by T. L. Clarke
I looked up at the bright blue skies, then at the beautiful, sunny, lush garden filled with vibrant trees that seemed to slope from the weight of wisdom and age. Crawling on my knees, then wobbling to my feet, I stood, wiggling my toes deliciously as the soft bright green grass tickled the bottom of my feet.
"Sweet, I’m dreaming," I said loudly.
This couldn’t be death. The heat of the sun beat down on my face deliciously. I could stay here forever. A feeling of happiness swept through me, only to be cut short by the cold chill that suddenly swept across my body.
Instantly, I knew that something was wrong. This felt way too real. I looked around the garden, taking in the sheer wonder of it. Spotting the river nestled behind a gnarly tree, I licked my lips with anticipation as the river beckoned deliciously. My thirst became overwhelming, and a sip of water was all that I could think of.
I slowly walked toward the river, when a sudden burst of frigid air encircled my body, pushing me forward with aggression. I stopped abruptly when a whisper of a voice brushed near my ear.
"Be very careful, Akasha reincarnated. The darkness surrounds you."
The frigid air circled around my body furiously as it pulled and tugged me toward the river. With each step, my legs felt as if they were wading through quicksand.
Quickly kneeling by the river, I scooped the crisp, cold water, drinking greedily. For the life of me, I just couldn’t get enough of it. I sipped and sipped. The more I drank, the more I wanted. I immediately recognized the wrongness of it all. It was a river filled with water, which was not one of my favorite things, yet I was drinking it like it was filled with cold soda.
The air was suddenly still. I froze with ears perked. Is that…laughter? The chilling sound floated through the air like a balloon.
The soft laughing pierced the air again, and this time it was mixed with what I could only describe as cackling, awful, ear-piercing cackling. And then I saw them, blinking quickly when three young girls wearing knee-length flowing white dresses moved effortlessly toward me as one, like panthers spotting their prey.
They looked identical with their pale skin, long, dark flowing hair, heart-shaped faces, and lifeless lavender-colored eyes. As they got closer, I noticed the inky, intricate bright red patterns that spiraled from their ankles down to the tops of their feet. The only thing that was different was the flowers interwoven in their dark hair. One had a white flower in her hair, one had a blood red flower, and the last a gold flower.
I quickly rose to my feet, backing away cautiously. This was not good, the dream definitely over.
They smiled at me blindingly, but it honestly came off as more of a sneer. "Have you quenched your thirst, Akasha reincarnated?" They spoke in harmony in a high-pitched voice.
I had to fight the sudden urge to slap my hands to my ears like a child to block out the awful grating sound. Their cold, lifeless eyes locked with mine as they circled around me slowly, cutting off any chance to flee. They stood so close that I could actually feel the icy air emanating from their bodies. The white-flower girl floated forward boldly.
"You are not the Akasha reincarnated. You are just a simple child. Why are you here?" she screeched angrily, her eyes feral.
If one more person called me a child, I was going to explode.
Their eyes narrowed furiously. "Why are you here?" they barked in unison.
Abruptly, the birds stopped chirping. The skies turned an awful pitch-black, and the air became frigid cold.
I edged away from them cautiously. "What? I don’t understand the question. Who are you anyway?" My voice squeaked with tension as puffs of cold white air annunciated every word and breath.
Their laughter vibrated throughout the garden. "Silly child, we are Destiny." They laughed as they moved even closer with feral eyes.
All I could think of was how could such beautiful girls glow with such ugly darkness. They absolutely reeked with the stench of evil and doom.
They floated back and forth threateningly. Red-flower girl floated forward, curtseying condescendingly. "I am the Spinner of destiny."
Gold-flower girl floated forward as the Spinner floated back. "I am the Allotter."
The Allotter floated back, and the white-flower girl floated forward. "And my name is the Unturning."
The Spinner quickly floated forward, circling me boldly. "If she is not the Akasha, then how can she drink from the river of Styx?"
Their eyes turned an awful coal black color. "Speak, child. Are you the Akasha?" they demanded in unison.
I steeled myself, looking at them unflinchingly. There was no way I was going to let them bully me. "The Akasha?"
