The Paradox

by Lola StVil

  I never want to leave Sailor, but I know I shouldn’t have stayed. I’m risking too much and I need to get better control of myself. If I was risking my own life, I’d be with Sailor and take my chances, but I can’t risk her losing the only family she has left. I can’t be that selfish.

  “Rye? Are you alright?” Sailor asks.

  I nod my head.

  “Yeah I’m fine,” I say, forcing a smile. “You should get ready or we’ll be late for school.”

  She laughs softly, a sound that makes my heart race.

  “I didn’t realize school was so important to you,” she teases me, but she starts moving.

  I sit down on the end of her bed when she goes to use the bathroom. I run my hands over my face. I should just tell her what we’re risking by being together, but if I do, she’ll never forgive me for kissing her, for holding her all night. As much as I tell myself it would be easier to stay away from Sailor if she hated me, I can’t bear the thought of it.

  She comes back into the room wearing a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a black shirt. Her hair has been brushed out and she’s put a slick of mascara on.

  “Ready.” She smiles.

  We leave the house and head toward school. We’re almost there when Sailor tries to take my hand and I pull it away, pretending to dig into my pocket for something. She’s not that easily fooled and she frowns at me.

  “Okay. What’s going on, Rye?” she demands.

  “You asked me to fight for you, Sailor,” I say. “And believe me when I tell you I would fight the entire world to keep you safe. But we can’t be together. Not because you’re not worth it, but because you’re worth the world to me. The consequences, Sailor; I’m sorry, but I’m not willing to risk them. And you shouldn’t be either.”

  “I’m willing to take my chances,” she says.

  I almost blurt out the truth then, but before I can, the rest of the team comes to join us.

  “Well look at the two lovebirds.” Jinx grins. “Clearly you two had a better night than the rest of us.”

  “Shut up, Jinx,” I growl.

  “Actually I had an awful night,” Sailor says. “I had the pleasure of meeting Raven, remember? Turns out it’s only Ms. Price.”

  “Ms. Price the history teacher?” Sunday asks.

  Sailor nods.

  “Yup. So now I get to see her every damn day at school. And when she does that thing she does where she stands there telling her class about the fantastic date she had and all that, I get to know she’s talking about my dad.”

  A shiver runs through her as she speaks.

  “I take it dinner didn’t go well?” Mel says.

  Sailor shakes her head.

  “No. She was really rude and when I snapped back at her, my dad took her side. It’s strange though because obviously I hate her, but beneath it, there’s…something else. Like I feel like I know her from somewhere. Somewhere other than school. Does anyone else get a weird feeling around her?”

  “No, but I bet I know where you know her from,” Ya-Ya says. “She used to be a famous model. She came to Whisper because she wanted a quiet life.”

  “A model?” Sailor says.

  “Oh come on, Sailor, you might hate her but you can’t seriously say you haven’t noticed she’s smoking hot,” Jinx says.

  “And her fashion sense is to die for,” Ya-Ya adds. “Have you seen her skin? She’s forty-five you know and she looks so young. Now she’s practically your mom, do you think you could ask her about her skin care routine, Sailor?”

  “She’s not practically my mom,” Sailor snaps.

  “Sorry,” Ya-Ya says, blushing furiously. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant it might be a way for you to get to know her a bit better. Honestly, Sailor, she seems really nice.”

  “Yeah, I like her,” Mel says.

  “I’d give her one,” Jinx adds.

  “Enough,” I bellow.

  Sailor gives me a warning look, and Sunday takes hold of my elbow and leads me away from the group.

  “I don’t need a lecture, Sunday,” I say. “You know Jinx always goes too far.”

  “I know. He needed telling. That’s not what this is about. Rye, I saw the fiery ending to your dream last night. You’re getting too close to her. When are you going to tell her what she’s risking by letting you in?”

  “Never. Because I’m not getting close to her. I’ve told her I’m not willing to risk the consequences.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. Just stay out of my business and stay out of my fucking head.”

  “I wish I could.”

