The Legend of the Firewalker

by Steve Bevil [paranormal/YA]

  16

  PNEUMA NOVO

  Nathan spent most of the day by himself. It was Saturday and almost the end of June, so although it had rained heavily practically all last week, this was summer. And not just any summer, but a blistering hot and humid Illinois one, which meant no trace of water anywhere. Even the moist and muddy ground beneath Nathan’s feet had already started to form dry cracks.

  Nathan stepped out of the woods and onto the small pebble and rock beach surrounding Lake Charleston. The heavily wooded trail leading to the lake provided a much welcomed shade from the sun, but he got no relief from the evening sun when he walked over to the edge of the lake.

  Nathan glanced into a few fire pits; some were dry, but some were still damp. He didn’t know how LaDonda expected them to have a bonfire just a day after it stopped raining. He reached into the pockets of his shorts to pull out his cell phone. “Not a single call or text,” he murmured. “Lafonda is definitely upset with me.”

  Lafonda was upset with him for leaving camp the night before. He wasn’t surprised that she had kept it secret from LaDonda. Since they had been kids, they’d had an unwritten rule to cover for each other if it meant saving the other person from being in major trouble. She had figured out that he had left with Malick and Jonas, but wanted to know where they had gone. Nathan knew that he had made matters worse when he repeatedly dodged her questions.

  He sighed. Just thinking about having to hide more things from her was starting to get to him but he was convinced the less she knew the better. He was determined to avoid his dream at Grimm Cemetery, even if it meant having Lafonda upset with him for keeping her in the dark.

  He watched the motion of the water as it made small currents around the lake. Besides the occasional birds and splashing sounds made by fish, it was relatively quiet. Nathan found a dry patch and sat down. He had a little time before Malick showed up to help with the bonfires and figured it would be a while before Argus appeared with his wheelbarrow and bad jokes. Nathan looked down at his hands. It had been a week since he followed Jonas into the pseudo stairway and discovered that he too had a power. But he still didn’t have answers to why Jonas was in a trance, why he felt his brother was there with them, and who or what those creatures were.

  Nathan picked up a rock and skipped it across the lake. But those same creatures were there in the beginning, he thought. They were there in my dreams about Leah.

  “What do they want?” he murmured. “What do they want with Jonas and Leah?”

  He stopped searching for rocks and paused to look at his hands, “How did Leah end up all those times in the pseudo reality?” he asked himself. “Does Leah have a power too?” He felt himself becoming more frustrated. “Where are Malick and Argus anyway?” He looked down at his hands again; they were a little dirty, but they looked normal. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was apprehensive about using his powers again. He glanced over his shoulder and then around the lake and chuckled. “I wonder if I can get this to work without my life being in danger?”

  Nathan stood over one of the fire pits. “How did I get that blue spark to come out of my hands before? I know it was me that set my bed on fire. I just don’t know how I did it.”

  He looked around again, to see if anyone was coming, and placed his hand over the fire pit. He focused on the charred pieces of wood and stiffened his hand, but nothing happened. “Ugh!” he moaned. “Why didn’t this gift come with instructions?”

  He took another deep breath and stretched his hand over the fire pit. This time, he thought about his dream at Grimm Cemetery. Images of the woman dressed in white and the silver dagger flooded his mind. Suddenly, the muscles in his hand twitched and he felt the cemetery steps crumbling beneath him again. His head rang with hissing sounds as the red-hooded figure with the crescent-shaped medallion closed in on him. The muscle fibers in his hand twitched again and his fingers and palms turned red. His arm went rigid and the muscles in his hand tightened; forcibly releasing a brilliant ball of blue light from his hand.

  Nathan quickly ducked as pieces of wood flew over his head. There was the sound of water splashing as several pieces hit the water. He slowly looked into the bin to examine the remaining blown-up pieces. “Still no blue flame,” he grumbled. “But I guess this is a start.”

