Shadow Rising -- chapter two

Chapter Two – nightmare

I knew Blaze Thunderthorn was following me after the duel. I also knew he wanted to talk. I walked away from the crowds, towards an empty warehouse. Once we’re both inside, we faced each other mutely.

Finally he said, “So, Suriyah Drakehammer is still alive.”

I tried not to shiver at the sound of my real name. “As are you.”

“You recognized me immediately.”

“I’ve known you since I was born. Our parents were close.”

“And you’ve been hiding out here all this time? Does Ambrose know? Hope you realize it was risky coming here. If anyone saw you using that skill of yours–”

“All anyone knows is that you lost to a Magnus. Pathetic.”

“Didn’t your mother tell you never to use it again?”

I fell silent. He was right, but that’d didn’t mean he wasn’t wrong in other regards. “I used it to stop Nightmare, Cyclone, and your father.”

Blaze shook his head. “You’re going to regret ever coming here.”

I glared at him. “I won't be here for long anymore. Just because he was my father doesn’t mean he didn’t teach me anything.”

I flung my hand towards the wall to my right, and a swirling, dark blue portal opened up.

Blaze gasped and pointed. “Th-that’s...”

“Yes.”

“You’re actually…”

“Indeed I am.” I flung my hand back and the portal closed. It probably hadn’t even lead anyway, I couldn’t really control the power yet. Still, it was enough to get Blaze to shut up and listen. “But I use my powers for the good of the people, and self defense. My intentions are meant to do good, and I refuse to be ruled by those who want to use this power for themselves.” I looked away, biting back from adding: like my father.

I moved towards the door. Before I left, I turned and looked back at Blaze, who was looking at me with complete shock and confusion. His green eyes were filled with questions, but as they met mine a new emotion overcame them: sadness. It hurt to look at him.

“I should tell Ambrose,” he said after a moment.

I smiled sourly. “You could. You may want to. But you won't. We both saw the same things three years ago, and we both know that not even Ambrose can help me.”

“Will you… You know… Someday…?”

I stared at the wall, just past his face. “Someday. Maybe someday.”

I walked away, leaving him standing there alone, no doubt confused.

†††

“Suri! Suri Nightriver!”

I looked around, trying to find the person calling my name. The voice was too old for Aeden or Timothy, and Blaze was not coming near me any time soon (besides, he would be dumb enough to call me ‘Suriyah’). Finally, I spotted Malorn Ashthorn, the new Death Professor, coming towards me.

“Yes?”

“Your performance was amazing. Not only did you show power, but also skill. Something I’ve been looking for.”

“That’s nice.”

He gave me an odd look. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in class before…”

“Homeschooled,” I answered instantly. I knew I had to keep my answers short and concise, or I would say something stupid like I had when I had first met Aedan. Why was I always so close to spilling everything? It was such a bad habit. Maybe the extended period of time away from social interactions had actually negatively impacted me...

“Ah, I see. Well, anyway, I want you to represent the Death School in the Vita Mort duel.”

That surprised me. “Uh, really? Don’t you want to pick a… a Transcended or an Archmage?”

“Eh, I was watching them all. Sure, they have great power, but they have so much power they don’t need skill. And the lower ones, Adepts, Initiates and Journeymen, they have to rely on skill because they don’t have much power. Sure, both still have skill and power, but it’s still somewhat imbalanced. You, on the other hand, are right in the middle of the classes, with enough power to be a force, but still in need of skill to control it.”

“Oh.” It did make sense, to an extent. I mean, I disagreed a bit, there were quite a few tough monsters out there in the world who would never be brought down with brute power alone.

“Anyway, let me explain the fight. You’ll be fighting a Legend Monster, Nightmare, to be specific, set at a power level of twenty-five.”

I gasped and froze. I couldn’t help it. Nightmare!? He was a monster of pure Death magic. Each school had one, the whole group of them called the Legend Monsters. They were the main force of destruction of Wizard City and Marylebone during the Dark Epoch.

Taking in my expression he laughed. “It’s only a projection that I control, certainly not the real one.”

