Circumstellar (10 page)

“Wait a minute. You’re telling me someone just waltzed in here from the door and took the stone.”

Meissa gave me an approving nod. “A good observation,” she said, pleased with my analysis, “and one that is most troubling.”

“And no one noticed?” came the incredulous question. Just what kind of operation was going on here?

“It is not unusual for tourists and visitors to come to the temple during the day,” Meissa explained. “We try to keep an eye on them, but sometimes we become occupied. The buildings are off limits to the public, so we didn’t think there was much to be concerned about.”
Yeah, so much for that
.

“So, some
Ankida in a floral shirt came and took the stone.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,”
Meissa scoffed. “Had an Ankida entered the grounds, we would have noticed immediately and dealt with them. In any case, no Ankida would be foolish enough to attack during the day.”

I furrowed my brows in thought, thinking about where all this was heading. I knew what she was implying, but since hearing about the history of the
Ankida, I didn’t think it would have been possible.

“It was a human,” I voiced my thoughts, “and they gave it to the
Ankida.”

Meissa
gave me a grim smile. “That is certainly what appears to have happened.”

I didn’t respond
, staying lost in my thoughts. Why would any human in their right mind give the stone to the Ankida? It was like building a doomsday machine and handing over the keys to your enemy.

“That’s all for today, Ingrid,”
Meissa said, breaking me from my musings. “I will come up with a training program based on what I have seen, and we can cover that tomorrow. Don’t make any plans because I have a feeling it will be quite extensive.”

I tossed her a glare and muttered a goodbye before seeing myself out. As I walked, I kept thinking about the stolen Orion Keystone. Since I had decided to go along with this whole warrior deal, I figured I would have to battle against the
Ankida, but did this mean I would be fighting humans as well? Meissa said that the bloodlines erased any traces of the Ankida from history, so who would have the knowledge of the keystones. Perhaps there were more people involved in this than I originally anticipated. I let out an exasperated sigh. Why was I always the last person to get in on everything?

“L
et me get this straight; my training consists of running laps and lifting weights?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“Hell, if that’s it, I could have just joined a gym,” I grumbled. At least, then I wouldn’t have to haul ass across town.

“What did you expect?”
Meissa shot at me. “Becoming a competent fighter doesn’t happen overnight. You need to start with the basics, and in your case, that involves building up endurance and strength.”

“I beat your
competent
students in a race yesterday,” I argued, feeling I was being underestimated.

“You also couldn’t climb that hill without wheezing like a strangled duck,” she pointed out. “Perhaps I should add that to the regiment.”

I shot her a stabbing look before asking, “How long do I do this for?”

“You will come to the temple every afternoon after school and also for a couple of hours on the weekends. The more you work, the faster you will get to the combat training.”

I had a feeling that’s what the case was going to be. It was also something I dreaded. It meant that as long as I continued learning from Meissa, the less time I would have with my friends. A sudden longing filled me, but I did my best to push it away. I would miss hanging out with Lesia and Ty, but for the first time, I’d found something I could commit and really belong to. Although I couldn’t explain why, it felt right to be here and learn how to be a warrior; it felt like this was what I was meant to do.

“Of course,”
Meissa continued when I didn’t say anything, “you could go to a gym. Though I seriously doubt they would be willing to provide dinner.”

“What was that?” I snapped to attention. “You’re going to feed me?”

Meissa gave me a doubtful look. “I expect the best from all of my apprentices, and I simply refuse to have you interrupting the peace with your stomach groans.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“It seems I should have brought that up first. Now I know how to get you moving,” Meissa teased. “You can start tomorrow afternoon. It’s actually beneficial that you aren’t ready for training yet. It will give me time to contact your partner.”

“My partner?”

“Yes, you can think of it like a personal trainer and mentor. Your partner will help you adapt your regiment to suite your needs, and when the time comes, begin hand-to-hand combat.”

“But I thought that you . . .”

“That I would be training you personally? I hate to disappoint you, but I have other matters to attend to, and I can’t afford to train each student from scratch – as if they could keep up with me to begin with.” I rolled my eyes. “Using more advanced apprentices to train new ones has worked out quite well. It turns green fighters into experienced ones and experienced ones into masters. You’ll have to make do without me.”

“I’m sure I’ll manage to survive,” I said dryly. “But why use someone who’s away. Couldn’t Markus just teach me?” It didn’t make sense to me to call in someone who was away doing . . . something just to start teaching a newbie.
Especially when two perfectly good fighters were already available. Well, one in my case. My gut told me Kaira wouldn’t be jumping at the chance to spend more time with me, much less be my mentor.

