Something in Willow clicked. “I think so – err, that wasn’t meant to be a pun.” She recalled a pony club competition she had been in recently and how her boot had slipped out of the stirrup when she went to mount her pony, leaving her flat on her back on soggy ground. Her mind had been so caught up worrying about how she could cut down her times in the competition and not make any mistakes that she actually ended up making a mistake that could have been disastrous. She’d buckled her saddle, but thinking about the moment now, Willow realised she hadn’t paid any attention to what her hands were doing as she was fastening that saddle on to Muddie. She had probably barely even been aware of herself standing with Muddie in the stable. She wondered just how often she paid full attention to anything.
Hugo was finishing an incantation when Ms Florence stood up.
“Right, Hugo, take your Chabels out and you can practise with those for a while,” she instructed. “You do have them with you?”
Willow shot Hugo a questioning look.
He pulled a black leather pouch from his pocket. “Got them.” He rolled five steely-blue balls the size of large marbles into his hand, then tossed them high in the air. The Chabels dropped back down and floated directly in front of him.
Ms Florence studied the Chabels for a few moments. “They appear to be fine. How many lessons did you have with the Chabels before you left?”
“Only two. And they were with the school’s Chabels. Dad only gave me these a few days ago.”
“Hmm. Let’s hope you bond to them quickly. Be alert. Follow them closely. You know the grounds have several sites for activations,” Ms Florence reminded him. “I want you to practise finding the portals as quickly as possible.”
“Okay,” he said.
Willow watched him return the empty black pouch to his pocket, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the hovering balls.
The Chabels drifted towards the door and all at once, glowed a bright blue. With two short, sharp dashes, they were out the door and out of sight. Hugo lunged after them, crying out, “Got to go – ’bye!”
“Don’t lose them, Hugo!” Ms Florence shouted in the direction of his thudding footsteps.
Was she meant to follow? Willow was busting to chase after him. She wanted to see a portal being found! She turned back to Ms Florence, who was standing in a patch of sunlight with a beaming smile, arms folded and head tilted to one side, as if straining to hear something – perhaps Hugo’s footsteps on the stairs? Willow had a sudden thought. She knew that portals moved around within the Sanctuary in search of the strongest anchoring point – so the Chabels must be able to sense where the next portal would be and lead the Helper there. But why weren’t they mentioned in the TriGamon?
“While Hugo’s busy I’ll introduce you to some of the current Light Keepers,” Ms Florence said. “I organised a few of my previous students to have a chat with you. I was a Light Keeper many years ago, but now it’s best to leave the adventuring to the younger ones. Mind you, who knows what the day might bring.” She gazed at Willow, thoughtfully, her cheery demeanour slipping briefly. “I’ll do my best to help prepare you, Willow. Yes, you are young – but I can see you have an inner strength well beyond your years that will guide you well.”
“Thank you,” Willow said. Did she really have an inner strength that was beyond her years? And if she did, how could Ms Florence see it after only one morning? “I hope you’re right.”
Ms Florence gave her a reassuring smile. “You’ll do just fine. Wait here. I’ll go check if those Light Keepers are ready yet. They’ve been in the woods all morning training with emergency sanctuary Protocols.”
Willow wandered over to the windows. From this view on the second level she could now fully appreciate just how enormous the grounds around the school were. There was even a lake with a long jetty out in the distance, and as far as the eye could see, a forest wrapped itself around the Academy borders. Willow suspected that ALFA was built inside a very large Sanctuary.
A quick movement on her far right caught her eye. Squinting, she saw a boy darting around on the lawn, and grinned when she realised it was Hugo chasing the Chabels. As she watched, he changed direction so suddenly that he almost ran into a tree. She tried not to laugh, but couldn’t help herself. The Chabels seemed to be having fun with him, as if they were playing a game of “Catch Me If You Can”. Hugo stumbled but quickly regained his balance. “Ooh, that was close. Nearly a face plant!” Willow cheered. But beneath her enjoyment witnessing his antics, she did hope he was a fast learner. After all, she was relying on him to track portals in the Sanctuary – and to bring her back safely from another planet in another galaxy.
