The light began to take on more colors, shapes, like the flickering images of an old movie. Soon he could make out familiar things. The gigantic beech tree at the rec center with its wide canopy. Brianna, huddled against the trunk of the tree, crying. He could see himself holding the helmet out to her, trying to make her put it on. This had happened not too long ago, yet now it was like he was standing on the outside looking in.
And then he saw something else. Something he had not seen that day when he and Brianna were underneath the tree: bright white light all around the two of them, like a halo. Before he could figure out where that light had come from, the vision faded.
It was replaced by a much darker scene: the black steel girders of the Fortress of Chaós. He saw himself and his friends creeping through the fortress, trying to find their way in the maze of girders while dozens of red eyes watched them. Forgers, all around them. Levi remembered how terrifying that was. But there was that strange white light again, surrounding him and his friends. He hadn’t seen it then, but he could see it now.
The vision then changed to the chasm, when he and the other Prince Warriors had stepped out onto what looked like nothing at all, and stone steps had appeared under their feet. He saw them stepping, stone to stone, but the stones were not just hovering in midair—each stone had that same circle of light around it, as if this is what held it aloft.
Levi’s eyes snapped shut, wearied from the vision, from the brightness of the light. His eyes started to water. He rubbed them in hopes they would recover from the strain of these visions.
But the next time he opened them, he saw himself, all alone, held in the grasp of the huge metal Forger while slowly sinking into the ground. He saw himself crying out for help. But no help came. He remembered how alone and powerless he felt, sinking slowly, turning to metal. He wanted more than anything to forget that it ever happened. He wanted to turn away, to avoid being reminded of that day, the choice he had made to take the wide road, the path to destruction.
Before he could turn away, however, he was captivated once more—by light. There it was again. This time it was a beam of light that rose from his mouth as he yelled to the top of the dome and beyond it, as if it were carrying his cries. He hadn’t seen the light that day either. But he was seeing it now.
The beam of red suddenly retreated from Levi’s eyes. He was unclear of what was really happening. He felt confused and unsure. Darkness fell around him again, replaced by the image of Ruwach fading into view. It took Levi a moment to realize that Ruwach was actually standing before him now, even though the door had remained closed.
“This is a gift given only to you, Prince Levi. Do not speak of it to the other children just yet.”
“Gift?”
“Because you believed even though you did not see, you will now have the ability to see things that the others did not believe.”
CHAPTER 17
Charming
Viktor stood on the sidewalk outside the rec center, surveying the parking lot. He could see that Mr. J. Ar’s SUV was not there. And Rook wasn’t working today, because the Cedar Creek Landscaping truck was not there either. All clear. No older Prince Warriors to hinder his plans. He’d been avoiding them at all costs. Although he was sure that the adults wouldn’t know his true identity, if they got a good look at him they might suspect he was not “one of them.” He wasn’t about to take that chance.
He opened the front door and went into the building. A group of younger girls were sitting at one table, making Christmas ornaments with paper and glue and lots of glitter. A young woman with a blond ponytail was helping them, looking slightly harassed. Other kids sat together playing board games. A few were playing games on their phones. Viktor scanned the faces, searching for one of the Prince Warriors. Then he saw Manuel, the one with the buzz cut and the glasses, sitting all alone, reading a thick book. This was the one who had so conveniently left his DNA and clothing threads on the shard of metal in Ahoratos. Viktor smiled to himself. Perfect. He started to move toward Manuel.
“Can I help you?”
Viktor turned to see the young woman looking at him rather sternly, glitter sprinkled over her face and hair. She had a Starbucks cup in one hand and a phone in the other. He gave her his most charming smile.
“Hi. I’m Viktor. Pleased to meet you.” He stuck out his hand. She looked at it, unable to take it because her hands were full. But her stern expression melted, and she smiled back.
“Oh, Viktor! I’ve heard a lot about you! A friend of Xavier’s?”
