The waymans code, p.15
The Wayman's Code, page 15
The Shadiem swung at my left rib cage, and the Shadiem behind him moved towards my right, just as I saw in my mind. As the sword swung, I ducked instead of blocking. The enemy’s sword swung over my head and I spun to the outside, swinging with all my might. My blade struck the back of the Shadiem and sliced his side wide open. Continuing my spin, I headed straight for the original Shadiem who hissed angrily.
I ducked low, dodged his thrust and exploded up into a stab that struck right into where his heart should be.
He let out a scream before slumping over onto the ground. His body turning into vapor.
I looked around.
The Schizos were still fighting the others.
“That wasn’t the original, Maleek. It must be still inside Julian. Go—we have to get the original!” Allen called between blows.
I scanned the room. Julian had circled around the battle and was running up the ramp. I took off after him.
Julian’s was faster than his normal body could probably carry him. But so was I. My body awake seemed much more efficient at using oxygen and pumping my legs. Julian took a hard right and sped up to the next level. I followed, the light dimming as we got away from Allen.
What was that word Allen said?
“Illumine,” I called, my sword bobbing up and down with my arm swings.
Light erupted from my sword in a brilliant display of white-hot light. It was so bright and surprising that I stumbled and fell to the concrete. I couldn’t see anything. Up ahead, I heard Julian smack into what I assumed was the wall.
Light spilled out of my sword like an uncontained firehose. With my eyes now shut, I tried to concentrate. I had to make it stop. Concentrate. As I focused on the sword in my hand, I felt power flowing out of me through the sword. I focused instead on pulling it back in. Almost instantly, I sensed a difference. Through cracked eyes, I could see the sword glow dimming.
I opened my eyes all the way. They still needed to adjust. The sounds of dragging and movement across concrete ahead of me told me that Julian was moving. I moved forward on all fours, feeling slightly drained of strength and willing my eyes to adjust. My eyes brought the darkness back into clear focus in time to see Julian round the corner towards the second floor.
I followed and saw Julian darting to the staircase against the wall. I pounded my feet even faster against the pavement. Julian reached the top of the stairs and burst through the metal door. It had barely closed when I scrambled up the stairs and burst through as well. Julian ran forward, but stopped when he got to the edge of the roof.
“There’s nowhere left to run, Schizo,” I threatened. Julian turned around to face me. The same dark grin on his face.
“Don’t do this to yourself, wayman,” he hissed. “I sense little power coming from you. There’s only one way this will end.”
I looked at him, trying to figure out how to do what Allen did. Was it the words? His stance? How would I—
My hand pulsed. No. It was the sword. It did it again. Like a heartbeat. I was filled with an impulse. Like the sword was nudging me. I pointed my sword at Julian and raised it.
“By the order of Olam, Schizo, I order you out.” I commanded. My sword glowed a bright blue, and Julian froze.
Three inky smokes billowed out of Julian’s mouth, one after the other. This time, Julian’s body crumpled to the floor. The blobs formed into three Shadiem who stood before me.
“Who are you supposed to be?” I asked the one in the middle, pointing my sword as it returned to its original faint glow.
“I’m the real Schizo,” he said with a nasty grin.
“Well then, who are the rest of you supposed to be?” I asked, pointing to the other two.
“We are Schizo,” the one on the left, a wide-eyed and crazy looking one, said. The one on the right, a despondent looking one, simply looked bored.
“Just kill him already,” the despondent one said as he looked towards the sky absently.
“Music to my ears!” The one on the left shouted and darted towards me. He was on me in a heartbeat.
I stepped back and to the outside of his swing, but didn’t quite get far enough out of his range. A sharp, hot pain burned across my right side as his blade pierced my armor. Pain spread through me like a fire. He swung again. I blocked. Again. Block. His swings were violent, forcing me back. Each time his blade connected with mine, it caused my blade to ring so hard I thought it was going to break. I struggled to keep a tight grip while being forced backwards. My butt hit the wall on the edge of the roof.
