Espial (13 page)

     “You’re not
thinking detailed enough!” yelled Div.

     It was my
fourth day of training with Div and I was lying on my back, looking up at her.
I had just fallen onto the lobby floor after attempting to reappear on the top
of one of the window panels. I winced as I slowly got back up.

     “Where were
you trying to go?” asked Div.

     “The top of
the window panel,” I replied pointing.

     “What did
you think about?”

     “The
window.”

     “This
entire lobby is one big window!” she shouted. “Be more specific! Again!”

     I closed my
eyes and tried imagining the window panel. I saw the seam it made where it
connected to the ceiling. I opened my eyes and found myself hovering at the top
of it.

     “Good,”
said Div far below, right next to the main entry. “Stay there and now imagine
the square tile right on the floor next to me.”

     Again, I
closed my eyes and pictured the white marble tile next to the one she stood on.
I heard a noise from the front desk and momentarily thought of it. When I
opened my eyes, I was standing on a white marble tile behind the front desk.

     “Sorry,” I
began. “There was a sound so…”

     “There will
always be a sound! When we are battling Sato, you can bet that there will be a
boatload of sounds! You must stay focused!” she screamed. Everyone in the lobby
turned and stared at us.

     “Sorry,” I
mumbled, holding myself.

     “Get it together,
Sol!” she scolded, clapping her hands. “Go take a break.” She flounced off,
leaving me behind in the lobby. I stepped out from behind the desk when I
spotted Gadget running in from the entry.

     “Hey
buddy,” I said, walking over to him. “Where’s your mom?”          

     He waved at
me, smiling with a mouth dotted with missing teeth. “She’s right there.” He
turned and pointed just as Fly walked in through the doors.

     “Hi, Fly.”

     “Hi, Sol!”
she waved, seeming a little flustered. “I just brought Gadget back from the
park. You had fun, didn’t you my love?” She scooped him up and began swinging
him side to side. He giggled, bubbles forming in his mouth. “Go play with
Victoria for a second. I’ll be right there.” She placed him down and he took
off toward the receptionist.

     “I’m so
glad you’re here, Sol,” she said, darkness coming over her face. “I had the
strangest encounter at the park with Gadget.”

     “What
happened?”
     “We were playing on a swing set when a blonde-haired young woman came up
to me. She asked if I worked here at the LARF. When I said yes, she then asked
if you were here.”

     “Me?” I
asked, confused. I couldn’t recall any such young blonde-haired woman.

     “Yes. I
felt a strange vibe from her, so I lied and said that I didn’t know you. I
turned to grab Gadget and head back here, but she grabbed my arm.” She lifted
her arm and showed me bruise marks in the outline of fingerprints along her
forearm.

     “Oh no,
Fly!” I exclaimed, gingerly taking her arm to look more closely.

     “She then
said that if I was lying, I would regret it for the rest of my life.” Fly held
her injured arm close to her body. “She made a point of shooting a nasty look
at Gadget before letting me go and taking off.”

     I looked
over at her son. He was running circles around the receptionist, who pretended
she couldn’t find him. I looked back at Fly.

     “Where did
she go?”

     “She got
into a car and drove away. It looked like the car that Rider described this
morning.”

     “But how
could that be? That car was spotted in New York, not Los Angeles.”

     “I don’t
know. But it looked like it could be the same, and she was driving it. Poor
Gadget had such fear in his eyes while watching the whole encounter,” she said,
shaking her head.

     “Don’t
worry. We’ll figure it out. Thanks for telling me, Fly,” I said comfortingly.

     “Not a
problem,” she replied with a smile. “See you at dinner tonight!” She then
walked over to Gadget.       

     I headed to
Rider’s office to update him. He seemed just as perplexed as I did, so he sent
a message out to Fly, warning her to stay indoors for the time being. He then
walked over to Stella’s office where he waited until the others joined him for
their secret meeting. I headed to dinner and spent the rest of the night
thinking about the battle that lay ahead.

#

     A week
passed as I continued training. I significantly improved my ability to maintain
control over my wings. I learned how to accelerate and decelerate smoothly. Div
even began showing me a few flight tricks. Everyone’s personal favorite seemed
to be dive-bombing. The LARF held an annual dive-bomb contest and the winner of
the event won a custom-designed wardrobe by famed angel fashion designer Dax
Harrington. The contest was two days away and I was one of the first to sign
up. I asked Victoria, the receptionist, what exactly the qualities were that
the judges found impressive.

     “They want
to see a good show, that’s what!” she said excitedly. Victoria seemed to be
close to my mother’s age. She had mousy brown hair, freckles and wore glasses.
Her wings, on the other hand, were very pretty. Daisy-yellow in color, they
twinkled in the light and looked soft and shiny. She had a plump figure and was
very kind to anyone who approached the desk.

     “Well
obviously everyone wants that,” I sighed, “but what are some things I can do to
really stand out and impress them?” I looked down at the desk and noticed that
the signup sheet was nearly full. Only three lines remained blank at the bottom
of the sheet. Div and Glinda were both listed, along with Fly and two other
angels I did not know.

     “Last year
Alex won during his first try here. He executed forty full spins while
dive-bombing from the roof to the ground. Of course, now that we know what a
disgusting, foul, despicable traitor he is, his record has been scrubbed from
the record book.”

     “Good!” I
replied emphatically.

     “The year
before last, Fly won because she peeled and ate three whole bananas during her
descent.”

     “What are
bananas?”