“That’s right. We’re teammates at school. Basketball.”
“Oh, right! I haven’t seen Xavier today—maybe he’s out back playing ball. I’m Mary, by the way. Miss Stanton.”
“Are you the manager here?”
“Yes, well, only weekends now. I have school during the week.”
“Are you in college?” Viktor widened his eyes to make Miss Stanton think he was really impressed. “I hope I can go to college one day.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will,” she said. “Anything I can help you with, just let me know!”
“That’s awesome, Mary. I mean, Miss Stanton. Thanks.”
She smiled and went back to deal with the girls, who were now fighting over the glitter and getting it everywhere. Viktor made his way to Manuel.
“Hi,” he said.
Manuel looked up, focusing. “Hello?”
“I’m Viktor. Friend of Xavier’s. We’re on the basketball team. You’re Manuel, right?”
“Uh . . . yes . . .”
Viktor sat down beside him. “Maybe you can help me out.”
“What do you mean?”
“I hear you’re really good at science? Well, I’m sort of failing science. And if I fail, I’ll get kicked off the basketball team. So I need a tutor. Someone to help me pass the midterms.”
“Aren’t you in eighth grade? I’m only in seventh.”
“Yeah, but you’re really smart. People tell me you’re the smartest kid in the whole school. I’m sure even the eighth-grade curriculum is way below your abilities.”
An eager smile crossed Manuel’s face. “Well, that may be true—”
“The test is on Monday,” Viktor said. “So I was hoping we could get together this weekend sometime. I could come to your house?”
“I . . . suppose so.”
“Great. How about later today?”
“I have to check with my dad—”
“Okay, super. Let me know when you find out.” Viktor glanced up and saw Brianna and Ivy through the window. Brianna had a puppy on a leash. Perfect timing, he thought. “See you later.” He got up to go to the back door.
“But wait . . . you don’t even know where I live!”
* * *
The back doors of the Rec flew open just as Brianna and Ivy walked by. Viktor was in the doorway. He smiled when he saw them.
“Hey,” he said. “Brianna, right? And Ivy?”
“Oh, hey Viktor,” said Brianna with a shy smile.
“Hey,” said Ivy, blushing.
Star, Brianna’s puppy, wasn’t as pleased to see Viktor. She barked and growled, straining against the leash.
“Star, stop that!” Brianna said, pulling the dog back. She glanced up at Viktor and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry. She’s not usually like that. But she’s never been to the Rec before, so she’s just nervous.”
“No problem,” Viktor said. He bent down, putting a hand out to the dog. “Hey, pup. What’s the matter? Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.” Star hesitated, then stuck her nose out and sniffed at Viktor’s hand. “That’s a good girl.” Viktor rubbed her behind the ears. “She’s really cute. I had a dog too—but it died. Hit by a car.”
“What? That’s terrible!” said Ivy.
“Oh, you must be so sad,” said Brianna.
<
br /> Viktor sighed, his eyes misting up. “Yeah. I miss him.”
“Congratulations on making the basketball team,” Ivy said.
“Oh, yeah,” said Brianna. “Stellar.”
“Thanks. Xavier is an awesome player. Where is he, anyway?”
“He’s usually out on the court,” said Ivy. She glanced over to the basketball court, but it was empty.
“Sometimes he has chores on Saturdays,” said Brianna. “But he’ll probably be here later.”
“Oh.” Viktor tried to look disappointed. “Is Levi doing chores too?”
“He’s on his way,” Brianna said. “He texted me and said his dad had to stop at work for something.”
“Oh, right, well, maybe you two can help me. I found this yesterday, and I thought it must belong to one of them.” Viktor pulled out a piece of rolled-up paper from his pocket. The paper looked yellowed and very delicate, like parchment. He unrolled it and showed it to them.
Brianna gasped. The words Take Captives were written on the paper in large, ornate lettering.
“Where did you find that?”
