by W. M. Martin
Maggie ignored Nancy and stood there for a few moments waiting in anticipation for the shimmering flash of light to burst again. She waited, as it turned out, in vain. Maggie walked over to where she was certain the phenomenon had taken place but was soon disappointed to find absolutely nothing there.
Finally, she relented and chalked it up to being nothing more than a silly prank that some of the local teens were probably playing. She and Nancy continued on toward the stores in the center of their small town. After having an admittedly good time of shopping around together, Nancy headed home and Maggie joined her so as to get a hot shower before making her way back toward the diner which had been her home for the past few months. After she cleaned herself up, Maggie left Nancy’s house and decided to take the long way around the park instead of walking through it again.
She decided that perhaps going through the park was not quite the shortcut that she had earlier believed it to be; it was certainly wetter though. She returned to the diner and placed the key that had been given to her by Nancy into the lock of the door in the rear of Decker’s and let herself inside. The smell of years and years of fried food clung thickly to the walls in the rear of the diner; it was a smell that honestly took Maggie a while to get used to. It was a heavy, greasy scent that she once would gag at, but now, Maggie equated that same odor to safety, sustenance and respite.
Maggie trudged through the back of the diner toward her provisional, little apartment and laid her new outfits across a small wooden chair in the corner where she would sometimes sit and read. She took off the brand new pair of shoes that Nancy had bought her that evening as a birthday present, they were blue to match her eyes. She turned off the light and climbed onto her cot that was given to her by Edgar, the line cook. Maggie wrapped herself in a giant comforter, far too large for the makeshift bed she had grown to love. It was not the most comfortable bed by any stretch of the imagination, but it was hers. All hers. Maggie closed her eyes and drifted off to a deep slumber that carried her far from her worries.
Maggie was startled awake by a seemingly distant boom, coming from the rear of the diner, which worked wonders to jostle her from her peaceful rest. As she closed her eyes to try and recapture the sleep that was stolen from her, another boom, this time much closer, actually shook the entire structure of the diner. The jarring racket made Maggie jump up; she was now wide awake. She ran her hand through her light-brown hair and timorously decided to go and check out the racket. After putting her new, blue shoes back on, Maggie got up from her cot and tensed at the scratching sound that her comforter made as it slid halfway onto the floor.
She thought perhaps that Decker’s was about to be broken into and robbed, so she grabbed the only thing close enough to her, that she could think of anyway, that might serve as a fair deterrent to a hypothetical burglar; a knife from the kitchen. Maggie slowly made her way through the dark diner and gingerly opened the back door to try and peek at what or whom was causing the ruckus. Only the diner’s other stray, Smokey the cat, was present. No one else, besides the cat, was anywhere around.
“Was that you, Smokey?” asked Maggie.
She leaned back inside to place the kitchen knife on the shelf behind her and then turned, bent down, and picked up Smokey. All of a sudden, a nerve shattering reverberation, followed immediately by a thunderous crash, erupted inside of the dark backstreet. Frightened, Maggie dropped Smokey and watched in shock as the alley that had just been smothered by night’s ebony pitch was now being lit up by a ripping of the dense, dim air caused by an oval-shaped light. The light held around itself a dazzling, crepitating aura and it cut sharply through the darkness; the radiance emanating from the oval was overwhelming in the night, and it forced Maggie to shield her eyes with her forearm.
Slowly, the light’s brilliance diminished, and two figures came barreling out through the oviform. They were fighting with incredible speed and force. One was clad in inky black armor that shimmered as though it were made of oil glistening against the well-lit backdrop from where they both emerged. He was swinging an equally black scimitar towards his opponent, who was draped in a brown cloak with lustrous emerald embroidery on it, and blocking each vicious slice with impressive agility. Those incoming blows were being deflected with skill and precision by a mighty emerald warhammer being wielded by a master. The owner of that warhammer parried another incoming slash with the haft of his viridescent mallet. He then took a heavy swing and missed.
The dark armored combatant rolled away to gather himself and then stood to issue a warning in a grim and gravelly voice, “You are a fool, Terran, and your death will usher in the final days of this Haven.”