I laughed weakly, relieved. Though I had fought Nightmare before, I wasn’t keen to do so again. “Oh, alright. But um… can you make it a higher level? Say, fifty-five?” I wanted a challenge, but now I need to give him a reason. “I… During that time Nightmare…”

Malorn smiled kindly and knowingly. Bingo. “I get it. A lot of people were affected by Nightmare during the Dark Epoch, but it’s against the rules to go more than a couple levels higher than the wizards own. The highest I could make it is level thirty-five.”

I shook my head. “No. Fifty-five, or I won’t fight.”

He scratched the back of his head. “Fine, fine. Fifty-five. Okay, here’s how it’ll go. You’ll be in the arena with no dueling circle, therefore you have the leisure of casting several spells at a time. There’s a time limit of half an hour, but I doubt any of the duels will take that long.” He pointed behind me to a glass viewing stand where other wizards already stood, looking down on the arena. “That’s where the other representatives are, and where you’ll hang out until its your turn.

Just as he turned to walk away I asked, just out of curiosity, “Wait, if you had to put a level to the actual Nightmare, what would you say it was?”

He thought for a moment. “If I had to? I’d say level... two-hundred.”

He walked away looking slightly perplexed. Sighing, I made my way to the room he had pointed out. This was probably a bad idea. A terrible idea. The worst idea in the history of awful ideas. There was no way I was going to make it out of here unnoticed now. Maybe I hadn’t run my mouth, but I had blindly agreed before I had even realized what was really happening. Was wrong with tme!?

When I arrived, I saw most of the wizards there were levels fifty to seventy, surprisingly. I had been expecting more Archmage’s. I guess what Malorn had said was what all the teachers were thinking. The only level remotely close to mine was a level forty-eight Theurgist.

A Conjurer, level seventy, looked dumbstruck as I walked in. “A Magnus? What is Malorn thinking now? Honestly, at least a Master would’ve been fine.”

My temper immediately started to boil. Calm down, I told myself, gritting my teeth. It’s not worth it. You’re here. You know you messed up. Do not make it worse.

“Kevin, calm down. Ambrose probably wanted variety,” the level sixty-eight Pyromancer said. He looked over at me. “You fought Blaze Thunderthorn right?”

I nodded, trying not to feel intimidated. Sure, they were practically my age, but their levels were intense all the same.

“See, if this girl can beat a Master, she should have the right to have at least have caught Malorn’s eye.” The Myth kid, Kevin, muttered something to the Thaumaturge who laughed. I decided I didn’t want to know what he had said as my anger began to flare more.

“Oh please, he picked me because I told him I could finish off Nightmare in half your time,” I snapped, glaring at the Conjurer, who glared back. “Without casting a single spell.”

And, well, there you have it.

Me digging my own grave.

I am an idiot.

Blaze and Howard were going to kill me.

The others looked up in shock. Kevin walked over until we’re no more than a foot apart. He was at least a head taller than I was, and a year or two older. He looked like he had plenty of power and skill. “You making a bet?”

“You bet I am, no pun intended.”

The Diviner, a girl level fifty-seven, snickered. When the Pyromancer shot her a glare, she pretended to be fiddling with her glowing wand. When no one continued to say anything, she stood and walked to my side. She was a pretty girl, with thick, honey-gold hair and sparkling blue eyes. “This is a duel about rivalries. I finished mine with the Ice School, why not migrate back to the classical one with Myth,” she said confidently. Her voice was smooth and her words even. I admired her skill at remaining level headed.

Kevin seemed to slightly back down. Most of the opposite schools were fairly matched, except Storm and Myth, the obvious advantage in brute power going to Storm. Myth may have higher health, but with weaker spells, Storm had the up hand advantage.

“I’m the highest level here. You think you can beat me?” argued Kevin.

The storm girl shrugged, as if to say ‘I don’t really care either way’. “I’m confidant this Necromancer can do your duel in half the time.”

So far the sides were obvious: Fire, Ice, and Myth against Death and Storm. The Sorcerer and Theurgist were sitting back, as though merely entertained with our argument.

We’re interrupted by a loud horn. The announcer yelled: “WE WILL NOW BEGIN THE VITA MORT DUELS. ONE STUDENT FROM EACH SCHOOL WAS CHOSEN TO FIGHT IN THIS SPECIAL ROUND. THEY MUST SHOW BOTH POWER, SKILL, KNOWLEDGE, AND INTELLECT IF THEY ARE TO BE VICTORIOUS.”

