Secret of Words

by Allyson Huber

  “I want you to take these daggers and throw them at the targets instead of using a bow and arrow.” Aaron’s brow was furrowed over something. Did he have an idea or something? Well, whatever it was, I hoped it worked; I was sick of everyone expecting me to miss the target. Patrick had the tendency to bring it up as a joke whenever I did something impressive in group training. He was well informed by now; Emilie and Dominic had made sure of that since they also enjoyed teasing me.

  Aaron handed me the daggers, motioning with his hands for everyone nearby to take a few steps back. My arrow shots tended to be erratic, so he did the same when I started to shoot a bow and arrow. My hands formed in a loose fist around the daggers. I could feel the faint prick of the sharp blades of the daggers on my skin. There were three of them in total. They were good quality daggers, made with shiny silver metal, and each had black leather grip. They looked a lot like Lyte’s daggers, but if I was supposed to be anywhere comparable to her at anything, I was screwed. I stuffed two of the daggers in my pocket and held the last one in my hand.

  Finally, I directed my eyes from the dagger and watched the target torment me as it went in circles, spinning in confusing patterns. I had to let it go quickly like I had been trying to do with the bow. I stilled, my hand poised, waiting for myself to feel ready. Then, I propelled my hand forward and released the dagger.

  I watched its path, willing it to hit the target but not really expecting it. I had learned not to get my hopes up by now. The dagger barely managed to stick to the edge of the target. The noise of contact hit my ears while my head was buzzing with disbelief and confusion. How could I manage to hit the target with a dagger in one try and not a bow and arrow in two weeks’ worth of attempts?

  Despite my confusion, I was jubilant. I started laughing ironically as I stared half-disbelievingly at the dagger. It had even almost hit the bull's eye! Dominic gave me a high five me while my head was still in a daze. I turned to Aaron, who didn’t look all that shocked. In fact, he seemed pretty amused. “It’s not very surprising,” he said, “You find the dagger lighter and quicker than a bow and arrow. You have a hard time being patient with archery, but these daggers do not make you sit for long. You also have a hard time keeping your bow steady. It is easy to hold a dagger and just throw.”

  “Keep training.” Aaron called to everyone. I grabbed the last two daggers out of my pocket. “It looks like you have a new skill, Natalie.” Aaron smiled at me, but then became a little stern. “I will let you start to perfect this, as long as you spend as much time with a bow and arrow as you do with daggers.” I couldn’t help being pleased with myself even if I couldn’t use a bow and arrow properly. There were just things that some people couldn’t do. I would eventually be able to use a bow and arrow if I kept trying. At least I hoped so.

  My archery and sword fighting classes flew by right before my eyes. Even though I hadn’t improved in archery, Aaron seemed pleased with our solution with the daggers. He almost acted like he had trained me every minute of the past two weeks on dagger throwing, and he had been the one who had made me so good at it. Hey, he probably did help improve my aim and eyesight, though, right? I was very impressed with my improvement in sword fighting. Even though Jodie didn’t acknowledge my progress, I somehow knew that she was proud of my accomplishments by the fact she no longer critiqued me as much.

  The Ones of Within gave us money every Sunday. I had started to learn the values of the different coins with the help of Adam. The small copper coins called tribla were like a dollar on Earth. Runus, the average-sized coin that was half gold- half silver, was like a ten-dollar bill. The last coin was a Honam, a big black coin that was the value of a twenty-five dollar bill. There were more coins with greater value, but these were the only ones I would need for a while.

  Adam told me that each of the coins was made up of precious minerals buried deep in the ground that was hard to get unless magic was used. We got a drawstring pouch of money each week, which I was collecting and storing in the drawer of my bedroom. Saving money was good because later I could spend it on something helpful down the road.

