Behind the Curtain

by Shannon Ainslie

  Granny merged between worlds with a simple wink.

  Rowdy felt the air of solemnity among the group. The training days were coming to an end, and danger loomed ahead of them, quickly approaching. There was no turning back. They were changing. They were about to be challenged.

  “Hold the words of your oath in your heart, Jordyn, and listen. Be still and listen.”

  They all watched in silence as Jordyn moved to the middle of the room. The candles flickered, throwing her shadow across the wall behind her. The gemstones glimmered before her. She closed her eyes, one hand pressed to her heart. Her slight features grew sharper, and her face was a ghostly white.

  Rowdy could hear the gemstones singing. He wondered if anyone else could. He kept quiet, fixated on the girl at the center of the room.

  Jordyn’s arm was extended before her. She turned to face Rowdy, her eyes still closed. The singing grew louder as she approached him, her index finger pointing at him.

  As she approached, he grew nervous. He felt Granny rest her hand on his arm, telling him to be still.

  Jordyn stopped moving and opened her eyes. She smiled.

  “It’s you.”

  The group was quiet, not comprehending.

  Rowdy frowned and ran his fingers through his hair. He walked to the wall, pulled out the amethyst, and morphed into his mouse form, thinking it might provide a clue and having no other ideas.

  Jordyn gasped and stooped to pick him up. She held him to her face and giggled, unable to suppress her joy.

  “You are so cute!” she exclaimed, tickling his tummy with her index finger. He scrambled away and fell to the floor. He put his paws on his hips and looked up at her, his whiskers switching as he thought.

  “Concentrate, young one,” Granny instructed.

  *

  Jordyn nodded. She kneeled on one knee and held her flat palm out to him gently. He climbed on. She looked at him closely; his thin, round ears, his long whiskers, his buggy dark eyes and tiny pink fingers. She felt herself smile, and reflexively she bent over and kissed him on his fuzzy head. The gemstones hummed. The lights flickered.

  Suddenly Jordyn was a baby snake. She curled herself around to see the interesting coloring of her scales. Her body was checkered gray and black with long creamy stripes extending from her head to the tip of her tail. She slid along the floor, feeling friction on her belly. Flicking her tongue in and out, she smelled dust from the wooden floor. She flicked her tongue out again and could smell wildflowers coming from Granny.

  She slithered up to Rose, who bent down and carefully picked her up. Rose admired the coloring on the snake’s back. She ran her finger along its leathery skin.

  “So beautiful, Jordyn,” raven-haired Rose said, allowing Jordyn to twist around her wrist.

  *

  Granny was deep in thought.

  Jordyn needed Rowdy to be a mouse in order to morph into a snake. A snake would not last long in the frozen temperatures of Sionnin. She would have to be looped around Rose for most of the time. So why the form of a snake?

  Granny was puzzled, but there wasn’t time for puzzling. It was time for Rowdy to go into the cave to find the spirit of Boc. She peeked out the window, gauging how much light remained for the day. The odds were stacked against them. A blizzard was picking up speed.

  Hastily she got them moving, warning Rose of the blizzard and the time she had to complete the task. She ensured Rowdy had his amethyst amulet in his cheek. The odd trio dropped out the window into icy winds. Granny shut the curtain tight and succumbed to the hardest part of her job: waiting for their safe return. She dragged a heavy cauldron out from under the table and busied herself crushing her Spring Preparations into powder and preparing for the full-moon ceremony.

  *

  Rowdy was getting airsick. The flight was windy, and Rose was getting tossed back and forth. He nestled in and clung on, wondering if mice could throw up. Jordyn was coiled around Rose’s warm body, deep in her protective feathers.

  They bumbled along until Rowdy could see the dark cave looming in the distance. He squinted against the wind, growing anxious as they came closer.

  By the time Rose landed, he was trembling. He slid off to the hard surface of the snow and froze, blinking at the massive black entrance with its daggerlike columns of ice hanging from its edges.

  His vial was gone. He felt Rose nudge him with her beak. He started to run to the cave. He got there, and too afraid to look into the shadows, he hastily spat the gem out, held his finger on it, and grew into a young man.