She watched Hugo until Ms Florence returned and escorted her back down stairs to a small lounge area. A group of six young adults, four of them female, were standing around chatting and sipping hot drinks.
Willow was sure none of them were beyond twenty years of age.
“All right, everyone,” Ms Florence said. “As you know, this is Willow Bloom. Please introduce yourselves and help her out with any questions she may have. I’ll just go check on Hugo – don’t want to be responsible for losing a student today!” She winked and headed out.
A girl wearing a green tartan trouser suit stepped forward. “Hi, I’m Lucinda. You must be feeling pretty overwhelmed right about now.”
“You could say that,” Willow answered.
“Don’t worry,” Lucinda told her. “We’ve all had first days here, and frankly, coming in as unexpectedly as you have, you’re allowed to be overwhelmed.” Lucinda turned to the other Light Keepers. With a gesture of her hand she introduced Willow to the other Light Keepers, who came from five different countries.
“Hi,” Willow responded. She rarely felt shy or lost for words, but right now she felt both. On top of that, she was trying really hard not to stare at Amelia’s wickedly sharp Mohawk.
“We’ll forgive you if you can’t remember all of our names,” the girl called Magda said.
Little did they know that Willow had already memorised each person’s name. She smiled at Magda. “Thanks.”
“Grab a drink and come sit with us.” Lucinda gestured to the drinks machine and then to a group of sofas and armchairs around a coffee table that stood on a blue and gold rug woven with stars and planets beneath it.
Willow made herself a mug of hot chocolate and joined the others.
“Must have been pretty insane discovering the Keepers’ world the way you did,” Amelia said. “And the fact that you’re only twelve!” She clamped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to …”
“It’s okay,” Willow answered. “And I’m nearly thirteen.”
“Bet you must be fed up with the age thing and people staring at you.”
“I’m not enjoying it,” Willow conceded, “but that’s okay. How old were you?”
“I was told at fifteen. But I didn’t see Peonie until I was seventeen,” Amelia said.
“In Japan,” Akira put in, “it is traditionally revealed on your sixteenth birthday.”
“Wow, what a birthday present. When did you see Peonie?”
“It was three months from my birthday. It was a great honour to be chosen.” Akira pondered for a few moments. “I have performed my duty over eighty times now.”
Amelia placed her mug down on the coffee table. “I think I must be coming close to that figure too. It’s a pity you’ve come in when all this bad juju is going on.”
“You trying to help her – or scare her?” Charlie rebuked.
“Oops. Sorry.”
“No need,” Willow said, but she did feel a slight flutter in her stomach.
Charlie shuffled forward to the edge of the sofa with a “big brother” look on his face. “What do you want to know? How we got into this? A few helpful pointers for the road?”
Lucinda butted in. “But no spoilers about the trip there, or the city. Let Willow have a few surprises.”
Willow had often wond
ered what the city would look like. The TriGamon didn’t go into any real detail about it so she just let her imagination conjure up whatever it wanted. Usually it was something along the lines of Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz.
“Give an old hand some credit,” Charlie said. “So, Willow, once you’ve found your best portal and activated the TriVrata, it projects a beam of light. You step inside the beam. There’ll be colours swirling all around you, and then all of a sudden, you’re travelling. It’s awesome.”
The others burst into agreement with comments like “Cool,” “Freaky” and “Incredible.”
“You end up at the Doorway where Peonie is waiting, which is really amazing,” he paused, looked over to Lucinda and placed his finger on his lips before continuing, “and then you pass through another Doorway and arrive on Thera, in the city of Mondria – and that’s amazing too. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.”
“Obviously, Charlie,” Magda groaned. “It’s light years away – on another world. Of course, it’s like nothing she’s ever seen before!”
