The Academy

by Vincent Trigili

  “I am just a student; I do not know if I can help, but I can talk to … ”

  “Just a student? No; no matter what title you have now, you are and always will be Dr. Rannor, and a patient needs you,” I interrupted.

  He seemed to acquire more pride and said, “You are right. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Even if you are wrong, I am sure I can help.” With that he ended the call.

  I looked at Bill and said, “If I was in your wing and someone was on my six that I could not shake and I told you to flee and save yourself, what would you do?”

  He sighed and said, “Of course I would try to help you.”

  “What if I was new to your wing, and you had never flown with me before? Would that change anything?” I asked.

  “No, of course not,” he said.

  “Good; then when Dr. Rannor arrives, I know you will give him your full cooperation as he tries to treat your mother,” I said.

  “Well played,” was all he replied.

  Not much was said for the rest of the trip out to their house. It seemed they lived pretty far out from the city in what appeared to be a densely-wooded area.

  Aleeryon was completely covered in thick, luscious forest, and the atmosphere was so saturated with water that most plants could grow without any rain. Because of this the ground was always damp, and when it did rain it would bring major flooding. To combat this, all the homes were built on raft-like foundations that would float up with the rise in water, but stayed anchored to a central pole that came up through the center of the houses.

  Patty’s family house was set in a small clearing in what was otherwise an unbroken carpet of trees and plants. They did not appear to have any neighbors, and her house looked like it had been there for eons. All kinds of local plants had grown up and intertwined with the structure as if nature was claiming the house as her own. Looking down on the house as we approached it, it struck me that it had the look of a children's storybook.

  When we got closer, the apparent innocence of the image faded as I detected dark energies attacking the house. As soon as the shuttle touched down I sprang from the seat and sprinted inside. I did not need to be directed to Patty’s mother since I saw the evil that was attacking her; it was a thick, oozing darkness that seemed to push through the very walls. I burst into her room and called out, “YOU CANNOT HAVE HER!” and instinctively pulled on all the power in the house to create a shield around her.

  That attracted the attention of the spirit that was feeding on her life force, and it jumped out of her mother into the room where I could get a good look at it. It was a creature not unlike the ones that plagued my nightmares; definitely one of the many creatures that the sorcerers had summoned to fight us in The Great War. I knew then that my original diagnosis was correct: Patty’s mom was not sick, she was cursed!

  It turned its attack on me, which I welcomed since it gave Patty’s mother a much-needed respite. I do not know how long we fought there in the room, but I know it was definitely winning; it was simply too powerful for me. I punched and kicked it repeatedly, but it just shook off my blows and threw me around like a sock puppet. I could not find a way to hurt it at first, but then something inside me snapped and my perspective of the fight changed. I could see now that I was not hitting it, but only some darkness around it. I reached out and grabbed that darkness, ripping it to shreds, trying to reach the creature behind it. I was no longer thinking; I was just reacting on a purely instinctual level. Somewhere deep down inside I knew how to fight this creature, but still it came. I kept fighting, knowing that it would eventually mean my death but hoping I could hold out long enough for Rannor to arrive in time to save Patty’s mother.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As we approached my house I saw fear come over James. His whole body seemed to stiffen as if it were suddenly made of stone. My brother must have noticed something too, because he had turned to say something when James suddenly threw off his safety harness and with a warrior yell sprang from the shuttle before it was properly secured.

  He didn’t even wait for the shuttle to settle, never mind the ladder to be rolled over; he just flipped out of the shuttle’s cockpit and landed in a perfect, force-absorbing roll. He sprinted into the house, and that’s when things got really bad.

  It was obvious by this point that something was very wrong, and I heard screams coming from the house before I could even get my harness off. Bill was already moving when I finally got free, leapt from the shuttle and sprinted for the door.

  Entering the house, I sensed something dark and evil; it chilled me to the core of my being. The house was dark somehow, even though all the lights were on. As I headed for the room where I could hear the commotion, I saw my dad lying crumpled on the floor.

  I rushed to his side and checked he was breathing, alive but unconscious. I could hear the sounds of battle and turned to see Bill firing both his guns into my mother’s room; then he was lifted into the air by a force I could not see and thrown into the wall.

  It was then that I finally saw what was happening: James was fighting something, something foul beyond words, so gruesome it made me nauseous to look at it. James was like a machine, jumping and twisting with great speed and force. The creature fought back and was obviously faster and stronger, but James kept on.

  I finally came to my senses enough to grab Bill’s guns and charge, but a transparent, blue wall appeared in front of me and I slammed right into it. I got back up and tried to shoot the wall, but it seemed to have no effect.

  I watched powerless to help, horrified and unable to pull away as James fought the creature. Then something changed: James stopped and looked at the creature, and it backed off a stride as they locked eyes. The hair on my arms stood up as James arched his back, and it seemed as if reality itself bent towards him a little. The creature took another step back as James reached out with a tearing motion and pressed an attack of some kind. It was odd; it was as if the fight had moved to another level, yet both combatants were moving much slower and not actually hitting each other.