Loud cheering rose from the crowd. Everyone had come to see how the final duels would play out. The announcer continued.

“FIRST UP: MIRANDA FROSTHAND, LEVEL SIXTY-TWO LEGENDARY THAUMATURGE. SHE SHALL BE FIGHTING ICEPINE!”

Icepine was the Legend Monster of Ice, obviously. Like Nightmare, who was of absolute Death power, Icepine was a monster of absolute Ice power -- and destruction when controlled by the wrong hand, like it had been. Like they all had been.

Once Miranda was in the arena, thick chains came down around the perimeter of the arena, probably to protect the audience. From a large, dark doorway on the side of the arena where there wasn’t any seating, there came a humongous monster with the general shape of a pine tree with ice branches and a malevolent face, its blue eyes gleaming. With branched like hands, it immediately began to trace several Ice symbols at once, and Miranda is bombarded with two Wyverns and three Snow Serpents. Using its giant roots to move around, it usually avoided her attacks. It was a long battle, lasting a solid twenty-two minutes, but in the end Icepine was defeated when Miranda cast two Frost Giants. Using such power clearly drained her, but it had earned her victory.

The battles continued like that.

Courtney Greensphere battled valiantly against Emerald Specter from the School of Life. Emerald Specter was a ghost lady the color of green, dressed in an elaborate dress with a mournful expression. Through the whole duel she went on and on about the emerald necklace her now dead husband had given her. Controlling earth, she creates magic-absorbing shields. Since Courtney won her duel in the puzzle arena, I decided she’s probably the smartest person I’ve seen all night as she quickly learned the specters weakness: light. Using Rebirth and Regenerate, she not only stayed healed, but also defeated the ghost.

Brian Fierblood fought Ember from the School of Fire. Ember was lava with the general shape of a man. He could sink into the ground and reappear anywhere and he only ever cast Meteor Shower. Brain had a difficult time fighting, having been recognized by Professor Falmea for his power. In the end he forfeited and was rushed to the infirmary for his burns to be tended to.

James Shield fought Sandman from the School of Balance. Sandman quite really tall, probably eleven feet and wore a billowy robe decorated with silver stars with a floppy hat that covered his eyes. His common ability was sending out sweet smells that caused hallucinations or sleep. However, James went into this battle seeming to know exactly what he was doing. Using Locust Swarm and Sandstorm, he knocked away the sweet smells and defeated the Sandman.

Jasmine Stormhaven fought Cyclone from School of Storm. Though I rooted for Jasmine, I shivered as I watched the giant, swirling mass of water with sparkling eyes spraying Tempest everywhere, along with Leviathan. I had fought it, the real Cyclone, during the Dark Epoch. Jasmine, like Courtney, quickly figured out Cyclone’s weakness: earthquakes. Using Stormzilla to break open the ground, then she used Tempest to wash it around. Afterwards, the audience was soaked. When declared victory, Jasmine cheered and the crowd roared. She was definitely a people’s person. Maybe I could learn from.

The duel before mine was Kevin Battlespear against Stone Angel from the School of Myth. Stone Angel was just how it sounded: an angel made of stone, wings partly unfolded, hooded head bowed low, a sword pointing down clutched in its grasp. I watched, amused, as Kevin attacked it from all angles, using Cyclopes and Medusas mostly -- yet not even a scratch appeared. Frustrated, he turned away, stalking back and forth. I was not surprised as Stone Angel moved as he turned his back. Kevin turned around at the sound of the audience gasping. A sword had been ready to plunge into his back, held high by the angel. However, now it was frozen back into place.

The only other Legend Monster I had seen during the Dark Epoch beside Nightmare and Cyclone had been Stone Angel. It only moved when you aren’t looking, and no physical attacks can be made upon it unless it was moving. No one person could defeat the Stone Angel.

However Kevin did. Using several Earthquakes at once, Kevin turned his back. The Angel began to strike just as the first Earthquake hit it. It turned to attack the new enemy when another Earthquake hit.

