“Grab onto me, we’re leaving now.”
Hector didn’t dare disobey the older man. He thought that his life was already weird enough after finding out he was an Invert, but now he was spouting out cryptic messages for no apparent reason. He was frightened and worried about what had happened to him while he was unconscious. As much as he hated it, Damon was the last thing on his mind as he grabbed onto Axus’ shoulder.
The two of them shadow jump away from Hector’s house, and for the first time in his life, Hector was actually glad to be headed to a Council meeting.
Chapter Ten
Nick
Nick awakes to the sound of knocking on his bedroom door. Part of him- the old him- wants to just ignore it and go back to sleep. But ever since he arrived in the Pit three days ago he’s grown to love waking up in the morning. He had a responsibility to get all of his training done. After all, ignoring even a minute of training would go against coming to the Pit in the first place. For the first time in his life, Nick had some incentive to get out of bed in the morning.
He walks over and opens the door, and as usual Isaac is looking down at him.
“I woke up late.” Isaac says. “Skip your shower and get dressed, I don’t want to keep Allison and Hector waiting for us any longer.” He walks away without another word.
Nick grunts and begins searching for a pair of clothes. Once he gets ready he walks downstairs to meet Isaac in the living room. “Let’s go.”
“Grab on.” Isaac says flatly.
Nick complies, but lets out a sigh as he does so. “I can’t wait until I learn how to shadow jump so I don’t have to piggyback off of you all the time.”
His captain grins. “Hey, that might come sooner than you think.”
Isaac then takes them through the shadows. Nick was so used to it by now that he didn’t even bother to stare into the darkness around them. He was more curious about the process of shadow jumping than he was enthralled by it. He still didn’t entirely understand how it worked, but he refrained from asking questions- he already did that way too much. When he was around Allison and Hector he felt like a first grader being escorted by the kids from middle school.
When they emerge from the shadows, they stand directly outside of a training room.
“Finally.” Allison says as she stands up from a bench. “It’s about time our own captain showed up to his training session.”
Isaac smiles sheepishly as he unlocks the door to the training room. The four of them shuffle inside. Allison and Nick try to enter at the same time, and end up getting jammed in the doorframe- until Hector pushes them the rest of the way in.
“You lovebirds can cuddle somewhere else.” He says.
Nick almost immediately feels the blood rush to his face and he looks away in embarrassment. He did think Allison was beautiful, but he didn’t want to make the team dynamic feel weird by thinking of her as anything more than a friend.
Isaac brings out the same bracelets that the group used yesterday, handing them to each of the Walkers. Nick locks his bracelet in place, his excitement returning once again. Yesterday he thought for sure that he would take a whole month to awaken his first Chain. Then, soon after Hector and Isaac left to go to the Council, Nick was able to shortly manifest his Walker powers. He was so confused when it happened, but quickly got excited as he held a black orb of shadow energy in his palm. He could move it all by himself- with his mind. Nick’s first impressions were that duelers seemed to be the best class. But man, he was really starting to love being a mage. Though he couldn’t help but be jealous of Hector- Invisibility was undeniably awesome.
The three of them continue to do the same thing as yesterday. Nick once again focuses on his mother as he channels his shadow energy. It didn’t take long before he manifested more orbs of pure shadow energy. He plays around with them, trying to see what he can actually do with his basic powers. He moves the three orbs in different directions, making them float all over the room. He then forces them together, creating one giant orb of energy.
“Good job Nick!” Hector says. Nick looks around to find his teammate, and as expected, he was nowhere to be seen. Nick grunts.
“Not fair. Invisibility is too cool of a power.”
Hector laughs playfully and slowly becomes completely visible again. “Oh don’t be jealous. I’m sure your first Chain will be cool too.”
Nick rolls his eyes. “Sure. If I can figure out how to break it. Any tips?”