“Near that tree over there,” Viktor said, pointing to the beech tree—the same tree where Levi and Ivy had saved her from Sypher.
Brianna took the scroll, puzzled. She tried to remember back: she had been under the beech tree with that Sypher on her neck, and Levi had been trying to make her put on the helmet to get rid of it. But she didn’t remember the scroll being there too. He had tried to give her that scroll before, for her birthday. It was a message from Ruwach. But she had thrown it away. Had Levi picked it up? And did he have it with him that day under the beech tree?
“So, you’ve seen it before?” Viktor said, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“Uh—no, not really.” Brianna stole a glance at Ivy, who just shook her head very slightly. “Nope. Never saw it before.”
“Oh—so you don’t know anything about Ahoratos, I guess, huh?”
Both girls stared at him. Then looked at each other, their mouths falling open in unison. Then Ivy turned back to Viktor.
“How do you know about Ahoratos?” she asked in a whisper.
Viktor shrugged. “Because I’ve been there.”
“You have?”
Viktor looked from one to the other. “You have too, right?”
The girls slowly nodded. Viktor smiled.
“You’re Princess Warriors? Seriously? Wow, what a coincidence.” Viktor shook his head, laughing. The girls started laughing as well.
“Xavier and his brother, Evan, are Prince Warriors too,” said Brianna. “Did you know about that?”
“No way!” said Viktor. “And Levi too?”
“Yep. And Manuel.”
“Wow. Crazy. So this must be one of yours then.” He pointed to the scroll. “Better hang on to that. Wouldn’t want it falling into the wrong hands, know what I mean? Glad I found it for you.”
“Yeah, thanks,” said Brianna, stuffing the scroll into her coat pocket.
“Anytime. We should get together and talk about our trips to Ahoratos sometime, right?”
“Yeah, that would be cool,” said Ivy.
“Yeah, stellar,” said Brianna.
Viktor smiled again and sauntered away. The two girls watched him go.
“Pretty amazing,” said Ivy. “I think he likes you a little.”
Brianna nearly blushed. “I don’t know about that. He was just trying to be nice. Can you believe he’s a Prince Warrior?”
“Yeah. What a coincidence. Good thing he was the one who found that scroll.”
“Yeah.” Brianna gazed again at the beech tree. “I don’t remember Levi having the scroll that day.”
“I didn’t see it either. But there was a whole lot going on that day. It probably was in the helmet and fell out when Levi dropped it.”
“Yeah,” Brianna murmured. “That’s what I was thinking.”
The back door opened, and Manuel stepped out. “Did you two talk to that kid Viktor?”
“Yeah, just now,” said Brianna.
“He just asked me to help him study for his science test.”
“He’s a Prince Warrior,” said Ivy. “He knows all about Ahoratos.”
“Really? He didn’t mention that to me.”
“Well, it’s not something a person just blurts out, you know.”
“True, I suppose.” Manuel pushed his glasses up his nose. “He’s coming over to my house later.”
“Oh, cool,” said Ivy. “He kind of looks like you, Manuel. Hey, maybe we should go over too, huh Bri? We could use extra help with science.” The two girls giggled. Then Ivy turned to Manuel, her face suddenly serious again. “How are things going with your dad? Is he still going to drill into one of the pods?”
Manuel nodded, frowning. “He’s just waiting for them to find a drill big enough. But he goes every day to study them. He’s becoming obsessed.”
“They found another one—near the drive-in,” said Brianna. “That makes four now.”
Manuel nodded. “That’s where he was going when he dropped me off here. He won’t let me come with him anymore because . . .” he broke off.
“Because why?”
“Because he knows I know about Ahoratos. But he denies it. Says it’s all made-up. I told him what the pods were, but he refuses to listen.”
“What about the book? His Prince Warrior book? Have you had a chance to look at it again?”
Manuel shook his head. “He must have put it away somewhere. Because it’s not on his desk anymore.”
