"You're late," Clarisse scolds us as we come into view of her and the others waiting for us in the field, more like a pasture probably meant for horses or cattle, behind her house. Clarisse lives on a farm a good forty-five minutes outside of town, with her nearest neighbors being at least a twenty minute drive away. The isolation of her family's property and the fact that her parents are the only people outside our circle clued into our roles as apprentices, something that couldn't be helped, makes training at her place the most ideal.
She's sitting on the ground, picking idly at the tall grass surrounding her feet. Beside her, a large, muscular woman lounges with her head thrown back so that her long dark hair touches the ground and her eyes are closed. She doesn't open them as we approach, but Castor, human once again, immediately goes to sit beside her. Clarisse's guardian, Mary Anne, makes him look lanky and childish in comparison, but he's never seemed to mind.
"Not all of can just walk out our back door and all of a sudden be here," I shoot back as I continue to look around. Charlie is off to the side, talking in hushed tones to his guardian, Kenji, a tall, lean man with jet black hair and dark eyes. As I watch them, Kenji shakes his head at something Charlie says and runs a hand over the beard he's been growing out. I turn away from them and back to Clarisse "Where's Sara?"
She shrugs her shoulders and looks up at me. I startle for a second, noticing her red irises. She must have taken her contacts out. "Later than you," she says and laughs "But that's no big shocker huh?"
"We should start telling her we're meeting an hour early" Derrick suggests, taking Dianna out of his pocket. She still hasn't transformed yet. I suspect she was waiting for an audience. Sure enough, at the sight of more people than just Derrick and myself, she performs the same trick she did in my living room, somehow managing to make it even more theatrical.
Without opening her eyes, Mary Anne says "show off" which makes Dianna glare and Castor positively beam at her.
"Doesn't make a difference what time you tell her. Sara will still find a way to be late," Charlie interrupts coming to stand by me, effectively cutting off whatever argument was about to occur between Mary Anne and Dianna. On my other side, I can feel Derrick stiffen. I make a mental note to ask him what his problem is later.
Kenji, who trailed in behind Charlie, eyes the other guardians warily, but says nothing. I can't tell if he's tired of the bickering, which is likely considering he and Vanessa are the only two guardians who ever try to keep the peace within the group, and since Vanessa is always just as late as her apprentice that job usually falls squarely on Kenji's shoulders, or if it's something else entirely; something he doesn't want to mention in front of us.
Clarisse stands with a sigh. "Maybe we should go ahead and get started. Mom hates when we train after dark. She thinks someone's gonna lose an eye."
Charlie raises an eyebrow. "I think you should probably remind her what we train for."
"Don't be an ass," Derrick says, shooting him a look.
He shrugs in response, " I'm just saying. There's a reason we're out here and it's a hell of a lot worse than the threat of losing an eye."
Derrick wheels around to face him. "Just because you're okay with being maimed doesn't mean the rest of us are."
"Derrick," I warn at the same time Clarisse says Charlie's name because we can both see where this is headed and it's no where nice.
Charlie steps toward him and I have the sudden feeling of standing between two ticking time bombs. "Maybe if you're not willing to take that risk, then you shouldn't be here."
The moment he says it, regret crosses his face, but its too late. Derrick starts around me and I know instantly that he's going to hit him. I throw my hands out and catch him in the chest to hold him back. In this moment, I'm aware how much bigger Derrick is than me. He could easily knock me aside and head straight for Charlie, but he won't. His eyes flick towards me and then back up at Charlie as he works out his anger.
"Hey," I say to get his attention, "It's not worth it," then I let him go and for a second, I think he's going to hit him anyway, but instead he just turns his back on us and takes a few steps away.
"You're right, Maggs. He's not worth it."
At Derrick's words, I can see Charlie's jaw tighten and I think Kenji does too because he steps forward and whispers something in his ear. Charlie nods once, and starts walking off towards the trees that make up the boundary of Clarisse's property, but his movements are still tight with anger.
"Well that was exciting," Dianna says clapping her hands together with obvious amusement and then pouts. "Too bad Miss Goody two shoes stopped them before the real fun started."
Castor eyes his sister with disgust before joining me. "I think some individual training to blow off steam is in order, don't you?"
I nod, but my gaze is still on Derrick when I say, "yeah, let's go."
***********************************************************************************
"Again," Castor demands after knocking me on my butt for the fourth time in a row. I get back on my feet, albeit slowly, and level my sword at him. Our weapons are handed down from Guardian to apprentice, though they tend to change form to fit its owner's preference. When Castor past it down to me it became a slender Rapier, needle sharp with a golden hilt. I remember being in awe the first time I saw it. A sword that was both elegant and deadly; It's name carved delicately into gleaming metal rings that surround the hilt.
Now, I run two fingers up the blade and whisper it's name, "Apricus," meaning full of sunlight. Instantly the sword responds, bursting into a blinding light. It hums softly in my hands, as if its excited to fight.
Castor shields his eyes, but I can see a hint of a smile forming. "So you're ready to get serious, I see."