“I think you’ll find the person I have chosen is a better match,” she replied, a sly glint in her eyes, “and I already have other plans for Markus.”

“Oh, yeah?” I questioned, standing up and eyeing the door. This didn’t take as long as I thought it would. I would have the rest of the day to figure out how I was going to tell my friends I couldn’t hang out with them anymore.

“We’re done,”
Meissa said, indicating towards the door. I took the hint and used the opportunity to start leaving. “Ingrid,” I heard behind me, “bring your friends.”

I turned to ask what she was talking about, but all I caught was a glimpse of her back as she walked into the bedroom. Shrugging, I stepped out the door and started down the path. What did she want with Ty and
Lesia?

“Hey, Sidewalk!”

I stopped and glanced around, wondering who was being called. It was a strange greeting; that was sure. Upon seeing Markus running up to me, my eye twitched.
Sidewalk
?

He stopped in front of me and held out his hand. “After getting whooped yesterday, it occurred to me that we haven’t really been introduced. I’m Markus Starke.”

“Ingrid Fairheit,” I replied, taking his hand. His grip was strong, and I did my best not to flinch. It was a good thing we didn’t have an arm wrestling competition. “Beginner’s luck I guess.”

“Trust me, that was pure talent,” he argued. “I’m not just saying that because I got last.
Although, Kaira doesn’t seem too convinced.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I won’t be making her buddy list any time soon.”

Markus chuckled and patted me on the back. “I wouldn’t take it too personally. She’s just sore she lost to an . . . well, ah, you,” he finished, giving me an apologetic look.

“Don’t worry about it.” I waved him off. “I kind of figured it out.”

“I’ll work on her,” he promised. “But I’ve got to warn you, Kaira Murua is one of the most stubborn women I’ve ever met.”

“Seems to be quite common around here,” I muttered.

He chuckled and crossed his arms. “Speaking of which, did Master Meissa ask you to help her find the Orion Stone? Will we be seeing more of you?”

I pursed my lips. So
Meissa hadn’t told them I would be training here. It wasn’t like she needed permission from her students anyway, but it would have been nice to inform them of the change. She probably didn’t feel like listening to any lip. I guess she figured Rigel’s bitching was enough. And all that meant it was up to me to deliver the good news.
Thanks, hag
. On the bright side, at least now it could be announced with all the glory and importance it deserved. I straightened my back and lifted my chin.

“Actually, I’ll be learning to fight. I’m the
Tiberon warrior or something.” That didn’t come out nearly as cool or impressive as I had planned. My shoulders slumped as I deflated from my moment of pride. I’ll have to practice that for next time. Bringing my attention back to my companion, I noticed with interested the way his eyes lit up with surprise before clouding.

“The
Therion
descendant
. Are you serious?”

“That is exactly what I thought,” I pointed out, “but she seems pretty convinced. I guess that race yesterday was my test.”

His eyes lost focus for a moment, no doubt deep in thought. Markus shifted on his feet before forcing a small smile on his face. “I’ll be seeing you.”

“Wait,” I stopped him. “Are you a warrior descendant, too?”

“No, I’m just a Lockman,” he replied, bitterness mixing in his voice.

“A
Lockman?” I asked. Meissa hadn’t said anything about those before.

“Yeah, sometimes branches from the main family or from families
honored
enough to know about the stones offer themselves or their members to help protect the stones and the warrior line,” he ground out. It didn’t seem like it was such an honor to him. “We aren’t the
gifted
ones, but we do our part.”

“I’m sure the Orion Stone wouldn’t have remained here as long as it did without you,” I said.

“Maybe,” his voice was monotone, hard to read. “I’ll see you around, Sidewalk.”

“Bye,” I called, my eye twitching again. I watched as he stalked off towards the large building at the end of the main walkway.
A Lockman, huh?

I headed down the stairs. So, that would explain why Markus and
Kaira were here: Lockmen to help protect the Orion Keystone. Markus may not think so, but it sounded like a pretty important job to me. Especially considering the born protector was nearing retirement age. I chuckled at Meissa’s expense while remembering back to what we talked about. What was I supposed to do again?

I waited for my friends to digest what I told them as I glanced forlornly around the lunchroom. Pizza day.

“And you’ll be going every afternoon for some kind of martial arts training?” Ty asked with raised eyebrows. I nodded at him and waited to see if he had anything else to say. I feared everything would be weird between us, but he just showed up this morning at the intersection and acted like nothing had happened at all. I was quite relieved, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. “Because she thinks you’re some kind of great warrior’s long lost grandbaby?”

