Alex McKenna & the Academy of Souls

by Vicki-Ann Bush

  "Yeah. Whatever's going on, it's got my spidey sense at attention. We need to find Bethany."

  "We got less than ten minutes until the next strike. Why don't we split up? The mountain is East, so we can rule that out. Zachary and Kyle, you go North. Margaret and I will take South, and Ophelia and Amry go West. Zachary, where's the next shelter?"

  "Approximately a mile North. I constructed a sufficient shelter years ago."

  "Okay. Everyone meets there as soon as you can. Don't get stuck out here. Any longer than five or six minutes and head for safety," Alex commanded.

  Alex took a firm grip on Margaret's hand. He didn't want any surprises like Kyle had. They traced their steps back from the direction they had just come. The space was wide open—nothing to shield someone from sight.

  "She's not here. Clearly, we can see the entire terrain. Other than going back to the grove, I think we need to follow a different direction," Margaret suggested.

  "We both know she didn't just wander off. She'd never leave Kyle's side willingly. Let's search around a little more. Maybe what we're looking for isn't in plain sight."

  "What do you mean?"

  "We're in a realm of spirits and magick. Just because we can't see something, doesn't mean it's not here. We shouldn't take anything at face value."

  "Huh. Makes sense. What should we look for?"

  "I'm not sure. But I got a feeling we'll know if we see it."

  "Like that?" Margaret tilted her head.

  Alex set his gaze in the direction she pointed. In the middle of one of the many pools of watery muck, there stood three brown, leafy bushes.

  "Okay. That's so odd. I don't remember seeing that before, and I'm pretty sure it would have stuck out."

  " Me neither. What now? Got any tricks up those sleeves?"

  "Actually, I do. It's that spell Gram taught me to help reveal ghosts who were hiding. Remember? It's from the case we did last Spring. The little boy who was confused. He didn't realize he was dead, and he did some fierce poltergeist crap to his parents. The spell enabled me to see him so we could communicate."

  "I do remember. You guided him to cross over."

  "I'll try it on those bushes. If there's more there, the spell will reveal the true picture."

  Alex inched closer. He removed a small satchel from his front pocket. Loosening the cord, he removed a white cloth containing a single crystal and clutched it in his left hand. Cinching the bag, he returned it to his pocket.

  "When the hell did you start carrying that?"

  "When I made the decision to come here. Thought some of these stones might come in handy. Now, in order to enact this spell, we would normally use a white or purple candle. We have neither."

  "Obviously." Margaret smirked.

  "Sarcasm? Really, Tesoro?"

  "Yeah. I know. Just go on."

  "I'm hoping I can use the flames of the fire burning. I know it's a long shot, but if my ability is strong enough, maybe it'll work."

  "You can do it. I know you can. Just believe in yourself as much as I do. And hurry. We're cutting it close."

  Making a circle in the dirt around the outer area of the pool, he stood for a few moments and cleared his head. Envisioning a bright, white flame with his mind, Alex imagined it growing bigger and bigger until it filled the circle. Making the light as strong as he could, he held onto the image for a minute before sending the light into the crystal he held in his hand. Then he visualized the stone absorbing all the white light, growing more intense than a thousand flames.

  Holding the stone to his forehead, he chanted the incantation:

  “May the truth I seek be revealed to me, may the hidden come to light, so mote it be.”

  Stepping back from the circle, he closed it with the brush of his foot in the dirt. Once again removing the satchel, he wrapped the crystal in the white cloth and placed it back in the bag. Returning it to his pocket, he waited.

  "Omg, look." Margaret's eyes opened wide.

  Alex furrowed his brow. The scorched, brown bushes were not plants at all. Like thousands of pixels coming together, the truth revealed itself. Floating in the middle of the shallow pool of impure liquid was Bethany, Leon, and Roger.

  "Alex!" Bethany screamed.

  "Who the hell are you?" Roger sneered."

  "Alex McKenna. I'm assuming you're Roger."

  "That would be me. Don't move. I swear I will toss her into the first bolt that touches down." Roger crushed his arm around Bethany's neck.