To my disappointment, Kevin completed his duel in fourteen minutes, which meant I had only seven to complete mine. Jasmine gave me a pat on the shoulder and an encouraging thumbs up. “You got this.”

“LAST DUEL,” started the announcer, “SURI NIGHTRIVER, LEVEL THIRTY-THREE MAGNUS NECROMANCER. SHE SHALL BE FIGHTING NIGHTMARE!”

I moved quickly to the arena and stood in the middle of the space. The gates opened and out poured the billowing black smoke that sparked with dark blue lightning. Rusted, metallic tentacles slithered out and around me, and the smoke fully emerged. Gleaming, dark blue eyes glared all around.

The monster was huge, practically the size of the arena. I barely had room to cast Dark Sprite. Luckily for me, I was not allowed to cast spells. I closed my eyes, and when they reopen, I’m seeing from Malorn’s point of view. Light gray-black mist glitters between his hands as he controls the monster. The level was only at twenty-five.

Sighing, slightly annoyed I had been jibbed, I turned it up to fifty-five.

Back in my own body, the monsters aggravation seemed unchanged. My hand hanging at my side, I reached forward with my mind, searching for the beast’s own. It was tough, looking through all that black smoke.

Finally I found it, the presence of Nightmare’s mind.

I tried to cling to it, but I had to let go to avoid being slashed by a Skeletal Pirate. I slipped my pocketwatch out and read the time. Ten more minutes. I reached for Nightmare’s mind again, this time grabbing firm.

“Oh that won’t work again on me little girl,” a sludgy voice echoed in my head.

Gasping, I stepped back and stared at the monster, letting go of its mind. It was looking at me with intelligence. It swung an arm and I ducked to avoid it.

“But you can’t be!” I said, astounded.

“But I am.” The monster laughed, all in my head. It was the only way the Legend Monsters could speak, through one’s mind. “I know your dirty little trick. I fell for it once those three years ago, and I won’t do so again.”

“How did you escape?” I whispered. This was the real Nightmare, and, as Malorn said, level two-hundred. All the Legend Monsters had been locked away in Dragonspyre after the Dark Epoch due to the massive amount of damage they had done. They had been meant to be used as protection against the source of the Dark Epoch, but those who had been used for corruption had turned on their masters and started destroying everything. I had witnessed this with Cyclone and Stone Angel. Nightmare had not had a master, so it had roamed free during the Dark Epoch, wrecking whatever lay in it’s path.

“You are human. You are all human. All humans have nightmares. While you sleep you are vulnerable. Not only can flesh tear, but also your mind.”

“You are working for someone,” I muttered. If people heard me talking to the monster… well… that’d be weird. “Who?”

“I am not allowed to tell, but I was not told I could not give hints.” Nightmare smiled, showing a mouth that glowed with fire. “Your destiny awaits you, its time for you to go home.”

My eyes widen. No… Not possible. “I have a home,” I snapped instead.

“But how much longer will that home be there? Soon only Dragonspyre will be left, for a world of fire is the only world that can survive it. All the wizards will go there, to survive. Ambrose cannot rule there, for he is not the rightful ruler.”

It’s smile grew wider. I knew what was coming next. “You are.”

Not even bothering to find his mind, with a yell my fist clenched and Nightmare bent backwards. I threw my fist down onto the ground, as though I am punching it. Nightmare followed, as if it was my hand. Digging my knuckles into the ground, I worked a shallow hole. My fingers began to bleed from the scrapes and stung my hands.

Soon I’m practically up to my elbow.

I leaned back. Laughing, Nightmare climbed out of the hole. It’s smoky form remained low to the ground. Still laughing, it said, “Is that all you can do? Is that all your powers have reached since we last saw each other?”

I heard someone yell, “Stop the fight!” People were screaming, fleeing the stands. This was no longer just any fight. I glanced at my watch. I’m over seven minutes. Bet lost, I thought. Oh well.

My hand once again in a fist, I punched towards the wall and Nightmare went flying into it. I punched towards the other wall, then up into the sky, finally I bring it hurtling down. Rock and dust was everywhere. I’m sweating, the arena was completely destroyed. From its crater by the wall, Nightmare picked itself up again.

