by K. R. Bowman
* * *
“See?”
I tore my eyes from the page, “See what?”
Callum’s mouth became a thin line. “Look, at this part here,” he pointed near the end of the page. “Where it says: ‘If only I had Artemis with me so I could at least know Jacob’s location.’” I could tell he was getting excited. He might be crazy. He let out an exasperated breath. “I thought you were smarter than this.”
My eyebrows shot up, “Excuse you?”
He held his hands up, “You aren’t giving this your full attention. I’m trying to help you.” He pointed at the page again, “Artemis… I think your father was referring to the necklace.”
The light bulb clicked on. I snatched the book back and reread the passage. Artemis.
“So, what does this mean? What can I do?”
Callum’s face lit up. Somehow, I didn’t think it was possible. I really liked how he was interested in all of this. He cracked his knuckles, “Well, why don’t you say its name? See if it will work?”
I looked down at the necklace, lifting it to study more closely at the lifeless needles and ornate design. Hmmm… well, why don’t I?
I put my mouth closer to the necklace. I cleared my throat and whispered, “Artemis.” The needles jerked and twitched. They slowly began moving around and around in clockwise directions. Callum’s eyes were glued to the needles.
“Are you thinking of something you want?”
“Umm… I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
I let out a frustrated sigh, “Fine, I’ll think of food or something.” I closed my eyes and thought of… Ashlen. I peered down at the necklace to see the largest needle swing around and point straight out in front of me. I frowned.
“What did you think of?”
“Ashlen.”
“Well, let’s follow it where it says to go.” He grasped my arm, pulling me up from the stool. He leaned over my shoulder to watch the needle. “It says to go straight.”
He yanked me around the table and down the aisle of bookcases. I was very aware of his fingers wrapped around my forearm, tugging me gently along behind him. We went down the long hallway and into the dining hall. He released my arm as we entered the dining hall; the absence of the warmth of his hand was noticeable.
I held the necklace flat in the palm of my hand. As we reached the center of the dining hall, the large needle swung to the left and pointed out the main door. I looked up at Callum, and he eagerly pulled me out the door to the outside. As soon as we stepped outside, the needle pushed slightly to the left, pointing to a small red barn.
Callum led me along. My heart thumped faster and faster with every step I took. I couldn’t believe it was actually working. Callum opened the door of the barn. We stepped through the doorway and stopped. The needle pointed straight ahead. So, we walked straight down the middle of the barn, passing the stalls lined against each wall. Whispering and giggling came from the last darkened stall.
“Ashlen?” I asked hesitantly.
Moaning emitted from the stall. Callum and I stopped. My face felt red. I glanced at Callum, and my face burned hotter. Callum only smiled with a little twinkle in his eyes.
“Ash?” I called a little bit louder.
Something dropped, and someone gasped, “Ouch.” Some indistinct noises were made and then some shuffling. Ashlen popped her head around the stall door.
“Sloane, hey… were you looking for me?” Her hair was disheveled with pieces of straw stuck in it, and dirt was on her face.
I took a step toward her, “Well, yes, I guess. I found the name on my necklace, and we were testing it out. I decided I would find you, and well, it led me straight to you.” My voice got more excited as I talked, and I moved closer to her to show her the necklace.
She smiled and nodded and squeezed through the stall door, closing it behind her. She moved closer to see the necklace, tugging her shirt down a little and straightening the rest of her attire.
“Wow, that is totally awesome.” The needles were spinning around and around, telling me that I had found what I had been searching for.
A noise sounded behind her. Something rattled the stall door. Ashlen’s face had grown noticeably pinker. I smirked at her and put my hand over my mouth to try and hold in my laughter.
Callum’s eyes bounced all around the room, except he wouldn’t meet my eyes. Was he embarrassed?
“Alright, we know you’re in there. Come on out.” I crossed my arms over my chest to wait.
The door slid back, slowly revealing Harris. He smiled sheepishly at me. “Aw, now you had to go and catch us.” He staggered out of the stall jerking his pants up in the process and stood behind Ashlen. “You don’t have to worry about her innocence, we were just sharing some sugar.”
I literally laughed out loud, while Ashlen swatted at Harris and covered her face. I saw Callum smile slightly, then he turned away from us. I shook my head and smiled at Harris.
“Harris, you do have a way with words.”
He grinned and put his arm around Ashlen’s shoulders.
“Well, we will leave you two to it. I was just trying out the necklace. Pretend we were never here.” I waved my fingers at them, then left down the aisle of the barn and out the door. Callum was waiting outside on a log. He looked up as I came out of the door. I clapped my hands together, “The necklace works!”
Callum rolled his eyes at me and shook his head. “Come on. Let’s go back to the library and bury our noses in those books.”
12
Callum and I stayed at the small library table again, going through books and pages for several more hours. My eyes were dry and could barely stay open by the time we stopped. I kept fingering the necklace, turning it over and tracing the edges. I peeked over the top of the book in my hand to see what Callum was doing. He was bent over the table with a notepad next to him and a pen in his hand. He was taking notes. He would read for a few minutes then jot something down.