  "You sure do have an odd way of showing a girl you love her. From what I've been told, you tried to send her to The Nowhere. Now, you're willing to extinguish her life force for good? What the hell is it like if you don't like someone?"

  "Come closer. I'll show you." Roger sneered.

  "How did you find us?" Alex inquired.

  "Hmm. Interesting question. Aren't you gonna ask how I escaped, The Nowhere?"

  "I already know. You opened the door. You come from magick descent, you both do."

  "Well. Aren't you the smart one?”

  "I try," Alex said sarcastically.

  "How did we find you? Leon, would you like to answer?"

  "We followed Bethany's aurora. She left a trail of pink and purple crumbs. Like you said, magick background," Leon giggled.

  "I didn't do anything. Alex, I swear," Bethany cried out.

  "Stupid girl. Of course, you didn't do it on purpose. Roger put a honing spell on you months ago. We got it out of that book you stole," Leon barked.

  "We didn't steal anything. You left it," Bethany replied.

  "It wasn't yours to take," Roger roared.

  "It's not yours either. It belongs in a secure place. It's dangerous in the wrong hands. Namely, yours," Alex deepened his voice.

  Hearing the pleas from Bethany, the rest of the group swooped in and settled next to Alex and Margaret.

  Kyle swayed closer to Alex and whispered so Roger and Leon couldn’t hear him.

  "Alex. If anyone of us tries to get to her, Roger will throw her in the path of the first bolt. He’s not bluffing the guy is a real whack job. Even with teleportation, we'd never reach her in time."

  "I got an idea. It's a little crazy, but I think if you really try, it'll work," Margaret whispered.

  "Tell me." Alex leaned closer.

  "Remember earlier how you were able to find Haven with everyone's help. Well, what if they help again. But this time, you concentrate on Roger releasing her."

  "What are you saying?"

  "We know you can move things with your thoughts in your sleep. Your mom said it's just a matter of time before you'll be able to do it when you're awake. Maybe now's the time. They can give you an energy boost, you just need to concentrate."

  "It's not that easy."

  "Maybe not. But what else do we got. If you get closer, he kills you and Bethany. I think it's the best plan right now." Margaret folded her arms. "Did everyone hear that?"

  A low hum of confirmation answered the question.

  "Hey. What the hell are you whispering about? You better not try anything." Roger shoved Bethany toward a bolt splintering through a low cloud. His arm still firmly gripped around her neck. "Next time, I'll let go and your girl will go sailing into her demise," Roger raved.

  The group scooted close behind Alex. With their hands blocked from Roger's view, they each closed in, butting up to his back. His body jolted with the power unfurling in his veins. Concentrating his thoughts on the evil soul, Alex envisioned his own hand taking hold of Roger's forearm, he squeezed a tight grip and pulled back.

  Roger must have felt something, he stiffened his grip around her neck, and squeezed.

  "Oh. This is gonna be fun, McKenna. I guess there's more to you than I thought," Roger hissed. Maybe all those stories I’ve heard about you have some truth to them. The dead are such gossipers.”

  Leon started to float toward Alex and the others.

  "No. Stop. I want to see just what this breather can do. I'm intrig
ued." Roger snarled.

  "Kyle," Alex kept his voice in a low whisper, "As soon as I get Roger's hand to drop, you grab Bethany."

  “Right on.” Kyle agreed.

  Soaking in the intensity of the flames surrounding them, Alex drew on their hate. He filled every organ, muscle, and vein with it. Igniting an explosion that unleashed an inner beast. He no longer wanted to move Roger's arm, he wanted to rip it off. An impossibility, but a motivator. He glared at the billowing limb, imagining the sound of real flesh being torn from the muscle and bone. Blood spurting like a fountain on some ancient cobblestone in Italy. The more he could see the horror, the more he yearned for it. Bringing pain to Roger was now his sole purpose.

  The darkness that took over didn't scare him as he thought it might. Rather, he embraced it, using it for his manipulation. His Gram had warned him about this. About letting in the dark magick that could only lead to no good. But he didn't have the time to worry about it. It was working. He could figure out how to intensify his light magick another time.