Hector bites his lip and looks at the ceiling as if pondering the question thoroughly. After a few seconds of silence he snaps his fingers and points at Nick. “Well, you know how you’re thinking of something that’s special to you?”
Nick nods. “Yeah, my mom.”
Hector frowns. “Well, it might be extreme, but I imagined losing someone important to me, not protecting them. After that, I didn’t notice that I broke my first Chain until you guys pointed it out. And now I can go invisible without the bracelet or even thinking about anything in particular.”
Nick looks down at the ground. Thinking about losing his mother was one of the last things he wanted to do, she was all that he had left. But if the thought was really all it took to break his first Chain, then Nick figures it’s the best shot he’s got. He’s already got a hold on manifesting the energy, and controlling it was easy enough. So he does what he usually does when he summons the orbs of energy- but this time, he thinks of no longer having his mother in his life.
The thought alone almost brings tears to his eyes. He didn’t have much in his life- having grown up rather poor- so losing her really meant losing it all. He was only in the Pit to protect his mother, so to not have her in his life- to lose her- meant that embracing his life as a Shadow Walker was entirely pointless. The pure thought of it made his heart feel cold. He shivers as if someone had just cracked open the door in the middle of winter. But the cold sensation wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it was quite peaceful. Though Nick couldn’t make any sense of why he suddenly felt so cold.
“I don’t think it’s working man.” Nick says, defeated. Hector shakes his head.
“Oh well, I don’t got anything else. Good luck though.” Hector reaches out and pats Nick’s shoulder before walking away- which was a big mistake. As soon as Hector touched his teammates shoulder, his entire hand was suddenly encased in a block of ice. Nick and Hector both scream- probably like little girls- as Hector tries to pry his hand free.
“What the heck is this!” Hector shouts. Nick watches in horror as Hector struggles with his frozen hand. And before either of them can call out for Isaac’s help, the captain is already standing next to them.
“Nick.” He says as if marveling a fine piece of art. “This Chain is incredible. I can’t believe how amazing this is.”
“Yeah, great news!” Hector says. “I’m a popsicle!”
Isaac rolls his eyes and summons his crimson sword. He faces Hector with a sadistic smile on his face. “Stay still or I might cut your hand off.”
Hector sucks his lips in, and his eyes grow wide. Nick feels bad for the panic he was causing Hector- he was just trying to help Nick out after all. But Isaac doesn’t even act like the frozen arm was an issue. He pushes his blade into the thick layer of ice surrounding Hector’s hand. Everybody besides Isaac jumps in shock. Nick stares in amazement as the ice slowly thins out, until eventually Hector’s hand is completely free. As the ice disappeared, Nick felt like something was siphoning his energy away.
“Oh thank god, sweet freedom at last.” Hector groans as he rubs his hand.
Allison shakes her head. “Oh quit milking it.”
Hector looks at her with with an evil glare in his eyes. “Is this milking it?” He rubs his newly freed hand on Allison’s neck, which causes her to fidget and smack it away.
“God that’s cold! Don’t do that!” She shrieks. Nick laughs at his teammates exchange. He didn’t imagine making friends with his teammates was going to be easy when he came to the Pit,
but they were really starting to grow on him.
“To think that you already broke our first Chain. Though I guess what’s more surprising it that you adopted it.” Isaac says, snapping Nick’s attention away from Hector and Allison’s playful slap fight. Nick stares at his captain.
“What do you mean by ‘adopted’?”
Isaac stares in amazement at the young Walker. “I’ve never heard of something like this happening. Every Walker is supposed to have their own unique Chains, but this Chain exhibits the same power that your mother possessed before she had you. Somehow, you both share the same first Chain.”
Nick scratches his head. “I don’t get it. Am I really the only one who’s inherited their parents powers?”
“Yes. This is completely unheard of. And the amount of trips you guys are making me take to report to the Council is just as unheard of for a rookie team. They’ll have a field day knowing that you possess the same powers as Maria Winters herself.”