  I started to understand where most of the areas I needed to go to in the Kartica were located. Emilie was a relentless teacher. She forced me to carry a map around the Kartica at all times, no matter how hard I tried to convince her otherwise. Getting to be around my group more, I started noticing more about who my friends were as people. Austin and Dominic were rash and desperate to prove themselves. I was with them all the way. The training was nice and fine, but the more we learned, the more we wanted to use the skills for real. They were proud and a bit headstrong also. They were not very different from each other, but somehow they still didn’t like each other at all. The main difference between them was that Dominic was significantly quieter than Austin, who shared his opinion about everything in detail.

  Everyone wanted to go on a patrol so bad. Austin and I talked about it all the time, especially when we were half-asleep in History class, just dreaming about the outside. I knew that we had to wait until the time was right, though. We had no idea what lay in store for us outside Sybra and how we would do against the dangers that lurked beyond. The Ones of Within were probably hesitant to let us loose due to the fact we had only two weeks of experience. Kat, on the other hand, was filled with doubts and worries. I thought I worried too much, but Kat often seemed like a ball of anxiety. She doubted herself and spent a ridiculous amount of time reading up on books about a variety of topics in her free time, drowning in knowledge. She had the knack of knowing all kinds of random facts and being too smart for her own good.

  Emilie was always bringing people up with her mood, no matter how tired she was. She had endless energy and a crazy amount of enthusiasm. Adam was much calmer than she was and balanced her out, but he was always sweet and helpful. He was someone I could rely on to get information from without getting my questions avoided, one of Emilie’s favorite pastimes. It was clear that they both loved each other even though they never fully defined their relationship to any of us, and I’m not sure if they even know yet. Still, seeing them happy always brought a smile to my face and I was rooting for them.

  The corridors we walked down were very familiar to me at this point. Emilie’s work and persistence with the map carrying were starting to pay off. The tapestries hanging from the ceiling were so long that I had to step to the right to miss a particularly large one with the sun on it. The symbol of the Ones of Within sounded very plain except for the fact its rays were flames, which I thought was cool. The sun upon the tapestry was gold, a rich and vibrant gold that had tones of copper. Three large slanted stripes broke the sun into three parts. Gem had told me that the parts represented magic, archery, and sword fighting, while the rays represented Vatra. The inner part of the sections was magic, the upper part was sword fighting, and the lower part was archery.

  I brought myself to attention and decided to join the others, who were all in thick discussions. Absentmindedly, I walked over to Kat and Dominic.

  “The Inner Celebration isn’t too far away…” I overheard Emilie talking to Adam in an excited tone.

  “What’s the Inner Celebration?” I asked.

  Patrick moved in-between Kat and I to explain it. “The Inner Celebration is the celebration of the founding of the Ones of Within that happens at the beginning of January. The celebration is filled with two days of dancing, feasting, and enjoyment. On the first day, The Ones of Within participate in a parade while on the second day, the people of Sybra participate in another.

  “During the second day, James will list some of the amazing things that have been going on in the past year and make some other announcements at the bonfire. He’ll also give out a lot of funny awards, such as the most improved and things like that. I have a few awards that I can show you. If you don’t get an award this year, you’ll get one in the next few.” Patrick said.

  It sounded like a special event to me. The array of performances for the two days woul
d be spectacular, and it would be nice to take a break from the Ones of Within’s tough training schedule.

  Finally, we reached the familiar royal blue room. We, almost casually, broke apart and went down our halls, heading towards our rooms. Lyte left us after we passed a few doors. Her room was pretty far from ours, halfway down the hallway, at least.

  “It’s about time I showed you two something,” Emilie said, a note of excitement in her voice.

  “What haven’t you showed us?” I asked.

  “My sword!” Emilie said loudly, jolting me from my thoughts. It was the first time I had ever been inside Emilie’s room. Her walls were a bright pink color with a single orange stripe across the center of the walls.

  “So, your favorite color is pink?” Personally, my favorite color was blue or green or even yellow.

  Emilie shrugged. “I wasn’t the one who painted it. It was probably painted with magic anyways. No one has time or money to spend painting rooms these days.”