“My, my. Not very–”

“Shut up!” I yelled. “Shut up! You can’t talk to me like that! I will never do it! Never!” Nightmare was flying around. I didn’t even make a fist. It is the first time in my life I had controlled something without a hand motion. “I don’t need you telling me anything! I already know it! So crawl back to your master and LEAVE. ME. ALONE!”

My hands flew up, as did the monster, then my hands were flung towards the ground and the monster followed. Deeper and deeper into to the earth it went. Holding my hands in place, I could feel the tenseness in my muscles. Deeper and deeper still. Sand and rock were falling into the giant hole, covering it up.

Finally I stopped. I slumped to the ground, breathing hard. I tried to keep my eyes open, but I was so tired. Exhausted really. My body shook with pain, as if every bone was shattered and every muscle torn. But I had to stay awake. I had to get out of here.

Blurry shapes were running around. Other shapes are falling from the sky. The ground was tilting. I tried to keep my balance, but I fell with the tilt. My head hit something soft and my vision went black.

†††

I awoke to a dimly lit room. Croaky was bent over me, patting a wet washcloth to my forehead. My vision was dilating, darkness swarmed at the edge of my sight. People were talking, but far away. Howard probably, and most likely Ambrose. After tonight he was probably looking for me everywhere. I tried to stay awake, but my body felt like lead. I felt like I was at the bottom of the ocean with millions of tons of water on top of me. Again, the darkness filled in my vision and I felt nothing more.

†††

Something cool was being dripped into my mouth. I tried licking it away, but it made my tongue feel numb. Something that felt like a needle was sliding up and down my left leg, from my ankle to my knee. A feeling of panic came over me and I began to kick, trying to scream. A funny smelling cloth was wrapped over my mouth and nose. I tried not to breath in, but in the end I did. Instant darkness befell me.

†††

I stayed still, unmoving, the next time I woke up. I tried to listen to the voices that sounded as though they were through a door, but couldn’t make out much. I cracked my eyes open and saw that I was alone in the back room of Air Dhales Hideaway, Howard’s workshop that I was forbidden to enter. Slowly, I sat up, feeling something funny about my legs and arms. I wasn’t surprised though, after what happened at the Seven School’s Party I was bound to be sore. Moving as slowly and as silently as I could, I crept towards the door.

“I know what I did!” Howard exclaimed in a hushed voice. “I am an expert at this.”

“But still! It didn’t look right. She might’ve been able to heal.” The voice was familiar, though not belonging to Ambrose. That, at least, was a good thing.

“Might’ve. We have no certainty. I didn’t even know she could do that.”

“So? Now we know.”

“And we know what it does to her. I don’t know how long my fixings will work, how they will hold up if she does it again.” Silence. Then Howard asked, “Do we know anything about Nightmare?”

“No. I used my own magic to search everywhere, but I’m not cut out to be a detective. I even eavesdropped on the teachers, they couldn’t find anything either.” The person sighed. “Either she thrust it so far down we can’t detect it, or it’s not there anymore.”

I clenched my jaw and burst into the main room. “Of course he’s not there anymore! Do you think Nightmare would put up with thousands of pounds of dirt on top of him? No! He didn’t stay in the last prison either. Everything points to one conclusion: he has a master, and he’s back with him.”

I paused and looked around the room. Only three people were here: Croaky, who was sitting on a stool by the counter sorting treasure cards, Howard, who was leaning across a table scattered with instruments meant for fix clockworks, and Blaze.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him.

“Your friends Aeden and Timothy carried you out of there. I found them and led them here. You may also want to know that you destroyed half of Chelsea Court. Good job,” Blace added sarcastically.

I glared at him. “Nightmare destroyed half of the court. I stopped him from destroying the rest.”

“Suri, do you know how you did that?” asked Howard.

“Did what?”

“You’re powers are growing. You usually need hand motions, but this time…” He shook his head in disbelief.

“I’m sorry,” I said lamely. “It was the only way to stop him.”

“Well I hope not,” said Howard, angry again. “Do you know what you did to your body?”

“Well I sure hurt after. And I was tired. That’s about it.”

“You drained all your energy. Sure, some wizards lose all their mana and feel depleted, but you lost all your energy and you were this close to losing your life.” He held up two fingers half an inch apart. “And even worse is the hurting part.”