The Unturning touched my hair with wonder.
I quickly brushed her off, giving her a deadly look. "Um, seriously, don’t touch me."
The Allotter threw her head back, roaring with laughter. "This one is strong, finally a worthy opponent. The battle will be absolutely delicious."
The Spinner sneered, "She is no challenge for the Underworld. Her spirit is weak, as is her silly mind."
The Unturning looked at me menacingly. "Go back to your world, Akasha reincarnated, and only return when you are ready to battle Destiny, for the next time, we shall not be so forgiving."
They shrilled coldly in unison, "Donec occurramus in proelio animis fortuna etiam—until we meet again in the battle for spirit and destiny."
They reached out their hands, flicking me away like an annoying insect.
My eyes jerked open with shock. Oh my goodness, what in the world was that? I felt the sweat dripping from my body as though I had just ran a marathon, and for some reason, everyone was hovering over me curiously, making it real hard for me to breathe.
I wanted to scream for the lunatics to back off, but I was in way too much shock and pain to utter a word, so just I sunk further down into the protective clutches of Grandma Celeste, who cradled me in her lap while looking at everyone like a protective mother bear hovering over her cub.
A weird tiredness settled in my bones as I tried to rationalize what had happened. I breathed slowly until I felt an unnerving pinch, then an outright jolt that rolled through my body. The jolt stopped; then a heat wave of tingling crawled beneath my jaw, expanding hotly down the left side of my neck, moving as if it had a life of its own. The tingling stopped, then pulsated with an annoying, fiery, prickly pain.
"Jeez, ouch!" I whispered with annoyance, slapping my hand to my neck like swatting away a mosquito.
"It can’t be! This is impossible," Queen Nemesis spat as she hovered over me angrily.
My brow was soaked with sweat, and I felt really queasy, like I truly wanted to throw up all over her pretty designer shoes.
"Blessed be. It’s true." Queen Harmonia’s voice was filled with joy and happiness. "Eternals, witness the Akasha reincarnated." She kneeled down beside me, touching my face with admiration. "Welcome back, Akasha. Your rebirth has been long awaited." She bowed her head to me respectfully, as if I were the queen instead of her.
I felt another sharp pain in my stomach, and then I did the unthinkable: I threw up all over Queen Nemesis’s beautiful shoes. A small smile came to my lips as she gasped with outrage, shaking off her shoes with disgust. I smiled with satisfaction as I slipped into complete, utter darkness once again.
chapter
THIRTEEN
Jessica shook me urgently. "Gabi, you’ve got to wake up."
I moved my body gingerly. I was aching like I had done back-to-back dance classes. Lifting my comforter to my chin slowly, I gave her an evil look. "I just got to sleep a couple of hours ago. How can it be time to get up already?"
I was dog tired from…I remembered last night with a shock. It hadn’t been a dream, but I didn’t know how I had gotten back to my room. The last thing I remembered was me throwing up over Queen Nemesis’s shoes, then passing out. I sat up quickly, maybe a little too quickly, because my body complained with a dull pain.
Zora pointed to the left side of m
y neck with awe. "So that’s what everyone’s buzzing about. That’s an awesome mark, Gabi."
I slapped my hand to my neck as I hopped off the bed and ran over to the mirror frantically. My mouth dropped open with shock at the mark that was now etched across the left side of my neck. It was a small, bright gold infinity symbol interwoven in an intricate pattern of what looked like tiny wisps of air and ivy vines floating and twirling.
It was simply the coolest thing that I’d ever seen.
Jessica threw her arms around me happily. "We were so worried about you last night when Petra dragged you away. We were sure that we were so busted for sneaking into the secret meeting."
Brooklyn came to my other side, jabbing me playfully. "Seriously, we thought our butts were toast. We waited up all night." She looked at me sheepishly. "Okay, we tried, then fell asleep. But we were all over it when the Circles brought you back hours later and plopped you into bed."
Zora adjusted her glasses. "They didn’t give us any information. Believe me, we tried."
