The young man snickered as he kept on moving. They came to another fork. Without giving it any thought, the Rohad took the left path.
Faith’s spirits lifted as the dead branches became less in number. Healthy green leaves took their place. A bright light shined at the end of the tunnel.
“See?” said the Rohad. “What did I tell you?”
Moments later, they emerged into a large garden square. Her mouth gaped open. There were dozens of stone benches and a sea of different colored flowers. At the center of the garden stood a water fountain that sprouted a geyser of water into the air. Hundreds of white honey flowers surrounded the water fountain. Throughout the garden, there were over a dozen squares of grass where people sat. Some were enjoying a picnic. Other people stared at the sky, while others entertained themselves with kicking sacks.
“Hey, babe,” said a bald-headed student who stood directly in front of Faith. Behind him was a group of snickering students. “I’m Delita. You look a bit lost. Is there anything I can do to help such a fine woman?”
Faith stared at the large student for a few seconds before speaking. “I’m fine, thank you.”
Delita licked his lips. “No you’re not. Come with me. I’ll show you a side of Rohad you’ve never seen before.”
“Hey, Delita! Leave the lady alone,” commanded her guide. “She’s made it clear she doesn’t need your help.”
Delita held up his hands defensively. “Fine, fine. I was just about to leave anyhow.” He disappeared into the maze. His friends scampered behind him.
“Sorry about that,” said her Rohad guide. “Not all Rohad students are like that, I promise.”
“That’s quite all right. Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“No problem.” He bit his lip. “So I noticed you’re not wearing a Rohad uniform. Are you from around here?”
“Oh, no, I’m just visiting.”
“Well, I hope you enjoy your visit. It was nice meeting you.”
“Thank you for helping me,” said Faith. She waved goodbye and began to explore the garden. She didn’t know where to begin. There were so many strange plants and flowers she had never seen before. She crouched and brought her nose to a small purple flower. It was so small that it could fit in the nail of her pinky finger, but the scent that came out of it was mind-blowing.
For the next hour, she continued to excitedly move about the garden. She experienced strange new smells and exotic new flowers. As time passed, the crowd of people diminished. They left until only Faith and the bulky Rohad remained. He sat atop a marble bench, sighing and mumbling to himself.
“I’m sorry,” said Faith. “I don’t mean to pry, but are you well?”
The student looked up at her with sad eyes. “It’s nothing big, it’s just that Rohad Academy holds a dance every year. The dance is tonight and I haven’t found a date.” He stared down at the grass, gloomily. “Don’t get me wrong, I really don’t care too much about the dance, it’s just that my poor grandma sowed a suit for me to wear. I know she would be heartbroken if I were to not use it.”
“Oh,” said Faith, not really knowing what else to say.
He suddenly looked up with a smile across his thick lips. “Say, are you going with anyone to the dance?”
“I don’t think so. I came here with my friend, Falcon. He hasn’t mentioned it to me.”
“Falcon, I know him. He probably hasn’t told you anything because he goes with Aya every year.”
Faith felt a slight pang in her chest. “Oh does he?”
“Yeah, they do everything together.” The fuzzy-haired student stared at her intently. “So perhaps you would like to go with me to the dance?”
She thought about it for a while. With everything that had happened, she didn’t feel much like dancing. The gloomy Rohad’s expression, however, made her feel bad for him. “Sure. I don’t see any harm in going to a dance.”
He smiled widely. “Thank you. Thank you. My grandma will be so happy. I can’t wait to tell her.”
“I’m glad.” Faith looked up at the sun. It was close to the center of the sky. “Sorry, but I have to go, I have to meet my friend.”
“No problem. I’ll see you tonight at the dance.”
“Sure.” Faith ran into the maze, but stopped and turned once she realized she hadn’t even given him her name. The poor guy wouldn’t even know who to look for come nightfall. “I’m sorry. I’ve neglected to give my name.” She extended her hand. “I’m Faith Hemstath.”
He took her hand with a mischievous grin. “And I’m Laars. Laars Masters.”