“I’ll make you a deal,” He said, smiling with yellowed fangs, “become my new host and I won’t kill you.”
I swung, he ducked and with his left hand, jammed his clawed fingers into my stomach. The armor stopped it only stopped some of it. A searing pain erupted from five prick points in my stomach. He lifted me into the air.
“Pathetic,” he hissed, and threw me over the edge.
I fell. Rapidly. My body spun as the ground rushed to meet my face.
Just close my eyes.
Embrace it.
My body suddenly jerked.
Cracking my eyes open, I stared at the concrete only a few inches from my face. Now it was getting further away, and I was ascending back up.
”As you humans say, I got here just in the tick of time,” said a familiar voice. I craned my neck upwards to see the silver haired Hum, in his full battle armor, pulling me up. He flashed me a smile and then gazed at the top of the roof.
We crested the rooftop, and he dropped me on my feet, landing next to me. The three Schizos were together, huddling around Julian. They turned and looked when we landed.
“Oh my god, thank you,” I sighed, legs shaking, “and the phrase is nick. It’s the nick of time.”
Hum grinned but maintained focus on the Shadiem. They turned and focused on him.
“It would be wise for you not to interfere, young Aggaelo.” The one in the middle one said.
“Unfortunately for you, I don’t take orders from Shadiem,” Hum said, drawing a sword. Electricity cracked around his blade. The despondent Shadiem looked at him with a sudden rapt attention.
“What do they call you?” the despondent one said, “civility is still your standard, is it not?”
Hum stared at him and straightened himself.
“Hum,” he began, “Third Legion, Second Regiment, Courier Arc.”
The three Shadiem glanced at each other and smiled. “A courier, eh?” The wild one on the left said, “silver hair and an arrogant attitude… I assume that makes you a son of Lytning?”
Hum tightened his grip.
“What a pity it must be: a son of the distinguished Lytning relegated to the task of a mere messenger,” the one on the right hissed. “Does this mean you are weaker than your brothers?”
Electricity cracked even more violently around Hum’s blade.
The wild one on the left charged. Hum spread his massive silver wings and leapt straight into the air. Two of the Schizos sprouted huge black bat like wings from their backs and flew after him. The third one stopped a few feet from me and began replicating himself. Before I moved, there were ten Schizos, all holding swords and moving steadily closer. I braced.
The door behind me burst open. I glanced quickly to see Allen, Lysa, Dante, and Kim burst onto the rooftop, sprinting towards me. They reached me in a couple of bounds.
“You alright?” Allen asked, staring at Schizo.
“Yeah,” I answered quickly, doing the same. This Schizo had now split into twenty Shadiem, who were now pressing on us from the front.
“There’s too many of them,” Lysa said.
“I suppose we should do something, then,” Allen replied, and nodded at Kim.
“Behind me, quickly,” Kim said, stepping in front of us.
I opened my mouth to protest, but Allen’s sword blade became engulfed in bright blue flame. Kim held her sword sideways in front of her. A near transparent barrier formed around everyone except for Allen. Kim extended her left hand forward. A small barrier encircled Julian’s crumpled body as well.
“Watch carefully,” Kim replied, admiration in her voice. “And you’ll see the awesome power of the wayleader.”
The Shadiem inched closer, staring at Allen curiously.
“Kill him!” One called from the back. They darted forward. Allen raised his sword high into the air, the flames dancing on his blade, and jammed it into the ground. Blue flames shot in all directions, incinerating any creature it touched. Some flames ran behind Allen and overtop of Kim’s barrier. The inside of our bubble warmed up, and the barrier made a few small cracking sounds, but it held.
I stared at Allen’s back in awe as he stood in front of us, both hands on the handle of his sword, feeling like I was seeing him for the first time. This was Allen, the wayleader. And this was his power.