  Nathan continued to concentrate and with his hand stretched over the pit again released another ball of blue light. This time, he quickly shielded his eyes as pieces of wood sprung from the fire pit. He smiled, but was suddenly distracted by something shimmering in the sunlight; a grey and red aluminum can rested on top of one of the smaller wood bins. He raised his hand and a beam of light pierced the air; pulverizing the top of the wood bin and sending the pop can high into the air.

  “I didn’t mean to do that,” he laughed. “But cool.”

  “What on Earth are you doing?” someone yelled.

  Nathan jumped; he’d thought he was alone. He dropped his hand and spun around just in time to see Argus charging towards him. “I can explain,” he said, nervously. He pointed to the shattered wood bin. “It’s not as bad it looks.”

  Argus placed the wheelbarrow he was pushing to the side. “Are you crazy?” he asked.

  “It’s okay,” said Nathan. “It’s probably easy to fix…really.” Nathan attempted to demonstrate how it could be fixed, but the wood bin pieces crumbled in his hand.

  Argus’s eyes burned red with anger. “This is not about some stupid wood bin,” he said.

  “What?” asked Nathan.

  “What are you doing using your powers so openly like that?” Argus demanded. “My brother must have lost his mind! Do you know what will happen if you are exposed? All the lives put in danger – everything that would be lost?”

  “Wait!” said Nathan. “My powers; your brother; you know about my powers? But how…”

  Argus waved his arms in the air. “Of course I know about your powers! I’ve been keeping an eye on both of you.”

  “Both of us?” asked Nathan. Argus turned his head and Nathan saw Malick hastily coming towards them.

  “Why do you think I stopped leaving matches and hardly any lighter fluid?” he continued. “I wanted to be sure, but to actually catch you out in the open?” Malick now stood behind him. “And I’ve been watching you too,” he said, turning around. “I’ve had my eye on you since you got here; I know who you are.”

  Argus picked up the handles to the wheelbarrow and rolled it beside one of the fire pits. He tossed in a bottle of lighter fluid and a box of matches from his back pocket. Then he leaned in close and whispered angrily to Malick. “If you try anything. I promise you, you will regret it!”

  Argus’s right eye trembled and he glared one last time at Nathan and then at Malick before storming up the trail to the Hiking and Camping Center. “What the heck was that?” asked Nathan. “Why was he threatening you and what did he mean by he knows who you are?”

  Malick grabbed Nathan by the arm; pushing him backwards. “Who are you?” he asked. “Who is your family?” His grip tightened. “Are they a part of The Order?”

  Nathan’s forehead wrinkled. “The Order? It’s just me and my grandfather.” He wrestled his arm free from Malick’s grip. “What are you talking about? What the heck is going on?”

  Malick’s eyes bulged and bored into Nathan’s for a long time. Finally, he dropped his gaze and turned around. “Did you see the tattoo on his arm?” he asked. “Does it look familiar to you?”

  Nathan’s forehead wrinkled again. “I’ve seen it before. But what does this have to do with anything?”

  Malick sat down on one of the logs surrounding the fire pits. “It’s used as the symbol for The Order,” he said. “It’s a part of their crest.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Nathan. “I know where else I’ve seen that symbol – at the first bonfire. Jonathan said it was one of the Cahokia symbols he had trouble deciphering.”

  “Look,” said Malick. “All you need to know is to stop using your
powers in public or anywhere that isn’t safe.”

  “What?” said Nathan. “How did you know – are you watching me or something?” The frown lines on Nathan’s forehead deepened. “And Argus, he said he has a brother – is he watching me too?”

  Malick’s face was slightly haughty as he raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know if they are watching you,” he said. “But chances are they are both a part of The Order.” Malick huffed. “And no, I am not watching you, but I did however, see you using Pneuma to destroy that wood bin.”

  Nathan’s eyes were wide, but skeptical. “Pneuma?” he asked. He folded his arms across his chest. “And for the record, I wasn’t aiming at the wood bin. I was trying to hit the soda can.”

  Malick gave a quick glance at the demolished wood bin. “Okay,” he chuckled. “Whatever you say.”

  Nathan rolled his eyes in protest.

  “Pneuma is your life force…or your spirit energy,” Malick said finally, through stifled chuckles.

