Dark Summer

by Lizzy Ford

  “Biji, calmly tell me what happened,” Amber directed.

  The small Indian girl trotted down the stairs. “We were sitting in Summer’s room when Dawn almost busted down the door. She started shouting horrible things at Summer, like threatening Tarzan and stuff. Summer told her to get out and Dawn tried to grab Tarzan. Summer pushed her and then Dawn went off and punched her.”

  “Summer, is that what happened?” Amber asked.

  “She hurt Tarzan,” Summer said, clenching his hand with both of hers. “Knocked him off the bed and hurt his leg.”

  “She went psycho,” Biji added.

  “And you were there for this, Biji?” Amber asked.

  “Yep. I saw the whole thing.”

  “Who else was there?”

  “No one but us.”

  “I didn’t see them until they fell down the stairs,” Beck said.

  “Okay. Biji, go help Summer clean up. We’ll call the doc to drop by later today. I can’t believe you fell down the stairs and aren’t hurt.”

  Decker started to go with Summer, when Amber said his name.

  “Decker, the issue we discussed earlier.” Her eyes were on Beck.

  Summer looked up at him questioningly. Decker looked from Biji to Beck.

  “I have to go for now,” he said to Summer. “I’ll be back later, hopefully before my ceremony. If not, I’ll come as soon as it’s over, okay?”

  Summer appeared disappointed but nodded. He kissed her on the forehead and released her. Decker waited until she and Biji were up the stairs before turning to Beck, who looked puzzled but not upset.

  “What’s going on?” Beck asked.

  “We’re going to the mall,” Decker answered. “Call me, Amber, and tell me what happens.”

  Amber hesitated. At his sharp look, she nodded. Decker pushed his unsuspecting brother onto the porch.

  “We gotta talk, Beck.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “It’s not.” Decker climbed into the van, followed by Beck. The driver started the vehicle and drove them towards the main road leading to the lake. “Let us out once we get past the turnoff.”

  “Dude, what’s going on?” Beck demanded. “I walk in to see Summer and Dawn falling down the stairs, and you’re being all weird.”

  “We have to go see Sam,” Decker said. “I don’t have a clue what to do.”

  Summer finished up her shower. She dressed with hands that still shook, unsettled by both Dawn’s insanity and her own actions. For the first time in her life, she’d hit someone, albeit in self-defense.

  She left the bathroom to see Biji, Amber and a man in a polo seated in the room with a black bag next to him. Biji still held the fawn, who appeared to be dozing.

  “I see bruises,” Amber said, rising.

  Summer held out her arms. Amber looked her over before stepping aside for the doctor.

  “Anything hurting?” he asked.

  “My elbow,” she said and held out her right arm. “It’s not bad though.”

  “No idea how you guys managed to walk away with nothing broken,” Amber said.

  “Youth,” the doctor replied with a warm smile. He bent Summer’s arm and poked at her elbow. “Probably a sprain. The swelling isn’t bad. Lots of bruises, and that lip shouldn’t need stitching.”

  Summer touched her lower lip. It was too swollen to smile. The doctor turned her head to look at the tender bruise on her cheek and stepped back.

  “I’ll give you some pain meds and antibiotic balm for the lip,” he said. He turned to Amber. “The arm should be okay in a week or so. I’ll leave a brace for her.”

  “Before you leave,” Summer said quickly as he reached for his bag “could you look at Tarzan?”

  “Sure. Who is Tarzan?”

  “This is Tarzan,” Biji said, indicating the fawn in her lap. “Dawn attacked him. His leg is hurt.”

  The doctor sat beside her. Summer climbed onto the bed anxiously. Biji released the deer for the doctor to see the leg that wasn’t bent. Summer’s heart thudded as she took in the little creature she’d spent weeks caring for. She’d wanted to beat Dawn senseless for harming such a vulnerable life.

  The doctor took the leg gently and tested it. Tarzan squirmed and tried to escape.

  “This looks like it’s broken,” the doctor said.