“More or less.” I shrugged. “I’m still not totally convinced about all that, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to learn some self-defense.”

“You sure she didn’t escape from the retirement home?”

“I think it will be good for you,” Lesia threw in. “I think it’s fascinating. What if she’s telling the truth? It could really help you discover your past.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” I admitted. Trust
Lesia to find all the benefits.

“She wants us to go up there?” Ty asked.

“That’s what she said. I’m not sure why. I’ve got to warn you; she’s totally arrogant and lacking in tact.”

Ty smirked at me. “Ah, that’s what it is. They do say likes repel.” He yelped when I punched him in the arm. I let him get away with a lot of things, but saying I was like
Meissa –
that
was taking it too far. I was nothing like the old bag.

“It’s a good thing, too. I would have hated to show up uninvited,”
Lesia said. I raised my eyebrow, and she gave me a pointed look. “You didn’t actually think I was going to let you keep going up there without checking it out.”

“No, now that you mention it, but somehow it still manages to surprise me,” I confessed.

“Honestly, Ingrid, I thought you would have figured it out by now.” She winked. “I’m always looking out for you. Whether you like it or not.”

“And they say I’m the aggressive one,” I joked.

“You both are, but that’s okay.” Ty let out a sigh. “I’m here. Someone’s got to be the pacifist.” We all laughed at that.

“When do we leave?”
Lesia asked.

“This afternoon.”

S
ummer was nearing. I could tell by the way the trees and plants bloomed brilliantly in the bright sunlight and how the animals frolicked in the yards, but most of all, I could tell by how damn hot it was. I panted and wiped the sweat from my brow. My black blazer had long since been moved to a position around my waist. Lesia had done likewise with her jacket while Ty slung his over his shoulder in a wrinkled mass.

“This is one hell of walk, Ingrid. How many times have you done this?” Ty breathed.

“It’s not so bad,” Lesia said. “I am a little surprised Ingrid managed to make it as many times as she did.”

“It was cooler this weekend,” I supplied, the heat making me complacent. Why spend all that energy debating the truth?

“Oh, there’s the top,” Lesia pointed out, her excitement impossible to miss. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to.”

“Be sure to take some notes for me,
Lesia. I think I’ll just blackout under a tree,” Ty said.

We lumbered to the last step and paused to take a breather. The sound of footsteps across the stone path caught my attention, and I saw
Meissa coming towards us. She must have been sweeping again, her broom held by her side.

“You must be Ty and
Lesia,” Meissa greeted, moving closer. I blinked a few times, trying to remember when I told her my friends’ names. “I am Meissa, the master of the Orion Temple.”

“It’s an honor to meet you,”
Lesia replied politely.

“Likewise,”
came Ty’s much simpler response.

Meissa
surveyed them for a few moments before indicating over towards her house. “Come. We have much to talk about. I’m not sure if Ingrid has told you anything she’s learned.”

“She told us about the
Ankida,” Lesia said.

“Really?
I’m quite impressed she was paying attention.” Meissa smirked at me. “A complete bastardization of the tale, no doubt, but at least I know she can be taught.”

Ty chuckled at my expense, and I felt the blood rising in my cheeks. I prepared to give her a taste of her own medicine, when she swept around and ushered Ty and
Lesia along. I crossed my arms over my chest and stomped after them. I was nearly to the porch when Meissa looked at me.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?” Sometimes the best answer to a question was another question.

“Your training starts today. Now get to it, or have you already forgotten what you’re supposed to do?”

“But my friends – ”

“You’ve already heard what I have to tell them, so there’s no need to waste time with it. Unless you’d like explain it again with your expertise. Don’t worry, I’ll be there to correct you,” she sneered.

Despite the fact I wanted to dare her to correct me, I went with my better sense and opted out of the lecture session. Instead, I pointed at my uniform. “I haven’t got any training clothes.”

She gave out an irritated huff and thrust her finger out. “In that building, you’ll find spare clothing. Now shut up and go.”

I glared at the spot where Meissa once stood long after the door slammed shut.
I can do this
, I thought.
I’m going to get changed and start running. I won’t set the temple on fire.

I sulked my way over to the room she had indicated and nearly tore the door off its hinges. Taking in a deep breath, I turned on the lights and looked around. The room was pretty much the same floor plan as
Meissa’s house but had none of the decoration. A few benches sat in the middle of the floor, and a large crate rested against the far wall.

