by Lola StVil
The Voke Wolf falls into the chasm, screaming in agony, but on the way down, it hit the balance beam and set it off shaking. It begins to crumble behind Sailor and just as her fingers brush mine, it disappears out from underneath her, and for the second time in ten minutes, I’m once more falling through the air.
I know I’m about to die, but as long as I save Sailor, I don’t care. I pull her toward me and wrap my arms around her as we fall. I flip us just in time as the rocky ground hurtles toward us. I slam onto the ground on my back, Sailor on top of me, and everything goes black.
***
I wake up with a pounding headache and a pain in my back. I close my eyes again as I try to work out why the hell I’m in so much pain, and then I remember. The chasm. Falling. Sailor. My eyes fly open and I jump up, ignoring the shooting pain in my head. I am in my bedroom in the cabin. I run to the door and pull it open. I call out, but there’s no response.
I run down the stairs to the game room. No one is there, but I spot an envelope with my name on it. I tear it open and pull out a sheet of paper.
Rye,
We did it. We got the dagger. Nexus has been by and cast a healing spell. She insisted we go to school today to keep up appearances. She figures we’ll be home by the time you wake up, but I’m guessing she’s underestimating you, so I’m leaving this note just in case.
Sailor is fine. A little shaken, but you basically saved her life. Nice job. Come meet us at the school if you get this in time,
Az
I check my watch. The last period is almost over, but I don’t want to waste any time waiting for the team to get back. I know Aziza would never claim Sailor was okay if she wasn’t, but I need to see her for myself. As I rush toward the school, I text Aziza telling her I got her note and asking where to find the team. She replies telling me to meet the team in the gym.
I rush into the gym and my breath catches in my throat when I see Sailor alive and well with the others. Nexus is with the team, in her own body this time. Aziza smirks at her.
“I told you, didn’t I?” she says. “It’ll take more than being two seconds from death to keep Rye down.”
“Two seconds from death?” I say.
Aziza nods.
“Yeah. We figured you and Sailor would both be dead, but then Sailor started yelling for us. We climbed down and you were pretty bashed up. Your head was split open and you were losing a lot of blood. Mel healed you as much as she could, but she was pretty drained from Sunday, so Grace portalled us back to the cabin and we contacted Nexus, who cast a healing spell.”
“So what have I missed?” I ask, my mind spinning.
“Sailor thinks Ms. Price is part of Boundless,” Jinx says, not even trying to keep the amusement out of his voice.
“It’s not funny, Jinx. She was telling a story in class about her date last night, and she kept looking at me as she said it. I’m sure she’s trying to keep me distracted so she can get the Soul Gem. I just…my instincts tell me there’s something off about her and none of you guys seem to believe me. I feel like my dad might be in danger.”
I feel a throb of guilt wash over me. Her dad is in danger, but it has nothing to do with Ms. Price. That’s all on me.
“Sailor, is it possible you’re feeling this way because you don’t like her dating your dad?” Grace asks gently.
“Yeah and she could have been looking at you in class because she suddenly realized you would know she was talking about your dad and she was uncomfortable,” Mel adds.
Sailor sighs.
“I guess it’s possible. I just don’t know anymore.”
“We’ll keep an eye on her,” Nexus says. “But for now, we have to forget about Raven and concentrate on getting the Soul Gem.”
“But how? We couldn’t open the trapdoor,” Aziza points out.
“I think I’ve found a way.”
She clicks her fingers and the next thing I know, we’re back in the forest standing outside of the narrow tunnel we crawled out from yesterday.
“I’ve been down and restored the tunnels. Let’s go,” Nexus says.
“Nexus, do we really have to do this now?” I ask.
I was watching Sailor as she talked about Ms. Price and I can see the strain around her mouth, the slight discoloration beneath her eyes. She needs a break. We’re pushing her too hard.
“Yes,” Nexus says. “Sailor, when you touched the dagger for the first time, what happened?”
“It sort of flashed white,” Sailor says.