Willow joined the others with a titter. “So basically the whole experience is pretty amazing.”
“Is she having me on?” Charlie asked looking around at Magda and Amelia.
“She could be teasing you a little,” Amelia said. “But you served yourself up.”
Charlie pretended to be offended. “Okay. So how would you describe it then?”
Amelia turned away from him and faced Willow. “Really it’s best not to give you too many details because you want to get the pure surprise of it. But you do need to be prepared for something beyond what you could ever expect. On my first visit, I was so gobsmacked by everything that when the time came to actually do Light Keeper duties, I froze. I just stood there, staring. It was so embarrassing. But I gather that happens to most newbies.”
“Are you sure about that?” Charlie asked innocently. “I don’t seem to recall …”
Amelia threw a cushion at him.
“Charlie is dreaming of becoming a comedian,” Roberto said in a thick Italian accent. “But it seems that his dream has not yet reached him, even with all of the hard work from the Light Keepers.”
Charlie put his hand over his heart. “Dude, that hurts.”
Amelia rolled her eyes at him.
“I’ll probably freeze,” Willow said, picturing herself being so overwhelmed by everything that she just wouldn’t be able to move.
“You’ll do fine,” Magda assured her. “Everyone’s experience is different.”
Willow was listening to Roberto recount one of his stories when the door opened with a bang, causing one of the paintings on the wall to slide away from its centre. A girl of about seventeen stood in the Doorway.
“So, you’re Willow Bloom,” she sneered. “You can’t possibly be ready to be a Light Keeper! You’re still a baby! They won’t want someone as young as you with all this trouble. You couldn’t handle it!”
Lucinda sprang to her feet. “Ambrosia! What the hell! What’s got into you?”
Ambrosia glared at Lucinda, then turned her disapproving gaze back to Willow.
Willow realised her mouth was wide open. She closed it with a snap.
“That’s totally not on!” Lucinda exclaimed. “Sorry, Willow, she’s completely out of line.”
“Hmph! I’d say the Ancients got it wrong for once,” Ambrosia snapped back. “She’s just a …”
“Enough!” Roberto protested, rising from his seat. “This is outrageous behaviour for a Light Keeper. Unbelievable!”
“Let’s just see how she fares, shall we?” Ambrosia mocked. She held their gaze for a long moment, then turned sharply and disappeared.
The silence that followed rang in Willow’s ears. She sank heavily into the sofa, still staring at the Doorway.
Akira spoke first. “Willow, are you all right? I cannot think what is the matter with her?”
Willow looked across to Akira. “Maybe she’s having a bad day.” She glanced back towards the Doorway, hoping Ambrosia wouldn’t make a second appearance.
“I can’t believe that just happened. Frankly, I’m shocked,” Lucinda said.
“You mustn’t let what she said get to you, okay? None of it,” Magda insisted. “You’re here because you’re meant to be here. Just remember that.”
Willow forced a smile.
“Ambrosia Abernathy,” Amelia said. “Honestly, in the two years she’s been a Light Keeper – I’ve never seen her behave that way. It’s totally out of character.”
“Off the scale.” Charlie strode towards the doorway and looked out, turning his head in both directions. “She’s gone.” Returning to his seat, he made eye contact with Willow. “I didn’t want you thinking that she might be lurking out there. I don’t understand it. I’ve met up with her in Mondria a few times and she’s always been fine.”
“I only met her once,” Roberto said, “and she was nice enough.”
Lucinda checked her phone for the time. “Twelve forty-five. Let’s have lunch and shake off the bad energy. Come on, Willow. We’ll show you how to get to the dining hall.”
As they passed a window that looked onto the grounds, Willow stole a glance outside. She wondered how Hugo was doing chasing those Chabels and whether he had found any portals.
The school’s dining room smelled delicious. People were queuing for food or walking around with trays to join groups already sitting at tables and eating their meals. Willow was glad to have the other Light Keepers around her. She had to admit she was shaken by Ambrosia’s comments.