CHAPTER 7
Falcon walked through the all-too familiar marbled walls of the Rohad academy. They felt more cold and unwelcoming than usual. Perhaps it had something to do with Lao and Aya not being with him. Or perhaps it had to do with the fact that Professor Kraimaster was headed straight toward him. Falcon moved behind a group of giggling girls, hoping the professor wouldn’t see him.
“Hello, Mr. Hyatt.”
Falcon cursed silently.
The professor gazed at him. “I take it you were not zuzpended.” He flashed his bare teeth. “Pity the council takez Grandmazter Zoen’z word over mine.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” said Falcon, annoyed at the professor’s way of talking. Kraimaster had a tendency to drag on every S, making him sound like a hissing snake.
“Don’t be arrogant, Mr. Hyatt. You were fortunate that Grandmazter Zoen came to your aid thiz time, but he can only protect you for zo long. Zooner the Rohad council will realize juzt what a nuizance you are. I’ll zhall rejoice when you pack your bagz.”
The professor walked away. His usual stoic expression was plastered across his face.
Falcon looked after him, silently wondering what he had done to Kraimaster to garner such hate from him.
“Hey, Hyatt,” came a voice from behind. He didn’t have to turn to see who it was. Sheridan was the only person he knew who called people by their last name. “I see Professor Kraimaster and you are still getting along famously.”
“Yeah, were the best of friends,” said Falcon sarcastically. He eyed Sheridan. He had on his trademark black coat that reached to his knees. The tattoo over his right eye stood out from his pale skin. “Anyhow, what have you been up to?”
“Not much. Just hanging out here as I await my next mission. I think it might be in either Belwebb or Missea. I’m hoping it’s Belwebb. I hear that capital city has the most beautiful women. Not that any of them have a chance. My heart belongs to Hiromy, after all.”
Falcon laughed. “I don’t think the emperor will be too happy with you dating his daughter.”
“I don’t care about her father,” said Sheridan, shrugging his shoulders.
“Have you even talked to her? Back when we spoke in Asturia, you didn’t know anything about her.”
“Well, we did speak a bit between classes the other day. I told her the weather was nice and she said ‘yeah’.” Sheridan’s eyes were dreamy as he spoke.
“That’s not very much.”
He held up his hands. “But don’t you worry. I plan to ask her to the upcoming dance. Once she sees how well I dance, she won’t be able to resist me.”
Oh, yes, the dance. With all that had been going on, he had forgotten all about it.
Sheridan’s expression suddenly turned rigid. “Listen, Hyatt. About what happened back in Asturia. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you. If I could take it back, I would.”
“It’s fine, Sheridan. Your family sacrificed a lot to put you through Rohad. When Professor Kraimaster ordered you to leave us, you had no choice but to follow orders.”
“I still feel really guilty. Nakatomi stayed behind with you and I didn’t. But don’t worry. The next time, I got your back. That’s a bona fide Calhoun promise.”
Falcon grinned. “Sure thing, Sheridan.”
“What do we have here?” said a sudden husky voice. Falcon’s childhood enemy, Laars, stepped up to him. Behin
d Laars stood his usual gang of cronies: Delita, Putin, Drusilla, and Elvira. “The brother of the traitor is back.”
“But where is your best friend, Lao?” asked Drusilla. The skinny girl flashed her yellow teeth as she grinned widely. She turned to her sister. “What do you think, Elvira?”
The neckless girl looked up at the roof as if lost in thought. “I think the rumors we heard were true. Lao betrayed his best friend and now he’s dead.”
“What do you expect from a peasant?” added Delita, rubbing his bald head.
“Shut up!” said Falcon, anger in his voice.
Laars looked back at his gang as he cackled out loud. “See how angry he gets? It must mean it’s true.” He turned back to Falcon. “I knew it was only a matter of time before you two turned traitors.”
“I said shut up!” Falcon knew that people were watching now, but he didn’t care. Lao might have betrayed him, but he refused to stand idly by as people spoke ill of him.