So I didn’t imagine that.
“As I suspected,” Nexus says. “It means the rumors are true. Word is that the moment the Paradox finds the weapon to kill each horseman, the weapon gives off a surge of power and the horseman’s memories begin to wake up and they become aware of their purpose. It means you have to be extra vigilant, Sailor, because the horseman could strike at any moment. That’s why we can’t put this off any longer.”
“Wait,” Sailor says. “What if Raven is the horseman? Wouldn’t that explain why I feel so uneasy around her?”
“Was she at your house last night?” Nexus asks.
Sailor nods solemnly.
“Then she’s not the horseman. If she was, you’d be dead by now.”
Nexus turns and enters the tunnel and we have no choice but to follow her. She leads us back to the chamber and looks around at us.
“Rye, Sailor, I need you two. The rest of you, go and stand guard where we came in. If anyone approaches you, shoot first and ask questions later. Got it?”
They nod and move out of the chamber, arranging themselves around the entrance to the tunnel. Nexus looks at me.
“I need a drop of your blood,” she says.
I open my mouth to ask why, but I know she won’t answer until she’s good and ready, so instead, I take my knife out and dig the tip into my right palm. Nexus reaches out and pulls a hair from Sailor’s head by the root. Sailor puts her hand on the spot and rubs it.
“Ow,” she says.
“If that hurt you, Paradox, we’re in more trouble than I thought,” Nexus says.
“Just a warning might have been nice,” Sailor snaps.
Nexus ignores her and runs the hair through the bead of blood on my palm. She puts it in a crystal tube and shakes it.
“I need more blood, Rye,” she says.
She holds the tube out and I squeeze my blood into the tube. Nexus nods her approval and shakes it again. She holds it up and studies it. I think I see a shimmer of gold run down the hair, but it might have been a reflection of the light.
“That’s it. The hair is all coated. Sailor, pull it out and don’t let go of it,” Nexus says.
Sailor looks a little uncertain, but she grips the bloody hair between her thumb and first finger and pulls it out of the tube leaving behind a tiny smear of my blood. Nexus gestures for us to stand on the trapdoor.
“Rye, take the other end of the hair and insert it into the tiny hole in the trapdoor,” she says.
I take the end of the hair and peer at the trapdoor. I look back up at Nexus.
“I don’t see a hole,” I say.
Nexus rolls her eyes.
“Well of course you don’t from up there. It’s small enough to fit a single strand of hair in and nothing else. Get closer. Honestly, you guys will be the death of me.”
I nod to Sailor and we get down onto our knees still holding the hair. I squint my eyes and stare at the trapdoor, and suddenly, I see it. The tiniest crack on the trapdoor, small enough that if you didn’t know what you were looking for, it would look like nothing but a slight mark on the wood. I maneuver the hair, Sailor following my lead, until it’s lined up with the crack and then we gently lower it in. I hear a clicking sound from the trapdoor and Nexus claps her hands in delight.
“You did it,” she exclaims.
I grin at Sailor and we stand up and move off the trapdoor. I pull on the iron ring again, and this time, the trapdoor opens effortlessly. Sailor reaches in and pu
lls out a bright blue gem shaped like a teardrop. The first Soul Gem. It’s glowing so brightly it lights up the entire chamber in an eerie blue glow.
Nexus looks at us with a proud smile as Sailor jumps to her feet cheering.
“I’ll get the others,” Nexus says.
I have barely closed the trapdoor when Sailor jumps into my arms. Her arms are around my shoulders, her legs around my waist.
“We did it,” she squeals.
Before I can stop her, her lips are on mine. I tell myself I can’t let this happen, but the second I taste Sailor’s lips, I am powerless to stop it. I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her. A loud cough reminds us of where we are and Sailor jumps down and we both look at the ground sheepishly as Nexus comes back in with the others.
“Let’s see it then,” Jinx says.
Sailor hurries over to the team when they ooh and aah over the stone. Grace is the first one to step away from the huddle. She opens up a portal and as I go toward it, Nexus puts her hand on my arm, holding me back for a second.