  I shook myself free of the scene and found my brother tending to Dad’s wounds. “Bill! What’s going on?!”

  “Patty, we can’t win this. That’s one of the sorcerers’ creatures, and that force field between us is too much for my blasters. We need help; the kind of help only a wizard can give. Do you know how to reach anyone at the school?”

  “James was trying to contact Rannor as we approached the house. We need him!” I said.

  “That’s right! He patched through the military comm. I should be able to reopen that channel!” cried Bill as he ran to the house’s communication station.

  I don’t know how much time passed before Rannor arrived. All I remember is hearing my brother yelling at someone over the comm and watching that horrible fight. James and the creature stayed locked in place, and I knew somehow that a great battle was taking place before me, yet neither of them moved even the slightest bit. I could see wounds appearing on James’ and the foul creature’s body seemingly at random.

  “Patty!” Rannor called as he ran towards me. He looked different from normal in a way I had never seen before. He seemed to glow with a pure white light, faintly but very noticeably in the darkened house. His hands were strong and warm as he lifted me to my feet. I searched his face for good news, and found no sign of it.

  “Are you Rannor, then?” I heard my brother call out.

  “Yes, you must be Bill. Time is against us. Get on that comm. We need jump pilots and lots of them!”

  I had never heard Rannor bark out orders like that before, but Bill seemed to recognize the tone and called out, “Yes, sir!”

  Rannor turned to me. “Patty, James is losing this battle, and I cannot help him. I must go for help or neither James nor your mother will survive. That means you will have to help James.”

  “Don’t you think I’ve tried? It’s hopeless; I can’t reach him!” I screamed.

 
; “Patty, you were born for this. You are a magus. Just as James has unlocked his spellweaver powers in there, you too can unlock your power. I can get you past the force field, but I cannot stay and fight. I have to go for help; it is all up to you now. Your mother and James’ lives depend on it.”

  I felt power building in me, from where I did not know. “Tell me what to do.”

  “Only a spellweaver or spiritualist can fight this battle. You and I are neither of those, but James is. So you need to lend James your power to fight with. The process is extremely dangerous: if James should fall, you will fall with him. Do you understand?”

  “Just tell me what to do,” I said.

  “It is simple really. You just need physical contact with James, and then you can will your power to him. You know how to do it instinctively, and it will come naturally to you in there,” said Rannor.

  “You’re sending her in there? She’ll be killed!” interrupted Bill as he ran back into the room.

  “No; you would be, but she is a magus, a wizard in training. This is her battlefield, Bill. I need you to get to yours. I need those pilots.”

  “I’ve got a full squadron ready. What’re our orders?” he said.

  “We need backup and our backup is currently on vacation, so I need your squadron to get them, fast, while I go to Mantis’ realm to get Master Kellyn. Patty, you have to keep James alive. When the others come they can add the little power they have to your combined power, and that should hold you over until I can get Master Kellyn here. Once she is here, victory is ours. Understood?” said Rannor.

  “Yes, sir. Just send their locations to my commlink, and I’ll get them here,” said Bill as he flew out the door.

  “Okay, Patty, you are on. When I tear down the field, charge in fast. Once you are linked to James his defenses will protect you, but until then you are susceptible to attack. Tell me when you are ready.”

  I felt a power inside of me that I had never felt before. It was like a fire deep down in my core; I could feel it warming my body as I walked towards the shield wall. “Ready.”

  Rannor called out a command word that I could not quite discern as he struck the blue wall with his fist. It shattered under his blow, and the creature turned slightly to look at me. Fear had left me at this point, burned out by the fire that was continuing to grow in me. I boldly walked into the room and held the creature’s gaze. I felt that it wanted to strike me, but it didn’t dare turn its attention from James.

  The fire that was building inside me gave a strength that I had never known. I placed my hands on James’ shoulders, keeping my gaze locked on the creature. I said, “My power is yours, James.” As I said that, I felt the fire flowing through my body and out my arms into James. He stood a little straighter and moved forward a bit.

  My awareness was opened by our connection, and all around me I could see huge waves of energy. It reminded me of a great tempest, power swirling everywhere, and in the heart of it I could see that James was locked in some kind of spiritual death match with this creature. I knew that he had already decided to forfeit his life to save my mother. I decided that I would give my life to make sure James did not have to.

  We were locked in that timeless battle when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and then another. Soon I sensed many more people pouring into the room. Their power flowed into me, and I channeled it right into James.

  Suddenly the battle changed, and the creature was starting to crumble. I didn’t fully understand what was going on, but I could see it was working. James was beginning to prevail!

  I don’t know how much longer the fight went on, but after what seemed an eternity a beam of light broke into the darkness of the room; a pure white light like nothing I had seen before. This light got the spirit’s attention; it tried to flee from it, but seemed to be bound in place. Then I saw her: what at first looked like a spirit of pure light, I soon recognized as Master Kellyn.

  I heard James laugh out loud and call out, “YOU ARE FINISHED!”