  “Life force; spirit energy? Are you for real?”

  “Umm, are your powers real?” asked Malick.

  Nathan twisted his lip to the side of his face and nodded. “Good point,” he said. “So what does this Pneuma have to do with me – why am I able to do this stuff?”

  “Everyone has Pneuma, Nathan, not just you,” Malick said with a grin. “Pneuma is everywhere; in the trees, in the air, the water, animals; even the Earth has Pneuma.”

  Nathan had a sour look on his face. “Okay, I got it,” he said. “But you can answer the question without being condescending.”

  Malick lowered his voice. He suddenly had a serious look on his face. “What you just did is called Pneuma Novo,” he said. “And having the ability to manipulate your Pneuma is a rare gift and shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

  Nathan took a seat next to him.

  “Spirit energy manipulation can take many forms,” continued Malick. “And you just performed one of them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When you used Pneuma to hit the soda can, you were manipulating spirit energy to form a projectile of energy; sort of like a weapon.”

  Nathan looked impatient. “So why me? Why am I able to do this stuff?”

  “I don’t know. It’s usually hereditary,” he said. “Are you sure no one in your family is a part of The Order?”

  Nathan paused. “Not that I know of,” he said. “It’s just my grandfather and me.”

  “What about your parents?” he asked. “Your mom or your dad?”

  Nathan’s face grew soft. “I don’t know,” he said. “At least I don’t think so…my parents died shortly after I was born.”

  Malick grew quiet as he gazed into the lake.

  “So what does all this have to do with you?” Nathan interrupted. “Why was Argus threatening you?”

  Malick had a serious look on his face again. “Look,” he said. “I am not the person you should be worried about. There are dark and powerful forces out there looking for people like you and me.”

  Nathan’s eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open. “You and me?” he asked. “Dark and powerful forces – what are you talking about?” Nervously, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you talking about The Order; what do they want from me?”

  Malick had a strained tone. “Like I said before, all you need to know is to stop using your powers. The less you know the better, Nathan.” Malick’s expression lightened up and became reassuring. “Just stay low and don’t use your powers,” he said. “If you do that, you won’t have anything to worry about.”

  He stood up and walked over to the wheelbarrow Argus had left behind. Nathan watched as Malick filled the pits. Dark and powerful forces? he thought. His mind began to flood with images of Grimm Cemetery again; the silver sword – Lafonda. “Wait!” he blurted out, springing to his feet.

  Malick jumped; abruptly dropping the wood in his hands back into the wheelbarrow. As he slowly turned around to face Nathan, his eyebrows were raised.

  “What do you know about dreams?” Nathan asked, sounding almost out of breath. “Can Pneuma be used to see the future?”

  Malick paused, but then continued to fill the fire pits. “Yes,” he answered slowly. “I assume you’re asking because you are having dreams that are coming true.”

  “Well, yeah!”

  Malick looked surprised. “I’m impressed,” he said. “Your list of abilities is starting to rack up, and you are learning about them all on your own.”

  A look of gloom washed over Nathan’s face. “Well, it hasn’t been all that great so far,” he said with a shrug. “And I wouldn’t say being different is necessarily a good thing.”

  Malick grinned. “Using Pneuma to see the past or future through dreams or premonitions is another form of spirit manipulation; or Pneuma Novo,” he said. “It’s not as common as some of the other forms of spirit manipulation, but it is one of them. Many Dream Walkers have a difficult time mastering it.”

  “Dream Walkers?”

  “Yeah,” he nodded. “Some cultures, including the Cahokia Indians, affectionately referred to those who could see the past or future as Dream Walkers and I guess it just stuck.”

  Nathan leaned over to help Malick fill the wheelbarrow with more wood from the smaller bins lined around the beach. “Why is it so hard to control?” he asked.

  “Controlling spirit energy to see the past or future is just hard to do,” said Malick with a shrug. “And many Dream Walkers never master it.”

  Nathan remained still for a moment before twisting his lip and nodding his head. “So, I guess it’s safe to assume you can Pneuma Novo too.”