His dark hair covered his eyes, and the muscles in his arms flexed with each stroke he made. He stopped writing and moved his eyes up to me. I quickly fixed my attention back to my book.
“So, what have you been reading about?” a slightly smug expression settled on his features. He totally caught me watching him, crap.
I tried not to let the heat crawl up my neck, “This was written by my grandfather, who wrote all about the battles they fought against the Nightlins. Nothing has been said about weird abilities, my father, or the dagger.”
Callum nodded and pushed the pages into the middle of the table. He stood and stretched, pushing his arms above his head. Several of his vertebrae popped.
“I’m going to get something to eat.” He studied me for a moment.
“Alright. I’m going to stay here for a little bit longer.”
He nodded then disappeared between the bookcases. I looked down at the papers scattered on the table. A thick dark leather-bound book caught my attention. On the first page, it was dated 1793 and signed by Charles O’Grady. Designs were etched onto the worn page. I flipped to the next page to find more writing. The penmanship was messy and almost illegible. For the first ten pages, the person wrote about the history of the Night Realm, much like what I had read about in my studies with Brand. Unease settled in my stomach as I thought of Brand. I really missed his face and his Scottish accent.
I kept my eyes on the table in front of me, hoping to find some clues within all of the discarded pages. I was surprised when the chair in front of me scooted back and Chuck sat down. He put his elbows on the table and leaned forward, looking over the sheets of paper and the many dusty books.
“Hi,” he kept his eyes down, casually scanning everything, “Callum told me you were down here.”
I nodded, “Yeah, I was trying to find out any kind of information on my family.”
“Which is only natural,” Chuck smiled gently.
I handed him the letters from Jacob and
James. I watched him read them. He read each carefully, and I could tell by the last letter from James to my grandfather that Chuck was maybe just as confused as I was.
He slightly frowned, “I’m not quite sure what to think about these, except to say that it sounds like your father is James, not Jacob.”
“But my mom said my father’s name was Jacob.”
“I don’t doubt that he told her that, but by going by these documents, then it appears that indeed Jacob may very well not be your father.” He laid the pages down gently in front of me. “I’ll admit when you first said it was Jacob, I was slightly surprised. Jacob always seemed to be more about himself than any other person. Your father changed his last name Norm side, who’s to say that he didn’t lie about his first name as well?”
My story keeps getting more and more complicated. My head throbbed. The pages before me seemed to take up more space. I felt like pushing them all into the floor. I wanted to cry or scream or eat. All of the above?
“Sloane, I wish there was something I could say to help you. Something that would help clear this all up, but there’s nothing I can say, and I’m sorry. I wish I knew what had happened twenty years ago. It makes me almost as frustrated as you. I knew these men, and I have no information I can give you.” He took a breath and paused for a minute, “We live in such secrecy that this road before you will be difficult. You won’t have a lot of advantages to find the information you are so hungry for.” His eyes tried to gauge my emotions.
I smiled slightly and nodded. The panic building up inside me had been extinguished if only for a moment. Chuck was on my side, trying to help me. I took a steadying breath, “Thank you, Chuck, I appreciate all the information you’ve given me. I want to ask you, though, if I do get to a point where I’m on the other side and need help, what can I do?”
“First, go to the Defense in Oklahoma City. They will be able to help you with any kind of information on the people’s names I had given you. The Defense is almost all digital, unlike us. Make sure to tell them, Nightlins fly and birds crow. They have the ability to get you back here or to get in touch with me. Hopefully, I’ll be on the other side too, so you won’t have to go through it alone, but we can’t be sure what might happen next year.” Chuck ran his hands across the rough wooden table, “Things are not getting better in the Norm. Crime and death rates are steadily rising. Those are our first indications that Nightlins are making it to the other side, so Sloane, above all, just take care of yourself. Watch out for anything and anyone.”
I slowly nodded and spoke quietly, “Okay, I’ll do my best.”
Chuck nodded, “It’s late you should be getting some rest.”
“I will. I’m going to go through these for a few more minutes then, head on up.”
He smiled, “Okay, good. Take care, Sloane. I’ll see you later. Come see me if you need me for anything.”
“Thank you.”
He studied me for a moment, then rose from his chair and turned away, disappearing among the rows of books.
I continued flipping through the pages of the O’Grady book. Part of the book talked about medicine and advancements in the Realm. Page thirty-three was where the book took a more interesting route. The person had drawn out different hands, showing each line and curve. He gave the meaning behind each or rather what the lines helped to explain. The writer gave the person’s history behind each palm and broke down how that person’s palms related to the outcome of his or her life. Maybe if we could study my palms, and figure out what has happened to me, then we could see if they correlate.
Looking around the library, I tried to find Clifford, but I didn’t spot his little hat poking out from anywhere. Outside, the sky was pitch-black. Only a tiny bit of light from the moon filtered through the windows.
I closed the book, laying my hand on the old leather cover, and stood up from my chair. I grabbed the design book and James’s journal, tucking them under my arm on my way out of the library. I nearly ran into Callum as I rounded the corner.
“Oh! Sorry. Were you coming to help some more?” I asked.