  I shake my head and walk away. I don’t need anyone trying to make me feel worse about this than I already do. Like I could feel any worse if I tried. I put my head down and hurry toward the school, ignoring the shouts from the team behind me. I turn a corner and almost collide with Grace.

  “There you are. I’ve been looking for you,” she says.

  “I don’t need another lecture, Grace,” I snap.

  “Your attitude suggests otherwise,” Grace says coolly. “I have some information you need to know.”

  “Shit, Grace, I’m sorry. It’s been one of those mornings and it’s not even nine yet. What do you have?”

  “The exploration of the cave area we did last night pretty much confirmed we have the right location. The area was crawling with demons, so we couldn’t get as close as I would have liked, but the dark energy in the place convinces me we have the right location. Rye, we need Sailor to click with this scribing stuff before it’s too late.”

  “Okay,” I say, nodding. “Work with her tonight instead of her usual training.”

  “I will,” Grace says. “Oh and Nexus wants to see us all. She’s waiting in the gym.”

  “Right. Grab the others and I’ll meet you there.”

  I head to the bathroom and splash water on my face. I have to stop biting the team’s heads off. They’re only looking out for me and Sailor, and I know Sunday is right when he says I have to tell Sailor what’s at stake here. I tell myself to stop being a dick to everyone, and then I leave the bathroom and head for the gym.

  “Ah, nice of you to join us, Rye,” Nexus says as I enter.

  It’s so bizarre seeing her in the janitor’s body. I know how much she hates taking over his body and how much she hates being in the school at all, so for her to be here, something big is coming.

  “What’s up, Nexus?” I ask.

  The door to the gym opens and Nexus begins to hurry away from us.

  “There’s no time to explain. You guys can’t get caught here and hauled off to the principal’s office. Come on.”

  We follow Nexus across the gym and through the locker rooms. She goes to the far corner and bends down. I frown as she pries up a section of the floor.

  “There are tunnels running beneath the school,” she explains.

  She disappears into the hatch she opened without any further explanation. I am starting to get pissed off at her secrecy, but the rest of the team seem more excited than angry and I remind myself again that I’m going to stop being a jerk and taking my frustrations over Sailor out on everyone else.

  Sunday goes into the hatch next, then Jinx, then Grace and Mel. Ya-Ya hangs back for a moment and sighs.

  “It’s going to be dirty down there, isn’t it?”

  “Probably, but if I know Nexus, that’ll be the least of our worries,” Aziza says.

  Ya-Ya shudders, but she steps into the hatch.

  “You go next, Rye, then you, Sailor. I’ll bring up the rear.”

  “I don’t need bodyguards on either side of me,” Sailor says, instantly seeing through Aziza’s plan.

  “No, you don’t,” Aziza concedes. “But you do need people who might actually know what any creatures that appear are and what they can do. Now those voices are getting closer. Do you want to come on this mission, or do you want to get detention?”

  Sailor nods. “Fair point,” she says.


  I jump into the hatch, Sailor close behind me and then Aziza. Aziza reaches up and pulls the hatch closed.

  “Stay close,” I warn Sailor as I look around.

  The tunnel isn’t what I expected. I was expecting a mud floor and bare concrete walls. Instead, I’m greeted with a tiled floor and plastered walls. Electric lights shine above us.

  “What the hell is this place, Nexus?” Jinx asks.

  “The first few tunnels are officially part of the school. They were used before the two blocks were expanded and joined together. A way for staff to get quickly from one building to the other.”

  Nexus leads us quickly down the tunnel and we turn into another one.

  “And we’re down here because?” Grace says.

  “Because, my little impatient one, once we get out of this tunnel, then we’ll be in a tunnel that’s not on any of the blueprints of the school and is clearly not the same as the others,” Nexus replies.

  I feel a surge of anger. Nexus expects so much from us, and yet everything she says is a fucking riddle with no real answers. I open my mouth to demand to know exactly where she’s taking us, but then she turns away abruptly, and we enter a new tunnel. She’s right. This one is very different to the others. It’s all mud, packed solid but still just mud. And the only light comes from torches pushed into the walls at regular intervals. They cast enough light to walk safely, but not really enough to see by, and I am instantly on high alert. There’s something important down here. Something dangerous. I can feel it. The tunnel is so narrow we have to walk in single file and I can still feel my arms brushing the walls as I walk.