No sooner had those menacing words left his mouth than a large, shadowy bobcat shot out from the chest piece of his dark armor. Just as suddenly as the frightening animal rocketed from the black armor, a bloodhound with an emerald aura around itself, sprung forth from the intended target’s cloak, catching the feral cat in its jaws. The bobcat immediately melted into a wet, silvery substance and somehow reformed its body to begin a counterattack on the dog. The bizarre battle between the dog and the wildcat, both attacking, melting, and reforming, played out to the side of the two warriors who were now pacing in a circle around one another.
“You die tonight,” growled the warrior in black.
At the exact same moment, they both ran towards one another and the fight was rejoined. They slammed their weapons against each other with a loud clang. The cloaked figure dodged an incoming swipe from the sword that was meant for his head and with a loud war cry, he hit the ebony figure square in the chest with such bone crunching force that it sent him hurtling backwards into the crackling, liquid light. The bobcat melted one final time and in the blink of an eye, the liquid looking remains flew into the shimmering oval after its master.
The dog, which appeared to still be glowing, if only slightly, ran up to the man in brown with a speedily wagging tail. The man reached down to the dog and as soon as he patted it on the head, it melted into his hand. The round man in the brown cloak held the giant battle hammer out in front of himself, and it lit up and melted into his fingertips, just like the dog, as though it were made of an emerald, liquid metal. He bent over, grasping both knees with his hands and took a huge breath in, let it out and stood up.
The heavy-set stranger slowly turned to face Maggie. He lowered the hood on his cloak and said, “I'm getting too old for this.”
It was Edgar Newman. Maggie could not believe what she was seeing. That simply could not be the kind-hearted and jovial line cook that she had worked with for months now. After all, he was not wearing his usual attire which consisted of a blue t-shirt with the logo Decker’s Diner written on it or his brown pants stained with whatever condiment he so often spilled upon them. He instead stood before her clad in a brown, hooded cloak that was adorned with brilliant emerald trim and clasped together with a glowing emerald triangle.
Edgar looked up at Maggie, who was still frozen in disbelief at all of what her sky-blue eyes had taken and were taking in.
“Maggie Bennett,” called Edgar in a tired and winded voice. “The time has come for you to learn the truth.”
“Edgar?” queried Maggie, almost in shock, as her mind struggled to comprehend what she had just witnessed.
“Ah, yeah. It’s me,” stated Edgar in a rather awkward tone. He continued, “You weren't supposed to see that. I need you to come with me.”
Maggie was not entirely sure whether or not she was really awake or still asleep and dreaming. She was certain however, that she had a bit of a vacant stare on her face if the look on Edgar’s was anything to go by. Maggie looked down at her fingers and wiggled them around for a few seconds. Next, she straightened her aforementioned digits and then she proceeded to slap herself rather hard across the cheek, twice. It turned out that Maggie was not dreaming.
“Look kid,” continued the line cook. “You’re in Thieves for a reason. It is way too difficult to explain so just giv
e me a few moments of your time, and I can show you what I mean. If you don’t like what you see or what I have to say then you can leave. No harm, no foul. Sound fair?”
Before Maggie could give Edgar an answer, Melvin Harris, the local mechanic, rode up to the entrance of the alley astride an enormous rhinoceros; it had an emerald aura around itself just like the one around the bloodhound that disappeared into Edgar’s hand only a few minutes earlier.
“Everything alright, Ed?” asked Melvin, looking around for more signs of trouble.
“Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine, Mel. I just had to handle a little problem. A Fallen latched onto my omniport, but I sent him packing. He may not be dead, but he sure ain't happy either!” chuckled Edgar grimly.
Edgar turned to Maggie and asked, “So, are you prepared to have your mind blown?”
Maggie could not truly be sure if she was or was not “prepared”, but she was too stunned to do anything except nod her head in agreement, all while her mouth lay open like a beached carp.
Edgar motioned for Maggie to come down from the back steps of the diner, and as she did so, Edgar approached her and took her hand in his. He looked down and smiled at her, and she timidly returned the smile with a queasy grin, and together they turned toward the pulsating oval of light.