  His hand went automatically to the leather handle of his blade and drew it out. He positioned his feet in a stable stance and held the blade up, trembling.

  “Master?” he called into the shadows. His voice echoed back to him over and over again. He stepped forward into a cloak of darkness. The faint smell of wet dog seeped into his nostrils. The taste of blood filled his mouth. He knew his master was near.

  “Master!” he said again, now with more confidence. “I need your guidance!”

  Rowdy was clothed in blackness now. He looked behind him and saw nothing but darkness. He heard a scratch and saw a spark ahead, and then a fire appeared on the ground. The flames grew bigger and bigger, making shadows on the cave walls. Rowdy stopped before the fire, expecting heat, but it was cold and smokeless.

  “A fire from the spirit world,” Boc’s growly voice said. It repeated itself as it bounced down the deep corridors.

  Wizard Boc appeared on the walls as a shadow. Rowdy gasped at the size of him. He covered the cave walls. His paws were hairy and immense. His shoulders came together in a tufted hump on his back.

  His teeth and jaws were bigger than Rowdy’s whole body. He felt silly wielding a blade.

  “Hello, warrior.” The voice echoed. “I accept your oath. You will fight for Sionnin. My spirit will guide you. Now, let’s see what you can do.”

  Rowdy trained with the shadow master until his clothes clung to him with sweat. He blocked every jab the shadow threw at him. He kept up when the shadow darted ahead and moved swiftly behind him. He twisted, dodged, and blocked until his shoulders ached. Blisters were forming on his hands. And yet he wanted more.

  It seemed that hours went by. He forgot his hunger and his thirst. He grew numb to his pain. At last Master Boc was finished.

  “My energy is waning, warrior. Come close,” the growly voice ordered, almost gently.

  Rowdy went to the wall. The fire behind him disappeared and reappeared as orange-and-white light where Boc’s shadow had been.

  “Closer,” the voice whispered.

  Rowdy pressed his hot body against the cool wall. He felt a searing pain on his skin; he cried out and fell back in surprise. He lay in the darkness, feeling blood trickling down his chest.

  The sound of a clatter drew his attention to the light at the entrance. He scrambled out of the cave, the glint of a blade on the cave floor catching his eye. He stooped and picked it up. He jammed it into his sheath beside his own blade. His chest was bloody, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. He quickly changed back into a mouse before he could freeze. He sped across the blinding snow and back into the safety of Rose’s feathers. She wasted no time, flying back into the impending blizzard.

  It was as though nothing had changed. No time had passed. The light, the wind, and Rose’s body heat had not changed since he’d entered the cave.

  As Rose fought against the storm, he fought fatigue. He could not allow himself to sleep lest he lose his grip and fall. He was so tired. He forced his face into the wind to keep himself awake.

  As Rose swooped into the window at last, dusk was falling and huge, blinding flakes were forming. She crashed onto the table, exhausted. Granny was ready for all of them with the flames glowing big and hot.

  She felt the snake’s temperature.

  “Not too bad,” she said.

  Rowdy was lying in a fuzzy white heap beside a candle, his e
yes drifting shut, the amethyst slipping from his cheek.

  “Oh no you’re not!” Granny scolded him. “Get back to the regular world and then you can sleep!”

  Rowdy transformed from mouse to warrior. Everyone stared at him while he plugged his stone back into the wall. He turned toward them with a sweaty face that glistened in the lights. His stance was powerful, his eyes tired yet determined, his grip on the handle of his blade strong. Blood was dripping down his chest, quickly drying before them.

  *

  Granny walked up quietly and wiped the blood away, studying the symbol that had been etched into the skin.

  Rowdy looked into his granny’s crystal eyes and waited for her to decipher what looked to him like wobbly shapes with an arc above them.

  “These are outlines of griffins with a rainbow above them. The griffin represents guardianship; it is an ancient symbol of protection. The rainbow represents a bridge between us and the spirit world. You have an army of good spirits behind you.” Granny nodded and looked away to hide her pride for her grandson.

