I stared. Sabrina stared. Emily stared. Wolf stared. We all stared. Even Glutch stared. After a while I let out a light cry as Sabrina shifted. She was holding onto my hair as well as my arm. She released me with such ferocity that I tumbled backwards. Wolf, recovering from the shock, let out a gasp as if he were just seeing the ghost for the first time.
Emma. Stop them staring. It’s creeping my out.
“Uh . . .” was all I could croak out. In my mind, the ghost sighed.
“Please, stop your staring. It is bothering Calamity.” I spun around looking for the voice. It was gruff and deep like a mans voice. As I rotated for about the tenth time, I spotted who it was.
“You can hear ghosts Glutch?”
“I can speak to them too. But you would hear me as well as Calamity.”
“Who’s Calamity?” asked Emily.
“Calamity Greenfire. She was the last Life Guardian. Like the Taskmaster was. Except she died in battle. The Taskmaster, knowing he was going to die next, summoned up all his strength for one final spell. That killed the darkness. But something brought him back from the dead. Or maybe he never died completely.” At this Glutch stared at me so hard he might as well have burned a hole through the back of my skull. I shudder and looked away.
Sabrina looked about to say something, but was cut short. And of course you want to know why. Only because a loud-sweet melody filled the air. We all heard footsteps echoing off the walls. The melody and the footsteps were getting louder. They were coming closer. Suddenly, Vanessa came skipping into the room. She had a smile in her face and looked like she was the happiest person in the whole Spiral. She had taken the golden fiddle from an Imp she must’ve conjured. And what was more, about 100 Ice Serpents were following her. Swaying to the rhythm of the music. She danced in a circle around the room, the snakes following, and then stopped in the center.
As soon as she stopped playing, the snakes burst into blue sparkles and white snowflakes. The room was temporary covered in a fire-work-like drizzle of sparkles. Then they disappeared a foot from the ground.
Vanessa turned around and took in the room. And caught sight of Wolf.
Oh gosh.
She Wind Spoke me: Hello boy in the black tunic.
Really Vanessa?
What?
Vanessa stared at Wolf affectionately. And, amazingly, he stared back the same way. I looked over to Sabrina and rolled my eyes. She rolled her eyes in response. They soon forgot us, Wolf started explaining to Vanessa what had happened and about the demon and everything.
Then I noticed something.
The way Wolf waved his arm in the arch that he did. The way his hair shown in the dim light. They way he spoke softly, not loudly. Just, the way.
Then it clicked.
“W-W-Wolf-Fell?” I sputtered. Wolf froze in mid-sentence.
Vanessa touched his arm. “Are you ok?” He slowly turned and faced me. Vanessa’s hand fell to her side. “Wolf?” she said. Her voice full of worry and bewilderment.
But he didn’t seem to hear her. He was to stunned to. “L-Lady Lettuce?” The name brought back memories. All of them swirling before me. Of wooden bars and a moon sun swinging overhead. A rattle in my hand. The curious face of a young boy staring back down at me. Being held in a woman’s lap. Rocking back and forth. Giggle as the same boy made faces to make me laugh. Munching on green leaves.
And of that night.
All was darkness. I was barely 7 months old at the time. Fire raging around me. A dark man scooping me up. My father. But something was making him angry, something terrible. He ran from the door. Shirks of rage and fear shot at us from behind. I began to cry. Someone came at us through the darkness. Then, everything was cool. The smell of moss and pine wafted into my nose. Back then, the undiscovered world of Grizzleheim. Blackness. A burning sensation on my arm. But not only in the memory, but also there, in Stormhagen.
That meant Sylvia was my mother. I should tell her right away!
But . . .
Oh no.
That meant Malistaire was my father.
I screamed and grabbed my arm. Wolf, Emily and Calamity rushed (and floated) over. “Oh my gosh are you ok?” asked the extremely flustered Emily.
All I could do was groan, I gripped at my arm. Clawing at it like a hungry animal. As if I wanted to tear open my skin. I jerked back the tunic sleeve to reveal a black mark. It looked like it was flaming, orange slightly illuminated the scare.