“I keep hearing that name, but I can’t place my finger on why it sounds so important.” Allison says, her and Hector now finished with their fight.
Isaac shrugs. “You probably heard her name in school. Nick’s mother was a very powerful Walker.”
Nick feels a sense of pride towards his mother. “Was she popular here in the Pit?”
Isaac smiles. “Well of course she was popular. After all, she was a member of the Council.”
Nick’s jaw drops in awe. “My mother was a Council member? That’s incredible! How strong was she compared to the others- no- compared to you?”
“Well, she was in a way rivals with Marcus Marxon, if that means anything to you. After she left the Council, she was replaced by Janice, who still holds that position after seventeen years. As for her strength compared to mine… I’d say we’re pretty even.”
“If you’re so strong, why aren’t you a Council member?” Hector asks.
Their captain holds his hands up in protest. “I have my reasons for not joining, but none of them matter right now. What’s important is that two of you have managed to already awaken your first Chains- in record times nonetheless. I’m pretty impressed with you guys.”
Nick doesn’t know what else to say, his mind can only turn to his mother. He was having a hard time imagining his mom talking to Allison’s father in the Council meeting room, but the mere thought made him smile. His mother was one of the strongest Walkers in history, and somehow, he inherited her powers. Just to make sure he was actually capable of using his first Chain, he reaches down and touches the floor. And sure enough, ice spreads over the tiles beneath his feet until Nick pulls his hand away. As if he was a janitor on cleanup duty, Isaac stabs the ice once more, causing it to slowly fade away.
Nick can’t help but laugh like a crazy kid on the playground. “Holy crap, I can freeze stuff!”
“Yeah, thanks Mr. Winters.” Hector grunts as he waves his previously frozen hand back and forth.
“Yeah, it’s really cool.” Allison says as she stabs her light blue sword into the ground. Nick recognizes the sword as the manifestation of shadow energy that she created in yesterday’s training. The sword was about half the size of Isaac’s, but that didn’t make it any less threatening. “Shouldn’t you learn how to control your energy so you don’t go freezing everything that touches you?”
“Allison’s right.” Isaac says. “That power of yours is strong, but it can affect anybody, friend or foe. Though learning how to control what freezes and what doesn’t shouldn’t be too difficult. Just learn to manipulate your energy more effectively, without the bracelet, and you should be able to control what your energy freezes.”
“Wait, my energy is what freezes everything?” Nick asks. “If that’s the case then controlling it should be a piece of cake.”
“Thats right.” His captain confirms. “Using my tracker abilities, I can sense that the Ice is laced with shadow energy. That’s why I could get rid of it using my sword.”
Nick arches an eyebrow. “And how exactly do you do that?”
Isaac sighs, and sees that all of his subordinates were now focused on him, eager to learn more about their his power. He grunts, obviously defeated. “My swords first Chain allows me to absorb energy out of anything that my blade touches. That’s how I got rid of the ice you made. My sword simply absorbed your energy, and thus the ice disappeared.”
“So that’s why my father said you have troublesome powers.” Allison says in wonder.
Isaac nods. “Yeah. And I figured that if you guys were awakening your first Chains, then at the very least I could explain mine. I just can’t believe that two of you beat Marcus Marxon’s record. Now we just need to wait and see what Allison’s Chain is going to be.”
Nick smiles playfully at Allison “Hey, I’m sorry if it makes you mad that you’re the last to break your Chain. I know that it means a lot to your family name.”
“Gee, thanks.” Allison responds bitterly. The tone lets Nick know that he mistakenly hit the wrong nerve in the young girl’s heart.
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Nick says, stammering to take his mistake back.
Allison prepares to bark back at Nick, but Isaac puts a hand between the two of them. “There’s no fighting allowed on this team. Allison, we both know that Nick wasn’t trying to be a jerk. But Nick, you did sound an awful lot like a jerk. Now apologize.”