  He pulled the second blade out and handed it to her. She brought it up to the light, looking for markings. There was one. The symbol of the serpent. She held it out to Jordyn, who slithered toward it and then curled back as though stung. The blade hummed in Granny’s hand. She placed it on the table in front of the snake. Jordyn approached it again, this time curling herself around its handle in a figure-eight formation.

  The blade hummed and vibrated, rattling against the table. There was a flash of white light, and suddenly Jordyn was standing in human form before them, her fingers of both hands laced around the handle. She dropped it with a gasp as though it burned. It hit the floor with a clatter.

  She looked with alarm at Granny. Then at herself.

  “Your amulet!” Rowdy said in awe, picking it up off the floor. He looked at the symbol of the serpent, then handed it back to her. “You did it.” Rowdy smiled approvingly at her. “Now I can teach you to fight.”

  Granny and Rose exchanged a nervous look. The symbol of the serpent meant power for good or for evil. Granny glanced at Jordyn warily, then turned to her cauldron; she had her full-moon ritual to take care of.

  “Off you go now, all of you.” She dismissed them with an impatient wave.

  *

  When Rose, Rowdy, and Jordyn went downstairs, it was late afternoon. Rowdy and Jordyn had school the next morning.

  Rose and Rowdy were too tired for a conversation. They would have to rest up and reconvene the following Friday.

  Rowdy and Jordyn parted ways in the rainy gray street with a kiss. He stumbled home to bed, where he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  He awoke to the sounds and smells of breakfast cooking. At first he was confused, thinking he was at Granny’s house. He realized his dad was up early, making breakfast before his first day at his new job.

  The breeze blew into his window, carrying the scents of rain and grass. He lay with his eyes closed, recollecting all that had taken place that past weekend. His body was stiff. His underarms smelled bad.

  “Son. I didn’t even see you come in last night.” His dad’s smiling face appeared in the doorway. It was bright and clean-shaven. He started into the room.

  “Holy hormones, it stinks in here!” he exclaimed. “There’s deodorant in the bathroom cupboard.” He laughed and turned back down the hall. “There’s breakfast on the table!”

  Rowdy dragged himself out of his bed and hit the shower. He managed to find a clean white T-shirt and some deodorant. He studied himself in the mirror, looking for signs of beard hair, but there were none. He flexed his muscles at himself, then turned red when his dad came around the corner.

  “That’s my son!” his dad said proudly, squeezing him on the shoulder. Rowdy shook his head with embarrassment and picked up his toothbrush.

  “I’m off! Wish me luck!” his dad said, and he went out the door.

  When Rowdy emerged from his house with his school pack over his shoulder, he was greeted by a fresh, clean world washed by the rain. He paused to inhale and look at the blue sky. The birds were noisy in the cedar hedges. He thought of the blizzard in Sionnin and shuddered. He thought of the spirit army and felt excitement well up inside him.

  “You look like you slept well,” Jordyn said, reaching out to take his hand when he got to the bus stop.

  “Yep. How in the heck are we going to focus on math and science today?” He slipped his warm hand into her perpetually cold one.

  “I know.” She sighed. “I just want to learn how to fight.” She leaned into him, and he put his arm around her shoulders.

  “Jess and Hugo had a big fight,” she said.

  “Why?” he asked. “Because he’s a giant jerk?”

  “Exactly.” Jordyn snickered. “I hope she dumps his ass.”

  They watched as the bus approached them, splashing through puddles.

  “So no game today?”

  “Don’t know. I’ll have to hang with Jess and find out.” She squeezed his hand and then let go, preparing to board the bus.

  “Right. Girl time.” He nodded.

  They hopped onto the bus. Jordyn beelined to the very back to console her friend. Hugo sat alone, staring grimly out of his dirty window.

  Rowdy avoided it all. He tried to get Sionnin out of his mind and focus on the school week.

  At lunch hour the girls were gabbing away in the corner, and Rowdy didn’t want to interrupt them. He was feeling bored and restless. He decided to go to the library to look up symbolism. Maybe he would find the serpent.