Callum seemed slightly embarrassed, “Yeah, I was going to check on you.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. “Thanks. I’m done for the day. I was just heading back to my room.”
He nodded, “Alright, I'll go with you.”
I immediately got nervous. I smiled tentatively, “Okay.”
We walked through the halls in comfortable silence, except my need to fill it overtook.
“Callum? How is it you know this world so well?”
“Oh, I was born here.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise, “Oh?”
He studied me for a moment and then seemed to decide to elaborate, “I haven’t ever been to the Norm. I was raised here with my sister, so I know most of these woods, even some of the farther ones near Jamestown.” He almost sounded proud.
“I didn’t know you had a sister?”
Darkness settled around him, “She passed on a long time ago.” A muscle twitched in his jaw.
Fuck.
A few seconds passed before I spoke, “I’m so sorry, Callum.” I whispered.
He nodded once but said nothing more. We arrived at my door first. He gave a short bow and turned toward his door.
My heart grew heavier with each step.
We woke up at five a.m. and lit the candles around the room so we could get ready for our training. Ashlen was less of a morning person than I was, but Raleigh was the exception. She loved mornings. Sometimes I wondered how we became friends. We were all so different. Raleigh sat at the table, stirring her tea and humming to herself. Ashlen moped around with hooded eyes and her hair in a mess, mumbling. I’m pretty sure I looked like her, but I said zilch. I never talk until I’ve at least had breakfast better yet when I’ve had lunch.
“Come on, you guys. You’ve got to wake up.” Raleigh said cheerily.
“How can you be awake right now? You barely get sleep.” Ashlen said grumpily.
Raleigh chuckled. “I get lots of exercise, so it makes up for my loss of sleep.” She giggled again.
Ashlen rolled her eyes, “Ugh. How do you get so much action?”
Raleigh laughed again, “What can I say? I’m very popular.”
“Do you see the same guy every night?”
“What? No. Of course not. That’s rule number one. They’re on rotation.” She sipped her tea.
I couldn’t help but smile.
Ashlen laughed, “Girl, you better be careful.”
“Don’t worry, we use protection every single time.” She blew on her tea. “Even if we use a pack of condoms a night.” Raleigh giggled again.
Ashlen nearly choked on her toast. “A pack?” She coughed.
Raleigh shrugged and smiled. I was just happy; those were a modern necessity the realm had.
We strapped our armor on to our shins, arms, chests, and heads. The first practice session was to be held in a clear space right outside the city gates. The town was still as we wound along the path to the front gates. We reached the gates and nodded tiredly at the guardsmen as we passed. They watched us curiously and barely acknowledged us.
Tendrils of fog hovered above the grass, slithering through the blades. Tall linear lights had been placed around the supposed fighting area in a large oval shape. The white light cast an eerie glow on the ground.
Hunters and Protectors were gathered in the center of the space. Our small group made our way toward them. I spotted Harris on the edge of the group with a huge grin displayed on his face, his eyes locked onto Ashlen. I glanced at Ashlen. She suddenly perked up; her eyes were all for him. I couldn’t help but smile.
The Hunters and Protectors spread apart as we approached. Callum was part of the group. He was positioned in the center of the group holding several swords. The others surrounding him were either standing loosely or holding their own swords.
A guy with short-cropped hair, as if he had stepped out of an army ad, which
included the tight t-shirt that stretched over large muscles, took several steps toward me, “I’ll take this one.” He winked at me and smiled boldly.
My eyebrows rose, I smiled because I was surprised by his audacity not because I was interested. I glanced around me at the others to see if they were paying attention. They were. I let out a sigh.
“Sorry, man, but we always work together.” Callum held a sword out to me hilt first. I took it from him with a small thankful smile.
The guy looked Callum over, “You turn me down and take a new girl instead? What else am I supposed to do?”
My eyebrows shot up, and I looked between them.
“Rory, cool it. We’ve been over this.” His mouth pulled slightly to the side. Then he addressed the group. “Okay, since there are only four of you in training, each person will have a Hunter and Protector assisting them. Chuck put me in charge because I know all of you, but Jess,” he indicated a very tall, lean, and dark-haired man that was standing beside him, “will be the lead Hunter.”
Jess nodded at each of us like we were an experiment or puzzle. He folded his arms across his chest and took a step toward us.
“I will give you a brief history of myself,” his voice was very smooth with a slight Russian accent. He paced in front of us his long white tunic flowing and moving with his body as he moved with his hands locked behind him, “I have been a Hunter for twenty-two years, and yes that makes me over the age of forty.” He couldn’t be a day over 25. “I have seen a lot of battles and death. So,” he clapped his hands together and stopped to face us, “I am going to give you all the knowledge and experience I have in order for you to survive this realm. The only rule for our fighting practices is no use of Protector or Hunter abilities when training,” He looked us squarely in the eyes. “Alright, let’s get started.”
The Hunters and Protectors immediately split up going to one person or another, where it was an equal number of Hunters and Protectors to the trainees. Callum stood by me along with a tall willowy red-headed girl named Irene.
Our groups spread out across the space. We each had wood swords and a small, lightweight shield. Each of the Hunters and Protectors had on the same kind of armor that we had.