The wave of fire ceased after turning all the Schizos on the roof to vapor.
“Man…” Dante said, “having the wayleader’s power would be awesome.”
“I wouldn’t salivate too much,” Kim said, “controlling that much power within your body… let’s just say it comes at a cost.”
I looked back at Allen, trying to imagine what all that power would be like. There couldn’t be a cost in the world that would outweigh the benefits of having that power.
“Everyone good?” Allen asked, turning to look at us.
“Yeah, fine.” Lysa said.
“You should have done that in the beginning,” Dante said.
“That’s another combat lesson,” Allen said, sheathing his sword. “Never reveal your trump card until you have to. That blind heroism only works in the movies. If I had shown my hand too early and the enemy figured out a counter, what other tricks would I have?”
“That makes sense,” Dante agreed.
Hum landed, folding his wings in his back.
“You saved me again,” I said. “Why did you come?”
He smiled back.
“You wish I didn’t?” Hum asked. His armor faded and his long white robe showed up. “I suppose since you are a mighty wayman now you can defend yourself?”
“No, no, of course not. I’m glad you came, just wondering why… I mean you said your primary job was to deliver messages, right?”
Everyone else looked at Hum, waiting for him to answer.
“It is true, I do not belong in the warrior’s arc, but I was around and cannot skip a good fight,” he said with a wink.
“Well, I think you’re as good a warrior as any, and I’d be more than happy if you wanted to keep showing up.” I said.
He smiled and gave a small bow.
“Your words are too kind, Maleek Warden. I am honored to assist you however I can.” He then looked at the rest of the group. “To all the King’s beloved, I must get going. It is with great honor I bid you adieu.”
He gave another small bow and jumped into the air. His silver hair almost glowed almost silver in the moonlight, as he shot off.
After watching him fly away, I saw that Kim, Lysa, and Allen had gone to see Julian while Dante and I stood there. He slapped me on the back.
“Looks like we passed this test.”
I turned around to see his grinning face. He had already powered down, and his eyes were back to the normal color of green. I closed my eyes, exhaled, and powered down as well, grasping the book in my hands.
“Yeah, looks like we did alright,” I replied as we walked towards Julian with the rest, “by the way—”
A sudden wooziness came over me. The roof under my feet felt unlevel. I stumbled and fell.
“Maleek!” Dante yelled, bending down next to me.
A sharp pain shot through my right side and my stomach. I instinctively moved my hand to my right under my ribs, where I felt it. A warm wetness greeted my touch.
With difficulty, and through gritted teeth, I dared to look. Blood soaked my right side.
“Allen!” Dante called, eyes wide. “Allen!”
Everyone came running and looked over at me.
“This isn’t good,” Allen said casually.
If I had the energy, I would have punched him.
“I think our friend Lysa can assist with this,” he said, looking over at her.
“What? What can I do?” She asked nervously.
“If I am not mistaken, I believe you to be a healer,” he said just as calmly, “and if I were you, I’d do something quickly, or Maleek here may bleed out.”
“What? Yeah, in the classroom. Not in real life,” she said, panic choking her voice.
“If you guys are done having y our conference,” I snapped through gritted teeth, “I need some help.”
I looked into Lysa’s panic-stricken face and knew I was going to bleed out.
“Um… ok, I…” Lysa raised her hands like she was going to put them on me, but hesitated.
The pain stabbed at me in waves.
“Lysa…” I began.
“Ok, ok.” she said frantically.
Then a strange look grew on her face.
“Wait,” she said, narrowing her eyes like she was concentrating. She placed her hand on my side and one on my stomach over the punctures. My skin under her hands grew warm.
“I can see it,” she said, the silver glow in her eyes intensifying, “sliced skin, torn muscle, intestine almost pierced… this is incredible.”
As her hands stayed on me, I felt the wound was closing, the pain fading, and my strength returning.