  She opened her desk and pulled out a large scabbard. It had a green jewel on the pommel, the size of half a finger. It glittered brightly in the light of the room. She pulled the sword out by its scabbard and raised it in the air. The iridescent sword gleamed in the strong torchlight in the room. An amazing leaf pattern covered the silver metal, curling around it like a snake coiling around an arm. Emilie’s blue-gray eyes seemed to shine at the sight of her sword. I hesitantly touched the sword by the flat of the blade. I ran my forefinger down its cool, sleek metal. My fingertips were actually cold from touching it.

  “It’s…unbelievable.” I lifted my hands from the blade, taking a step backward. Kat nodded her head vigorously, agreeing with me. “Did you get to choose the pattern?” I asked. I liked the way it circled the sides of the sword, creeping to the top like ivy.

  “No, James picked it for me in the armory. That place is full of swords and armor.” Emilie replied.

  “Who made the swords?” Kat asked.

  “The Dwarves make our swords and armor in their city, Dùbâra. Dùbâra is east of Sybra, even farther away from us than Slâva. It is a good thing we are friends with the dwarves; without them, we would have trouble getting enough armor. They also make formidable opponents. I wouldn’t mess with them if I were you.”

  The dwarves had made all of the swords and armor used here? They must be a very important alliance, one we could not succeed without.

  “The bows and arrows we have here are made by the elves.” Emilie added quickly. She put her sword back in its scabbard and leaned it against the wall again. The dwarves and elves had such skills. What could we do that was special? Become Ones of Within members?

  Chapter Seventeen

  It was my fifteenth birthday, and everyone was gathered to celebrate at a restaurant deep in Sybra. I was excited about my birthday, but not as excited as I thought I’d be. It would be my first one away from Earth. I missed my dad today, remembering all the amazing birthdays I had with him. Birthdays were meant to be spent with family. Still, after the past few weeks with my group, I felt like I had found a new family here on Aughmortor. I found myself thinking over and over about my dad today though. What was he doing tonight? Did he think I was dead? I could only imagine how he was feeling.

  There was a huge amount of presents piled on the ground beside our dinner table. Everyone had somehow found enough time to sneak off to get me a present despite our intense training regimen. I needed to show appreciation for all this celebrating my friends had planned even though I couldn’t get thoughts of my father out of my head.

  The restaurant’s food was delicious. I ate a beautifully cooked piece of steak with mashed potatoes. The meat was covered in spiced mushrooms and drumam, a plant tasted a bit like lemongrass. I was drinking tama juice, a very popular drink among my friends, while they argued if they should make the waiter get me a birthday cake. I let them argue, a little amused. Since they were distracted, I finally had my chance. Without everyone knowing it, I slipped a handful of coins from my savings into the bag they were using to buy dinner.

  I knew that they wouldn’t let me pay for it, so I made sure I somehow contributed. The waiter picked up our dishes while Patrick took the time to inform her we wanted the cake. Since the cake would take some time to come out, everyone put their gifts on the table. Patrick and Emilie were trying to start a bidding war to get me to open their gift first. I picked one of the gifts on the table at random to shut down the ridiculous betting war starting. It had light blue wrapping paper and a white bow that was a bit messy.

  Inside the wrapping paper was five daggers that were beautifully crafted. The tips were pale and sharp, probably made of diamond, and each of them had a pale blue jewel at the hilt. In Aughmortor, diamond was a common stone, and it was frequently used on the sides of blades to make them stronger and sharper. The blades shone in the light of the restaurant like Lyte’s daggers. Now, I had my own set of daggers to practice with and keep in my pockets. I no longer needed to use Aaron’s set.

  Austin had given them to me. I gave him a hug, thanking him, and making sure to show how much I liked the gift. The next gift was quite long, thin, and in perfect rectangular shape. I ripped off the wrapping paper, knowing my friends were getting impatient with all these gifts waiting to be opened. The gift was in a brown box made of a material similar to cardboard. I opened the box and pulled out the gift.

