked confident which was a bonus. I don't know what I would have done if I had to deal with nerves from my teammates. Mine were surprisingly, and thankfully, calm.

  Without even so much as a "good luck", Sarah opened the door and motioned us in. She followed us in and shut the door. I watched as she moved off to the side and melted into the shadows, presumably to watch our performance. It was then that I noticed that she had not even brought a weapon. Maybe she was confident enough in us that she didn't think we needed help.

  Payton looked at Davis and me, and we nodded to her that we were ready. She crept forward lightly with Davis and I fanned out behind her. We all looked left and right, searching for our target. The interior of the warehouse was mostly bare with the exception of some rows of crates stacked at least fifteen feet high toward the east side of the building.

  Looking up, I noted that there was not a second floor as I had originally assumed from my outside perusal but just an incredibly high ceiling studded with steel beams. There was a loft area that ran along the west side of the building and a staircase to reach it. On the loft floor, I saw smaller crates stacked about six feet high.

  I touched Payton on the shoulder and she glanced back at me. I pointed to the stacks of crates on the floor as well as the ones in the loft, indicating that is most likely where the Ossius was hiding. She nodded her understanding and started heading toward the staircase. I silently applauded her decision to let us clear that area first. If we searched the stacks of crates on the floor and the Ossius was in the loft area, it would have a bird's eye view to pick us off with its projectile daggers.

  Payton silently climbed the stairs, her palms facing toward the loft so she could launch a magical strike if needed. Davis and I followed but we kept our eyes trained on the warehouse floor, in particular the large stacks of crates. The Ossius could easily attack while we navigated the staircase upwards.

  The warehouse didn't have any internal lights but the windows around the top were so large, they let in enough ambient light from the sulphurous street lamps that we could see where we were going. The problem was it threw large, dark shadows around the crates, helping to hide a potentially lurking daimon.

  We made it up the staircase without incident. We silently crept behind Payton as she made her way around the stacks. Every corner we turned, my heart would jump in anticipation of a battle. But it never came. After carefully navigating our way around the entire loft, we determined the Ossius was not there. Payton pointed back to the staircase and we started our way down.

  The Ossius had to be among the rows of large crates on the opposite side of the building. There would clearly be no surprise now either, as it was a good bet the Ossius knew we were inside. We inched along the length of the wall, using the shadows there to hide our advance.

  As we approached the crates, Payton stopped and raised her right hand for us to do the same. She cocked her head to the side, as if listening for something and I saw her body slightly stiffen. I went on high alert and mentally braced myself. I could feel the tension coming off of Davis behind me.

  Then I heard it. A slight shuffling noise from deep within the stacks. The daimon was in there and it was waiting for us to come in. It would be highly dangerous, hunting the daimon in those dark aisles. Then without any warning, Payton flicked her right wrist which she still had held in the air and up shot a silver ball of light. It arced in the air and hung still over crates, casting a luminescent glow all around. My breath caught and we waited to see what happened. The Ossius issued a snarl from deep within the rows of boxes and suddenly, wood was exploding all over the place as the daimon crashed through the crates straight at us.

  Payton let out a startled yelp and brought her hands up to cast another spell. The daimon had frightening speed though and back handed her across the face, sending her flying into the wall. I watched in horror as she crumpled to
the floor like a wet noodle.

  My battle axe was already in hand and as the Ossius' red eyes turned toward me, I let it fly. My aim was true but with inhuman speed, the Ossius turned to the side and my axe whizzed by, sticking in a wooden post. With impressive speed of my own, I didn't even wait to see the axe hit, but launched a weighted spell that was the equivalent of an atomic punch, right to the daimon's stomach.

  As with any good team effort, Davis was running toward the daimon on the heels of my spell. When the daimon doubled over from the blow it took to its stomach, I watched as Davis changed his scimitar from his right hand into his left, and drilled an upper cut into the monster's chin. The force lifted the Ossius off its feet and propelled it backward into the pile of wood rubble it had just crashed through. The dark creature lay motionless but I could see it was still breathing.

  Davis stood over the daimon with his scimitar drawn. I rushed over to Payton and as I reached her, she started to sit up. She had a trickle of blood running down her chin but her eyes looked clear. I reached a hand down and helped her up.

  "Want the killing blow?" I asked her. I glanced back at Davis who nodded in agreement.

  Her eyebrows shot up in surprise but her look was wary.

  "I don't deserve it. I was knocked flat on my ass while you two managed to take the daimon down in just a few seconds."

  "Yeah, well, your light spell flushed him out and prevented us from getting ambushed. Which is exactly what would have happened if we had to walk among those crates. Plus, I figure you were first in harm's way since you were the leader."

  "Come on, Payton," Davis encouraged her. "Get over here and lop this thing's head off."

  Payton glanced back and forth between Davis and me. I know she thought we were pulling her leg, so I gave her a push toward the Ossius.

  "Do it. Before the damn thing wakes up."

  Payton pulled out her rapier but I stopped her. "Better use something a little more heavy duty."