  Slowly, finger by finger, Roger began to lose his struggle to remain tethered to his misguided love for Bethany. Alex was winning. Roger's hand loosened and then abruptly fell to his side.

  "Kyle. Go!"

  Kyle was at Bethany's side in the blink of an eye, just as a large bolt of lightning chopped overhead like blazing ax.

  On instinct, while still connected to Roger, Alex directed his focus to the ghost and flung him like a baseball finding its way to a home run. With the crack of a ball kissing the bat, he catapulted him into the path of a blazing bolt and shattered the diabolical spirit into a thousand pieces. Glittering against the darkened gray sky, his remains shimmered to the ground, dissipating on contact.

  Scouring the area for his second conquest, Alex spotted the frightened Leon trying to make his way around one of the turbid puddles of water. His left foot had sunk into the thick liquid, falling deeper with each attempt to free himself. By now the group had moved away, breaking their power bond with Alex. But it no longer mattered. The energy flowed free within him. Growing on its own, feeding off the emotions he had built. Turning in place to face the frenzied celestial, Alex imagined a thick rope with a large noose suspending over Leon's head. Dropping the noose around his neck, Alex’s eyes filled with darkness as he slowly squeezed the circle tighter and tighter, until it secured a taut grip on Leon's neck.

  With a wide grin, Alex raised the dangling boy straight up, nestling him between two plump, black clouds. The sharp, loud crack of a bolt striking in the distance, indicated one would soon be close enough to finish the job.

  "Alex. Stop it. You can't do this," Margaret pleaded.

  She wrapped her arm around him, intertwining like a vine, lacing their bodies together. Tugging, Margaret tried to break his concentration.

  Zachary moved directly in front of Alex. Catching his gaze and blocking his view of Leon.

  "Alex. If you do this, you'll cross a line there's no coming back from. I know. I saw what happened to my mother. And the things my uncle did to some of those souls who were responsible for her death. It blackens your heart. Roger was one thing, he was going to destroy Bethany, but this is just murder.”

  “Alex. Please.” Margaret’s tears rolled down her cheek. A droplet landed on Alex’s forearm and glistened in the tiny hairs on his skin. He wiped it away, the liquid moistening between his fingers. Looking up into her eyes, the sadness took his breath. What the hell was he doing? He looked away. Leon was still hanging in the space between sky and ground, screaming for help. A shaft of lightning torched the sky, it was close.

  Margaret’s whisper stroked the calm within his soul.

  “Please. Alex.” She gently kissed his lips.

  Alex leaned into his beautiful girl and pressed his lips to hers with the intensity that had fueled his drive for justice. But this time, it was love that was the purpose. Love for her, for his family, and their lives. Darkness had tricked him into justifying his actions for the reason of good, no matter what the consequences. Luring him to the side that denied the light.

  "I'm okay. It's over, I promise.”

  The noose disappeared from Leon's neck, releasing him. Not waiting to hear the reason he was spared, the boy disappeared.

  "Let's find Haven,” said Alex.

  12

  The Rescue

  The lightning touched down, and shelter was the main concern. Zachary lead them to a group of large boulders that offered a makeshift canopy. It wasn't the most secure place to wait, but it beats being out in the open. The sky had a wicked beauty as the strings of electricity sawed through the atmosphere, plunging to the ground, and scorching everything in its path. Each strike rumbled through the pit of Alex's stomach, churning the acids as they broke free and shot up to the back of his throat. The burning stung the thin layer of skin and he winced. Swallowing to push it back, the sour taste made him yearn for a peppermint. The little round disks of red and white that almost every candy dish contained around the Christmas holiday. What he wouldn't give for one now.

  Reprieve came quickly when the lightning seemed to end in an accelerated timeline. Or maybe they were all just getting used to the pattern. Either way, he wasn't about to question it. Gingerly stepping to avoid the pitfalls of this gloomy terrain, Alex's attention was grabbed by the land on the far-right side of the river.

  "Zachary. Did you ever wonder why the patches of land are in a diamond pattern?"

  "Are you referring to the right plain?"

  "Yes."

  "If you see them from an aerial view, they are much like a drawing of the Kappa. Maybe it was a warning someone constructed a long time ago. However, if you are not above the ground, you cannot see the distinction."