  With a simple sweep of her hand the spirit was destroyed. I attempted to speak but before I could utter James collapsed into my arms, a bloody, beaten and battered mess that barely resembled the man I knew, and I realized then I could not bear to go on without him. I sat with him on the floor and tried to see if he was alive, but my newfound strength failed me and I broke down and wept.

  Master Kellyn came over and placed her hand on my shoulder. She glowed with a bright pink aura and said, “You have done well, Patty; now it is my turn,” as she gently took James from me.

  I watched in awe as James’ body began to heal in her arms. Bit by bit, piece by piece, flesh was mended and wounds were closed. Soon his breathing became deeper and more regular, and he seemed to be resting more peacefully.

  “Put him somewhere comfortable. I need to see to your mother now,” said Master Kellyn.

  Several of our classmates, apparently the hands that I had felt, helped me get James to the guest room. Once he was settled, I sat in a chair next to his bed and waited. I was determined not to leave his side till he was better, and no one dared tell me otherwise.

  Chapter Fifteen

  As I slept, the nightmare of the battle for the Crusader came back to me. The cries of “James, save us!” echoed through my core and eventually woke me.

  I found myself lying in a simple bed. I could not make out much in the room, since it appeared to be nighttime. There was a table and chair next to the bed, and on the floor beside me I saw Patty asleep on some kind of sleeping mat.

  I could not move most of my body, and those parts I could move caused extreme pain to rip through me, which convinced me to stay still and try not to stir. I do not know how long I lay there, but eventually I fell asleep.

  The next time I awoke the room was well lit from a small window near my bed. Patty was there again, sitting in a chair reading a book. “Good morning,” was all I managed to say. I do not think she was expecting me to speak, because her drink and book went flying through the air.

  “James! You’re alive!” she exclaimed.

  “Barely, but it appears so,” I said.

  “Don’t move. I gotta get Rannor!” she called as she flew out of the room.

  Soon she returned with Rannor, and he came over to my bed and began to examine me. “Patty says you can talk. Are you able to move at all?”

  “Very little, but it hurts too much to make it worthwhile,” I said. “How is her mom doing?”

  “Patty, go and get that drink I prepared. It will help with some of the symptoms,” said Rannor. He turned back to me and said, “Patty’s mom is doing great. You saved her.”

  “Good. I can barely keep my eyes open. I think I will get some more rest,” I said.

  “No, stay with us, James; listen to my voice. You are yet on the edge of death, and you must stay awake so that we can treat you. Hold on to reality and we can beat this,” he said.

  I heard Patty come flying back into the room saying, “Here it is!”

  “Here, James, drink this. Your body has been completely depleted of nutrients, and this will give you enough of a boost to allow you to heal again.” He helped me to drink small sips of the vile-tasting concoction. It was hard to pay attention and I would often start to drift off, but he and Patty kept waking me up again to make me drink some more. Eventually I felt some strength returning, enough to allow me to talk again.

  “What happened? I remember fighting a spirit, then someone touched me; and then lots of people touched me. I think Master Kellyn showed up, but that is the last thing I recall,” I said.

  “When I arrived, I found you locked in what looked like a wrestling match with a dark spirit. From what we can tell, when you ran into the room all the lights in the house dimmed, and that spirit jumped out of her mom and came at you. Apparently you called it out of her and onto yourself,” he said.

  Patty jumped in and told me how they had tried to help me, but the spirit had knocked them ou
t of the fight and put up what sounded like a force field. When Rannor arrived he had apparently showed Patty how to assist me in the battle.

  “That was good timing. I was almost finished when I felt a warm touch on my shoulder and power flowing into me. But were there not more hands later?” I queried.

  “Yes. Once I had shown Patty how to help you I returned to the school for assistance. Master Kellyn and Grandmaster Vydor were attending to some official business in Mantis’ realm so we were having a hard time reaching them. I had put out a call to all of your graduating classmates to see if any of them would be able to come and help in the same way as Patty until Master Kellyn could be reached,” said Rannor.

  “James, they ALL came!” called out Patty.

  “Yes, that would be when you felt many hands on you. They came in waves, and it took a couple of days to get them all here. I am not sure how we managed to fit them all in this house, but somehow we did. You fought on for at least another day, maybe two, before Master Kellyn arrived; it is all a blur now so it is hard to recall the details. She easily defeated the spirit and then healed all the physical damage to both yourself and Patty’s mother,” said Rannor.

  “Then why do I hurt so much?” I asked.

  “It is because you overextended yourself to a degree that could have killed you. The fact that you are even able to talk now is a testimony to the strength of your classmates’ support. What you need now is good food and real rest,” he said. “This drink is just a temporary fix to get you strong enough to eat some real food.”

  “Well, he’ll get plenty of that; I’ll make sure of it,” came a voice I did not recognize, but it was like what you would imagine everyone’s favorite grandmother to sound like.

  “James, this is Mom. She’s been cooking up a storm since she heard you were awake,” said Patty as a kind-looking, older woman stepped into view.