  “Be quiet, listen, and stay alert,” Nexus orders.

  We walk for another couple minutes, following Nexus through various twists and turns. Suddenly, she stops walking and I almost collide with Ya-Ya. Before she can say anything, a scream goes up from behind me.

  “Aziza,” I gasp, spinning around.

  It’s so dark here I can barely work out what I’m seeing. Some large creature is on top of Aziza. All I can see of it is black fur, but I’d bet my last dollar it’s a wolf. I can hear growling, snarling, and Aziza’s screams as the thing tears lumps off her. It’s going to kill her and there’s nothing any of us can do. The tunnel is narrow, and if anyone attempts to use their powers, we could all be fried.

  I pull out a dagger and go to move past Sailor, but she beats me to it. With an angry roar, she launches herself at the wolf. As she flies through the air, horror fills me. I can see the thing properly now without her blocking my view, and it’s no ordinary wolf. It’s a Voke Wolf, a fearsome hell creature. Its claws are loaded with venom that will eat a person from the inside out. Its blood is acid, strong enough to melt down to the bone in seconds if a person comes in contact with it.

  Sailor lands on the Voke Wolf’s back and grabs its ears in her hands. She screams with effort as she pulls at the ears, trying to distract it from Aziza. Aziza is still screaming as the venom takes effect. If Mel or I can’t get to her and heal her in the next few minutes, she’ll be dead.

  Sailor releases one of the Voke Wolf’s ears and plunges her fingers into its eye. It screams in pain and anger and lifts up onto its haunches. It launches Sailor through the air and she slams into the tunnel wall. She slides down the wall and ends up on her back on the ground. The Voke Wolf doesn’t waste any time. It pounces onto Sailor, pinning her to the ground with its claws.

  If I go for the Voke Wolf, Aziza will die. If I go for Aziza, Sailor will die. For the first time since I can remember, I am completely torn and I don’t know what to do.

  “Rye, help Aziza,” Sunday screams.

  His voice breaks me out of my stupor, but I don’t go to Aziza. I step toward Sailor, who’s trying to fight herself free of the Wolf. It opens its mouth, revealing a row of sharp fangs. Sailor cries out but she manages to pull an arm free. She pulls her leg up and whips a small dagger out of her boot.

  That girl and her boots.

  She thrusts the dagger into the open mouth of the beast. It roars loudly, a sound filled with pain. Sailor rams the dagger in further and the roar becomes a death cry. The Voke Wolf twitches once and then falls to its side, dead. Sailor’s screams join Aziza’s as burning acidic blood sprays over her. The screams are loud inside the tunnel. Too loud. They echo off the walls, magnified by a thousand. I still want to go to Sailor. I can’t bear the thought of her in pain like that. But she has time. Not long, but a few minutes. Aziza has maybe thirty seconds left.

  I change course and run to Aziza. She’s barely conscious. I throw myself on the ground beside her, pressed tightly against the wall. I run my hands over her, closing my eyes and blocking out Sailor’s screams, the yells of the team. I feel a sharp pain in my stomach as I heal Aziza. The pain is a welcome relief. It tells me I’m not too late, that I’ve healed her.

  I open my eyes again, leaving my hands in place. The main danger has passed. The venom is out of her system, but she is still covered in bites and scratches, her skin hanging off her body in loose flaps. Slowly, too slowly for my liking, they begin to mesh back together. Aziza sits up as she finishes healing. She pushes me away.

  “I’m okay now. Heal Sailor,” she says.

  I scramble toward Sailor. Her screams have become whimpers of agony. Mel sits over her trying to heal her body, but because unlike Aziza she is human it is taking longer. I can hardly bear to look at the blistered flesh on her face and neck, her arms and hands. The skin is all gone and black char marks interlace the blisters.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper.