“Or what?” asked Laars thickly. “I’m the descendant of the legendary Golden Wielder. A nobody like you cannot hurt me.”
Falcon griped his fist. The gray emblem in his glove turned solid red.
Laars’ emblem turned dark brown.
“Relax, guys,” said Sheridan, stepping between. “We are all Rohads, remember? What kind of example will you be setting for the students who haven’t graduated yet?”
“I don’t care,” said Falcon. “Get out of the way.”
Sheridan gazed at Falcon. “Well, what about the fact that you two will be stripped of your Rohad status if you fight?”
Laars and Falcon stepped back from each other.
“If you have a score to settle then I suggest a tiaozhan. Me and Falcon against you.” He pointed at Laars. “And one of your buddies here.”
Laars smirked as he turned his ape-face toward Falcon. “I’m up for a tiaozhan. Are you, traitor?”
Falcon nodded. Usually he would have never taken on such a challenge. But he couldn’t simply walk away like this.
“Let’s go,” said Sheridan. They walked down the hallway and out to the garden. “Don’t ever make me do that again, Hyatt.”
“Do what?” asked Falcon, confused.
“Be the voice of reason. It doesn’t fit me.”
“Sure,” said Falcon, though he wasn’t paying much attention to Sheridan anymore. His concentration was on the tiaozhan. He had never been good at it. The precision that was required in the game was not his strong suit. He found himself wishing Aya were with him. She could surely get them an easy win.
They moved past the maze and around the castle.
Elvira’s knees knuckled loudly as they walked down the path toward the tiaozhan fields.
“You should have a doctor check that, Nord,” said Sheridan. “Your bones snapping like that is not normal.”
“Shut up,” hissed Elvira. “Mother says that’s what makes me special.”
Sheridan laughed. “Whatever you say.”
“Each team gets two shots,” said Laars as they reached the wide-open range. “We’ll go first.”
“Fine,” said Falcon. He looked up and noticed the sun had travelled two-thirds through the sky. He had to hurry. Faith could be already looking for him.
“Remember,” said Sheridan. “This is a test of precision and teamwork, so none of that super powerful wielding you’re so fond of.”
“Yes, I know,” said Falcon, sounding much more confident than he felt.
Laars and Delita stepped behind the white line drawn on the grass. About one-hundred meters ahead stood a large steel wall. It had five different animals depicted on it. Each animal held its mouth open. Inside their mouths was a hole of different size. The biggest of the holes belonged to the ox. It was about the size of two human heads, which meant it was the easiest to get an attack through, but it also was only worth twenty points.
Falcon watched in silence as Laars and Delita held their hands up.
“Hiyaaah!” they yelled in unison.
Water left Delita’s fist.
An earth spike flew out from Laars’ hand.
Falcon cursed silently as the attacks met in mid-air and combined into a single ball. A second later, the ball travelled through the second-largest hole.
“That’s forty points!” yelled Laars. His gang patted him on the back as they congratulated him.
Falcon and Sheridan hustled close together.
“So should we go for forty points too?” Sheridan asked.
Falcon concentrated, struggling to make a choice. They could go for the sixty-point hole, but that was the third smallest one in the wall. He wasn’t sure he had enough for such an attack. If it was just him, he could easily hit it. But to form a harmonious attack with another person required much more precision. After much deliberation he decided to take the easier route. “Let’s just go for the forty point one too.”
Sheridan gave him a thumbs-up.
They stood behind the line and held their hands up.
Falcon aimed his hand at the lion’s mouth at the bottom right hand corner. His emblem turned crimson as a line of fire flew forward.
He held his breath as his flames met Sheridan’s moon rock. The attacks collided and formed a perfect sphere that whizzed through the lion’s mouth.
“Eat that!” shouted Sheridan, pointing toward Laars gang. “That’s forty points.”
Laars frowned. He leaned over to Delita and whispered something in his ear. Then they released their attack.
Falcon’s jaw dropped as the their attack meshed together and travelled through the dragon’s mouth.