  Summer’s heart plummeted. “Can you fix him?”

  “Well …” He glanced at Amber. “I can put his leg in a brace. Baby aspirin will keep the pain and swelling down, but I’d recommend you get him to a vet this week. He’ll need X-rays and probably a cast.”

  “Anything you can do, we’d appreciate,” Amber said.

  “Let me run to my car.” He left the room.

  Summer stroked Tarzan, pitying him. The little orphan had more issues than she did.

  “You feeling okay?” Amber asked her.

  “I’m fine. Just worried about Tarzan,” Summer replied. “I’m so sorry about all of this.”

  “It’s not your fault. There’s likely to be some fallout, but dealing with issues seems to be my job description this week so far.”

  Summer glanced up at Amber’s frustrated tone.

  “I’ll let you know tomorrow what will happen,” Amber added.

  “What do you mean?” Summer asked.

  “Fighting is forbidden on the school grounds, even if for a good cause.”

  Summer felt cold inside.

  “But you worry about Tarzan, and I’ll worry about this,” Amber said, smiling. “I will say this: you and Dawn won’t be attending classes tomorrow. So stay here and take care of Tarzan, okay?”

  Summer said nothing. She couldn’t help feeling there was more of an issue than Amber let on. The Light arts instructor’s gaze was troubled. Turning her attention to Tarzan, Summer calmed him from the doctor’s manipulations of his leg. Biji was unusually quiet, as if she, too, sensed what Summer did.

  The doctor returned with two braces, one for her and a child-sized air cast for Tarzan. He unwrapped the first brace and slid it on Summer’s arm, over her swollen elbow. He then straightened the deer’s leg and put the cast in place.

  “Don’t let him take this off,” he warned. “Wear yours for an hour. Take it off, ice your elbow for twenty minutes, and then put it back on.” He held up a small prescription bottle and a slender tube of balm. “Take one of these daily for the next week, probably before bed. They’ll make you sleepy. Use the balm as needed.”

  “Thank you,” Summer replied, accepting them.

  “Thanks, Doc Aarons,” Amber said. “Hopefully, we don’t have to call you again tomorrow.”

  “Anytime, Amber.” The doctor gathered his things and smiled at Summer and Biji before leaving. Amber closed the door behind her.

  Summer followed, locking it. After Dawn’s unexpected outburst, she wasn’t taking any chances that someone else would come in uninvited.

  “I hope he’s okay,” Biji said, caressing Tarzan’s neck.

  “Me, too. I’m really scared,” Summer whispered. She sat beside her fawn. “I hope she doesn’t send me back to LA.”

  “I don’t think so. I mean, Dawn attacked you. How could she?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve learned that people don’t usually care who started fights, though. I saw so many orphan kids thrown out of school for fighting bullies.”

  “Your birthday’s in two days. Things like that don’t happen on your birthday.”

  Summer smiled. “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am. You belong here. They can’t turn away a witchling, even if you were in a fight. Last year, Beck and Decker got in a huge fight. They almost killed each other, and they only got suspended for a week.”

  “I guess they could make me stay in my room for a week,” Summer said, considering. “That wouldn’t be too bad.”

  “You could take care of Tarzan.”

  “Yeah, I could,” she said. She sighed. A week trapped in her room would suck, but not as bad as being
thrown out of the school and sent back into the orphanage. Maybe Biji was right, and that was as far as the school would go. “It might actually be a good thing, because he’ll need a lot of help for a while.”

  “See? It’ll work out,” Biji said, smiling. “I hope they expel Dawn, though.”

  “Me, too. You were totally right about her, Biji,” Summer said bitterly. “She set me up at the dance. I bet she was the one who tried to poison Tarzan.”

  “When you go see Amber tomorrow, you have to tell her about those things,” Biji advised. “It makes what she did seem less like she was acting out of passion and more like she planned it. I saw something like that on one of those crime shows on the telly, and the bad guy went to jail, because he had a history of harassing someone.”

