The Iron Realm (The Iron Soul Book 1)

by J. M. Briggs

  Myrddin tightened his grip on his staff and nodded sternly. “Very well Cyrridven, let us begin.”

  Cyrridven smiled and raised her hands in before her, summoning up water from the lake's surface. Flowing around her body and into her hands, the water formed a cauldron. Cyrridven breathed on the flowing water which turned slowly to ice before Myrddin's eyes, solidifying into a shimmering cauldron that she held gracefully in her hands. A surge of water rose from the lake, forming a pedestal for Cyrridven as she gently lowered the cauldron and allowed it to rest on the spout of water.

  “Then let us begin with a potion Merlin,” she told him with a smile. “Gather what I require before the next full moon and in a year and day you shall gain inspired knowledge from the Earth itself and full access to all the magic you were born with. This was the task given to me when I entered your world and vowed to aid the Children of Earth by the magic of this world.”

  Looking at the ice cauldron, Myrddin dismissed all questions in his mind and looked back at Cyrridven's face. Nodding, he leaned forward on his staff. “As I said Cyrridven, let us begin.”

  10

  Soccer and Swords

  Voices echoed off the high domed ceiling that covered the bleachers and basketball floor in the gym as students moved through rows and rows of tables, each proclaiming a club name or school activity in a variety of bright colors. Alex walked alongside Jenny through the throng of students who were examining the various stations.

  “I can't believe the boys are gone again,” Jenny huffed as she glanced over at a table for the fashion club. “That's two weekends in a row.”

  “Only half their games are home games,” Alex reminded her calmly for the third time that afternoon. “Homecoming is next week and they have home games the rest of September and all of October.”

  “And then the pressure goes up for spots in the college bowls,” Jenny remarked. “Is it too much that I want to see my boyfriend?”

  “No,” Alex quickly told her, “But it won't last forever. Come on find a club or something to take your mind off things,” Alex suggested with a gesture to a nearby booth.

  “I'm not sure,” Jenny sighed, “Nothing is really speaking to me. The Spirit Squad doesn't have tryouts until spring.”

  “Maybe you should try a dance club or something, or join an intermural sport,” Alex tried, “I just got my assignment to Corvus for women's soccer. My first practice is tomorrow, should be fun.”

  “No thanks,” Jenny told her before stopping and looking over at Alex, “I'm sorry Alex, I don't mean to be such a downer,” she apologized.

  “You just miss Arthur,” Alex said with a nod. “It's okay, I don't take it personally.”

  “Thank you,” Jenny replied with a small smile. “So Corvus? Weird name.”

  “I looked it up, apparently it is the Latin word for raven,” Alex informed Jenny with a small chuckle. “I think the team captain is a science major.”

  ”So you've got soccer,” Jenny observed, “What else are you looking for?”

  Alex grinned as they turned a corner and pointed up ahead where a few mats were laid down and two students were fencing in their white jackets and masks.

  “Fencing?” Jenny asked, “Really, fencing?”

  “I've always wanted to try it,” Alex defended quickly. “According to the club website they allow you three sessions with free equipment rental to try it out.” Taking Jenny's hand, she tugged her forward towards the demonstration.

  “Well,” Jenny shrugged as they watched a match, “I suppose it will keep you out of trouble.”

  “Yes,” Alex laughed, “Because I'm such a troublemaker.”

  “We've only been rooming together for two weeks,” Jenny teased, “Too early to tell.”

  By the late afternoon when the fair began to wrap up and students packed up their booths, Alex was grinning as Jenny slipped a flyer for ballroom dancing club into the back pocket of her jeans. Jenny slipped her arm into the crook of Alex's as they stepped outside into the sunshine.

  When Alex woke up on Sunday, she shook off the familiar nightmare of the dark tunnel and the strange voices, more easily than she usually could. Instead she was nearly shaking with excitement and energy. On her morning run, Alex enjoyed the scent of freshly mowed lawns and the shining sun in a clear blue sky. Jenny was not so eager about the day when Alex returned her and banished her ‘overly cheery' self from their dorm room while she got some more sleep. After a shower and a quick trip to Michaels Hall for breakfast, Alex changed into suitable practice clothes as Jenny rolled out of bed and started getting ready for church.

  There weren't many people around campus this early on a Sunday morning, but Alex saw a few joggers out as she walked towards the practice fields. She played with the team information sheet in her hand and wondered how many of the girls on the team already knew each other. Maybe a lot of them were locals who had been in high school together, maybe-. Alex shoved the thought away, there was no point stressing about things just yet, but nervous butterflies were rapidly taking the place of her happy excitement.

  The school's practice fields were on the southwest end of campus near the stadium and old gym that was only used for classes now that the recreation center was completed. When Alex arrived there were already several teams out on the four practice soccer fields and she searched around until she spotted the group in the purple jerseys in field four. A large group of girls were stretching and putting on the light purple jerseys as she jogged up and put her bag with the others and changed into her cleats. She recognized three other girls from her classes and gave them a quick wave as she started stretching.