“One-hundred, points!” cried Laars. “This game is as good as over.”
Sheridan turned to Falcon; a frown had replaced his smile. “We have no choice but to go for the dragon and tie the match. Anything else will be useless.”
Falcon eyed the petite hole in the dragon’s mouth. His spirits dwindled down to the darkest corner within himself. “That thing is about three inches wide.”
“I know. But we can do it.” Sheridan patted Falcon’s back. “Listen, that last attack was losing air three-thirds through it. We need to shoot straight. Go with earth this time.”
Falcon bit his lip. “Are you sure? I think we are better off going with water and shooting a little high. The attack will arc down and go in. Hopefully.”
“Trust me. Straight and true.”
Sheridan sounded so hopeful that Falcon was left with little choice but to nod in agreement. “Earth it is.”
They stood behind the line.
“Traitor,” called Laars from behind him. His gang snickered in suppressed laughter.
Falcon breathed in, trying to ignore the comment. But no matter how hard he tried, Laars’ comment echoed in his head. He was so lost in his own thoughts that it barely registered when Sheridan let out his ball of stardust.
Panicking, he shot an earth rock forward. The large shapeless chunk of rock slammed into the stardust, dissolving into a puff of smoke. A second later the rock clanked loudly against the wall. Nowhere close to the circle where he had aimed.
Laars and his gang cheered loudly as they hopped and high-fived one another.
“See?” jeered Laars. “One-hundred and forty to forty. It wasn’t even close.”
Falcon’s air left him as he rubbed his aching head.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Sheridan. “We’ll get him next time.”
“There won’t be a next time, losers,” said Laars.
“Yes, losers,” added Putin.
Unable to continue hearing their celebration, Falcon hastily made his way back to the castle. His insides fumed more with each step he took. How could he have allowed Laars to insult his friend and get away with it?
“Relax, Hyatt.”
“I’m relaxed,” said Falcon, feeling anything but relaxed. “Listen, I’m going to my room. Faith might be there looking for me.”
“Are you sure you’re well?”
“Yes.
See you around.” He marched into the castle and down the long corridors. As he passed the dining room, he noticed Aya sitting on a table, with a group of student girls gathered around her.
He collected his breathing and marched toward her.
“What about wielding water out of thin air?” said one of the girls. “I tried everything the books say, but I always fail.”
“Me too,” added a freckled-faced student. “It’s impossible.” The rest of the students nodded in agreement.
Aya set her spoon down. “It’s not impossible. You simply have to—” Her eye’s met Falcon’s. “Listen, girls. Can we continue this conversation at another time?”
“Yes. Of course, Miss Nakatomi,” said the freckled student. She and her group of star-eyed friends thanked Aya and walked away. Falcon noticed a slight spring in their step.
“Well, I was right,” said Aya. “Both my father and mother refuse to go see the emperor. They say there’s not enough proof to back up our claims.”
“It’s fine, Aya. We expected as much, right?”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
Falcon gathered his strength. “Listen. About earlier—”
“Don’t worry about it. I know the chaos element drives you to say things you don’t really mean.”
He took a seat beside her. “No, Aya. I can’t blame chaos for my actions. Please accept my apology. I promise it won’t happen again.”
Aya smiled. “You know, all this sounds awfully familiar.” She took a sip out of her clear bowl of broth. “You still owe me a favor for that, remember?”
“It’s been five years, but I haven’t forgotten.”
“I forgive you, Falcon.” She leaned in close. “Don’t do it again.”
He sighed with relief. “Thanks.”
“Hello, Sheridan,” said Aya, looking past Falcon.
“Hey, Nakatomi.”
“I came to find you, Falcon.”
“Me?” asked Falcon, confused. “Why? We were together barely a few minutes ago.”
“Are you going to finish that?” asked Sheridan, pointing at Aya’s bowl of broth.”
“Go right ahead,” said Aya.
Sheridan’s body trembled as he took the broth and downed it in one gulp. He licked his lips.
Void Wielder 2 Legacy of Chaos Page 5