“I’m sorry about the kiss,” I say, sure that she’s going to remind me about the consequences. “It just kind of happened, and…”
Nexus holds up her hand.
“Rye, I don’t care about your stupid teen crush right now. You and Sailor need to be careful. Not just of the horsemen, but of the Boundless too. A hair from the Paradox mixed with your blood will open the door to any of the Soul Gems.”
“Why my blood?” I ask.
Before Nexus can answer Sailor lets out a bloodcurdling scream. The gem is glowing in her hand, which is clenched so tightly around it she is holding her wrist in her other hand. She is begging me to take it away.
I reach for the gem but some kind of barrier stops me, and Sailor is lifted in the air as the light encapsulates her. She screams for my help but I can’t get to her. Before I can even begin to process what has happened, Sailor is lowered right in front of me. She looks weak, so I pull her body close to mine and step through the portal.
“I’m sorry, Rye. I lost it,” she says in a weak voice, showing me her empty hands.
Once back at the cabin I lay Sailor on the nearest couch and demand to know what the hell just happened.
“Nexus, what the fuck was that? All that to come out empty-handed.”
“Rye, you aren’t empty-handed, lift the Paradox’s shirt.”
We all turn to Sailor, who lifts her shirt to show the tattoo. On the end of one of the branches sits a green leaf with a bright blue teardrop. On the branch right above it, the crow looks like it is taking flight.
“You got the dagger, and the horseman is now aware, preparing for battle. You got the Soul Gem, and what better way to keep them safe than with the one person you have set out to protect. Your mother was a clever woman.”
“You started to tell me we need my blood and one of the Paradox’s hairs to unlock the gems. Why?”
“Because it’s part of the protection your parents put on the gems to make sure no one else can gain access to them. Rye, if you die, the gems will be lost forever,” Nexus says as she steps toward the open portal.
“Thanks for the tip,” a voice says from behind us.
It’s a woman’s voice. I turn, but I’m too late. The portal is closing. It has to be someone with access to the school though. They must have used the tunnels Nexus fixed. What if Sailor is right? What if it’s Ms. Price?
There was a spy in those caves, who thanks to the open portal now has vital information about not only our mission but us as a team.
The thought is cut off before I can voice it when there’s a loud knock on the cabin door. We all look at each other and frown. The knock comes again.
“Sailor? Sailor, I know you’re in there. Open this door right now.”
“Dad?” Sailor says.
She jumps off the couch and heads for the door to the cabin and I follow her. It does sound like Adam, but it could be a trap, a demon mimicking his voice to lure Sailor out into the open. She pulls the door open. Adam and Raven stand there. Okay, so that rules her out of being the voice in the chamber then.
“Sailor, where the hell have you been? Your cell phone is turned off yet again after I’ve repeatedly told you to leave it on.”
“Relax, Dad. It’s barely even five o’clock,” Sailor says.
Adam frowns.
“Don’t you dare tell me to relax, Sailor. I’m getting fed up with you disappearing like this. I’m starting to think that you need some time away from these friends of yours,” he shouts.
“Are you joking, Dad? You’re the one who’s never around. Honestly, I’m surprised you even noticed I wasn’t home,” she snaps.
“Don’t you take that tone with me, young lady,” Adam cautions her. “Or you’ll find yourself grounded.”
Sailor snorts out a humorless laugh.
“Oh that’s a good one. Now you want to be a real parent? Is it just to impress your girlfriend?”
“Look, Raven and I think—” Adam starts.
“What the hell do you mean Raven and I,” Sailor snaps, cutting him off mid-sentence. “What the hell does any of this have to do with her?”
“A lot actually seeing as she’s going to be moving in with us.”
The news leaves Sailor reeling. Her face falls and she looks like she’s about to pass out. She gets control of herself by taking a few deep breaths.
“I have to go,” she says.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. We’ll talk about this at home,” Adam says, mistakenly thinking Sailor is talking to me.