After a few minutes, she removed her hands, and I sat up. I lifted my shirt. Only dried blood remained, not even a scar. Other than feeling slightly dazed from being awake for this long, my body felt back to normal. Even the pain was gone.
“Thanks, Lysa.” I said, watching her stare at her hands.
“Figured as much,” Allen said, shaking his head.
“I have super strength, Lysa is now a healer, I think you’ll figure out yours soon, Maleek,” Dante said.
I sighed, secretly wishing my powers were as cool as Dante’s and Lysa’s.
“I think I did,” I mumbled. “I’m a human light bright.”
Chapter 16
Nightmare's Power
After leaving the rooftop, Allen explained that bright light show was merely due to me dumping all of my energy all at once into an uncontrolled illumine. Though the exceptionally bright light was uncommon, it was probably not my special power. I didn’t know whether to be relieved that I wasn’t a light bright or to be frustrated that I still didn’t know my power.
At lunch the next day, word had apparently made it to Yolanda and Wanda about last night’s adventure.
“Grandma told us,” Wanda replied cheerily when I asked her how they found out so quick, “she’s one of the mappers.”
“That must have been pretty cool to see Allen’s powers up close,” Yolanda said in awe, brushing the blonde streak of hair from in front of the right side of her face. She talked more and more these days.
“Yeah, it was awesome,” Lysa said, with little enthusiasm. Her nose was still in her book. She had to have read most of that thing by now. I didn’t know what more she expected to find.
“So what happened?” Wanda asked, eyes wide and eager.
Dante happily regaled them with the details, emphasizing his heroism.
“You saw Allen’s power?” Wanda asked, “that must have been cool.”
“Oh, it was,” Dante admitted, “that would be an awesome power to have. But yeah, Lysa’s a healer and I have super strength. What can you guys do?”
“I can push things,” Wanda said.
“And I can pull them,” Yolanda added.
“Like telekinesis?” Dante asked.
“Sort of,” Wanda said, “we prefer to think of it like the ocean. What about you, Maleek?”
Dante made a quick glance in my direction. His face reddened.
“I haven’t found mine yet.” I said, taking extra hard stabs to chop my breaded meat patty with my spork.
Wanda kept opening and closing her mouth like she wanted to ask more, but didn’t want to be rude.
Yolanda’s eyes went wide, and she put her hand to her mouth, like she felt pity.
“Sometimes it just takes time, Maleek,” Yolanda said, quietly.
“Yeah, but do you know of anyone where it’s taken this long? I thought it was supposed to show up almost instantly, especially after a fight,” Wanda commented to Yolanda, “at least that’s what Grandma always said.”
Wanda’s comment cut me like a knife. What if I didn’t have any powers? A fleeting thought at first, but now was becoming more of an actual concern. Dante and Lysa could do these incredible things, but here I was, the ordinary, non-gifted, me.
“Yeah, I think mine is just hibernating. Hopefully, it will wake up soon,” I joked, trying to keep from feeling bad about it.
“Well, sometimes your powers are like your parents,” Wanda said. “What were theirs?”
I froze.
Dante looked back and forth in horror. Yolanda glanced around, picking up on Dante’s concern. Wanda looked around at the obvious discomfort and only then seemed to get that something was wrong, but didn’t seem to know why.
“What? Your parents were waymen, right?” She asked, cautiously.
Lysa poked her head up from the book for the first time since we sat down.
“How about we talk about—”
“It’s ok, Lysa,” I said and turned to Wanda. “Yes, my parents were both waymen. My dad died about a year ago and Mom told me she hasn’t awakened since.”
Wanda seemed to not expect this answer since, for the first time, she was at a loss for words.
“Sorry to hear that, Maleek,” Yolanda said after a moment of silence. Her eyes were glassy, like she might cry.
“It’s all good,” I said. That phrase always felt weird coming out of my mouth when someone asked. Was it really all good? Death was never good, but what else was I supposed to say?