  Malick grinned. “Yeah,” he said. “I guess so.” He suddenly looked serious again. “But you have to promise to keep this a secret,” he said. “It’s not okay to tell people about your ability, like I said before…”

  “I know,” interrupted Nathan, while rolling his eyes. “Dark and powerful forces.”

  Malick nodded ardently. “Yes!” he exclaimed.

  Nathan helped Malick pile wood into the fire pits, until he got a splinter in his hand. “So,” he said, trying to remove the splinter without placing his dirty fingers into his mouth. “Can everyone that can Pneuma Novo release energy as a weapon or see visions?”

  “No. For the most part, your ability or the forms you can do are innate. It’s rare for someone to be able to learn a new ability that wasn’t first hereditary.”

  “So basically how you can Pneuma Novo or the different ways in which you can manipulate spirit energy is limited to your parents.”

  Malick smiled. “Or your parent’s parents. Pneuma Novo has been known to skip a generation, and so have powers. Just because you can Dream Walk doesn’t mean that one of your parents could; it could have been a great-great-grandfather or a grandmother.”

  Nathan’s eyebrows were raised. “So, when exactly are you going to tell me what you can do?” He laughed and made quotation marks with his fingers in the air. “And don’t give me any of that ‘it’s complicated’ or ‘it’s dangerous’ stuff.”

  Malick grinned and then laughed. “I’ll do better than that. I’ll show you, but first…” he reached into his shirt and pulled out a silver chain; attached to it dangled a brilliant silver pendant. “It’s an arrowhead,” he said, while carefully examining it with his hand. “It’s enchanted with prayers and stuff to keep my powers hidden, but I still have to be careful that I am not seen in public; it keeps me hidden from…”

  “The dark and powerful forces,” interrupted Nathan. He raised one eyebrow in protest. “Which you haven’t told me about by the way.”

  Malick grinned, but then suddenly looked serious. He raised his hand and cast his gaze over the surface of the lake. A blue light began to glow around his hand. The blue light shot out of his hand like a rocket; smashing into the middle of the lake. A huge amount of water was violently thrown into the air, only to return back softly to the Earth.

  Nathan looked up to
wards the sky. Light sprinkles of water landed on his shoulders and face and his face cooled. “I needed that,” he said with a smile.

  “I know what you mean,” responded Malick eagerly. “I’ve wanted to do that since the first bonfire. This summer sun is killing me, and it’s an easy way to cool off!” He continued to fill the fire pits. “Just stay cool and keep your powers under wraps for now and I’ll see about finding you something to cloak your powers.”

  “But wait!” Nathan blurted out. “There’s more!”

  Malick stood up straight and rubbed his lower back. “Can this wait?” he asked. “It’s really getting late and we haven’t even started the fires yet.”

  The frown lines that were on Nathan’s face returned and he looked overly worried. “It’s about Lafonda,” he said.

  “Don’t worry,” interrupted Malick. “You’ll be able to tell her all about your ability with time.”

  “No,” he said. “That’s not it.” Nathan’s eyes grew weary. “It has to do with my dreams…and I really don’t know what to do about it!”

  “Remember what I said the other day?” Malick said. “About living in the present and not the future?”

  Nathan reluctantly nodded his head. “Yeah, but…”

  “Well, it even applies here. You can’t live in the future Nathan.”

  “No!” demanded Nathan. “This is serious and I need your help!” His hands trembled. “In my dream Lafonda died and I am not talking about watching from afar; she died in my arms!”

  Malick grew silent. His face was blank but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Look Nathan,” he said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know this will be difficult to hear, but you can’t prevent the future. You have to live for today. Besides, dreams or premonitions of the future are never certain; they are based on peoples’ current choices, and people change their minds every day.”

  “But what about Lafonda?” Nathan protested. “Are you telling me to just let her die?”

  Malick lowered his eyes. “The one thing that I have learned, living in our world and with our abilities, is that you have to live in the present Nathan,” he said. “And not in the past or the possible future. You have to write your own destiny; live your own truth; not what people, the past, or the future says it should be.”