Nick and Allison exchange gazes, and Nick offers a light smile. She doesn’t return the favor. Isaac groans and rubs his temple as if he were trying to subside a headache. He holds out his hand in front of him. “Grab on.”
The three young Walkers comply without a complaint, and their captain jumps through the shadows with the three of them attached. Nick takes in his scenery as soon as they re-enter the streets of the Pit. The light of the afternoon sun shines beautifully off of the violet crystals at their feet. A lake stretches out to their left, with no coastline in sight. Nick turns to look at his captain.
“Where are we Isaac?” Nick asks like a little kid on a field trip.
Isaac backs up against a railing made of the same crystal as the ground beneath them. He folds his arms across his chest and makes eye contact with all three of the young Walkers. “This is the Crescent Moon Bridge. As the name implies, the entire bridge is shaped like a crescent moon. And this crystal that it’s made out of shines beautifully in the moonlight.”
Hector and Nick exchange glances. The former shrugs. “So why are we here again?”
Isaac points at the bridge beneath their feet. “This bridge was made to serve as a spot for Walkers to meet together before going on a dangerous mission. They would say their goodbyes to their teammates and their loved ones in case they never returned, and then they’d leave. And if those Walkers were able to return here to this bridge, they would celebrate a mission well done, or mourn the loss of any comrades who may have otherwise fallen.”
Nick and Hector exchange glances again, neither one seeing what Isaac’s point was. The captain sighs.
“You guys are quick to get your powers but you take forever to catch on. Look, we found out that the Void plan on killing us Walkers off on June 25th. That’s exactly three weeks from now. If the information we gathered was true, then we don’t have the time to become a fully functional team. Whether you guys are ready or not, we’re going to be fighting powerful Void that most Walkers won’t see in a lifetime. And it’s going to happen very, very soon. We don’t have time to bicker and be mad at each other for stupid comments.”
Nick frowns and looks at Allison. “Sorry if I said anything to upset you. I really wasn’t trying to strike a nerve.” He holds out his hand in a friendly gesture. “Friends?”
Allison’s cold eyes pierce through him. Then she smiles and follows through with the handshake. “Friends. And sorry if I can act like an elitist sometimes. I just… I have a lot on my shoulders.”
Isaac smiles. “See? That’s how we always need to be. If we can’t get along, we’ll die. It’
s as simple as that. That’s why here on this bridge, I want the four of us to make an oath. Swear to each other- and to me- that no matter what happens, you’ll always work together as a team. And that after all of this is over with, we’ll return to this bridge and celebrate a mission well done.”
Nick and Allison make eye contact, then Hector and Nick, and finally Hector and Allison. Hector laughs and stretches his hand out. “Oh fine, whatever.”
Nick and Allison stack their hands on top of Hector’s, and Isaac places his own on top of the young trio’s. “Good.” The captain says. “I’ve made a lot of promises here, and I’ve lost a lot of friends in my lifetime. This place means a lot to me, because I can always come here and remember all of the times I had with those I lost.” Isaac rubs the back of the hand placed on top of Nick’s. When he drops his hands, Nick notices something that shocks him- something he can’t believe that he missed before. Isaac has a single silver ring on his right hand. Nick eyes the ring, but doesn’t say anything about it as his captain speaks.
“I’m not saying that you guys are going to die or anything, but I want this bridge to serve as a reminder that life is a journey. Not everyone returns home. And above all else, you three need to remember this spot as the one place where us four always can return to. Never forget that.”
“I’m going to cry if you keep acting so dramatic.” Allison says as she pretends to wipe away tears. Nick and Hector laugh, and Isaac manages a smile.
“So what now, back to training?” Nick asks.
Isaac once again places his hand out in front of him. “Yeah. With the Void ready to attack so soon, you guys need to master your powers a quickly as possible. Let’s get as much practice in as we can.”
Shadow Walkers Page 10