Rook_Revenge

by Michael D. Young

  “Thank you for telling me, Rich," she said, her voice level. "I was wondering if it was something like that, but I almost talked myself out of it. You, the program coordinator, and I are going to have a little chat. She'll know how to contact Child Protective Services. We’ll sort this out.”

  She looked like she was going to hit something, and Rich took a step back. Not finding anything to use as a punching bag, however, she cooled down a few notches, her angry face turning a bit sad. "No, really. Thanks for letting me know. Actually, I'm a little jealous that she talked to you before she told me, but that’s really stupid. All that matters is that we know now, right?"

  Rich nodded, and Nadia turned to go. After a few steps, she called back over her shoulder. "Hey, are we still on for Saturday?"

  "Yeah. Wouldn’t miss it."

  Nadia disappeared around the corner, and Rich felt a wave of heat from the talisman around his neck where he kept his knight figurine. He looked down and saw it glowing. One of the three swords that formed the cage bars illuminated so that it now looked gold. A broad grin came over his face. He had passed one of his three tests. He looked closer, and found it was the sword of patience.

  As he thought about that, it made sense. It had taken great patience to pay attention to this little girl who wouldn't even talk to him. In the end, he was so glad she had. He stared at the talisman for a few minutes and then replaced under his shirt. Only two to go. He couldn't wait to tell Aaron.

  Chapter 10: Definitely Not a Date

  From the Quest Log of Phillip Witz, Entry 3

  What happened in the next room might very well be the key to everything—good or bad—that happened afterwards. I will admit that I felt quite sure of myself after that last room, so what I saw next hit me especially hard. The room contained a number of enormous transparent orbs, large enough to enclose a person. Each of these stood at the beginning of a long track, as though it was some giant’s marble game.

  Most of the orbs were completely empty, but one near the middle of the room held someone I recognized, and who I thought was gone for good. Her name is Jezreel, and she is my nemesis. She’s one of the most talented dark bishops I’ve ever seen, and was the worst thing in my life for many years. When she mysteriously disappeared, I can’t say I ever shed a tear. Now we were both lost in the maze.

  The look on her face was worth the shock. She pounded on the glass and looked like she was yelling, but all she did was mess up her long red hair from flipping her head around so much.

  All sorts of memories came back at that sight, most of them bad. She had disguised herself as a fellow soldier during basic training, and for a long while, we were good friends. To this day, I still don’t want to think all of it was a lie. Then again, friends don’t try to run over friends with a Hummer.

  Mercurio and I tried our hands at the puzzle and found one table next to the track with a miniature version of the course, complete with tiny marbles. I fiddled with it and found that if we changed anything on the little course, the big course changed too. It started to make sense that riding in the marble might be a one-way trip, so I had to make sure to figure out the correct path before I jumped in or suffer Jezreel’s fate.

  I talked to Mercurio about letting Jezreel out to find out what she knew. He was just telling me I was crazy when an enormous stone creature broke into the room—a Gigantaur, kind of like a Minotaur 2.0. Mercurio and I threw everything we could at it—ever power and every weapon. I don’t think we so much as made a dent, and we couldn’t very well chip away at the puzzle with thing trying to squish us like flies.

  The whole time, Jezreel seemed to be trying to get our attention, pointing to herself and jumping around. At first, there was no way I’d let her out of that bubble, but then the Gigantaur struck Mercurio hard, nearly killing him. I knew I had to do something, so I used my sword to smash the glass. She leaped out right away, ran to Mercurio, and hoisted him over her shoulder, keeping him from being flattened by the Gigantaur’s next blow. She then rushed over to the little model and made three quick adjustments. “Come on, Phil,” she cried. “Get in the globe!”

  I insisted she get in first through a door-shaped hole in the side. She still had the unconscious Mercurio slung over her back, and no sooner were we in than the entrance was sealed. Jezreel jammed forward a lever in the center of the orb. The Gigantaur leaped after us, read to smash the globe with us inside. The whole thing lurched forward, and we flew down the track. Strangely, it was easy to keep our upright position, even though the oversized marble took us on a course that would make any roller coaster jealous.

  We crested a final hill and launched downward. At the bottom of the hill, the track ended, and for a moment I thought Jezreel had doomed us all. The marble flew across a chasm and landed seamlessly on the other side. I thanked all my lucky stars, though I hadn’t seen any of them in a long time.

  After a short bit more of straight track, the marble finally came to a stop in a round depression in the floor. The globe sank and the door opened again, allowing us all to leave.

  “I got as far as that jump last time,” she explained. “But I didn’t use the right kind of track on the final hill to make it steep enough. It launched me out, and I didn’t reach the other side. This sent me back to the start, but then, there was no one else with me to change the track. I never thought I’d be so glad to see you.”

  In a way, it was nice to see a familiar face, even if it was hers. She had, after all, gotten us out of a huge problem. I just don’t know how I’m going to explain that to Mercurio when he wakes up.

  * * *

  Rich fell asleep that night feeling pretty good. What he’d done that day was a classic case of what a white knight should do—defending the helpless and revealing the villain. Yes, he felt pretty good—until his dreams filled with mist and the robed figure of Arlenen appeared in the middle.