  The library was not as stuffy as it had been all winter. The high windows had been pushed open, and the crowd of students was thinner. He started to look for the appropriate book section for symbolism, as the computers were all occupied. He met the piggy eyes of blond-haired Hugo.

  “Hey, man,” Hugo called to him. He was wearing a Slammers T-shirt and chewing on a pen.

  Rowdy groaned inwardly and headed over to him.

  “Wanna sit?” Hugo looked at an empty chair, then back at Rowdy. Rowdy hesitated.

  “Look,” Hugo said, tilting his head to the side and pulling his slobbery pen out, “I’m sorry I was a jerk to you before, okay?”

  Rowdy nodded and sat down.

  “Let’s just forget about it?” Hugo asked, with his eyebrow up. “Friends?”

  “Okay.” Rowdy shrugged.

  “Cool.” Hugo nodded and then smiled. “Now can you help me with this science crap I missed while I was in Mexico?”

  Rowdy snorted. He pulled up a chair beside Hugo and helped him cover the assignment. Hugo said it had taken half the time it would normally have.

  “Thanks, man,” Hugo said. “You coming to the game tonight?”

  “Don’t know,” Rowdy answered honestly.

  “Oh, because of the Jessica thing?” Hugo nodded, then shrugged. “She’s just too sensitive. She’ll get over it.” He punched Rowdy too hard on the shoulder and disappeared into the crowd of students streaming into their classrooms.

  Rowdy frowned. He really didn’t like the guy.

  Jess and Jordyn marched up to him.

  “What did he say about me?” Jess demanded, her eyes red from crying. Jordyn stared at him for an answer too. He felt cornered.

  “Nothing. We did science homework.”

  “As if,” the girls chimed in unison, tilting their heads to the side.

  “We did,” Rowdy said simply, feeling attacked.

  The girls stayed put. They were not going to let him go freely.

  “Fine,” he conceded. “He said you’re too sensitive.” He rolled his eyes to show them how much he didn’t care.

  Jess turned red and stomped down the hallway with Jordyn at her heels. Jordyn turned back and fired him an eyeful of daggers.

  Rowdy shook his head. Women.

  He got off the bus alone after school. Jordyn had gone to Jess’ house. He was ok
ay with that. He wasn’t very much into drama anyway.

  He dropped his pack off at his house and picked up his water bottle. He went for a long jog to clear his mind.

  Chapter 10

  Training Jordyn

  He started off slowly, feeling the blood circulating through his body. The warm air filled his lungs and his limbs relaxed into a rhythm.

  He turned down the residential street that led past Jordyn’s house. He thought about her in her pink crop top that day on the front patio. He decided the summer coming up was going to be fun and hoped he would spend most of it having iced tea on Jordyn’s patio while she wore her crop top. Without annoying Hugo there.

  A family on bicycles wheeled by him with big nerdy helmets, and he felt jealous of their joy, remembering when he had a family that did things together.

  He heard birds chattering in the landscaped trees above him and felt the soggy grass squish under his shoes. Dead worms lay crisping on the sidewalk. He made a game of avoiding stepping on them, and then he increased the challenge by avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk as well.

  He sped by Granny’s house and turned down a gentle hill to the small town of Summerville. School fields were filled with baseball players and students practicing for their upcoming track-and-field meet. It was noisy and colorful with school jerseys and sporty shoes.

  He passed the bank and the coffee shops, dodging the dogs that lay on the walkways in the sun, waiting for their owners to come back.

  A filthy old man sat in a shadowed doorway with his hat out in front of him, hoping for change. He had a bottle in a bag in his hand.

  “Where you running to?” he called out to Rowdy gruffly, then chuckled and took a swig.

  Rowdy thought of his dad.

  He left the town behind him and steamed up a road with leafy vegetation on either side. The houses were sparse, and few cars splashed by. There were potholes in the road. He hadn’t been in this area of town for quite some time.

  Without consciously thinking about it, he had run up to the cemetery where his mother’s headstone was.

  He stopped running, smacked with sudden anguish. He caught his breath for a while, scanning the large parcel of land. It was peaceful here. The site was well tended, flowers, real and fake, adorning many stones. The grass was green with ornamental trees scattered throughout.