The Legend of the Firewalker (25 page)

“Dream Walkers?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Some cultures, including the Cahokia Indians, affectionately referred to those who could see the past or future as Dream Walkers, and I guess it just stuck.”

Nathan leaned over to help Malick fill the wheelbarrow with more wood from the smaller bins lined around the beach.

“Why is it so hard to control?” Nathan asked.

“Controlling spirit energy to see the past or future is just hard to do,” said Malick with a shrug. “And many Dream Walkers never master it.”

Nathan remained still for a moment before twisting his lip and nodding. “So, I guess it’s safe to assume you can do Pneuma Novo, too.”

Malick grinned. “Yeah,” he said. “I guess so.” He su
ddenly looked serious again. “But you have to promise to keep this a secret,” he said. “It’s not okay to tell people about your ability, like I said.”

“I know,” interrupted Nathan, while rolling his eyes. “Dark and powerful forces.”

Malick nodded ardently. “Yes!” he exclaimed. 

Nathan helped Malick pile wood into the fire pits, until he got a splinter in his hand. “So,” he said, trying to remove the splinter without placing his dirty fingers into his mouth. “Can everyone who can do Pneuma Novo release energy as a wea
pon or see visions?”

“No. For the most part, your ability or the forms it can take are innate. It’s rare for someone to be able to learn a new abi
lity that wasn’t first hereditary.”

“So basically how you can perform Pneuma Novo or the different ways in which you can manipulate spirit energy is li
mited to your parents.”

Malick smiled. “Or your parents’ parents. Pneuma Novo has been known to skip a generation, and so have pow
ers. Just because you can dream walk doesn’t mean that one of your parents could; it could have been a great-great-grandfather or a grandmother.”

Nathan’s eyebrows were raised. “So, when exactly are you going to tell me what you can do?” He laughed and made qu
otation marks with his fingers in the air. “And don’t give me any of that ‘it’s complicated’ or ‘it’s dangerous’ stuff.”

Malick grinned and then laughed. “I’ll do better than that: I’ll show you. But first
…” he reached into his shirt and pulled out a silver chain; a brilliant silver pendant dangled from it. “It’s an arrowhead,” Malick continued, while carefully examining it with his hand. “It’s enchanted with prayers and stuff to keep my powers hidden, but I still have to be careful not to be seen in public; it keeps me hidden from —”

“The dark and powerful forces,” interrupted Nathan. He raised one eyebrow in protest. “Which you haven’t told me about, by the way.”

Malick grinned, but then suddenly looked serious. He raised his hand and cast his gaze over the surface of the lake. A blue light began to glow around his hand. Then, it shot out of his hand like a rocket, smashing into the middle of the lake. A huge amount of water was violently thrown into the air, only to return back slowly to the Earth. 

Nathan looked up towards the sky. Sprinkles of water landed on his shoulders and face, cooling him off. “I needed that,” he said with a smile.

“I know what you mean,” responded Malick eagerly. “I’ve wanted to do that since the first bonfire. This summer sun is killing me, and it’s an easy way to cool off!” He continued to fill the fire pits. “Just stay cool and keep your powers under wraps for now, and I’ll see about finding you something to cloak your powers with.”

“But wait!” Nathan blurted out. “There’s more!”

Malick stood up straight and rubbed his lower back. “Can this wait?” he asked. “It’s really getting late, and we haven’t even started the fires yet.”

Frown lines appeared on Nathan’s face again. “It’s about Lafonda,” he said.

“Don’t worry,” interrupted Malick. “You’ll be able to tell her all about your ability with time.”

“No,” Nathan said, “that’s not it.” Nathan’s eyes grew weary. “It has to do with my dreams, and I really don’t know what to do about it!”

“Remember what I said the other day?” Malick said. “About living in the present and not in the future?” 

Nathan reluctantly nodded. “Yeah, but
—”

“Well, it even applies here too. You can’t live in the f
uture, Nathan.”

“No!” demanded Nathan. “This is serious and I need your help!” His hands trembled. “In my dream Lafonda died, and I am not talking about watching it from afar
— she died in my arms!”

Malick grew silent. His face was blank but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Look Nathan,” he said, pla
cing a hand on his shoulder. “I know this will be difficult to hear, but you can’t prevent the future. You have to live for today. Besides, dreams or premonitions of the future are never certain; they are based on peoples’ current choices, and people change their minds every day.”

“But what about Lafonda?” Nathan protested. “Are you telling me to just let her die?”

Malick lowered his eyes. “The one thing that I have learned, living in our world and with our abilities, is that you have to live in the present, Nathan,” he said. “And not in the past or the possible future. You have to write your own destiny, live your own truth — not what people, the past, or the future say it should be.”

Nathan still looked frantic. “There has to be something I can do!” he pleaded.

“I’m sorry, Nathan. The best thing you can do is to not let fear of the future dictate your choices. Live in the present and allow for the natural course of life to happen, regardless of what you think you already know.”

“But
—”

Malick quickly interrupted. “What you do today or what Lafonda chooses to do will decide the future, not some premonition or dream.”

Nathan stood idle while watching Malick fiddle with the lighter fluid bottle.

Occasionally, Malick would look up, and Nathan would turn his head away.

The best thing I can do is do nothing?
Nathan thought.
How can I do nothing and just let Lafonda die? What’s the point of premonitions and prophetic dreams if you can’t do anything about it?

Nathan wiped water from his ear. His hair was still damp from the sprinkles of water. He turned around to look at Malick again, this time focusing on his hands. He watched as Malick continued to have difficulty with the lighter fluid bottle and matches to start the fire.

“You were an expert at that about a week ago,” Nathan laughed.

Malick grinned. “Well, that was a week ago,” he said, passing the bottle to Nathan.