  Rich groaned. The last time he’d seen Arlenen, the man announced that Rich had met the girl he was going to marry, but withheld her actual name. It wasn't really something Rich wanted to think about right now. "Go ahead," he said. "Say what you need to say."

  The old man chuckled, the sound deep in his throat. "Come now, Rich. You make it sound as though I were consigning you to detention. I am not Mr. Bickmann, you know.”

  "Oh, I know. But I'm not interested in talking about love," Rich said. “Cupid’s gonna have to use a bazooka on me and not just an arrow. The only girl I thought really liked me actually wanted to kill me, and still does. So, it really feels a little like going to detention."

  To infuriate Rich even more, Arlenen just laughed again. “I like that bit about the bazooka, although you are mistaken. I have it on good authority that there is already more than one girl who thinks very highly of you. That sort of feeling can blossom into love. It is a good foundation."

  Rich didn’t believe a single word of that. He wished there was a way to wake himself up and get out of this conversation. "Still doesn't answer my question. What is this all about?"

  Arlenen nodded. His face became more serious, full of deep lines. "Then I will get to business. It has come to my attention that you have a date tonight.”

  Now Rich really wished he could run away and lose himself in the mists. "I don't know where you get your information. I'm just going over to Nadia's house for dinner. It’s not really a date if you're having dinner with her parents and sister."

  Arlenen shrugged with one shoulder. "Call it what you like. You are still young to date, but it is a significant interaction with a girl. I suppose that since you are a knight now, you want to brush up on the rules of chivalry."

  "You mean like holding open the door and pushing in her chair and stuff? I can do that, but I don't know if Nadia wants me to. She doesn't seem
like that kind of girl."

  "Perhaps not," Arlenen said, bobbing his head slowly. "But it goes much deeper than that. Chivalry is more of an attitude that you cultivate toward women. You must always see them as people of great worth and never treat them like a conquest, as some men do. Such behavior is completely unbecoming of a knight. As long as you keep that in mind, I'm sure you will do fine. I know you had some difficulties with Nadia, but I can see you soon forging a remarkable friendship with a remarkable young woman."

  Rich blinked hard, He’d never thought about her like that before, but it was true. She was confident, strong, intelligent, talented, and didn’t care what other people said about her. There was a lot to admire that he'd simply blocked because of the way she’d treated him.

  "I… I'll think about that.”

  Arlenen held up his hands. "That's all I ask. Oh, and one more thing. Minerva wanted me to tell you congratulations, and to let you know about the abilities you will gain for completing your first quest. With your empathy and healing ability, instead of having to look someone in the eyes, you will be able to do it simply by touching their skin, or sometimes even at a distance. You will also have more power when you do so. All things that will help you going forward."

  That did sound great, but Rich wasn’t sure it was going to be enough. Arlenen smiled gently, nodding like a proud parent. “You will be fine, Heinrich. Trust you head, trust your heart, and you will be fine.”

  The dream faded at Arlenen’s last words, and Rich felt himself, moving back toward consciousness.

  Unfortunately, the teasing about his so-called “date” didn't stop when he woke up. That whole day, his cousins wouldn’t let him forget about it—everything from “Rich and Nadia sitting in a tree" to guessing how many children they were going to have, and even thinking of names. He told them that no matter what, he was never going to name one of his kids “Richina.”

  At last, Rich couldn't take it anymore. He threatened to tell Aaron that they both wanted to kiss him. Their horrified expressions told him everything he needed to know.

  Back in his room, he used the chess piece to contact Sir Hoffenreich, a knight who had gone into the maze and gotten back out. Apparently, he’d had plenty of experience with Gigantaurs.

  “Hello?” came a slightly gruff voice with a proper English accent. “Is this Sir Heinrich?”

  Rich opened his mouth, but stopped himself for a moment when he realized he had been about to answer the man in an imitation of his accent. That probably wouldn’t have gone over so well.

  “Yes, this is Rich. I hear you know a thing or two about Gigantaurs.”

  The other knight made a dramatic shuddering sound. “Indeed. Would to Palad that I had never set eyes on those creatures. Hideous, and meaner than a nemesis with a migraine.”

  Rich wanted to ask how he knew that, but decided to stick to his question. “Oh, I know. I ran into them too. What I don’t know is how to fight them.”

  “Fight them?” Sir Hoffenreich said. “You had best not. If you see them, you really should just run. Why do you think I’m still alive?”

  The monster itself had said that much, but that wasn’t what Rich needed. “But Minerva said you might know their weakness. What can you tell me?”

  The knight muttered and grumbled for a few seconds before saying anything else that Rich could understand. “Well, in my more foolish moments, I figured out a few things. They each have this strange keyhole-looking mark on them, though I don’t know if that’s a weakness or not. The only other thing I saw work was turning their own weapons against them.”

  Rich remembered how quickly the Gigantaur had been able to retrieve its weapon after lobbing it at him. That wasn’t going to be easy. “How do you do that, if they can just magically get them back?”