     “Here.”
Victoria pulled out a curved, yellow fruit from behind the desk. I took it and
sniffed. “They’re really tasty,” she smiled, snatching the banana back and
stuffing it into her bag. “And the year before that, Flash won. He went into a
handstand at the edge of the rooftop. Fly placed Gadget, who was only an infant
at the time, on the bottom of his feet. Flash then let go and dive-bombed the
whole way down. Oh you should have seen it! Right as he was about to hit the
ground, he flipped and caught Gadget in his arms.” Victoria began fanning
herself with her wings. “Oh it was incredible.”

     “I don’t
think I know who he is,” I shrugged.

     “What?!”
Victoria screamed. “He’s the most handsome, most educated, most worldly angel
to work here!”    

     “Which
department is he in?”

     “Defense.
Oh you probably haven’t met him yet. I think he left to assess Sato’s east
coast damages right before you arrived here.”

     I looked at
the list and found his name toward the bottom. “Is he back yet? I see his name
here on the sign-up sheet.”

     Victoria
leaned over, almost pressing her nose and glasses onto the sheet itself. “Oh he
must be! He must have stopped by while I was at lunch. Silly boy not to say
“hi” to me first.”

     “What do
you think I should do to win?”

     “If I knew
what would help you win, I wouldn’t tell you,” she winked. “I’d use the trick
myself.”

     I laughed
and thanked her for her time. I was hungry so made my way to the cafeteria. I
chose to sit alone, not spotting anyone I knew. After placing my order with one
of the servers, I rested my head on the table. I heard a chair pull out across
from me at the table.

     “Long day?”

     “You have no
idea,” I replied, eyes still closed. “How about you, Rider?”

     “Oh no,
that’s my father.”

     I opened my
eyes and looked up across from me. “Oh sorry. You sound exactly like him.”

     The young
man across from me smiled and reached out his hand. “Flash.”

     I shook his
hand and nodded. “So you’re the infamous Flash. I’m Sol.”

     “So you’re
the infamous Soleil Arch.”

     We both
laughed. Just then my server brought over my food and a tall glass of Elixir
Respite. “Did you order anything yet?” I asked, giving him a quick once over.          

     “Not yet,
but I’m about to.” He turned to the server and ordered several dishes and two
beverages.

     “Wow you
must be starving,” I said in amazement as the server walked away.

     “You have
no idea.”

     “I hear
you’ve been away looking at the destruction Sato has caused.”

     He opened
up a napkin and placed it on his lap. “Yes. I’m trying to get an idea of what
he’s done in the past. Hopefully, that will clue us in to what his future moves
will be.”

     I nodded in
agreement. “I found your dad’s secret room in the library back at the ARC. It
was pretty interesting.”

     “Ah yes. It
was a passion of his for several decades. I think he’s given up on it though.
And now that it’s been destroyed, he really has no use for it.”

     I felt sad
at the mention of the destroyed ARC.

     “Oh I’m
sorry. It’s still too soon. Everyone loved the ARC.” Three waiters came over
carrying the food and drinks he had ordered.

     “No it’s
ok. I’m just ready to do whatever I can to take Sato out when the weapon is
ready.”

     “Cheers to
that!” He lifted up his glass and held it out to me. I held mine up and we
clinked. Flash began digging into his food and I began to eat mine.

     “I saw your
name on the signup for the contest.”

     “That’s
right. I am definitely in it to win this year.”

     “Funny. So am
I,” I replied, raising an eyebrow.

     His eyes
widened. “And how do you expect to do that?”

     “You’ll
just have to wait and see,” I winked.

     He smiled
and nodded. “Touché.”

     We spent
the rest of dinner discussing our upbringings. His mother was killed giving
birth to him and he was roughly one hundred and fifty years old. He still
looked to be about my age. The more I learned about him, the more interested I
became in befriending him. He was as handsome as Victoria had described, but
not in an overstated way. His eyes shone with gentility and care. His golden
wings and amber aura were a definite match with Rider’s. The more we talked,
the more I wished I had taken time to ask Rider about his life story. We talked
until the dining room cleared. He promised to come visit my training sessions
with Div. We then parted ways for the night. I was happy to have made a new
friend.

#

     I spent the
following day working with Div on my dive-bomb strategy. We sat in the combat
room by ourselves, throwing out ideas that could wow the judges.

     “Why don’t
you dive with a plate strapped to the top of your head, but flip upright before
landing?” suggested Div.

     “Wait. Why
are you even helping me?” I asked suspiciously. “Aren’t you technically my
competitor?”

     “Not any
more, actually,” she frowned. “I’ve been asked to be a judge so I can no longer
compete. But don’t tell anyone! The judges are supposed to remain anonymous.”

     “Then won’t
you get in trouble for helping me?”

     “You’re
probably right. I know! Fly! She can come help you.” Div flew out of the room
with speed I could hardly believe. In moments she was back with Fly.

     “Hi Fly.
I’m so sorry, but I really need you right now.”

     “Hey Sol! I
told you, anything you need, I’m here to help!” She was grinning and I could
tell that she was excited to help.

     “I’ll leave
you gals to it then.”  Div flew back out of the room.   

     “Do you
have any ideas so far?” asked Fly.

     “None that
are good,” I said. “Everything that comes to mind is just a different version
of what’s been done by previous winners. I know you’re probably busy working on
your own stunt, but I have no clue where to start.”

     “No don’t
worry about me,” she said. “I have an idea. Close your eyes and take a deep
breath.”

     I did as
she said. Twenty seconds passed.

     “Now open
your eyes.”

     “What was
that for?” I asked.

     “Tell me
every emotion or physical sensation you experienced while you held your
breath.”