Nathan smiled nervously. He glanced at Malick’s hands again. He remembered how much control he had in casting the energy ball into the lake. Nathan stared at the lighter fluid bottle in his hands.

“What about fire?” Nathan blurted out.

“Yeah,” chuckled Malick. “I thought that was the goal here.”

“No, not that!” said Nathan with frustration. “Is fire an ability of Pneuma Novo too?”

Malick’s eyes carefully studied Nathan’s face. “That’s an interesting question,” he said. “Why are you asking that?”

Nathan hesitated. “In my dream,” he said, “after Lafonda died
… something else happened.”

Malick looked on curiously, “What?”

“In my dream,” said Nathan, “a blue flame came out of my hand, and I am pretty sure it wasn’t just a dream because when I awoke, the foot of my bed was on fire.”

Malick had a blank look on his face. Slowly, he sat down on one of the logs again. “Are you saying you set the bed on fire with like a book of matches?”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “No!” he protested.

Malick continued to look on skeptically.

“I admit I wasn’t sure myself at first, but I know that fire came from out of my hand,” Nathan said.

“Maybe you just don’t remember setting the fire,” Malick said doubtfully.

“The fire was blue!”

Malick lowered his head. “This can’t be true,” he said, underneath his breath. “I mean what are the odds? This has to be next to impossible!” He looked into Nathan’s longing and i
nquisitive face. “But if what you are saying is true …” He sat in contemplation for a moment. Then he softly bit his lip before abruptly springing to his feet. “This just keeps getting worse!” he grumbled.

“What?” asked Nathan eagerly. “What is it? I mean, why is it impossible?”

Malick shook his head. He appeared slightly gloomy. “You sure are racking it up in the gifts department,” he said.

“So fire is a form of Pneuma Novo?” asked Nathan. 

“Yes,” answered Malick. “Not only is it a form of Pneuma Novo, it’s the rarest one there is.” Malick began to pace around the fire pit. “There is only one person ever known to manipulate Pneuma into fire, Nathan,” he said. “And the story about that person sounds more like something you would tell around a campfire or read in a fairy tale.”

“So what does this mean? Am I in danger?”

Malick faked a chuckle. “More than you apparently already are?”

Nathan didn’t look amused.

Malick slowly nodded. “Yes,” he said, “you are in more danger than I first realized.” 

Nathan grew silent. His thoughts were racing and he felt overwhelmed. He didn’t know where to start or what to do. First Leah was in danger, then his friends, and now he was too.

“Have you used your ability since the dream?” asked Malick.

“No,” answered Nathan slowly. He paused. “But then again
— well, technically, yes.”

Malick looked confused. “You mean today, when you produced an energy ball to hit that wood bin?”

“Right, but not exactly,” Nathan said. “The other day I used my ability to produce an energy ball to protect myself and Jonas from these creatures.”

Malick pursed his lips. “Little black-and-gray furry ones with razor sharp fangs that will cut into you like fire ants at a picnic?”

Nathan nodded. “Yes.”

Malick began to pace again. “This just keeps getting be
tter and better,” he responded sarcastically. “You know,” he said. “Feel free to just stop talking at any time.”

“Sorry!” apologized Nathan. “But what does this all mean?”

Malick paused to wipe the sweat from his forehead. “Wow, this is intense,” he said. “And Jonas is involved in this too?” He stared blankly for a moment before slowly running his hands through his hair. “Well, I guess it’s a safe bet that they know who you are if they are sending Shadow Creatures after you.”

“Shadow Creatures?” asked Nathan.

“Yeah. They are called Shadow Creatures because normally they are cloaked in shadow.” Malick had an ornery look on his face. “The cute little black-and-gray furry ones with sharp claws and teeth are called Necrocritters.”

“That would explain how they could be here one m
oment, then gone the next,” responded Nathan.

“Yeah,” said Malick. “When they are cloaked in shadow they are very difficult to defend against because they are so hard to see.”

Nathan nodded. “But you know what?” he said. “I don’t think they were after me.”

A few wrinkles appeared on Malick’s forehead. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I don’t think they were after me at all. I think they were after Jonas.”

“Jonas?” asked Malick in disbelief. “Why would they be a
fter Jonas?”

“Last week,” said Nathan, “the night of the bonfire, I woke up to find Jonas in a trance, and when I followed him,” N
athan took a moment to lean in, “somehow he created a doorway to some type of pseudo dimension. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was like a black-and-white version of our world, just absent of people. I know I’ve been there before, in my dreams about Leah and in my dream about Grimm Cemetery. It’s like everything there was frozen.”

“Wait,” said Malick. “Who is Leah? Is she another pe
rson at camp?”

“No,” said Nathan. “It’s a long story, but I think Leah was being attacked by the same Shadow Creatures.”

Malick looked confused again. “So how did she get into the Spirit Realm?” he asked.

“The Spirit Realm?” asked Nathan. 

“The Spirit Realm or the Space In Between,” said Malick. “If Leah was attacked by the same Shadow Creatures she had to have been in the Spirit Realm.”

“Why is that?” asked Nathan.

“Some Shadow Creatures are sensitive to natural light and are afraid to cross over into our realm,” said Malick. “Trust me, if Leah was attacked by the Necrocritters she was not here.”

Nathan stood in silence as Malick attempted to kindle a
nother pit from the fire Nathan had started. 

“It’s been a week since you’ve encountered them, right?” Malick asked.

Nathan nodded.

“And your friend Leah, she’s okay, and so are Jonas and Lafonda, right?” he asked.

Nathan nodded again. “Yeah.”

“Then for now it looks like they are safe,” said Malick. “And we should concentrate on finding a way to cloak your powers.”