Calamity jumped back as if just missing a fierce spell aimed at her. Her face showed that she was terrified out of her wits by something. Most likely my scar.
“Emma!” I bobbled my head in Wolf’s direction.
“It burns,” was all I could say. More memories swirled into my mind. Death spells flying like sparrows. Falling, caught. Teleported to a small town.
The same burning feeling on my arm. Crying. Frightened. My parents gone. My family gone. Then snow. Enchanting flakes of crystallized water.
No.
They were in the cavern right now.
“C’mon Emma. Come back to us.”
I shuddered. I put my hand to my head but snapped it back. It was covered in frost. Snow stuck to my eyelashes and eyelids.
“Ow! OW! Stop it! Stop poking me. I’m fine,” I snapped.
“No ones poking you,” Emily said calmly. I turned and glared at Calamity who giggled.
“Can you still see Calamity?” I asked. They all looked around and shook their heads. So she had become invisible again. Figures.
“What did you see Emma?” asked Vanessa.
“See . . . What do you mean?” I asked.
“When you started covering in frost Glutch said you were seeing into your past. Or remembering things none of us can remember, like when we were babies. So. What’d ya see?”
“I saw Sylvia,” I started. “And Wolf, about seven years younger. Fire burning everywhere. I saw where I came from. I was born in Mooshu. In one night I was teleported two times. Once to Grizzleheim, it wasn’t discovered back then, and then to Olde Town where I live now.”
And tell them about your scar. I turned to Calamity.
“First, tell me why you were so frightened a couple minutes ago.” By now everyone had gotten used to me ‘talking-to-thin-air’ conversation.
Your scar is what connects you to Malistaire. As long as you live, he lives. He is invincible. Nothing can harm him. No spells or anything. I groaned. So the only way to kill Malistaire was to . . .
“EMMA!”
I didn’t turn. I didn’t look back. I didn’t even say anything. In the quickest I’ve ever done, I opened my spell book and disconnected friend teleports and Wind Speaking.
Infuriating Sabrina, I ran. For the second time that day I ran like a Minotaur was racing behind me. Indeed, footsteps did sound, but I only ran harder.
A million thoughts raced through my head.
Malistaire was my father. Sylvia was my mother. Wolf was my brother. I’m adopted with Joanna and Caleb. Why was I running? I was trying to run away from my past. My future. My Destiny. Those thoughts hit me like a brick wall. And I ran right into it without knowing. Though I still ran in Stormhagen, the running battle in my mind was over.
I skidded to a halt right around a corner. Just as I–
BAM!
I collided painfully into someone else. I fell backwards and so did they. The wind knocked out of me. After a few seconds to gather what had just happened, I jumped back up to run again. But then I caught sight of who I had just ran into.
A boy.
Quickly checking his status, I found out who he was. Marcus Fireflame level 24 Pyromancer. “Hi. Sorry. Bye,” I said quickly and continued on my way at a fast trot.
“Hey. Hey wait a minute!” called Marcus from behind me. I slowed and turned around. He was jogging up to me.
“Uh-huh?” I asked snappily.
“Where were you coming from? That part of Stormhagen was blocked off the other day. And it’s caved in. What were you doing?”
“Business from the Headmaster. Now I ask you the same question.”
He reddened a little. “Uh, I just wanted to see if what people said was true.”
“And what were people saying,” I asked. Now kind of bored.
“Oh. Nothing worth repeating. Stuff about a prophecy. A time that happened 13 years ago. I think they called it the something time . . .”
“The Dark Time,” I muttered absentmindedly.
“The what time?” he asked.
“Oh sorry. The Dark Time. Didn’t you pay attention during Spiral History?” I snapped. He shook his head no. I sighed. “It was the time just when I was born. When Malistaire’s wife Sylvia died. He got mad or something and started destroying things. The Spiral was just being created then. Wizard City and Dragonspyer were the only two worlds. But Dragonspyer was the only world that taught magic, Fire Magic at that.”
Marcus nodded. “Yeah. Yeah I think I remember something about that.”
“Malistaire started trying to take over the two worlds. Of course, a group of people called the Guardians over through him a year after. So everything’s good now.”