Some of the adults wore cloaks of either purple or green. Willow already knew the green cloaks were teachers; she supposed the purple cloaks were members of official committees or something.
She searched through the crowd, hoping to recognise some faces and finally spied her parents. They were at one of the longer tables at the far end of the room. And then she spotted Hugo standing at the back of the food queue. Willow turned to the other Light Keepers. “Thanks for showing me how to get here. And thanks for everything else too.”
“No biggie,” Lucinda said. “We’re here if you ever need to download.”
“You’ll do good, Willow. I know it,” Amelia said.
“Thanks.”
Willow waved to her parents then pointed to Hugo in the queue and headed his way, admiring the impressive ceiling of large domes, each one boasting an iron chandelier, as she wove her way through the crowd.
“So how did you go with your Chabels?”
“Aah … yeah … fine. What about you?” he asked. “After I left?”
Willow avoided his gaze. “All good.”
Hugo studied her a little closer. “Are you all right?”
Ambrosia’s stinging words replayed in Willow’s mind. “I’m fine,” she said, pretending to eye off the food cabinets ahead of them.
“Text-book avoidance if you ask me,” he said.
“I didn’t ask you.” Willow was now close enough to grab a tray. “Food looks good.”
Hugo stayed quiet as he piled food on to his plate. He waited until they were at the cutlery station before he attempted to pry again. “Seriously, what’s up?”
She picked up a fork and knife and placed them on her tray. “Okay,” she said under her breath. “One of the Light Keepers confronted me about being too young and said I shouldn’t be here.”
“What! Who would say something like that?”
“Ssh. Keep your voice down,” she said, looking around to see if anyone had overheard. “Her name’s Ambrosia. Apparently it’s very out of character.”
“You mean Ambrosia Abernathy? No way!” he said. “I had some classes with her last year. She was nice. Doesn’t make sense.”
“That’s what the others said.” Willow turned to weave a path around the dining tables and caught sight of Ambrosia sitting a few tables away. She sharply faced the opposite direction. “She’s over there. Quick, go this way!”
“What
? No. I’m going to say something.”
Willow grabbed Hugo’s sleeve and yanked him back. “No, you’re not! I can take care of myself!” Releasing her grip, she added, “Just forget I said anything.”
“Fine, I’ll leave it. But if she says anything like that again, I’m having a word.”
Wow, thought Willow. “Protector Hugo” wasn’t a Hugo she would have ever expected to meet before this Light Keeping adventure began. It felt strange, but she guessed he was just taking his Helper role seriously.
Willow led the way to their table, making sure to take a wide berth around Ambrosia. “So how come the Chabels aren’t mentioned in the TriGamon?” she asked.
“Because your copy of the TriGamon is really old and the Chabels are fairly new. They’ve only been around fifty-four years,” he said. “Before the Chabels, the Wood Folk used to find the portals. TriGamons around the world have been coming here to ALFA to have their pages updated ever since. I guess with your family not having a Light Keeper for so long, yours was just never brought in.”
“Well, it’s here now so, I guess they can update it while we’re training,” she said.
“Hmm, with everything else that’s going on, I doubt it’s on the Council’s ‘to do’ list right now. Everyone’s focused on dealing with the current situation.”
“Yeah, s’pose so. Looks like my entire small family tree’s here,” Willow commented as they approached their table. She tweaked his sleeve. “Absolutely do not mention what happened. Okay?”
Hugo shrugged. “Wasn’t going to.”
Willow put her tray down before greeting her Uncle Jack and Aunt Mary. They greeted her with utter delight. As she kissed them she reflected on the secret that each member of her family had kept from her throughout her entire childhood. Everyone sitting at this table had known of the possibility that one day she might Awaken to be a Light Keeper. Everyone but her.
Willow Bloom and the Dream Keepers Page 11