Brooklyn tugged on my arm excitedly. "Then this morning, everyone in the dorms was going crazy talking and whispering about you like you were some sort of rock star, saying something about the Akasha reincarnated. Seriously, you’re a rock star, baby. I must say, super awesome."
Oh boy, this was seriously some major stuff. I looked over at her quickly. "The Akasha reincarnated?"
Zora looked at me matter-of-factly as she tied some seriously cool knee-high black Doc Martens. "Akasha means ‘spirit element,’ like in the fifth element."
I looked at them with worried eyes. What? That sounded way too weird, like a science project destined to go wrong.
Rosalinda looked at me suspiciously. "This is loco—crazy. One minute you’re a Neophyte; the next you’re some weird fifth element thing? What in the world happened last night?"
A cool breeze brushed by my ear, carrying a soft, faceless whisper. "It is not time, Akasha. Do not reveal any knowledge."
I looked at her uneasily, struggling to find an answer without outright lying.
Brooklyn glared at Rosalinda. "Duh, she can’t tell you all that. Its need-to-know info only, and we"—she pointed to everyone in the room—"don’t need to know, so lay off, all right?"
I looked at her with relief. "Sorry, girls. Brook’s right. So let it drop, okay?" I looked at them with an uncertain smile. "Hey! Nothing’s changed. I’m still Gabi."
Yeah right, says the girl with an awesome mystical mark on her neck, looking at her best friends in the whole entire world with a "trying hard not to look scared out my mind" smile.
Rosalinda rolled her eyes with exasperation as she grumbled, "Whatever." She looked at me with hard eyes. "Just get ready. I don’t want to be late for class."
Brooklyn looked down at her watch. "That’s right. If you make me late for class, I’m going to seriously take it out on you at Warrior training. So get moving."
I breathed out with relief. In true form, they had already gotten over the whole thing about me allegedly being the Akasha reincarnated. I gave them a fake mean look when I finally recognized that they were all dressed in a black hoodie with a full-length zip and a stitched sword crest over their heart, a black scoop-neck T-shirt, and black low-rise leggings and cool knee-high black Doc Martens.
"Uh, where’s my stuff?"
Rosalinda pointed impatiently to an outfit hanging on my closet door handle. "That’s your stuff. Darse prisa chica—hurry up, girl. You’re going to make us late."
"Whatever," I replied grumpily as I snatched the clothes from the closet door and ran into the bathroom. When I walked out, feeling clean and refreshed, I found them standing looking at me with huge smiles on their faces.
I frantically rubbed my face. "What? Something’s on my face?"
Jessica reached from behind her back and presented a small plate with a pink frosted cupcake, with a lit pink candle stuck in the middle, and a lollipop lying on the side. "You didn’t think that we’d forget your birthday, did you?"
I smiled hugely. "I was really hoping that you did."
Brooklyn smiled widely. "Yay! You’re sixteen. That’s a big deal. Now blow out the candle already," she chirped happily.
Rosalinda looked at me with annoyance, then smiled sourly. "Yes, please blow out the candle so we can go grab breakfast before class, because we’re starved."
I blew out the candle quickly. "There, are you happy?"
Rosalinda rolled her eyes. "Ecstatic."
Zora gave me big hug. "Finally you’ve joined our sweet-sixteen ranks. Welcome."
They clapped loudly as I rolled my eyes. I absolutely hated all the drama that surrounded birthdays. I just wanted to get over it because birthdays always sucked, big-time.
Annoyed, I wiggled my sock-encased toes impatiently.
Zora pointed to the corner. "Your boots are over there."
I quickly walked over, shoved them on my feet, and laced them up tightly. "Seriously, I’m all in on this Warrior kick-butt madness, but the all-black thingy might get tired, like, real quick."
Jessica looked down at her thighs worriedly. "Never mind that. Let’s focus on the fact that I’m wearing leggings and I have at least fifteen more pounds to lose to actually make these work." She pulled at the fabric frantically, snapping it back against her legs with a soft crack.