  “I’m tired of being nice about it. No more,” Summer said, thoughts going to what Decker told her about the curses. “I’ll tell Amber everything tomorrow.”

  “Good. I hope it’s enough for them to throw her out of school.”

  Determined, Summer rebuilt the pillow fort around Tarzan. Her thoughts went to Decker, and she wondered what issue had kept him from being with her. He and Amber both had looked at Beck strangely, and she guessed it had something to do with his black eye. Which meant it might have something to do with Dawn, too.

  Remembering that Dawn had attacked two people in two days, Summer began to believe Biji was right. She was out of control, and the school would have to do something more than suspend her.

  Her mind turned to Decker, and she grew anxious for him. She didn’t know what transitioning into the Master of Fire and Night would encompass, but she doubted it’d be pleasant. She hoped she saw him before it happened and couldn’t help the trickle of dread at the thought of seeing him after.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sam wouldn’t be found. Decker searched the creature’s favorite haunts for two hours before giving up. The yeti didn’t respond to his summons, even when he sent Beck back to the van to wait. Sam may have avoided him in the forest, but he wouldn’t come sundown, when Decker’s ceremony started. He spent the rest of his day calming Beck down. The shuttle took them to the mall and picked them up in time to return them both for Decker’s ceremony.

  His nerves were shaking already, his head throbbing from the clamoring spirits of the gathering Dark witchlings. The field where the Dark ceremony was held was nearly full. Dark witchlings had traveled from all over the world to witness his coronation.

  “I don’t see Mother, either,” Beck said, scanning the field. “Something’s going on.”

  Decker rubbed his temples.

  The sun was gone from the sky, hidden behind the forest. Soon, the horizon would turn colors, indicating it was time to start the ceremony. The ceremony would last until just after midnight, the official start to his new duties. He looked towards the school again, wishing he’d seen Summer. His hand went to the birthday present he’d gotten for her in his pocket.

  “I can’t believe the school would do this to me,” Beck said for the millionth time. “How can they stand in the way of my destiny?”

  “I don’t know, Beck,” Decker replied. “The only thing I can figure out is Sam either told them to or they’re waiting to talk to him about it. No one else could make them stop it.”

  “And Mother is just not even—”

  “I know, I know.”

  Beck looked at him. “You look awful.”

  “I feel awful.”

  “I’ll stay with you, Decker. I won’t leave you like Aunt Nora did our mother.”

  “I know, Beck, thanks.” Decker managed a smile. “We’ll get your stuff straightened out, too.”

  “I wonder if we’ll finally meet Nora at my ceremony.”

  “We’d be the first people in our family to see her in the past twenty years.”

  “She must really hate Mother,” Beck mused. “I guess that’s why she avoids us, too.”

  “Sometimes I understand why.”

  “Yeah, I do, too.”

  Matilda was in the center of the pentagram on a natural rise in the field. She waved to him. Decker straightened, glancing towards the sky. The signs of sunset had begun to spread. The field fell silent, except for the clamoring of his mind. Scared, he turned to Beck.

  “If something happens and I explode or something …”

  “You love me, want me to drive your Harley and take care of Summer.” Beck rolled his eyes to ease the tension. “Okay.”

  “More or less,” Decker said with a faint smile.

  “Go get ’em.”

  Beck’s confidence soothed him. Decker drew a deep breath and strode to Matilda. She stepped out of the pentagram as he stepped in. At once, the world around him silenced and the air vibrated. The spirits of those in the field were focused on him rather than on their own turmoil and created a hum that moved through him as easily as his magick.

  He relaxed some, hoping this was what it felt like to become the Master. Maybe he wouldn’t hear the sounds of souls the rest of his life, but would feel this calm at his center.

  Just when he’d given up hope that Sam would appear, the auburn yeti melted out of the forest beside Beck. Decker saw his twin jump and turn to Sam, who rested a hand on his shoulder. Decker glanced around, gaze settling on the five points of the pentagram. Four of the five points had waist-high tiki torches holding black glass candle holders. In one was Earth. In another burned Fire. The third was empty to contain Air and the fourth was filled with Water.