“Just tell me what happened already!” I exclaimed, impatient.

Howard took a deep breath. “You fractured practically every bone in your body.” Silence all around the room. Croaky was giving me a sad expression, Blaze was looking at the table, and Howard was glaring. “I’m sorry but… There was only one way to save you. Your destiny–”

In sudden anger, I picked up a stein on the counter and threw it against the wall. It made a very loud noise, but not nearly loud enough to alleviate my anger. “Stop it! Stop it with the destiny thing! Destiny is just a word to describe why things happen. My life is my own. My future is my own! I got it from my father, I got it from Nightmare, and I don’t need it from you!”

I stormed back the way I came and slammed the door behind me, Blaze’s fleeting, “Suri…” trailing my back. Before I could stop it, the tears are stinging my eyes. I rubbed them away furiously.

“Ouch,” I muttered. I looked down at my hand. It looked normal enough. I carefully light a couple of candles and looked in the mirror hanging on the wall.

Who stared back at me was not my own reflection. It was someone who had sunken eyes, sweaty hair, and sickly skin, but who also had a wire running around their forehead that looked like a circlet had it not been part of their skin.

Horrified, I looked down at my hands. Some tips, a few knuckles, and both thumbs were made of wood and metal. I lifted up the hem of the soft, cotton dress I’m wearing to see that my left leg, to just past the knee, was made of steel with two strips of wood. I wiggled my toes, and they responded. My fingers did the same. Shaking, afraid of what I will find, I look at my chest. A circle of metal no bigger than a tea saucer was platted there, just over my heart.

I stared at it horrified, biting back my scream.

†††

“You had no right to do that to me,” I snarled at Howard.

“I had no choice.”

“You always have a choice.”

“As I said before, now please don't yell at me this time, you have a destiny.”

I bit back my curt reply. Croaky still looked sorry, as did, for some odd reason, Blaze. “Will I ever be normal again?” I asked.

Howard shook his head. “The wood was given to me by a friend many years ago. It’s enchanted specifically for something like this. I thought I would never have to use it. I hoped not to. But thankfully when the time came I capable of saving you.”

“It’s Bartleby’s wood,” I said, stating fact. “It smells the same.”

Blaze nodded. “I got you these.” He held out a pair of leather gloves and knee high boots, both black. “You may want them.”

“Thanks,” I said grudgingly, and took them.

“The leather is from–”

“A black widow’s skin,” I said in wonder, having just recognized the material myself. “One of the hardest materials in the Spiral. How did you get it?”

Looking slightly miffed from being interrupted, he replied, “I found them in a trunk in the attic a couple months back. The gloves anyway. I started harvesting more to craft them into boots. I was going to make them for myself but after what happened…” He shrugged. “I thought you might need them more.”

“Oh. Thanks again.” I looked over at Howard. “How long was I out?”

“Three days after the surgery.”

I gaped at him. “Three days? Whole days?”

Howard nodded. “The time you woke up when I was working on your leg you almost kicked me in the face. After we had to over drug you to make sure you stayed out.” He rubbed his arm. “You also almost punctured yourself with a needle. When you kicked.”

I stared at the floor. “My… agility and power isn’t… dulled or something is it?”

Blaze shook his head. “A person’s power doesn’t change.”

Howard sighed. “She’s talking about her thieving. She’s hasn’t exactly been sitting around while she’s been out here now was she.” Giving me the evil eye he turned away.

“Well, most of the things I stole were for your clockworks and other gadgets,” I retorted.

“Not everything. You stole some things for that pet of yours.”

I looked over at Roscoe, the Brass Golem I had fixed a few days ago. “So? What about the hat?” I always knew how to set him off. Just mention Tracy Castleton’s hat.

“She took my wrench! And that is not the point around here.”

“So? Just because you couldn’t get away with stealing one thing–”

“She took my wrench!” he repeated.

“–Doesn’t mean that I have to steal things for you.”

“As I said.”

“Um, I think she took your wrench afterwards.”

“No. She took my wrench because she thought I stole her hate.”

“No. I took the wrench and the hat.”

“No. She, wait… What?”