“What? I’m not coming home, Dad. I have things to do,” Sailor says.
She turns to me.
“Come on,” she says.
She storms toward the warehouse. I take a few steps after her and then I stop and turn to Adam.
“Don’t worry about her. She’s safe here with us,” I say.
Adam sighs and the fight goes out of him.
“That came out all wrong,” he says.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Raven isn’t moving in exactly; she’s just staying with us for a while as her house is getting some renovations done.”
Raven puts her hand on Adam’s arm.
“Let me go talk to her,” she says.
“No,” I say quickly.
Both Adam and Raven frown at me and I force myself to smile.
“No offence, but you’re the last person she’ll talk to. I’ll talk to her and make sure she’s okay,” I say.
“Thank you.” Adam smiles. “And please don’t be offended by what I said about her needing time away from her friends. I’m really glad she’s got friends like you lot who clearly have her back.”
I smile because I really don’t know what to say to that. Raven touches Adam’s arm again.
“Come on. Rye is right. We’re making this worse by sticking around. Sailor needs some space to get her head around everything.”
She leads him back to her car and I breathe a sigh of relief as they pull away. I head out to the warehouse, where I see Sailor sitting in the middle of the floor staring into space. I can see the hurt in her eyes and I want so badly to wrap her in my arms and never let her go.
“Sailor?” I say.
She looks up at me.
“Don’t,” she says.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t try to convince me to go home and play happy families.”
“I wasn’t. Look, your dad said it all came out wrong. Raven isn’t moving in with you long term. It’s just while she gets some work done on her house.”
I reach down my hand. Sailor looks at it but she doesn’t take it.
“I’m serious, Rye. Don’t try to send me back there right now,” she says.
“I’m serious too. I’m not sending you anywhere. We have the dagger now and we need to be ready for the fight of our lives. We’re going to train.”
Finally, she takes my hand and lets me pull her up to her feet.
&n
bsp; We train hand to hand. Sailor is laser focused and she’s not missing a beat. I don’t go easy on her, and yet she repeatedly knocks me on my ass. I’d be ashamed if I wasn’t so proud of her. I have an idea and I hold my hands up to call an end to the fight.
“Had enough?” Sailor grins.
“More than enough.” I laugh. “Seriously though, I have an idea. Wait here a moment, okay?”
Sailor nods and I hurry back to the cabin. I round up Aziza, Sunday, and Ya-Ya and head back out to the warehouse.
“Ready for some group training?” I grin.
Sailor nods enthusiastically.
“Bring it on.”
I nod to Aziza to take over. Sailor and Aziza go to hand to hand. Sunday, Ya-Ya, and I hold back at first, but then we start throwing in sneak attacks, going toward Sailor when she’s focused on Aziza and trying to catch her unawares. Her instincts are good and she anticipates every move, managing to duck and dodge away from us and take us all down.
After it becomes clear that Sailor is more than holding her own, I call a halt to the proceedings again. I go over to the shelves and get a bunch of dummy weapons.
“Let’s kick it up a notch,” I say. I look at Sailor. “You game?”
She grins and holds her hand out. I throw her a sword, the weapon she has trained with the least. I keep one for myself and give Aziza, Ya-Ya, and Sunday theirs. We start training again. Aziza gives Sailor tips and directions and she soon masters the sword. I shouldn’t be happy to get my legs kicked out from under me and the blunt tip of a sword pressed against my throat, but I have to admit I am.
I lie on the ground laughing as Sailor makes equally short work of Sunday and Ya-Ya. She and Aziza face off against each other for a little longer and then Sailor leaps into the air. She vaults over Aziza and before Aziza can react, Sailor knocks her to the ground and flips her over and runs the tip of her sword over her throat.
A noise behind Sailor gets her attention and she whirls around quickly, grinning when she sees Jinx behind her with a dagger. She fights him and within minutes, he too is lying on the ground with the rest of us, Sailor’s sword pressed to his throat. Jinx holds his hands up.