  Inside the box was a long scabbard. It had a few pale blue jewels on its outside, and it was bright silver and small intricate swirls encircling its case, swirls that resembled flames. I held it in my hands, knowing exactly what was inside it. My lips curled into a smile. I’d been dying for my own sword. When Emilie showed me her sword, I had envied that she had such a beautiful object and with my rapidly increasing skill in sword fighting, I knew I needed to get one of my own.

  I pulled the sword out of the scabbard by its pommel and gasped. It was silver like Emilie’s had been and shined in the light of the restaurant, brighter than any light the torches could produce. I examined the engravings on it. Instead of a leaf pattern, swirls licked across its sides, ending at the white tip. Two pale blue jewels were placed in its body at the flat of the blade, matching the daggers and the scabbard.

  “How did you guys get this?” I looked at it with awe. It was mine. I had my very own sword. I felt even closer to the Ones of Within now- I felt like a real member. The gift was from Emilie and Kat, who were both grinning at each other.

  “James picked it out. It matched the daggers, so I thought it would be great. It didn’t take long to persuade him to give it to you.” Emilie laughed. I wasn’t surprised because Emilie seemed to be pretty skilled at persuasion. I had picked up on it over time; people had a hard time resisting her wishes due to her bright personality and smile.

  “Thanks!” I laughed and hugged them both. “It’s perfect.”

  I bet that other new recruits wanted their swords too, so I tried to tone down my excitement, but I was so excited to try out this beautiful blade.

  “You think that’s all?” Lyte said, smirking. She shoved a particularly huge gift at me. “It’s from Patrick and I. Kat, and Emilie weren’t the only ones that had to do some convincing.” She smiled and a few strands of her black hair falling over her eyes. I set to work to open the box. It was a huge box that was very heavy. It was so big that I suspected they had used a shrinking spell momentarily to get it to a normal-sized gift.

  The box took up so much of the table as it expanded that we had to move all of our drinks to the side. I used my dagger to cut off the tape holding the box together and pulled out a huge, cold object, my eyes wide. Armor. They had gotten me a whole set of armor. It had the same pattern as my other gifts with the flame swirls. On the center of the plate body, the Ones of Within symbol was engraved. I looked proudly as the sun, feeling amazed. Lyte looked very proud of herself. “We were with them when they chose the sword,” She explained.

  I pulled out all of the armor, looking at it, shocked.
On the rest of the armor, the swirl pattern stood out prominently against the pale metal. I loved the way it swirled up and down the armor. I couldn’t wait to try it on in my room. It was even better that it matched my sword. I had gotten two of the things I wanted most in life, and they had noticed.

  “Thank you!” I said, showing how great the gift was. I didn’t know how to thank them all. They knew me too well. One last present lay on the table, from Dominic. He shrugged and gave me a half-smile; I could tell he was a little nervous about his gift after all the big gifts before so I sent him a small smile.

  It was around golden charm about the size of a strawberry and hung on a simple copper chain. On the charm was a moon with little craters. “It is a magical object,” Dominic explained.

  “Where did you find a magical object? They’re rare!” Emilie said, eyes widening. “I’ve never even seen one before. Magical objects work for magic like our Ones of Within necklaces do for our Vatra. They enhance the magic of its wearer and make the wearer more in touch with their magic capabilities. They are very rare because few people can make objects like these.”

  This necklace could enhance my magic like the necklace my mother gave me could enhance my Vatra? It was too bad I hadn’t produced magic yet, but maybe this would help.

  “Wow! This will be really helpful, Dominic!” I hugged him over the table, almost knocking over a glass of Tama juice. I put the moon necklace on, and it hung just a few inches above my Ones of Within necklace. The two necklaces looked nice together, and I liked that he had gotten me a moon necklace. After all, our group named Zeleti stood for moon in Jakost.