He has his own sword, just a normal one used for practices, but he rarely takes it out of its sheath until I decide to ignite Apricus. He picks it up now, but I don't give him much time to get into a fighting stance. I dart forward, thrusting my sword towards his shoulder, but Castor is ready. He blocks my blow with lightning speed, the tip of Apricus sizzling against his normal blade. Castor dances backwards before it can eat a hole through his sword. I don't give him room to breathe, advancing forward with each slash, but Castor seems hardly bothered as he parries my blows and jumps side to side or back and forth, moving with incredible speed. I don't know how long we continue this dance for, neither wavering before Castor finally speaks.
"I thought you were going to make this a challenge," He taunts, swiping the side of my arm with the edge of his sword before I can dodge it.
I gasp and jump back as the cut on my arm begins to burn with pain. "That freaking hurt you jerk," I exclaim.
He shrugs, tightening his grip, "Move faster next time."
I narrow my eyes at him. "Fine you want fast? I'll show you fast. Apricus!" I yell my sword's name and the rapier somehow manages to glow brighter than before.
Castor stumbles backwards as the light hits his sensitive eyes and I take the opportunity to close the distance between us, feigning a swipe at his shoulder like I did before, but this time, when he raises his sword to block mine, I bring Apricus down hard onto his blade, slicing it in two like butter. I can feel the smile creeping onto my face as we both watch his broken sword fall from his hands. Then I point Apricus at his chest.
"Fast enough for you?" I ask.
Castor smirks. "No," he says and then he's gone.
I tense, knowing he's transformed, but not knowing where or what he is.
"Oh come on," I shout, "This isn't fair!"
I turn in circles, before closing my eyes trying to get in touch with my owl senses to locate him. Grass crunches to my right and I whirl in that direction, raising my sword for protection. As soon as I turn, pain explodes through me as I'm knocked sideways completely off my feet, and Apricus leaves my hand as I hit the ground with a loud thud. Stars erupt in front of my eyes, and I just know I have a concussion. I pick my head up and blink rapidly trying to clear my vision, and as soon as I do, I'm face to face with a 150 pound cheetah. The Cheetah laughs at me and I drop my head back into the grass and stare at the sky that's now a deep violet as the sun sinks lower. Every part of my body aches with pain and for a second I can make out a couple tiny cheetahs in the clouds above me. All of them laughing too.
"Just leave me here to die," I tell the real life Cheetah as soon as I can speak again.
"Now, who's being dramatic," Castor leans over me, human again. "You dropped your guard, but I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that little stunt you pulled."
I try to sit up and wince, my head feels like its being used as a bass drum in a rock band with the amount of pounding it's doing. "Thanks, now take me to Mary Anne, please."
He sighs and rubs a hand across his forehead in feigned annoyance, but picks me up anyway.
Castor carries me piggy back style across the field where the others are still practicing. I see Derek thrust his trident, Imber into the air, and even though we are yards away, I can feel the temperature in the air drop as he shoots icicle shaped hail at Dianna who teleports around the field to avoid them. She's fast and most miss her, but I see her wince as one catches her across the cheek. Castor sighs happily at the sight before turning to where Mary Anne and Clarisse are.
We stop at the edge of their fight so as not to get in the way. Clarisse's claymore, Aura, is already in fan form. She flicks her wrist, sending wave after wave of wind as sharp as knives at Mary Anne, who's defending by spinning her staff to deflect any vital hits. Cuts appear on her arms as she advances forward, but she only udders a few words under her breathe and keeps moving. The cuts heal, but only for a short while as Clarisse picks up the pace, reopening wounds as fast as Mary Anne can heal them until she's seemingly covered in cuts, but she keeps going, closing the distance between them easily. Aura's fan form is not a good close combat weapon, and Clarisse knows it.
"Aura change," she hisses as Mary Anne swings her staff at Clarisse's legs.
Aura, back in sword form is a simple yet huge blade with a bronze studded hilt. Despite its size, Clarisse can handle it with surprising speed. Part of Aura's ability let's it be practically weightless in her hands, and because of this, Clarisse is able to deflect Mary Anne's attack with only some effort. Mary Anne might not be using a sword, but her strength is unmatched among the guardians. She bashes her metal staff against Clarisse's sword again and again, pushing her backwards, until she eventually hits the hilt of her sword, quickly dislodging it from Clarisse's hand and sending it clattering to the ground, and then, without giving her a chance to recover, Mary Anne sweeps Clarisse's legs out from under her.
Clarisse hits the ground almost as hard as I did, but unlike me, she laughs. "God, I wish I was as strong as you," she says.
Mary Anne twirls her staff before holding the end of it out for clarisse to grab onto. When she does, Mary Anne hauls her up. "Strength isn't the only way to win," she teases.
"Yeah, sometimes you cheat by shape shifting when you know you're beat," I put in.
Castor drops me on the ground.
"Ow," I whine as pain vibrates through my already aching body.