“I believe that you are ready, Maggie,” Edgar postulated.
“I am?” questioned Maggie nervously in reply.
“Yes. Actually, truth be told, I believe that you are more than ready,” Edgar replied as he scratched an itch on his prickly chin.
“Ready for what, Edgar? I don’t understand what I’m seeing here. I can’t just leave. Nancy will probably kick me out of the diner or... Is that a real rhino?” Maggie asked, looking around Edgar’s shoulder completely distracted by the spectacle of Melvin Harris on a rhinoceros with a softly glowing, emerald hue.
“Yeah, sort of. And Nancy will understand. You'll see. Come on, Maggie. It’s time,” said Edgar.
Maggie moved with Edgar toward the warm glow of the portal. It shimmered softly and seemed to possess a liquid quality upon closer inspection. While hanging on to Edgar’s arm with a firm grip, Maggie took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and stepped inside. Just as suddenly as the shimmering elliptical appeared in the dead of night, it crackled and snapped into oblivion leaving Melvin Harris, a glowing rhinoceros, and a frightened Smokey, all alone in the alley.
It was as if a slight chill flushed through her body, and in an instant the alley in which she had previously stood was gone, having been exchanged for a well lit antechamber with a massive set of stone doors inlaid with thousands of precious gems forming a glittering mural depicting a host of different animals in various poses. The vestibule was massive, but cozy in a strange way. The walls were lit by what seemed to be starlight, but Maggie thought to herself that simply could not be. The air had the slightest hint of the ocean, which seemed to breeze through and then it shifted to that of a field of flowers in the spring. The way that the fragrances shifted was very strange, yet oddly comforting. As Maggie caught her breath and regained control of her senses, she turned to Edgar as the portal from whence they emerged snapped away.
“What was that and where are we?” asked Maggie.
Edgar rubbed the scruff of his still unshaven face with the back of his hand and replied, “Well, Maggie, that was an omniport and this here is the Kindred Academy. I was ordered to guard you and bring you here on your sixteenth birthday. This is where you'll receive your totem and join a Clan while you train to become a Guardian, if you are chosen.”
“I’ll receive my what?” asked Maggie.
“Your totem,” Edgar continued on. “You are a Kindred, Maggie. It’s why you came to Thieves, even though you didn't really know the reason. Only Kindred can see it or even enter it. It's a Haven for our kind. Thieves rests in an expanse that is inaccessible by humans.”
“Inaccessible by humans? Edgar, we are humans,” Maggie said while cautiously appraising the features of the line cook from Thieves.
“No, we are Kindred,” explained Edgar before sustaining thoughtfully, “From the dawn of time, or at least as long as our histories have been recorded, our kind have been the silent custodians of all sentient life within our galaxy and the wider universe as a whole. Here, we train and learn how to protect those that need our help against the Fallen. This academy is for the Kindred, but it isn't even on Earth, not really anyways. Kooky huh?”
Maggie tilted her head in disbelief when she heard that they were no longer on Earth.
“Sure, Edgar,” Maggie remarked with dripping sarcasm.
“I promise!” Edgar responded defensively.
“Where exactly are we then if we aren’t on Earth?” asked Maggie.
“We’re inside of the Veil,” answered Edgar.
Maggie cocked an eyebrow and asked, “The Veil?”
“Yes, it’s a mystical world which resides in tandem with the human world, but not necessarily in or on it,” stated Edgar.
“Okay, Edgar, I believe you,” Maggie lied before continuing, “So tell me, what exactly are the Fallen?”
Edgar shifted uncomfortably and said, “That creature in the black armor who I was fighting behind the diner was a Fallen. They're soulless and evil. It latched onto me when I was shifting to Earth. It was trying to get inside of Thieves.”
Maggie threw her hands up in defeat and blurted out, “I don't understand a single thing that you just said, Edgar. Why am I here?”
Edgar gently took Maggie by the shoulder and turned her toward the large door behind them and promised, “You’ll soon find out, Maggie.”