  “Alright team Corvus!” A cheerful female voice called out and Alex looked up sharply in alarm.

  Nicole Russell walked out onto the field with a clipboard and huge smile. Their eyes met and Nicole's mouth opened and closed silently before the wide smile returned. “Most of us know each other from high school, but we've got a few girls who were assigned to the team by the recreation center so let's start with introductions and favored positions. Also tell us how much experience you have.'

  Standing up with the others, Alex shifted nervously as Nicole introduced herself as Nicki and the team captain. Every girl introduced herself, some rambling more than others, and indeed many of the girls had played on the local high school soccer team. When it was Alex's turn, she met Nicki's eyes and introduced herself and informed them that she had played midfield all four years of high school getting an even wider smile from Nicole.

  At Nicole's command, the team split into scrimmage groups against the goalies, but Alex's arm was caught by Nicole before she could get very far. She turned to look at the red head girl who had an amused expression on her face.

  “Of course you'd be one of the random girls assigned to my team,” she observed. “I should have guessed that A. Adams was you, but I convinced myself that there were probably plenty of Adamses in the university.”

  “Sorry to disappoint,” Alex remarked, crossing her arms. “What excuse should we give to put me on another team?”

  “Another team?” Nicole repeated before saying, “Alex don't be like that. I'm sure we can handle being on an intermural soccer team together.”

  “Can we?” Alex questioned, raising an eyebrow.

  “Look,” Nicki said, taking a step towards her. “I know Aiden can be like a dog with a bone when he's curious, but from what I understand you two haven't spoken outside of class for over a week.” Nicole offered her a small smile, “I'm really a nice person once you get to know me.”

  Alex bit her lip slightly as she considered the red head in front of her. Before she changed her mind, she agreed, “Alright, I suppose we can't just avoid each other forever, Nicole.”

  “That's the spirit,” Nicki told her. “And please, it's Nicki.”

  “Adams! Russell!” another voice shouted and they turned to see the other players waiting for them. “We practicing today or what?”

  “Coming,�
� Nicki shouted back before nodding towards the field. “Come on, my first day as captain. I've got to make a good impression,” Nicki told her with a wide and almost evil smile.

  At the end of practice, Alex understood the evil smile. She hadn't thought she was out of shape from the summer, but Nicki had given her and two other midfielders a series of brutal drills after a three mile run. Nicki herself was a forward, but spent most of the three hour practice calling out positions for the other players to take against the midfields. When Nicki ended practice they all eagerly went to shower with an agreement on next practice and individual copies of their game schedules for the month of October.

  Nicki jogged after Alex as she left the old gym shower room.

  “Hey Alex wait up!” Nicki called out. Against her better judgment, Alex stopped and waited for the shorter girl to come up beside her. “Nice practice today,” Nicki complimented her. “I'd say you should play on the school team, but I'd honestly prefer for you to stay with us.”

  “Thanks,” Alex replied with a shrug before she gripped the handles of her bag. “I had fun,” she admitted quickly.

  Nicki grinned and nodded, but then turned serious. “Nothing else has happened to you right?”

  Tension flooded her body; she didn't have to ask what Nicki was asking about. “No,” Alex said, nearly hissing the word. “Nothing weird has happened.”

  “That's probably good,” Nicki replied thoughtfully. “I've been having nightmares lately, where I'm in this horrible dark tunnel, there's this strange music and then I feel…” Nicki shook her head and looked back at Alex who was desperately trying to keep her face neutral. The description of Nicki's nightmare matched hers too closely to be coincidence. “Sorry to bring it up. What I really wanted to talk about is fencing club.”

  “Fencing club?” Alex repeated dumbly before she caught onto the conversation, “What about it?”

  “I saw you take a form yesterday,” Nicki told her. “I just thought it was fair to warn you that Aiden is in fencing club. Professor Bosco, his father, is the primary advisor of the club and the fencing instructor.”

  “Oh,” Alex sighed, “I see.”

  “I just figured I should warn you,” Nicki told her. “But I'm in fencing too, the first meeting is tonight and we could partner.”

  Alex gave Nicki a nervous look, “Uh I'm not… I don't swing that way.”

  Nicki snorted, trying to control a laugh, but failing to control her smile. ”Don't worry, you're not my type,” Nicki managed between soft giggles. “I was just giving you an option with a buffer from Aiden.”

  “I'll just skip it,” Alex told her with a frown.

  “You shouldn't do that,” Nicki protested with a shake of her head. “Aiden can be a pain in the ass, but he's not a bad guy. He'll back off, but in the meantime you can't let him influence what you do for fun.”

  Giving the other girl a searching look, Alex considered the words and then asked, “Why do you care so much?”

  “I get it,” Nicki replied gently. She tugged up her pants to expose the tattoo on the inside of her ankle; “This is the symbol for J.R. Tolkien, my favorite author. I grew up hearing tales of magic from my grandmother and I've always wanted to believe in it.” Nicki let the hem of her pants fall back down and sighed softly. “I want to believe that magic can be a part of life Alex, but I don't expect it to actually happen. I'm scared too.”