Brooklyn giggled. "It took me a while to get used to the all-black thing, but I guess it serves its purpose, like sneaking into the darkness and blending in. Seriously, everyone grab your backpack, and let’s scoot." She pointed to the pile of bags in the corner. They all grabbed their backpacks and headed out of the room and into the deadly quiet hallway.
"Where is everyone?" Zora looked around curiously.
Brooklyn quickly hustled down the hallway. "Probably stuffing their faces or already on the way to class. It’s pretty straitlaced around here during school hours. By the way, don’t worry about your class schedule. It’s the same as mine. Today’s a short schedule. That means no second and fifth period today."
She handed me a wrinkled piece of paper with our schedule on it.
Neophytes: Level 1
1st period—Defensive Magic
2nd period—Circle Mentorship (short schedule)
Break
3rd period—Warrior Combat Fighting
4th period—Ares Mentorship
5th period—Study Progression (short schedule)
They followed her down the stairs, across the lounge, and into a huge dining room with a formally set buffet-style table filled with breakfast goodies, with two older men in stark white uniforms standing at attention on each side.
Rosalinda squealed, "Sweet, glorious cappuccino." She grabbed the cup from the breakfast attendant, who held it out politely.
Brooklyn loaded her plate with eggs, pancakes, and bacon. "Okay, grab anything you want or ask the attendants to make you something. I’ll grab a table."
I quickly loaded my plate with my favorite, pancakes, drowning them with maple syrup. Brooklyn waved happily at a group of students sitting at a table eating. Everyone seemed to stop midsentence, looking at me with awe.
"Come on, people. There’s nothing to see here," Brooklyn said smartly before looking at me. "Don’t worry about it, Gabi. You’ll be old news by the end of the week, and they’ll move on to more pressing Neo gossip."
I wasn’t worried…I guess maybe a little, but I knew that my peers would be circling me like sharks in the water if I showed fear, so I smiled as I said loudly, "Coming through, Neophyte of the week."
Some of them shrugged their shoulders; others snickered and went back to eating like nothing happened.
Brooklyn smiled at me mischievously as I fluffed my ponytails. "That’s how I roll, girl. No worries." I snickered before walking over to the table.
We sat at an empty table and scoffed down our food quickly. In between bites, I scanned the room, checking out all the different groups gathered in their little cliques. And right in the center
of it all was Justice, sitting at a crowded table full of NAs, with only one girl hanging on to his arm like a viper.
"Hey guys. Hey Calleis." Brooklyn waved over to Justice and his crew enthusiastically, then looked back at us.
"Okay, here’s the scoop on the dining room pecking order. All middle levelers basically eat together, over there." She pointed to the center of the room. "And first levelers pretty much sit on this side of the room, waiting for a chance to assimilate into middle-leveler stardom."
I shook my head as I shoveled pancake into my mouth. "So, pretty much, it’s separation at its highest."
Brooklyn looked at me directly. "Yep, pretty much." Then she started babbling about Neophyte gossip involving two NCs and a fight over an NA.
I was only half listening to her because I was too focused on looking at Justice, who was looking back at me without blinking. He smirked with interest before suddenly whispering something to the two guys leaning back precariously on the chairs beside him. All at once they looked me with that same smirk I was growing to hate with a purple passion.
My eyes widened as Justice and the two super tall, leanly muscular guys, with honey-colored skin and long black dreads skimming their shoulders, jumped up and stormed over to us with predatory eyes.
Brooklyn stopped mid-bite and rolled her eyes. "Okay, don’t look now, but Justice and his entourage are on the move and heading our way."
I snickered because they looked like they had stepped out of some music video, with designer black jeans, close-fitting black T-shirts, and black sneakers with white bottoms. "What’s with the coordinated outfits?" I asked mischievously.
Everyone ignored my question. They were too focused on the commotion as all the Neophytes watched with fascination when Justice and the two guys walked over to us confidently.
"Jeez, why is Justice bringing the Terrible Ts over here?" Brooklyn sloppily shoveled a forkful of eggs into her mouth.
I burst out laughing, sending bits of pancake across the table. "What in the world are Terrible Ts? Or better yet, the bigger question is, should I be running for my life?" I asked sarcastically.