“Look, Edgar, I’m sorry that I just snapped at you, but all of this is a little overwhelming and I’m kind of scared,” Maggie admitted.
“Scared? There’s nothing to be scared of here, Maggie. Don’t be afraid. You are here because it’s your birthright. Everyone who is here tonight is here to attempt the Appointment of Clans, just the same as you. All of the students who are at the academy turned sixteen today, and they've all travelled to the different Havens from all over the globe just to get here. There are ten Havens on Earth, which call to us when it’s time for the Appointment of Clans. Three Havens are in America. The one known as Thieves called to you. You are special Maggie. I’d bet anything that you’ll be even more powerful than Wallace and Mary were, once you train up a little.”
“Wait! You knew my parents?!” exclaimed Maggie in disbelief. “How?” she persisted. “They never mentioned you, the academy, the Kindred, or any of this!”
Edgar grunted and looked up as though he were checking to see if something was on the ceiling. He lowered his eyes and met her gaze. Her lovely, young face had such piercing sky-blue eyes, that they penetrated Edgar’s reserve with disbelief.
Edgar explained, “They didn't tell you because they chose to remain on the other side of the Veil and live their lives as humans. That’s what I’ve heard through the grapevine anyway. I’m sure they knew that you would be summoned to take the trials, but on the off chance that you weren't, they probably thought it best to keep all of this a secret from you. They no doubt loved you very much, Maggie. Mary and I were actually in the same Clan. We belong to Clan Terran. She was powerful and kind to a fault. Wallace belonged to the Secarn Clan. He was equally powerful in his own right and as I recall he had a serious talent with a blade!”
“A blade? Terran? Secarn? What is a Terran or a Secarn Clan? I still don't understand, Edgar,” groused Maggie.
Edgar continued to explain, “Okay, so there are five Clans, Maggie. There is Avior whose totem is that of the birds, Terran represents the land mammals, Sauropon represents the reptiles and amphibians, Secarn whose totem is that of the insect kingdom and finally there’s Okeaous who represents all of the life that resides in the oceans. If the Spire accepts you then you will be given a totem on your body, almost like an invisible tattoo. Well, most of the time it's invisible. Unless you summon it, but you’ll get to all of that late
r.”
“Forget it! I don't like needles Edgar!” exclaimed Maggie.
“It doesn't hurt, Maggie. I promise. There are zero needles involved. Besides that, your totem isn't visible unless you summon it,” interjected Edgar hastily.
Maggie, still uncertain of the precarious situation she had found herself in rejoindered, “Alright then, explain this ‘Spire’ and what it does, please.”
Edgar rested his hands on his rather large belly and obliged, “The Spire is the source of balance between our worlds. We are separated from the humans by what we call the Veil, remember me mentioning that a few minutes ago? Well, that's how we got here to the academy, we shifted through the Veil. The Spire chooses a Kindred if they are found worthy to receive its gifts and the power and responsibilities that go along with it.”
“Okay,” said Maggie, “I think I get it. Kind of. Sort of. Maybe.”
Edgar laughed, “You'll see. Come on, let's get this show on the road.”
With that, the pair walked through the giant stone doors together. The doors’ radiance was numbing due to the vast number of jewels and the beauty in which they were placed in animal forms. The chamber that they entered into was an enormous white room that had floors covered in what appeared to be dense clouds that billowed up to Maggie’s ankles.
“Whoa,” Maggie said haltingly.
“Yeah,” remarked Edgar in agreement, “Welcome to the Macrocosm Chamber.”
Maggie stared up in wide-eyed wonder at the view that stood before her. The great room that Edgar called the Macrocosm Chamber had no ceiling, it was a vast and open expanse and the entire universe in all of its splendor was laid out above them. Planets in the distance seemed to radiate gentle glows in contrast to the blazing of foreign suns. The tails of passing comets flickered as they moved farther away. Maggie watched as a supernova ejected its mass in a brilliant display near the farthest portion of what should have been the left corner of the chamber; she realized in that moment that Edgar had been telling her the truth, they were not on Earth any longer.