  I put my hands on her, cringing when I feel her soft flesh sloughing off her bones. Mel gives me a sideway glance, probably registering that this is hurting me as much as it is Sailor. Her whimpers become a scream again as my hands touch her burning flesh. I close my eyes, blocking out the sound of her begging me not to touch her. I feel the pain in my stomach and I relax a little. Sailor’s screams begin to recede and I risk glancing at her again. The black marks are fading, the blisters gone. Her flesh is pink and healthy again and as I watch, skin begins to grow back over her wounds.

  She smiles up at me.

  “It seems wrong that the kill guy is a healer,” she says with a soft laugh.

  “What can I say? The gods have a sense of humor it seems.”

  I get up and pull her to her feet. I turn to help Aziza up but she’s already up. She looks a little white, but otherwise, she looks okay.

  “Is everyone alright?” I ask.

  I get a few yesses back. Aziza pushes past me and pulls Sailor into a tight, almost aggressive hug.

  “That was so stupid, Sailor. You could have been killed.”

  “You’re welcome.” Sailor laughs.

  “When you’re all quite finished,” Nexus says, “the trapdoor should be just around here.”

  “What trapdoor?” I say. “Nexus we almost lost two of the team down here. It’s time to tell us what the hell we’re here for.”

  “The first Soul Gem is behind the trapdoor.”

  Even I have to admit that finding one of the Soul Gems is worth the risk of coming down here. I can feel my heart racing, my palms sweating at the thought of finding it. Nexus leads us down the final bit of the tunnel and turns left. The tunnel opens out into a small room, about ten feet by ten feet. It’s a tight squeeze, but we all gather around a trapdoor that’s sunk into the floor. I step forward and take hold of a thick iron ring that sits in the center of the trapdoor. I heave with everything I have but it doesn’t budge.

  “Here, let me try,” Sunday says, stepping forward.

  “If Rye can’t pull it open with his super strength, I don’t think you have much chance, Sunday,” Aziza smirks.

  “But between us, we might be able to move it,” Sunday says.

  Sunday and I heave on the ring together, but it still doesn’t budge. The floor beneath our feet starts to shake slightly, and for a second, I think it’s moving, but then Grace calls out.

  �
�Shit. The tunnel is caving in, guys.”

  I look up quickly and see she’s right. Cracks are appearing in the walls.

  “Run,” I shout as a loud rumbling noise sounds from behind us.

  I grab Sailor’s hand and pull her into the next section of the tunnel. I can hear the others behind me as I pelt along. I realize I am no longer pulling Sailor. She’s keeping up with me easily.

  “Faster,” Ya-Ya shouts. “This one is crumbling too.”

  Sailor goes up a gear and gets out in front of me. I up my pace too and we fly around a corner. The next part of the tunnel is so low we have to run bent double. The walls of this one aren’t packed solid. They’re loose soil and I know we’re nearly out. Someone other than Nexus has found this tunnel and they’ve burrowed in from the outside.

  A flash of daylight up ahead confirms it, and suddenly I’m outside, deep in the forest. I straighten up and look around. I don’t recognize the part of the forest we’re in. I turn back to the entrance of the tunnel and watch as one by one the team pops out. Ya-Ya is fussing around, wiping soil from herself and moaning about dirt beneath her nails and in her hair.

  Everyone is out except Nexus. I am about to go back in to find her when she bursts out, gasping for breath.

  “This body is broken,” she wheezes.

  I take a step toward her. The janitor’s body isn’t made for sprinting and I think Nexus is about to flake out. She bends double, her hands pressed on her knees as she tries to catch her breath.

  “Ummm, guys,” Sailor says quietly.

  We all turn to look at her. Nexus instantly straightens back up, ignoring her own labored breathing as she moves closer to Sailor. In Sailor’s hand is the medallion. And it’s glowing an intense red.

  “How did you do it?” Nexus asks.

  “I don’t know,” Sailor admits. “I felt something warm in my pocket and I pulled it out. And it was red.”

  Nexus and Grace exchange grins.

  “What is it?” I demand.

  “Looks like Sailor doesn’t need extra scribe training after all,” Grace says, pointing. “The cave we’ve been scoping out is just over that hill.”