  “It happened mostly by chance,” the older knight said. “One of their maces fell just right, and I was able to grab the handle and fling it back at him right away. My aim was true, and it took him right in the chest. That one fell down and stayed there. Never was able to recreate that trick, though. Like I said, the best idea is always to run.”

  Rich thanked the knight and let go of the chess piece, not really feeling that much better about things. Sure, there was a way to take them down, but what good was it if he had to trust in blind luck?

  Just before dinnertime, Rich camped out in the bathroom, making sure he looked as presentable as possible. He brushed his teeth, put some gel in his hair, and even ran a razor over his face, and then presented himself to Aunt Laura, who was going to drive him over.

  "Don't you look like a little gentleman?" she said. "We could stop by the flower store on the way, if you want to pick her up something special."

  Rich rolled his eyes, but tried to smile. "It's not really a date, Aunt Laura. She’s just having me over for dinner as friends. People can do that without picking up a marriage license on the way."

  “I know, Richie. It’s just so fun to see your face turn red as a tomato whenever we talk about it. I promise I won't say anything more about it … until afterward."

  Rich decided that was as good as it was gonna get. He didn't say much on his way to Nadia’s house, which turned out to be a nice two-story brick house with a large tree in the front yard and a two-car garage. He jumped out and waved good-bye.

  Aunt Laura lowered the window and waved back. "I’ll pick you up around eight thirty or nine. Now, you have fun!”

  Rich watched the car disappear completely while he worked up the courage to knock. His knuckles hovered in front of the door as his imagination got the best of them. He imagined himself wearing a fancy tuxedo and boutonniere, clutching a bouquet of flowers behind his back, a sappy poem tucked away in his pocket.

  He shook his head at the though and told himself, "Not a date, remember?"

  He knocked on the door, and it was flung open just a few seconds later by a man who must have been Nadia's dad. Rich could see where she got her height. The guy looked like he could've wrestled professionally when he was younger. He had curly brown hair and a bushy mustache, large glasses, and a broad smile. "Good evening," he said, with a hint of a Russian accent. “Nadia was just getting the salad ready. I think you'll be very impressed."

  Rich followed the man inside and saw Nadia's mother coming down the hall. She stood a good head shorter than her husband, but had Nadia's blond hair and freckles. She wore a simple blue dress and ran over to Rich with an outstretched hand as he walked toward her, as if she were meeting some celebrity rather than some kid from her daughter's school.

  "Oh, it's so nice to meet you, Rich," she said, her accent a little more Deep South. “Nadia’s told us great things about you. I'm afraid the rolls aren’t quite done, so maybe she could show you around—give you the tour while we wait. There’s nothing worse than a roll that looks all golden brown on the outside but has a doughy surprise in the middle, wouldn't you say?"

  Rich could think of things that were a whole lot worse, but decided to humor her. "Yeah, that's no good," he said. "You have a nice house. Thanks for the invite."

  Just then, Nadia appeared, wearing a simple white apron over jeans and a T-shirt. "Hey, Rich," she said. “It’s gonna be about ten minutes on the rolls."

  “Sweetie, do you think you could give Rich the tour?" her mother asked.

  Nadia shrugged and motioned for Rich to follow. "All right, Richie, this way." She led him through a spacious living room with plush couches, an upright piano, and several pictures of landscapes on the walls.

  There was a large fireplace with knickknacks all across the top. "First stop on our tour, the living room," she announced with mock excitement. "The fireplace.” On the mantel stood a chess piece made out of white stone, a bishop with
the initials “D.P.” engraved in gold. He walked over to get a closer look. "Somebody in your family play chess?"

  "Yeah, my dad did for a long time, especially when he lived back in Russia. He was kind of a big name back when he was younger, but he gave it up when he moved to the States. You should talk to him about it. I can’t tell you the first thing about chess, but I think you two would really hit it off."

  He stared at the piece a second longer, and Nadia started to move, waving for Rich to follow. She showed him around most of the rest the house, including the dining room, the kitchen, a few bedrooms, and her father’s study, which had a collection of chessboards lying around it made of stone, wooden, plastic, and everything else imaginable. He wanted to go in and take a look, but Nadia’s mother called them down for dinner.

  The meal proved to be worth the wait. Nadia helped serve everyone pork chops with cream sauce over noodles, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes, and fresh rolls hot from the oven. At first, Rich was a bit nervous that the sauce would taste like his mom’s stroganoff, especially because he thought it was some sort of Russian meat, but it turned out tasting like something that came from a really fancy restaurant. He tried not to eat too quickly so he wouldn’t look rude, especially because Arlenen was probably watching. He didn’t want to get a special lesson on knightly manners later.

  Nadia's parents talked almost the whole time, but Nadia didn't say much, only talking when someone asked her a question. After Nadia's father reached in for his third helping, Rich figured it might be okay to ask for seconds. He quickly cleaned his second plateful and was just mopping up the last of his sauce with a roll when he remembered the chess piece. "So, Mr. Petrenko," Rich said. "Nadia tells me you used to play chess, and that you're really good."