“Oh, well, don’t worry, Manuel,” said Brianna. “We’ll figure this out. Together. Everything’s going to be fine.”
CHAPTER 18
Prowling
Levi jumped out of the car and raced into the rec center, bursting through the doors. Miss Stanton was so startled she dropped her Starbucks cup, not for the first time.
“Levi! What’s the matter?” asked Miss Stanton, annoyed.
“Has Viktor been here?” Levi asked, searching the room.
“Yes, he’s here. He went out back, I think.” Miss Stanton bent down to clean up her spilled latte.
Levi dashed through the building and out the back doors. Brianna and Ivy were trying to teach the puppy how to sit, although Star was only interested in chasing dandelion puffs and stalking ladybugs.
“Bean! Have you seen Viktor?” Levi asked, running up to her.
“Yeah, he was here a little while ago,” said Brianna. “I don’t see him now. But he gave me this.” Brianna showed Levi the scroll. “He said he found it by the beech tree. Levi, Viktor is a Prince Warrior! Just like us!”
“He is?” Levi took the scroll and stared at it, wrinkling his forehead. “How did he find this?”
“We think it must have gotten stuck in Brianna’s helmet that day of the invasion, and you didn’t realize it,” said Ivy. “Good thing Viktor found it.”
“Yeah . . . ummm . . . I guess so.” Levi handed the scroll back to Brianna. “Did he say where he was going?”
“No . . . wait, yes! Manuel told us Viktor was going to his house later, for some tutoring in science. Looks like Manuel went home, so maybe he’s there.”
“Tutoring? But he’s not even in Manuel’s grade.”
“I know. But Manuel is pretty smart about science stuff.”
Levi thought about it. It was possible, of course. But something didn’t feel quite right about it.
The back door of the center opened, and Xavier came out, bouncing a basketball.
“You guys seen Viktor?” he asked when he saw Levi and the girls. “He said he was coming to play.”
“I’ve been looking for him too,” said Levi.
“He was here, but I guess he left,” said Brianna. “Went to Manuel’s for t
utoring.”
“Oh.” Xavier looked disappointed.
“There’s something bothering me about that kid,” Levi said. “I think we all should just steer clear of him.”
Brianna and Ivy laughed. “Levi, what’s gotten into you?” asked Brianna. “He’s super nice. He just wants to make friends. And he’s a Prince Warrior, so he’s got to be on our side, doesn’t he?”
“You just have a crush on him,” said Levi, turning on her. He started imitating her voice. “Oh, he’s so cute!”
Brianna scowled at him. “Stop it. I do not.”
“He’s a Prince Warrior?” asked Xavier, surprised and pleased. “He never told me that.”
“Did he actually say he was a Prince Warrior?” asked Levi.
“Of course he did! Well, I don’t know—but he said he had been to Ahoratos and he wanted to talk about our adventures and stuff.”
“Levi, what’s wrong?” asked Xavier. “Viktor’s cool. And if he’s a Prince Warrior, that’s even better. Plus, he’s helping me improve my game a ton—”
“Not everything is about basketball, Xavier,” Levi said with a caustic edge in his voice.
Xavier opened his mouth, surprised. “Hey, man, just sayin’,” he said. “Whatever. Later, dude.” He turned away and headed for the basketball court.
“Levi, what’s the matter with you today?” Brianna said. “You’re acting really weird.”
“Doesn’t that kid strike you as a little bit—off? Like he shows up out of nowhere—”
“He moved here,” Ivy said. “People do move, you know.”
“He’s way too good at everything. He’s got these weird eyes—”
“Levi, are you jealous of Viktor?” Ivy asked, her eyes widening. She glanced at Brianna, and they both started giggling.
“No!” he barked. The girls stopped laughing.
“I’ve gotta go,” said Brianna, giving him a cool look. “Grandpa Tony’s coming to pick us up. See you later.” She turned to Ivy. “You want to come over?”
“Sure.”
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