  “I'll think about fencing club,” Alex promised her with a quick, uncomfortable nod.

  “Okay,” Nicki answered with a nod before stepping back from Alex. “See you next Sunday for practice?” It was more of a question than a statement and Nicki stood waiting for an answer.

  “Yeah, next Sunday,” Alex agreed with a nod before she walked out of the building.

  When she stepped back out into the sunlight, Alex released a soft breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The entire walk back to her dorm room, she pondered the issue of fencing club, torn between avoiding Aiden and his uncomfortable habit of smacking his magic theory in her face, and learning something she'd always wanted to. When she returned to the dorm room, she decided to delay making up her mind and set her phone alarm for the time of the first meeting to make up her mind then.

  Once Jenny returned from church, they had lunch and went out with some of her new friends. Main Street Ravenslake was a classic old city street with small store fronts in every building and a scattering of restaurants and coffee shops along the way. One of the city's stage theatres was located on Main Street with a murder mystery show playing that night and further up at the end of the road on the lake was the Russell Gallery. Alex was distracted by the smell of clay wafting from the building and her mind went back to the vision she'd received from Nicki. It was only the presence of the others that made her enter the store which was filled with crafted bowls, plates, vases, jewelry and some small sculptures.

  When the alarm for fencing went off, Alex was sitting at her desk and reading The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer for Literature class. Setting aside her book, Alex picked up the phone and turned off the alarm, but kept staring at it. She couldn't decide and the issue of spending any more time around Aiden and Nicki than necessary and finally learning fencing had been in the back of her mind all day. Then there was Nicki's offer to consider. Despite the strangeness of everything: the visions and now the similar nightmares, a part of her did like the girl. Pulling a coin out of her wallet, Alex tossed it up in the air softly saying, “Heads go and tails don't.” It landed on heads.

  Fencing class met every Sunday and Wednesday night from 7 to 9 in the first floor basketball court of the old gym. Alex stepped into the court to find several large mats already down and a small crowd of students waiting. A girl at the front door dressed in fencing gear and armed only with a clipboard and pen stopped her and asked Alex to sign in before allowing her into the room. Another group of students, all dressed in the familiar white fencing jackets and pants were moving about the room and setting up equipment. There was a range of years with several seniors and juniors, but a couple of younger students as well. It wasn't difficult to spot Aiden and Nicki as they set a rack of foils down to the side before picking up their face masks.

  A tall gentleman with dark brown hair that was starting to grey and a kind face heavy with laugh lines stepped forward and smiled at the waiting students.

  “Welcome everyone,” he called pleasantly. “I am Professor Leonardo Bosco, I teach chemistry here at the university, but in my youth I was a fencing champion and greatly enjoying teaching it to others.” Professor Bosco moved along the line of students looking them all over with a smile. “Now some rules, the fencing club offers you three days of participation to try out fencing and learn some basics. I'm afraid that beyond that there is a membership fee in order to pay for the insurance necessary to have you swinging metal things at each other. We have some equipment available for use during this trial period, but I strongly encourage all of you who gain a real interest in fencing to purchase some of your own.”

  After the introduction, Professor Bosco called forward two students that he introduced as seniors who had been in fencing club since their freshman year. While they both put on their masks and gloves, Professor Bosco explained that they were using foils and would be aiming to touch each other's chest area. Alex listened to the Professor ask them if they were ready and both moved into a slight crouch with their right feet forward and their foils raised in front of them.

  The one on the right moved forward quickly, trading a few soft exploratory foil clicks with his opponent as the other retreated slightly. Then with a sudden burst the left student advanced forward, pressing the student on the right back with quicker and quicker moves. They lunged, but the blow to the chest was deflected by the other's foil as they stumbled slightly. Both righted themselves and began once again with slower movements with their foils, testing the other. This time the right student pressed forward first, advancing with quick steps and putting the other on guard.
The metallic clicking of the light foils hitting each other echoed as the advances and retreats continued for another minute before in a sudden burst of speed the student of the left lunged forward and struck the tip of his foil against the chest of his opponent.

  Cheering erupted from the students dressed in fencing uniforms and from several of those watching as Professor Bosco stepped forward and awarded the point. Both students lowered their blades and removed their face masks, allowing the Professor to reclaim everyone's attention.

  “A good demonstration,” Professor Bosco congratulated the students. “You won't be moving like that in only a few lessons, but we can start you on the basics and with practice you can become a skilled fencer as well.”

  Professor Bosco rubbed his hands together and asked who had fencing experience before he counted out the students into small groups. To Alex's relief, Nicki stepped forward to take the group that Alex was assigned to while Aiden took another group. They started with a short lecture about the different kinds of swords used in fencing while Nicki showed them one of each before she moved on to the different parts of the uniform. Alex tried to pay attention to Nicki, but her eyes strayed over to Aiden from time to time across the gym with his own small group.