I gave him my most innocent face, my spirits slowly lifting. “What?”

“What did you say about you giving her my wrench?”

“I didn’t say anything of the sort.”

“Yes you did. You gave her my wrench?”

“Well…”

“That was my prized gear wrench! I’d had that since I was a boy!”

I turned to Blaze. “Let’s take a walk.”

“Good idea,” he responded instantly.

“Great. Let me change first.” Leaving Howard ranting to himself about the wrench, I went back to my room and slipped on a Marlybonian uniform, its color black. Trying on the boots and gloves, I found, much to my irritation, that they fit perfectly. Less to my irritation, and they hid my brand new clockwork parts.

Why was I irritated?

I didn’t know.

I guess I just really hated Blaze.

†††

“So, you took his wrench?” Blaze asked. We had been walking in silence around Regents Square for quite some time.

Chewing a piece of bread since I was absolutely starving, I responded, “Yup. And I took her hat. Naturally they blamed each other, each denying that they did no such thing.” Meeting his accusing glare, I said in defense, “What? I was bored!”

After a little more silence he asked, “So what’s it like living out here?”

I paused to think about the question. “Well… Dark. The evernight can be a bit dreary sometimes, but it’s great for hiding in, which I like to do.” I paused some more. Finally, I managed to say how I really feel about the world. “It’s lonely though.”

“What about Howard? And the frog?”

“Croaky. They’re great. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re my family, even though Howard is as annoying Blood Bats. It’s just that… now that Howard thinks I have a destiny too...” I trailed off.

“Too? Who else thinks that?”

“Well, I did yell it at Howard back there. Nightmare, my father.” I sighed. “Especially my father.” Blaze nodded, he knew just as well as I did.

“Are you ever going to… you know… Consider fulfilling your destiny?”

I shrugged. “My father wanted me to. No, that’s more like forced me to.” I shook my head. “I’m not going to. I might’ve done it had my dad not… you know, caused the Dark Epoch and all that.”

“But you do know all about it.”

I shook my head. “No. Not all. But I don’t really want to.”

“You ought to catch up on your reading. Did you know a copy of the book is in every library? The one in Dragonspyre is the best… but… maybe that’s not… yeah good idea… Okay the one here is… fine,” he amended when he felt my glare that could set ice on fire. The last place I wanted to go to was Dragonspyre.

We made our way over to the Marylebone library. Letting ourselves in, Blaze guided me over to a section in the back corner where it was pretty dark, and it didn’t look like a lot of people came here often. He scanned along the bookshelf, his face close trying to see in the dim light. Finally he pulled out a thin, brown leather book.

“Here. This was written the day you were born. It’s all about you.”

I opened it up to the first page.

The Destiny of Suriyah Drakehammer

“You’re kidding me.” I grimaced. “An entire book? About me?”

Blaze nodded. “You’re mother told me about it. Only those who know you can read it. So in case you’re wondering you should know that basically no one has read it. Read chapter five.”

I obediently flipped to the appointed page and start reading.

Chapter Five

The Premonition of the Hourglass

I read, getting more and more annoyed as I found out about more stuff that I never even knew. To think there was a book about me? A memory fluttered at the back of my mind, about this book. Pushing it down I decided I’d had enough.

“Wow, a person from a thousand four hundred years ago had a vision of my destiny. Typical.” I glared at Blaze. “I refuse to read more about my destiny and the stupid hourglass prophecy.”

“Suriyah, read one more paragraph. Just one more.”

Taking pity on his plea, I turned back to the book.

However, like all visions, there was a loophole. Like a person’s blind spot, the Diviner missed one thing: that many would want to control the power gifted to Suriyah, even those closest to her. The loophole is like this: if the one person whom Suriyah trusted and loved most betrayed her for her power then she would have a choice. A choice to either fulfill her destiny or shatter it. However her choice must be made by the moment of her sixteenth birthday, or else her destiny will continue.

I stopped. I could shatter my destiny? Yes, I had been very close with my father, I had loved him more than anyone, and he had betrayed me for my power, for my destiny.

“When’s your birthday?” asked Blaze. Clearly he has read this before.

I smiled. “Tomorrow.”

By
Emma Dawnrider