“But wait. People have been saying Malistaire has come back. To finish what he started 13 years ago,” protested Marcus.
I visibly paled. Although I didn’t say, all these rumors were true.
“Emma!” the voice echoed off the walls. “Eahhh-mmaaaaa!”
“Ugh. Be right back,” I said to Marcus. I started running down the hallway. “Yeah!” I said.
“Emma! Where are you?”
“Down the hall way. Who’s speaking?”
“Sabrina.”
“Um, Sabrina? How’s everyone?”
“They’re guh–” I skidded to halt at the same time Sabrina did too, and we barely missed ramming into each other by a heartbeat.
“–ood.”
We backed away and looked around. “I heard you talking to someone? Who?”
“Oh. Marcus Fireflame. He was wonder if the rumors were true.”
“What rumors?”
“Oh, just that people are speaking of a ‘prophecy’. And of the Dark Time. And that Malistaire ahs come back.”
Sabrina gasped. “What!”
I nodded. “Yep.”
Sabrina’s shocked exasperation turned into something of annoyance mixed with mystery. “You’re not telling me something. You know something about these rumors don't you?”
I exhaled. I did. Should I tell her? She was my friend after all. Wait, did she know that Malistaire had come back to finish what he’d started? If she did she wasn’t telling me something. So I used what she’d just used on me on her. “A secret for a secret. What do you know?”
Sabrina groaned. “I knew you were going to say that.” I smirked at her. She thought for a while before saying “I can’t think of one right now.”
“What about the Noodle Rumor going around the life school?”
“I didn’t do that! It was Amber! Amber Roespetal from fire school. I saw her mix them up and dump them outside the doors! She went home after that. Don't ask me why.”
“Uh huh.”
“You don't believe me. Do you?”
“They found a thermos under your desk half filled with hard pasta. And how would you know it was Amber if you were in class?”
“Amber put it there. And I saw her out the window.”
“Sure ‘bout that? You sit away from the window.”
“Oh shut up.”
“No. Really Sabrina. What is with the Noodles?”
She sighed. “Heather Raven the Grandmaster Conjurer was making fun of different schools. Mostly Life and Storm. I got mad and cast a Seraph. It as quite easy with all the magic coming from Bartleby. Heather dared me to dump noodles outside some schools doors. ‘What if I get caught? Or suspected?’ I asked. ‘Just blame it on Amber Roespetal,’ she said. “I’ll give you a treasure card of Centaur for it.’ And I really wanted Centaur. So I did it, she met me outside the World Gate and gave it to. When people asked me about it I just said ‘Amber Roespetal, the level 36 Pyromancer did it.’”
I looked at her, aghast. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was too scared.”
I still stared at her. She stared back. “Now you tell me what you know.”
I sighed. I had forgotten about that. “Ok. So the whole reason I came down here was to find Wolf and make him tell me about what he did. He did as you saw. Then I met Marcus up that-a way and he said we wanted to see if the ‘rumors’ were true. People are saying Malistaire is back and wants to finish what he started. And its true. All the rumors are. I just don't know how I’m gonna tell that to Marcus. Emily, Vanessa and Wolf. And especially everyone else. Unless I make Marcus swear he won’t tell. Just go back saying he found nothing.”
“HAHA! I was right!” yelled Marcus, bounding around the corner. Sabrina and me groaned. He started doing a little dance singing, “I was right. I was right. I was right.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We get alright just SHUT UP!” Marcus stopped and looked at us curiously. Still grinning though. “Please. Don't tell anyone. Whatever you just heard, don't say anything about it. Not even to your best friend in the whole wide Spiral. Got it? Good. Moving on.”
“No one can know, so you better get this straight and clear. Were in Stormhagen the day of the ‘incident’?”
“Uh, no. but my older sister, she’s a Grandmaster Storm Wizard, told me everything. Even about how this girl played a harp and they whizzed back to the Oasis. And that the girl was Guardian or something when they were in the Headmasters Tower.”
“Yeah. Ok. The point is,” –I took a deep breath– “I’m that girl.”
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