Castor huffs as he tosses me a little gold charm identical to Apricus. "Being tactile is not cheating. There's no cheating in war." He looks at Mary Anne who is watching us with an Amused smile, "I was gonna ask you to heal Maggie, but clearly she's fine, and I didn't hit her hard enough."
"Okay, fine, I'm sorry," I relent trying and failing to slide charm Apricus onto the chain where I keep my sensa stone, "my ears are buzzing. Can you heal me please?" I say this last part to Mary Anne who frowns now.
She comes over to where I'm sitting and squats down in front of me. I look into her eyes, which are as red as Clarisse's as she studies me, looking for a problem to fix. All of a sudden, I start to feel nauseous. I get that taste in my mouth that tells me I'm about to throw up any second, and that I'm probably about to do it all over Mary Anne, when she reaches up and places a hand on each of my temples. She closes her eyes and I begin to feel my nausea ebb away and the ringing in my ears stops. Mary Anne opens her eyes and removes her hands from my head.
"Concussion," she diagnoses. "You should be okay, but probably don't sleep tonight just in case." She runs a hand along her pony tail, eyebrows furrowed as if in thought. "Brain injuries are finicky. If Vanessa was here, I could be sure you're healed, but since she's not, we're just going to have to play it safe."
"Wait, Vanessa and Sara aren't here yet?" I ask, all aches forgotten.
Clarisse shakes her head. "I asked mom to let me know if they call, but so far nothing."
I can feel my stomach start to twist, and not from the concussion this time. My mind goes directly to my dream. I look up at Castor, and find his eyes already on me, his mouth set in a grim line. He's the only one who know's that I dreamed about Sara. There's not much I can hide from someone who sleeps in my room most nights.
Mary Anne's gaze drifts from my face to Castor's and I can tell she knows something is off. "Alright," she says, "What's going on?"
Castor waves a dismissive hand, "It's nothing really. Just a dream Maggie's been having."
I can see Castor wants to leave it at that, but Mary Anne raises an eyebrow at him, a sign not to stop there.
He sighs, "Alright, Maggie, tell them."
And so I do. Clarisse and Mary Anne are good listeners, albeit a bit intimidating with those matching pair of red eyes focused so intently on you.
When I finish describing my dream, Clarisse folds her arms across her chest and shudders. "Creepy. I can't believe you've been dealing with that for weeks and haven't said anything."
I focus on a point above her head, so that I don't have to look into her eyes. "It's just a dream." I don't know if she believes me, I don't even believe myself, but she nods in agreement.
"Yeah and in your dream we're all there when it happens, so she's probably fine."
I have to admit that Clarisse has a point and I think that makes us both feel a bit better, but her eyes still trail towards her house off in the distance. "You know what? I think I'm gonna go call her."
Castor looks like he wants to stop her, but Clarisse is Mary Anne's apprentice, so he looks to her to see if she's going to take action and when Mary Anne says nothing, he doesn't either. We watch Clarisse go, walking at a brisk pace, probably hoping we won't notice her sense of urgency.
I make an attempt to stand stumbling slightly, an arm reaches out to steady me, and I look up into Charlie's face, which startles me.
"When did you get here?" I ask.
"Just now," he replies, letting go of my arm after making sure I'm not going to fall over right here and now.
I shiver involuntarily. "I hate when you do the whole 'melting out of the shadows' thing."
"Really?" Castor asks "I think its kind of cool."
Charlie grins at him, "thanks man, me too."
Suddenly we all startle as Dianna pops into existence in the middle of our group.
"Jesus," Charlie gasps grasping his chest, "Is that what it's been like for the rest of you?"
Castor tilts his head as if considering this, "yes, but it's cooler when you do it."
Normally this is the part where Dianna would jump in with some kind of quip back at her brother, but she doesn't. Her skin is pale and she looks scared. Derrick and Kenji join our group, the former looking confused, while the latter looks impassive.
"Something's happening," Dianna says. "Can you guys feel it?"
Kenji nods without any hesitation. It takes Mary Anne and Castor a second longer, but the looks that form on their faces say they know what she's talking about.
Sweat beads on Dianna's forehead and she falters, falling to one knee. Derrick rushes over to her.
"Dianna!" he exclaims, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. "What's happening? What's wrong with you?"
Beside me, Castor stumbles and Charlie reaches out to steady him. Even Mary Anne and Kenji look like they're in pain.
Mary Anne presses her hands to her temples as if her head is about to explode. "It's Vanessa," she gasps. Tears are coming down her face now. "Something's happened to Vanessa."
My nausea returns full force. All I can think is that my dream is right. My dream is right, and they're dead. Charlie looks to Kenji. The voice of reason and reassurance of our little group.
"Kenji," he pleads, "what's going on? What about Sara?"
Kenji doesn't answer. His eyes are closed as if that's the only way he contain his composure.
"Sara's fine," Clarisse says, her voice is hoarse and she's heaving as if she's out of breath probably from running back to us. I turn to face her and see that her face is wet with tears. Her eyes lock on me first. "It's Vanessa. She's dying."