  The fifth point directly ahead of him was empty. Matilda began a cleansing ceremony, and the scents of herbs grew strong as she circled the pentagram. Those in the field were silent, watching. He felt his mother arrive before he saw her. He looked around, startled when she materialized ahead of him, at the fifth arm of the pentagram in the place where the fifth element—Spirit—belonged.

  “Mother,” he whispered, glancing towards Beck.

  “We’ll talk after.” Her voice was firm. Her eyes were already filed with blackness.

  Decker bit his tongue. He didn’t quite know what to expect from her when she looked like this. The last time, she’d killed someone.

  Matilda finished her circle and stepped back. His mother’s magick unleashed around him, a black fog that blocked everything but the two of them. The hum of souls grew louder, stronger, and made his insides shake. She left her place at the head of the pentagram and stood before him.

  “Most of this is for show. Sam would say humans are creatures that like tradition.” she told him. “The true transition is simple.” She held out her hand.

  Decker’s whole body shook from the vibrations. He took her hand. His ears buzzed and his body went limp. He passed out.

  At least, he thought he did. He shook his head to clear it, not expecting to find himself on a cliff overlooking a wide, slow, winding river under a full moon.

  “This is Nataniel, the Darkbringer, the first of our bloodline cursed with our magick.” His mother stood beside him.

  Disoriented, Decker looked around. The place felt real, from the cool ocean breeze to the sweet smelling grass. At the same time, he had the sense of being removed from the spot, as if he was watching it happen through a window. His attention went to the yeti standing in front of two men in cloaks with bows and spears standing twenty feet away. The men looked like the Native Americans in picture books. They were talking, but Decker couldn’t hear them.

  The yeti held out his hand to one of them as Decker’s mother had to him. The man took it and collapsed to his knees. Blue flames surged from the yeti into the man, who looked as if he was trying hard not to vomit. Black fog built around the man while the yeti spoke.

  “He says, the only way to prevent evil is to become a part of it and use its own power to restrict it,” his mother said quietly. “Nataniel lived another four years. His soul is the strongest of those you will inherit. His magick was pure. You will find it gives you strength when your own is lacking.”

  The black fog inch
ed towards them and surrounded them. Decker heard the buzzing again and tried hard not to pass out. Images played through his mind of a life that wasn’t his. Voices whispered Nataniel’s secrets while Decker watched the vision of how Nataniel spent his four years as enforcer.

  The fog cleared to show a similar scene next to a lake. This time, it was only the yeti and Nataniel’s successor.

  “Nataniel’s son, Horus, was known to his own kind as the Peacebringer. His magick was like a candle in the night. He cast light upon anyone he came across, even those who could not be salvaged. He reigned for forty years,” his mother said.

  Blue flames coursed through Horus, and black fog burst from him as well. Decker closed his eyes, bracing himself for more images and voices whispering things he couldn’t catch. By the time the fog cleared to show the third Master of Fire and Night, Decker was vomiting.

  “It’s a lot to take in,” his mother said, kneeling beside him. “Don’t try to remember anything. It’ll be in your mind for you to recall and explore later. Every secret, every fear, every triumph of our predecessors will be yours to carry. The history of the Masters is vital, and their souls will give you strength.”

  “So I’ll have the souls of all of them?” he asked, wiping his mouth.

  “Yes. This is where our magick comes from.”

  “Why do I need to know their thoughts?”

  “Their thoughts will keep you on the right path. It’s easy to get lost in the Dark. They will anchor you, like a cheering squad.”

  “Zombie cheerleaders.”

  His mother chuckled. “Something like that. You’ll find—when you feel completely alone and like you can’t go another day—they’ll help you.”

  “Did you ever feel that way?” Decker looked at his mother.

  “Several times. I wanted to die. I never wanted to kill anyone. I never wanted to make anyone suffer. Everyone in my family thought Nora would go to the Dark and I would go to the Light. I was like Beck: carefree, harmless, and happy.”