Seeing no other options, I walked up to the crate and opened it. Inside was a pile of clothing similar to what Markus and
Kaira wore. Light green pants and white shirts, how exciting. All the pants seemed to be the same general design, so I just grabbed the pair that looked like they would fit me the best. There was some variation in the shirts, but not being in the mood to play dress-up, I snatched up a simple T-shirt and went about changing. My blouse was drenched with sweat, and I wondered if Meissa had any free showers stashed away. After I finished dressing, I stretched my limbs. The new uniform actually felt pretty light, and I could tell that it would allow freedom of movement. Not seeing anywhere for my school clothes, I folded them up and left them on one of the benches. I didn’t have any qualms about leaving them unguarded. The only person who would be interested in wearing the outfit was way too tall and hated me. The other options were way above my creepy factor.

Dragging my feet, I slowly made it to the dirt field on the edge of the temple grounds.
Meissa told me to run at least ten laps around the thing. Like that was going to happen. There was no way I was going to be able to run that long. Figuring I should at least attempt to make it half-way, I started moving.

I hadn’t even made it around once when it became apparent that without the proper motivation I was a gym class
flunkee. I gasped for breath and started slowing down. The slacker part of me wanted to stop right there and just tell Meissa I did what I could. I mean, what could she possibly do with that? She’d only call me pathetic and have ammo to use against me in the future. I could hear it already. “
Look! There’s the useless girl that didn’t even make one lap
.” The thought of Meissa’s annoying voice filled me with distaste, and I forced my legs to keep moving. I soon settled into a light jog and pushed forwards.

I couldn’t help but peer around the buildings every time I came to the side closest to the temple. I wondered what the witch was doing to them now. Were they still talking about the
Ankida and the keystones, or did she have something completely different to discuss? What if she just took them to her place to make me start my routine. She probably kicked them out as soon as I was out of sight.

I craned my neck, trying desperately to spot her building so I could glare at it. I finally caught a glimpse and started cursing the old hag as if she could hear my thoughts now that my sights were on her house.
I’m on to you, evil bi –

You’d think I’d be used to all the surprises that happen around here by now, but nothing could prepare me for this. At that exact moment,
Meissa’s house suddenly lit up like a lighthouse. It erupted from the windows and shot across the grounds. In a turn of fate, I didn’t have to bother shielding my eyes. As soon as the light burst forth, shock put my legs in a temporary coma, and I face-planted into the dirt below. Normally I would have considered it an insult to my pride, but as the light crept into the corner of my vision, I silently thanked my dirt bed. When darkness flitted in to consume the light, I pushed myself up and spat out the gritty earth that seeped into my mouth.

“What in the crazy crow crap was that?” I shouted like someone would appear out of thin air and tell me what was up. I’d never seen such an intense display of illumination before. Granted, I was one to prefer the shadows, but this was something else. It was like a super nova had exploded on the hill. If it was this intense outside, I could only imagine what it was like in
Meissa’s living room . . . right where my friends were.

Snapping to attention, I hauled myself up and weaved my way to the building. I didn’t need any voices to motivate me this time. When I came to the main path, I saw a sweaty Markus and
Kaira emerge from a nearby room. This might have intrigued me had the potential safety of my friends not been in question. I stopped at the porch and saw that grumpy old man Rigel had beat me here. He ran to the door and slung it open. A few moments passed, and a figure stumbled out.

“That was better than any Christmas show!” Ty exclaimed, rubbing his eyes.

I didn’t waste a second running to his side to steady him. “
What happened in there
?” I was frantic now. “Did you cause that light?”

“It was that rock,” he explained. Squinting at me, he added, “But mine wasn’t nearly so bright.”

“That rock? She had that thing out – wait! What do you mean yours?” I was astounded. What did this mean? It couldn’t be possible.

“Are you satisfied,
Rigel?” Meissa’s voice sprung forth from the doorway. Now, I had heard this woman enough times to know that smugness was an almost permanent feature of her voice, but this was a new level. Pride decorated every syllable. You’d think she’d just beaten the guy for the position of ruler of the universe. “Not only have I managed to find two Lockkeepers in less than a week, I’ve found what was said to be impossible. Where countless have failed, I have done it,” she bragged, indicating inside the doorway.

I watched with confusion as
Lesia stepped into the open. Her eyes were wide and when she looked at me, I could see surprise and fear converging in her eyes. Her arms were bent close to her chest, and I gasped when I saw that in her hands the long shard of meteorite was clutched.

“For the first time in centuries,”
Meissa said, “a Locksmith has been found.”