  "Weird," Alex sighed.

  "Everything about this place is, as you say, weird. I have been to several in-between realms before I was a prisoner here. None of them, no matter how barren, compare to the stagnate world this is."

  "When we first got here, we heard shrills coming from the right plain."

  "Those are the souls trapped in the lair of the Kappa. Tortured before extinction. Sometimes they do hold a few for the benefit of luring other lost creatures into their clutches. Either way, you end up the same."

  "Have the Kappa ever crossed plains?"

  Zachary hesitated.

  "They have. It is rare, but I have seen one or two."

  "Wait. Did you just tell Alex there are Kappa here?" Kyle's nostrils flared.

  "He did," Alex replied.

  "Dang it, what were you thinking, keeping this from us?"

  "I thought if I mentioned it, it would just be one more thing for you to worry about. As I said, it is very rare. The chances of us seeing one is nearly non-existent."

  "Yeah, well nearly doesn't mean never," Kyle's snapped.

  "We can't do anything about it now. Let's just be careful,” said Alex.

  "Can we stop flinging the testosterone and find Haven?" Margaret demanded.

  "Your woman is aggressive, Alex," Zachary remarked.

  "Hey, dead boy. I’m standing right here.” Margaret pursed her lips.

  “Yes, she is. And she can fight her own battles, so good luck.” Alex grinned.

  Alex soaked in the disdain of the realm. This is a place he would never forget. The crestfallen mountains stood like tall shadows hovering over every step, while the scattered splashes of sterile water and diamond patches of reaching flames seem to take solace in the impending doom that could be the group’s fate. Calling to them, hoping at least one of the celestial energy or life force of a breather, would fall prey to the allure of the bright orange extensions, or murk of the deadly pool. Yearning to drain the vitality of either the living or the dead, and feed its own hunger. Food was scarce in the Underworld, and each new entity brought an alert to the desolation.

  Three more passes of lightning touching ground occurred before Zachary raised his right hand, indicating for everyone to stop. Positioned behind the curve
of a large boulder at the base of the mountain, he stretched his neck to get a clearer view. Flowing just as he had described it, the black waterfall glistened as it ran from the top of the mountain into a pool of sparkling hues of purple. Pulling back, he dropped to the ground, using the mountain as a temporary shield. The team took the cue and sat down next to him in a half circle.

  "The shack of the Soul Gatherer should be around this mountain to our left. It is likely tucked behind a curtain of invisibility. I remember a large patch of land that has no fire or pools of water. It’s butted up to the mountain, a perfect safeguard to limit access. If I’m right, that leaves us with the possibility of three entry points.” Zachary swept his gaze over the treacherous land before continuing.

  “We will need to stay clear of the black waterfall. We have no idea if any Kappa might have wandered in and are hiding beneath the water. Since we are not able to visibly see it, we are going to have to break the spell and lift the curtain before we proceed. Alex, I need your help. I have rarely tried using my magick. It has brought me too much trouble, and avoidance was the logical course.” He turned away from them. “Now, I have no choice. A spell is needed to break the illusion. I am hopeful your experience and energy will guide me. It worked when we opened the portal, a prayer to the gods we can repeat our success. Are you at ease with this?"

  "I am. Anything you need to do to save Haven, I'm on board. But you're much more powerful than you know. I could feel your energy building the closer we got to this point. Your emotions are taking over, let the magick in you break free. All you need to do is concentrate. I can help guide you, but you need to trust in it. Own it and manipulate your energy, not the other way around. You're in control, not the magick or the darkness. If you focus on the light, good will come."

  "Thank you. I shall need your assistance."

  "You got it."

  Alex extended his hand. Materializing to a solid state, Zachary reached out and took a firm grip. The boys shook on it. A bond was building between the two of them, and Alex knew once all of this was over, it wouldn't be easy leaving their new friends.

  "Alex and I will get closer to remove the spell. All of you stay here until you see the shack, then you join us. Once we are inside, Ophelia your only concern is Haven. Amry, you assist her. Margaret and Bethany, check and see if there are other souls that need to be freed. Kyle, you stay with us.”